4 days until the Chicago Tri!

So here I am 4 days away from the Chicago Tri -- one of the biggest triathlons (besides the Ironman of course) and I'm so excited! Last week I did a swim on Monday, stationary bike ride Tuesday, swim on Wednesday, a run on Thursday and then a brick workout with Micheala, my brother's girlfriend who also will compete in the Chicago Tri -- on Saturday! I would have to say the best workout of the week was on Saturday... it was great to have someone to work out with and also talk about triathlons with!

We went on an hour and fifteen minute bike ride around Champaign and then came to the house to get some water and then did a 1.8-mile run in my neighborhood. I was really tired after our workout, but in a good way! My legs were hurting at first during the run but after awhile they were feeling good.

Now its my week to taper off so I'm doing really short workouts -- Monday I did a 500 yard swim and yesterday I did a 1.8-mile run/walk. I'm hoping to get in one more swim and a bike ride before the race on Sunday!

Tomorrow I will head to the burbs, so tonight I will have to make sure I have all my gear:

• tri suit
• googles
• swim cap
• waterbottles (at least 2)
• bike
• helmet
• running shoes
• flat tire kit
• baseball cap
• sunglasses
• sunscreen
• INHALER (definitely can't forget that!)
• fleece jacket (it will be freezing at 5 a.m. when we have to head to the race site)

Back to Reality

Well, after a week of only a couple swim, no bike rides or runs at the Lake of the Ozarks, I'm back to hitting it hard this week in my training.

I brought my running gear, but never got a chance to use it because it was so hot and humid! I did some swimming in the cove we were at and I got a good workout doing that Friday and Saturday because there were a lot of waves coming in from the main part of the lake.

Yesterday, I went to the Park District pool and did a 1500-meter swim and it felt great! I was worried about how I would do since last week I didn't work out too much, but I felt strong and was glad to be in the pool again! The lake was good practice for me, but I had no idea how to measure the distance in the cove.

Today, I'll be heading to Cardinal Fitness to ride the stationary bike since its looking pretty cloudy out and it's supposed to rain today. I'll do some weight training as well... I haven't done a lot of that since training in June which is not good! Its important to do some kind of weight/resistance training if you want your muscles to stay strong during competition. This goes back to the whole time-management concept that I struggle with sometimes... its hard to do enough swimming, biking and running workouts on top of weight training to build up your muscles and yoga/stretching to work on your flexibility. But I guess that's where your priorities come in... if you make a priority, you'll get it done.

Last week before heading to the lake, I got a magazine article about the Chicago Triathlon that my friend Katie found and sent me! It talks about the course and what it takes to train and compete in the race... Reading it made me so psyched about the race!

Motivation after the big moment

After I completed my first triathlon, I went through this feeling. Once the excitement of all you accomplished with competing in the race goes away, its hard to get back in that groove of working out five to seven times a week.
This is the first week since my race that I've really felt good about my workouts. Maybe part of that was because you need some recovery time, but also I think it's hard to start up on training.

Last week I did swim twice and rode my bike once and ran once, but I didn't feel strong during any of the workouts. I kept getting stomach aches/cramps during my swims, my legs were just exhausted during the bike ride and I felt nauseous during my run (in which I only lasted 23 minutes). My allergies were bugging me all week so I thought that might be why I wasn't feeling great.

However, this week I'm doing good so far! I swam 2,000 meters on Monday and felt strong. Only took a couple breaks, which is a huge improvement from the beginning of summer when I was taking breaks after every 100 or 200 meters! I feel like I've increased my endurance in training this summer more than any other summer training for triathlons, and its a great feeling!

Today, since there was a monsoon in Champaign -- OK maybe that's a stretch, but there was a huge downpour -- I decided to head over to Cardinal Fitness and use the stationary bike. I set it at 7 for resistance and did a 40-minute random program. Then I hit the weights for some upper body toning -- biceps, triceps, shoulder and back. I hadn't done weights in months and so it was a challenge since my body wasn't used to those exercises anymore.

