Goals for January: Week 1

Today is the last day of vacation for me before going back to work.  I went to the gym this afternoon and did a NROLW workout.  I haven’t mentioned it, but our gym is being completely renovated and is a disaster area right now, in fact all but two of the treadmills that I have seen are in pieces and stored in a squash court!  On the plus side, the weight room has been completely revamped and moved to a bigger space (the former basketball courts) and all the equipment has been replaced.  There are two new squat racks, all new dumbbells and tons of new machines.  I haven’t figured out where everything is yet, but there seems to be ample supply of everything, including several new cable machines.  I can’t wait till the renovations are completed, it’s really going to be fantastic!

After getting back from the gym, I took Tara for an hour long walk.  I only intended to take her for a short walk, but she was being really good and there was no one else around, so I took advantage of the quiet and just kept going.  I really should have turned it into a run, but it was nice to just walk after the weight workout this morning.  I have really lost a tremendous amount of strength, so even going back to my starting weights is tough.  I’ve been quite sore the past few days.  I think my body will adjust fairly quickly, and regain recovery ability.  I’m hoping a yoga session tomorrow morning will help.  Even though I’m dreading the early wake up call to go back to work after a week and a half off, I’m planning to do 20-30 minutes of yoga before I leave the house.  It should loosen me up a bit, my quads and hamstrings are especially tight right now.  After work, I’ll take Tara for a short run as long as it is not raining.

My goals for this week and month are still in the development phase (read: I haven’t thought about them much till this moment), so I reserve the right to modify these a bit over the next couple of days.

Goals for January 3 – 9, 2011

1. Do at least two NROLW workouts and three if I can fit it in

2. Run three times of at least 3 miles each

3. Pack a bag to go to the gym after work on Tuesday and Thursday

4. Buy a new suit for my interview for veterinary school next weekend

5. Blog at least three times

6. Cook dinner Monday through Thursday

7. Research and preparation for my interview

I think that will do it for this week.  I completely forgot my interview is next weekend!! I’ll be traveling Saturday through Monday, and I’m sure I’ll be very nervous and stressed toward the end of the week, so apologies in advance if I disappear for a short bit.  I’m going to keep details of where I’m interviewing off the blog for now, but I’ll update when I hear final decisions on all the schools if I am accepted.

Goals for January

1. Rework my training plan through June planning around the Charlottesville Half-Marathon and Smith Mountain Lake Sprint Triathlon and register for both of these races if feasible (SML Sprint Tri may not work with exams for classes next semester)

2. Update personal paperwork and register for classes for the spring semester

3. Cook healthy dinners on at least 10 week nights

4. Do 30 minutes of yoga each week

5. Try one new recipe this month

I’m going to try something new with my goals so that I don’t forget about them and just throw them out the window.  My plan is to write them down and stick them in my planner ala Goals for the Week so that I see them every day.  Have a great week!

Happy New Year 2011!

I can’t believe I’ve let over two months go by without blogging a single word!  I must admit, I was a bit ambitious with my training plans for the end of the year.  Between working, taking classes and home life, I found it increasingly difficult to schedule workouts into my days as the end of the semester approached.  Taking three lab classes was probably not my brightest idea ever.  I had homework for each class every week and it took up a lot of the time I would normally spend training and blogging.  Such is life.

Now that classes are over and I’m planning to take a much lighter load in the spring semester, I will have a bit more leisure time to devote to training.  I am scrapping the posted training plan and rewriting it as I can not possibly run 11 miles tomorrow as planned and I didn’t start lifting again back in October as planned either.  While I’m a little disappointed that I wasn’t able to get back into the training game when I intended to, I am not beating myself up over it.  I made school my priority and I know that it was the right decision for me in the long run.  Speaking of school, I’m still in the middle of the application process for veterinary school and I’ve heard back from two schools – one I have an interview next weekend and the other I did not get in to.  I’m still waiting to hear on two others.  If I get good news, we’ll be moving some time this summer, so I can’t commit to any fall races.  Also, I have no idea what kind of time I’ll have if I am back in school full time next fall!

