My daily debrief

I'm a pretty lucky girl...let me tell you why.

No matter what I'm up to, work, exercise or spending time with friends, Rick always wants a "debrief" when I get home. I love it! This is a guy who after 5 1/2 years together still finds me and my adventures interesting and fun to listen to. Perhaps it's because I'm animated when I tell my stories, it doesn't matter, it's pretty awesome. Let me tell you why I bring this up. Rick's going out of town for a couple of days and during the preparation he wanted to talk about how we can still debrief about my day....WHAT! Yep, seriously. He wants to talk about our upcoming talks..how can you not love this guy? I'll miss him while he's gone :(
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I went for my ride this morning and wow, that was exceptionally difficult. My butt hurt so bad when I plopped it on the seat, I almost didn't go. Seriously, I was talking myself out of the entire ride, the entire ride. I did 8 miles, not 10 and that's only because the trail was 8 solid miles without stopping for traffic. I was in no mood for traffic today...I was only in the mood to bitch and moan about my ass.

The first mile was the worst as I tried to pedal standing...anything to keep my butt off the seat. But that didn't last long. I finally decided that if I was intentionally going to put salt on this wound by getting back on my bike today, I better just do it 100% because anything less would probably hurt worse for longer. It worked, a little. After a while my butt just went numb and it was bearable. Not pain free, bearable. I have never wanted to be home so bad! Okay, how long before I build a tolerance for this????

Picture this people. I'm sitting on a donut because I still have issues with my tail bone, but now I can put ice in the hole to soothe the pain from my bike seat!!!!! Brilliant!

My first open water swim is tomorrow. If I don't post after today, I'm at the bottom of Bartlett Lake waiting for you to come get me.

My Inaugural Bike Ride

So my friend Butch took me for my inaugural bike ride today and I have to tell you, it felt really great. Maybe the anticipation leading up to actually getting my bike made it feel a little extra special and I'm totally okay with that.

I've know Butch for several years now and this is not the first time I've learned some great lessons from him. He's an elite athlete and racer himself. He's a professional boxer, volleyball coach AND he's played professional baseball before. There is a lot of brain pickin to be had there....

Side note here, I'm pretty fortunate. I have a really great set of friends who are supporting me. These folks are in my life to teach me some lessons and with each day they add to my life's book, I'm grateful. I can only hope that they get something as worthwhile from my friendship as I do theirs. At the end of the day, when I cross that Ironman finish I hope they are all their with me because really, I'm racing with a piece of each of them in me.

Okay, back on subject....Butch taught me a lot about road biking today. From the gears to the hand signals when riding in groups, I walked away really feeling more comfortable. We did a total of 20 miles!!! I know, pretty exciting for my first ride. I couldn't feel my butt, but somehow me and my backside pulled through.

I was pretty scared at first. I seemed to be okay behind him but when we would ride side by side I felt really nervous and a little fragile. I'm not confident enough yet to find my place on the road and stick to it.... HOWEVER!!! I walked away INJURY FREE TODAY! Yeah...no bees, bugs, scratches, pulled muscles, fractured bones or anything...I'm totally okay. Rick wanted me to pad-up before I went out...or at least put knee guards on :0. My scariest moment was when I forgot to pull my foot out of the pedal straps. When I tried to put my foot on the ground my bike and body tried to go too. Lucky for me, (and Butch who would have had to carry me) I got my foot out just in time to catch myself. My heart skipped a beat for that one.

Going out tomorrow for an easy 10 miles. According to Butch I need to get my rump use to the seat....Let see if I can stay vertical two days in a row...

My New Bike!!!

What a beauty!!! Can you believe that after a month of waiting I finally have my bike? Well, without to much detail, this is the new upgraded bike. The store I purchased my bike from did the right thing for making this process difficult and complicated. They gave me an upgrade with a HUGE discount. I'm really happy now. The mornings are still nice enough to ride so you can expect to see me on the road tomorrow! More pictures to come. I tend to be accident prone though so maybe you'll see me in full protective gear as well :)

So Dave has been gone since Tuesday and I'm going crazy!!!!!

The pain in my calf has become a pain in my butt

Maybe you are wondering how my calf is doing. Well, I opted not to see a Dr. and wonder now if that was a good decision. I guess I could still go, but I keep hoping it will get better.

Yesterday was manageable. I can't put tons of pressure on my leg without feeling like my knee will buckle on me. That left me concerned about what kind of workout I could get done while Dave is on vacation this week. I opted for swim drills today at the YMCA, which turned out to be really good. It's getting easier for me to breath and my form is getting much better. I'm almost ready for freestyle.

