It was 83* at quarter to ten when I finished my ride this morning, hit 91 yesterday, and is expected to again today. I'm in Maine...


Last week was okay. More food issues than I would like; I give myself a B+ (had two bad evenings but neither were terrible enough to ruin a whole day I guess). I never came back and set goals for last week. I should have as it would have made me get on my bike! Happy with the running and the swimming at least. I was super tired on Saturday so I took the day complete off. I think I took three naps...

M - 15 mi run + 1600 yd swim
T - 9 mi run
W - 9 mi run + 3000 yd swim
T - 2.3 mi run + 5300 yd swim
F - 11 mi run + 2100 yd swim
S - off
S - 12 mi run

Goal for this week: at least 112 mi on the bike (not all at once ;-), swim at least twice, running whatever I feel like.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Last week's goals:
- run x 5: WIN
- bike x 2: WIN
- swim x 4: WIN though 1 was only a 10min OWS
- core/strength x 3: WIN

Surprised by the fitness I didn't lose - thought I'd be a brick in the water after 2 weeks away from the pool, as it used to take me a month to get myself back to rights after only a week without a swim, but I actually felt great and had some strong workouts. Running is slow at the moment, but it's also hot and humid here, and it occurs to me that I may not be totally recovered from the HIM that was only 3 weeks ago. Love that I can train a little less and do stuff like ride my motorcycle and go canoeing with Tanker on weekends now!

This week's goals:
- run x 5
- bike x 3
- swim x 4
- core/strength x 4

I probably won't run Wednesday, as we'll likely be going out to dinner with my Mum for my birthday. Doing a sprint as a relay with my husband on Saturday morning - I'll swim and run (750m / 7.5k) while he does the bike (30k), and I'm sure we'll have a ball! We didn't get to do a relay last year, and I missed the fun of racing with my sweetheart.

Cheers!

-mistress k

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ill advised racing inc.

Decent week.
Ran 5x - 36 mi total with a long run of 12, two 8-milers, one of which was my fastest 8 miler so far. I missed a 4mi run because Husband surprised me with wanting us to do this century ride on Sat. and I just couldn't bring myself to run after that.
Didn't swim - BIG SAD FACE
Here's the reason why: I get home on Thurs. and husband informs me he switched work days so he had Fri. off so we could lay the bathroom floor tile and do the century ride on Sat. since the weather was going to be so perfect.
I had a job interview on Friday (it went well, I have an offer! yay!) and when I got home from the interview the rented wet saw was set up and we got RIGHT to it. 6 hours later, the tile was done. And it was too late to get to the pool. Very sad - but at least the tile is done. Now we just have to grout the floor and shower.
Finished century ride on Saturday. Fastest one ever. Husband and I hooked up with a random other rider early on, and we took turns pulling until near the first food stop (27 mi) where we picked up two other dudes. We then proceeded to ride paceline like this until just before lunch, where we lost one of the guys. Lunch was at 63 mi. After lunch it was just down to three of us. The other guy was riding 150 mi that day. He rode TO the century, was doing that, then riding home. Our century ride time ended up being 5:21.
My long run Sun. afternoon was HOT. After the century on Sat., I took it easy. Made an aid station at the house with an insulated water bottle and a gel, and stopped there at the 6mi mark, 9mi mark, & 10.5 mi mark. Even though I was extra careful in the heat, and tried to find as much shady routes as possible, I was still pretty happy with my run pace for the distance. :)

This weekend is my big running relay event of the year. It's really hard, but really fun. It's the main reason I've been trying to pack on 40 mi run weeks and doing the 12 and one 8 back to back. But it makes me sadder I missed swimming last weekend because I definitely won't get in a swim workout this weekend.

As for the job offer - everything is great except for the commute - it's an hour away. Selfish me is already griping about lost time for training... I NEED to make that time productive or it will only serve to tick me off.
I already have audiobooks - was also thinking about brushing up on my French for our intended vacation next summer.

A century, tiling, a fast 8 mile run, and a job offer - sounds like an awesome week! Congrats on it all.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

determination -- sounds like a GREAT week! I can appreciate the losing time to a commute and how sucky that is. I flat out will not work somewhere if it takes too long to commute (esp if a bridge is involved - traffic in Vancouver is brutal) - quality of life is too important. I saw a great article showing that every 15min less of commuting time to a job is equal to a $50K more expensive house. I'll see if I can dig that up (it was pretty recent and based on US data).