Despite having a very busy end of the year, I had a pretty eventful 2010.  I finished both my first half-marathon and then my first half-Ironman.  I also decided that I’m not ready to take on the challenge of training for a full Ironman any time soon, but that I will do it some day.  I didn’t accomplish the majority of the goals I set last January, but I’m ok with that.  I did accomplish the two most important to me – to finish the two half races.  I’m not big on resolutions, but I do usually set goals for the year.  I’m not quite ready to set goals for the whole year since so much is unknown about where I will be and what I’ll be doing, but I’ll try and set goals for the month or maybe even each week to keep me accountable and moving forward.

I do still want to do the Charlottesville Half-Marathon again and training started today.  I actually ran a few miles today and it is really nice to feel like an active person again!  The weather was perfect for running too.  I was spoiled with 50 degrees and overcast – just chilly enough to be completely comfortable for the entire run.  I also did a NROLW workout on Thursday and skied at the beginning of the week (Monday and Tuesday).  Prior to that I took a short run on Christmas Eve.  I’m going to kind of play by ear for the next week or so.  I’d like to get back into regular lifting workouts and work my running mileage up as quickly as is safe.  I felt pretty good today, so I don’t think it’ll take long to work up to doing 5-6 miles regularly as my base runs.

More coming tomorrow on my goals for this coming week and for the month of January.

Happy New Year!

Off to a (semi) Good Start

In the past, if I haven’t had time to do an entire planned workout, I’ve just let it go.  In my brain I know that every little bit counts and getting out and moving is the more important than exactly following my schedule.  But when it came down to it, I chose to stay in bed or watch another 15 minutes of TV or or read blogs for another 30 minutes than getting out and running for that 15 or 30 minutes.  No more.  Despite waking up much later than planned yesterday morning, I dragged myself out of bed and determined that I still had time for about 10 minutes of yoga.  I’m not sure how good it did physically, but I think it went a long way to getting me into a better place mentally.

This morning, I managed to jump out of bed a bit earlier and go out for a run with Tara.  We were out for 33 minutes – 2 minutes walking warm-up and then jog for 28 minutes and walk for another 3 to cool down.  It should have been a 3 mile run, but it came in at just about 2.8 miles including the walking portions.  I’m really happy I got out there and ran even though it was still pitch black outside when we left.  Tara lit my path with her little headlamp that she wears.  I’m a little disappointed in the “reflective” leash and collar I bought for her.  They don’t seem to be very reflective at all.  They’re nice for a regular leash and collar, but I’m going to have to try something else.  I’m thinking of getting her a running vest for more visibility.  I wore a white shirt this morning with good reflective strips on the back, but I still need to make it to the running store or sporting goods store to get something more for me to wear.

I did not get to the gym yesterday to lift and I’ve realized that it is completely unrealistic to try on Mondays.  I think I mentioned that I have dog agility classes on Mondays and while yesterday I probably could have made it to the gym, I decided that it would make more sense to move my lifting day to Tuesdays since it is a light running day.  That way I can easily do my run in the morning and lift in the evening, or vice versa.  Also, starting next week my classes start at 6:35 PM (instead of 8:50 PM as they do now), so my Mondays are going to be quite busy.  I think I’ll be doing a lot of crock pot dinners over the next 6 week session!

I’m not sure what to do about lifting on Thursdays yet.  Class on Thursdays doesn’t start until 7:45 PM and I get home from work at about 4:30 PM.  Inspiration just struck-  I can do a morning lifting session on Thursdays and run in the afternoon with Tara before class.  That will work perfectly! I’ll update my training plan matrix later today with my updates.

Things are falling into place!

 

No Rest for the Weary

I want to be a faster runner.  I’ve never really thought that I could run fast, it just never crossed my mind.  My 8K results lit a fire in me, so to speak, and now I want to be faster, and more importantly, I am convinced that I can be.  I have no idea what my goal pace should be for any given distance.  I don’t know how much it is reasonable to expect to improve over X number of days, weeks, months or years.  And I don’t care.  I’m arbitrarily choosing the Charlottesville half-marathon as my first checkpoint.  I want to finish it in under two hours. Is that realistic considering my time last year was 2:25:28?  Maybe not.  I’m going to try anyways.  According to the Race Time Predictor, I should be able to run a 5K in 26:07, which is an 8:24 pace, and run a 10K in 54:21, which is an 8:45 pace.  My only 5K race (not attached to a triathlon) was 29:54, so I just need to shave 4 minutes….I know I can do it.  Not entirely sure when I’ll do it, but I know I can.

