I was babysitting and being social all day so was planning on running this evening after a 7:30 meeting. The meeting went late, the gym closed at 9. Poor planning. I'll make up for it tomorrow by a really hard run.

I know I shouldn't be using the Eliptical Machine to train, but it's so easy and burns more calories than anything else so I did it again today. Better than nothing. I'm balking at getting back in the pool again but it needs to be done.

Workout:

Eliptical Machine: 40 minutes, hills, intense, HR sustained at 175. Even got to read the whole issue of Rolling Stone while I was at it.

Yoga/Strech: 10 minutes. My hips got tight in the past two weeks. Need to work them out.

I wore appropriate footwear today so it's back to running I go. Urgh.

Workout:

Treadmill: 25 minutes, 2.3 miles including warm up and cool down (2 miles in 18 minutes). Manual, 1.0 incline. Max sprint speed 8.5 for last 1/4 mile.

Whoops! Two weeks of not going to the gym and already my pants are getting tight. Intertia kills me. I went back today but accidentally wore two different running shoes so I had to do something else that wouldn't hurt my feet.

Workout:

Eliptical Machine: 35 minutes, Hill, Level 13 - 600 calories

It's been almost a week since I ran and boy am I feeling it. I need to take some of Jared's tips for next time so that the 3 mile run doesn't always kick my rear.

Workout:

Treadmill: 3 miles, 29 minutes. This time includes a 3 minute warm up walk and a walking break for 1.5 minutes after 1.5 miles. I ended with a 1/4 mile sprint going 8-9mph. I thought I was going to die.

I had a wedding to attend this weekend but thanks to a well planned reception, I was able to get a butt-kicking workout in on the dance floor!

Workout:

Dancing like a maniac: Approx 2 hours - medium intense

Workout:

Upright Stationary Bike: Approx. 35 minutes, level 13, maintained intensity and level. 11.5 miles

I joined the USAT finally. You have to be a member with them to do most of the races. Also, a guy at the gym is going to lend me Triathlete's Training Bible by Joe Friel. It's supposedly a really good book to help with training. All the tri people I meet keep asking me if I'm reading. I'm not but they all seem to think it's the key to competing well. I'm sure they are right but it's enough just finding time to train without reading about training. But I'll do it.

Workout:

Treadmill: 3 miles in 28:10. Manual, incline of 1.5. Ran 1st two miles at 6.5 mph, slowed to 5.5 for a few minutes to catch my breath and did the last mile ranging from 6-8. I ran the whole time. I remember now that I'm really running why I haven't done it in the past. My asthma is surprisingly bad. Adam said I can have one of his inhalers. I hope that helps because it's like I'm breathing through a coffee straw and I feel like I'm going to die. But it was a good run and I'm very happy with the time. Just a little more improvement needed to get to my 25 minute goal.

Great day at the gym. I was able to go almost 2 hours thanks to careful planning with Penny. My friend met me at the pool and gave me some tips on how to swim better and some good drills to practice. I even managed to IMPROVE my time by using my legs instead of the opposite. It wasn't drastic, just cutting 1 second off my time, but it's good progress.

Workout:

Swim: 1/2 hour class with Laura analyzing my stroke and drills. 1/2 hour my time. I swam 18 laps in 7:49 minutes. Pretty good compared to the competition at the triathlon. I'll be at the top of the swimming crowd for sure.

Upright Practice Bike: 11 miles, 35:25 minutes level 13-14. I was carrying on a conversation with my trainer the whole time so I wasn't able to fully concentrate on the workout, but it was still a pretty good time I think. I'm going to try and get it under 30 minutes though.

Good day at the gym. With only 4 weeks to go, I need to get serious about decreasing my run time. I looked at last year's results for running, and I'm definitly one of the slowest. I am going to try and run 3 miles in under 25 minutes which means I need to get going. Today I decreased my time by 4-5 minutes. It's a good start.

Workout:

Treadmill: 29.5 minutes, 3 miles 1-2 incline. Walked at 2 miles for 3 minutes, then tried to run the last mile without stopping, but didn't do very well. Bad cramps the last mile.

Hatha Yoga Class: 30 minutes - I was a little too keyed up from the crazy running to really benefit. Oh well.

I tried today, I really did - I had company in town and wanted to bring my friend with me to the gym so she could do a class while I worked out. I got there at 4 with my friend and Penny and realized that they didn't open child care for another hour, and I had gotten the time wrong on the class. We had to go back home because there was nothing we could do with my baby.

Drr.

I ran into a friend at the Y today who gave me a great recommendation on where to buy a bike, offered to lend me her bike rack for race day and is going to meet with me next week in the pool to help me with my swimming problem! I'm very relieved. She used to be a competitive swimmer and was very generous about offering to spend some time with me in the pool helping me get ready. She does the one kick per pull technique that I desperately want to learn so I'm pretty excited. It was a good workout - cut short, as usual, but the fact that I have a crabby baby in childcare. But a good day.

Workout:

Upright Stationary Bike: 35 minutes, 11 miles, hill interval, level 12

Run: 12 minutes with warm up and cool down - mile sprint, 9 minutes. I need to start increasing my running speed!

Only 28 days till the tri. I am getting nervous for good reason. I still haven't gotten a bike, ran on the road, or done a real transition practice from biking to running. I talked to another tri guy today and he said that was the most important thing as the bike/run transition is what kicks most people's rears. I'll start looking for a cheap bike tomorrow.

Workout:

Treadmill: 40 minutes - ran 3 miles in 33 minutes - constant 1.5 incline - level 12
Weights: 8 machines - no shoulder or calf extensions (time constriction - had to cut out a few)