Strength Training

Last December, I decided I needed a more structured weight training program.  Just kind of doing everything rather spontaneous and with whatever effort I felt like is better than nothing!  But it isn't going to get me the results I desire.  There are two books I consulted with:

I used Joe Friel's book to sketch an annual training plan and learn how to structure my training better.  There's a short section on weight training and I liked it okay, but I really felt like I needed something deeper especially since I was coming off of illness (and losing >10lbs of muscle due to illness).  So I turned to Patrick Hagerman's book.

I read and reread Hagerman's book and kept cross referencing with Friel's.  Finally I decided to create three groups of exercises, or "3 Days," and follow a 12 week series.  The three groups are mostly made up of suggestions from the book, but I also included some that Doc recommends for physical therapy reasons.

Yeah.  A lot of shoulder work is there.  However, that is where a lot of my injury is and Doc needs me to strengthen what he's repaired.  Plus upper body fatigue is a race killer in all three sports.

I found a pre-made 12 week program in the Strength Training for Triathletes and kind of based what I'm doing off that.  My goal was so improve my sprint times to 1:10:00-1:20:00 range.  Preferable around 1:15:00.  Then I wanted to go head first into the olympic distance with doing the best time I can do.  Granted...  I never did an actual olympic race last year.  First one had bad storms, so they cancelled the swim.  The second one is a long story, but let's just say I never made it there to start.  So I figured if I did something more for the olympic, then it would obviously help my sprint game tremendously.

So I took the 12 week periodization plan found on page 84, and modified it.  I kind of threw in some of Friel's perspective.  If I totally bombed this, I'll find out after 12 weeks; I'm on week 8, and I'm seeing quite a lot of results already.

So when I mentioned I was on Week 8, that means I'm on "Mesocycle 2: Week 2."  Today was Day 1 of 3.  I started adding more core work today just to see if I can.  I started second guessing myself on whether I was doing enough core.  God knows it helps with my back injuries, so I figured it couldn't be all that bad to add some more.

I will say, it sure is nice not to have to grab the 5 & 8 lb dumbbells anymore.  I'm using 12-40 lb dumbbells.  Makes me feel rather... Confident. :)  Yeah....  We like this idea of confidence.

Bad weather and racing

I will be the first to confess I am quite a "fair weather" runner/cyclist/whatever.  I have run in the rain, snow, sleet, extreme heat, extreme humidity, pretty damn cold, etc.  I cycled in rain, extreme heat, and extreme humidity.  Hell!  I've even ridden a street bike in thunderstorms and hail!  (Ninja 250 at the time -- now I have a ZX-6R)

I'm a complainer just like most other athletes that I've met.  We can have a perfect race course and perfect weather and we'll still complain.  Swag, aide stations, fee, parking, swim cap color -- you name it and we'll complain about it.

When I did the Peachtree International Triathlon, I knew ahead of time the weather was iffy.  I still went.  Sure it sucks, but gotta face it sometime.  What I didn't expect was to see so many people packing up and leaving 20 minutes before race start.

At first I thought they were leaving because the swim was cancelled.  When other racers mentioned that the people were leaving because it was raining and they didn't want to ride in the rain, I was a bit flabbergasted.  What the hell?  I am not hardcore, but the rain won't kill you.  Sure it makes riding a bike a little more precarious, but nothing major.  If you ride smart, you'll be fine.  If you go balls to the wall, you'll get what's coming to you.

I figured that they were all sissies.  I mean, seriously?  I don't enjoy riding in the rain.  If it's raining on a ride day, I'll postpone it.  Swap it out with something else.  But seriously...  Quit a race before it starts?  10-30 minutes before it starts?  Really?  What sissies.

Then a fellow DMer posted that same weekend about her ordeal at a race.  She's hardcore too.  I admire her discipline and performance.  She kicks ass.  Evidently, Pennsylvania was getting some horrible rains like we were in Georgia.  She showed up for her race that Sunday and the race directors announced that they cancelled the swim due to thunder.  She was going to continue anyway, but she noticed that the roads were in rough shape because of the amount of rain.  When set up in transition, all her gear got soaked even though they were plastic bags.  (That is rather demoralizing.)  She debated and thought it through.  She then packed up her gear and went home.  Granted she said she cried in the car for a while before driving home.

What was her reason?

