Brickity Brick

I'm so glad I finally got on my bike and discovered that I hadn't lost all my fitness over the winter. I love riding my bike.

This morning I decided I was going out for a little ride near Lake Monroe. I adapted the BBC Strain Ridge Old 37 route to leave from my house. Here is their route:



I left my house and headed south and east. I wore my new jersey and baggy shorts to test them out for the Hoosier Tour. (I love this jersey. The shorts are okay. Can't beat the super sale price of $16.99 that I got them for.)

I passed the Smithville Farmer's Market. I wanted to stop, but didn't have any cash, so I kept going. I enjoy riding through the little town of Smithville. I made it to Ramp Creek with no problems, having a great time! And then I climbed Ramp Creek, no big deal, like I hadn't stopped doing it for... six? months. Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long. Wow.

Anyway, I saw a deer, but the nice thing about country deer are that they see a person coming toward them and run away. Unlike Bloomington deer that just stare you down like you're out of place.

But, by far, the most important part of this ride....

I BLEW A SNOT ROCKET!

My nose runs when I ride my bike, especially here in the spring, and usually I just use a bandana to blow it, but that gets annoying and it only takes like three blows before that thing is gross. So I decided I was going to master the snot rocket. I had been avoiding it because I didn't want to get it all over me, but amazingly, after studying up online, I tried it today and was successful on the first try!

A successful snot rocket!

So I just kept doing it. No gross bandana! Yay!

You may notice on my wrist, I'm wearing a Silly Band. It's the Camp Kesem mascot that I received in my 100 Miles of Nowhere kit. I'm glad I wore it. If I started feeling tired, I'd notice my little worm and think about how lucky I really am, and then sucked it up and kept pushing. So, thanks, Fatty!

Anyway, it was a really beautiful day, with great scenery. I really love that route. I did have one slight problem, where I tried to get on Highway 37 instead of Old 37, but I figured that out really quickly and corrected myself. Old 37 is deceiving every time. Those hills feel a lot harder than they look. But soon I was passing the drive-in theater and was almost home.

I made it home in 1:47, completing 24 miles at a 13.4 mph average speed.

Then I changed shorts and laced up my running shoes. I intended to run the five miles up to the Bloomington Farmer's Market to meet Seth for lunch, but got distracted by a water fountain and missed my turn and didn't realize it until I'd gone 0.75 miles in the wrong direction! Also, it was getting pretty hot (I think it reached 85*F today) and I was tired, so I just turned around and went back home. (After talking to Barb briefly, who was out riding her bike on the B Line trail.) So I ended up with a 2.5 mile run at an 11:46 min/mile average. Don't judge, it's hard to run on brick legs in the hot unshaded sun.

I'll probably try to do an actual 5 mile run tomorrow. Before the day starts baking.

And for all my hard work, I treated myself to a Thai Bubble Tea. Yum.

Bike to Work Day

And some other stuff too.

Ran yesterday morning. The track was closed (even though it's open at 6:30 every day that I swim...) so I just ran around the block that surrounds the track and tennis courts and HPER parking lot. Only one gradual barely a hill, so it's not too bad. Also it was chilly, which really works for me apparently. I did my 3.5 miles at a 10:21 min/mile pace.

I swam this morning. I was running late, so I had to skip the last 4 X 50 yards and only ended up with 1000 yards instead of the planned 1200. Also, I felt like I was swimming like a chicken. And I don't think chickens can swim. I felt like my elbows were everywhere and I had to share a lane, which always makes me worry I'm going to smack the other person, which makes me run into the lane divider at least once per length. Also, the girl I was sharing with was speedy, which just made my chicken dance feel stupid. But, it didn't slow me down too much. Which probably is just an indicator that I am not the greatest swimmer to begin with...

Anyway, as the title of the post says, today was Bike to Work Day. I intended to bike in, but I had a weird dream (I'm not sure I can say hello to my neighbors anymore. Their dream versions were scary.) and slept later than planned. Also, it was still dark and like 40*F outside when I would have had to leave to make it to the pool (which I still didn't do on time). But I did take my bike and rode it home. First commute of the year! Yay!

