Under 200 days left!

Since my new attitude on training has evolved I actually feel better. I have a rest day today but I feel great so I think Friday will be my rest day instead. I haven't been nearly as tired as I was the last couple of weeks. I think I also feel better because my phone stopped ringing in the past two weeks. It's awesome! I can workout without the ringing phone and people to call back. You would be amazed at how much time 5 quick phone calls take to return.

I went to MotionCare on Tuesday for my hip/knee. After a 10 mile run I realized when I was done I should have worn my knee brace because I need it for long runs and I know this considering my attempt at TC Marathon without it. I went to Motion Care and my left hip was great and my knee pain was because my knee had issues. My knee hasn't felt better. I'm excited to see how I fare after my 12 mile run on Saturday.

Weight wise I gained another pound. I think maybe I'm just eating too much food thinking I need to. I'm going to try to cut back to curtail this weight gain as long as I can still do my workouts. Seriously, I'll be Athena by IronMan if I keep this up. That makes me wonder about the rounder people I have seen doing IM. I wonder if they started out slim and trim and gained like I'm doing. I might be a round person this fall if I keep it up.

Who is Hungry, Tired, Crabby and Emotional?

A. A pregnant women.
B. A woman.
C. Someone training for the IronMan.
D. Someone on Survivor.
E. All of the above.

Answer is E. I can only speak as knowing option B and C, but Olaf informed me that if this is what it's like to be A. then he thinks doesn't want to be apart of it.

My training has been cut back just slightly, 5- 8 BPM. It doesn't seem like much but it helped a lot for my recovery after a 55 mile indoor bike ride. I felt great at swimming today. It helped that Olaf surprised me and was in the bleachers when I came out of the locker room wearing my SMALL size wetsuit. (Yes I looked like a dork.) I'm sure Olaf could not have been prouder. He likes dorks. : )

I'm also going to take it easy during the week. If I hurt I will tone down my workout or heaven forbid - skip it. Yeah!!!

"Curvy Girl" might actually be a small size!

I went back to Gear West last night to exchange my medium 'curvy girl' wetsuit for a small. Considering my weight I should be a medium, but considering the water that I was carrying when testing it told me it was too big. Olaf told me I'm dense - I didn't ask if it was my head or body that is dense. I was alone so I felt kind of weird walking through the store asking the two guys what they thought. They said "oh you are small' and they were shocked I got it zipped myself. They said considering I got in it so quickly and zipped myself then small it is. The length fit me much better, the collar was better fitting, the sleeves were tighter. I'll bring it back to swimming on Sunday to confirm it in the water.

I also bought a computer that hooks to the rear wheel of my bike so I can get a sense of my MPH and real distance while on the trainer in my house.

Still helping the economy...

I have needed all the warm weather gear for cold riding since deciding to do the IM. You never know what race day will be like and as far as training for this I cannot wait to get outside on real roads instead of spinning for hours in my living room. I have been putting it off because it's so expensive...then Tri Fitness had a sale. 70 percent off! I got everything that I need for riding in early spring outdoors. Now I will be ready to ride once the roads are clear or ice/snow/dirt. I even bought some nice running pants and a cool hoodie. At the prices it was cheaper then a sweatshirt/running pants at Target and a whole lot better quality.

During masters on Sunday I tried out my new wetsuit. It's too big for me. According to the weight chart it should fit me but it seems to hold a lot of water. I was getting water up the sleeves and could feel bubbles of water moving up in it as I swam. When I got out of the pool water came out my ankles and when I took off the top half it was like an ice cream bucket of water fell out too. I'll have to go back to Gear West and get the smaller size and try that. I wish it wasn't such a drive to the store, plus they have limited hours during the winter. If the smaller size doesn't work I will have to try another brand. I heard Orca is good for 'curvy' girls - that's what the ladies at Masters called me. I think that means chubby but I'm not sure.

My workout on Saturday was bike zone 4a for 30 minutes and run zone 2 for 10 miles. My knee is sore today but I'm not sure if it's really my knee or my hip and the pain is showing up in my knee. There is a trend appearing. One Saturday it's bike 55 miles and shorter run and the following week it's run 12 miles and shorter bike. I'm not sure which is the lesser of the two evils right now. When I bike that far I have a hard time at Masters swim on Sunday the next day and I'm really slow which kind of stinks because I'm with the fast swimmers and like to keep up with the guys. When I run that far my hip/knee bothers me.

I'm trying to help the economy as best I can.

I have been looking for a hydration system to fit on the back of my seat for some time. It has been challenging because my bike has a beam that the saddle is on and because I'm short the beam hangs out about seven inches which makes it hard to fit any type of bottle holder on it. I checked at Gear West last weekend and they didn't have anything. I stopped at Penn cycle and we were going to order a Fast Wing from X-Bar but not sure it would work. We did find a Bontrager system that fit my bike. It holds two water bottles, 3 CO2's and has room for storage of tubes, etc. I also purchased a speed box to hold nutrition that fits really well on my bike. I'm all set now. The only other thing I will need might be a tune up and new tires. I can't wait to get on the road and test out my new additions. You can always tell when it's a down week in training, that's when I have time to shop!

I got a NEW full wetsuit!

Gear West has last years wetsuits on sale...so, Olaf and I headed over on Saturday morning. I bought a Quintana Roo HydroFull Wetsuit. I hope it makes me float more when I have to tread water before the start of the IronMan!! It has a cool break away zipper to speed up your transition. I don't think it will help someone like me but I'll look cool. (that's all that matters right?) You just tug on the zipper head upwards and the zipper breaks and the suit kind of bursts in the back. After I got home I googled the suit and found it 100 bucks cheaper on the web. I just don't have the heart to return it and buy one from the web. It doesn't seem right to do and if I do that maybe I will have bad Karma and drown! You never know!! All that could go wrong just to save 100 bucks! I'll probably sell my sleeveless wetsuit this spring just to off set the cost. Gear West would have given me 10 dollars store credit for it. Hmmm - I could sell it for 100 - 125 or get store credit for 10 bucks... what should I do?

This week is a down week. I seem to love these weeks more and more as the training goes on. It doesn't mean I'm sitting around the house. I'm still working out everyday, just lighter. Yesterday I had to bike for 30 minutes. Today I have swimming in lengths of the pool, not even yards. Yeah!

Tri at the Y completed!

I participated in an indoor tri last weekend. You swim 30 minutes, bike 30 minutes, run 30 minutes - all indoor, of course since it was January. My goal was to swim 1 mile in 30 minutes. I was 50 yards short...just 50! Argh! I was really happy overall because I finished second in competitive female division. I was a mile shy of the overall winner and he does tris internationally. I ended up biking over 15 miles in 30 minutes. That sure doesn't seem right, that's 30 MPH average if I kept that up. I have another indoor tri at the U of MN coming up Feb 8 so I will TRY to get 1 mile swimming.

Today I felt like a rock at swimming. I couldn't move through the water at all. I had a 45 mile bike ride on Saturday on my trainer, which I'm certain is why I felt terrible today. I would swim and get to about 35 yard in the pool and thought I should have hit the wall already. That makes for a tough day when the laps seemer longer then they are.

I'm on the hunt for a full wetsuit since they are on sale now. I figure I will need it for IM. I currently have a sleeveless one. I thought about renting one but if I can get one on sale then I can use it this season at a few tris and maybe even do Bri Tri again in May and hopefully not freeze!