Friday B4 the Race

Aloha,

I woke at 5am (8pm pacific)and got some work in. Then it was time to put on the uniform and back my bag, we were going to do our first mini tri for the race. The last couple miles of the run course are on dirt/lava paths that look a little sketchy and we literally run through the resort back to the beack to finish where we started.

I met up with the team, feeling a bit antsy not knowing what to expect. We rode our bikes to the swim area, set up our transition area and then hit the water. I have never swam in open water... wait, that's not true.. does jumping off a boat adn swimming around count as an open water swim?

Anyway, when I first started swimming with the group it was freaky. I had to calm down a smidge but wasn't going to stop, once I got my pace going I was fine! After the swim we run to our transition area, put on socks, bike shoes and helmet to start the ride portion. Once I was riding the bike, I was like (explative) YA!!!!! We rode for 30 minutes then came back for the run.

Again, at transition helmet off, hat on change shoes and off ya go! The area we ran is the true beginning of the run over lava rocks, it's harder than I thought it would be. We jogged up to the street and back, not to far but it was an awesome feeling when I was done. I have the confidence I need to compete in the race.

We will do another tri-training tomorrow but then it's game on! I'm so excited and glad that I agreed to try this with Team in Training, it is a great program was an amazing group of people!

The Final Days

it's been a while since I have blogged but I guess I didn't have much to say...
BUT, I landed in Hawaii on Wednesday and was a bit apprehensive. I went for a four mile run and saw a couple people on the team but kept to myself for the evening.

I watched the sun go down over the ocean while drinking a glass of wine...heaven!

Thursday, I went for a run and it was HOT! I had a headache and was not motivated to run very far, while running I ran into a group of teammates that had just completed a swim. I was feeling a little depressed at not being included but "whatever" I was on my run anyway.

I headed back to the room where I finished up my work but decided to quit being a baby! I hit the Lagoon Pool/beach where I ran into a couple of lady teammates. It was great! We chatted, had lunch with other people and everyone started to congragate together, I felt like a true part of the team.

At 4pm we all met for bike pick up and then we hit the showers. We all met up at 6:45 to hit Kona Brewery for dinner, the pizza was really good. Fun was had by all, we left at around 9pm, hit the grocery store then home to bed.

No More Days Off!

So, I wasn't as dilgent last week as I should have been... I bailed on Spin Wednesday morning to sleep in and took Thursday off. I did run on Wednesday night though.

Saturday was an 8mile run and I haven't ran that far since I was training for 1/2 marathon a few years ago. I did it in an hour and 21 minutes which is just over a 10 minute mile so I was happy with that. But my legs started to get sore Saturday night and are still sore today (Monday morning). I was supposed to ride Chilly Hilly but bailed on Saturday night :-( I should have rallied on Sunday morning but my legs were sore and not sure how I would do on a 33 mile bike ride with a bunch of hills?

Tonight is swim practice and then rushing home to watch the Bachelor finally! Please don't pick Vienna!!!!!

The count down is on!

It is barely over a month until the Lava-Man tri is Hawaii! My injuries have healed (ankle and elbow)!
Today was running track practice so we did a 10 minute warm-up, then ran 800's as fast as we could (2xaround the track) and then 400 recovery (once around track) then a 10 minute cool down. It was a good practice, I was averaging about a 9 minute mile which is really good for since I'm not a big runner.

Last Saturday we biked 25 miles then ran 4 miles, it was an awesome sunny morning so the ride and run were beautiful! I completed this in just under 3 hours... not sure if I'm impressed or depressed... ah hell I worked out for almost three hours that ROCKS!!!!

This Saturday we are running 6-8 miles, hoping it doesn't rain. I have a few trips coming up and will challenge me to get my workouts in while I'm out of town.

Crazy Couple Weeks

I'm a bit behind on my blog... guess I'm not a very good blogger :-( Here are the highlights of the last couple weeks.
Two weeks ago on a Saturday which is our long workout, we road 26 miles, the longest ride to date! It was good, one really challenging hill but I road my way (slowly) to the top and enjoyed the ride down.