Except that Bloomington has gone nuts with the construction this summer and it turns out I can't go my normal route. Which I learned the hard way when I suddenly reached an impassable point. So I turned around and made something up, which involved riding on a section of Rockport Rd I'd really rather not ride on. And for good reason, because a giant SUV almost killed me. I'm not sure why he couldn't wait an extra five seconds for the car in the other lane to go by before attempting to pass me (while I was going 22 mph in a 30 mph zone, mind you). Anyway, it was a little scary, but I'm glad I rode my bike home. I'm going to try to keep it up, but I think I'll have to find an alternate route until that business on Tapp Rd is cleared up.

Commute:
6.6 miles at 10.7 mph average
(iPhone measurement; no autopause)

Hump Day Swim and Run update

So this week's swim workout is

400 yards
200 yards
4 X 100 yards
4 X 50 yards

for a total of 1200 yards!

That is quick progress right there! And I'm really enjoying this program and having focus to know what to do in the pool.

I've been using my SportCount to help me keep track of what lap I'm on, but also I've determined that on average, it takes me about 1:10 to swim 50 yards. Which by my estimates, means I should be able to complete the 1.2 mile swim in about 40-45 minutes, which is a pretty average time. So that's exciting that I might not embarrass myself.

And yesterday, I hit the neighborhood to do my 3.5 mile run, which ended up being 3.75 slow miles (11:14 min/mile pace). But I surprisingly saw lots of people out running, which was kind of nice.

It really feels good to be on the move again.

Sunday Run

So in preparation for the half Ironman I'm signed up for, I'm repeating the half marathon training plan I followed for the IMM half in conjunction with the 0 to 1650 swim plan. I'm thinking that at the conclusion of these two plans, I will just continue to keep the mileage up until October. And I'm riding my bike in there somewhere.

Anyway, today was the end of week two, which called for a four mile run. I ran through the 'hood to the Clear Creek trail until I got to two miles, then turned around and came back. Four miles done in 42:14 for an average 10:34 min/mile pace.

I'll take it.

Shortened Ride to Gosport

Earlier today I said I was going on my first BBC ride... 46 miles to Gosport. I sort of made it!

I stopped by BikeSmiths and had them adjust my rear derailleur. It changed gears better, but turns out it's still pretty jumpy in the low gears, so I think I'll have to take it back in for some more adjustment before the bike trip in a few weeks.

Anyway, we grouped up at Bryan Park. It was mostly people I didn't really know, only a couple that I did, but then Rachel showed up so I knew I was okay. We did the pre-ride routine of going over the route and meetup spots and then we were off.

I pretty much rode sweep.

aka I was slow.

But I managed to hold my own okay. I was able to keep the group in my sights for the most part. But, as always, after a while the group broke up some.

A smaller group of us convened in Stinesville (about 18 miles in). At this point Rachel, Allan, and I decided we would take the short route back. I actually did something strange to my back yesterday and it was starting to hurt so I was glad there were other short route takers. Otherwise I probably would have tagged along to Gosport, but it would have been much more painful.

We actually made pretty good time out to Stinesville (I think about 15-16 mph average). We took it pretty easy on the way back. We probably could have gone faster, but I was okay with not. We even stopped to save a tiny turtle at one point.

All told, I made it back to my house with 41 miles under my belt at an 11.7 mph average speed. So far it seems that every time I ride, I double my yearly mileage!

And, my butt hurts some (I think I need to tighten my Brooks), and some hills were more difficult than I would like, but I didn't have to walk and I don't feel awful now. I mean, I'm glad I did the short route, but I'm not dead for the rest of the day. I think that's a good sign.

Recap of this week

This has been a crazy week. So you get a lot of stuff all in one post.

On Sunday I ran 4 miles at an 11:00 min/mile pace.

On Monday I ran 3 miles around campus because the track was closed. I'm seriously giving up hope on that thing. It was chilly every morning this week, which makes me go faster. I like that.

Monday night is where things start getting crazy. A friend of mine had a sleepover since her husband was out of town. Six of us stayed over and ate delicious homemade Indian food and potstickers and potato chips while sipping wine, watching Bend it like Beckham, and playing board games. We were up most of the night, but I of course still woke up at 5:00 Tuesday morning. (I just wake up at that time. I don't even need an alarm clock.) I stayed on the couch til about 5:45 then (hopefully) quietly gathered my stuff and headed to the pool for Week 3 Day 1 of my 0 to 1650 plan. I made it to the pool super early and promised myself a trip to Starbucks afterwards, but as it turns out, the website hadn't updated the summer pool hours and the pool is now only open on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays until the fall semester. Boo. So I showered at the gym and went to Starbucks anyway. Which apparently also has new summer hours which include it not being open at 7:00 am when normal people want to drink coffee. So Tuesday was a bust.

