30 days until Race Day
Today’s workout was supposed to be 30 minutes on the bike and 20 minutes running. However, I got a late start and by the time I headed out it was already humid and near 80 degrees. Due to my shortened time frame before having to start work, I just did a mini-brick instead. (A brick is just two sports in a row).
I did 20 minutes on the bike and 10 minutes running. I even did a timed transition which was 4 minutes, 9 seconds. It involved me unlocking the door to my apartment building, getting my bike in the elevator, coming up to my floor, into my apartment, changing shoes, taking off my helmet and bike gloves, chasing Simba Kitty who had gotten out and run down the hall, and then taking the three flights down the stairs to get outdoors. Pretty fast I thought for all that.
Overall I felt fine, except I was really hot. I should have gotten up early enough to start at 6.
Schools let out this week in my area. When I got to the pool today, I was shocked to see about 40 LOUD children in the “open” part of the pool and only three lap lanes open. I took one and was soon joined in my lane by an older woman who bounced up and down in the corner on a noodle.
As I swam, doing an interval workout, I thought how awful it is going to be to spend the rest of the summer with all of these extremely loud children. They were running and jumping in the pool, screaming, and loudly play Marco Polo. In short: pool hell. Thankfully, after about 20 minutes, a whistle blew and they all got out of the pool. This makes me think it was some kind of pool party and the monstrosity will not be repeated everyday this summer. At least I hope so.
My workout called for 30-40 minutes total and, in my slacker ways, I planned to do the low end. After thirty minutes, I was at 800 yards. I thought about my goal of swimming 1000 yards and decided that since it was so peaceful and quiet, and the bouncing lady had departed, I would do the extra 200 yards at a very very easy pace. I finished the 1000 yards in 39:55.
I have weird dreams. It is just one of the facets of my personality. Often if I am under some kind of stress, even if it is only at the subconscious level, it will manifest itself into a bizarre dream. Case in point:
Last night I dreamed that I was participating in my triathlon that I have been training for. Or at least I thought I was at first. I realized later in the dream that this was just a practice run that they were letting people do the day before. My mom, sister, and I arrived to the Expo and then I realized that I needed to do the triathlon (not knowing it was just a practice run). I was worried because I had not brought sunscreen.
I started the swim and it was going along okay and then everyone was yelling that they were tired and then I felt tired, but then the swim was over. For some reason they then decided we all needed to put on ankle straps with timing chips (which in reality, of course, happens before you start swimming). Of course I got the one woman who could not figure out how to put my ankle strap on properly and took about 15 minutes to finally get it on. I was so frustrated that it had taken so long and everyone was so far ahead of me.
I tried to find the bikes, but there was no one there to tell me where to go (this is when someone told me in the dream it was just a practice run and I was glad to have practiced open water swimming and that it didn’t count) and I ran around and around the interior of a building. There were conference rooms and people shopping and then I found some bike racks. I scanned them and they were all old, rusted bikes, the kind you see locked to a bike rack permanently. Then I remembered that I did not even bring my bike that day!
I got my cell phone out and called my dad and tell him that we forgot my bike and he told me that it was raining.
I went swimming today and there was NO ONE ELSE there. Well, except for the lifeguard and the old lady bouncing in the open part of the pool. It was very nice. Does anyone else have a problem keeping track what lap they are on? I always have to think, “Am I at 300 yards or 350?” I did about 525 yards today.
As I was leaving the gym, I saw a guy with a workout bag put out a cigarette as he entered the building. It was just like the dream I had last night where the lady was smoking at a weight loss meeting.
After the glorious swim in an empty pool, I took my chances and went to Target to see if they had any Wii Fits. My mom had called me this morning to tell me that she and my dad had acquired one at their local Target, so I thought it was worth a chance. And . . . they had them! I am looking forward to Wii Yoga and Wii Hula Hooping. Maybe there is finally a game that I can beat Prince E at! (He has been beating me at MarioKart repeatedly).
I have only missed one workout so far this short training season. We were going to do Bike the Drive on Sunday and that was going to count as my Sunday bike ride, but we were lazy and stayed home. And played MarioKart.
Which of the following things do you think that I did today?
