This (and Next) Week's Schedule.

So, this week is a wash. What with the exhaustion and the soreness and the poor eating, I'm just a mess! So I'll just start with today and move on ahead.

Thursday: Rest day.
Friday: Short run (23 minutes).
Saturday: Makeup long bike (70 minutes).
Sunday: Makeup long run (35 minutes).
Monday: Rest day OR swim (62 minutes).
Tuesday: Long run (39 minutes).
Wednesday: Rest day.
Thursday: Short bike (46 minutes).
Friday: Rest day.
Saturday: Long bike (77 minutes).
Sunday: Practice run (25 minutes), weights.

:)

Ugh.

So. Fat.

Now, I haven't gotten on the scale to test said fatness, but after all the eating I've done over the last week, I feel so huge. And tired. And lazy, too, since I did only one run while in Georgia and nothing since.

Today marks the first day of Eating Well again -- not to be confused with Good Eating, which is what I did all weekend and which, I'm afraid, has gotten me into this fix to begin with. The Good Eating plan took me down the road of pizza, casseroles, stuffing, gravy, Tofurky, wine, coffee with cream, wine, biscuits, soy sausage, eggs, grits, pumpkin pie, Cool Whip, wine, and more.

Wow. Did I really eat all of that this weekend? I'm so ashamed. :)

And, to top it all off, I'm sore. Like, shin-splitting, knee-aching sore. I'm sure it comes down to not stretching properly before and after my last run, as well as my not getting enough rest all week and subscribing to the Good Eating plan. I've got a nice long bike ride scheduled for this weekend, which ought to soften the blow a little bit and get me back on the wagon.

Meantime, I've got to start Eating Well again. Boo and hiss.

For lunch today, I'll have a salad, I think, or a sandwich from Subway. With baked chips, if I decide I need some. Tonight, I'll propose sushi for dinner and see how that goes over. Sans the sake.

Sushi, sans sake?! Oh, nobody knows the troubles I've seen!

:)

I Like Ike.

So, Ike and I went on another ride this morning and had a fine time. I'm much more comfortable with the brakes now, and getting off the bike at a stoplight has become easier. You know, it helps to lean forward off the seat first before trying to dismount. I'm just now learning these things. :)

It was a great ride around Old Town this morning. It really is nice to watch the world wake up. I've always felt that way about running, too. It's neat to watch the kids in their neat and tidy uniforms, heading into the Catholic school down the street; to watch a flock of geese take flight off the Potomac; to watch all the dogs walking their owners along the sidewalk.

I could do without the school buses that give me about two inches' worth of clearance at a stoplight, but we've all got our burdens to bear.

Anyway, I will rue the day when the ground is too icy to spend my mornings with Ike, but for now I'll enjoy our wintry jaunts together, zooming down the city streets. Who knows? Maybe he'll even be able to get me up earlier in the mornings, even on these dark December days.

:)

This Week's Schedule.

First of all, may I just say that I LOVE my new bike. I've christened him Ike, and I know that we're going to have fine times together. :)

Second of all, this week's (belated) schedule.

Monday: Rest day.
Tuesday: Rest day.
Wednesday: Short bike (42 minutes).
Thursday: Long bike (70 minutes).
Friday: Swim (56 minutes) OR rest day.
Saturday: Short run (21 minutes).
Sunday: Long run (35 minutes).

:)

Next Year's Schedule, Part 1.

Well, that's an ambitious headline, isn't it? ;)

I'm just trying to get my tri/running schedule together for the next year or so. I recognize none of this is set in stone, and most of these events I haven't even registered for yet. But I thought this would help me develop a training -- and racing -- plan. So here we go.

March 24: The Red Hills Triathlon (sprint).
April 14: Race to Stop the Silence (10K).
May 20: Capitol Hill Classic (10K).
June 3: Manassas Mini-Tri (mini-sprint).
Sept. 29: The Nation's Triathlon (Olympic).
Oct. 28: Marine Corps Marathon.
November: Marine Corps Turkey Trot OR Tallahassee Turkey Trot.
December: Jingle Bell Run ... somewhere. ;)

What do you think?