Wednesday I was still exhausted from Tuesday, but I ran 2.5 miles on Thursday morning at a 9:31 min/mile pace! That's like blazing fast, and again, I think it's because it was chilly. I also ran on the sidewalk around the track, so it was mostly flat.

Yesterday I received the new wrist strap and bike mount for my Garmin that I ordered. I'm super excited about that! I don't much care for the rubbery strap that came with the Garmin. My wrist size is right between two holes and the material rubs my wrist and sort of hurts. I'm really hoping this velcro fabric one will be better. I also replaced my back tire. I noticed on my ride last weekend that the sidewall had been rubbed and it was developing a bulge. I didn't want to ride too many miles like that. And while I had the tire off, I went ahead and cleaned my cassette and chain and lubed it up good. However, once I got it all reassembled, it's having a hard time switching between certain gears. I think it's just a rear derailleur tension problem, but that's outside my realm of mechanical comfort, so I'm going to have to stop in BikeSmiths this morning. Sigh.

But I'm planning to go on my first BBC ride in a couple hours. John is leading it and it's 46 miles out to Gosport and back. I'm excited!

Biker's High

Runner's high? HA! Those guys need to get a bike.

I went on my first real ride of the year today thanks to Rachel. I had been itching to get on my bike, but was concerned my legs would turn to jelly at the first hill I encountered. So I have been putting off riding my bike. Even though I know I love it.

Today was a great day for a ride. We waited until the graduation festivities subsided and headed out of town. I was a little concerned about how warm it was, but it ended up perfect. Within two miles of leaving Rachel's house, I knew I'd made a good decision to just do it.

We headed down to Lake Monroe via 446 and Knightridge. Rachel was on her sweet new Giant carbon road bike. It's pretty sleek looking. And I continued with my gadget testing; I had my normal bike computer, my iPhone, and my Garmin on my handlebars!

We made it to Lake Monroe and took a brief rest to watch the boat traffic.

 

Then turned around to go up the hill. 

We encountered another cyclists just as we started up who asked us if we were ready for torture and then proceeded to lap us. That's okay. We were enjoying the ride, not racing.

The hill was pretty eventful though. We were scared by a bunch of wild turkeys (or maybe a deer. All I know is it was big and in the woods.)  And I was seriously mooned by an old guy, which was fairly amusing.

We made it to the top and continued on back to Rachel's house. We chatted there a little bit about how great it felt to get that ride in and how we are looking forward to the summer bike trip next month and then I headed home. 

And here's the mountain of stats I collected:

                             Bike Computer                  Garmin                               iPhone

Distance:               20.390 miles                      20.12 miles                        21.06 miles

Time:                     1:31:33                              1:42:41                              1:52:29

Average Speed:     13.3 mph                           13.3 mph                           11.2 mph

Calories Burned:    701.4 calories                    1211 calories                      714 kCal

Clearly the calorie count varies greatly, but I already knew that is quite estimated anyway. The Garmin and bike computer are very close, especially since I forgot to start it right away. And I'm going to have to repeat this test with my iPhone, because I didn't bother to pause it when we stopped and it doesn't tell you the difference on the mapmyfitness website. But I have found the autopause and turned that on, so hopefully it will be more in line with the other two. Although I think I've already decided that I'm going to use my Garmin on the bike trip, just because its battery life is much greater.

Anyway, it was a great day to be on two wheels! I did much better than I was expecting and that makes me feel awesome!

Swim X2

I did the same 0 to 1650 workout yesterday and today that I did Thursday. I even read the manual for my lap counter and used it! I won't be posting all my swim lap numbers on the blog, but I average right at 1 min per 50 yard lap. Using this data I estimate that I should be able to complete the 1.2 mile swim in about 45 minutes, which is about a typical half Ironman time. So that's good.

I'm really enjoying this swim training program.

Sloooooooow Run

I'm not sure if I was running or swimming this morning. Last night's storms made the humidity INSANE this morning. Also, they made IU close the track. So hilly humidity running it was!