All was great until I tired to jump up out of the pool. OUCH! Now I'm having some pain just behind my knee - that can't be good. Nevertheless, I'm going to swim everyday in order to get my cardio work done and continue to baby this injury.

Bzzzzz

Well, I got stung by a bee today. I haven't been stung by a bee since I was a kid and yep, it still hurts. How? I was doing push ups in the grass at Tempe Town Lake with Dave and Windy.

The Ironman seems so far away and I don't have any real good races on my calendar until August. I'm really so upset about not having my bike yet. Though the price was great, I would have opted to pay more and have my bike now. It's been three weeks and from what they tell me, it could be another week. Do I ask for my money back or wait another week? I don't know....

Just finishing up my workout with Dave today and I gave myself a really good calf injury. I was just getting ready for my "bounding" exercise and with the first step came a pain like nothing I have felt before. The best description I can give is that it felt like my muscle was protruding out the back of my leg. The pain starts at the bottom of my foot and runs up the entire length of my leg only to end above my rear. I sat in my car for several minutes afterwards thinking about going straight to the ER...but decided to head home. Rick, as great as he is had two crutches sitting in the driveway waiting for me when I got home. He's been taking good care of me since....

Depending on how it feels tomorrow I may head to the Dr. I hope it's just a really bad strain and with a few days off I'll be okay....we'll see how it goes. I can't lift my toes without pain at this point...Nevertheless I'm meeting Dave at the gym tomorrow for some upper body exercise - my all time favorite!!!!

With me luck...

Meet My Friends

Checkout this really great website, www.bfcracing.com

This is a great picture of my friend Vicki.... If it's not here for long, she made me take it down ;0

Anyway...Big Fish Racing team (Butch, Vicki, Dave, Windy) are all friends of ours and we truly enjoy watching them compete.

Dave is my Ironman trainer so be sure to checkout his page under Team. This is the guy who kicks my butt 4 times a week! Also read their favorite quotes. They keep me inspired when I get tired.

More to come today as I'm off to meet Dave for some sand running at Tempe Town Lake. ugh..

The ARR 5k

Here is a picture of me just reaching the finish at this weekends Arizona Road Racers (ARR) first 5k series. My time, 32 minutes. I'm pretty proud of my time - I mean it was only 3 miles. I think that I could have done a little better had my legs not been so tired from a hard workout week. I'd like to take a couple minutes off my time for the next race in June. The terrain will be much different so we'll see.

Not very peppy today...maybe I'll post later :|

My Struggles

As much as I love training, and I think that's obvious from most of my posts, I'm also having some real internal struggles. I know that with the increased exercise my metabolism is high and for me, that's dangerous! Yesterday I stood in front of the refrigerator with both sides open practically salivating at the mouth - "I'm so hungry" I said, shaking the doors hoping something would fall out like a vending machine. I'm not talking about having the munchies or I'm bored kind of hungry. I'm talking about don't come between me and my dinner plate kind of hungry. Like I'll seriously hurt you if you ask for a bite of my food....get the hell away from me kind of hungry. I want everything that I can't have and that is really making me angry. Then when I eat I get angry at myself for eating it. I'm not stuffing cookie dough down my mouth but I am eating way too many carbs.

Boxing at Butch and Vicki's last night was great. Something happens to me when I put boxing gloves on. I just want to kick everyone's ass..seriously. I start jumping around, pounding my chest all crazy like...it's totally primal. I've got some hidden anger I need to address.

My legs are shot. After 6 minutes of lunges holding 15 pounds followed by some crazy boxing moves as the warm up, I've got nothing left...they are full of lactic acid. I decided that today I was not going to move as much as I could, and that takes skill and planning. If I do peel myself up off the couch it's to achieve three things or I'm not gettin up! I'm running the ARR 5 k tomorrow and I need my legs to be strong.

Okay, my three things have been achieved, it's back to the couch with one stop at the frig on the way....

Flying Snot and Lots of Steps

What an awesome day! I love the cool breeze and overcast sky....I pray for this kind of day everyday.

