swim monday

swim workout today....distance, distance, distance.....
did 3 x 1000 sets each progressively faster....
felt really good and comfortable despite this horrible head cold. nothing like allergies acting up while face down in water!!

felt like i was back at beach blast bc going down was great and then coming back the sun was right in your face~ what doesnt kill you only makes you stronger!

sunday spin

today was supposed to be a 45 min run but since i rotated the days a bit bc of Beach Blast yesterday just did an easy spin down to coast and back. 32 miles done. Stopped at riverside cafe and at a big ole burger!! good company beautiful day. feel refreshed today and total exhaustion yesterday.

Beach Blast Olympic Triathlon

Woke up at 0330 to drive down to Mexico Beach....Leave house at 0415. cross a time zone and  bam arrive on site at 0530. race is at 7. did late packet pick up and got bikes into transition area. it was a really foggy am so i was a little worried about humidity and seeing the markers in the ocean. little did i know the fog would not be a problem!!! now the sun thats another story!!


It was def a beautiful morning. Not a lot of wind, calm waters, and wasnt cold!!
Did a little practice swim and made sure all was working well. Now just to wait for the start of the race~

The swim was actually quite nice. i enjoyed the going to one marker, then the next, and heading toward the shore in the sun i didnt like at all. i could not see anything---the shore, the other swimmers, nothing but the glare of the sun on the water!!! I listened to the cheers from the beach and went towards that....i was way off but fixed it and went back out for the second loop.....still could not see coming back in but at least this time it didnt matter. once on the beach i could head up to the transition area!!
Look close and see how hard to see that little yellow marker in the water.....now imagine the sun in your face and farther out...not cool!!! but thats my only complaint!!

The boys were there to cheer me on!!! It made me so happy. My oldest yelling go Momma Go!! you beat your goal....I was shocked by this seeing as i was way off course several times. so that lifted my spirits!!

Took a gu and got on my bike and headed out!! slowly working up speed. It worked to my benefit. I dont like doing it but it honestly worked out better! Had a great smooth ride!! I felt nice and strong...I had two packs of the powerbar gel chews on the ride and a gu somewhere about half way. took another gu before the run and this is me and hubby leaving transition area!!!

The run initially wasnt to hot feeling. but about a mile or so into it i realized these tri tops are better for the bike...but i am always so hot running and the mid day sun was starting to beat down. off it went. will need to put sun block on my arms next race and something for my face. also looked into hammergel endurolyte replacements. the volunteers along the course were amazing as always. had a nice run. paced well and stopped at each water stop and drank one and threw one on my head. my oldest son was waiting for me and the turn around and ran back in with me. we chatted and cheered people still running out!!

Finished up the race feeling very good!! Knowing that in two weeks it will be longer and hotter!!! So stayed within goals and training. Had a nice strong race!!!

My splits were:

swim 29:32 for .7 mile swim

1:29:04 for 40k bike

1:03:17 for 10k run

Hubby got third in his AG

swim 22.14

bike 1:10:04

run 59:37

Love this small race!!! Great views, nice volunteers, and just generally a fun race to do!!! 

90 min spin friday

today several of my friends joined for an easy stroll down st marks trail....we held a nice pace. probably a little faster than i should because i have a race tomorrow but oh well. it was really nice conversational pace so that still fits in the guidelines of EZ ride. ended up with about 25 miles.
the most interesting part of this ride was when my friend in front of me ran over a snake, she squealed and then i hit the snake as well and screamed....everyone was laughing and we had not even been a mile into the ride. coming home we saw a turtle trying to cross the trail....good times!

swimming thursday

swim workout today
2 sets of 1100 (because thats race distance saturday)
first set with fins for warm up and second set just me.
400 kick with board
400 pull with breath every 10th stroke

finished with a nice hot tub soak in the jets!!

loving the new nike swim suit received from swimoutlet.com

humpday workout

took it nice and easy today. took kids to school and hit up a hot yoga class. after hot yoga drove over to the famous Kim Ortloff to let her do her magic!! always a good day with 180  min of stretching!!

now to go get pampered for the Golden Gala tonight!

