A mini mini tri!

On June 18, LA Tech is hosting a min Tri. It’s the Dog Paddle, Pedal & Pound Triathlon. When I first heard of it I thought it was for kids only, but in talking to some of the people that are over it, I found out it’s also an adult friendly beginner’s course! So not only am I entering my boys, (6 & 9), I am going to enter it as well. Scott and Conner are planning on entering too!

For the 16 and older (that’s us!) it’s a 200m swim, 5 mile bike & 2K run. What a great way to practice and get our feet wet! (& work on transition times!)

Tonya, if you happen to be over this way that weekend we would love for you to come join us! Gwen, it would be great for you to come over as well! After doing the Rocketchix in Baton Rouge I can honestly say having a tri (even a mini) under your belt before the River Cities Tri gets here would be great! It would be great practice!

Tonight is swim night! We have had 3 lessons and our lovely swim coach is out for the summer…. But even in 3 lessons I have learned SO much! Now to build up endurance in my lungs and become faster. It will come. I just want it NOW! LOL! Scott is doing SO much better, he is working on slowing down a little more and relaxing…..to which I have suggested yoga (even have a Yoga DVD for athletes) but he is still holding out. If I can get up Thursday morning I hope to go to the class at Tech.

We only ran twice last week. I am still starting out strong but am struggling at the end….and we have officially welcomed the humidity to Ruston. That’s good though because I keep thinking about the Tri in August! Oh my. LOL!

I plan on biking on Wednesday night with a group of girlfriends. We are all different levels but it should be a good ride. We will head down Hwy 167 toward Quitman, LA.

Scott and I are looking at the Insanity nutritional guide, hoping we can start to eat even healthier and not crash in the afternoons. (like right now!) I am waiting on the cleaning fairy and the chef fairy to appear so I can have a clean house and eat healthy meals! 😉 Oh well….it’s nice to dream anyway.

Let’s go team!! We WILL do this! 🙂

 

Unmotivated

As I mentioned in my previous post, my training has slowed down considerably.

I am still keeping up my runs, at least 30 minutes of running each time, twice a week. I’ve spent more time on the bike but not necessarily outside. My last outdoor bike ride was 15 miles along the Red River during the first weekend in May. And my swimming…. well… I haven’t been in the pool in weeks.

I did, however, spend this previous weekend at a yoga retreat.

I’ve been feeling extremely overwhelmed lately so, quite honestly, triathlon training has been last on my list. I think I fall into this stalemate when I run completely out of motivation and/or when life seems to be running ahead of me. That’s when I really need yoga.

It felt nice to get my Om on amongst the beautiful serenity of East Texas pines.

My body feels stronger. My mind feels more rested.

So this morning, I went out for a run.

Tomorrow, I’ll be swimming again.

And my training schedule will pick up where it left off. Thank you to Tammy for reminding me that our goal is coming up faster than I thought.

I will also be looking into the White Rock Racing schedule for a duathlon (run, bike, run). I’m planning on the Blazing Saddles du for sure! I am also planning on attending an open water swim clinic on Sunday, June 5.

Scott & Tammy, let me know if you’re able to make the brick workout at Cypress on June 11.

Go Team GO!

 

The Triathlon of Training and Recovery

I began week 7 of Couch to 5K this morning. All three runs in week 7 are 25 minutes of continuous running. Next week, all 3 runs are 28 minutes of continuous running. The following weekend is the Parkinson’s Power 5K in Shreveport.

Last week’s long run was a little tough but this morning’s run just about killed me.  That’s when I realized…

All of the problems or times when I’ve had difficulty training are caused by 1 of 3 things.

I started to think of them as their own “triathlon” of training and recovery:

1. Sleep/Rest – Muscles need rest from hard workouts so they don’t break down. I also need to remember to get good sleep to be at my best during training. I only slept for 6 hours last night and I need at least 8. Ironically, on the nights before a tri, I can’t sleep but I run on adrenaline the next day for sure!
2. Stretching/Yoga – Since my yoga routine has been slacking lately, I’ve noticed my muscles feeling tired and sore long after a run. If I incorporate a few yoga poses or some stretching both before and after a run or workout, I feel great and recover faster. I’ve made it part of my training from here out to make sure I stretch and take at least 2 yoga classes a week.
3. Nutrition – As Tammy mentioned in her last post,  nutrition and healthier eating habits DEFINITELY contribute to a quicker pace and more alert athlete. I have suffered from eating too many carbohydrates and not enough protein and vice versa. I try to keep in mind what makes me stronger and helps my body to maintain that strength during these endurance exercises.  I’d definitely suggest a food diary to monitor what you ate and how it made you feel.

I think during training and during races we have good days and bad days. But I like to know what I can do to have fewer bad days and make my good days rock even more!

On another note, I joined a gym again to begin my swim training. I’ve also hired a coach for 3 weeks to ramp up my swimming efficiency/technique. Yikes. I haven’t been in the pool since last summer. I hope to get to the pool sometime this week to assess the damage.

Good luck ya’ll!