When you feel you don't want to run, watch this

Today I really didn't feel like running. I did muster up enough energy to get outside, and I did go, but before I stepped out the door I watched this

Now I'd like to tell you it inspired me to want to run a marathon, but it didn't. ;)

What it did do was get me out there.

I didn't have a great run, but had I not watched that I may not have gone at all, and considering I'm a short distance runner, I ran 4 miles, and walked some of it. That's what I consider not great.

I hope I can keep pushing myself like Joy.

I'm a 5K-er and proud of it!

You know, there are a lot of people who want to run a marathon or a half marathon, and I say go ahead. The more I think about it, the less I want to run more than 5 or 6 miles.

Much to Jo's dismay, I know, but I love the 5k distance. It's fun. It's doable for the average person, and I can still work on speed.

Speaking of 5k, I ran one yesterday: 31:47. 2nd fastest time. Maybe I'll run a 10k next year, we'll see, but right now I'm very happy running in the 5k races. And my main goal is for this to remain fun!

BTW, yesterday was my first race in my new age group! Boo to getting old!!!!

Struggling

Ok, so after the DALMAC I was sore for 1 day. 1 day! I think that is awesome. I mean, I basically was working out 5-6 hours a day for 4 straight days and I had mild muscle soreness in my quads. I am pretty proud of that fact.

By Tuesday I was ready to go! However, it is very important to rest after big events. Reward yourself, so to speak.

I, of course, feel guilty the whole time I am resting because I feel like I should be doing something, however, Master Jo says that I should rest so I did. I slept in every day and took 1 full week off and it really was quite wonderful.

Now, though, I am struggling to get back into it. I've had a pretty good week so far, 2 - 3 mile runs and 3 weight workouts, but it has felt harder than usual. I think this is where I gave up running before. I ran the 10 mile crim in 95, then I took a break that never ended!!! ;) So I definitely don't want to do that.

So wish me luck as I push through this first tough week back.

And a note to Master Jo: If you have advice on how to deal with this (though I assume you never have these feelings because you are super woman), please let me know!

DALMAC 2008

Well, I'm back from th 38th annual Dick Allen Lansing to MACkinaw bike tour, 4 day West Route.

Day 0

So the ride officially started on Thursday, however we spent Wednesday driving first to Lansing to drop off our bikes and a car and then up to the Bridge to drop the truck off so we had transportation home on Sunday. My friend Brian was SO AWESOME to follow us up there, take us on a side trip to Harbor Springs and a preview of part of the ride through the "tunnel of trees" and then back to Lansing where we stopped at the MSU Dairy and then later ate and stayed with him mom and step dad. We also registered and go all ready for the next day's ride.

There are SO many things to tell you, my faithful readers (all 3 of you!), so I am going to break out each day with a brief intro and then bullet points so I don't bore you too much, but it will probably still be long. If you have a short attention span, here are some photos to break it all up: DALMAC Photos

Day 1 - MSU Pavillion to Vestaberg High School (72 miles)

We started Day 1 about 9 am, about and hour or so later than I wanted, but it was fine. Brian's crew left at 7:30, but we were waiting for Tim's friend Dan & Kirk, Dan's Friend's Kim and Doug and our friend Rex. These are the people we rode most of the ride with, which was really fun. We had never met Kim and Doug before but it turned out Doug and Tim graduated from High School together but never knew each other. We ended the ride about 4 ish. About 4 1/2 hours in the saddle and the rest on breaks. Day 1 highlights:

• The start - The DALMAC is 5 different routes, over 2000 riders. It was an exciting atmosphere to see all the riders starting.
• The first Stop: Sweetie Pies Bakery in Dewitt. I split a muffin with Rex.
• Seeing some families ride. One family had a 10 year old (first DALMAC), a 13 year old (3rd DALMAC) and a 15 year old (fifth DALMAC). They were so cute.
• Riding through country roads where you could ride 2 abreast and socialize with each other.
• Biker camaraderie - if you are stopped on the side, others passing by ask if you're ok and when you're in a pack, other riders letting you know about obstacles in the road, cars coming, etc.
• LOTS of corn fields and farms
• Flat course
• Our shuttle to the hotel - the owners agreed they would drive us back and forth to and from the hotel for $10 bucks. They were VERY nice and kind of stereotypical small-towners. Gave us a "tour" as we drove from podunk Vestaberg to BFE Edmoor (7 miles) and in between was Cedarview which consisted of about 5 houses
• The hotel - 70's linoleum in the bathroom and wall paper "paneling", but clean and cheap (and the only option)

Day 2 - Vestaberg to Lake City (84 Miles)

Everyone said that the second day is the hardest and they were *mostly* right (see day 4). The first day you are very excited to start. The second day, the excitement has waned and now you're wondering what you've gotten yourself into. And what we didn't plan on was a 15 mph headwind. Plus Day 1 was mostly flat and day 2 we got into some hills. Hills and headwinds don't mix well. Today was about 5 hours in the saddle, but we ended roughly the same time as the day before because we left a little earlier. Day 2 highlights:

• Starting off in the fog was kinda cool
• Amish buggy crossing the street in the fog - right out of a movie
• A doe and a fawn running in front of us (but we were slow enough to not be in danger).
• Getting out of farmland and into beautiful Michigan.
• Fun biking jerseys: My favorites were AC/DC, Speed Racer, A Tuxedo and Crash Test Dummy
• All walks of life on the ride. They ranged from the serious biker to old to young to thin to wide. You name it, they were on it
  
• Our hotel was totally a dive and totally awesome at the same time. The TV was from the 60's (no remote even), the alarm clock was one of those flippy number clocks, if you put a tennis ball on one end of the room it would roll to the other, the sink, toilet and tub were PINK and the sink had a stick holding it up and the bed was slanted. But it was clean, cheap and close.

