One Item Came out of the Black Hole!!

I am packing for my next work trip. I fly to Baton Rouge tomorrow, rent a car and drive to New Orleans for the weekend. Some friends moved there in August and this is a convenient way to visit. I am spending the weekend with them and heading back to Baton Rouge Monday to teach a class the rest of the week. So, as normal, I put off packing til the last minute. I am laying out my work outfits, workout stuff, and weekend wear. Also presents for my friends 2 kids, computer cords and binders of stuff for the class. I realize I need a bigger carry on and find my trusty college backpack. Guess what was in side (actually in the mesh pocket on the outside of the bag) my watch!!! Woo-Hoo!! 1 thing has made it out of my black hole apartment. This is my attempt to show my watch coming out of the black hole.

Again, what does this have to do with my Ironman training? Well, this will help me with my timing during swimming as I hate using the pace clocks. Also, mentally, it's the watch I have used for every race, so it means the world to have it back. Silly yes, but what can I say. I did call my wonderful parents to tell them the great news, and asked if they read this blog. They do, and received a delivery from Timex yesterday. Oops... Sorry!! I hope they take returns...

I am feeling better and hope get a few good workouts in Baton Rouge. I am staying at a Hilton and made sure they have a gym. They do! YAY!

Still, Sick...

And annoyed.

I have been out of work for 2 days. I move from my bed, to the shower, to the couch, back to the shower and back to bed. It really stinks. I feel like I should be working out, but don't even have the energy to get off the couch. Today is better than yesterday, but still not that well. All there is to say is BOO!!

Thanksgiving, Good Friends, Bike Fitting and Still Sick

Sorry for the delay in posting. The holiday weekend got away from me. I did not go out of town, just ran out of time.

Thanksgiving was great. I went out on a 35 min jog in between making cheese cake and an apple tart thing. I figured 35 minutes was enough to eat as much as I wanted. And I did.

Friday I worked (one of the few who did) biked on the trainer for 45 minutes and it felt good. Went for drinks with my old roommate and left early because I started to feel that thing.. you know, that thing when the cold you thought went away, did not.

Saturday I woke up, not being able to swallow. Ouch! I had a 50 minute run and Rose met me at Rock Creek. She was a sweetheart and did the slow run/walk 4:1 with me. She is a way faster runner, but stuck with me. It felt good to do something a bit longer, but felt almost easy. I still know I can go faster, but my HR still won't let me. Anyway, we celebrated with brunch at Open City. YUM!! This was followed by a much needed nap and the cold was coming on full force. I ditched my plans at night and spent some quality time on the couch.

This morning was my biking fitting. 2 hours hoping on and off, tweaking and adjusting, and a list of new things to upgrade on Carlos, I am not confident I don't need a new bike. YAY!! I would like one, but $500 of stuff is much better than $1500 for a new one, plus upgrades. I tried to do more time on the trainer, but took a nap. Tried again and coughed up that stuff on Mucinex commercials (don't worry, I won't post a picture). Boo!!

Okay, nothing too exciting. Just some good workouts and another cold.

My Apartment is a Black Hole!!

This is getting annoying! I was supposed to time myself during a swim a few weeks back for some 400’s. I went looking for my Ironman Timex watch and it was no where to be found. I called home thinking my mom could help. I mean when I was little, she always found what I had lost. Unfortunately, being 800 miles away, there was little she could do. The last time I know I had it was in Chicago for the Big Shoulders Swim. I e-mailed Therese, where I stayed, and she didn’t see it either.

So yesterday, I TORE my apartment apart, looking for the remote. 2 hours later I found 1 sock and the remote. Not the other 6 socks, biking glove, or watch.

Where does this stuff go??? I am most upset about the watch. I ran Marine Corps Marathon with that watch in 2003, and every other race I have ever done: swims, runs and tri’s.

Why I am I talking about this now?? Well, I had to time my 500’s today. I know about where I should be and using the pace clock, I can figure it out. But I miss the ease of my watch. It was big, bulky, and men’s. And I miss all the good times (ha, get it, times, watch, time keeper… anyway…) with my watch. It was so reliable. I knew how all the buttons worked, it did what I wanted…. AHH!!!