Training starts tomorrow.  I’ve posted my training plan on the “Training Plan -2011” page.  I’m going to focus on running again through this winter, just like last year.  This time, though, I am going to place my focus on running fast, rather than running far.  I’m starting with one day of speed work each week and add a second day of speed work in the last 12 weeks or so of training.  I’m going to try to do some interim races to track my progress, or at least do “home” races every few weeks.  I’m also adding two days of weight training back to my training.  Adding muscle can’t hurt and I know that I’ve lost a lot of strength since I stopped lifting in favor of HIM training.  Something new I’m going to try is doing yoga once a week too.  I’m hoping that placing an emphasis on stretching at least once a week will prevent any encounters with IT band issues or any other injuries that can crop up.  As you’ll see in my schedule, I’ll be running significantly more (miles and days) every week than I have in the past, so I want to make sure to stay healthy!  I’m hoping yoga helps in that.  I’m not planning on taking any yoga classes right now, just doing videos or on-demand at home.  I think it would be a bit ambitious for me to actually go somewhere to do yoga right now.  It will be much easier to fit into my schedule if I can do it right here.  My alarm is set to start tomorrow at 6AM, and I’ve already chosen a program from the on-demand menu.  I need to pick up some yoga DVDs to try.  I have one, but it has gone missing, and I’m afraid I may have let someone borrow it and will never see it again.

My planned training for this week is:

Monday – Yoga AM, NROLW Stage 1 A1 PM

Tuesday  - Run 3 miles

Wednesday – Run 5 x 400 m @ 5K pace

Thursday – Run 3 miles AM, NROLW Stage 1 A2 PM

Friday – Rest

Saturday – Run 3 miles

Sunday – Run 5 miles

Monday and Thursday may be tough to get everything done because I have dog agility training classes both evenings, but I’m going to do my best to do the lifting.  If I have to miss one of the days, I will do the second day on Saturday.

By the way, if you reading from an RSS reader, I did some work updating the look of my blog today.  I’m not 100% it is going to stay like this.  I’m not in love with the new layout/theme yet.  I did change the main title of my blog- “Triathlon Training Blog” was just too boring.  This is my journey of becoming stronger and faster and going longer.  It’s only taken me a year and a half to be a little more interesting, but better late than never!  Let me know what you think of the new look!

Pondering Goals

For the past couple of years, I have had very specific goals for my race season.  Last year it was to finish my first Olympic distance race, which I did at Nation’s Triathlon.  This year it was to finish my first half-Ironman distance race, which I did at Timberman 70.3.  I have no idea what my goal for next season should be.

I’ve tossed around the idea of doing a marathon, but I’m not sure that’s really what I want to do.  I feel that it is the next logical step in my fitness journey, but do I really want to commit to the training for it?  By the end of this training season, I was so burnt out from the volume of training for Timberman that I couldn’t even think about doing another HIM any time soon.  I think the time commitment to marathon training would be comparable and I’m not sure I can commit to that.

My other thought is to continue racing tris at the Sprint and Olympic distance next year, aiming for PRs at all the races I’ve done in the past and add a couple of new races.  This is the “easier” route.  Training for these requires no more than 1-2 hours per day and I know I would aim for that with any workouts anyhow.

The one thing that I know I will not be doing is a full Ironman.  I am definitely not ready to devote my time to training for an event of that distance.  I will complete a full Ironman at some point in my life, but it is not going to be next year.  The funny thing is, I no longer question whether I can do an Ironman distance event.  I KNOW that I can with the proper training.  I think it was during the Timberman run that my perspective of what I can do completely changed and I realized that my body was capable of anything I could throw at it as long as I put in the time and effort to train for it.  My self-motivation is my only limiter.

I will be thinking about my goals for next year a lot over the next few weeks/months.  I’m going to try and come up with a plan that is still challenging, despite not increasing my distances across the board.  Maybe I’ll do a bunch of Sprint/Oly tris AND a marathon.  Maybe I’ll do just tris.  Maybe I’ll do nothing and go a different route entirely.  Sorry for the ramblings…just trying to sort through my thoughts.  What are your plans for next year?