Day 3 - Lake City to Boyne City (92 miles)

Well I didn't quite get my first century in because of the way they routed us, but I did clock about 96 miles that day because of back and forth to our hotel. I felt really good on the third day, it seemed like everyone did. It was a very long and hilly day, but the hills were mostly short up and long gradual down so it was fun. We left around 7 and spent about 6 hour in the saddle and ended around 4:30. Highlights:

• Chilly start to the morning
• We did 60 miles by lunch time (we did leave very early though)
• Torch Lake was GORGEOUS
• More hills, but big payouts.
• Incredible views at the tops of hills
  
• Great lunch at Shorts brewpub in Belaire.
• *ALL* kinds of bikes: Road, Mountain, Tri, Recumbent, Tandem, Tandem Recumbent, you name it!
  
• THE WALL - A very steep hill at mile 80 that we all walked. Approaching the hill was a 3 mile false flat, by the way!
• Finishing. Holy crap, it was a hard day, even though I felt pretty good.
• This the was the first day I had any soreness, and it was all in my quads. (other than chaffing that is.)

Day 4 - Boyne City to Mackinaw City (69 Miles)

It's a tough choice for me which day was harder, Day 4 or Day 2. Maybe I say Day 4 because it's more fresh in my mind, but for it being the shortest day, it was pretty long and the hills were the hardest. But it was the most scenic day BY FAR. In Harbor Springs you went along the lake where all these big beautiful houses were. Then up into the Tunnel of Trees along the shore of Lake Michigan, it was just awesome. Highlights of today and the whole trip:

• The hotel was the best one we stayed at the whole trip. So I don't have any cute stories about it. ;)
  
• Another beautiful Michigan summer day with awesome scenery. The weather the whole trip was just awesome.
• Tough hills - felt the hardest today, but could be because my body was just tired.
• The only problems we had the whole trip in our group of 7 were 1 cracked rim, 1 broken spoke, 3 flat tires and 1 melt down. (2 of the flat tires happened on this last day and well I am sure you can guess who had the melt down).
• I got to eat what I want, because I was burning roughly 3000 calories a day. And you NEED to eat often or you will have a melt down. (Only happened one time though!)
  
• Got to meet some new friends in Doug and Kim. Our groups was a mix of some people who didn't know each other but all got along really well and it made it that much more fun.
• The hosts at each of the schools were so nice and helpful. The food was typical school cafeteria food but it was hot and plenty of it and it wasn't bad either (even Tim ate it). Plus when your biking 75-80 miles a day you kinda don't care.
• I didn't get to spend enough time with my Brian, but I did get to see him a little. :)
  
• Tim got a massage every day and can write it off.
• "Tent City" at every school we ended our days at. Probably close to 400 tents scattered around each school grounds. It was pretty cool to see every night. (But still glad we stayed in hotels!)
  
• We averaged 14-15 mph each a day. Not that I was in a hurry, but I was happy with that pace. Though sometimes we would get in these pace lines and be taking flats at 22-25 and it was awesome (because it's less work when you're at the back!). But there were some really slow up hills too. My fastest downhill pace was 42.3 mph!!! (fastest I have ever gone.)
• No crashes!!
• And lastly - I did it! I can't believe it. I biked 325 miles in 4 friggin days and my body feels really pretty darn good. It was so much fun. Not sure I'll do that one again, but maybe a different one to see a different part of the state or country!

The Corner From Hell

As I was biking on Saturday, we were riding through the little town of Milford. It's 25 mph through there, but there is no room to pass if you needed to. Also there are 3 cross walks for pedestrians that you have to stop for if there are pedestrians present, so your speed through town is usually pretty slow. We were averaging about 20 mph through there, which on a bike is a pretty good clip, but we were mostly staying with traffic.

As we got out of town, we were approaching the infamous corner where I got hit by a car in June, and we were looking to see if we could get in the left turn lane and it was clear, so we got into the turn lane and stopped at the light. All of a sudden this lady in a jeep came up behind us quickly and started yelling at us. She told us to get off the road and onto the sidewalk because we were holding up traffic. She repeated it over and over again like we were 5. Ever time she said it, we kept telling her that it was illegal and dangerous for us to be on the sidewalk and we have ever right to be on the road. We went back and forth until the light turned green and then she sped around us and left.

Why are people so ignorant to biking laws?!?!?

I bet she yells at baby ducks too!

Update

Just so all my many fans out there don't think I've fallen off the wagon, I wanted to give you a little update as to what I've been up to. :)

Last week I was traveling all week, but I did work out most of the days I was there. I did a combination of the eliptical and weights. I had some pretty good work outs and it was a welcome break from the other things I've been up to!

Yesterday we cranked out 40 miles on the bike. We are starting to ramp up our rides in preparation for the DALMAC (Labor Day weekend).

I haven't run in a week, but I plan to this week, starting tomorrow picking up my speed work again, which I'd dropped for a few weeks.

I also revitatlized my weight workouts, and am just trying to ramp those up for a little variety.

You'll notice swimming isn't in the mix right now, and for that, I am very happy. :) I don't HATE it, I just need a little break from it, and then I'll go back at it.

So I hope this message puts you all at ease. ;)

Happy Trails 2008

Well, my final triathlon of this season is completed. I'm pretty happy about that fact.

I've been struggling a little with my training over the last month, and finishing was a pretty big feat. I'm mostly happy with the results. I was 2 minutes faster than last year, though that wasn't any thanks to my swim (1 minute slower) and my run, which I walked plenty of (pretty much the same as last year). But my bike I did in about 47 minutes, which I was pretty happy about. With transition times being roughly the same as last year, my overall time was 2:01:23.

I'm missing that elusive mark under 2 hours; maybe next time.

I'm a little burnt on the swimming right now, so I'm taking a little break from that, but will be focusing my summer on the DALMAC, and Since apparently biking is my best of the 3, it'll be nice to focus on that, and still running in between.

The day was marked by an impending storm, which never really materialized, though it spit a little during my bike portion, and it made the grassy run course just a little slick. That's pretty much how the whole spring and summer has gone though. So it was an appropriate ending to my tri season this year.