So far, so good this week! I'm hoping I can keep it up! I'm looking forward to next week when I'll be on vacation at the Lake of the Ozarks, so I can get more practice with open water swimming as I prepare for the Chicago Tri on Aug. 30th!

Trek Women's Series Triathlon race

Well its been a long time coming, but I'm finally writing my post about the race!

To start this off I'll say that I was unsure how well I would do this year. Every summer I go through the doubts that every triathlete faces -- what if I can't make it across the lake, what if I get a flat tire, what if I just run out of steam? Well I had that on top of moving back to champaign and wedding planning, so I was hoping and praying I could still come out strong this year. I really hadn't started training hard until June, when I moved to Champaign. WIth only six weeks to prepare (about half the time of what I trained for me first race) I was hoping I could just make it through. But seeing as how I did in my race, I think I put in a lot of good quality workouts -- increased the duration and worked on my form, which in the end helped me tremendously.

So the weekend of the race, Adam and I drive up to Pleasant Prairie, Wis., to meet up with Dawn and Erika, as well as our supporters -- Sissy, Karissa, Derek and Kyler. Then Dawn, Erika, Karissa and I head over to the expo to pick up are race materials and other freebies for the race. Usually the race in PP is sponsored by Danskin, but we chose to do the Trek one this year because the Danskin event won't be until late september. Well I guess we got spoiled with all the free stuff at the Danskin expos because we were really disappointed at the trek one! The only freebies they gave you were the sports beans (the jelly beans with electrolytes and carbs infused in them)... no waterbottles, hats, etc. Well of course you could buy them, but they were really overpriced. I did buy a tank top to wear over my trisuit for the run portion of the race, but I called my parents to see if they could bring us some waterbottles to use during the race. And thankfully I had packed a hat to wear during the run.

Then later my parents arrived and we all went out to dinner at this great Italian restaurant... the food was amazing but I couldn't eat all of the food because we had a big lunch earlier at Chili's. Then we got back and went to bed early because our alarm clocks were going off at 4:45 a.m. on Sunday morning!

So Sunday we head over to the race site and watch the elite group take off in the water... and before we know it they are on the run! Before we've even started the race. It's so inspiring to see how strong these women look during the run after flying through the swim and bike portions of the race!

Then, as Erika, Dawn and I gather with the other women in yellow swim caps, I found myself getting nervous! This was my 4th triathlon, but I still had the pre-race jitters. So we start off on the swim and I'm panicking because there are so many women around me kicking and slapping their hands into the water... about 1/3 of the way down the lake people are spreading out and I finally get my rhythm down. The rhythm that I've been practicing everytime I go to the pool... I never felt this strong in a race and I was proud that I was able to keep my swimming form! Running up the sandy hill after the swim, I feel strong and ready to take on that hilly bike ride!

On the bike, I had my rough moments conquering those hills, but it was a lot better than last year when we had 17 mph winds! Once again, a lot of the Pleasant Prairie residents were out on their lawn chairs cheering us on and I love hearing them root for us! Its a big motivator to keep pushing yourself. As I came back to the transition area, I saw all our supporters which made me smile and push myself even harder!

Starting out on the run, my legs felt a little heavy, but I still felt strong! I did have to walk a few times, but I ran more during this race than any other triathlon I've done so far! The last 1/2-mile I sprinted and felt so elated when I crossed that finish line! I was excited that a few minutes later I got to see Erika and Dawn cross the finish line together with big smiles on their faces!

Once again I was so happy with do this race with them! I love sharing fun (and healthy) experiences with good friends and I'm hoping next year we can recuit some more to do it with us!

1:50:15

.... is my new record time!! Sunday I raced in the Trek Women's Series Triathlon with Dawn and Erika and had a blast!! Below are a few photos from the event... I'll add more later with a post about the experience.... enjoy!