I worked out a running plan (I'm still working on the biking part. Feels weird to plan biking since I like it so much and never really thought of it as working out...) which called for 3 miles this morning. I missed a turn and ran 4. Which I swear was all uphill. I'm not ashamed to admit I walked up a couple of them. I think I ended up averaging around a 12 min/mile. But since I melt in humidity and had a jager bomb for dinner last night, I'm not going to beat myself up over that.

In other news, I have been using myfitnesspal to track what I eat again. I really like this site, especially now that I can use the app on my iPhone. I have a love/hate relationship with calorie counting, but it works. I keep meaning to write a personal post about this and other various things (like why I basically sat on my couch for two months), but I just haven't sat down to do it yet. Anyway, the point of all this is that this week I've been getting the right number of calories, but have fallen short of the recommended carbs everyday (I usually go over in protein, which still surprises me). So even though I'm being mindful of what I eat and am trying to make good choices, I may be shortchanging myself some energy in the form of carbs and that could be why I am feeling slow lately. Although, I'm just going to keep an eye on this and not make a lot of drastic changes, because it could be due to many things (not being in as good a shape as I was a few months ago, jager bombs, heat, humidity, forgetting my headphones so I have no music, it's all in my head, etc, etc).

Also, I saw two more brains on my swim run this morning.

Swim

I feel like I got up way too early. I have this "problem" of pretty much always waking up before my alarm clock goes off. It doesn't matter what time it is set for; I will wake up ten minutes before that. So not really a problem, because I practically never oversleep, but this morning was a little crazy since I woke up at 4:45 instead of 5:10 and was ready to go. I think this is the first time I've ever made it to the pool before I planned to be there!

Anyway, I started Week Two of the 0 to 1650 plan. Here's the workout:

200 yards; rest for 12 breaths
4 X 100 yards; rest 10 breaths between each
4 X 50 yards; rest 6 breaths between each
4 X 25 yards; rest 4 breaths between each
900 yards total

I hope that's the workout I did. I had trouble keeping count. It's possible I did 250 yards first thing. It's also possible that I either accidentally cut the last 100 yarder to 50 or accidentally did 5 X 50. I got a little confused. But, I downloaded the manual for my SportCount Chrono 100 so hopefully I'll remember how to use it and will stop losing count. :)

Also, I've learned that the brain I saw is part of the Brain Extravaganza. There are 22 of these brains around town, each with a different theme. Be on the lookout for a Tour de Brain, because I have to see all of them! I've already spotted four!

Run

Oh, humidity. I did not miss you over the winter.

I'm really looking forward to summer (and no students!), but not so much the humidity. I was sweating before I even started running today and ended it pretty wet. I ran three miles in 33:03 for an 11:01 min/mile pace. It felt tough, but I was determined to break the 2.5 mile distance I seem to to a lot of lately. So slow, but successful.

And I saw this brain walking from the gym to lab.

BRICK

That's right. Not only did I finally get on my bike, but I went ahead and ran afterwards. Because I'm awesome. :)

I had been wanting to ride my bike, but the weather just hasn't been cooperating. It's been nice on days I have to work late and cold and rainy when I can make it out (especially on the weekends). Today I decided I was braving the chill. I figured I've ridden in cold rain before. May as well just do it. So I did.

I put on some layers and went for a really short but feels-oh-so-good to be on my bike ride. Then I shed some layers and gathered my husband for a short run.

Here we are on the Clear Creek Trail:

Seth on the run

I look like a goob

For both of these workouts I used both my Garmin Forerunner 305 and the MapMyFitness app on my iPhone. I wondered how they compared. Here's the data:

Garmin:
Bike: 8.17 miles at 13.6 mph average
Run:  2.30 miles at 10:53 min/mile pace average

iPhone:
Bike:  8.25 miles at 13.8 mph average
Run:  2.41 miles at 10:20 min/mile pace average

I feel like the bike is close enough, but the run data is a bit off. I'm going to repeat this test because I think my phone just did something strange at the beginning. Maybe I should add my cheapo magnet on a spoke bike computer too. Just for fun.

Anyway, it was an easy workout. Pretty flat. Cool weather. Pretty good for a first brick I think.

I think I'm on my way.

Swim

I did the same swim workout today as the 0 to 1650 plan calls for swimming three days a week. I think I swam an extra 50 yarder or two because I lost count and also wanted to swim one really fast. So I think I actually did at least 750 yards, maybe even 800 today. I'm looking forward to next week's 900!

I really need to sit down and figure out a running and biking plan. I like plans. I do well with plans.