And to my loving parents, who I think still read this blog; I have given yet another obvious hint about the holiday that is coming up!!

Florence Chadwick

My mom sent me a copy of this story today. It is now a on my door. Currently, she is going to see if there is a relation. Regardless of what she finds, I am going to believe there is.

“Florence Chadwick was no stranger to goal setting. An American swimmer, she was the first woman in history to swim the twenty miles across the English Channel from France to England to France.”
“Florence set another unbelievable goal: be the first woman to swim the twenty-one miles from Catalina Island to the west coast of California. On the morning in 1952, the ocean was shrouded in fog – she could hardly see the boats accompanying her to keep away the sharks. Fatigue wasn’t a big problem, but the bone-chilling temperature of the water was. After 15 hours of nonstop swimming, she succumbed to the temperature of the water and asked to be pulled into one of the boats. Her mother and trainer, in a boat alongside her, urged her to keep on as they were getting near the coast. Yet all Florence could see was fog.”
”She was pulled out of the water too cold and tired to continue. Later, she realized that she was only half a mile from completing the swim and achieving her goal. When she learned how close she was when she quit, she blurted out, “I’m not excusing myself, but if I could have seen the short, I might have made it!” It wasn’t the distance or the cold that ultimately did her in – it was the fog.”
“When Florence Chadwick lost sight of her goal, she lost the will to continue.”
“2 months later, when there was no fog, she completed the swim. Same island, same coast, same distance, same body of water. The only difference between victory and defeat was the ability to see her goal”

On days like yesterday, and bad days to come, I just need to keep in mind my goal: hearing “Amanda you are in Ironman”

My Schedule This Week

Well, something is still going on with my stomach. If felt a bit better today, but not there yet. Coach thinks I might be getting sick and wanted me to take the day off. I have had a lot of days off, and will again soon for one more work trip. So, I went on a 30 min trot. It felt okay.

Here is my ambitious schedule for the rest of the week.

Tuesday – Ride 30 minutes. In this session, do 1 x 5 minute bout up tempo, or comfortably hard.
Swim on Tuesday as well. Same 500 warm up, this time 5 x 200 comfortably hard, with 45 seconds rest. For now, with your swim background, this should be a piece of pie (Its Thanksgiving week, so I use pie instead of cake)
Wednesday – Run only. 35 minutes
Thursday – Swim only. Straight set of 3 x 500, 60 seconds rest. End with 6 x 50 with high arm turn-over, short rest, 15 seconds.
Friday – Ride only, 45 minutes, straight.
Saturday – Long run 50-55 minutes would be long.
Sunday - Long ride – 90 minute outside or 60+ (70?) minutes inside.

I am pretty exccited. This should be a good week. I need a good solid week or two, without travel to help with the confidence.

Not Good :-(

I just got off the trainer and Carlos after a horrible 45 minutes. I felt sick, was sweating, could not breath and my HR would not go up. I do not know what was going on. This was probably my worst workout so far. Boo!

Maybe it was because I only had 1 glove...

Good Ride, 7 Socks, and 1 Glove

The high yesterday was 52. So, at 2 pm I clipped in for an hour and a half ride. I went on the Mt. Vernon trail which has a few more hills than anywhere else I have been riding. What really concerns me is my time. I am not where I need to be in order to finish the bike by the cut off. I know I have 10 months, but it does concern me.

I cancelled my plans at night to stay home with quarters and my 4 weeks of laundry. Yup, that is 6 loads... and it's still not all done. I would have kept going but there is only 1 working dryer and I had no where else to hang clothes.

What does this have to do with my Ironman training? Well, as I was pairing my socks, I realized I ran out and I had a lot of unmatched socks. 7, 7 socks (5 I wear during my workouts) that do not have a match. How does that happen!?!? Also missing, my left biking glove!!