brick tuesday

changed things up a little bit since the trail marathon is a week after gulfcoast...and it was little chilly this am for cycling....ran 5.5 miles around the hood and then came home to send my kids off to school. jumped on trainer at home (normally i dont care to do this but i didnt have anyone that was able to go with me today. my sweet hubby has to work and he didnt want me riding that long without anyone and it was cold--so i chose to let him win this time) Rode for 2:45 and caught up on all my tv shows....real housewives of OC and ultimate fighter....Thank you little baby Jesus for 3 shows of Urijah Faber!! Enough said...Rode hard!! Finished the ride and then went out for another run. Felt really good. Knocked out 3 miles and then trotted up to the golf course where my friend was with her husband and convinced her to do the last 6 with me....What a trooper!! She said she wasnt hitting very well anyway and gladly joined me...Teach her to tell me where she is!! haha. So in total ran 14.5 miles and rode with an average pace not easy but not race pace for 2:45 I am guessing about 40 miles or so.

fuel::: (When I finished the run this am I took on Roctane gu and then one about every 45 min cycling. About an hour into spin I also started nibbling on a powerbar gel chomp bag. on the second hour of spin I also started nibbling on a chocolate chip Cliff bar. My energy levels are maintaining with no drops. Adequately hydrating. Since inside I drank 2 propel bottles in the 2:45 ride.) The second run I continued the gu every 45 min and filled up my 8 oz handheld water bottle 3 times. Finished run and feeling great!

Home for a nice relaxing epsom salt bath!! Doesnt get much better than this!!!

Now time to get some sweet potatoes and meat to refuel!!

fishy monday

looking forward to swimming all day and then 530 rolls around. its cold. plan to swim 75 min. but only made 60 min. never really warmed up and the hot tub was calling my name. had a nice swim and actually missed the ocean. silliness!! anyway got 2 sets of 1000 free in and called it a night. sat in hot tub with jets working my sore hips on the pressure points for a good 20  minutes.
hit the crepevine for a spinach salad with scrambled egg, sausage, cucumbers, bacon, and strawberries.
I dont like eating spinach at all but I have become accustomed to it and it really gives me good load for my workouts. It is also very filling so I just force myself to knock it back. Not everything has to be enticing to my palette!

Sunday leg loosener

Today was supposed to be a long ride. But I am down at the beach and not sure about my tire and it is super windy. Not safe conditions for my husbands standards of me being on the rode! So instead my youngest son and I took off for a beach run!! Super windy and crashing waves. We had a great time. Nice and easy. Chilly and windy made it perfect for a nice run! 4 miles in the beach sand provided a different challenge than normal so that was good for me today!!

Saturday White Sands Tri (sprint)

Started out friday afternoon to Panama City Beach after loading all the gear. Unloaded everything and then headed to a swim meet....swim meet got over late....got home and was laying and checking everything....bike tire is flat... (ok bike tire was flat this am but i pumped it and went on a nice 60 min ride, didnt think much more about it) hubby is pissed!!!
Take tire off and inspect the tube. small hole at the valve. Tube sold as a replacement is to big... hate great bicycle shop in tallahassee!! so now we are patching tube at 930p before the race. so far so good

Saturday am 0515 am wake up...tire still has air...WOOHOO!!
Get all gear together, eat, and head to Spinnaker...Bikes to transition

Ready to hit the water

The weather has held up and not supposed to hit til about noon....But the water has a lot of waves...not flat like my practice swim..but oh well. did a little warm up to get used to it. And ready to go.....

(Side note: I promised my friends if I made it out of the water I would stop and pose like super woman and I did...very thankful it all went very well. no i am not Michael Phelps nor do i care to be. I stayed focused and felt very calm and happy in the water. Speed will come or it wont. But I did not drown)

I walked up the sand hill to the transition area so i didnt spike my HR before the bike. And this worked well for me. The bike I felt strong and solid. Need to get a little basket type thing (will post a pic when I get it) to hold my power bar chomps in so i can grab and chew easily. The gu taped to my bike worked well. Took it about mile 6 on the bike. Had a headwind going down the circle and tailwind coming back. Did 3- 5 mile loops. Felt good in aero and was able to have a nice run getting off the bike. 

