Training does matter, a lot.

The past week was very busy. I took 3 days off from training to taper for the half marathon. Two of those days were spent traveling to and from Fargo. The girls really enjoyed touring NDSU and Nicki has pretty much decided thats where she is going. We drove up Thursday night and got to Fargo at 1:30 am Friday. Then up at 6 am to get ready and have breakfast. Then we drove back Friday afternoon. I got 6 hours of sleep Friday night. I don't function well with only 10 hours of sleep in a 48 hour period. Yes up at 5am Saturday to go to St. Cloud and run 13.1 miles. Oh joy! oh joy! What was I thinking? Lack of sleep and hours and hours of driving. This is the third year I have run this half marathon. In 2008 this was the first half marathon I ever ran.
Now my goal was to make sure I finished in under 3 hours. Last year I had done the marathon in 2:27, but I knew I was not up to running that fast.
I just realized a week went by and I did not finish this posting. I think I started it last Sunday or Monday. The end result was I could not keep up with Corrine and Jamie. Congratulations to them for an outstanding time! I believe it was 2:09. I couldn't even do the 5 and 1's. I actually dropped down to what I've been training at 3 and 1's. the results were not spectacular but better than I expected. I was 10 minutes slower than last year with way more walk breaks and two bathroom breaks. My time was 2:36.
Yesterday was sprint intervals with DS. I'm hoping to get my speed back up again. This morning my legs were certainly sore. I woke up at 5 and had to think really hard if I wanted to go run 10 miles. Yes I did. I was happy to join Roxie , Cheryl and Loren for a nice cold wet run through the park. The nice thing about out and back ...you have to go back so you have to finish.
At mile 8, my legs felt like lincoln logs. Good thing I had friends to keep running with!
I'm looking forward to strength training tomorrow, my legs usually feel better after I'm done.
Another busy week. My son Mike turns 20. Nicki has jewelry and maybe a clay project on display at Elk River High School Evening of the Arts. Minnetonka Half Marathon on Sunday.

Taper...How Can You Taper If You Never Peaked?

Busy , busy and more busy. Thank goodness spring sprung early. We are busy at work which is great after 3 months of 30 hour weeks. Training outside is doing great and the weather has been fantastic.
Saturday was interval training with Discover Strength. That one hour always feels like two. I actually like doing sprints but don't tell anyone! There is an exercise we do that is obnoxious. Its a exercise where we wear a harness and try to run while the trainer pulls back and is the resistance. Doesn't sound hard does it? Just pull the trainer along. Okay I'm 5 feet tall right? well Maurice is I think 6'8', almost two feet taller than me. I also think because I had done the exercise last week, he was tougher on me than on the newbies. I imagine it was a funny sight. After training I headed over to Highland Park to meet my Run Club buddies for breakfast. Damn it, I was too early! So I joined them doing the DamHill workout. A one mile run to the dam then up and down the hill 4 times and a one mile run back to Lifetime. It was worth it, I ran with Carla. She did a fantastic job that day. Her furthest run had been 6+ miles and I believe she did over 10 that day. After that, a bunch of us headed over to the Chatterbox for breakfast.It was good to see Jerel, Andy and Eric. I have not seen them in months, too bad Jen didn't make it . Corrine, Erica and Team Brackney plus people from other run clubs showed up. I think there was over 20 runners there.
Sunday Roxie and I went biking. A simple ride to Caribou for coffee. We zigged and we zagged and put on 12 miles, then stopped. Then we zigged and we zagged and I ended up with 23 miles on the bike that day.
I'm on track for the Liberty Olympic distance triathlon. I know I can swim for an hour/ 1 mile, I can bike 20+ miles and I can run 6 miles. I just need to put all 3 together.
Which means I'm halfway to the Chisago Lakes Half Iron distance triathlon. 70.3 miles. Woohoo!
I went to strength training Monday and last night we ran 6 miles. I keep forgetting the week before a Half marathon you are suppose to taper. Take it easy, relax. Of course I was also suppose to have some 8 and 10 mile "peak mileage" runs done too. Oops. So today and Thursday no exercising planned. Just two 10 hour work days. Friday I'm off, we will be in Fargo at NDSU doing a campus tour with the girls. Then back home. Up Saturday at 5:30 off to St.Cloud for the Earth Day half marathon. Sunday I'm sleeping in.