As for me, I had a wreck of a week last week. During my Tuesday run in the morning with the dog, my right hop, well glute min/lower back actually, starting feeling very ODD. So I walked the rest of the way home, and it just got worse as the day went on. Had a massage that night and was feeling better, well enough to ride to work the next day. I decided at that point to kill the runs for the week and just ride easy.

then Friday as I was riding home from work, the bolt in my saddle (saddle to post) failed in a catastrophic way - sheared completely in two. Fell and really banged up my elbow, both knees and I just feel like a wreck. I'm only at work because I drove and there exists ibuprofen. :-(

so this week? try to get in some good walks, and just relax. We're off to a weekend at Birch Bay WA with the kids & dogs & g'parents, so I'm going to drink a bunch of wine/beer, have a pity party, and get over myself just in time for the following week. I have to admit I was pretty depressed all weekend. I've been wanting to learn to tap dance, so I suppose I could break out the tap shoes and just fart around in them.... drive the dog nuts ;-)

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

Wow, that's a freak thing. (((hugs)))

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I've done a lot of test-to-fail on (new) mechanical hardware, and have never seen a bolt fail like this without either (a) a defect (usually material) or (b) excessive force (which is why you do these tests). I plan on changing all my bolts before I ride again. There's no way this bolt should have failed under normal conditions period. No signs of corrosion either. Very odd. And Owie.

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

I'm going to "blame" 3 days of this week on being in Napa, but WOW was I glad to be able to support my fiance in is epic success - a 1 hour 1/2 IM PR. I'm really tempted to make Vineman my A race for next year.

I did two bike rides this week, 30 min on the trainer and 1 hour outside. I had a major victory in finally being able to ride in my aero bars, and it was everything I dreamed it could be. Now I can tuck and drink and almost eat while riding. Seems like such a small thing, but huge boost in my confidence.

While in Napa, I swam 10-ish laps in the pool. Unfortunately, it was over-run with kids and was so small I could cross the length in two strokes. Still, something was better than nothing. I also ended up walking ~6 miles between parking and finish, doing 3 trips. The great thing was no calf problems during these walks.

I bailed on swim class because I'm a lazy, lazy girl and had crazy late and early work calls. Kyle has since informed me that while HE goes M/W, there are classes M-R, so I need to ditch the excuses and spend more time in the pool.

So, with my tiny sprint coming up, I'm working on setting some goals for destruction. 400yd swim, 11 mi bike, 3.1 mi run. The swim is half my prior distance, so I'm guessing at half my prior time, less a little for my last sprint swim being long, so 12 minutes. My last outdoor bike ride was appx 11 miles and took 54 minutes in super-windy conditions, so I'm aiming for 50. It's supposed to be HOT (97 mid-day, though my race starts at 7am) and my last heat run was 32.5, so I'd like to aim for a 32 min run (high end).

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You. You make me stronger.

TC - why is this "june" 15 edition when it's July? Last week's was "june 8"???
You just seeing if anyone notices?

Ha, I didn't notice until you said something.

Follow-up with the sport doc last week. PT and I have been having an ongoing conversation about how much training I can do (5 or 6 days? does swim drills/recovery swim count?, etc), and doc is the final arbitrator.

I was blown away when the doc said no more than 3 days a week, no more than 2x day, I have to be super careful about going into aero on the bike, and no swimming. Then I burst into tears.... :-(

She did offer hope though--I can "earn" a 4th and then 5th training day, and swimming, by passing some tests to measure core strength, although my PT thinks I'm probably about two months away from getting to 5 days.

So it was a week of adjustments. I got 2 swims in before the news; walked 20 miles; did 4 minute walk/1 minute run for 3 miles; and 2.45 hours bike on the trainer.

This week's goals are 23 miles walk; 4 miles walk/run; and 3.5 hours bike.

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No coasting in running and no crying in baseball

That was so not on purpose! I just changed it!

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

The 'fear' of a commute kept me working with a 7 minute commute but for a miserable SOB for 7 years.... in a career I wasn't happy in.
The problem I didn't know I was getting into was that I was changing careers for an EXTREMELY tiny field (I fit people with artificial limbs) and I have scoured and there simply is no job closer to home. Companies aren't hiring right now because of the MESS that's going on in US Medicare right now. The industry is seeing I think its first ever downturn/slowdown.

WOOHOO!!!

oh man that kinda sucks - but I can relate. I had a great job for a real asshole of a boss with no real future prospects, but it was 4k from home and paid really well. Eventually the passive-aggressive boss and the lack of career development got me to a job with a 11k commute but more personal and professional development in 2yrs than I'd had in the prior 5. There are days I hate my commute (when I have to drive kids all over the place - turns 11k into 30k i.e.: 1hr). But the days I can ride or run to work and a boss that understands & supports that, it's worth it.

I hope you get it and that you find a way to keep it all balanced :-)

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

We had some record temps last week in the high 90's - low 100's, but it's supposed to be relatively cool (low- to mid-90's) this week. We had some rain, which we desperately needed, but now it feels a little bit swampy out there. I hate to be cold and whine when it's under 75, so I can't complain.

I've had some "mental moments" over the past week. I keep telling myself how blessed I am that I wasn't hurt worse when I got hit by a car while riding my bike last month, but then I almost feel guilty when I get down about trying to get back to where I should be. I know it's not logical - gee, would I feel better if I had been seriously injured and could justify being depressed?? I'm trying to convince myself that it's ok to not be happy about it, as long as I don't sink into a total funk and engage in too much self-pity. I do pretty well at pulling myself out of it most of the time, but the headache that won't go away isn't helping.