I'm probably not done with these things, because they ARE fun.

Here are some fun photos from the day.

Famous

Just thought I'd post this little diddy about my cousin Patti and her kids:

http://blog.mlive.com/lcn/2008/07/nemeth_threesome_to_try_triath.html

Tres Chicas Rule!

Today was my first every triathlon relay! The event was an Olympic distance triathlon at Big Fish Triathlon in Ortonville, MI.

Here are the highlights:

1. My team: The illustrious Patricia Nemeth, swimmer extrodinaire, the incredible Jo Laansma, awesome and dedicated runner and little ole me, the biker.
2. Beautiful morning. Started out about 60 degrees.
3. All 3 of us were under our personal goals. (Swim 42:49, T1 1:30, Bike 1:26:09, T2 :29, Run 57:33)
4. My sister Teresa and her husband Bob came!
5. Tim - what more can I say? :D
6. We weren't last.
7. A really fun day. Before we said it felt a little like cheating because we weren't doing the whole thing, but after, since it was the longer distances (1500 meter swim, 25 Mile Bike, 10 k run), we all said it didn't feel that way after.
8. Awesome pictures can be found here.

It was just so fun to experience this with my good friend Jo and my bestest cousin Patti. Tres Chicas, you rule!

Please Pay Attention

Ok, this is probably preaching to the Choir, but check this out and then read on:

Today Tim and I went for a bike ride. We biked up to Kensington Metro Park, which is about 7 miles from our house. From there we biked around the park and then back home, the plan was for a 23 mile ride.

Well on the way home, we were coming up on this intersection where we needed to turn right. As we were approaching the corner, this car coming in the other direction turned left super fast RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME into a gas station. Fortunately Tim was able to barely escape him, but I was not so lucky.

As he was turning in front of me, in that split second I looked for options, couldn't go right, couldn't go left, so I knew I had to hit him. So as I was breaking for my life, I turned my bike a little to the side to side swipe him as I thought that was my best option.

My shoulder bounced off his car and I almost whacked my head on his mirror, and then my body slammed to the road, my right elbow taking most of the impact. Of course I was ripped right off my bike.

I was able to get up and walk away from it, which was good, but it shook me up pretty good. So I went to this grassy part in front of the gas station and sat down.

The first thing he said after he said he didn't seem me (obviously) was that we should be on the sidewalk! Tim corrected him right away letting him know we have every right to be in the road. The guy was very concerned and bought me a water and some ice because I was getting quite the goose egg on my elbow, but the whole time insisted it wasn't his fault.

As I was walking it off, Tim went and got the information from the guy, and this woman came up to us and urged us to call the police, because even though she didn't see my accident, he had JUST cut her off down the road and was driving recklessly and was apparently in a big hurry. Just as she said that, the police showed up, someone else called them.

As everyone was giving their statements (including the woman mentioned above), the guy kept insisting it was my fault!
He kept saying *I* hit *HIM*
I said "Of course I did, you turned right in front of me!"
He said "You side swiped me!"
I said "I did that on purpose to avoid getting killed!
He said that he didn't see me and that he never sees cyclists on the road and I said "Well *that* is a problem, we're everywhere!"

We got into a little heated discussion because he was totally pissing me off (no I didn't swear!) and the officer finally said "Ok, Ok, let's calm down" and I walked away. I did apologize later to the officer and he said not to worry, that he understood why I was angry.

So after the guy was issued 2 tickets (One for failure to yield and one for no driver's license), he did say he hoped I was ok, but NEVER apologized.

At first I felt fine to ride home (we had about 5 miles left), but then, I was a little worried about putting pressure on my arm. It's a little on the sore side, and I think it is ok, but I am keeping an eye on it. If it really starts hurting, we'll get it looked at. But in the mean time, I'm just bumped, bruised and scratched. So since I couldn't ride, the police brought me home. He told me in the car that the accident report stated that the other guy was at fault, which I kinda knew, but is nice to hear.

So anyway, I think I'll live. My bike appears to be fine, but I am taking it up for a tune up just in case since I do have a race next weekend.

And just in case I can't ride with "Tres Chicas" next weekend, I have a substitute: "Dos Chicas y un Hombre"!

Humidity + Jeanne = Bad Day???

Maybe/Maybe not. You decide.

Today I ran in a 5k race in Brighton to get that official time that's been eluding me the last few weeks. Outside of Triathlons, my fastest 5k race was last October and it was 33:09.

Today, the race started at 8:30am. It was only 72 out, but my GOD it was about 100% humidity or at least it felt like it. I felt great going into the race, but after mile 2, I had to walk a little, because the humidity was sucking the life out of me.

When I finished the race, it took me about 10-15 minutes to recover, which is very unusual for me because I usually recover very fast after working out. But the humidity really zapped me. I felt worse after this race then I did after last week's triathlon!!!

The other thing about this race was it wasn't chipped timed, so there is always margin of error on these. I'd say at least 20 seconds off. (Because I start at the back, and everyone "starts at the same time" but I didn't really cross the start line for about 10-15 seconds, plus they are doing everything manually on the way in, so there is always room for error)

I did like the race though. It was on the cheaper side, as far as registering at the last minute for races go, and you got a cool Tshirt AND a pancake breakfast afterwards. It was all good.

Am I making you wait long enough for the results??

Despite the humidity and me having to walk probably 1/3 - 1/2 of a mile in that last mile, I still had a PR: 31:16. Had I not walked, I would have been under 30 I'm sure of it. That's a 10:04 pace. I know that I was wishing for at least a 9:59 pace, but I think I can live with this.

So though I wasn't too happy I had to walk, I was pretty darn happy with the result, and know that I'll be under that in the next race.

yay me!

2008 Tri Season begins

So today marked my 4th time I've completed a sprint triathlon, but the first time I have done the same one year over year, so I have a comparison now of my improving over last year.

My over all time I improved by almost 12 minutes over last year which I was pretty happy with. I was HOPING to get to the 1:20 mark, but I was a little over the mark at 1:23.

