25% Complete

Today marks 1/4 way through of my 24 week training plan to IM Louisville! It has gone way too fast! It means that I will be racing another IM 18 weeks from today and I want to go faster that IM Wisconsin. Whooh.....it is time to really buckle down.

If I were to be graded on my last 6 weeks I would give myself a C+. Yes, I got out of bed at 5 am 2-3x/week for Masters swimming and have been biking and running fairly consistently. But I still feel like I am trying to get in shape where my goal was to originally come into training in shape and ready to train hard. That didn't happen so I must accept it and move on to focusing on hitting all my key workouts and getting in the extras! Meaning I am going to try and hit those double days where my plan says I can leave them out if tired. This past weekend was a great, sunny weekend of training with a 2 1/2 hour ride and 8.5 mile run. I must get pictures of my new, favorite run. I would say over 75% of it is on nice dirt roads, trails and grass. It reminds me of my high school cross country running days. I also had to do a lot of firewood moving this weekend which makes cycling and running long seem easy. My shoulders are feeling it!

On another note, my first race of the season has changed. I will be heading down to PA in late May to participate in an Olympic tri with my dad. Should be lots of fun! Hope all of you out there are kicking butt in your training plans.

Getting educated!

Exciting news. I just registered for the AFAA http://www.afaa.com Personal Training Certification being held locally in May. AFAA was where I first became certified for teaching group exercise when I graduated from college. When I entered the working world I ended up letting my certifications expire (mucho dinero$$$$$) which limited me to teaching and training only at my direct place of employment. I just recently attended a Pilates workshop by AFAA and loved it. Learning and going to workshops is probably one of my favorite things to do. I even love taking the CPR and First Aid workshops every year. So I am now motivated to continuing learning and splurged on this trainer workshop. I am hoping that it will allow me to reach out to local communities and teach more classes and fitness education. Now it's time to hit the books and start studying!

Training update: Yesterday I completed my 1st brick of the season. Had one planned last week and it never happened. It was tough, my legs were stiff but I warmed up after 5 minutes and squeezed in some pick-ups. I am 6 weeks in and starting to feel confident in my training and motivation.

A Walk in the Woods

Just some lovely pics to share from a hike I took this past weekend while my brother and his girlfriend were visiting. This hike was along the shores of Lake Willoughby in Barton, VT. The hike took us the the top of Mount Pisgah where we were treated to some beautiful views. I missed out on my 1st longish ride of the year but it was good cross-training and I know I will get my long rides in soon enough. Enjoy!

Yes to Carrots!

This post it totally unrelated to triathlon but may be of interest to some you who try to use environmentally friendly products. Yes to Carrots http://www.yestocarrots.com/index.html is a great new facial lotion that I just found in my local drugstore yesterday. I had no idea what to think but it looked cute in it's container. And the lotion turned out to be awesome. For those of you that are in the chlorine a lot we all know how dry and itchy our skin can get. I applied the facial lotion on after swim practice today and it made everything feel moist and soft. I can't wait to try some of their other products soon!

Double Days are here again!

So the past month has involved me getting back into the flow and getting in the most basic of workouts fitted into my day. Accomplished! Now I am starting to hit the double workouts and I am loving it! I was worried at the beginning that I wouldn't have the same motivation as last year but it is all starting to improve as I get my fitness back.

I have hit the pool 3 days in a row this week because of a random weekday that I didn't have to work. And am squeezing in runs that aren't necessarily mandatory. But as I learned from last year, this is my weakness so I won't turn down an opportunity when I am itching to run. Yesterday I got out for an easy 25-miler ride on my NEW BIKE! It is basically the same bike that I was riding but a step up. So I am now on a Specialized Ruby Pro for my road bike. It fits great and the shifting is amazing. I have actually been able to notice that it is lighter!

Today marks my first brick 90-minute ride with a15-20 min. run. Should be interesting to see if it will be painful or not-so-bad. Happy happy happy!!!!!

Beautiful weekend!

Happy Easter everyone! What a beautiful weekend we are getting. Actually, the past 2 weeks have just been amazing and just what I need to give my booty a kick into gear. I definitely got kicked in gear and kinda went a little overboard. Nothing unusual for me as I tend to forget that I sat around all winter and shouldn't expect to ride 40 miles and not feel it. So although I gave my body some pain, I LOVED IT! Swimming has been awesome, masters 3x/week and am really starting to get my endurance back. Running is getting there, legs are still a little heavy from adding in the biking but my mindset is strong. Biking: oh how I love my bike! It is so hard to not bike long when the weather is beautiful but the training plan is calling for something else. I am up to 40 miles for my longest ride so far and next weekend will mark a 3-hour ride which I am hoping will feel a little easier now that I am getting consistency on the bike in training.

That's pretty much it for an update, fairly boring as I am not racing until June. Just loving life, good weather and training. Pics below are from the run/bike weekend fun. Oh, what exciting update: I have a new road bike so expect a post on that soon. I know nothing about it as Luke ordered it as a surprise and it is still sitting in the box at the shop. Can't wait to see it!