To finish the race with my family and friends there was incredible. My oldest son ran me into the finish line and my hubby came back to see my finish my first open water Sprint Triathlon!! Such an amazing experience!! Addicting in so many ways!! Can not say enough about endurance racing. Conquer all your fears and do one!!

Gulfwinds Tri suit worked amazingly well, TYR hurricane wetsuit is a pain to put on but worked perfectly. Nike Pegasus Shoes with Lace locks made for a great quick transition. Just dont lock the laces to tight!!! 

Looking forward to a good training week til next weekend!! Beach Blast Olympic Triathlon!!! Almost double the distance on the swim, 10 more miles on the bike and double the run!!

results are here....

http://www.warriorracetiming.com/WST2012%20AG%20Results%20SPLITS.pdf

My splits were: Swim 18.11 

T1 1.22

bike 54.19 @ 18.78 MPH

T2 0.56

Run 26.43 @08:37 per mile for total of 1:41:31

Hubby's Splits were: Swim 13.16

T1 2.23

Bike 46.34 @ 21.9 MPH

T2 1.33

Run 24.55 @08:02 per mile for total of 1:28:41

friday leg loose ride

travel to the beach. nice 60 min slow ride to keep legs loose. packed and ready to go. all things checked off the list. supposed to be bad weather tomorrow. really nervous. hopefully it will be calm in the morning. then the afternoon can do its thing!!!

Thursday spin

took off for a 90 min spin today. had a great ride. nice to loosen up the legs and hips....

heading over to Stretch your life with Kim Ortloff!! Ready for the fun tri weekend!!

Ended the evening with a very sweaty and hot    Hot Yoga class....doesnt get better than this!!!
Jeff did an amazing job teaching tonight~~~~

wed night yoga

today skipped interval day....obviously from my previous posts that does not make me unhappy. Woke up this am expecting to be a little sore but not at all. Went to golf club and hit 9 holes with my training buddy. Came home and headed to pool. supposed to have bad weather all afternoon so did a quick set.

500 yd with fins warm up

500 yd pull

200 kick

600 free swim with no fins. slow slow...but oh well. i will finish and i will be checking things off my bucket list a lot in the next month!!!

looking forward to a little yoga tonight to stretch things out!!

Tuesday double crazy day....two races not enough time

I have a half ironman and a marathon within a week of each other in a month...so needless to say i am doing a lot of training....today started out at 5am....ran with my friends in my neighborhood for 10 miles...saw lots of critters--about 5 deer, fox, lots of birds and seeing the sunrise always is good!!! temp was about 60 with no sun so its tolerable...hit back home to get kids ready for school and then loaded bike up to head to trail to ride since people drive crazy in this town trying to go to work. my girls and i did a 60/30 brick )which is what was schedule for my 70.3 and we had a great ride. nice intervals on the bike for 60 min getting up to 27mph for about .25 of a mile....yeah!!! and then a nice brick even post 10 miles earlier....negative splits...feeling strong...after this i was feeling hungry so had a zone bar....now this is not on the paleo plate but it did work well and no digestive issues as of yet. to finish up the day one of the girls, that i am doing the trail marathon with, traveled over to the trails to finish up our run...we needed to get 18 miles in today (being the only long run) before the marathon and we wanted trail terrain...it was about 10 by now and getting warmer. the bugs are out in full force and i am sweating a ton....still need to pee which means i am staying hydrated well. my handheld last for about 5 miles now...so have to stay on top of making sure i can reload as needed....we got about 1.5 miles into the woods and i needed to re gu....for some reason i did not before we started the woods loop....stupid mistake...but we re fueled in the woods and then finished the run. it was nice becasue even thought the sun was out the trees covered us from being in direct line. although hot it was tolerable. we finished this run and our crazy workout. so far so good. feel great. hips a little sore but nothing unusual....

ate a little food and then went to part two of the day and began the pampering....

got my hair done and a massage to finish the day. my appetite wasnt very good but hopefully it will bounce back. all in all a very good training day. staying within all parameters!!!

never regret a workout.....