She was there alone and knew no one else at the race.  She rides hard and that race was only just a warm-up race for a bigger event weeks later.  If she crashed and got injured, her husband would not be around to help her.  Hell, he may not even find out something went wrong until a long time later.  If she crashed, that could also hurt her chances at performing well at her "A" race later.  Perhaps she would wreck the bike -- costing lots of $$$ and potentially not be in working order for her "A" race.

She had a lot of things to balance.  Is she afraid of riding in the rain?  No.  But for her, the risk of injury, being alone, and damaging the bike was too high.  Why test fate?

Do I think she's a sissy?  No.  The way she told the story, it sounds as though she made a selfless decision.  It also sounded as though it broke her heart to make the decision.

Looking back at all the people I watched pack up and go...  Do I still think they are all sissies?  For the most part.  Especially by the look of them, they gave the impression that they were wimps.  What are the chances that some of them may have a similar to story to my fellow DMer?  It's there, but I definitely wouldn't count it in the majority.  It's probably rather small.

Why did I continue in the bad weather?

• I had driven there and stayed in a hotel the previous night.  What a waste of a trip.
• I hate riding in the rain, but I'm sure so do most people.  We couldn't make it stop raining.  Might as well deal.
• I have had near perfect racing conditions for triathlons the past 2 years.  I gotta pay my dues.
• Everyone else is racing in the same conditions.

My reasons are my own.  Fellow DMer had reasons of her own.  Those couple hundred racers who left that day had reasons of their own.  What are yours?

Well the worst is over



Setting up in Transition -- Listening to Tunes


Well...  At least that's I'm choosing to believe!

Doc helped a ton on Thursday, but he's still rather frustrated.  He said he was going to Dallas over the weekend and asked if he could relay my case to the other doctors.  I said sure he can share anything he'd like.  He's hoping that a fresh perspective might lead somewhere.

Saturday was my first race of the season.  I wasn't sure what I could expect.  I HOPED for a 13:30 swim and to finish the race in 90 minutes.  I guess I hoped too much.

As I went to go get my race packet, an official made an announcement that the water was 68 degrees to wetsuits were legal.  I yelled "BRILLIANT!  That sounds like a swell time!"  He laughed at me as I walked by.  Then I got to thinking:  Dude!  That's freakin' COLD!  After I picked up my stuff, I had to pee REAL bad.  A lady in the restroom made a comment that "68 degrees isn't that bad.  It's actually a perfect wetsuit temperature."  SHE WAS ON CRACK!  Lol.  No one else I encountered said the same.  The consensus seemed to be that everyone was dreading the swim.  Myself included.

I got my wetsuit on and went to the beach to go warm-up for about 10 minutes.  It felt like I was climbing into an ice bath.  Ugh!  Wetsuits don't block that kind of cold.  Lol.  I went to put my face in the water and the breath got knocked out of me.  Not to mention the cold factor just shocked the hell out of me.  I couldn't keep my face in the water.  I kept trying over and over and over again.  Just couldn't do it.  When they started the national anthem, prayer, etc I got out to go line up.  My bf wrapped me in a big towel and tried to convince me that I'd be acclimated by the time I got to the first buoy.  I hoped he was right.

And that never happened.  Once again, I couldn't keep my face in the water.  AND I started getting the burps.  Can't get any air.  Burping.  Frigid water.  Oh yeah!  And my goggles flooded 5 times!  It was great.

I did a series of backstroke & breaststroke then an attempt at freestyle.  I could never find the rhythm in my freestyle like I always do normally.  Somehow I did mange to pass some people, but not many.  I just wanted out of there so bad.  The third time I tried to use freestyle, my left shoulder twinged a lot.  Fantastic!  What a great start to a miserable day!



Not my best performance, but definitely happy to be done



I finally made it out of the water.  I had to put on a long sleeve jersey since it was pretty chilly out and I was soaking wet.  Took me a while and broke my concentration a bit.  I got it on and hopped on the bike.  Since I haven't trained much on the bike this year, I knew it'd kind of suck.  Lol.  My shoulder didn't allow me to get comfortable, but that was ok.  I just wanted to get through it with a similar time as last September (which I did!).



