I started my morning with a Espresso Gu packet and a chaser of Hammer Heed. I really like the Hammer products and Heed is something that I like to have with me on my swims and usually in one of my bottles on the bike. I was hungry when I woke up so I decided to eat a few crackers before my swim because the GU was not going to be satisfying enough. 


Today I swam 800 meters. I am slowly getting back into the rhythm again. I do like the 50 m long course more than the short. It is easier to count my laps...:). I am going to do my swim workouts on the mornings when this is available. 

I have to figure out when to do drills and when to just swim. I know I need drills to help me work on my strength so I think I will do that during the week and shoot for distance on the weekends. This is the same mentality as it is on my run and bike, small faster workouts and intervals during the week and then long training on the weekend.

I enjoy analyzing my workouts.

I will listen to a group of people in the pool or watch others in the lanes next to me. I listen to the terminology, I watch their form, I remember what my friend Cara told me and I try to put that all together to better my swim.

My workout  today consisted of 2x200m freestyle and then a 100 meter kickboard lap and finished it up with a 200m freestyle (bilateral) and then a 100 freestyle.

My friends were talking about bilateral breathing so I decided to give it a whirl and what I discovered was that I am more efficient in the water when I do bilateral breathing. I need to work on it, it isn't smooth just yet. My left ear, for whatever reason, tends to fill with water when I breath out my left side. I think I may have to wear earplugs.


I know when my stroke is starting to get comfortable when I catch myself watching my hands go through the water and I can see the bubbles float off the back of my hand. I realized that when I am watching the back of my hand instead of the lane lines, I have a better reach. I think it has something to do with the placement of my head. If I am watching the lane lines my head is down and when I am watching my hands my head is more lifted. I love watching the bubbles off my hand, it is peaceful.


I was curious if I was doing my breathing right so I researched YouTube videos. This one is a great one to show the bilateral breathing technique: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3v5IHIvnc88
I was happy to see that I was actually doing it like they show in the video. The stroke is comfortable. I am going to practice this breathing on a regular basis. 

When looking for that  video, I  was reminded of the sighting video I watched before my 70.3. I found it and want to work on this as well. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0-lP3exIfc
This is another reason that keeping my head higher is better. The sighting workout is hard on the neck so I will have to work on this drill as well. 

I love YouTube videos.  There is so much good information in YouTube videos.

I felt great after my swim. I am not sure if the GU makes a difference but It is something I take before any of my workouts.  I certainly get very hungry after swim. It is a test of willpower because I want to eat anything and everything.

No workout today. I feel like I did though, I was still up at 5am in order to decorate a cake and cupcakes for my niece's graduation. 

Pool swim today! 

The Oro Valley Aquatics Center is open on Tuesdays and Thursday mornings for the long course, early. I was up at 5 and in the pool at 5:30. I believe the water was about 75 degrees. 

It was hard to get in but once I did, no big deal. 

Getting back into a swim rhythm is a chore but I am excited about this portion of training. I do enjoy being in the water. I remember when I swam the long course, before the pool was closed for renovations, I loved it. It was nice to swim further without turning. I didn't really keep track of my complete distance as I mixed up a few lengths with some kickboard lengths. I want to work on the strength in my legs and kick a little harder. 

I thought that the idea was to kick less and pull more with my arms but I don't think I am kicking enough. I also want to work on my twist in the water during each stroke in order to help me reach further. 

I love thinking about all the things that I can work on as I am training. 

This will be my Tuesday and Thursday morning plan. I am tempted to swim after work as well on the shorter course at the YMCA just to work on some sprint drill and intervals. We shall see.

Weighed myself and I was weighing 136. I will be curious how the weight shifts or goes up and down based on what  I am doing. I am going to keep track of that also. My food intake hasn't been bad. I am really conscious about what I eat. I am actually starting to enjoy my coffee black.

One thing is for certain...swimming makes me really hungry!

I set my alarm for 5:30 and at 5:17 I was wide awake. I think I had  thought about my new wake up time so much yesterday that I had subconsciously changed my internal clock.
The sun is up so early now that I think I could even start getting up much earlier than I had planned.  I am going to shoot for a 5am wake up for the Summer.