A new milestone

Last week I accomplished something I never dreamed I could -- I swam more than three miles! Monday I swam 2,000 meters, Wednesday 750 meters and Friday 2,500 meters! On Wednesday I went to Cardinal Fitness to sign up for a membership because I was sick of not getting any biking or running in because of the 90+ degree weather. So, after I signed up, I spent about 15 minutes on the stationary bike and then headed to the pool. When I got there the pool was packed, so I asked this older lady to share a lane with me, and she wouldn't share! I was like what?! I couldn't believe it... but luckily the guy in the next lane was just about to finish, so he let me take his lane. I got a good swim in, considering I didn't get there as early as I'd hoped, but when I was in the locker room, that same lady said "well you didn't get a long swim in today, huh?" Excuse me lady, who are you -- my MOM?! I just ignored her....

Tuesday I skipped working out because of the heat (this was before I got that pass at Cardinal), but Thursday I spent 45 minutes on the stationary bike at the gym and completed 10 miles with an average heart rate of 143 -- not too shabby! Saturday I went again, this time with my dad who also has a membership there, and did a 10-minute warm up on the eliptical, followed by a half hour on the bike. (I got lost in the magazine I was reading and forgot to check how many miles and average heart rate...oops.) I was really struggling to get through the half hour on the bike, though, and I think I might have pushed myself too hard Friday at the pool. Or maybe I was still dehydrated from that workout.

Saturday night was filled with some non-training fun! The family, Adam and I went out with Katie, Josh and the rest of the Wetzel clan to celebrate Katie's mom's 60th birthday at El Toro and then back to their house for cake and opening presents... just a great time celebrating with friends! :)

Now I'm in Elk Grove Village for the week and I'm looking forward to seeing the future in-laws later this week for 4th of July! Of course, I'll try to get some training in this week too! Today was a pretty nice day (minus the crazy wind) so I got out on the bike for a 7.2-mile bike ride and was zonked. Not sure if my body is still tired from last week's workouts or its allergies bothering me...

Tomorrow, I'm off to the pool for another swim!

It's too freakin' hot!

While I've been enjoying working on my swimming more at the pool, we haven't had a decent day (weather-wise) to get a good workout outdoors. Last Friday, Adam came to Champaign and we ATTEMPTED a run. We lasted 11 minutes. How sad. But, my heart rate was through the roof because, as I found out later, the heat index was 108. Freakin' ridiculous!

OK, so on to the good news -- I'm lasting a lot longer on my swims! Well, last Thursday I had to cut my swim short because I didn't get to the pool early enough and only had 20 minutes before open swim started and the lifeguards made me move so they could take out the lane dividers... but today I swam 2,000 meters in 54 minutes! OK, so I didn't swim those 2,000 without any breaks, but I was able to do a few sets of 200 without taking breaks! It's all about the small progressions :)

Over the weekend I didn't get any training in unfortunately. Saturday was busy with a wedding that Adam and I attended, but it was a blast so I didn't mind missing training for that! And Sunday was spent with my dad for Father's Day, of course!

Here's to hoping for some cooler weather so I can log some miles on that bike of mine...

swimming success!

Yesterday, after a filling breakfast of a banana, apple and cinnamon oatmeal and coffee, I went over to the Urbana Park District pool to get a 3-month swim pass and work more on my breathing technique in the pool.

First of all, the facilities there are awesome! The pool was a good temperature and the place was so clean! A big step up from the YMCA where I used to do my swimming -- I really liked the people there, but the pool was heated too much and I just thought the pool was gross there -- just my opinion though! There was a lot of room in each lane too, so that was nice.

So I started out on the swim, with an easy pace to get warmed up. After about 200 meters, I was getting the hang of my breathing technique that I had practiced on Saturday and my speed increased. I also noticed during this workout that I was able to do sets of 100 meters without stopping, whereas on Saturday I could only do 50 before I was worn out. Toward the end of my workout, I was getting little lazy on my form, but it was probably because I was getting worn out and hungry! But I still finished the workout, which totalled 1,000 meters, within 22 minutes! I was so psyched! I never realized what a difference the right breathing and swimming form would do for my times! I left the pool feeling confident about the progress I'd made in just a couple days and made it my goal to get to the pool three times a week.