Where I was the happiest was in the run (5k) I improved a whopping 6 minutes over last year. I averaged a 10 1/2 minute mile, but after swimming and biking, I'm ok with that pace! Where I continue to struggle is in the swim. I was only 45 seconds faster than last year. I didn't do freestyle the whole way (Which I didn't have the stamina for last year, but did this year), a lot due to the fact that the coldness of the water just took my breath away and also there were 200 more people in the race than last year, and well for a small lake, that's a lot of bodies. My bike was about 5 minutes faster than last year. I averaged 18.1 for 10 miles. I'm MOSTLY happy with that, but I was hoping I was a little faster there.

Overall a great day!

A couple notes on the day:
1. Patty beat me by 45 seconds!!
2. Mindy finished her first ever triathlon! Congrats to her! I'm very proud of her.
3. Tim finished his first triathlon! I am also very proud of him. He *HATES* the run, it really hurts his body, and he struggled with it today for sure and had to walk much of the run.
4. I beat Tim (but don't tell him I told you). ;)
5. Next sprint tri is scheduled for July 20th
6. However, I am participating in a 3 person relay of an olympic size tri on June 22nd. I am the biker chick (25 miles) , Patty is the swimmer chick (1 mile), Jo is the runner chick (10k). Tres Chicas!

Thanks to my AWESOME nephew Matt who came to cheer us on and take these awesome photos!

I was lost, but now I'm found

This post is dedicated to my good friend Jo. Here's the story:

Jo and I met in college. We were computer science majors at University of Michigan - Flint, and had many good times and laughs in college. (I will not tell you what year it was! ;) ) Well, life happened and we drifted apart. Fast forward to 2004, when I get an email from Jo. She'd been looking for me for years and finally found me. Since then we've been back in touch constantly. The cool thing about our reunion has been that it never felt weird or awkward, it felt like we just were on pause for a few years and picked it right back up. Of course our lives were different and we'd both grown up, but our talking and laughter has not changed one bit.

One of the other really cool things about Jo is that she is a runner. I mean a REAL runner. This weekend, she completed her first Marathon. She's been running the Crim for years and now this. She's been struggling with injury also, but she pushed through and completed this monumental goal. A marathon is really nothing I have an interest in, I'm more of a short distance girl, but I have a lot of respect for the amount of training she has put into this.

Since I picked up my running shoes again in 2005, we have a new thing in common! She's been one of my main motivators in getting me back in running shape. I don't think I'll ever be the runner she is, but I do push my self more and more because of her coaching.

You might call her my Master Po, or better yet, my Master Jo.

Ok, so what I'm about to tell you next may have you thinking "Did you say all those nice things about her so she wouldn't kick your ass?" And the answer is no, her marathon just happen to coincide with this and I really wanted to post a tribute to her on here.

I've been telling her for like a month that I'm gonna run a 5 k. Which I really am. It's not like I don't have the ability. I need to get in an official time because she's been coaching me in getting faster. Anyway, this was another weekend I was supposed to run. Actually I should be there right now, but I decided not to go for several reasons. (My excuses are weather, allergy and bodily function related, that's all you need to know!) So, don't be mad at me Jo, because I WILL run in one soon, it'll just have to wait until after the triathlon next week.

On a good note, I biked 12 miles on Friday, 30 miles on Saturday and 45 on Sunday. I actually feel great physically, so that is NOT one of my many excuses!

So I salute you Master Jo! Congratulations on your great achievement. And about my 5K...

Don't hate the player, hate the game!!

Today's ride

This morning Tim and I went out for a ride near Ortonville State Recreation area. Why Ortonville you ask? Well, June 22nd, I'm doing an Olympic Distance Triathlon Relay with my cousin (swimmer) and my friend (runner) and I am doing the bike portion, which is a 26 mile course.

The course description says that the course will "kick your ass", but I didn't find it too bad except for two hills. One of course was at the 25 mile mark so it was tough, the other one was about 16 miles in. The rest of the hills were long and gradual, and a fair amount of false flats (it goes through a lot of farm lands and through the cute little town of Hadley).

But I averaged 16 miles an hour and it took me 1:40. I think I can do it between 1:20 & 1:30 (probably closer to the 1:30 mark), so I'll be training hard to bump up that time. We didn't really push it, so I was pretty happy with my time overall

Oh and it was a gorgeous day for a bike ride.

Running

Today I went for a run on a new route around my neighborhood.

Normally I run inside my neighborhood, but this one takes me out onto some of the surrounding and fairly busy roads, one being M-59. I am trying to increase my distance, so this is my first attempt at a 4 mile route, and I really don't like doing loops (because I have a hard time making myself do them), so I wanted something different.

I had a good run, 4.3 miles in 45 minutes, so I'm happy and I feel good.

Then I get a message from my cousin this morning on my voice mail: "Um yeah, it's 6:11 am and I'm on M-59 on my way to work, and I see this hot brunette running on M-59 between Prestwick Village and Livingston road with a reflector vest on. I mean she's totally hot, but kind of an idiot for running on M-59. Do you know her?"

Then I talked to her and explained that I was only on M-59 for 2 minutes and the shoulder is very wide there (a car width), so I am totally safe. She was impressed that I had the forethought to put the reflector vest on, running on busy roads, so I think she kinda approves now, not sure.

I just thought that a) her message was funny, b) It's so nice of her to be concerned about me and c) it was such a coincidence that she saw me when I was only on the road for 2 minutes and it was my first time!

Anyway, it was a good run. Next run: 5 miles.

Work out news

It's Tuesday and here's what I've done for the week so far:

Sunday - 35 mile bike ride
30 miles of 15 mph pace, and a 5 mile leisurely ride. I'm still having a little drama with the clip in shoes, but trying to work through it. And I didn't fall until the 5 mile ride, when I was standing still at an intersection. Only some minor bruising, a little road rash and a bruised ego. ;)

Monday - 1000M swim speed work, 20 mile bike ride
Nothing too noteworthy here, except I'm feeling better in the pool and it was friggin windy out.