Run and Swim

I went for a little run yesterday morning. I did 2.5 miles around campus. It was a little toasty. I overdressed. I did see this weird thing though. Not real sure what was going on here.
  

 

 I did the same swim today that I did on Tuesday. I had to share a lane for the first time in a long time, but I knocked five minutes off my time. I think I did less resting breathing and I guess I was a little faster. But I felt all over the place and think I really need to eat breakfast before swimming. My arms were tired after the first 100!

I am really itching to get on my bike, but the weather hasn't been agreeing with me. I might make it today though. *fingers crossed*

Swim

That's right. This morning I made like a fish.

I found this online training plan for swimming called 0 to 1650 (via DCrainmaker, which if you swim, bike, or run, you should be reading). You can find the plan here.

Today I did Week 1 Day 1. And I totally did it. I think I did take a couple extra breaths between sets, mostly because I wasn't sure how to count them and a couple times I had to defog my goggles.

Anyway, I swam the 700 yard workout in about 25 minutes. I had to flip over to backstroke twice, once for a botched flip turn and once because a chunk of hair escaped my swim cap and tried to choke me until I stuffed it back in there. Overall I felt really good about this.

And I've basically confirmed that I need to follow a plan. I can't just make things up. 

Four Mile Run and Little 500 Results

We had the mildest March ever this year, but April is bringing Spring back to Bloomington. I ran four (FOUR!) chilly miles this morning. (Again around campus because the track was closed. And to add insult to injury, it was open when I got back. But I got in a better workout because of it, so I won't complain too much.)

I started out in my SmartWool long sleeved shirt (which I LOVE), hat, gloves, and cycling jacket. I ended in just my shirt and the vest part of my jacket. And pants, I guess. :)

Here is the link to this run. I've been using mapmyfitness on my iphone. And just learned that you cannot embed those workouts to blogger. Oh well. If you follow that link, you'll see the hills I conquered and all the places I slowed down to shed a layer.

Also, Sue Aquila, local business owner (seriously, I talk about BBC all the time) and triathlete passed me right at the end of my run. I thought about running with her to ask if she would coach me, but decided against it. 

In other local news, this weekend was Little 500 weekend. (No clue what Little 500 is? Stop reading and go watch Breaking Away.) I didn't make it to the races, but Delta Gamma won the women's race and Delta Tau Delta won the men's race breaking the Cutters' 5-year winning streak.

100 Miles of Nowhere

I just signed up for Fat Cyclist's 5th Annual 100 Miles of Nowhere. I can't think of a better motivator to get back on my bike.

And, really, I know once I get on it, I'll be in love and want to do nothing else. I don't know why my activation energy to just do it has been so high!

Run

I really wasn't planning to run today. I meant to swim. But I'm having a hard time getting to the pool early enough to bother with swimming. So I ran again today.

Unfortunately the track was closed again. I don't really understand why this school even has an outdoor track if it's going to be closed 6 out of the 8 months of the year students are here. But whatever. I turned on Pandora and took it to the streets.

IU's campus is hilly. Southern Indiana is hilly. But I busted out 2.5 miles in 26:30 for an average pace of 10:43 min/mile. Pretty good.

Also, I saw Barb driving her bus this morning and that made me happy.

Rainy Run

Apparently wind and rain are more good motivators to go fast. I did a short two-mile lap around the southern part of campus this morning. It was nice because it was too early for students to be out yet. Otherwise, there's no way to run on those streets. Too crowded. Anyway, I kept up a 10:11 min/mile pace.

And I looked cute (if soggy) doing it.

Chilly Run

Apparently less than freezing temperatures is a good motivator to run fast! I stuck to the track again this morning (Yay for it FINALLY opening!) and ran 2.25 miles at a 9:52 min/mile pace. That is crazy fast for me, especially since I'm essentially starting over in this fitness journey.

Run

Miss me?

I certainly have.

I ran this morning. Nothing special. Just 2.2 miles around the track. Slow (10:52 min/mile). Enough to hopefully get back on the wagon.

So, clearly I haven't updated the blog in a couple months. It's been a weird couple months. Some personal things that sort of got the better of me. But now I feel back. Happy. It's spring and I've got things to get ready for.

CycleFit

Well that was depressing.