In other news, I was terrible about running last week.  In fact, the only time I ran was when I last posted, for shame!  I had big plans to do a local 5K on Saturday, but after a busy week including tons of studying for two midterms, I just didn’t have it in me.  And when we found out that the entry fee was $40, Curtis and I decided we’d rather take that $80 and do something else another time.  I did manage to convince myself to run yesterday, and took the dog for about 6 miles.  Considering the overall lack of running lately, I felt pretty good for the whole run.  Neither my lungs nor my legs were a limiter even if I was going very slowly.  I did have a bit of a fight with myself about whether to keep going at several points along the route.  Somehow I managed to convince myself to just keep moving my legs, one step at a time.  This week I am supposed to taper for the 8K on Sunday.  I’m not sure how much of a taper it will be if I actually put in more days than I have been.  Here’s the schedule:

Monday – Off

Tuesday – 3 mile run

Wednesday – 3 mile run

Thursday – 4x400m with 400m walk/jog recovery

Friday – Rest

Saturday – 1-3 mile run easy

Sunday – Race Day!

NROLW and GOALS

I had a great day today!  I got back my biochemistry exam and got a 98!!  It was a tough exam, so I am really very very pleased with the score.  I have a microbiology test this Friday, so hopefully I can keep it up and get another good grade on that one also.  I also was super-proud of Tara, our German Shepherd Dog, today.  We’ve had her for almost 7 months now and she has really come a long way since we brought her home.  The training we’ve done with her has really paid off.  I take her with me to my mom’s a lot of the time so she can get some fresh air in their yard and we can take advantage of the fenced area to play a bit of fetch.  At home, I often let her come out the front door with me off-leash after I’ve checked that there is nothing to distract her and make her run off (i.e. squirrels and other dogs).  Well, this afternoon when we were leaving to go to my mom’s, I let her out and she usually runs straight to the car.  My neighbor happened to just be walking her dog up the street and Tara caught sight of them and bolted!  I immediately called her, “Tara, here!”  and she stopped short in her tracks and immediately sprinted back to me!  This may not seem like much, but I think it is a huge success!  It’s a comforting thought to know that she’ll listen immediately even when she’s distracted if she ever comes upon a dangerous situation.

The rest of the evening was pretty uneventful.  I did NROLW stage 5 workout B tonight:

A. Barbell Romanian Deadlift/Bent-Over Row – 3 sets of 4 @ 90 lbs with 120s RI

B1. Partial single-leg squat – 3 sets of 4 @ 25 lbs with 120s RI

B2. Wide grip lat pulldown – 3 sets of 4 @ 80 lbs with 120s RI

C1. Back Extension (Prone Cobra) – 3 sets of 120s @ BW with 120s RI

C2. YTWL – 3 sets of 4 @ 10 lbs with 120s RI

D1. Swiss-ball crunch -3 sets of 4 @ 20 lbs with 120s RI

D2. Hip flexion – 3 sets of 4 @ BW with 120s RI

D3. Lateral flexion – 3 sets of 4 @ BW with 120s RI

This workout never seems quite as challenging as the other this stage.  I guess it’s because there is so much core work at the end that’s done at low/no weight.  I am kind of jealous of Mom, she is finishing this stage this week and gets to move on to Stage 6, which is the chin-up stage!  I am really excited about it for some reason.  I feel strange being so excited about a new weight workout, but I’ve really learned to love lifting over the past year.

Tomorrow will be a running day, just 5 miles with some up hill work.  I’m hoping to do it outside with Tara for part of it if the weather cooperates.

Goal Check-In

It’s that time of the month for my goal check-in for yearly and February goals!  I am also squeezing in some March goal-setting tonight, so bear with me through the rest of the post!

Yearly goals:

1. Set monthly goals on the first of every month and check-in on progress on the last day of every month. This is a work in progress.  I’m checking-in a day late, but on track for goal setting for March!
2. Complete a half-Ironman triathlon (signed up for Ironman 70.3 Timberman on August 22, 2010). Registered and reserved a room.  Training to begin in April.
3. Complete 2 sprint or Olympic distance triathlons as part of the Virginia Triathlon Series. Probably going to do Smith Mountain Lake Sprint and unsure what the other will be.
4. Do a half-marathon (signed up for the Charlottesville half-Marathon on April 17, 2010). Registered and in-training!
5. Complete one training run of 20 miles. I’m half-way there!  I finished my first 10 mile run on Feb. 14!
6. Try one new workout class at the gym for a month. Not yet, would like to try spin or a yoga class.