Tuesday - 3 mile run speed work, 1000M swim
Increasing distance on the speed segments, and it's not totally killing me... yet!

Good week so far!

Perseverance

This post is another dedication to Patti, my favorite cousin.

I won't go on this time, however, about how awesome she is, because we already know that! But this time, I want to talk about her character. She's been struggling with a knee injury ALL winter. It has squashed many of her plans for the summer. HOWEVER, she moves on despite of this. She's always planning around and figuring out how to keep moving forward even though she's in pain.

In addition to all the physical qualities that athletes have like strength, endurance, agility, above all else, I believe perseverance is number one. This makes Patti a strong athlete.

Dictionary.com has the following definition of perseverance:

1. Steady persistence in a course of action, a purpose, a state, etc., esp. in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.

—Synonyms 1. doggedness, steadfastness. Perseverance, persistence, tenacity, pertinacity imply resolute and unyielding holding on in following a course of action. Perseverance commonly suggests activity maintained in spite of difficulties or steadfast and long-continued application: Endurance and perseverance combined to win in the end. It is regularly used in a favorable sense. persistence in a belief; Tenacity, with the original meaning of adhesiveness, as of glue, is a dogged and determined holding on. Whether used literally or figuratively it has favorable implications: a bulldog quality of tenacity; the tenacity of one's memory. Pertinacity, unlike its related word, is used chiefly in an unfavorable sense, that of over insistent tenacity: the pertinacity of the social climber.

All of these things and more describe her tenacious nature, which I am learning through osmosis.

Trial Tri

Today Tim and I did a trail triathalon with all of the distances of the upcoming June 1st triathlon at Hawk Island in East Lansing. I swam the 400 in about 11.5 mins, biked in about 30 mins, and run 3 miles in about 31 mins. I was pretty pleased that that. I still have four weeks and need to train harder, but I feel mostly ready and at this point so early in the game, that is a good thing! Our transitions were a little longer than they will be for real, but still, it was a great start!

Spring has sprung

Well, we are having a glorious spring here in Michigan.

It is unseasonably warm, and that's ok with us who put up with a pretty harsh winter!

This past week has mostly been in the seventies, and I've been on my bike 5 days in a row. I haven't really hit it hard on the bike until today, because I'm still getting used to the damn clip-ins. The last few days have either been in the neighborhood only, or around some main roads not too far from the neighborhood. Today was the first day I didn't have a meltdown out of frustration of not being able to clip in or fall on my butt. So it was a good day. It was only a 12.5 mile bike, but we averaged about 17 mph, so that's a good start and we'll start kicking up the mileage and speed now that I'm getting comfortable.

Yay spring!

Mama's got a new pair of shoes

While I was on one of my trips, my wonderful husband went to REI and bought me some new biking shoes with coordinating new pedals.

Then when I was on another trip, my awesome husband (yes, the same guy) took my bike to the bike shop, got it tuned up and put the pedals on and put the clips on the shoes.

Today was the first day that I got a chance to try them out. I've been a little stressed out about them, because I have a fairly big fear of falling, and I don't love the idea of being physically attached to my bike.

So I went out into the grass to practice while my wonderful husband (still the same guy!) was inside eating and watching out the back door. I had a really hard time starting, because I was so afraid to fall. And guess what? It was no big deal!!! I did fall twice in the grass, but it wasn't that big of a deal. I even ventured out into the road a little. I think tomorrow we'll go out a little more in the neighborhood until I get really comfortable.

I'm so proud of overcoming my fears. :)

Unscathed

Where have I been the last few weeks?

Well, 3 weeks ago, was in Atlanta for a week, Mon-Fri for a all day training class. The class went from 8-6 or 7 every day. They fed us, mostly unhealthy stuff, and it was a real struggle! I did run a lot while I was there, but still.

Then I was in Florida for a week visiting Tim's family. Mostly I was healthy and I ran and swam a lot to make up for any treats. :) We had a great time.

Thursday I flew to New York for 1 night to visit a couple of clients.

The good news is I didn't gain ONE POUND! I think that is quite an accomplishment for basically eating out for the last 3 weeks. I think when I came home from Atlanta, I was up a few pounds (probably extra sodium, etc.), but it all worked out and I am SO HAPPY.

Yay me!

Worms

It's spring!

How do you really know it's spring? Well it's when you run outside and there are worms on the sidewalk, that's how.

Today I ran outside for the first time in like 3 months and there were worms. It was awesome to be outside, but I forget how different outside is from inside. It was windy out, and it really slowed me down. Not that I minded really, it's just when you're in all winter, you forget about the elements. Now it's time to become re-acquainted with them.

Conspiracy Theory

So today they posted the results of the indoor tri. I think they posted my swim lengths incorrectly, as you can see below, they have me at 30 lengths and I think I did 23. I don't really think there is anyway I could have done 30. Patti keeps insisting that I did that many and won out of the four of us, but my conspiracy theory is that she's trying to make me feel better for all the times she kicked my ass in the past and will do so in the future. What do you think? ;)

First name	Swim (lengths)	Bike (miles)	Run (laps)	Swim Points	Bike Points	Run Points	Total Points
Jeanne	30	4.37	11	47.5	43.7	55	146.2
James	34	4.57	8	53.8	45.7	40	139.5
Patricia	32	4.27	9	50.6	42.7	45	138.3
Tim	31	4.32	9	49.1	43.2	45	137.3

New Plan

Earlier this year I mentioned that I might be doing an Olympic size triathlon, which I wasn't thrilled about, but I was going to do anyway. Originally, I wanted to focus on sprints again this year, compare to last year and then maybe do some longer ones next year. But due to positive peer pressure by CERTAIN PEOPLE I was going to do a long one this year. ;)

Well, Patti got news recently that she really shouldn't be doing that much on her knee that early in the season (June 22nd), and Jo, well she'll just be a couple week off of her marathon.