A. Biked For 4.6 miles
B. Swam 600 yards
C. Got insulted by a 12-year-old
D. Spent 10 minutes trying to lock my bike.
E. All of the above
If you said, “E” you are right! I biked the 2.3 miles to the gym, swam 600 yards, and then biked home. I felt just like Audrey, who is always biking everywhere, including the pool.
The whole thing went quite well, except for “C” and “D” above. Actually, getting insulted by the middle schooler was pretty funny (He said, “Your bike is gay!” when I politely rang my bell and said “On your left.” By the way, my bike is totally awesome). It was navigating the minefield of middle schoolers that was the problem.
In order to get to the pool before it gets too crowded, I need to finish work and head out around 2:30, which is the time that the school lets out. I had to weave in and out of all the kids on the sidewalk. It was either that or deal with the crazy parents in their giant SUVs and ride on the road. Tough choice. I may have to start finishing work at 2:00. That would mean getting up before 6:00 a.m.
As for the bike locking difficulty, I don’t think that I have locked a bike since 1996?? I honestly can’t remember. I couldn’t get the lock to close and I ended up realizing I was putting the one part in backwards. I think I will have to put a sticker on it or something to remind myself.
The pre-training part of my triathlon training is over and Sunday began the official eight week Danskin training program. So far I am on track! Two whole days! Impressive I know. The training would be much easier if I did not have to deal with other people, like the people taking up all the lanes at the pool and the people who drive around on my neighborhood streets while I am trying to bike and not fall over. You would think they would just leave me alone! I mean, I am training here, people.
Week two of triathlon training is underway. I had my third trip to the pool today. It was super crowded. I shared the open area (the lap swim lanes were filled) with an old man who leered a bit too much and a lady who hopped up and down the pool length.
I couldn’t bear to walk/run around the indoor track because it was so sunny outside, so instead I walked around the perimeter of the gym. I really need to get used to people’s shock and amazement at seeing a pedestrian, even on the sidewalk. It’s getting old.
The most exciting news is that even if it stays cold (not that I am hoping it does), I can still get my bike workouts in, thanks to the acquisition below. We got a great deal on it because it is now the off-season for indoor biking, I guess.
Last night I used the stability that the bike trainer provides to learn how to clip in and out of my pedals. I have more trouble getting out than in right now, but will need more practice overall once I get outside.
I was surprised by how tired my legs got by biking and I had to stop a few times during my 25 minute workout.
I really have no idea what I am doing in terms of my triathlon training. I tried to find a beginner schedule online, but for some reason the only ones I kept coming across were for a fee. What is that about? If I want to pay for a schedule I will buy a $15 book before I will spend $35 on a website schedule.
I finally found a free one online and seems okay. Today on the first day though, I already had to do two sports! It seemed like a bit early for that, but I did it anyway. I did 15 minutes swimming and 20 minutes running per the schedule. It was the first time that I had visited the pool at the gym that I have been running at for a year and a half. There is a lap pool, an outdoor pool, and a lagoon pool with a slide. There were five other people there. All middle aged men.
I had a fun time swimming and I think I have better endurance already than I thought, although I still have a long way to go. I did 250 yards. I would have gone for longer just to see if I could, but I didn’t want to overdo it.
I ran/walked on the indoor track after the swim. I was a little annoyed that the woman wearing jeans passed me on my last lap, but it was the cool down, so I couldn’t speed up to pass her.
I am not sure what I will do for the bike if this constant snow continues. Hopefully it will warm up soon so that I can bike outdoors. Although if you ask Prince E, it is never too cold to cycle. He has continued to ride his bike to work all through the winter.
Most likely as a result of posting this announcement last night, I had a dream about Prince E and I participating in a triathlon. The swim segment involved us “swimming” on our bellies across a road (there was no water, so really we were just crawling). Then we had to run through a house (not sure what happened to the cycling segment). It was dark and there were lots of stairs. One of the staircases was filled with cats; probably about 30 of them. Everyone was just running up the stairs in the dark, but I turned on the light so I didn’t step on the cats. Then we left the house and there was another “swimming” segment, although this time they just let as walk across the road, but we had to pretend like we were walking through a pool.