I woke up today like an angry hornet. tired of training. didnt want to do anything. just in an unusual pissy mood. didnt want to swim. didnt want to think about 70.3. but i pulled myself out of bed and told myself i would feel better afterwards. an internal argument going on in my head i remembered a quote i had seen recently. "no one ever regrets that workout". i kept telling myself this. because if i was going to be angry might as well have a reason to be......proving to be true i didnt regret going to the pool.

starting out i felt tight all over...which is just plain wrong with having a rest day the day before but whatever.....took about 500 yds for my to not feel aches...then kinda relax. now at a 1000....ok finally feeling a little more like myself...took me 29 minutes to swim 1000 yds....this frustrated me even more. refused to get back in the bad place...i started my next set....this one felt better i relaxed a bit...got into my groove...my friend showed up about 400 into this set and we chatted for a second and then i finished my set....a whole 7 min faster...wow...just being in a better place makes a difference. still not pushing but just mentally better....hubby had already finished his 3000 by this point and had to leave for work (yes he is that much faster than me)

finished my last set for a total of 3k. Sat in the hot tub and then went to Kool Beanz for a nice lunch with my friend. Took forever to get our food but it was so good well worth the wait!!!

Peppered Flank steak with large sweet potatoe fries!!!

today only had a bag of powerbar gel cola about 2-3 chews in between sets...

but if you get anything from reading my training stuff.....get up and go do the workout no matter how bad you feel. you wont regret it....every workout isnt about quality.....sometimes just the motions will get you back feeling better!!

Beach Rest day

feeling a little tight from yesterdays race decided to drive over to the beach where i will be doing my first actual beach sprint triathlon....the waters are still clear and so pretty but red flags were up and it was very choppy......

so no attempt at swimming for me today. Just enjoyed the fresh air and wonderful wind. Chill days are often forgotten about! A wonderful way to end the weekend.

***Ordered my new trail pegasus for the upcoming trail marathon.....love these cool colors cant wait to feel the difference from my regular road pegasus!

Palace saloon 5k

Raced today. Took powerbar gel chomps cola flavor about an hour before and then gu right before run started. not a pr but still a pretty good race. the slight hill from 2-2.5 pulled at my quads a bit and i didnt want to push to much since i bricked yesterday. kept a pretty good even pace thru out the run. last.5 miledown hillwas a full sprint that carried it home. the hill brought my heart rate up to 100% max which i should have eased off more but didntandit made me throw up at finish line due to the super fast downhill sprint. oh well. it wasnt that bad. had a great time and of course had a celebratory beer at the end. Conversing with good friends after made this a great "non scheduled training day"

OOTR: nike visor, oakleys, fuel belt hand held, ifitness bib belt, garmin 310xt, wren lululemon CRB, camo speeds lululemon, lucy double time black sports bra, nike pegasus 28 for their inaugural race! Perfect attire, no chaffing, excellent coverage and support!

Addendum: Hot stone massage pedicure is WONDERFUL at the end of a training week. The stones pull soreness from calves!!! And pretty toes are always a must!! ;-))

friday bricker....a day early

Today was supposed to be a rest day but will hubby working tomorrow and an afternoon party and just life in general the brick would not happen...so we did our 120 min ride on a pretty day mid afternoon (warm) and a side wind that felt like a headwind the whole time. finished strong...its always a little more difficult for me chasing hubby. his slow day is my fast day. got off the bike and took off for a 60 min run. for some reason I thought that I needed hills today and did that route. convinced myself that the first mile and a half would hurt a little anyway so the hills would not matter. haha silly silly. i was correct but at 1p it was rather warm and i am getting used to needing more water. my one little hand held was barely enough. had to stop along the way and fill back up. took gu chomps and a choc hammergel on the bike ride and then another gu before the run. usually i can go a little longer without refuel on the run but i guess the ride ahead of it makes me need a little more and then combined with the heat...hmm...anyway i took another gu at 30 min in and was fine. finished workout...went into my next role and headed to pick up the kids from school. Grabbed them and went to Outback.....Refueled with an 8 oz filet, lobster tail, sweet potatoe fries, and broccoli!!! So delicious!! Finished the day with a karma yoga class. Hubby and I were the only ones that came so it was like we had a private power vinyasa class!! Fun fun!! Did vinyasas, pigeon, hamstring stretches, handstands, dolphin into forearm stand, side crow and crow, lots of "fointing" haha good times!!