Let me say that I'm pretty proud of myself today. I'm working really hard to increase my endurance and I see signs of it paying off. That's really encouraging, and motivating. Dave and I met at Squaw Peak today. I'm going to cut right to the chase here, I pushed him up the hill on his mtn bike today. This is hard! Imagine this picture - me standing behind Dave, hands on his seat, his back tire between my legs and my head down, just over the tire too. Snot is dripping....seriously dripping down my nose and I have two choices at this point. Take one hand off the seat and wipe it, simply to have it come right back or just let it drip. Ugh, I just let it drip, and drip, and drip. Okay, it's not that bad until it lands on his tire just to fling right back up in my face!!! GROSSSSS....but I had to keep going. I just wish it would have stopped flingin all over me! :0

All that was followed by 10 times up and down the stairs, not my typical 5 times....and there are 77 of them total. I can't believe I ran up 770 steps total! And that doesn't include coming down!!! I decreased my time on the first 5 laps by almost a minute! Total time for the 10 laps was 20 - 21 minutes, I can't remember but I can say this...I could have done a couple more, that's how good I felt. Tired - YES, but my legs were not ready to buckle so there was more. Now by saying this online I realize that I'm setting myself up for torture but I'm almost certain that Dave will torture me anyway :)

Swimming with Dave tomorrow and I can't wait! I look forward to his perspective.

I'm headed to Butch and Vickie's for an 1.5 hours of boxing. This should be fun. Butch use to be a professional boxer and he's taught me before. I know his workouts are intense and I need it. My body still have more fight in it today...

So Saturday I'm running in the Arizona Road Racers 5k. They put on a whole series during the summer. My goal is merely to see how well I can endure using the techniques Dave has taught me. I don't doubt my ability to run the entire course, it's merely for time and technique. I better improve with each 5k or I'm in trouble!

Final note - I'm going to post my upcoming race schedule so you can come cheer for me!

YeeHaw

That's right! That's what I was saying under my breath today when the Elliptical was being used at the gym....you know why, right? I wasn't going to have the Dave's cardio killing special heart attack workout!!! YEEEHAWWW. I made a small comment about it while doing my push ups and he says to me, "we can wait him out".... ZIP IT UP!! That's exactly what I did, kept my big mouth zipped up after that because he certainly would have waited the guy out, no doubt about it.

I'm starting to see changes in my body. My arms, back and abs are starting to show some definition that I'm excited about. I just feel better. Working with him can't compare to working on my own. My short term goal is to drop 4% body fat before my next four week session with Dave ends. (No worries, I'm still working with Dave for several months).

I've been thinking about adding a second workout to my day, in the evening but it's getting so hot. WHERE IS MY BIKE!!!!!!!!! I can't take this anymore!

I'm buoyant - Seriously :o

Today was a great swim! I was "tall" in the water and faster then I expected. I seemed to reach the end of my lane before I was tired, which was awesome! Towards the end of the hour though, I did get sloppy. I could feel my legs getting tired. I'm proud of my swimming.

So the guy next to me I'm sure was giving me a compliment when he said, "you're doing really great. You're very buoyant." Okay guys, it's a good idea to never tell a woman she's buoyant in the water. That means she's got some FAT to hold her up. Pretty funny...poor guy....

STILL NO BIKE! I've lost my bike excitement :(

K

Today was HARD

I haven't really written anything exciting these last few posts. Well, today should be good because Dave put me through the ringer!

First, I think both Dave and I are disappointed that my bike STILL HAS NOT COME! Maybe today, or not. We have been kind of planning a bike test since Tuesday and well, with no bike that's a little difficult to do. He told me earlier in the week he was going to, "kick my a**" if my bike didn't come to make up for some "easy" workouts in anticipation. Well, today was certainly the day. For the first time I thought I was going to pee my pants AND vomit all in the same hour!

It started on the treadmill today for my warm up. Normally I do 10 minutes on the elliptical but somebody else was using it. I didn't like the treadmill for one reason only. I had a straight shot of myself in the mirror and EEEKKKK, I have cottage cheese thighs! I want my rose colored glasses back damn it!!!! Why didn't somebody tell me? Seriously, why?

Dave bumped up my weight in what felt like all of the machines today. I love it! I really do enjoy the weights. I think it's because there is NO CARDIO involved.

So earlier this week or last week, I can't remember, I ended my workout with Dave telling me I had to burn 130 calories in 10 minutes on the elliptical. Sounds easy to some of you, but not me. I don't have a lot of lower body endurance. Well, I missed it by 5 freaken calories! I was just exhausted. I knew going into the gym today that it was on Dave's list....I just knew it. I was right. Ugh. I was, however, mentally prepared for what was to come (it's always the last exercise I do). I did it! I made it through and was pretty excited but it was only for a second. Dave pulled a fast one on me and told me I was going for 10 more minutes and up to 250 calories! Son of a B! I hadn't even recovered from the first 10 minutes. Now, I love working with Dave, obviously but at that moment, I hated him. Why was he doing this to me? I've since apologized to him for getting a bit out of shape during that 10 minutes but a sign of a good trainer, to me, is one that doesn't let me stop when he sees potential for more. My mind really was done, but my body did have that 10 minutes still in it. It was a horrible fight and ya know what, I made it!