On the positive side, my physical therapy is going well, I volunteered at another race on Sunday and got to see a lot of friends, I've gotten up to 3 consecutive miles in my "return to running" program plus walked/ran another 2, the check for my bike repairs is supposed to be in the mail, my bike should be ready this week - I'm getting a tire for the trainer so I can ride inside until I'm physically able to go aero, and I'm enjoying the guppy challenge. I also worked with a guy who asked me to help him and his wife get into shape, and I've been hosting weekly swim sessions at a little private beach near my house. There's a women-only race next month, and the biggest challenge for many of the ladies is the open-water swim in the brown water of Lake Houston, so I'm excited to be able to offer them a chance to train and to see them overcome their fears. So... lots of good things to focus on.

Absolutely. Emotions are emotions. We feel what we feel. Any time I get hurt I get really cranky about it. Like you, I try to think of the positive, but I don't think there's any point in denying feelings like - suppose a running injury - seeing other runners and getting really, really jealous. I think self pity, as you mentioned, is a different thing, but if you feel angry/sad/down, that's how you feel, end of story.

Hosting swim sessions is really awesome of you!

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

I had an OK week. Missed one run because I just didn't feel like going.

My half marathon on Sunday was a mixed bag.

Good = I ran 2 minutes faster than my half on June 1st and this was a hillier course.

Bad = I went out way too fast and really suffered the last 4 miles. My pace tanked. I just couldn't get my leggies moving. Very frustrating. Another lesson learned. If I'd paced it properly I probably could have dropped another 2 minutes off my time.

I've decided to do a 5k to see what I have in me and go for a PR. I honestly don't know what I can do there. Setting a PR at 44 years old would be fun.

This week is about recovery from the half. I have a massage tonight then I'm back to running tomorrow. I'm volunteering at the Lake Stevens 70.3 on Sunday which I'm looking forward to. I've done it a couple times and it is a great race.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

It is steaming hot here in New Jersey!!! High 90s by the end of the week.

Am supposed to race the NJ State Sprint/Eastern Regional Championships on Saturday. The water temp is already 86 and will only get hotter by Sat. You fishies have any advice for this guppie on how to survive a 550m swim in 90 water with 90 air temps? I am thinking slow and steady - warmup only enough to get loose and comfortable in the water.

Last week - good week of taking it easy capped off by a pretty good effort in a Sprint Tri. Came in second in my age group so was pretty stoked about that!

This week, behave, recover from last weekends sprint and do it all over again on Saturday under interesting weather conditions. That race will be all about keeping things under control so I don't overheat.

Then I need to take a break from racing and work on my swim and run some more! Guppie's revenge, here I come!

Keep up the good work womens! And remember that you are all AWESOME! You are all out there getting it done with a smile on your face! AND you are all very inspiring!

Thanks to Mercury's retrograde, my last week was hell. :)

I am recovering from 2 back-to-back bike injuries (requiring stitches in my elbow and knee area); this was supposed to have been my first week training in about a month.
plan-actual
M-easy 30:00 run - nope
T-rest
W-easy 45:00 bike - ran Monday's run
T-easy 45:00 bike - nope
F-rest - swam 45:00 (first swim in a month)
S-swim 45:00, 1:30 bike - just biked 0:55 (first bike post-injury)
S-run 4 mi

Since Friday I've been consistent in my training.
So happy to be back on the training bandwagon!
I'm doing Chelan Oly this weekend (my first Oly ever.)
It won't be pretty, but it will be easy to set PRs in Oly in the future. hahaha
s.m :)

Lake Chelan is beautiful - I always wanted to do that race! Maybe next year... ;-) GOOD LUCK!!!

AP

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"How bad could it be?" - SimpleS

 
about 80 here in London, which for us is sweltering. Still, feels pretty comfortable after spending last week in Chicago.

Last week was all about recovering from HIM so I 'just' ran low key. 4 miles x 4 days, plus one 8-miler. Some tooling around on bike w/ my 10 year old. Have decided arms look like noodles so am back to push ups, blecchhh.

Tonight i'm going to swim longish. Will try for one set of 750m with inner tube-tied ankles. I've done this before and found it v. hard but awesome for ye olde core strength.

On other fronts, am removing approximately 3 tons of crap out of my house while the boys are still in the States. They don't know this. Hopefully they will be so blown away by the serenity/good feng shui/ability to find stuff they won't notice all the Happy Meal toys and outdated magazines have magically disappeared.

so was the 1/2 another 1/2 PR, then?

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

OMG that's not cool at all.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD

Dips are another good arm exercise. You can do them off a chair or a step.

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maybe she's born with it, maybe it's chlorine
If you're injured and need some sympathy, PM me and I'm very happy to write back.
disclaimer: PhD not MD