Unfortunately, not long after the hill I had my first experience with forgetting to clip my feet out of my pedals before attempting to stop and tipped over.... it's was like slow motion, the bike and I went together. I was fine but got a nasty bruise on my elbow where it hit the ground to break my fall. At least know one I know saw me fall but lots of people in cars did!

Then I was off to DC for work and managed to get up at 6am (3am pst) to run on the treadmill. I was having a good workout until the fire alarm went off and my run was cut short at 3 miles.

This past Saturday was a HUGE workout, bike 20 miles and then run 4 miles (or 40 minutes). I worked out for 2 hours and 17 minutes! I'm off to Palm Springs this week to visit my parents so hoping to get in a few good swims and runs in the heat to see how my body is affected. Many of you know that I'm not good at exercising in the sun.... gives me migraines and makes me nauseous. What I was thinking signing up for a triathlon in Hawaii is beyond me... wishful thinking I guess.

Tired

This past week as been good but tiring, if you workout a lot aren't you supposed to have more energy? I'm always tired.... My legs are sore from Tuesdays weight training, yesterdays spin challenging and Mondays swim was ok. I slept in this morning so need to hit the gym tonight.

I'm still not running, my ankle is still bothering me a bit so I'm hoping if I let it rest it will heal faster.

Committed & Recovering

A week has passed since my incident with the stairs and my ankle is doing much better. I'm back at the gym swimming, cycling and cardio machines. The only thing I can't do is run.... this will pose a problem at some point given it's my weakest part of the process.

Yesterday was recommitment to TNT and guaranteed I would raise $5900 or pay the difference. It was scary to sign this paperwork and know I'm financially on the line for this. I have a couple of fundraisers planned and hoping this will get me where I need to be.

Yesterday, was also the first day with new trainer and it was good! I think I'm going be sore later today but having someone push you is inspiring. Katie (my workout partner) and I do weights on regular basis but Kevin (trainer) really pushed the limits! We will be doing this twice a week with him and looking forward to our bikini bodies!

Strong vs The Stairs

The week was off with a BANG! I hit the gym on Monday morning for 30 minutes of cardio and then weights. Off to work and things were going well. At 7pm I left for the pool for our coached swim from 8pm - 9pm. It had been a couple weeks but I was working on my stroke and gliding with the best of them.

A bit tired after that but rallied to watch the Bachelor with a glass of wine and Katie.

Tuesday morning, I woke up a little late but rallied to jump on the treadmill and get a run in before work. While coming down the stairs, I missed a step, twisted by ankle and landed on my ass. I had to lay there for a few minutes because I was feeling light headed. I finally found my way to the couch, called my brother and off to the Dr. I went.

Thankfully, my ankle is not broken but it is nice and sprained.... this puts a bit of glitch in my tri-training :-( I've been resting my ankle, icing, elevating and taking Advil in the hopes it heals quickly. Today it feels a bit better but still swolen and sore.

Damn those stairs!

A big day of workouts

Getting back into the swing of things this week has been hard. Monday I got in a little cardio and weights but missed swim practice cuz I fell asleep (guess I was tired). Tuesday, I couldn't get it together...

But Wednesday, I rocked it out! I hit a 6:15am spin class then straight to weights. I was feeling good about the day but one more workout to go, I had running practice at 7pm and shockling I did pretty well!

The goal this morning was to get a swim in but all of those workouts yesterday kicked my butt and I couldn't get out of bed in time :-( I'm yawning as I type this, one of those big, eye watering kind of yawns....

Maybe I will get a walk with the dogs in after work...
But tomorrow is spin and weights again for sure!

Goodbye Holidaze

Now that the holidays are over so are my excuses for not working out everyday as scheduled! I did manage to get in two workouts last week, one being a run in Las Vegas but Flamingo Dr has a lot of cars :-(

I don't believe in New Year's Resolutions so I have nothing to report on that but today I was back at the gym. I did 20 minutes of cardio and weights. Tonight is swim practice! I am attempting to cook more to eat heathy...we all know I don't do that which could be causing the delay in my weight loss.