So we have decided not to do an Olympic this year, and stick to sprints, which is really fine with me. I'd like to focus on speed this year (which I'll post about later), so I'm a happy camper.

And Jo had the brilliant idea of doing the Olympic, but maybe just doing a relay with the 3 of us, which I think is a fabulous idea and I'm very excited about.

So that's the plan for now. It seems to change a lot, but I do think I'm finally starting to lock the summer events down.

The Pact

So yesterday while Patti and I were in the locker room getting ready for the indoor tri, she said she wanted to make a pact with me.

You see, her and I have a family history of brain aneurysms. Our grand mother had is, and uncle, and Patti's mom (My aunt Margaret). There may be others that I'm missing, but it's been a very serious problem in our family and it is hereditary.

So yesterday, she said "So if we're both in a triathlon and one of us drops dead with an aneurysm, the other one keeps going, ok?"

I of course totally agreed, but then made sure that it applied to ANY reason that we dropped dead. I mean, we might as well cover our bases!

Tri Season has begun!

Yep, it's that time of year again in Michigan, time for the indoor triathlons to start up in prep for the outdoor season in May/June.

This time last year, I was SO nervous, but this year, I didn't have to push as hard because I was in such better shape. It was kinda fun to see the improvement over last year, though more in some areas than I thought and then less in others.

The breakdown:

Swim: This year I swam two more length than last year and *almost* three. I was just shy of that 24th length. I was of course hoping for more here, but I am just a slow swimmer.

Bike: I was about a 1/4 mile faster than last year. Last year 4.1 and this year 4.37. I actually think I would have gone a little bit further, however, we think their 5 minutes in between was a little shortened, as we were timing it, and when we got on the bikes, they were already 1 1/2 minutes into the ride. So we lost some time there. But whatever, I was still faster. :)

Run: Biggest improvement here. I ran 11 laps improving 2 over last year. Each lap is 1/2 miles, so I ran a sub 10 minute mile and I was quite happy about that!!

So over all I was happy, especially with the run. The run will be my big focus this year, and considering I was running an 11 1/2 minute mile in triathlons last year, I feel great about this.

It was a fun day, because not only did my faithful companion, Patti, join me, but our husbands too! Everyone did great! Tim, even with his foot problems did 9 laps on the run, I was very proud of him!!

The Wabos Loppet

Today was The Wabos Loppet (Meaning a rabbit's long journey)!! 27K of Cross Country Skiing just north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. So sit back, grab a drink, and hear the long tale of my trip:

Our trip started out yesterday as me, my sister Teresa, my brother-in-law Bob and our long time family friend Mike headed up to Sault Ste. Marie, MI. We left around 8:30am, and after a few pit stops, were up in the beautiful UP of Michigan around 3pm.

It was round 14 degrees at that time, and we decided to do an easy 3 mile night ski at a near by trail. When we started out skiing, the Sun was still peeking through the wooded trail, but that last half (or so) of the ski we were skiing under the lights, which was really cool. I guess I am easy to please, because I was giggling like a school girl the whole time under the lights. I have only been night downhill skiing, so I enjoyed it immensely. It was also a great warm up for the next day's almost 17 mile ski.

Sunday morning we woke up to a nice and balmy -12 degrees FAHRENHEIT! Now my story takes a little side trip, so please bear with me:

My sister is a lovely person, fun to be with, NEVER complains about anything! And let me tell you, she had a LOT of reason to complain. Her trip was almost RUINED for several reason:

1. Saturday about 5pm, she realized she forgot her jacket. Now we won't go into how you actually forget your jacket when you are going on a SKI TRIP, but she forgot this most important piece of equipment. Now fortunately, because she's an extremely resourceful and resilient person, she recovered quite nicely by purchasing a new one (at a reasonable price even!)
2. Saturday night: Couldn't sleep. Wasn't worried about the trip or anything, but just couldn't sleep and was up a most of the night. I couldn't sleep either, and as we both laid there awake, we wondered if the other was awake but were afraid to ask...
3. She couldn't take a doody. Now we all know how this can ruin your day.
4. She forgot to bring a banana with her in the car trip to the train station. Now, I know this might not sound like a big deal, but come on, SHE EATS A BANANA EVERY DAY!!!
5. And this was probably the worst: When she went to the bathroom at the train station the toilet overflowed over her boot. Fortunately, her sock didn't get wet, but I was thinking that maybe she solved number 3 (or maybe I should re-number to make that number 2?), but I was afraid to ask.

Ok back to our story.

So it was frigging cold as we crossed the border into Canada to go to the train station. We got to the the station at 7:15 and the train didn't leave until 10ish. So that part was kinda boring, but the thing I enjoyed about it was the people watching and meeting. You know when you run in a race or ski with a group (and this wasn't a race), the camaraderie is awesome. You feel like you know people and it's easy to strike up a friendly conversation.

And as far as the train ride goes, I don't love a train, but this "snow train" was a short enough trip (about an hour) and traveled through the snow-covered Algoma forests to the original lumbering village of Wabos, and I enjoyed it a lot.

At Wabos, you get off the train, take a short walk down a hill and begin skiing. Though the day started out so cold, it got to a much warmer 18 degrees. I know a thirty degree difference sounds like a lot, but it was still damn cold. So with the Camelbak strapped on and Ipod cranked up, I was ready to go! Though after about 30 minutes, I warmed up nicely, peeled off a layer and was quite comfortable most of the day.

The trip is basically split up into 3 sections, separated by 2 pit stops, each mostly equidistant from each other. Even though up until today, I've skied 4 times in the last 8 years (all in the last 2 weeks!), I did quite well. I did fall on several hills, but I am still learning, and some of it was getting over some nerves. Once I got comfy, I was doing quite well on many hills, even some twisty ones.

The scenery was amazing. Rolling mountains, snow covered tree stumps with snow piled so high they looked liked giant mushrooms, and the sky: wasn't a cloud in it.

