I DID IT!!!

Today I completed my triathlon that I've been training for since January 6th. There was an official triathlon an hour away, but I was getting frustrated with logistics and hefty fees and decided to just do one by myself. Adam babysat Penny at home and I headed over to the YMCA. It was great! The best part was that I was able to do the distances I wanted and not worry about comparing myself to other athletes. I didn't get a t-shirt, any pictures of myself at the finish line or have anyone giving me water and encouragement along the route but I still feel like a champion. I guess I came in both first and last but I'll concentrate on the first part. Mostly I just surprised myself at how well I did overall even though my training has been non-existent for the past 3 weeks.

I knew when I started that I wanted to swim .5 miles, bike at least 11.5 mi. and run 3 mi. but once I started biking and running, it was really easy to do a bit more. I was mostly worried about the running. I haven't done much of it lately and wasn't sure of myself. I have never really run outside and have never done more than 3 miles, but once I got outside for the running segment, I had a ton of energy and once I finished the 3 miles, decided to do another loop to get 6 mi. My knees and hip joints are killing me right now, but it was totally worth it.

People seem a little disappointed with me for not doing an "official" triathlon, but it's not like it's any easier doing it all alone! Even though I did the bike segment on a stationary bike, I had it set to a really tough level with about 20 hills of varying intensity and was sweating my rear off. I KNOW the biking is easier in a group and most of the official triathlons have relatively flat biking surfaces so this was definitely harder than it would have otherwise been. I have a feeling I could have pushed myself a little harder on the run if I had someone to pace myself to. But I feel a huge sense of accomplishment. I want to do another, but will probably just do another by myself since it's way more convenient and less stressful. Plus, I can keep it flexible if I feel like going farther. My most compelling competition is myself and I push myself incredibly hard so this was the perfect way for me to do it.

Here are the nity gritty details for anyone interested:

I started at 10:09 am at my YMCA

Swim: 900 yards (a little more than 1/2 mile) in 14:38 (in the 25 yard indoor pool - 36 laps)

Transition: I didn't time my transitions, but tried to keep them under a minute. I jumped straight out of the pool, put on shorts, shoes, socks and headphones and got on the bike. I did the whole tri in my swimming suit.

Bike: 15 miles in 44:09 - approx 20 mph (on the upright bike - set to frequent steep hills the whole time. Very tough)

Transition: Grabbed a power bar, hit the street. It turns out I couldn't eat the power bar so I chucked in a trash can around mile 2.

Run: 6 miles in 1:04:24 (outdoors on the sidewalk - ran a 1.5 mi. loop twice. Had really bad cramps from miles 2 through 3 but had committed NOT to walk so I was able to run through it. My run time was a lot slower than I've been doing on the treadmill, but my legs were pretty mushy from the challenging bike and I was able to keep running the whole time so I'm not disappointed. Plus, I was able to double my distance so that made me feel pretty good! So I ran a little over 10 minute miles. Not bad, but I'll do better next time :)

I finished at about 12:15 pm and called Adam to get ready to EAT! I must have burned 1500 calories and we had a big Oreo cookie party when I got home to make up for it.

I'd like to thank:

Shonen Knife and The Crystal Method for giving me a soundtrack to compete to. When I started the run and Get Busy Child came on my mp3 player, I took it to heart and stepped it up a notch.

Adam for taking Penny so I didn't have to worry about the people in childcare getting me out of the pool to change a diaper.

Jared for all his encouraging comments - who also happens to be training for a marathon of his own and is full of good advice.

Everyone who I told to bug me constantly about doing this triathlon until I completed it. You guys kept me on task and reminded me why I wanted to do this in the first place. THANK YOU!

My neighbors who when I went over today to tell them about my finishing, were too exhausted to talk because they had just finished a 16 mile run of their own! Covingtons, you guys inspire me. Maybe I'll try a marathon one of these days as well. For now, thanks for being good examples to me of physical fitness and for all your encouragement.