If you would like to donate to my fundraising please click on the link below

http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/lavatri10/tdawsonzij

Holy week of workouts!

I didn't realize I hadn't written in about a week. Well let me catch you all up (all six of you :-)

Last week was the beginning of two workouts a day a couple days a week plus single workouts 6 days a week and outside of the sore muscles it was good!

Saturday was our first brick aka run/bike/run. I ran a one mile warm up, 12 miles on the bike and finished with a two mile run. I was tired and had to push but I completed it!!!

Sunday was my day off and then Monday back at it with weights in the morning and swimming at night. Tuesday was a 4.59 mile run (but need to work on my time). Today I hit the gym for 30 minutes of cardio and weights, tonight is run practice. I'm pretty proud of my committment but I'm sooooo tired!

I thought you were supposed to feel more energized when you worked out, I have to fight to stay away driving to work....

Tomorrow my goal is to go for a 16 mile bike ride... but I do enjoy riding with the clip in shoes and havne't fallen over yet....

No Pain No Gain.... who said this?

The run last night was not near as bad as it could have been, the rain seemed to subside for the hour! We did a 10 minute warm up and then ran to a hill and had to run up it three times. We all know running is not my strength and pretty much hate it but being last SUCKS!!! I'm in decent shape but I'm always last on the running stuff. I really need to work on this and get more runs into speed up my pace....

After the hills we did a cool down then some lunges and core exercises. I thought for sure the lunges would kill me since I did weights yesterday morning but actually, it wasn't bad.

After practice a few of us went out for drinks and food, it was fun but then back home and straight to bed.

I got up at 5:45am to pick Katie up at 6am to hit the gym. Yes, I'm basically working out every 12 hours! Workout was good but it was difficult to muster all of the energy I needed to get a solid workout done. My entire body is sore from weights and can only imagine what day two will feel like tomorrow... not to mention we do weights again. Is this what it feels like to be on the Biggest Loser? So painfull.....

3 Days in a Row!!!

Yes! I have hit the gym three days in a row at 6am! Yesterday was cardio and abs but today was my first day back at weights in a few weeks. Legs, arms, back and abs! I'm going to be sore tomorrow and still have a run tonight, which will most likely be in the rain....

Someone tell me again why I voluntarily signed up to do this to myself...? Oh ya, for charity. Sometimes you have to give till it hurts,I think tomorrow it's really going to hurt :-(

6am at the gym!

Yesterday I took the day off from my workouts but today I was up with vengence! I hit the gym at 6:15am started out with some cardio and then weights... it was legs today. My goal is to do two workouts a day at least 3 days a week plus a single workout 3 days a week.

Working on fundraising idea's so stay tuned for event details!!

Back in the Saddle

It was dark when I woke up this morning... outta bed, brush my teeth, comb hair and strategically plan what clothes and how many layers I needed to put on to stay warm for an 8am bike ride on Mercer Island. started with long sleeved shirt, northface pullover with hood (medium weight), windblock jacket and topped it off with windbreaker. Pants were fleece inside with windblock front and bike shorts on top. Out the door at 7:30am

Arrive at destination at 8:00am, beanie on head, windblock gloves (who ever invented this is a genius!) and helmet. This was my first ride with clip in pedals and fancy bike shoes, whoooo, hoooo!

Off we went to round around Mercer Island, it was really cold but I was well bundled :-) The only part of me that was cold pretty much the entire 13 mile ride were my toes, at one point I wasn't sure I was ever going to get the feeling back. I even had the thought that my toes would need to be amputated do to frost bite.

The ride was completed in a little over an hour and I felt good! I warmed up at a cafe with fellow teammate/mentor brainstorming for fundraisers.

Thinking maybe a yoga class tomorrow to help stretch my muscles.... that should make for an interesting story :-)

Sorry for the delay....

Hello, I have been slacking on my blog... I apologize but no good stories have been missed. I've been having a difficult time doing outdoor exercise in the cold and it has increased my sports induced asthma so need to make a Dr.'s appt to get an inhaler if I want to continue to push my self AND breath.