Back on Track

It feels good to be back on track. I have no "official" training plan for any of my endeavors, just winging it. the important thing is to do some type of Tri activity training every day. Monday is always strength training. I can't say enough good things about the trainers at Discover Strength and how important postive feedback is. Today I received a postcard from a trainer. Just highlights of my progress since November. The dreaded leg press... I have improved by over 30 lbs. One of my least favorites Adduction/Abduction (I call it the thigh master) increased over 20lbs. Then to tell me "these are truly impressive improvements". Wow made my day, and don't we all need a little boost to our self-esteem every now and then.
Tuesday we ran like the wind or should I say with the wind and then into it. 6.5 miles, a great run with Roxie and Cindy and a nice pace! We started kicking around the idea of going to New Orleans next year to run the Mardi Gras Rock-n-Roll half marathon.
Wedenesday was swim day. Into the pool for an hour. I had to ask what the length of the pool was and found out its 25 meters, so 64 laps equals one mile. Question is... is one length of the pool one lap? I did 70 so I swam a little more than a mile. Which is good considering the Chisago Lakes Half Iron is a 1.2 mile swim. it would be best to get a minimum of two swim workouts in a week. I am still considering swim lessons, maybe in May.
Looks like my training is back on track the best it can be.

The results are in....

Well Spin class was exciting Wednesday. All 8 of us. I forgot it was "race day", the class I was going to skip. Well I hung in there and worked at the correct heart rate zones but it was tough. I had strength training Thursday so I missed Run Club and going to wine tasting after. Bummer.
Friday was the Body Pod testing. Four weeks of double strength workouts, calorie counting,and trying to increase my exercise level to over 6 hours a week. Unfortunately I also got busy at work , had two St. Patrick's Day themed races with beer and a class reunion party. These things do not help when trying to lose weight.
THE RESULTS ARE ( drum roll, please!)
3% drop in body fat
4.81 lbs of body fat changes to muscle
2lb loss in weight
I'm happy, I was worried I would see no change at all. I actually dropped into the Moderately Lean category. ( the high end...but who cares? right?)
Will I do it again? Yes. Still the most important lessons are: MORE EXERCISE, and HEALTHY FOODS!
Then to keep on track Saturday was interval training followed by swimming...my legs are still sore. Then I went to the Swarm Lacrosse game. I actually like to watch lacrosse and every now and then a fight breaks out. Not quite as good as hockey, but its a fun time.
Now its Monday which means strength training tonight, hopefully with a swim before.

Time Flies By...

I never was good at keeping diaries or journals. Pretty obvious since its been almost a week since my last post. Its getting busy at work, no leaving early anymore. Same scenario.Strength.Run.Spin.Strength. Found out I still had two body comp workouts left. Thursday was the damn leg press . I swear, Maurice jacked up the weight again. Then laughed...told me 12 reps then he would lighten the load so I could finish for 30 total.
Friday, couldn't workout, had to go play bar bingo at the legion. Bad choice.
Saturday, I was the smart one and stayed home. Someone else went out and drank wine.HAHAHA> Sunday we were running a 5k and an 8k.
St. Patrick's Day Human Race in St.Paul. You get to be "Superhuman" for running two races in a row! Despite the nasty cold wind, we did finish the double run. Only 26 people decided to do both out of the 1300.
It was okay, the shirt is okay. Next year I'm running the Get Lucky Triple 7 half marathon so I won't be doing this race again.
Strength trainnig tonight. Last week before Body Pod measurements. I think I'll skip the winetasting Thursday night. Wine hangovers suck and I don't want to screw up the hardwork I've done.

Back on Track. DETOUR AHEAD

Wow, been to busy to post lately. Thursday was a good day. I did two workouts a 30 minute run and my strength training. Friday I was feeling the effects of 30 reps on the leg press plus lunges. I wasn't up to spin class. I ran on the treadmill for 45 minutes then swam for 30 minutes.
Saturday we ran the "Get Lucky 7K" run. That was a terrific run to do. The sweatshirt and medal are spectacular! We then went to Keran's after and got our free lunch buffet and beer. I have a lot of good pictures from that posted on facebook. I felt my training was getting back on track.
BUT, DETOUR AHEAD!!! the Class of '81 had a pre-30 year reunion party Saturday night. I was so happy to see many of my friends and meet new ones! So many people, some I wish I could have spent more time talking to. I was there until 12:30...way past my bedtime. Sunday, man was I hurting. Stayed in my pajamas all day. Noelle called and asked if I wanted to go bike riding, ooohh nooo, I wasn't going anywhere or doing anything. I had way too much fun Saturday. Kind of wasted my Sunday.
Monday was back on track!! I did my last Body Comp Challenge workout at strength training. I will keep doing the normal strength training for sure through the month of April. The last week of this month we go back to the Body Pod to see how we did on the challenge. I hope that my body composition shows a change for the better.

Where Did the Week Go?