The first pit stop was at the bottom of a hill, over a small make-shift bridge, and it was a welcome stop. Cookies and tea were served and if you were brave, you could freeze your ass off in the lovely outhouse (which I think is a hole with a tarp around it.) Obviously, I didn't partake in this tradition.

The second part of the trip was a LOT of up hill. Not to say there weren't plenty of uphills on the first part, but they seemed longer on this section. Let me just say this about uphills: Walking like a duck hurts my ass.

At the end of this middle part of the trip, there is a long, and today, somewhat slick hill that I had a few troubles on. The first problem was that I got a little on of control and I fell. Not a big deal really, but this is what started the litany of problems that followed. So here I am on a hill and you need to get out of the way as fast as possible, which started the second problem, which was I couldn't, I was kinda stuck. Next issue: No gloves. I took them off because I was hot, and this is not a problem unless you fall and they get in the snow. Fortunately I apparently had a big distance between me and the next skier, so I had some time, but still felt a big of a panic.

So I finally got unstuck, got my gloves on and got myself up and started to go again, and I fell again. This is where I had the next and biggest problem of the day. Teresa made the suggestion to take off my skis and walk it. Well I was going to have no part of this. I mean after making "Hell Mountain" my bitch, was I going to let this little bump stop me from becoming king of the forest?

After spewing out untold expletives at my sister (well not *at* her, but in her general direction), and realizing that I was now starting to hold people up, I stood up and notice my ski had come off. So I looked down, and guess what? Apparently in the falling debacle I broke the binding on my right ski in half. My ski was finished.

I took off the other ski and started walking down the hill. No, let's call it stomping, because I was mega-pissed. I threw my skis, unloaded a few more choice phrases, and stood there waiting for my Bob and Mike to catch up to us. Patient and understanding Teresa suggested that we wait for them and let Bob have a look.

When Bob got there we all quickly realized that there was nothing he could do to remedy the situation. And well, you know your f'ed when Bob can't fix it.

Bob and Teresa skied ahead to the next pitstop, which was not far away, and got us some help. Mike, who decided to stop skiing because he was cramping up bad, and I started walking back and after a bit, one of the ski-patrol guys met up with us to look at my binding. He did suggest he could duck tape it, but I just didn't feel that was a great way to go. I'm not that strong of a skier, and well I don't subscribe to the notion that duck tape fixes everything.

So we got to the next stop which is "Norm's Cabin" (A whole other story that I won't bore you with at this point, since this has gotten lengthy) and arranged a ride back to the Lodge. Teresa and Bob went on and skied the rest of the trail, but unfortunately my trip (and Mike's) stopped after 11 miles.

Mike and I waited for what seemed like forever to get a ride back. But finally our rescue was completed by riding in a small trailer pulled by a snow mobile. It was probably the coldest 20 minutes of my life, but Mike and I snuggled together to keep warm and the scenery continued to be breath taking.

Back at the lodge we had Brats, Chili and Beer (and lots of it!) and sat around a wood stove to get warm. A great end to a great day.

Now at first I was angry about the equipment failure, after all this would make 2 things I never got to do on this trip: Ski to the end and see Mike in his famous thong, but there were many successes to the day:

1. Perfect weather, perfect ski conditions
2. Beautiful Canadian Countryside
3. I skied 11 miles!! This is after my longest ski (last Saturday) being 5.6 and I felt good. I would have and could have finished without a doubt in my mind.
4. Good times with great people.

And not only was this just a fun trip, but now I have a fun story to tell about it!

Here are some fun photos from the trip:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mrwalky/sets/72157604091674583/

Commerical Break

We pause our regularly scheduled program for a commercial break....

(No, you can't fast forward)

I have recently seen the Ziplock Zip 'N Steam bags advertised on TV as well as seen them featured on the Biggest Loser, so while I was at Costco last week, I picked up a package of 40 (for around 5 bucks). BTW, you can find information and recipes at
http://www.ziploc.com/?p=b13

I *LOVE* these things.

About 3 years ago I gave up prepackaged meals, so this is a great time saver since I pack my lunch 90% of the time.

So here are my success stories:

Last Saturday we were going to a party, and Tim wanted to eat first, and all I had was a couple of salmon filets thawed. So I threw them in the Zip 'N Steam bag with some teriaki sauce, and 3 minutes later he was eating dinner.

Last Night I had to pack food for 2 days because I'm staying the night at my sisters house tonight, so one day I made a salad, and the second day I through a frozen salmon filet in the bag with some spices, and just cooked and ate it for lunch. I also made a warm cabbage salad (featured on their site), that I threw in the bag and cooked just now.

I have also made Chicken in these.

I just got them last Friday, and I already love them. The meats do not turn out rubbery at all.

Anyway, I recommend trying them. They are a great way to cook a fast and healthy meal!

One of those mornings

So remember when I told you that I have a general rule that even if I don't feel like working out I mostly force myself to at least do 10/15 mins, and if it ain't happening after that, then I stop?

Well today was one of those mornings.

Tim had the same feeling. We were dragging big time and we did make it to the pool.

But we lasted for 10 minutes and threw in the towel. We did sit in the hot tub for 20 minutes, so I was technically in the gym for 30, but I don't think it really counts. ;)

Anyway, I'm skiing this afternoon, so I'll get a workout in anyway, but it just wasn't gonna happen this morning...

X-Country Skiing

My sister Teresa and her husband, Bob, have been avid cross country skiers for years. I've skied with them on an off, but never on a real regular basis. For the last probably 20 years they have gone on this annual trip to Canada in March for a 15 mile ski trip. It's up north of Sault Ste. Marie, and you take a train out into the wilderness and ski back to a lodge. Many of those 20 years I have watched their kids (when they were younger, of course), and there haven't really been a lot of years of was in shape enough to go.