Seriously, 7 socks and a biking glove all went missing from my apartment to the washer and dryer outside my door. I just don't get it... But, biking gloves would make a great stocking stuffer!! (Just in case my parents are reading :-)

High of 50 – Feels like 39

That is what it said on weather.com my zip code at noon today. I figured I would be fine for my 35 minute jog. I got outside and was smacked in the face by the wind. WOW was it strong today! Trotted down to the Mall and it was painful. The wind was coming from all directions – as were the leaves and dirt. But, after the turn around, it did get a bit better. I never really felt the wind at my back helping me out, but it was better than running directly into the wind, or the cross wind. Today’s jog also had my HR all over the place. Wednesday’s was fine, getting better keeping it down, but not today. Oh well…

I may try to get outside this weekend with Carlos. There is a high of 51 on Saturday. Waiting until noon or 1 and Proper clothes might make this possible.

I'm In I'm In I'm In!!!

To my pleasant surprise, I received an e-mail this morning

'Congratulations on being selected as an entrant into this year's 4.4 mile swim!"

I am in again!! This year I am really excited. Last year I didn't really want to do the race. It was by far the hardest thing I had done in 2006. But, the 2007 race was great. I even stopped to make sure I finished after 2 hours and 30 minutes! Who stops during a race!

Anyway, I am in for year 3 and super excited. I am pretty sure I won't look like this before the race.

Hopefully, it will just be more of a smile...

Back with Carlos

After spending the past 5 days with Marcus, I knew Carlos would be jealous. He showed it too as I tried to put him on the trainer! But, after some finagling, I hopped on for a good 45 minutes. I didn’t look at the HRM, wasn’t counting down the time, and just kept going. It felt good- really good. My knees hurt, but I think that might have more to do with driving close to 1700 miles the past 5 days.

While I was riding tonight, I was watching The Biggest Looser. Their challenge was a 24K triathlon: cycle 20K on a spin bike (the top 6 move on), run 3K on a treadmill (top 3 move on), and swim 1K (1 winner). I was watching and thought how great it was for those people. In 10 weeks they went from barely being able to walk a mile to doing that type of activity.

Sometimes I get upset because I don’t drink soda, eat fast food, doughnuts, and limit my sweets. Watching people cut those items out and loose weight can be frustrating to me. However, I have never had a problem swimming 1K or 1 mile. If I HAD I could go out and run/walk a marathon (not that it would be speedy) but I could do it. I have to continue to remember not compare my self to others – especially in the next. No one else has my parents (expect for my brother, obviously, my history, muscle memory, or drive. Watching those contestants have the drive to win the prize was inspiring. I really hope that is the type of inspiration I can take from watching others.

Heading Back Today... with a cold

Well, I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I get sick pretty easy, but I thought that with the tonsils out, it wouldn't happen as much. I think just with the cross country work trip to San Francisco and then hop in the car for the road trip to Memphis, my body is not happy. Not the best eating, not working out - not great for me. BUT, it has been awesome and totally worth it. I would not change one thing - but maybe not getting sick.

I might try to put Carols on the trainer tonight, just to get 30 minutes in if I can. I have to go to work tomorrow and will be back on a set schedule soon.

Posting From Outside Nashville

Lauren and I are on our road trip, on night 2, outside Nashville, TN. So far the trip has included such stops as...
Front Royal
Dinosaur Land
Skyline Drive
Caverns
Jonny Appleseed Statue
Foamhenge
Natural Bridge
Mini-Graceland
Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum
Cooters
and a drive by of Dollywood - just to name a few.

What the trip has not included is time for workouts - I do not count walking 1.25 miles around a cavern a workout. Also, our fine establishments for lodging have not had such accommodations. However, there has been a lot of driving, beautiful views and munching on snacks.

Here is Marcus on Skyline Drive. It was his first experience in snow. Yes, snow.



And yes, I do realize that in 10 months, I will be competing in Ironman Wisconsin. Oh boy, 10 months...

It's Up to Fate Now

I am back in DC, but for less than 24 hours. I am took a break from packing to enter my Great Chesapeake Bay 4.4 Mile Swim. I have done this race the past 2 years. After the first year, I said never again. I stuck with that too, for a few months anyway. Sarah told me I would want to do it again, but I didn't believe her. She was right. But, I only signed up for the lottery last year because I was swimming so much with Roxanne and her training for IMLP. I left it up to fate and secretly hoped I would not get in. I did, my parents came out, Arin came back from the Peace Corps, and I had a GREAT race. The 2007 race compared to 2006 - was almost easy. I had already started thinking about IM-Moo at the time, but knew I wanted to try and to do this race again.

