Tapering Tapering

this is taper week...but it's also still patriot training week. taking it easy while still pushing it hard...an interesting concept. one i need to conquer this summer.

monday - swim.
it was memorial day. i drank margaritas and ate fattening food.

tuesday - do nothing. help a friend in need!

wednesday - weights class in taper mode. bike 18 scheduled for tuesday. swim.
class went fast with onyl two reps of everything.
the bike...not so hot. or actually...super hot! 3 loops - i can totally handle that. yeah...almsot done with lap one and i am busting my butt "sweating like a whore in church" (yes i said it and no i didn't make it up). after one loop, margo and i realize it's not worth and we steady out for half the nub, then bust it out for about two mils for the grand finale. after socializing witht he girls, we realize we better hit the pool or we are hitting the beers with them...so not fair! so we head off to tucky and the pool is just "stupid cold". redonkulous i say. so we hit the family pool. bath water...where's the happy medium! i time a few 300's and do a total of 1000 meters and call it a day. it's almost 9. time to lay my weary head to rest.

thursday - 4 mile negative split, 12 mile ride.
the run this morning went well. becky and i paired up and headed off for out 4 mile negative split. first loop was 8:33 and finished at 33:40 or something like that. pace about an 8:40. so getting better. but then came the ride. shewy! it was hizzot. i didn't see anyone so i took off for loop one. 21 minutes - 17 mph pace +/-. then becky found me (we planned on riding together) and we were able to ride the second loop together. it's so much nicer having a riding partner. we've decided we enjoy riding together. about the same pace and training levels so it works well. we finihsed off the swecond loop in 22 minutes...but looked like we jsut finished swimming. so after chatting with cyndi i was off to meet the girls for my gyro and dolmades at my fav-o-rite greek festival! yes i walked up in there with my padded butt shorts. they're hot, i know. first it's drivein/carry out and then...they were out of gyros?! that's just tragic. so i got my pork and was good to go. then we realized...only one dolmade!! and it was a mini version! ok. i am jsut upset now. my legs are tired. i can't drink greek headache indicing wine. no gyros. and then a mini dolamde. waht is this. i protest. or i just do nothing. haha.

friday is coming. to swim or not to swim? that is the question. tbd....

and most importantly...the post race champagne...is in the fridge! oh yeah.

t minus 3 days

the time is really nearing. triathlon numero uno. am i ready?
stressed? check.
sore throat? check.
yeah - sound ready to me.

ok so maybe i need to destress...fast. it's only a race, right? and it's my first of the kind. i need to relax a bit. i will get some training time in this week - spin around on the bike a few days. run a few miles. and time some 300's. i really want to break 6 minutes on the swim. but -there is a good chance it won't happen and ineed to accept that. my best has been 6:15. 15 seconds is a lot to drop off. maybe adrenaline will kick in. i am nervous about using my energy too quickly and fading. but it's a race - i am supposed to use all my energy right? have i trained hard enough? i guess so. no time left now. ('it's raining men' just came on my itunes - perfect!) i have the handy dandy helpful hints from Cyndi and G to prepare for race day. tonight i will need to go through those and begin final preperations. i guess all i can do now...is breathe. and think about the post-race champagne at diane's. that's thirst quenching! cheers.

Memorial Weekend-palooza

I love long weekends. Friends and fun. oh yeah and working out, too.

Friday we ended up closing the office at 4 - woo hoo! I hopped on over to st. Mary's to visit a friend's new bambino. So cute! 25 hours old - wittle bitty thing. here she is...june ellen.

Saturday I met up with Diane and company for our 40 mile ride. We met up at diane's and went on out. Five miles to west creek - 30 miles inside - then 5 back. well i would say at about oh mile 3 I got dropped. what was i thinking to ride with these people?! they have more experience than me, i am supposed to take it easy on teh knee, and this is my longest ride to date by far. so i gladly dropped back and as we passed each other in the loop I let them know i would meet up with them at the end. Along the way at mile 11 I picked up fellow baby pinkie, Becky, also training for patriot and we did half the ride together (24 miles). At this time I am ready for my 5 mile cruise on back to diane's. however...no one is around. hmph. then i spot one of the fellow riders and we wait for everyone. no on in sight. hmph. should we go? why not. so we finished the ride and man i was dunzo! note to self - next time pre determine meeting locations teehee.

After riding I skipped on over to Kilmarnock for some river fun. playing on the "beach", wine, jet skiing, and tubing.

sunday was more river time followed by trekking back to richmond for swim class (?). yeah...missed it. danggit! oh well.

Monday was "poolapalooza". A bucket of margaritas and friends (margo, amy, barrett, sam, bill, ron and little austin). The pool was a blast. soem time with TG Jonah and her mini-me's. A day filled with cheeseburgers and margies followed by attempts at the dirty dancing lift (with only minor resulting injury) - now that's memorable!

a good weekend. now back to training. 5 days until powersprint - yowsers!