I got off the bike, tore off the jersey, squished my feet into my Mizuno Wave Inspire 8 shoes and took off like a bat out of hell.  Within the first few steps, I noticed my lower back had flared up.  The pain was at about a 9.5.  So I went through my usual steps to try and relieve it while on the go.  None of it worked.  It was just shot.  A half mile had gone by and I noticed that while the pain was still there, it didn't get worse.  So I made a pact with myself that if the pain got worse -- quit, pack up , and go to a hospital.  If it stayed where it was -- even though it was excruciating -- keep going.  So I did.



I was trying to get my shorts from being bunched.  I swear.



So I kept going with tears pouring down my face. I just wanted it to be over. I figured -- the faster I ran, the sooner it would be over. I got to the 1 Mile marker and glanced at my watch. 7 minutes had passed. Holy shit!

As usual, between mile 1 and 2 is where I struggle the most. This happens on any run, but especially during a tri. Didn't help that between mile 1 and 2 are long steep-ass hills. My legs felt like anchors from an oil tanker. I never stopped pumping my knees. I actually had to convince other runners to keep going. I got within sight of the turnaround cone and I started yelling at a guy I was passing, "Dude! The turn around is right there! Pick your ass up and run!" He did. I think he used me to pace off of until the finish too.

As soon as I got around that cone, the anchors fell off. I FLEW back down the road, gravel road and small trail leading back to the park. As soon as I could see the final stretch leading to the finish line, I just gave it all I had. I spotted a chick a ways ahead (turned out she was 43 -- at first I thought her leg said 34) and I said, "I'm passing you..." And I did about 4 seconds before I crossed the finish line.

My lower back was pissed as hell, but I was so happy I was done.



Want to know something even cooler?  I was 14 seconds off my PR for a 5K!  My best 5K time was in March 2011 (Ashley 5K Run in Powder Springs, GA) at 24:25. I just did a 5K run after a nasty-ass swim and crappy bike in 24:39 -- with severe pains! Lol. I guess that could be considered a silver lining...



 So I looked at the results sheet and realized that if I had hit my target swim and had "normal" transition times, I would have placed 3rd in my age group.  DAMN!  That's ok I guess.  I have at least 2 more sprints this year.  Not to mention one of those is this same race in September.  Perfect time to kick ass!







That awkward moment when...  ;)



Using Jan 1 as a calendar date

Don't get me wrong...  It's a good idea to use January 1 as a calendar date to set goals, etc.  I just don't understand why people feel they must use it to start getting healthy -- not when you can do this at anytime of the year.  Just like setting goals can be started on any day of the year.

So I met a major goal for last year: finish a sprint triathlon in less than 90 minutes.  I also met another major goal: become more comfortable and more efficient at swimming.

I missed other "numerical" goals.  Such as run 250 miles between Feb and Sept.  Swim 4.5 miles in June.  Bah.  Those don't matter.  The other two did.  :)

That being said...  Just for kicks I signed up for 2 challenges on DailyMile.  Run 720 miles in 2013 and swim 100K in 2013.  I DO need to set up my mileage for running and cycling.  And I do need to increase my time in the pool.  So while these aren't a "must do in 2013" goals, they are a means to an end.  However, I won't judge my performance in 2013 based on the completion of these goals.

Shit happens during the year.

Work becomes overbearing.  Injuries happen.  Life gets in the way (ain't that the truth?  Lol).  Loss of focus and drive.  Etc.

So those are two goals that just so happen to start on Jan 1, but they have an end mark: 12/31/2013.  It's not one of those resolutions that states, "I'm going to lose weight starting on Jan 1."

I have other goals.  I've already signed up for 5 triathlon races instead of three.  I'm not doing the Peachtree SuperSprint like in the past 2 years.  I'm doing the Peachtree International Triathlon instead.  Same event.  Same day.  Different distance/course.  And I'm doing 4 races in the Tri the Parks series: John Tanner #1, Blalock Lakes Intermediate, Mistletoe SP, and John Tanner #2.  The only month I don't have a race is August.  Which is fine.

I've decided to do two standard/Olympic/international distance races (yikes for me) instead of all sprints.  The swim distance freaks me out the most.  I'm glad the John Tanner #1 is in April and the PIT is in May.  The John Tanner race has a 600 meter swim while the PIT has a 1400+ meter swim.  So the John Tanner race will be a good building block to help me complete the PIT.

I don't have much of a goal for John Tanner #1.  It's the earliest tri I've done so far, so I just want to use it as a stepping stone.