Thursday Swim day and then some!!

Today was a superb day....esp after the night I had...Up most of the night throwing up from a little bug that all my peeps have had...SAHM duties in the am and decided to hit the pool midmorning. Had a WONDERFUL swim......Slightly euphoric. Nice weather. half a bag of powerbar gel cola flavor before swim and after kept my energy level perfect! Finished lil 3k and then had a great lunch with my hubby!!! Flank steak with large sweet potato fries from a local restaurant.

Picked kids up for school and had another wonderful surprise....My oldest sons running assignment was a 2 mile loop and he chose to run with me....granted he is WAY faster than I am. We had a wonderful time chatting---him mostly---and finished a 6 mile loop in the trails QUICKLY....Love days like this....Great workouts with great company!

After the run while waiting on my other son to finish his after school activities we hit up a Hot Yoga class!!! A perfect end to this day. Super sweaty and surprisingly I wasnt very tight and loosened up quickly. Enjoyed this very sweaty coretastic class!!

Chicken piccata for dinner with a side salad of spinach and eggs. Hopefully I will get plenty of rest and no weird episodes tonight!

Wed intervals

Today was tricky. Originally planned to hit treadmill. As usual things changed up a bit....but being super flexible we dropped kids off to school and hit the track! My first mile interval day. Not gonna lie this made me very nervous!!! Still managed to stay within my pace goal but no negative splits. But I have read you are not supposed to. You aim for it but it's not usually what occurs. So we did a half mile jog at a 1030 pace. And then took off for the first mile, started off to fast but it felt good so I just have to learn to ease up, no 6:50 pace out of the gate!!! First Mile was 7:27 then we walked for a 400m. The second mile tried to pace down and successfully got to where I was aiming! 7:47....HR in zone 5. I can feel it-don't care for it at all. Took me the full 400m to come back down. So I had a feeling the last mile was gonna be tougher. And it was but I still managed to keep pushing and kept it at 7:57. Finally cool down and it is over!! Yahoo! Now off to Hot yoga for a wonderful stretch! Super sweaty class and fun energy!! Ate two pieces of bacon and a thing of scrambled eggs (from chick fila) after the intervals and a half bag of powerbar cola gel chews. Perfect replenishment and no hunger or dive in energy at hot yoga!!! Got a little yoga high and a great stretch! This combination works really well for me. No injuries and recovery is amazing! After yoga was hungry so refueled with an omelette filled with bacon, sausage, avocado, broccoli, and ham!!! So good!! Replenish the salts and a side fruit plate of oranges, apples, grapes, and cantaloupe--oh and a couple strawberries!!! Happy Hump day all!!! Muah!

Brick workout 60/30

Today's workout got started later than planned which I don't like. But hubby wasn't feeling well, laundry needed to be done and the rest is history. 8am turned into noon!!! So I took off for my ride did great, tried to some pointers my husband told me to try and it was harder in a gear with more resistance but I did seem to spin less but work harder....which was the plan but doesn't make sense to me....oh well...but the direct goal of faster pace was achieved!!! Then after my nice HOT spin was done I went for a jog. Energy felt fine but really wasn't into running or any of the workout today. Nice pace for it being 1p and really hot. I sprayed sunblock on my face and it with my sweat my eyes were burning for a minute. So if things were going to make me not like this workout everything was lined up!!!! But after it was done the old saying is true....you never finish a workout and say man I regret doing this!!! Just another training day. Not

Every day can be perfect! It's only what you make of it!!! And I made it get finished!!! Now to sleep for the most dreaded of all workouts tomorrow----intervals!!'

Monday funday!!

Today is supposed to be a 75 min swim day. But since we took it easy this weekend. Tacked on a little doubles today. Started the morning out with a 210 min ride. Two of my friends wanted to ride but neither had time to do it all....so Hil joined for the first bit and then Nat joined us for the back half. All in all perfect weather, great company, and a great make up workout.....