Anyway this year she's been wanting me to go, but I don't have skis, so I've been kinda looking a little on Craig's List and Ebay to see if I could get something cheap. The trip this year is March 9th http://www.stokelycreek.com/view.php?pid=14&action=se&id=8


So I'll try to keep this short, because it's kinda a long story, but she found some extra skis so now I have skis, but I only have 2 weeks to prepare. She's a little nervous that I only have two weeks, but we think especially with this little snow storm today that I may still have time. From an endurance standpoint, not too worried, but it's been probably at least 7 years since I skied and I'm a little nervous about going up and down the hills.

On Saturday, I went over to her house. They live on 15 acres and have build a 1/2 mile trail that goes around their house that they use for running and skiing. I skied about 4 miles and it was so fun. I just put on my ipod and went, and it was a gorgeous day, so I thoroughly enjoyed myself.

I was going to go out on Sunday, but wasn't feeling that good and I was a tad sore from the day before, so I rested. Today I may go out and I want to go tomorrow. My goal is to get enough skiing in this next two weeks so I can be ready to go. I am a little nervous about it, but it seems like an adventure!

I'll also be keeping an eye on the weather to see if it's going to be decent up there. Hopefully it will be and all will work out.

Even if I don't go, I'm getting another way to exercise (awesome work out, btw) and burn up those last few weeks before lovely spring arrives!

Company

I had just a nice morning I had to tell you about it.

I got up at 7 and called the gym to see if any spots opened up for the 8:30 spinning class, because as of yesterday, there was only 1 spot, which I took, but Tim said he would go. Good news: There was!

So Tim went to his first spinning class with me this morning, (this was my second one of the week, so I was happy about that too!)

After the 1 hour spin class we went to breakfast at Bob Evans. I had a pretty healthy egg-white omelet, so I felt good about that.

It was fun to have company at spin, especially my wonderful hubby. :)

Workout Variety

This week has been interesting for work outs:

1. I am trying to increase my swimming time. I'm trying to swim a mile each time instead of the 1/2 mile I was swimming. But I'm slow so right now only half is just me and half with fins. The fins make it a little easier, but it's still pretty darn hard. But I've been doing this for about 4 weeks now, so it's going well.

2. One day I gave up a workout to help Tim shovel 8 inches of snow. Well actually I surprised him by getting 1/2 done before he woke up so he didn't have to rush before he left. He was so happy and I got a decent 1 hour workout. Something different to mix it up.

3. I already told you about my foo fighters run, well the next day Tim and I ran together. We walked 2 laps, ran a mile, walked 2 laps ran a mile and then walked 2 laps. (Probably about 2.5 miles total, but 2 running, .5 walking). He clocked our run times and our first mile was 10:20 and the second one was 10:02 baby. So happy about that.

4. Today I ran at the track with the track team!! Well they were there so i didn't really have a choice, but it is somewhat motivating. I actually didn't have my best run because I had to make a pit stop in the middle (I hate when the urge comes on!) and that 3rd mile I walked a little, but I did do some sprinting. The coach told me he was impressed with me, and I said "yeah right!" and he said "No, really, you did a great job!" So maybe he was sincere, but maybe he was flirting. either way, I'll take it!

5. Also today, we went to planet rock for some indoor climbing. I went until my arms would work no more. It was a total blast. I have a feeling I'll be sore tomorrow.

So much for blah winter workouts!

Thank god for the Foo Fighters

This year I've been working on a running mix. So far I have 79 songs in it. I started this, because I kept hearing a couple of songs on the radio that were perfect for my running pace and I thought: let's find more!

There are about 3 songs on my list by the Foo Fighters that are a perfect driving pace for my run. I went online and found an online metronome, figured out what the speed was, then clocked other songs to find similar ones.

It has been AWESOME. Here is an example why.

I struggle big time with running indoors because it's boring, so today, I'm at 2.5 miles and I start to walk and think "Well I was sick last week, and I ran 2 miles each time this week so 2.5 is better, right?" Even though I know I can go further.

THEN all of a sudden, "The Pretender" comes on (off the new Foo Fighters album) and I ended up squeaking out that last 1/2 mile because of it!

So thank God for good driving fast songs by the Foo Fighters (and many other artists.) Without them, I would be walking (or quitting)

New Tri Suit

Many of you have commented on my picture, so I wanted to tell you a little bit about it...

My AWESOME cousin Patti got me a new tri-suit for Christmas. I love it. The color is awesome, and it fits great.

Now I've gotten many compliments on how I look in it and I have two words: SIDE VIEW.

Ladies, you don't have to always look awesome, you just gotta know your best angle!!

The Biggest Loser

Happy New Year!!

Well, I survived the holidays. I kinda took a bit of a diet break over the holidays that was kind of unintentional, but really it was fine. I gained 2 lbs, but I actually think those are gone (or will be) by the end of the week. I worked out most of the time (with a few exceptions of a minor muscle pull and a cold). So I mostly was being careful, but I did enjoy a few drinks, cookies, etc. :)

So now it's back at it.

I'm upping my swimming distances a bit and hopefully will do the same with running, though it's a real struggle for me indoors. I've been outside a little, but it's hard to time decent weather with the times I can run, so indoors it is!

At work, we are having a weight loss contest. I joined it, but I really don't think I'll win, but I thought it would be a good motivator to get me through the winter. It was $20 bucks to enter. There are about 20 people in it, so the base pot is up to $400!!! The person with the highest percentage of weight loss wins the pot. You weigh in each week, and pay $1/pound/week if you gain and $1/week if you maintain which all goes to the pot. My main goal is to lose even a little each week so I don't have to pay. If I get to my goal (about 20 lbs) I'll be at a 13% weight loss, and that's pretty competitive.

The disadvantage I have is that I am at that last 20 lbs which tend to be difficult, and there are some pretty big hitters that could drop a lot fast. But my advantage is that I have an established routine & discipline. I'm kicking up tri training, so that naturally fits into the plan. So we'll see what happens! In any case, I'll drop a few more lbs, and hopefully encourage others to do the same. So far it's been fun at work to talk with the other competitors and talk about being healthy and stuff. So wish me luck!!