February goals:

1. Run a total of 60 miles by the end of the month. (Exercise tracker should reach 110 miles).  Done, I reached 115 miles on my tracker this month!

2. Workout (weights/running/cross training) at least 4 times per week. Almost reached this goal.  I think last week I only worked out 3 times.

3. Use bike trainer at least once! Done!

4. Focus on nutrition this month by counting calories for one continuous week, starting 2/15/2010. I counted calories for the last two weeks of February.

5. Go on one of the running club runs or join the triathlon club. Still haven’t gotten up the guts to do this.

6. Blog more than once a week! My calendar tells me that I did this for every week except the first one of February.

March goals:

1. Run at least 75 miles by the end of the month.  (Exercise tracker should reach 190 miles).

2. Workout (weights/running/cross training) at least 4 times per week.

3. Do a workout at home at least once per week.  (On demand workout, bike trainer, or DVD).

4. Run outside at least once per week.

5. Run with Tara at least 5 miles per week (no more than 3 miles per run).

6. Go for a run with the running club.

7. Join the triathlon club forum and post at least once.

8. Continue to focus on nutrition for the month by counting calories and balancing macronutrient levels.

9. Blog more than twice per week.

Have a great week!

Recovery Week and Goals Check-In

Hi!  It was strange being back at work this week after working from home all last week!  I’ve got several projects that are keeping me pretty busy right now, so work has been slightly stressful.  Not so much that I’m losing sleep over anything though!  I had an easy week for run training this week, just 4 miles each on Tuesday and Thursday.  Tuesday also included four 2:00 aerobic intervals.  I felt pretty good for both runs, both were done at a slightly faster than 10 minute mile pace overall.  This weekend I have a personal 5k planned for tomorrow and 6-8 miles on Sunday.  The heart rate stats include warm-up and cool-down.

Tuesday Run Heart Rate:

Duration – 47:15

Average Heart Rate – 171

Maximum Heart Rate – 194

Calories – 520

Thursday Run Heart Rate:

Duration -55:45

Average Heart Rate – 161

Maximum Heart Rate – 182

Calories – 565

I was supposed to start NROLW Stage 5 on Monday, but it started to snow again Monday afternoon and I didn’t want to drive in case it accumulated.  So, I didn’t end up starting workout A until Tuesday.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get to finish it until today!  I did the A and B exercises on Tuesday and the rest today.  We had a very busy social life this week, and had friends over for dinner on Monday and Wednesday, and Curtis’s dad stayed with us on Tuesday night.  Then Thursday nights I have limited time because I have dog training with Tara.  Thank goodness I have off work on Fridays now!  I really need them to get things done!

This stage of NROLW is a repeat of an earlier stage, but with less repetitions and more sets.  Here’s the workout…

A. One-armed dumbbell snatch – 3 sets of 4 reps @ 20 lbs, 120s RI

B1. Dumbbell single-leg Romanian deadlift – 3 sets of 4 reps @ 30 lbs DBs, 120s RI

B2. Barbell bent over row – 3 sets of 4 reps @ 85 lbs, 120s RI

C1. Dumbbell single arm overhead squat – 3 sets of 4 reps (each arm) @ 12.5 lbs/15lbs and 25 lbs or 30 lbs DBs, 120s RI

C2. Dumbbell incline bench press – 3 sets of 4 reps @ 25 lbs DBs, 120s RI

D1. Plank – 3 sets of 120s, 120s RI

D2. Reverse Wood Chop – 3 sets of 4 reps @ plate 4, 120s RI

Body Weight Matrix (2 sets)

24 squats

12 lunges (each leg)

12 lunge jumps (each leg)

24 squat jumps

As always, that Body Weight Matrix business is tough.  I did the first set in 2:25, rested for 4:50 and then did the second set in 3:15.  I had to sit down for a bit after completing the second set.  Whew!  I need to increase weight almost across the board.  I think I can go up on A, C1, C2, and possibly D2.  Of course, since I split the workout in half, I’ll probably find that the weights I used to day are more than enough for next time.