A little pick (me) up

With the three challenges of the triathlon - swim, bike, run - all of which i am steady. I don't have one that i excel at, but hope i am not too bad at either.

A timed mile is needed to personalize this distance training schedule. Throughout the winter I trained along side the Eagleman and IMFL girls (and guys). We were scheduled to do a few of these timed miles I speak of, but they usually fell when I was 'out of town'. although I was out of town at times, really I was plain and simply intimidated by the group. With the duathlon training on schedule I had to do the timed mile in January - 9:05. I finished with only a sprinkle of people behind me. Disappointing but also leaves room for improvement, right?!

As I progressed into Powersprint training - lots more 1/2 mile repeats...but still managed to not do another timed mile. The day this was scheduled I had a duathlon run to do...shucks. I have been tracking my run times and have noticed an increase - even hit a little less than a mile in 8:17.

That brings us to this morning. After filling up on mexican and ice cream last night, running was far from my mind...but the Patriot finish line is telling me to get my butt out of the bed and get to it. This morning I was scheduled to do my new timed mile and (3) 1/2 mile repeats. I have a conversation with my stomach to behave and I am off for my timed mile....here goes. I keep telling myself to push it harder - knees up - think of the running form. I see Coach G standing at the "finish line" ready to time me and....I did it! I finished another timed mile. With a goal of 8:30, I succeed....7:49!

The repeats did not go so well. Dinner was telling me to stop running already. We will not comment on those times. Good thing there were only 3!

Although I wasn't thinking this at the time, but I think the idea of being chased is a great motivator! I am thinking of thinking morning's new time as a little pick me up to tell me i can do Patriot if i just pick it up!

Change of Plans

A newbie to the triathlon world. I am eager and nervous as I prepare for the Powersprint. I am quickly bitten by the training and race bug as I venture into the idea of doing Naylor's Beach Olympic Triathlon in September. My first tri season...an olympic distance? I go for it and continue to train with Naylors in sight. sitting on my desk are notes - quotes, distance, etc - to remind me of the goal and the dedication it takes to reach it. As I continue to train with my girls I am often getting asked what my 'A' race for 2007 is. When I say Naylor's, I often get a look of slight disappointment. So...I'm going for it. Patriot Half Iron! Gulp. Here goes nothing...

A new notch in the distance belt

Although I ride 2-3 times a week, I usually ride 12-18 miles each time. I am soemtimes constrained by time having to get to another outing, and sometimes I am just...lazy. But this week - no. I keep saying I want to up my distacne and now I haev the chance. It's 6:30 and the next thing I have scheduled for myself is Grey's anatomy Season Finale at 9. So - Margo, RCAT, and I are off...24 miles. Lap one and I lose everyone. As I begin lap two, Snells and RCat find me - Snell's new aerobars broke and knocked her off! Tragic! So they are off to performance to throw down and I am off to reach the goal. (oh and lap one i did in 20 minutes) lap two...feels a little better. Lap three - 20 minutes - in the groove. I realize there are only about 3 people left at West Creek. Do I continue? Will people know I am still here? Do I stop to be a little safer? No - I want that 4th loop. So 4th loops begins and I am still feeling groovy. Then come the hills. Yeah so maybe my quads are a wittle sweepy. Fianlly I get back to the car. 24 miles - a new distance on the bike. And besides my knee andI fighting today - I feel great! And made it to the tv in time to watch the drama unfold! Love it!

See you Sunday!

Rain Rain Go Away

As we all know - swimming is my weakness in the race. I was unable to go to my weekly monday night swim this week because I was attending the Hermitage High School Triangle Two Club Mother Daughter Luau!! So I was really looking forward to Wednesday's swim. Only 6 more left until Powersprint! Then... I receive word from training buddy Margo that the storms are not looking in our favor. Argh! I refuse to believe this when *clash* thunder! Noooooooo! Mother Nature is not cooperating with my training schedule! This is not good for my swimming. So far my fastest 300 has been 6:15 and I reeeeaaaallly want to break 6 minutes! We'll see how sunday's timed swim goes.

I ended up with a lovely evening of reorganizing my wardrobe (I am obsessed with organization) as well as deleting unecesary pieces from the wardrobe. And of course this process can only be accomplished with a few glasses of vino! Delish!

Tonight - rain rain go away - I am determined to ride 24 miles then run 3-4 (saturday's workout early). So - Mother Nature please be kind and let me play outside with all my training friends!

RTC Open Water Swim Clinic

After getting my feet wet (you like the pun?!) at the TRIgirl open water practice, I was ready to dive in with the creatures..and dead catfish.

Sponsored by the Richmond Tri Club and led by Michael Harlow of Endorphin Fitness. We learned the tricks of entering and diving starts, in water starts, sighting, drafting, and running exits. This was very informative and it was great to have a handful of pinkies by my side.