I'm unfortunately not taking Judy's class for Series I due to swim lessons and not wanting to do CycleFit on NROLFW days. So I'm taking Kathy's class on Tuesdays and Jared's class on Thursdays. To be completely honest, I really don't like Kathy's class and won't sign up for it again, but I do like Jared's class. I think it helps me to have an energetic instructor. Although Jared may be borderline too peppy...

Anyway, today was Power Challenge day. I normally love power challenges! Jared's Power Challenge, I'm pretty sure, is one of the rings of Hell. Judy's Power Challenges are four minutes in length, working at your 100% effort. Jared's are NINE AND A HALF minutes long. I sort of wanted to puke at the end of the first one. And then I had to do it again.

So, I did all that work, and then, the depressing part. My average power output was 170 Watts. Last time I did this challenge, it was 215 W. Granted, that was a long time ago and I know I've slacked off some, but ouch. That's only slightly better than where I was this time last year. You know, when I first started taking CycleFit. Ouch.

However, I know that really my average power output lately has been about 185 W. So I think I'm going to try to push and keep that as my 100% level.

I think part of my problem lately is that I just don't drink enough water. I always mean to, but I'm just never really thirsty. I've always been that way. But I think as I work out more, it matters more, and I need to make a conscious effort to drink more water.

Bike Trip Meeting

Yay!

We had our first Bike Trip 2012 meeting tonight. We did some reminiscing about last year's ride and talked about what we want to do this year.

The plan is to leave from our doors! No driving days! A Hoosier tour. Yay! We'll be leaving from the church parking lot on June 9th and coming back on the 16th. We'll be heading down to Spring Mill State Park, spending a few days there doing day-trip loops. Then we're heading east toward Clifty Falls State Park and St. Meinrad Monastery for a couple days. Finally we will head back to Bloomington via Scottsburg.

This trip will also allow for some off-bike attractions, such as Marengo Caves, historic Becks Mill, the village at Spring Mill State Park, and Clifty Falls (which Seth and I really enjoyed when we went camping there).

Exciting!

Run

I think I am hopefully for reals out of my running slump. I skipped my four-miler this weekend. Serious case of the lazies and a solid sheet of ice covering the whole town made running cross over to the "Things I Definitely Don't Want to Do Right Now" list.

So this morning, feeling guilty, I ran my little heart out on the treadmill. Yes, it was still hotter than Hades in there, but I'm getting better at ladying up and getting it done anyway. I walked 0.25 miles (3.5 mph) then ran 3.25 miles (mostly 0 incline and 5.5 mph, but the last mile I worked hard ramping the incline up to 0.3 and the speed to 5.8 mph, with the last 0.15 at 6.0 mph, no incline), then cooled down with 0.5 miles at 3.5 mph.

I may have mentioned that I love my iPhone. Seriously, I don't know how I lived without it. This morning, running on the treadmill was slightly less awful. I streamed NPR's Ultimate Workout Mix. Better than the same old playlist I normally use (which I love, but start getting tired of after a while). And more energizing than watching Netflix (tried that and it was still boring). Love.

Although now I am like starving today. I did not miss the constant hunger. But maybe I won't die at the IU Mini Marathon.

Also, I think I may sign up for the IU Indoor Triathlon.

Blinded

I just blinded myself with my iPhone flash.

I did NROLFW this morning. It was my last time doing Stage 2A. I'll wrap up Stage 2 on Wednesday. I'm not 100% sure I made good progress in this stage. I think I did, but it definitely was not the same kind of progress I made in Stage 1.

I had my third swimming lesson tonight. Other than the fact that I'm not coordinated enough to work my arms and legs together in breast stroke, I'm doing really well. Yay!

And in other news, I got some new glasses in the mail today.

Running slump & CycleFit

I've been in a running slump. That's probably been obvious. After the IMM half marathon, I just kind of tanked on the running front. At first I was floundering because I didn't have any sort of plan and nothing to work towards. Then the holidays. And then it had just been so long...

Anyway, I think today I may have rediscovered my running legs!

I planned to run outside this morning but apparently "feels like17" is really stinking cold. So I headed to the treadmill. I really hate the treadmill and it is always so hot in the HPER, but today I decided to lady up and just get it done. And I did! I ran three super slow miles! Not awesome, but it's a step toward getting out of my slump. Yay!

Also, I did my first CycleFit of the semester tonight. It hurt so good. And my friend Brett has signed up for the same classes as me! I burned 383 kJ. And I feel awesome after the great workouts I had today.

