Thursday, April 29, 2010

I got in some good training today. This morning I ran for 1 hr. on a trail in Seabrook. At the half way mark I got a drink and walked for 30 sec. Again at 51 min I had to walk for about 30 sec. At 53 min. I walked again for about 30 sec.! I just cratered. It wasn't even a conscious decision. But then I finished the 1 hr run and was satisfied though exhausted. I was pleased that I 'hung in there' but it was brutal. There is lots of room for improvement.

It's starting to feel like summer here. Temperatures are not terribly high but the humidity on the Gulf coast is always high. I was feeling it today. Even though it was overcast I got really hot before I was done. I'm going to have to get used to it. I don't think it's going to cool down any time soon.

After lunch I went to the gym for a swim workout. Today I did some serious stroke work. I alternated a 500 pull using a rubber band around my ankles so that I couldn't kick, and a pull buoy (to keep my legs afloat) for 500m, then a straight 500m. swim... 2X's. Warmed up with a 300 swim. Total distance was 2300 m.

I think I'm getting stronger and faster on my swim. Training this way forces me to have perfect balance in the water and makes my stroke more efficient. Otherwise I will 'flop around' in the water because I don't have the use of my legs to correct my balance. It also makes me swim harder and faster. No dead spots. No wasted energy.

My next big race is June 13 in Cambridge, MD. It's what they call a 70.3 or a Half Ironman. I think this year will be my 10th or 11th year to race there. It's one of my favorite races. Couldn't be because it's a flat course! :) There are only two people in my age group and it's a Hawaii qualifier. First place wins a slot to the Hawaiian Ironman. The other lady has a better run split than me but I have a better bike split. We're about equal on the swim. I'm trying to break up this equal thing and improve my run.
So long for now. I've got to tackle my Spanish. With all the illegal aliens around here I need to learn how to communicate.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

Yesterday was quite a day. I was scheduled for a 4 hr aerobic bike ride. But thunderstorms were forecast everywhere I looked. I wanted to get in some hill work but that meant driving 80 miles to find some hills. I wasn't about to drive 80 miles and then get caught in a storm. I checked out an area closer to home and didn't find a 4hr slot with no storms. So reluctantly I opted for a Spinerval. I choose Coach Troy's Louisville Ironman Triathlon bike course on DVD. Since I didn't have to travel anywhere I decided to do a little gardening before the rains hit.
Preparing the bed around the gaslight didn't seem like too big a task and the I could plant later. Well, that took two hours! I came in for some lunch and was so tired from all that digging and turning over the soil I decided to take a 'power nap' before I started my bike. I couldn't lay down TOO long because 4 hours is 4 hours! I was so concerned about getting my ride done that I couldn't relax. So got up and prepared to ride on my trainer. (It still wasn't raining but looked threatening) I held on and got 3 hrs done on the trainer and the Louisville bike course. (Coach Troy says 3 hrs on the trainer is like 4 hrs on the road).It still wasn't raining so I went back out to the garden and planted some purple verbenas and yellow marigolds. Then to the backyard to continue my war on the trumpet vines. It didn't take very long before I felt like I could not dig one more hole to get to the trumpet vine roots.
I came into the house and told Stan I was DONE. It was getting close to dinner time. I said, "it sure would be nice if someone served ME dinner." We ordered pizza.:)
After dinner, off to my computer to study my Spanish and French. For some reason my brain felt lazy. I couldn't remember the word I had just learned. But I got through one lesson of each. I think I will have to review those lessons again.
By 10 PM, my legs hurt so bad I could barely walk. Can't be the gardening or the bike ride. I think it was the squats I did on Fri at the gym.
It never did rain!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

I've been wanting to write a book about my life as a Senior Age GroupTriathlete, but I can't seem to get started. So this blog is a way for me to get some of my thoughts down on paper.... so to speak. Then we will see if they are worth anything later.

Mostly I will be writing about my life training for triathlons, my gardening, reading and books (I'm an avid reader), my new endeavor to learn Spanish, crocheting and anything interesting that comes up.

Currently I am training for an Olympic dsitance Triathlon In Galveston, Tx on April 24. And I'm enrolled in a CPR course starting on the 20 th of April.
Everyday I spend some time working in my gaerden and studying Spanish. I read before bed evry night. I think I must be a fast reader because evenings are the only time I read for myself and I finish about 2 books a month. Also I only crochet in the AM and evening.

Today I road my bike for 2 hours in some strong gusting winds. But I had fun and didn't get discouraged. I will keep you posted on my progress. I expect to get much better in the coming weeks.