Now it's all up to fate and if I am meant to do this race a 3rd year in a row.

Back to packing. Road tripping to Memphis.

I will start working out again soon...

No Gym, but there sure are hills!

Day 2 in San Fran. The hotel doesn't have a gym, but it does have wireless. It's something. I am half way done teaching my class and can only hope tomorrow goes as well as today. After being in the room from 8-5 (I had a granola bar for lunch... someone must stay with the laptops) my co-worker Emily and I ventured out into the city. We wandered through a major shopping area and found our way to Chinatown. We walked some streets/hills, did some cheesy shopping, walked some hills, kissed a dragon thing, walked some hills, had some dinner, and walked some hills back. I am really thinking of wearing my HRM tomorrow just to see how high it gets up these hills.

Did I mention there are hills in San Francisco?

NO GYM!!!

AHH!! I am in San Francisco. 2 hours to Chicago. An hour layover. 5 hours to San Francisco. My knees (especially the right one) really hurt because of the tiny amount of room you have in coach. 30 minute cab ride to the hotel - which leaves me a bit uneasy about the area. I check in, on my way up to the room and ask "Do you have a gym?"
Response - "No, but there is a gym we have a partnership with that is 4 blocks away for $15"
Me - "$15 a day?"
Them - "Yes"
Me - "Oh, okay." I would not feel comfortable walking around this area at night, not even 4 blocks. I am in the room at 8 am to answer questions. Teach from 9-5. Go to dinner with the class. It will then be dark. This is not a good situation.

What hotel doesn't have a gym!?!? Even the hotel in Springfield MO had a treadmill, stationary bike and stair master! NOTHING here, NOTHING!!

This isn't good for many reasons. I keep starting over. I had a good week last week and now this one will be limited. Also, Lauren and I decided to do a road trip to Memphis. We moved it from spring to now because come spring, I know I won't be able to travel. So, we are leaving Friday. I figured I would be okay because there would be a gym here.

I am also worried about Coach. I keep feeling like I am giving the impression that I am not dedicated or that this isn't important to me. It is, and I am. Things keep coming up and I am trying to adjust - but at times I really can't find an option.

All I can do is hope I am getting all this stuff out of the way now...

Ummm... Napping....

Well, I eventually did get off my butt and sit on my bike for an hour. Netflix and an Ugly Betty dvd really helped out. After the bike I made some lunch and sat down. The plan was to shower and head into the office. Well... a food coma must have set in because before I knew it, 2 hours had passed and I SMELLED!!

Not exactly sure why I slept so long. The past 2 nights I slept until I woke up, no alarm. I guess I needed the extra zzz's. I also wonder how much has to do with continuing to 'start over' with the weekly workouts. This week, hopefully it won't be so bad. I have to go to San Francisco for work. I will be teaching a training class and am soooo not prepared. But, hopefully I can find 30 minutes to an hour each day for some quality treadmill or stationary bike time. Emily, my co-trainer, always does a great job planning stuff to do after class. But, she knows I need to get some workouts in. And, besides, doesn't San Fran have some hills :-)

Too Cold, Distracted and Predictable

Still nothing too exciting about my workouts. Friday I had a decent jog around the Library of Congress and the Capital. There are less stop lights so it's better than going around The Mall. 35 minutes of a decent jog. It was pretty out, one of the nice things about fall in DC.

I must be pretty predictable because my dad call during lunch. At the end of the message, he said "I know it's lunch and you are probably out for your jog." I came back to my desk and my boss needed something and said "But I figured you were out for your lunch run." Wow, I had no idea I was that predictable...

Yesterday, I was supposed to bike for 45 minutes on the trainer or 60 minutes outside. It was a bit too cold to go outside, so I got dressed and put Carlos on the trainer. Then I sat on the computer and watched cable: for about 2 hours. This internet thing is really distracting. I eventually did do my workout, but it took awhile to get going.

Today it's not going to warm up as much as I hoped, so I will bike on the trainer again. As you can probably guess, I am sitting in my bike clothes, on the computer, watching cable, looking at Carlos on the trainer.

Oh, he looks so ready to go!! I guess I should do my workout...