Heart Rate Stats for Tuesday weights (A-B2):

Duration – 34:16

Average Heart Rate – 151

Maximum Heart Rate – 180

Calories – 195

Heart Rate Stats for Thursday weights (C1-Body Weight Matrix and stretching):

Duration – 1:00:38

Average Heart Rate – 119

Maximum Heart Rate – 180

Calories – 336

I think it will be helpful for me to check-in throughout the month on my monthly goals.  I intended to do this at the end of last week, but clearly that didn’t happen!  Better late than never…here goes.

1. Run a total of 60 miles by the end of the month. (Exercise tracker should reach 110 miles). I am definitely on track to reach this goal.  Already at 94.9 miles and I’m confident I can finish another 15 miles by the end of the month.

2. Workout (weights/running/cross training) at least 4 times per week. Despite the snow, I actually think I met this one every week this month so far.  I did four workouts the first week, five the second week, and have done three so far this week, with 2 more planned this weekend.

3. Use bike trainer at least once! Done! I did this last week on Wednesday during the second snow storm.

4. Focus on nutrition this month by counting calories for one continuous week, starting 2/15/2010. I  haven’t done too well with counting calories this week, so I’m going to keep it up for next week.  Mostly, I can keep track during the day, but I found dinners to be difficult this week because we had company twice and ate out once.

5. Go on one of the running club runs or join the triathlon club. Nope, not done either or made an effort to do either…I need to work on this.

6. Blog more than once a week! I actually set this goal after the first week of the month was over.  Since then, I have met this goal on the second week.  I need to blog at least one more time this weekend to meet it for this week.  I should mention that my weeks run Monday-Sunday for training purposes.

There’s more snow in the forecast for Monday.  It’s not supposed to be too bad though.  I hope that’s true because I’m ready to be done with snow now!

Goals, goals, goals

Obviously, I haven’t posted anything since before we went skiing last weekend.  I haven’t been that busy, but clearly haven’t made the time for blogging.  I’m finding I don’t have as much free time as I thought I would with my part-time class/part-time work schedule.  Granted, I do like the 3-day weekends from work, but I haven’t gotten to take advantage of them too much so far.  With snow and other things going on, I’ve stayed busy.  Not to worry, though!  I’m still training and keeping up with my training plan as much as I can.  This weekend was a bit of a bust because of the 2 feet of snow we got, so I had to skip my 9 mile run on Sunday and I am not inclined to be driving around too much right now so I doubt I’ll get my weights in tonight.  But if all goes as planned, I’m thinking this coming weekend is going to be my first 10 mile run ever!  Of course, it’s entirely dependent on the weather.  This snow situation is crazy!

I’m a little late on my goal check-in and updates for February, but better late than never, right?

Yearly goals:

1. Set monthly goals on the first of every month and check-in on progress on the last day of every month. Oops…already off to a bad start.  I’m over a week late.
2. Complete a half-Ironman triathlon (signed up for Ironman 70.3 Timberman on August 22, 2010). Registered and reserved a room.  Training to begin in April.
3. Complete 2 sprint or Olympic distance triathlons as part of the Virginia Triathlon Series. Probably going to do Smith Mountain Lake Sprint and unsure what the other will be.
4. Do a half-marathon (signed up for the Charlottesville half-Marathon on April 17, 2010). Registered and in-training!
5. Complete one training run of 20 miles. Not close yet, 10 miles is my first milestone to hopefully happen on Feb. 14.
6. Try one new workout class at the gym for a month. Not yet, would like to try spin or a yoga class.

January goals:

1. Run a total of 80 miles by the end of the month. Nope, not even close.  Only made it to ~50 miles.
2. Run 3-4 times per week, no more and no less. Nope, there were many weeks of only 2 runs.
3. Use my new bike trainer at least twice. Not this one either, I didn’t even use it once!
4. Join a local running or triathlon club, or both. Nope.

