Countdown: 78

I think from now on, my titles will just be the number of days left.

In any case, I've decided on a few major things as far as the tri goes:

1.) I'm getting a road bike. The parents have agreed to chip in with me on one as an EARLY birthday present (getting it on my b-day would give me only a mere 29 days to get used to training on it as opposed to the hopeful 77). The lucky winner looks to be the gorgeous (and economical!) Trek 1.2 WSD. Isn't it pretty? I also, you know, enjoy the ride and the feel to it. At one bike store to get a feel for size I tried out the Specialized Ruby Elite which was AWESOME, but just a tad out of my price range in that it was DOUBLE what I'm looking to spend. Erg.

2.) I've made a radical decision in terms of my swimming. Last time I swam, Thursday, I did a total of 500 meters. The first 400 were alternating between freestyle crawl and breaststroke (so training like last year), with the first 125 done without stopping ... well, except for the pauses at each end of the pool 'cuz I can't do flip turns. ANYWAY, I also decided to do the last 150m breaststroke and without stopping - which ended up being a lot easier than the first 125m, despite it being at the end of my pool time.

Therefore, I came to a dilemna that ended up being detailed in my other workout blog that basically came down to ... since I ended up doing last year's tri swim almost entirely with breaststroke, do I train with that since it's my stronger stroke even though it's technically less efficient, or do I continue attempting to get stronger with the crawl?

In discussions with the boyfriend, we decided that, given that time is a factor (those 78 days and everything), I'm going to train primarily swimming breaststroke to get stronger and gain more endurance with that stroke (important!) - something I really wasn't getting with the alternating stroke training method. Part of that was because it's kind of difficult to switch strokes in the middle of a body of water - especially one you're not quite sure of when it comes to its depth. So, if I swim three days a week (goal), two days will be entirely breaststroke while day three will involve both strokes. Then, after the tri, I can try to improve on my freestyle crawl for the next race.

Happy training, everyone ...

Reality Check

So in my late-night ponderings last night, I came to a scary realization in that this year's tri is about two and a half months away.

Two. and. a. half. months. To be exact, 80 days away.

80.

Days.

Scary, isn't it? I'm trying to think of my progress now from where I was at this point last year and it's not all that comforting. I can swim better than I could last year at this point, but I also don't swim nearly enough. I'm going tonight which is good and hopefully I can start going two to three times a week, varying up the workouts I do while I'm in the pool.

I'm regularly running more now than I was last year (thanks, boyfriend!), but in terms of pace, I'm actually slower. I completed a 5K on May 11, running the whole way, but my time was a good 2 minutes slower than it was during the 5K I ran all the way last year on May 5. Still, given that I'm running more at this point than I was last year gives me a lot of hope.

In terms of cycling, this is where I might be screwed ... in part because I don't have a functional bike (thanks, gen's boyfriend). I'd really like to get a road bike for my birthday, but if I get it then, I'll only have 29 days until the tri to get used to it and train hard on it - MUCH later than I'd prefer. Which means, get my old bike fixed and hope it doesn't take too long. And hope that wheels aren't that expensive. Erg. That, or hope John's still willing to fork out some dough for it. Either way ...

I also want to lift a lot more this year than I did last year - I wasn't lifting that much during training - just pure cardio. While that isn't technically the worst thing to do, I think lifting more will aid me as well.

Really, all I think I need to do is tell myself to breathe. My boyfriend, Brandon, (whom i also share my other blog with) is moving out here and says he'll become my training buddy and push me - which I really need. Hopefully I can coordinate some time with Amber to go on some rides (or find a bike for brandon to use) and we should be good ... right?

One Off the List

So training has been bad lately, but hockey playoffs/postseason will do that to me - too much time working, not enough time doing anything else. Seriously. I haven't even done my taxes yet.

In any case, I did get one thing that should help my transitions down - a two-piece tri suit (tank and shorts). Granted, one goal for this year was figure out a way to chop transitions down WITHOUT buying a tri suit, but I got a good deal on the stuff. We had a coupon and a dividend to use at REI, so I ended up getting $125 worth of crap for just under $60. I'll take that. Top's a little small, but I'm also a little pudgy right now. I also felt that going one size up wouldn't support my small boobs well enough when running. In any case, I figure I have until August to worry about it. ;)

Happy training, everyone!

I Am Training.

Since I have another workout blog going I probably won't be updating this all that much, but I'll try when I do tri-related training. That, or a weekly/bi-monthly update. Something like that.

In any case, I'm starting to run again, as difficult as it might be. I'm sticking with it, knowing that it was a pain in the ass getting into running last year and if I just stick with it, I'll be good. I haven't swam in a few weeks, but I hope to sometime this week - perhaps tomorrow. We'll see. As for the cycling portion ... well, I still haven't done anything with my mangled bike and don't bike much at the gym except for my usual 10 minute warm-up on the recumbent bike. Still, since I know I need to bike more, I hopped on the stationary today for 20 minutes (7.2 miles) instead. Go me!

Granted, the level was lower than what I was doing last spring/summer, but I'm easing myself back into it.

In other things related to the 2008 Tri for the Cure, Gen has recruited a few more people to race with us TAG girls, so we'll have a big ol' party. :) Hopefully I can direct some of them over to ze blog ...

T Is Back In

Well, I'm registered once again. At least, I should be if the stupid site loads.

Now, on to training!

Tri 2008

Well, they've announced the 2008 Tri for the Cure and it looks like TAG is signing up for it again. I know Amber already has signed up, Gen's planning on it and I will as soon as I get some money (so hopefully by the end of this month).

I've been off the horse lately from working out, but as the February training schedule is up on the official site, I may just start doing that instead of the random "I'll do whatever I want" thing when I'm at the gym. I'll probably do different weights than what their schedule says because I've got my own, different regimen (that i like better), but y'know.

Goals for this year:
- Chop 17:22 off my time to finish in 1:30:00. This is the ideal; if I get anywhere close to this I'll be happy.
- Get a new bike. I <3 my bike, but really, I'd like a better tri bike.
- Get my swimming OODLES better. That was my weak point last year.
- Build up endurance.
- Figure out a way to have faster transitions without buying a tri suit.

The Breakdown

Okay, now that the race results are officially in, I can share my breakdown (and, i'll also share amber's and gen's since they SUCK and never update this).

So, me:
1430th overall
95th in my age group (20-24)
21:06 swim (1781st overall)
7:07 first transition
43:19 bike (1357th overall; 15.7 mph)
3:41 second transition
32:07 run (1069th overall; 10:21 splits)
1:47:22 overall.

Amber:
2178th overall
127th in the age group (same)
17:34 swim (876th overall ... i hate her ... just kidding!)
8:16 first transition
54:22 bike (2391st overall; 12.5 mph)
5:46 second transition
39:14 run (1968th overall; 12:39 splits)
2:05:15 overall

Gen:
2398th overall
137th in the age group (same)
33:23 swim (2586th overall)
8:33 first transition
48:13 bike (2017th overall; 14.1 mph)
4:35 second transition
42:11 run (2207th overall; 13:36 splits)
2:16:56 overall

We. Are. Awesome! :)