Its been an off week and I feel like a slacker in my training. To many other things have come up.
Strength training Monday night went well. Since I wasn't achy and sore for two days, I don't feel I worked hard enough. DO NOT TELL MY TRAINERS! I wonder what todays workout will bring.
Tuesday I ran with Roxie. It was cloudy and gloomy and my legs felt like lead. I didn't get my 6 miles in and I was disappointed in myself. Wednesday, I got off work early was going to do a bunch of stuff around the house. Had a major scare when I went to turn on the faucet and there was no water. Thank goodness I just needed to reset the circuit breaker. Found my high school yearbooks and was looking at them. Skipped spin class, but went with Cindy and picked up our race packets for this weekend. Things are looking up, Saturday should be a blast with the "Get Lucky 7K " run in the morning. Then a Pre-30 year class of 1981 reunion Saturday night!
Not getting in much training or running in this week. Life got in the way.

Running For Gold ( as in Finnegans!)

This weekend was a blast! As soon as I find my camera cord I'll post pictures. I started out by skipping spin class Friday and ended up at Cindy's. She had been clearance shopping so we were drinking- and I kid you not! "Horny Goat " beer. The guy told her it was just liked "Spotted Cow" which is one of my favorites. Then we planned some upcoming 5k races and trips.
Saturday morning was cold and chilly. Roxie, Cindy and I were ready for our 100% Irish 5K, we each had a lucky hat to wear! Soon we were off racing to a FREE Finnegans at the end. Then it was off to lunch at Stella's Fish Cafe. Runners from the race got a free peel and eat shrimp appetizer, then I had Walleye Fingers and... Finnegans of course! Later that evening we went and played BINGO! or I should say we went and donated to the Coon Rapids Lions. NoFinnegans, It was Shock Top and Killians! Good Grief, we were planning to run tomorrow! Oh and the shot of something Apple flavored didn't help.
Sunday...can't believe I forgot to set the clock ahead. Got up and ran 6 miles with Cindy. So I actually did get 9 miles done this weekend. Better than none. Sunday night I went out to dinner with Run Club friends. It was a great finish to a fun weekend. Now I need to get back to training and calorie counting. But next weekend...."Get Lucky 7K" run. Oh dear.

Shenanigans, shenanigans and Finnegans!

I wonder what kind of shenanigans I will have to do to get my friends to run faster at tommorrows 100% 5K. The faster we get done the sooner we get a free Finnegans! Yes indeed...I run for beer!
Yesterday was a good workout day. A full 30 minutes non-stop on the dreadmill followed by strength training. Our evil trainer for this session was Brandon. Anytime I complain, he just laughs at me. No pity what so ever. Everyone knows how much I hate the damn Dip machine. At least there is a little platform to help you. Brandon decided it would be fun to see if I could do it without the help. All by myself. Well I surprised myself and him and did one. So then I got to do 3 more!
Then I finished the reps with the platform. It hurts to type today. Of course in the long run this will only help with the 1.2 mile swim I'll be doing.
So far the Body Comp Challenge is going well. I've lost 1.12 lbs. It is still hard to stick to a calorie goal. I'm blown away by the Cold Stone "Cookie Doughn't You Want Some?" having 800+ calories.
Today is going to be a rest day just because I don't have time to exercise.

Rain is great, but not for running

Tuesday was the last night we will run at the Dome. A nice easy 6 mile run indoors. All this rain is good, but I hope it is done by Saturday. I hate running in the rain!! The 100% Irish 5K is Saturday. I'm running with Roxie and Cindy B. Its going to be a lot of fun, with a free Finnegans at the end!
Wednesday I got in a 30 minute swim followed by an hour of spin class. Spin clas is a lot more fun when you have friends doing it too. There were 4 of us this time. After that Erica and I went to Cold Stone Creamery! Yummy!
Swimming is still my weakest link in the triathlon chain. I'm thinking I should take swim lessons. My shoulders are so sore! I'm sure its because my stroke sucks. I've been directionless in my training and I think i need to actually plan a weekly workout schedule and keep to it. In about 30 days I'm running my first half marathon of the season, my longest run so far has been 8 miles. Hopefully Sunday will be nice enough for a 10 mile run.
So let it rain, let it rain, let it rain. Just quit Friday night and lets have a sunny weekend!

12 Is the Magic Number, Maybe

For all of my complaining I actually do look forward to strength training at Discover Strength.
The way the trainer encourage us to do better...tell me when you are at 12(trainer) so you think 12 and I'm done...not. Then they come over add resistance make you fight to get those EXTRA reps in. Oh and if they are helping someone else, keep going until they get to you.
Or the 30 leg presses followed by LUNGES!!!! Can't hardly walk a straight line, now you want me to do LUNGES!*#@*! With Luke telling me LONGER strides. Fixed him, I told I couldn't my legs were too short.
I did complain about how sore my legs were from "shuffle, shuffle, sprint" and " invisible hurdles".
Just to be told that was good, it meant I worked hard at the interval training.
Yesterday I blew my calorie consumption, my daughter opened a box of Girl Scout Cookies. Two cookies 150 calories, 4 cookies BAM! 300 calories wasted. Thats why I keep a couple of Hershey Kisses handy for emergency chocolate attacks.
Tonight will be the last indoor run at the Dome. So sad, now I have to run outside again.