And in honor of National Popcorn Day, I'm putting my new air popper to good use!

First Swim Lesson

I had my first swim lesson tonight. It went well!

I wasn't sure if I should sign up for Level 2 or Level 3, so I erred on the side of caution and signed up for Level 2. They said if it was too easy, I could move up during the series.

I got there way too early and sat around like a dork in my bathing suit. Eventually 5:45 rolled around and we divided into our classes and got in the pool. Holy cold water! I was shivering pretty quickly. We did some really basic stuff. A few strokes each of freestyle, backstroke, and breast stroke so the instructor could gauge our skills. Then we spent some time working on breathing and kicking and freestyle arm technique. We didn't do a lot of actual swimming, but I feel like I did learn some things. At the end of the class, the teacher talked to each of us individually to tell us what he thought. He said I did really well and was borderline between Level 2 and Level 3. Yay for having a realistic idea of my own skills! He also said I have a really good kick. Which is good, because I'm mostly concerned with figuring out what my arms should be doing. :) I told him my goals and that I had signed up for a half Ironman, and he said that he can give slightly tailored instructions to each of us to meet our goals. So I think I'll stick with Level 2 and then if I feel like I need, I can do Level 3 as well.

I'm looking forward to becoming a swimmer.

Encouragement

This morning called for NROLFW Stage 2B. I wore ridiculously short shorts this morning because I needed a laugh.

Anyway, I was working my way around the gym, doing my thing. There are still a fair number of new faces hanging out there in the morning. This morning two guys were kind of around me and when I finished one set at the free weight benches, I heard one say "I don't think I can do another set of 10." I chimed in with an enthusiastic "You can do it!" and continued on my way. Later when I had moved on to the ab section of my workout, that guy thanked me for the inspiration and told me he was able to finish that set after all.

That's a pretty awesome way to start the day. :)

Failure

I am setting myself up to crash and burn at the IU Mini Marathon! Already!

I was supposed to go on a 4-mile run this weekend. Yesterday I was having such a good day hanging out with my husband, I decided I'd do it this morning. I loved Sunday morning long runs in my last half marathon training cycle.

While I did wake up early enough to get a run in before church, it was cold and dark and slippery (snow and ice) outside, so I thought I'd do it after church. Riiiiiiiight.

Instead, I went to the mall and came home with this:

So I spent my afternoon curled up on the couch with a bowl of popcorn, watching Harry Potter, and knitting a hat. Yep.

Although I did learn that I still fit in my wedding dress... That counts for something, right?

Free food!

On Wednesday after yoga, the SRSC was having its semester kick-off week with lots of little games and stuff in the lobby. So Rohini and I visited the tables to get some info and win free stuff. We both left with t-shirts and other various prizes.

Yesterday I received a phone call that I was a major winner! One of the tables had a jar filled with candy hearts and the person who guessed closest won a bag of groceries! I'm freakishly good at these things and won! I guessed 369 and there were 374!

So I went to pick up my groceries today. Here's what I got:

• Pizza crust 
• Pizza sauce 
• Pepperoni 
• Rice cakes 
• Bag of clementines 
• Raisins 
• Chocolate pudding 
• Nuts 
• 2 liter of Citrus Drop (Kroger brand Mountain Dew) 
• Nacho chips 
• Salsa 
• Vitamin water 
• Cough drops 

Not too bad!

At the risk of being redundant...

Ow.

I'm still sore. So sore I skipped my 3-mile run this morning.

I did the NROLFW Stage 2B yesterday morning and then checked out a free yoga class at the SRSC yesterday afternoon. I really felt like the moves in NROLFW were kind of lame yesterday while I was doing them. Today I can definitely tell they worked. Ouchie.

I really enjoyed the yoga class though. It was a very basic Yoga I series. We mostly just did some sun salutations. I'm doing another free yoga class on Friday, but it's Core Power Yoga. I really want to incorporate yoga into my fitness routine, but I think I'm leaning towards the more stretching and relaxing yoga than the super workout yoga. So we'll see how I like the class on Friday. Either way, I think I'll just do it at home on Friday afternoons, because yoga classes are kind of pricey and I've already signed up for CycleFit and swim lessons. It's not meshing with my other goal for the year of not spending so much money unnecessarily. I can do sun salutations on my own just as well as in a class. And then only the dog will make fun of me when I fall over in tree pose.