Anna and I running into the river

Go Wolfpack!

Note: this has nothing to do with training.

There is something about a summer baseball game - the bleachers, the sun, hot dgos, pretzels, and french fries...okay and the beer too. It really is an american tradition and I love it! Being not only a Carolina girl, but also a Meredith girl - I love my NC State Wolfpack! There is nothing like the atmosphere of football, basketball, and even baseball games. Living in richmond I have learned how strong the UVa/Va Tech rivalry is. My Wolfpack seems to be overshadowed by it. Sad.

Saturday evening there was not only a baseball game, but the UVa v. NC State game! I headed up to charlottesville with a carload of hoos. them in their orange - me in my red! with a minor change in plans, we had time to throw around the football and throw back a few beers, too. With a final score of NC State 10 UVa 7 - they had post game fireworks and we had post game road trip karaoke in the car!

Racing for a Cure!

Saturday morning was the annual Komen Richmond Race for the Cure 5k. Sicne this is Mother's Day weekend, I am usually in Charlotte. this year I am going next weekend, so I was able to stay in town and participate in such a great event.

I met up with fellow TG's while wondering around Brown's Island - Shannon, Kathleen, Nicole, Deanna B, Deanna L, Teresa (and daughter), and Diane (and entourage). what a sea of pink!!! Our team colors fit right in.

My 5k PR in 2006 was 34 minutes. In recent training runs I have been consistently breaking a 30 minute mark for 3 miles, but I remember the course from 2 years ago having a nasty hill! I remember that race, I had just gotten my first knee brace and was on a doctor's order to take a temporary hiatus from running...but...but...but...what if I walk some?!

I went into this race of having fun and not worrying about my time. If I made a new PR then I was content and broke 30 I would be happy. But if not - just have fun being there! 9:00 cmae nad we were off. I kept a steady pace and just got into my own person rhythm. I saw some people I knew along the way and I would jog over and pass on a smile. Then came the finish line. Official time: 29:37! woo hoo!! Although I have run it faster in practice - I hit a new PR knocking off 5 minutes from last year!

What a way to start my busy Saturday...next stop: Charlottesville. Go wolfpack!

Shout Out

I just want to send a shout out of thanks to Diane and Cheryl for their leadership yesterday - thank you for taking me and baby pink Megan out to shady grove last night! and 43 minutes with red lights! woo hoo! We'll do it again soon! xoxo

Barge and the speed boats

Sounds like a great Dr. Seuss book!

Once upon a time there was a barge. She sat in the water moving very slowly only to get where aboslutely needed. Mainly there to bask in the surroundings and usually while consuming a margaita on the rocks no salt. As the barge floats around there are many speed boats whizzing by. This makes the barge jealous and she, too, wants to be a speed boat. So the barge's friend, G, told her she, too, can be a speed boat with a little practice. With support form Barge's friend, margo, she gets out an starts practicing and even does....speed drills. Last night she goes to practice like she wants and the evil dirty pontoon boat is there that many people have played with. This frustrates the barge, but she pushes on. she did 250m to warm up and then 50m speed drills. 1 - 0:54 (pr!!), 2 - 0:57, 3 - 0:56, 4 - 0:59. Then she has to 2 more with only a 5 second rest! 1 - 0:59, 2 - 1:05 ewwww. A 200 warm down in 4:37 not too shabby of an evening. The moral of the story - do not shove a bunch of potstickers in the engine before doing speed drills - although delicious, it creates an uncomfortable nauseating feeling.

I think I missed my called as an author.

Rest

Last night was the RTC new member orientation clinic given by Michael Harlow of Endorphin Fitness. One topic he emphasized was the importance of resting. And how you get better from rest. I though to myself that's good because...thursday I ran in the morning, skipped afternoon bike. Friday was a rest day. Saturday I was at camp and didn't go on my 20 mile ride. Sunday I was asleep at 5 and missed swimming and running. Monday it was so late bythe time we got out of the clinic I went hom to hit the hay. Good thing I made it to Vita this morning. But with all this reast - I should be good to go! haha. Thanks for the advice Michael!

Watch This

This morning I met up with Margo and Missy at Vita to run my 3 miles of hills. (ok so not very hilly but it works, right). Although this is not a speed workout, I am intersted as always to see how I do. So I hit start and I'm off. Feeling good the first lap, but wondering if I started too quickly. I get around loop one and chekc the watch - 6:23. Hmm I wonder. It must have said 8:23 - that would make sense. Let me look again...still 6:23. Interesting. Way to go dummy - you hit the stop button sometime. I continue on wondering when did my watch buttons become so sensitive. I am rounding lep three, and still ponderign the watch. yes - i was that stumped. And thenit dawns on me...instead f hitting start I must have hit it to go back to the time setting and it was telling met he time! hahahahaha. oops.