Lunch to refuel was 3 scrambled eggs, 3 sausage patties, and a cup of steamed broccoli. with a half of sweet potatoe cut up for fries!!!

Started mom taxi for a bit and then ended the afternoon with a swim workout to complete the day. We did 3 sets of 1000 each to finish our 75 min time requirement. Went to eat at a local restaurant...Had a delish spinach salad with eggs, sausage, ham, turkey, cucumbers, and strawberries with oil and vinegar. Energy levels have been great all day.

I have made a boo boo and not been ahead of the curve with ordering Gu for the workouts....which is not Paleo but its still not frowned upon for endurance athletes and I use them and have had no complaints. I have tried hammer gels and dont like the consistence. So far the roctane Gu's are perfect. I tend to take about every 45 min and have not hit a wall nor do I feel any drops in energy levels by not eating standard "carbs"

Tomorrow the Goofy Challenge opens and I hope I get in before it sells out!! Jan 2013 I will be GOOFY!!!

That is all for now!!!

Sunday Another improvised workout beach day....

Today was scheduled to be a 45 min swim with a 65 min run....well i could have fit all this in but chose to shake things up a bit.....Being Easter Sunday and the fact that I dont get paid to train we had a wonderful improvised rest day. After Easter Service we got dressed and went to the beach. We did a .3 mile swim in the ocean with the kids. What a great experience. The salt water was a new ballgame.....Fun in a different way from the pool and a whole lot better than the lake!!! Saw several dolphins and a jelly fish floating towards us. Finished the swim and then enjoyed the beautiful day.....Times truly dont get better than this!!!! Below is a picture of my "pool" for the day!!

Saturday Unpredicted Rest Day

Today we could have woke up early and did a ride but we wanted to go see our good friends start their Red Hills Tri race. Glad we chose to do this...Had a wonderful time. Had to leave a little early so we could head to the beach for the boys lacrosse tournament. Beautiful weather. Great Company. Boys won both of their games and played BEASTLY!!! Super happy day!!!

Friday Ride day

Nice easy perfectly paced 90 min ride with one of my friends. My husband took off way down the trail and we just paced along and had a great ride. Happy Good Friday!!! Doesnt get better than this!!!!

Swimming day....

Nothing exciting about today...Not really into the swim today. The googles kept filling with water, and for some reason it took about 1ooo yds to get into rhythm. Oh well at least hopefully I am getting the kinks out now....

interval wed

todays workout 4 x 1200s

Met me bestie at the gym at 0500.... (thats a lot early) but it is so hot so early now and we both have mommy duties...so you have to make sacrifices!!! I choose to be healthy and get it in however I can....

we did a warm up 400m walk and then

1200 @ 07:30 pace then walk 400

1200 @0730 pace then walk 400

repeat 2 more times.....

Cool down walk around the track.....Talk and catch up!!!

Love my bestie time!!!

BRICKER TUESDAY

Today was HOT!!! OMG!!! Went out for a bike ride!!! IPOD in and knocked it out!! Today despite my legs being tired...I killed it!!! Nice pace, consistent!! For 18 miles....Got off the bike and did my run. Felt wonderful despite being completely soaked!!! Love my SOAS Racing gear...Worked perfectly.....A Wonderful day despite hating hot weather for working out....

Came home and showered and went straight to see Kim Ortloff for an intense stretch!!! Love her!!

monday swim day

Nothing to impressive here. Had to get in the water and prove to myself i can swim again. No issues today. Swam a simple.....Swim for 75 minutes, dont touch the sidewalls and keep going til time up. That was done got about 2800 or about 1.64 miles in. A good day! Nice and warm and I didnt drown!!

Sunday Run day

Todays workout called for a 90 min EZ run...

So I met a couple of my friends at the local trail and we took off...Slightly warm and humid....Clothes and hair soaking wet....But had a great run.....started out a little sore from the day before but loosened up about a mile into the run. We just chatted and conquered the worlds problems all before 10 am....was still within goal running pace and maintaining HR levels/zones!!! Happy Sunday!!