My goal for the PIT is to finish.  It'd be nice if I could finish in 3 hours, but not necessary.

Blalock Lakes (intermediate) has a 1500 meter swim.  My goal for that race is to see if I can slightly improve my time from PIT.  But my main goal for both of these longer races is to try and learn a better nutrition, hydration, preparation strategy.  Then use that information to help with the sprints and future longer races.

I don't have a goal for the Mistletoe SP race yet.  For John Tanner #2: I want to finish faster than I did last year.  I want to come out of the swim and be stronger on the bike than I was last year.  The longer swim definitely affected my performance on the bike and my jelly legs during the run lasted longer than usual.  I wouldn't mind finishing that race in 90 minutes....  :)

Given that my work schedule will be busier this year than last, we'll see how I handle the stuff for the triathlons.

Remember -- stay true to yourself.

My season is wrapped up

So my last race on Sept 8 went better than I thought it would.  I wasn't a sorry piece of shit on the swim this time-- YAY!  It was 600M which is my longest swim distance in a race so far.  It was slow, BUT I stuck to my plan and never stopped or rolled over onto my back.  This really boosts my confidence.  My bike was slower because of the longer swim, but that's ok.  It gives me something to work on for next year.  :)

Remember earlier this year I complained that I looked like a sorry piece of shit when I run?  I worked hard this year to try and change that.  It finally paid off.  :) Pictures from the last race looked awesome and my run time was the best so far in a triathlon.

Lesson learned in this last race was finally figuring out a decent warm-up before a race.  It was perfect.  More on that later.

Overall, this year was a success.  I have to give a lot of that credit to my swim coach.  I would have given up the sport after this year if it weren't for his expertise.  If you're in the Atlanta area and are struggling with your swim, you need to give Bill Hammons a call.  He works miracles.  :)

I'm definitely looking forward to next year.  I plan on doing one Olympic distance along with three sprint distance races.

When a Goal is Met

I participated in the PT Solutions Women's Sprint Triathlon in Acworth, GA on Sunday, August 5.  I had done this race last year and really liked the environment, way it was run, and the course.  So I gave it go a second time.  Last year I finished the race in 1:34:12.  I have had a goal this year to finish a sprint triathlon in 90 minutes.  Well, last Sunday... I did just that.  I finished the same race in 1:26:32 -- 8 minutes faster than last year.

Now...   Just to be clear...  It was not the smoothest race I've ever had (not GA Multisports's fault BTW).

Two days before the race I was swimming laps at the aquatic center like usual and felt a sharp pain in my left big toe when I pushed off the wall.  I figured I got some debris wedged in my callus or something, but it kept hurting!  I went for a short bike ride which didn't bother my toe any.  I decided to soak in a hot salt bath.  During the soak, I took another look at my foot and saw a big purple blotch on the side and underside of my big toe.  Not good.  Turns out it was a mild sprain; well that's what my boyfriend and I figured.  Hurt really bad to walk straight on it.  I iced it a bunch Thursday night, Friday, and Saturday.  I iced it in the truck on the way to the race Sunday morning.  Lol.  It was nice and numb when the race started.

I can swim so much better than last year (thanks to my coach).  However, I still suck when I first get into the water.  My body can't deal with the sudden rise in heart rate while in the water.  It takes about 13-20 minutes of swimming before I feel effortless.  Sunday just wasn't my day in the water.  >:/  It stunk.  Still a minute faster than last year, but a minute slower than I planned.  Plus my performance in the water was pathetic.  It was embarrassing.   My bf says I need to "pre-bonk" in the water before the race starts instead of doing it from running.  Makes total sense.  I can fly in the water once I'm in the zone.

I had bought a new pair of tri shorts on eBay (Zoot - $29.99 lightly used) which had some small tight pockets on the hips.  Perfect size for gels.  So I stashed one in there.  I planned on taking it halfway through the bike course.  When I got to that point, the gel wasn't there.  I was concerned beforehand if it would stay there during the swim.  And it didn't.  So I didn't get to refuel like I had hoped.

During the bike course I grabbed my water bottle, drank a considerable amount (hot and humid), and reached down to put it back in the cage.  I looked to check that I had it lined up properly then shoved it in.  Well I thought I did.  I missed.  It went flying behind me.  Couldn't stop and go back for it.  Waste of time plus it's not safe.  So I was without water for the remainder of the bike leg.