:)

One Mile! One Mile! One Mile!

Well, I think the title says it all, really.

Today, this very morning, for the first time EVER, I ran one mile without stopping. Even as a kid, when all the other children were taking the Presidential Fitness Program seriously and running their little legs off around the orange cones on the soccer field, I slowed my gait to a walk to hit a personal best of 20 minutes per mile. ;) So this little feat is a big deal today.

And do you know what? It was actually pretty easy.

I worked hard at pacing myself -- a 10-minute-mile pace -- and it really paid off. I know 10 minutes isn't exactly the speediest mile on the planet, but it worked for me. Speed will come later. Or maybe it won't. It's the endurance I'm after, anyway. If I can run from here to China, I don't particularly care about the time it takes.

So tomorrow I'll be back at it for another mile. Then next week I'll do a mile and a half. I can see success now, really bask in how it feels. I can taste victory -- not against others, but within myself. It's wonderful. Truly wonderful.

Have a great day, y'all.

:)

This Week's Schedule

Yes, there are some two-a-days, but that's OK since this week's my slow week. I need some remedial running training. :)

Monday: Short bike (46 minutes)
Tuesday: Short run (23 minutes)
Wednesday: "Long" run (23 minutes) in the morning; makeup long bike (77 minutes) in the afternoon
Thursday: Short run (21 minutes) and weights in the morning
Friday: Training run (25 minutes) OR rest day depending on how I feel
Saturday: "Long" bike (46 minutes)
Sunday: Swim (46 minutes), weights

:)

Dude. It's Cold Outside.

So, this morning I did my 23-minute short run in the below-freezing temperatures of a Virginia winter. It was probably the coldest morning I've ever trained in -- for any sport, ever. But do you know it wasn't so bad? I mean, my trachea wanted to close up and so forth, but not nearly as badly as the last time I tried such a stunt (about a month ago during the first cold snap).

Of course, today I was more bundled up than the last time I ran in the freezing cold. I don't know whether that has much to do with my better ability to breathe this time around, but I was certainly more comfortable. I tried out my new running pants, which I like quite a lot! They kept me warm and wicked away the sweat. I topped it off with a big bulky sweatshirt and my new wool hat. :) Nothing says class like a wool hat, no?

I decided to take a rest day yesterday because, well, I just needed one. So the rest of the week will be a training frenzy. OK, perhaps not a "frenzy." But consistent, at least. So, I've tweaked my schedule a little bit to reflect the changing times. ;)

The schedule as follows:

Wednesday: Short run (23 minutes)
Thursday: Swim (62 minutes)
Friday: Practice short run (21 minutes)
Saturday: Long run (39 minutes)
Sunday: Long bike (77 minutes)

... and that's that. So easy! So athletic!

:)

This Week's Schedule

Monday: Short bike (46 minutes)
Tuesday: Short run (23 minutes)
Wednesday: Long bike (77 minutes)
Thursday: Practice short run (21 minutes)
Friday: Rest day
Saturday: Long run (39 minutes)
Sunday: Swim (62 minutes)

A Pretty Good Week.

Well, good morning!

Last week's training went pretty well, if I do say so myself. I did miss one day -- the swim day -- but I tackled all the rest with a vengeance and had a pretty good time in the process. I know it's not good to continually sag off on the swimming, but it's my most comfortable event in the tri. So while I know I need to get back to training for it -- and I will this week, I promise! -- I'm also not sweating it too terribly much.*

Anyway, this week looks strong. I'll be picking up my new bike from the shop tomorrow evening and will be riding it for the long bike on Wednesday. And I bought some new running pants for these cold winter mornings. Until the ice comes in a month or so, I have no excuse to avoid running outdoors! :)

I hope everyone had a good weekend! I woke up this morning with my eyes firmly focused on the week ahead. I can already feel that it'll be a good one!

:)


* And I hope this will not come back to bite me in the waters of Lake Hall on March 24!!