Clearly, major fail last month on goals!  I guess I need to re-think for February and maybe take a step back.  The weather has not been helping much at all, that’s for sure.  So, I’m going to follow the same themes as last month, but modify these goals a bit so that they are actually attainable.  It’s kind of disappointing to have not met even one goal!  So without further adieu…

February goals:

1. Run a total of 60 miles by the end of the month. (Exercise tracker should reach 110 miles).

2. Workout (weights/running/cross training) at least 4 times per week.

3. Use bike trainer atast once!

4. Focus on nutrition this month by counting calories for one continuous week, starting 2/15/2010.

5. Go on one of the running club runs or join the triathlon club.

6. Blog more than once a week!

I really could have joined the running club or tri club last month.  For some reason, it’s seems so far out of my comfort zone, even though it shouldn’t be.

January Goals (a little late)

Well, I forgot that I set a goal to write this months goals by Thursday or Friday last week. Better late than never! Before this month’s goals, though, I want to recap my yearly goals. I realized that I never organized them in an easy to read list in my post, so they may be hard to find later on.
1. Set monthly goals on the first of every month and check-in on progress on the last day of every month.
2. Complete a half-Ironman triathlon (signed up for Ironman 70.3 Timberman on August 22, 2010).
3. Complete 2 sprint or Olympic distance triathlons as part of the Virginia Triathlon Series.
4. Do a half-marathon (signed up for the Charlottesville half-Marathon on April 17, 2010).
5. Complete one training run of 20 miles.
6. Try one new workout class at the gym for a month.

I actually am having a bit of a hard time coming up with my goals for January. I think it’s because I’ve spent so much time these past few days thinking about the “big picture” for my fitness goals this year. Here goes…
1. Run a total of 80 miles by the end of the month.
2. Run 3-4 times per week, no more and no less.
3. Use my new bike trainer at least twice.
4. Join a local running or triathlon club, or both.

A note about the last goal- our area has both active Runners club and Triathlon club, both of which I’ve considered joining in the past. The running club does weekend runs on both Saturdays (~5 miles) and Sundays (~10 miles). Curtis and I ran with them once a couple of months ago on a Saturday. I’ve never done anything with the triathlon club, but I’ve been lurking on their email listserv for about a year now. They don’t seem to have a ton of organized training activities, but I am thinking about joining for the camaraderie and in hopes of finding some training partners. When I was in school (high school and college), I was part of a number of different clubs and groups, but for some reason, I have quite the mental block about it these days. I am going to overcome that this month and take the leap.

In training today, I did NROLW Stage 3 workout B. This is the last workout for Stage 3 and Wednesday starts Stage 4!

A. Barbell Romanian deadlift/Bent-over row – 3 sets of 6 @ 85 lbs with RI 105s
B1. Partial Single-leg squat – 3 sets of 6 @ BW with RI 105s
B2. Wide grip lat pulldown – 3 sets of 6 @ 80 lbs with RI 105s
C1. Back Extension – 3 sets of 6 @ 15 lbs with RI 105s
C2. YTWL – 3 sets of 6 @ 7.5 lbs DBs with RI 105s
D1. Swiss ball Crunch (Long-arm variation) – 3 sets of 6 @ 15 lbs with RI 105s
D2. Hip Flexion (incline reverse crunch) – 3 sets of 6 @ BW with RI 105s
D3. Lateral Flexion (Swiss-ball side crunch) – 3 sets of 6 @ BW with RI 105s
E. Prone Cobra – 3 sets of 90s @ BW with RI 105s

Heart Rate Stats:
Duration – 1:04:33
Maximum Heart Rate – 165
Average Heart Rate – 124
Calories – 407

It’s Official!

I am registered for Ironman 70.3 Timberman 2010.  And I’m totally freaking out!  There’s no way out now (barring major injury or illness) because the registration fee is quite the investment.  Quite a step up from $50 sprint races, but understandable given the enormous undertaking to put on such an event.  I have been reading various race reports from years past and it sounds like I’m going to really need to put in some good hilly miles on the bike.  With my early season focus on running, I am hoping to have a fantastic base to be able to back off the run and switch to focusing on cycling in April.  My Christmas present of a brand new Cycleops trainer (thanks Curtis!) is going to really help me to put more time in the saddle.  I am just going to have to figure out a way to set it up to simulate hills.  Prop my front wheel off floor-level perhaps?  I’m afraid I’ll tip over, but something must be done.  The trail I do most of my training on is not very hilly, so I’m also going to have to find somewhere to ride with some decent climbs.