I did have a sports drink in the transition area.  Needless to say I took a HUGE swig of it when I got to T2.

I passed the "2 Mile" sign during the run and started picking up the pace.  Up until that point in the race my sprained toe did not bother me.  Then it started nagging at me.  It was hard to ignore.  I didn't stop though.  I just figured I had 1.1 miles to go and I would just deal with it.  But it was distracting and it affected my performance for sure.

During the run, I walked through the aid stations to get water.  I got the burps.  Now... I am not a lady when it comes to burping.  I let out and they're always very loud.  I was passing through a large group of older women who were walking-jogging and let out a huge burp.  They all laughed.  I provided entertainment for numerous groups of racers.  It was funny.  :)  I like cheering people up.

I finished very strong.  All out sprint as soon as I turned on Main St.  I was very pleased with my race time.  Performance could have gone better, but everyone has issues from time to time.  Plus I am still learning the sport.  All these bumps are just learning points.

I have one more race in Sept.  The distances are:

• SWIM:  600M
• BIKE:  14.3 Miles
• RUN:  5K

The bike and swim are longer than this last one.  I met my goal of 90 minutes already.  So what's my goal for this one?  90 minutes.  :)

Training in my 30-somethings

For me...  I look forward to my 30-somethings (which starts in July).  My life of training for running and triathlons has only begun.  :)

Post from Fit Chick in the City

Swim distance got a little skewed

Overall, I must say that my experience with the PTC SuperSprint was much better in 2012 than in 2011.  The swim lessons really paid off and my overall fitness was way higher.  I ended the race strong and recovery was much easier.

The race was 350 yd swim, 8 mile bike, & 2 mile run.

Here are last year's times:

Swim: 8:46
T1: 4:13
Bike: 33:27
T2: 1:27
Run: 20:11
Overall: 1:08:01

Here are this year's times:

Swim: 11:25
T1: 2:01
Bike: 30:13
T2: 0:57
Run: 18:24
Overall: 1:02:59

Now....  I had just said that the swimming lessons really paid off -- so why did my swim time get slower by 3 minutes?  Very good question.  Dave and I went over video footage and lots of data comparisons and came to a strange conclusion -- the swim was a longer distance than intended.  Let me explain:

They changed the route of the swim for the SuperSprint course.  Last year it was a horseshoe shape and this year we swam to a buoy and back to the other shore (like a triangle).  Dave had video from last year's event and took video yesterday.  We compared the two and we're convinced that this year's course was longer than last year's.  I noticed it while I was swimming too.  I was training for swimming 350-400 yards and that felt more like 500-550 and my times showed it.

I also checked the results list from last year's event and found one other racer in my age group that was present in both.  Her time was 6:39 last year and 10:23 this year.  No way she got that slow when her cycle and run times improved.  So I'm convinced that the swim was longer.

Last year I finished the 350 yard swim in 8:46 (and I was shot for the rest of the race).  This year I finished in 11:25.  In the pool a couple weeks ago, I did 350 yards in 8:16 and had a lot left in the tank.  Saturday, I noticed by the time I got to the buoy that I felt like I had done about 250 yards and the distance to the exit looked to be about the same as where I came from.

I'm wondering if I should inquire about this with the race director or just ignore it.  But looking down the results spreadsheet, very few people completed the swim in under 10 minutes!  Last year, very few people took longer than 10 minutes.  Strange, huh?

I understand why they changed the route of the swim.  The SuperSprint race is occuring simultaneously with the Peachtree International Triathlon which has a .93 mile swim.  Last year, when we turned right at the final buoy, we had to merge with PIT swimmers.  It was a tad congested, but since it was my first event, I didn't know any different.  Lol.  The SuperSprint course this year never merged with PIT traffic, so that problem was solved, but the distance got skewed in the process.  Maybe next year they will fix that.

So my original goal was to finish in under 60 minutes.  I say that I did.  I'm estimating that the swim distance was actually 500 yards, which makes my 11:25 time sound about right.  Shave 3:00 off for the extra 150 yards, and my swim time goes to 8:25 (which sounds about right based on training times).  Take 3 minutes off my overall time and it transforms my 1:02:59 into 59:59.

Sweet.  :o)