And on the 13th day she rested...

Rest until you feel like playing, then play until you feel like resting, period.  Never do anything else.  -- Martha Beck

I didn't realize how exhausted I was until the end of Masters swim last night.  Then I realized it had been almost two weeks since I had taken a rest day.  So I took today completely off.  (OK, I did a little stretching for my knee...but that doesn't count, right?)

As I'm remaking my training schedule, I'm recognizing that I need to build rest days in.  Some of them will fall in naturally - when I travel next week, there is a day where training just won't fit.  Poof!  Magic!  A rest day without having to think about it!  But when I'm not travelling, it is going to be up to me to make sure I remember to rest.

Speaking of my training plan, I'm working on it -- but it's going to be a work in progress.  I've only scheduled the first third of March.  I'm hoping to schedule the rest of March this weekend after I talk with the husband so we can coordinate.  As both of our training schedules ramp up as tri season looms, we're going to have to work together.

I've added a new page to my blog that links off to a web version of my planned training.  Comments welcome - plus I can check in on my plan from anywhere now.

Confounding Calendars

Every time you tear a leaf off a calendar, you present a new place for new ideas and progress. -- Charles Kettering

It probably won't surprise you that I rely heavily on my calendar.  (I'm also a neurotic list-maker, but that's a topic for another day.)  Our family uses Cozi - it lets you give each person a color so you can instantly see who's involved.  I even have two colors - one for work appointments and one for home obligations.  If it's not on the calendar, it doesn't exist as far as I'm concerned.  Which is great...when I check it.

I was working on my training plan for March -- I like fresh new months, time to plan just a few weeks ahead.  I'm trying to balance the rest of my run training to get through the trail half-mary with building up my time on the bike and squeezing in masters swimming, all the while working around soccer carpool, work meetings, and other busyness.  (And don't even get me started on the busyness this week.  I can barely breathe most days at work right now...waiting for it to calm down for a couple weeks before hitting another busy stretch...and then summer - sweet sweet summer.)  Anyway, I sat down this weekend and plotted out what seemed to be a doable couple of weeks before the race.  I was so proud of myself.

Until I was talking to my husband last night about juggling kid activities next weekend because I'm going out of town.  And I had one of those "what did I forget...was it the iron?" moments... Oops.  Forgot to build that whole going out of town thing into my training schedule.  Plus it's a cross-country trip and a red-eye flight...I can sleep on planes, but red-eyes still kind of toss me off my rhythm.  Tear up that version of the March training calendar and start over.

I don't want to clutter up our Cozi calendar any more than it already is with the girls' activities, the husband's not-work obligations (he keeps his own work calendar), and my whole life -- seriously, sometimes one day fills up a whole screen...but somehow I need to make sure I integrate my life calendar into my training plan calendar (ideally the first time).  I already know I have another trip in April and then family vacations and stuff in June.  To counter some of this, I'm going to start the HIM training plan a week early.  Whew - this planning stuff is hard.

Training 2/17 - 2/23...and...OMG I did it

I'm trying to stay as calm as possible and focus one day at a time, but when reality sets in, I feel everything:  anxiety, excitement, nerves, pressure, and joy.  -- Shawn Johnson

Reality has set in.  This afternoon, I became an officially registered participant in the Patriot's Half race - September 7, 2013 in Williamsburg, VA.  The money is paid.  The waivers are signed.  There's no backing out now.  :-)  And I'm a little bundle of nerves.  Weird.

Nerves, but also excitement.  I'm really going to do this.  It's not just a dream - it's a thing on the calendar (and the credit card statement...).  So awesome.  Can't wait.  Except I can, because boy do I need to train.

Training this week was light, recovering from last week's half-mary.

