Suz and Steph - We are FULL... and off to train! (Page 6)

Thanks for the tips Otis -- I sometimes count my own heartbeat at the end of a run for 10 seconds (and it's always pretty high then, I haven't often measured at the beginning or in the middle of a run), but yesterday I ran on a treadmill and noticed my average was about 160 when I was running my normal 3 mile training pace. I feel good running at that pace (no injuries or soreness) and it's hard to go slower when I'm not going very far. I could sort of carry on a conversation but I guess not "easily". I'll try to slow it down on my next run, at least for part of it, and count my HR more often. 

By the way, I am being completely lazy today since I did a lot yesterday and feel kinda tired. Still getting into the swing of training, I guess. (Don't worry, I won't try to "make it up" later!)

Julia

Thanks Susie!  I only had time to check out PaleOMG so far and cracked up -too funny - I love a person who can make a great recipe after a few drinks then can't quite remember the ingredients   Making a chicken recipe tonite from the site that I am pretty sure everyone will eat.  Thanks for the tip and I will be checking out the other sites asap!

You are one brave soul

You're a ROCK STAR!!

I like using buoys, too, and last time I did, I swam faster with than without.  At that point, I realized my legs were dragging more than kicking, so now I try to keep them together and up out of the way, and am working on re-introducing a 2-beat kick with my swim coach.  There is an article on the site here about kick turns, how to do them and the rationale, which is interesting.  My results from the weekend:  successful kick turns on a 32-meter pool, but I was very tired, maybe because I was swimming at a higher altitude than I had been used to.

Jeptha

I have a taper week in my plan for a June 1 triathlon, so this week/weekend I will set up some structure to the remaining weeks with an emphasis on aquapower.  My goals:  along with sticking to the plan, I will start a triathlon swim class at the local 'Y', will join a swim club, and go snowshoeing on the weekend!  And if I grow gills somewhere along the way, great!

Hi everyone, 

Well, I'm officially clipless.  I bought a pair of Specialized shoes and Shimano pedals from my LBS, and so far I'm a huge klutz getting in and out of the pedals.  I have my bike on the trainer so I've been practicing, and I'm SLOWLY getting used to them.  I did go with a mountain type shoe so I can walk around when not on the bike, and use them for a spin class, which is one thing I've never done but want to try.  It's supposed to be warm over the weekend (in the 50's!), so I think I'm going to go to a local park to try the pedals out on the road, so if I fall, it won't be in the middle of traffic, which I think is a good thing.  While I feel like an idiot right now, I think I'm going to enjoy using the pedals once I get used to them.  BTW, why do they call the system clipless when you clip into the pedals??

My training so far is very informal at this point.  I was injured for most of last year, so I'm just getting back to building a base both physically and mentally.  I need to get my mind back into training mode, but for now, as long as I do something every day, I'm happy.  More formal training will be forthcoming, probably starting after my birthday, which is a month away.  

Today I'll be going on the trainer after work, with my new pedals.  Tomorrow, back to the pool.

Have a good day!

-Kelly

Yeah!  One step at a time will get you there!

I too have been struggling with getting back in the early morning groove after the 2 week winter break.  Amazing how quickly one gets used to  sleeping later.  Good for you getting to the gym after work.

Ug, back pain is the worst. I hope you can figure out what is going on.

Darn....both goals not achieved.  (Hangs head in shame).  Stressful day in the classroom yesterday and when I walked down to the teacher's lounge there was all this chocolate and candy (people bringing from home) and.....

Then, I overslept this morning and was too late to get to the strength class. But instead of blowing it off entirely, I got my lazy a$$ out of bed and went to the club and did my own strength training, so managed to salvage the morning somewhat.

New goal:  get in the rest of the week's workouts, which means getting my butt into the cold pool in the early cold morning. Somehow swimming is much more palatable a little later in the morning as opposed to 6 am. 

I'm not sure how this fits in with our discussion, but I thought it might be fun to share. As part of my artistic career along with teaching at a local college, I design fabric. Out in stores this month, will be my first two collections with Marcus fabrics in NY. One of the collections is called Here to There and is inspired by my love of biking. I thought I'd share it with you guys since we are all of the biking kind. 

You can see it at the link below on Marcus' site....hope you like it!

http://www.marcusfabrics.com/cgi-bin/fabricgallery/gallery.cgi?func=show&file=1&Category=677&Page=1&v=1#.UO27w0I1aFI

Today's plan---an outside run and maybe a short swim. I too overslept and missed my morning workout plan, but the weather is lovely for a run. 

Greta 

Sorry - yes, I meant flip turns! Swimming around the edges is a neat idea!  My pool has lane ropes, unfortunately, but bobbing under those could be practice for diving into waves and swell, I guess!  I have to travel quite a ways for open water swims this time of year, because I'm not a polar swimmer - I get cold thinking about it!

Jeptha

Very cute fabric...My daughter and I took a quilting class a couple summers ago - this would be so much fun in a quilt!  I think I just came up with a great retirement project - a Tri Quilt

I am ready to log my training program but realize that because I am such a cheapskate and am not a member, I can't enter my training plan.  I do have the app, so I guess I will log in my workouts as I do them. 

I will follow the Aggressive Couch to 5K (3mile) Program from this site which is 3 days a week, then in a week or 2 will add 2 days of biking (gym or outside) and 2 or 3 days of weight training (since that is my favorite!).

My workout bag is in my car so I can go straight from the client's to the gym.

First workout starts tomorrow!

Back on track today with a 30 minute run (slow!) & drills in the pool. But boy is it hard to fit everything into a day. Sometimes I miss TV.

Greta, love the fabric - makes me wish I had some crafty talent.

-Julia