Tea and crumpets?

Wow! What an experience. Our badges read zone 1. but what was zone 1? Steven escorted Elizabeth and I up to the Capital and into the Governor's mansion. Lock down. We had 3 hours to entertain oursleves before the arrival of Queen Elizabeth...aka Queenie. We took lots of pictures! It was very surreal out of a movie - the snipers on the rooves and the secret service talking into their sleeves. And yes - there were two secret service agents that we have oodles of pictures of. Yummy entertainment! As time passed the passed governor's of virginia, the mayor of richmond, and the governor of west virginia as well as state sentors came for the event. then comes about 60 motorcycles...a few state troopers...then 2 limousines - the Queen! followed by about 6 suburbans that were full of antenas and men in full swat gear. She comes out and begins her walk about with TK (aka Governor Tim Kaine) - being in the VIP area she gave us all a smile and a wave - very surreal. Did I really just meet the Queen?! Yes. Yes I did.

Speed of Light

This morning was the dreaded half mile repeats! (insert movie scream here). Since I don't have a recent timed mile to go off of and my last repeats were a little over 4:00/each - 4:00 was my goal. Here are the results:
1 - 3:49
2 - 3:44
3 - 3:56
4 - 3:56

Not quite the speed of light but Yay for making some speed progress!!! And yay for TG Aimee coming back to practice!

Here's hoping...

The past 2 weeks I have spent a couple mornings at Ashland Physical Therapy. This morning was my last visit. I have been doing lots of strengthening and stretching exercises to help the knee. Beign the coolest patient ever, it was a nice relaxed atmosphere (while sweating of course). the people there are great. Unfortunately, my last visit might have been the worst! With the run and ride on tuesday my knee ws tender going in this morning. But - it was my last visit - they kicked up the exercises. I wanted to just get the ice pack the whole time! On my way out ther was a hoorendous accident - tractor trailer went over part of a car. I thought - I guess my knee pain isn't so pain afterall! And the knee pack is my friend...and it totally looks hot with my outfit around the office! So...here's hoping that as I continue to train my 2 weeks of PT make a difference!

Fitness Assessment Recap

Recently the RTC held a clinic at Maramarc sponsored by TRIgirls. The topic: The Female Triathlete. Luckily for me - only 3 RTC members and 2 non-members showed up. Time for the door prize...I won!!! It ws a fitness assessment by Coach M. Oh rut roh. do I want to do this...

Last night was the big day. I was nervous to find out how out of shape I am! i get there and first...7 pinch fat test. This was the part I was dreading the most. The off to the treadmill for some VO2 testing. as the time increases my heart rate builds...then drops. then incline. it builds then drops. The it builds...and stays there! After that time to lift weights. Aw stinky poo...I am not an upper body strength kind of gal. And streatching - I can handle that, I was a dancer for 16 years.

then the results...dum dum dum.
7 pinch test: 16% well above average, 100lbs muscle, 20lbs fat... well hey that's not so bad.
vo2: above average...have the potential to be a sub 7:00/mile
Strength: 80lbs average...ok I knew I needed to work on this one
Flexibility: 97% well above average...yeah baby yeah.

Overall I was surprised at my results. I was completely expecting much worse. I knew my weakness was my upper body strength and I know I need to focus on that. It was neat getting it done and having a basis for where my fitness stands...as I venture out into this triathlon world. I suggest everyone has this done.

Blub. Blub.

Think Melissa: "Badass. Be a badass."

While preparing for the 10k I remember one of the TRIgirls telling a story how she was saying to herself: "I think I can. I think I can. I KNOW I CAN". I have been telling myself that as i work out...but it morphed into my own version...being a badass. I look at my team mates and others that have completed amazing races and I think they are total badasses. Well, I want to be one too!

As I swam in the James, this mantra helped. Margo and I have a pact the Monday night swims we focus on distance and Wednesday night swims we focus on speed drills. Last Monday we hit 750 as well as a good 300 time. This monday...1000! Gulp.

We enter the pool and we stand there...frozen in the Arctic. All we can say is - this water is stupid cold. After what seemed liek forever standing there discussing how we jsut need to go for it, another swimmer leftover from Masters class sends a nice splash our way and says just do it. So...under the water and we're off. a nice warm up totalling 300 meters. Now picture Shelby (Julia Roberts) in Steel Magnolia's, "It's Time!". We take a deep breath and a high five and we go for it. Hit the wall 20 times...1, 2, 3...Badass. Be a Badass...19, 20!!!! We did it!!! We made out goal of 1000 meters straight! Yay!!! Now time to warm down - a timed 300 - 6:40+/- ew. But...I did just finish a 1000, so okay I swam a little slower. We totalled a swim of a mile for the night. Sounds good to me!

Next Monday: 1,250!