I got myself up, dressed and out the door (after our overnight guest had left) for a 2 mile run. I finished my 2 mile run with a 11:29 pace. I really want to run faster. This time is far better than my original Half Marathon but it is still a far cry from where I want to be with my time. 

When I first starting running I was running at a 12 - 12:30 mile....slow! I was so thrilled when I went sub 12. I won't forget that feeling. I knew I could keep lowering my time. I just can't run consistently, nay...I wouldn't run consistently.  I think is a mental block because I feel that I am not good at it so I don't want to work at it. Yet, I know it is what will make me better. I find myself (often) apologizing to my friends on how slow I am when I run. I have decided that I need to run alone until I am comfortable with my pace and when I can run with them without feeling like I am holding them back.

I am friends with some great runners. It seems to be effortless for them and they run a lot. I want to be like them. I want to enjoy the run. I want to run effortlessly. Many of my friends say the same thing.... consistency will make you faster and you have  to do time on the track. 

I remember working on the track the first time. My friend Sharon Silvas is an amazing runner and I am thankful that she is willing to help me with my run. She organized a Tuesday Track night. When we were on the track we were doing Intervals. I really thought it was hard. I had not done any running on the track before but I remember watching my son, Tyler, in track meets. I would imagine myself as if I was in a meet; the crowds, the competition they were all in my mind. That visual helped me push a little harder each turn. It didn't make it much easier.just helped me get through it.  Once the workout was over I realized that I enjoyed it. I would say "If my elbows are sweaty, you know it is a good workout", and my elbows were very sweaty. 

It has been several months since my last running event and even longer time sine I had trained on regular basis.

Getting back out on the run has been such a challenge for me as I compare myself to my running friends and feel so inept when it comes to the run. There is so much to learn about running but the one thing that I will do going forward is run consistently. 

My coach, Kristen is working on my training plan and I plan to stick to it. We will work in some track workouts and intervals. My goal, for now is to reach a 10.5 min mile. I want to see the results and I want to be able to run again with friends. I won't apologize any more, for my pace. I will get faster!

Here is my motivational picture of the day from my coach. She is right, she knows me...I analyze. 

I need to feel my run.

I decided today that I can't give up my morning cup of "Joe" so I am learning to drink my coffee black. So far so good. 

Today's Nutrition:
Pre Run: Gu Gel packet with a chaser of water. 
Run: Water (not much, just enough to wet palet)
Breakfast: Blueberry Chiobani Greek Yogurt, Black Coffee
Mid-day morning: Blackberries and raspberries, water
Lunch: French Dip sandwich, no cheese, no mayo and watermelon on the side. Ice Tea, no sugar
Mid-day snack: Blackberries and raspberries, water
Dinner: Spaghetti with tablespoon of butter and a tablespoon (approx) of parmesian cheese. Barbecued chicken thigh

Last year in August, after completing my first (and only) 70.3, I had so much adrenaline I thought I could do anything. I was ready to sign up for more 70.3 events. A full Ironman, never crossed my mind. 

I am surrounded by Ironman finishers. I am in awe of them all. Most of them have completed more than one. When talking about the events that I wanted to do, they would often ask "when are you going to do a full?" I always answered...NEVER! 

My road to being a triathlete started after my 1st century bike ride in 2009. My century ride took me a while and I decided that if I can stay on a bike for 8 hours then I could do a triathlon. I had not planned on long course events, at all. Sprints were very do-able with one exception, my biggest hurdle...running.

In the beginning of 2010 I joined a group of friends as they were training for an local half marathon. I had never run any distance. You couldn't even catch me running up the street without being winded. I always used the excuse that I had bad knees (which is true and my family can attest to their constant creaking). I knew that if I could start training with them I would learn how to run. My thoughts were to just figure out how to run a mile. It was hard. I was taught to run an minute and walk a minute. That was the only way it was happening. I used this technique for a long time. One day I found myself waking up to the idea that  I could run a 7 mile run, then I did a 10, then I realized...I am running this half marathon with my friends. It wasn't my original plan but it was happening.

After that run, there was nothing that could stop me. I just need to get faster. I had continued to run and completed a few more century rides over the years.