Ow...

This morning was rough.

 Seth kept me up way past my bedtime last night and my bed was just so toasty and comfortable this morning. I didn't want to get up. I woke up starving and the first thing I did was spill chia seeds all over the kitchen. Then Seth ran over a cat on the way to work. Seriously. I was in a bad mood.

Also, Stage 2 of NROLFW yesterday really killed me. (Although I really think it has more to do with essentially taking three weeks off...). I did some of Yoga X (the yoga portion of P90X) last night to help stretch out my poor muscles. I did the first 30-ish minutes (a lot of downward dogs and warrior poses) then skipped the balance and most of the core work (I did a little of the core work... it was hard!) to get to the cool down. Yay corpse pose! I think Yoga X may be a little much for my planned Friday afternoon yoga, but I did feel better after doing it and even worked up a sweat. And I got the dog working out with me! She is very good at down dog! (i.e. She laid on the floor beside me.)

Anyway, I somewhat randomly signed up for the IU Mini Marathon on a whim. About ten minutes before we left for NC in December, the local running company posted a coupon for $15 off the registration as one of their 12 Days of Christmas specials. I was considering running the Carmel Marathon, so I checked my marathon training plan and saw that the day of the IU Mini was the 20-mile day on my plan. So I signed up for it and figured I'd either do it and run home for my 20 mile training run, or chicken out of the marathon and just do the half. Win/Win!

So I didn't run nearly as much as I wanted over Christmas (caught a cold and too much family to visit!) and I was a little scared that I was taking on too much too soon. So I've decided to just do the half and save the marathon for after my 70.3. Today I restarted the half marathon training using the same plan I used for the first one.

I ran on the treadmill this morning. I have got to stop doing that. It is hotter than Hades in the HPER on the treadmill. Also, my ipod died. And I've been too busy playing Angry Birds and beating my husband at Scrabble to put music on my iPhone. The plan called for a three mile run, but just moving was a little difficult, so I did a run/walk routine. I walked one lap (0.25 miles) then ran a lap, until I got to 2.75 miles. Not the best, but I'll take it.

And, to make a point on this all-over-the-place post, I feel much better now. Still sore, but not as stiff, and in a much better mood. I need to remember that when I don't want to get out of bed at the ungodly hour of 5:15. Going to the gym makes you feel better.


EDIT (1:38 pm):  Today keeps getting better! We submitted a paper, of which I am the first author, for publication in the Journal of Virology and it was accepted today! I'm a soon-to-be published scientist! Woot!

NROLFW Stage 2

Holy cow. I don't know if it's the long break over the holidays, the way-too-early wake up call, or what, but Stage 2 Workout A of the New Rules of Lifting for Women sort of kicked my butt this morning. In a good way. Unless my legs fall off.

Although, I have to say, the Resolutionists were out in full force. I did see many familiar faces, but the small population of early morning HPER attendees was more than doubled today. I think it's great and hope people keep up with their resolutions.

Anyway, I'm really glad to be back at it! This is going to be a great semester!

New Year, New Blog

I'm still working on all the update posts I want to make, but in the meantime I thought I'd work on one of my goals: Make my blog more interesting.

I really enjoy reading exercise-related blogs, but I find the ones I enjoy the most include elements from the blogger's personal life. So in 2012 I plan to make my blog more personable. I will still use my blog to keep track of my fitness, but hopefully spicing it up with other stuff will make it more interesting to read. I also plan to make more frequent posts.

So today I think I figured out my spring training schedule. I'm really looking forward to getting back to it on Monday! Here's the plan:

Monday: NROLFW and swim
Tuesday: run and CycleFit
Wednesday: NROLFW and swim
Thursday: run and CycleFit
Friday: NROLFW and yoga
Saturday: long run
Sunday: much needed REST!

It's kind of a lot, but I really want/need to take swim lessons. This schedule means I can't take Judy's CycleFit class, but I may rearrange when the swim lessons are over. I am really liking the New Rules of Lifting for Women and want to keep up with that. And I've wanted to incorporate yoga into my fitness plan for a while. But if it proves to be too much, I can reevaluate and rearrange. Overall I'm really excited about this!

Exciting News!

I'm posting this from my new iPhone 4s! Hopefully blogging will be more frequent and include more pictures.

Also, I still promise to fill you in on things. Soon!