I think I’ll be ok on the run with my early season base, and most of my running routes are fairly hilly.  My only concern is that my knee and feet hold up.  I’m going to be drastically increasing mileage over past running training, and I don’t know how my legs will hold up.  I definitely need to get fitted for new shoes asap.  My current Asics are just not holding up for runs over 2 miles anymore.  My arches feel like they are going to break in half following longer runs.  I’m wondering if there is a better shoe for my feet out there, or if these shoes are just too worn.  I have no idea how many miles they have on them, and I can’t remember when I bought them, which is probably a bad sign.  For the next year, I’m going to use the trackers (see my sidebar!) to show my cummulative distances in each sport.  This will help me keep track of my run miles to make sure I don’t overdo it on the next pair of shoes.  I am VERY curious to see what my totals end up at the end of the year, and see how many pairs of running shoes I go through in the process!   I think I’m going to take my Christmas money up to the local running store and have them do a gait analysis and all that jazz.  I also need to pick up some new socks and some sort of hydration system.

The swim shouldn’t be a problem, unless conditions are bad.  I’m hoping I get a bit more open water swim time this year than I have in the past.  I will definitely have some time in the ocean at the outer banks this summer, but I want to fit in some lake time as well.  Regardless, I already know I can complete the distance, so I’m not too worried about training for the swim leg.

I think the biggest new thing that I’m going to need to focus on during training for the HIM is nutrition.  I haven’t put too much thought or effort into for short course distances, as it is not crucial for the amount of time they take.  At the HIM distance, nutrition and hydration are going to be key on the day of the race, so I am going to have to figure out what works for me and start practicing with the items that will be available on race day.  I really liked the Clif shot blocks during Nations, so I’m going to start practicing with those as well.
Next step is to figure out where to stay and how I’m going to get up there.  I think it’s about an 8-9 hour drive from home, and I can’t decide whether that’s preferable or the relatively short flight and shipping my bike option.  I’ve probably got a little time, though I imagine things fill up fairly early for the weekend.

My training today went ok, I did stage 3 workout A from NROLW.  That body weight matrix is tough!  When I got to the gym, there were probably 20ish people (all men) in the free weights area.  It is a big area, but I don’t think I’ve ever tried to lift when it was that packed.  It was a bit of testosterone overload.  Unfortunately, the gym does not have 22.5 lbs dumbbells (at least not available), and the only thing close that I could find were 20 lbs.  So, I ended up going a little lighter than I intended today.  I would have liked to try the 25 lbs dumbbells, but unfortunately they were taken.  I wish more women would learn that there gym time would be much better spent lifting (and lifting HEAVY), because it just kills me that I was there for an hour and did not see a single other woman lifting.  Not one.  In fact, the only women that even got remotely close to the free weights were trainers.  Working out at mom’s house has made me forget how testosterone-heavy the gym weight area can be.  Here’s the workout:

A. One-armed dumbbell snatch – 3 sets of 6 @ 20 lbs DBs with 105s RI
B1. Dumbbell single-leg Romanian deadlift – 3 sets of 6 @ 20 lbs DBs with 105s RI
B2. Barbell bent-over row – 3 sets of 6 @ 75 lbs BB (first set was 85 lbs) with 105s RI
C1. Dumbbell single-arm overhead squat – 3 sets of 6 @ 12 & 20 lbs DBs with 105s RI
C2. Dumbbell incline bench press – 3 sets of 6 @ 20 lbs DBs with 105s RI
D1. Plank – 3 sets of 90s @ BW with 105S RI (2nd set was only 60 s)
D2. Reverse wood chop – 3 sets of 6 @ 25 lbs DBs with 105s RI
Body weight matrix – 2 x [24 squats, 12 lunges (each leg), 12 lunge jumps (each leg), 24 squat jumps] with RI 2x amount of time taken on first set

Heart rate stats:
Duration – 1:07:05
Average Heart Rate – 147
Max Heart Rate – 190
Calories – 562

Tomorrow is a running day.  The weather is supposed to be terrible (snowy and rainy), so I think I’m going to be stuck on the treadmill again.