While I haven't been hitting the coached workouts, I have hit the gym regularly to keep my cardio stamina up. Not sure I will be able to make the coached bike ride on Saturday but going to try but I should be back onboard all of the workouts next week:-)

Painful Spinning

Tuesday was a train on our own - bike. So I signed up for a popular spin class at the gym I belong to. I had only done spin once before and was not a fan but thought with my new found motivation it might not be so bad. Oh, how I was WRONG!!!!!

I entered the room of bikes and made my way to a corner where I was fairly close to an overhead fan. I started riding to warm up, so far so good! The instructor comes in, turns on the music and we start our ride.

Within 15 minutes, I am absolutely miserable but I keep going.... as the class goes on the instructor starts shouting numbers, 80, 85, 90, 95....100! This is I guess what the "cadence" number was supposed to be but not totally sure. The first round of this, I stay with the instructors instructions making to 120 and then back down. Randomly thrown in are quarter turns and half turns of level difficulty.

30 minutes into this class all I could think about was if I was going to throw up or pass out first.... while the instructor is still shouting out numbers 85.....90....95....100....105.....110 - I can barely keep mine above 70 (which I don't think is good). I was absolutely miserable, my face was beat red, I had a throbbing headache, numbers being shouted and not sure if I was gonna throw up or pass out.....

When class was close to ending I had an epiphany! This is how we should torture prisoners at Guantanomo Bay! As far as I'm confirmed this is the worst torture to endure and I will not be attending any spin classes in the near future.

My cycle training will consist of riding outside or doing a program in one of the cardio rooms.

A Good Swim

Originally, last nights swim practice was supposed to be a non-coached swim but last week it was switched to an optional coached swim. So with few teammates showing up it was AWESOME! There was only two us in a lane for swimming and I got a chance to really focus on speed and form. Which BTW.... I think they have changed "proper form" since I was kid.

Thankfully, my parents started me in swim lessons when I was six months old and started summer swim team at age 6. It was a good seven summers of swim meets, lessons and ribbons but alas I became a teenager and my rebellion began.

But now... my stroke is to narrow, I don't pull enough and I tend to role slightly... good thing I have some time to get my stroke updated!

Run in the Rain

Today was my first workout in a week and I'm fairly proud! I managed to rally on a crappy day, it was pouring rain outside and the easy thing to do was jump on the treadmill but NOOOO, I crabbed both dogs and off to Greenlake we went. We were lucky that it stopped raining and ran the lake in 30 minutes. I should have run longer but I started having a weird pain in my shin/calf area.... Oh well, some is better than none.

I also got play with my heart rate monitor too but need to figure it more cuz It shows me being over my target heart rate for most of my workout.

Tomorrow is swimming!

A Little Boys Battle

This week’s mission moment comes from a past participant who has a nephew battling leukemia. Below are a few words from Gavin’s mom. Keep Gavin in your thoughts as you train and work to raise money for the cause.

“It's difficult to write into words what has happened over the past few weeks. The leukemia seems to have invaded Gavin's body yet again. On Friday, October 30, after a bone marrow aspiration and lumbar puncture, we were told that there appears to be Leukemic cells in Gavin's body. Sure enough after some additional testing, it was confirmed. On Monday, November 2, Dr. Cooper sat us down and told us that Gavin had indeed relapsed. Kenny and I were completely numb. This was our greatest fear and it was coming true and there was nothing we could do to stop it.

Gavin's doctors suggested a bone marrow transplant (pretty much as our only option). They have already begun the process of looking for a donor from the registry. Gavin's treatment will start out at Kaiser with chemotherapy to put the Leukemia back into remission, then we will move on to City of Hope for a transplant. We are trying to keep Gavin's body as healthy and as strong as possible in preparation for his transplant. Kenny and I don't have much more information than that. We will find out more as we go along. There seem to be many "potential" matches for Gavin through the registry. Unfortunately Kenny, Emma and I are not a match.

Gavin will not be able to continue with school because of all this but we have explained to both Emma and Gavin what is going on and that Gavin is sick and needs to go back to the hospital and doctor to get better”.