Time to Review

I've completed my first week of the Body Comp. Challenge. I think it has gone well. I doubled my exercise time, I actually exercised 6 out of 7 days. Only two days did I blow my calorie goal.
Lessons learned this week; A meal at Culvers is not worth the 600+ calories. Interval training may seem easy, until it catches up with you the next day.
This weeks goals: reduce calories to 1650 to 1700. Increase exercise from 6.5 hours to 8. I will try going to strength then swimming to achieve that.
I'm looking forward to Saturday's 100% Irish 5K. That will be a lot of fun! A free Finnegans afterwards!

Time to Get Going and Double Up

Friday the four of us; Corrine, Carla ,Roxie and I went to Spin Class. So this week I doubled up on Spin Class and Strength Training. Today I did a double workout with Ironman Cindy. We had an hour of Interval Training with our Discover Strength Trainers. That certainly is a fun group, I'm sorry I will miss it the next 3 Saturdays. Then we went to the pool. I definitely needed to work on my swimming! We did 800 meters which I'm told equals a half mile. I really need to double up on my swimming. A 1.2 mile swim is looking a wee bit scary right now. So far I've got 6.5 hours of training for this week. I need to get a decent run in tomorrow, I hope 7 miles... then I will have doubled up my running this week too!
Can I keep up this kind of training schedule for the rest of the month? I'm worried up the calorie intake since the next two Saturdays are "Fun" runs with beer as the reward!
Cindy and I are going to try swimming after our strength training sessions this week. So hopefully we will do double workouts on Monday and Thursday. I think we are a little crazy!
All this and more, to be a lean mean triathlon machine!

Up and Down on the Rollercoaster

Tuesday night I certainly could feel the effects of Monday's strength training. Thank goodness Roxie put of with my slow gait and frequent walk breaks. One hour of exercise completed.
Journaling and not going over my calorie goal has been a roller coaster of ups and downs. Tuesday ended way below my goal. Which probably explains being super hungry on Wednesday. Wednesday! what a day of stress! I had to pleave work and pick Nicki up from School because of the bomb threat evacuation. She couldn't drive home because her keys and purse were in her locker. When the said evacauate , no time was wasted getting those kids out of school and to safety.Thank goodness nothing was found and they let the kids back in late in the afternoon.
Spin Class = Stress Relief 60 minutes of not thinking, just concentrating on your heart rate zone.
Then I made the mistake of getting chinese at a new place. It wasn't very good and since I was extremely hungry ( missed luch in all the excitement) I ate way too much and was miserable.
Live and learn. Do not skip lunch!

More is better... right or wrong?

Last night was the first official "High Intensity Strength Workout" Boy was it ever! 30 reps on the leg press, then hop to it and do lunges around the room. Onto arms 2 machines then hurry up and do reverse pushups for the count of 10. Onto the nasty dip machine that everyone knows I absolutely hate. Plus more fun on a few other machines. Gotta love it when Ryan tells us we will be sore tomorrow. That was an understatement! It definitely was an " intense" workout. Why did I sign up for this? Twice a week instead of once a week. More is going to be better as far as strength training goes.
Now for WRONG! I was thinking cut 500 calories so I only eat 1500 was the wrong decision. That huge of a deficit will make my body think its starving. You know what that means. My body will hang onto fat. So now I'm going to do 1700-1800. Another thing they recommend is to "Front Load Calories" the theory is eat more for breakfast and lunch plus two snacks then at dinner you won't gorge or munch until bedtime. Not sure about that idea, I would spend a lot of time thinking about when I can eat again. My biggest failing...eating when bored. Which is pretty much all day at work. I think I will stick to every 2 - 21/2 hours eating small snacks and keep my meals small. At least for this week.
Just a note... the they and trainers and where I workout is Discover Strength in Plymouth.
If any one has ideas and information they would like to share? This is a journey to learn.

Body Composition Challenge... The Body Pod!

Discover Srength where I train is having a "Body Composition Challenge" the goal is to see how much body fat you can lose in a 30 day period. Its between me and myself to cut back on calories and exercise more. The Body Pod which is at the university of Minnesota is where we went to get our measurements.The body pod is an egg -like looking contraption which you get into, the machine takes measurements based on the air your body displaces. Then after some fancy math equation, Sarah explains your results. I know what my "Resting Metabolic Rate"
I know that if I'm "Active" I can have 2008 calories and maintain my weight. Now what I do is up to me. I want to be a lean mean triathlon machine. I'm attempting to cut 500 calories a day and exercise 1 hour a day. This is gonna be tough. Good thing the past weekend was a trial run because I sucked!