At Christmas time of 2010 friends of ours paid for my husband's entrance into the Ironman Arizona for 2011. This was their way of getting Dan to commit to this crazy idea since one of them had already completed two. Dan took him on his first century ride and now this was his turn to take Dan on his first Ironman. This is when participating in the the long courses came into mind.

I would train with Dan, knowing that I wanted to get a few sprints under my belt and we could train together. Mostly, we went to the pool together to work on our swim. Dan and I hadn't really done much lap swimming before so we needed a little bit of help. This was a fun adventure. Thankfully our friend Cara was able to give us some pointers and some direct instruction. We made it to the pool quite a bit and was able to slowly get comfortable with distance. We signed up for some lessons from a swim school. One thing I was determined to learn was how to flip turn. This seemed like a pretty good technique for pool swims but one I would learn was not the best thing for me to do. 

My entire life, I have spent having having to consider motion sickness; on boats, on rollercosters, on car trips, on planes, while scuba diving or anything that created a motion that I was not in control of (even when someone spins me in my desk chair). This is something I didn't consider when learning the technique of the flip turn. I was able to perform it well and always on my mark after my turn. Once I was done, I was spent, I had to go home and sleep. It was not a good idea. So much for cutting my time on my turns.

During Dan's training and my co-training, I signed us up to do a sprint Triathlon that is held locally near the University of Arizona. It was the first in a three part series. I thought it would be fun to do all three and would serve as great training for Dan in the vein of bricks and what the Tri prep is like.

It went as well as it could, it was a nice morning workout. I was hooked on the idea of a Tri. My friend Cara mentioned doing a 70.3 in Racine, WI that year and I was thinking it would be fun to do it with her since she was one of my Ironman Idols. Then...she found out she was pregnant. 

Suddenly, I was in the mood for a 70.3 (which I had never thought about before) so I searched the ones available. My requirements; fairly warm weather and no ocean, then I found Boulder 70.3 August 6th, 2012. We signed up, we were in...locked and loaded and we made a plan.

The training started a bit later than I would have liked and we really didn't use a formal training plan. I just listened to my self and compared it to my bike as far as nutrition and preparation.

In August we drove to Boulder via Albuquerque. This was a brilliant idea. It allowed us some time for acclimation to the elevation. We did a training ride around our hotel and followed it up with a short run. Then we headed to Boulder and competed in the event, which is a whole other blog.  Not today. 

After Boulder, I felt like I could do anything. I was riding a wave I didn't want to get off. I was ready to sign up for more events right away. I didn't sign up for any other Ironman distances but I did do the 3rd Sprint in the series at the UofA. We missed the 2nd one due to it being sold out. I had also signed up to run in an half marathon with some girlfriends.

I was so happy to be able to complete that half marathon. I felt that it was my vindication for my 70.3 since my run was less that stellar, almost non-existent. I needed that Lady's Speedstick Half Marathon to shake me back up. My friend, Mairead kept me running to where I found my self with outwalk breaks...huge accomplishment for me. I had such a great time running with my girlfriends and the talk of another half was mentioned but I wasn't considering it. Then...Dan registered me for that half, as a gift. I was running again, and I again, really enjoyed the event. Those two half marathons made me want to be a better runner.

I have never considered a full marathon, that is insane! 

Then I finally admitted to myself, what my problem is and why I would never do a full Ironman. I am afraid of the Marathon and the long swim. I discovered in Boulder that I had never considered the swim to be an issue. I could float on my back and I can get through it but I never considered the motion sickness I would get with choppy water. Thank goodness that on race day, the water was calm.

The only events I will do this year will be a sprint or two and possibly another century ride. I need this year to work on my run and swim. I decided that if I can be comfortable in the water and swim easily without fear of getting sick again, I would have no issue on the rest of the course and the run, well...there is time to work on that too.

So I decided, today, after watching yet another person I know become an Ironman and watching my good friend, Kristen Lodge, complete insane events such as the Triple T in Portsmouth, Ohio...that...I want to do it, I can do it and I will do it!

So this is my blog...my goal is to write something every day during this adventure. I have 18 months from today to figure it out.


Wish me luck!