Thanks again to Dave for really making me earn every drop of sweat! As nice as he is, he's a really hard trainer.

So I signed up for the Sun Devil Master Swim program. I'm a level 2, which takes me out of the tadpole section and into the minnows! It starts in June so watch for those swim results to come. I'm also looking at the race schedule for this year and will let you know which ones I pick so that you can come cheer me on...

Peace-out :)

No Bike - Boring Post

I'm really bummed. I was suppose to get my bike yesterday but it didn't come. Dave had given me an "easy" workout the day before with the intent on testing me today on my bike too. I was excited about that. I'm not sure what all is involved in bike testing but he mentioned my heart rate and riding for 20 minutes while hooked up to the computer....sounds cool huh! I hope it comes today.

Today's workout was good. We did run drills. All in all Dave was teaching me the most efficient way to run. I did get a calf cramp like I had never felt before. It was a really sharp pain that I was able to work through, but it's really hurting now. I'm using Icy Hot in hopes of a fast recovery. It seems the older I get the harder it is for me to recover from these things. Rick says I'm a fragile flower :)

I'm really tired this week. Just seems I'm not 100%. I don't sleep well to begin with and I've had a lot of things on my mind. Should I pay for extra swim lessons to get me going, I have a final paper due in my HTML class, we have a vacation coming in June I'm not sure how to pay for, Sierra will be here soon and I can't seem to keep my house clean. I just need a nap....

I'm Excited!

I'm excited about a couple of things today! First, I get to pick up my bike tomorrow - FINALLY. This waiting is making me crazy. There is something extra exciting, I think, about "the day before", or "the next in line"....the anxiety makes me feel like a kid again. I sit in my office, look out the window and think to myself - how blessed am I. I'll have a bike that's a perfect fit for just me.

I'm also excited about my swim yesterday. Swimming is the only part of Ironman that I cannot imagine myself doing. Everything else is clear as day in my head, but swimming is a fog. My swim coach, Bettina (www.racelab.com) gave me a couple different drills to work on for the hour and by the time the hour was over, I was exhausted. Learning to breath and swim will be the hardest task I have to learn during this whole process.

Going to the swim class was a hurdle for me for a couple of reasons. Body image was one of them, and not really knowing how to swim was the second. I spent more time this week worried about being the slowest person in class and ya know what, I was. Rick and I categorized everyone...tadpole, minnow, fish, dolphin and shark. The sharks are the really good swimmers. I was the only tadpole in class and it turned out okay. Nobody was mean to me, nobody laughed at me and most important, I didn't drown. All in all, I it was a good day....

Sunday Morning

I haven't posted in a few days, but that doesn't mean I've been skipping my workouts. Thursday with Dave was great, as usual. He didn't pull out any of his weird exercise moves so it was a pretty typical day at the gym.

Yesterday Rick and I hiked the West Fork trail at Oak Creek in Sedona. We hiked six miles total and it was beautiful. We had a really great time. The drive was hard on me. I think when I feel I fractured my tailbone so sitting in the car was tuff. Any sitting is tuff really. I tried a donut seat last night but it didn't really help much. Learning to adjust.

Today is suppose to be my swim lesson with racelab. I was warned that it might be cancelled because of Mother's Day, so I'm watching the site for changes. I bought my swimsuit on Friday and I'm happy with it I guess. I found one that fits at Triple Sports so we'll give that a shot....with me luck!

My ups...and my downs....

Today was an emotion day for me. Trying on swimsuits is just not what I call fun. I get a little teared up just writing about it.

I'm suppose to swim on Sunday with racelab. Well, I need a swim suit so Rick and I went shopping. Ugh. Let's go backwards a bit. If anyone even reads this blog. (man, I'm really feeling sorry for myself today). I use to be FAT! Yes, FAT!!!! A size 16 with two chins kinda fat. I hated it so long story short, I dropped a bunch and weight and became a really happy size 8 - 10. Well, I've been able to maintain for a couple of years and thought I was lookin pretty good, until I tried on that swimsuit. Maybe this was a wake up call. I've been complacent for too long. At any rate, fat started showing up in places I didn't realize and I was ashamed to look at myself. I honestly did not know that I looked that way....