So that's it. I think I would like to do another triathlon, but don't know when. I'm not sure what will happen to this page. My original goal was to complete an Olympic level tri and I would still like to do that. There is the Los Angeles Triathlon in September that I would like to compete in if I'm able. I'll take a break from tri training for now and just focus on yoga, pilates and weights. Those are the things I really enjoy right now.

April 26 -
I read an article the other day saying that most weight lifters are not lifting enough to actually improve their muscles and to find the ideal weight you had to be lifting consistent reps at least 75% the weight of your one rep maximum weight. I had never found my max on any of the machines before so this was enlightening. Some machines I am WAY underlifting, but a lot of the I was doing really well.

Workout:

Weights: I found my max weight on each of the machines to make sure that I'm lifting engough to actually improve. I was very surprised to find how much I could bench press - Here are my results:

Squat:
Was lifting 155
One rep max: 195
75%: 146 (fine)

Calf Extension:
Was lifting: 155
One rep max: 270
75%: 202 (need improvement)

Leg Extension:
Was lifting: 55
One rep max: 60
75%: 45 (fine)

Leg Curl:
Was lifting: 56
One rep max: 75
75%: 56 (fine)

Bench Press:
Was lifting: 65
One rep max: 97
75%: 72 (need improvement)

Fly:
Was lifting: 33
One rep max: 50
75%: 37.5 (need improvement)

Seated Row:
Was lifting: 50
One rep max: 80
75%: 60 (need improvement)

Shoulder Press:
Was lifting: 30
One rep max: 57
75%: 43 (need improvement)

Bicep Curl:
Was lifting: 15
One rep max: 26
75%: 19.5 (need improvement)

Tricep Extension:
Was lifting: 23
One rep max: 28
75%: 21 (fine)

Back Extension:
Was lifting: 115
One rep max: 135
75%: 101 (fine)

Abdominal:
Was crunching: 75
One rep max: 80
75%: 60 (fine)

Lat Pulldown:
Was pulling: 70
One rep max: 95
75%: 71 (need improvement)


Yoga Class: 40 min - I don't like this yoga class. We lie on our backs the whole time and the instructor is very disconnected. I have to remember not to waste any time on this class again.

Obviously, I'm taking it easy on the area specific tri training activities, but like I mentioned last week, I'm basically just trying to enjoy working out so it was another light day.

Workout:

Yoga Class: 60 minutes - intense balancing and strength poses. REALLY good class!

I showed up this saturday with my baby and forgot that childcare closes at noon so I only had 15 minutes to workout. Lame, but my fault as usual.

Workout:

Eliptical: - level 16, VERY intense, 250 calories
Yoga: 10 minutes

Workout:

Eliptical Machine: 35 minutes - hill level, 450 calories

Weights: Full set, 11 machines, 2 reps each - went easy on the right shoulder

My new goal is to NOT OVERDO IT! The reason I wanted to do this tri in the first place was to enjoy my workouts more and have more focus at the gym and I ended up totally overdoing it. So I'm back to just trying to enjoy working out. That means I'll end up doing the easier tri on the 29th of this month, but I will also not burn out.

Workout:

Eliptical Machine: 20 minutes- level 14 hill, intense - 300 calories
Circuit Weights: Full set - eased up on the leg press and shoulder press since it's been a few weeks but otherwise I've kept my strength pretty well.

Workout:

Eliptical: 35 minutes - 500 calories, hill, level 13

I'm totally out of my routine. I of course have all kinds of excuses why I haven't been the the gym consistently in the past 3 weeks, but they all ring hollow. I'm trying hard not to feel like a total loser but can't seem to get myself back to the gym. It's such a disapointing feeling to get back and see how much progress I've lost. Lame.

--I was able to get to the gym today!

Workout:

Eliptical Machine: 35 Minutes - 500 calories - 2.8 miles - intense