Sunday 2/17 - yoga
Monday 2/18 - 30 minute cycle, masters swim
Tuesday 2/19 - 2.75 mile run, 15 minute cycle
Wednesday 2/20 - masters swim
Thursday 2/21 - 2.71 mile run (speedwork), 20 minute cycle
Friday 2/22 - 2.4 mile run
Saturday 2/23 - 30 minute swim, 60 minute cycle

Weighty Matters

Feeding is a very important ritual for me.  I don't trust people who don't like to eat.  -- Gina Gershon

Since the beginning of 2012, I have lost 40 pounds.  Good news - but unfortunately, these are 40 pounds that I put of during a rough period following an injury and a stressful time.  And a little more perspective:  husband and I first made a big effort at healthy eating/weight loss when our youngest daughter turned one.  At that point, I lost 40 pounds and was thrilled.  Shortly after that is when I began participating in triathlons and lost, with some effort, another 10-12 pounds.  I was at my fighting weight.  Then I got hurt training for and running a marathon and things spiraled down (or rather up) from there.  Now I'm trying to get back to my fighting weight.  I'm about 15 pounds away from that.

My family is not predisposed to thinness - it takes a lot of effort for me to lose weight.  Lately I've been following a modified paleo/primal diet:  I eat veggies, fruit, meat, and eggs.  I also eat dairy, beer, and wine.  And I cheat on the weekend and some other times.  It's working for me - and that's the most important thing when trying to decide how to eat.  It makes things a little tricky for eating at work or going out to eat (although I cheat sometimes then), but as long as I plan ahead, it seems to be working out OK.

I'm starting to wonder, though, how to eat while I'm training.  I'm not sure how to find the balance between losing the rest of that weight and making sure I have enough energy to train.  This week, I've been running a little low on the food front - I've felt hungry and have dropped more weight this week than I should.  It's an experiment.

And at the end of the day - I like to eat.  I don't trust people who don't like to eat.  I try to think of food as fuel, but food, for me, is also a matter of enjoyment.  Another thing to balance.  Geesh.

Don Fink and My First Masters Swim

Insanity:  doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.  -- Albert Einstein

OK, so Don Fink and my first masters swim are only tangentially related.  But they are related in part.  So here's the scoop...I skimmed Don Fink's Be IronFit over the weekend.  It's directed at normal folks trying to complete an IM distance race - but at least the first couple chapters on time management were actually pretty helpful even though I'm only shooting for a HIM.  Here are Don's 5 key principles:

1. Train in time, not miles.
2. Indoor training.
3. Lunchtime training.
4. Masters swimming sessions.
5. Early bird training.

When my training plan switches over from the half-mary plan after my March race, I'm going to transition to time training.  My HIM plan that picks up in April is also on a time, not miles, basis.  Indoor training I already do, so that's no drama.  The other three principles should help me a great deal to fit it all in and help with time management.

Lunchtime training - last Friday I went over and checked out the gym at work.  Believe it or not, in nearly 7 years of working here, I've never gone to the gym on site (except to get my cholesterol tested during a wellness event).  It's a gorgeous facility and I just need to get over my phobia of working out in front of people I know.  (Yes, I know folks that train at my Y, but that's different -- they only know me that way...at work, people know me professionally, and that usually doesn't involve lycra or spandex.  :o)

Early bird training -a few years ago, I was able to do a lot of early morning training.  I'm not as good at it now, but I think a lot of it is that I haven't kept at it consistently and so my bedtime hours are all over the map.  If I get a morning workout in consistently, then my bedtime hours should become more consistent as well -- making the morning workout easier, etc.  Plus, it gets hot here, starting as early as May.  Might as well start getting the body ready for morning now.

Masters swim - Masters swim doesn't mean you are a master swimmer.  It means that you are not a little kid and you want to swim.  At a Masters' session, there is a swim workout provided, including drills and swimming.  Also, at least at the real ones, there is a coach on deck to help with the workout and to help individually with form, etc.  

I went to my first Masters swim last night.  I had always been too nervous to go, because I'm a lousy swimmer.  So I just kept swimming by myself, which did not make me any less of a lousy swimmer -- just a lousy swimmer with greater endurance.  Insanity - doing the same thing over and over again... 