Perhaps Rick is right, I compare myself to friends, who all happen to be super fit athletes. I feel completely alone in this fight against my weight. I coach an exercise class for pete sakes! These women count on me and if I can't get this under control, I can't coach anymore. My camp is my life!!

Needless to say I'm doing a second workout today. Rick and I are headed up North Mountain tonight. What's today's lesson, I'm not sure yet...I'm too upset with myself to see it.

I LOVE JACK!!!

Jack wants to do the Ironman with me....my sweet baby boy....

Push!

Dave and I met at Squaw Peak again today. When he told me yesterday that was were to meet him I have to admit, I was not very happy. There is something about Squaw Peak that is defeating for me. I'm to slow going up - I really am. I'm not really sure who set the pace in my mind but it's there.

I got lucky today, really lucky because Dave forgot his hiking shoes (he rides his bike to meet me). I ended up having a really good, and FUN workout today. My guess is that we would have spent way more time on that hill had he brought his shoes. My warm up was up the mtn to the .25 mark and back down. It felt okay, but I was at my own pace. A pace I'm sure was slower then if I were following Dave.

Then I pushed Dave on his bike from the summit parking lot all the way to the end of the street. It was a fantastic workout! I had sweat poring from places I didn't know existed... My nose was dripping and I could feel that nasty saliva build up around my mouth....it was awesome! I pushed and pushed without stopping up the hills and when we arrived at the top, man it felt great!

I jogged back down, about half way to the start of the stairs. Though I felt like I had added time going up and down from the last time I did it, Dave says I took some seconds off! WHOOOHOOO. That was tuff after that push up the hill.

A transformation is happening - I can feel it. I'm a lot stronger then I thought I was, and I'm so ready for the blood, sweat and tears!

Great workout Dave....

View from Above

What a beautiful view from the top of North Mountain last night.

When I arrived at the base of North Mtn. last night and got ready for my hike I immediately went for my iPod. I was ready to put my head down and just get the work done. It was, after all, the activity I chose when Dave asked what my plan was for Sunday.

It didn't take me long to realize that I would miss a lot by sticking those little plugs in my ears. I would miss the sound of my breathing, the sound of the ground under my feet, the sounds of birds and lizards...a whole lot of sound. I didn't want to take any of it for granted. I want to be in every moment of the next 18 months. I want to feel the pain, and glorify in the victory. I want every single second to last for as long as my body can take it. This is the event of a lifetime, right?

Okay, that was all wonderful until I started to get tired and needed the extra push that only AC DC could provide. Yep, on go the headphones a little passed the half way mark. On the way down was really fun. I cranked the tunes and I think the people around me thought I was crazy because I was signing and swinging my hands around.... That was my moment....nobody but me....:)

What a perfect ending to a perfect day....

I got some kick ass abs baby!

Today's workout was fun, but that certainly doesn't mean it wasn't challenging. For the first time this week I felt like my head was in it....I just really love lifting weights and working on the Total Gym machine. When I'm there I don't want to stop.

Let me tell you about my trainer, Dave. He's a podium finisher at nearly all the events he participates in, he's an Ironman, he's biked his way across Africa and he's one of the most down to earth, easy going guys I know. He's not a jerky muscle head gym jock and his wife is just as awesome! Have you ever met somebody and you just knew that to the core they were good? Well, that's Dave and Windy....just good.

My focus these days is on making Dave proud. I want to really impress him. Not the "great job" for showing up on time kind of impressed, but the kind of impressed that only comes occasionally and you hear it in a persons voice when they say it. You can almost feel it when heard. Well, I heard it and it was good....He told me that I had really strong abs! "What", I said!!! I wanted to hear it again....YEEHAWWW and I'M SO PROUD!!!! I did a lot of 30 min ab classes this past year and it's paid off! I can do sit-ups for an hour if you want me to. I'm going to need that core strength to carry me through this race. I visualize the day he says I'm ready for Ironman....what a day that will be....but a loooonnnngggg way from today.

Good luck to Dave and Windy this weekend at the Rocky Point Tri. I'll be joining you in these ventures soon.

A Day of Rest

Today is a day of rest from training and after my fall yesterday, I need it. Wow, I barely got out of bed today to coach my class (www.bootcampchicks.com). My back and tail bone are really feeling it....I guess I landed harder than I thought. My only worry is how long it will take to recover before I can hop on a bike.