Anyway, I finally got over the nerves and went and really enjoyed it.  I was in the slow lane (where I belong - in fact, if there had been a slower lane, I probably belong there instead).  The workout included some swim sets and some drill sets.  The coach checked on me occasionally - I tried to keep up with the group and she made sure I understood what drills they were doing and that I knew that I could keep my own pace and/or sit out a drill or whatever as needed.  She also talked to me a little bit about my stroke - she said they can definitely work with me to make me faster -  YEAH!  But she also said my stroke wasn't terrible for someone who had never swum with a group or had stroke coaching!  (Maybe she was just being nice to me so I'll come back...although, if she said my stroke was hideous, I still would want to come back.)  I'm hoping to make it back again this Wednesday night - if I can squeeze in Masters 2x a week and then swim a session on my own, I really think I can nail this swimming thing.  

And to get back to Don Fink's principles - scheduling in Masters swimming and guaranteeing myself ~2 good swim workouts a week (at least) is definitely a solid way to make sure that portion of the tri gets trained for properly.  Good advice, Mr. Fink - good advice.  

Training - 2/10-2/16...and thoughts on yesterday's race

A lot of people run a race to see who is the fastest.  I run to see who has the most guts, who can punish himself into exhausting pace, and then at the end, punish himself even more. -- Steve Prefontaine

Here's a run-down of last week's training.  It was a lighter week in anticipation of the half mary yesterday.  Maybe a little too light, but I was tired.

Sunday 2/10 - 8.01 mile run
Monday 2/11 - 20 minute cycle, yoga
Tuesday 2/12 - 2 mile run, 750m swim
Wednesday 2/13 - 3 mile run
Thursday 2/14 - rest
Friday 2/15 - rest
Saturday 2/16 - RACE Half Mary

So.  The race.  I ran a really good (for me) 9 mile race.  Unfortunately, the race distance was 13.1 miles...and at the end of the day, my watch said it was even longer (13.37).  Those last 4 miles - not so good.

The race course was pretty awful and the weather was worse - cold with a wintery mix.  The course included some stairs, some narrow passages, and hills.  At least at the beginning of the race, there were a number of choke points where I just stood waiting.  Of course it thinned out eventually, but it is a huge irritation.  Especially when you have hail and snow falling on you.  It was a tough race.

The bigger problem is that my knee was twingy - and afterwards (and today) it downright hurts.  I taped it before the race as a precaution, but apparently I needed more.  There will be much stretching and strengthening in my future, because I can't let the knee derail my HIM plans.  The last 4 miles were difficult mentally and physically - and my ability to STRIVE was not as strong as I would have liked.  The race was disappointing, but it did give me an idea of some things that I need to work on...more later.

The Stuff of Tri

Too much of a good thing can be wonderful. -- Mae West

Being a triathlete requires a lot of stuff.  At least it seems that way.  My husband is just starting to do tris this year and is shocked at how much stuff he has had to buy.  On the other hand, I am starting to wonder where all my stuff came from.  My world is overflowing with tri stuff.  No really - look - here's my dresser.

It's a little amusing, until you realize there are only 3 drawers that aren't labeled with tri-related gear.  And they're small drawers.  The pink bag to the left of my dresser is my tri bag.  It is filled with more stuff - shampoo if I go to the gym, nutrition (bars, gels), ponytail holders, spare money from various times when I've bought a Gatorade at the gym and threw the change in the bag, various race-related swag (bumper stickers, key rings, etc.).  

It isn't contained in the corner of the bedroom though - there's obviously tri gear in the garage (and you've already seen Baby and the trainer in the family room).  We also have commandeered the master bathtub as a place for wet or sweaty clothes.

Last year I gave away something like 50 t-shirts to Goodwill - I'm betting 40-45 of those were sport related and the other 5-10 were from the Blood Bank.  (They are serious t-shirt pushers there, those blood suckers.)  Maybe too much of a good thing is not always wonderful.  And I'm not even one of those people who is into having the latest & greatest - I usually just replace what wears out.  But if they're handing out swag - I'm not going to turn it down.

On the other hand, being involved in triathlons also makes gift giving easy...which of course results in the accumulation of more stuff.  For Valentine's Day, I gave the husband fancy running socks and he gave me a new RoadID -- a tag to wear around my wrist or ankle with emergency contact stuff.  Awesome present!