Today I had planned on going running or biking, but since it was raining off and on all morning, I decided to take the day off of training. Tomorrow, I'll get back into it with another swim at the UPD pool!

my 'aha' moment

Every triathlete has that moment when they realize what they need to do to perform better in their races. I had my moment, in my third year of participating in triathlons, during my swim Saturday evening.

Adam and I had gone over to the pool after purchasing new swimsuits, googles and a new swim cap. Since I hadn't practicing swimming in a few weeks, we were going to just see what I could handle. We adjusted the strap on my new googles, but then when we were trying to stretch out the swim cap, it split right down the middle of the top of the cap! Since I didn't have any extras with me, I was stuck swimming with my hair just pulled back into a ponytail. OK, well I could still get in a good workout -- it just would feel different without the cap. So we started out really easy, paused after each lap, just trying to get used to the water. I kept getting water up my nose, though, and was getting frustrated. I still hadn't found my rhythm that I've heard other swimmers talk about. I had improved my time from when I first swam a 1/2-mile two summers ago, but I always felt I was struggling against the water. That's when Adam showed me what the problem had been all along -- my breathing technique.

He had shown me in previous swim practices how to rotate your body and breath to the side after you bring your head out of the water. I had always gotten water up my nose or in my mouth, though. This time, Adam spent a lot of time just taking me through the motions and I finally realized I wasn't turning my body enough to lift my head up enough to get a full breath in! Once I got it, I was so excited, I didn't want to stop swimming. Of course, my endurance isn't quite on the same level as my excitement, so I could only do 100 yards without stopping. But I felt like it was one of the best swims I'd had because I was learning something basic, but so essential to becoming better at the sport. Though we took a lot of breaks, we got a lot of laps in while we were there for a little more than an hour.

Friday, I also got a good run workout in! I measured this loop around adam's neighborhood, which is .8 miles. So early Friday afternoon, I ran around the loop 4 times. I did do some walking throughout the workout, so I wasn't working on my speed, just endurance. I had an average heart rate of 175, which is kind of high, but I think the time of day might have been a variable in that. The early afternoon can be one of the hottest times of the day, but its the best time that fits in with my schedule, so it's just something I'll have to adjust to!

Now back in Champaign, I'm hoping to get a pool membership at the Urbana Park District, which my dad found out has some pretty good rates and decent lap swim hours. I'm hoping to get in a swim tomorrow so I can keep up with my breathing techniques -- now that I've learned it, I need to practice, practice and practice so my old habits are gone and I'm gliding through the water with more ease!

training plans

Since my last post last Tuesday, I've done two runs and two bike rides, but no swims. I've looked into getting a summer membership at IMPE at U of I, but for a non-student and non-alum, the prices are RIDICULOUS! So I'm looking at some other options....

I have been trying to get outside more (weather permitting) to build my endurance. Last week I went for a bike ride with Kyle and his girlfriend, Michaela, and we traveled on some of the bigger roads in champaign. It was a nice ride -- a medium intensity, but for a longer amount of time. We ended up riding for a little more than an hour. Not sure how many miles, but Kyle and I guessed it was between six and eight. I was little sore the next day, but nothing I couldn't handle! :) Average heart rate for this ride was 149.

Over the weekend, Adam came to visit me in Champaign and we went for another ride -- about 40 minutes, with a break after 20 to visit some friends. Unfortunately, my allergies were bothering me again and the rest of the day my right eye was bloodshot. Not fun. Still, it felt nice just to get outside and be on the bike. Average heart rate was 139.

This week, I've mostly been doing runs. On my last run, my heart rate average was 166, a lot better than that first run I had. Each time I head out on a run, I feel stronger than the last time, so I know I'm making improvements, even if they are tiny.

I'm finding that I'm putting a lot of pressure on myself this year with the race and disappointed in where I'm at in my training. With the triathlon in just a month, I'm not feeling that I'm far enough in my training to be where I want to be by race day. I'm looking at some other triathlons to compete in later in the summer so I can use this race as a practice for whichever other one I pick.

Training for triathlons does make you challenge yourself physically, but I think its the mental road blocks you have to conquer that are most important. In my personal experience, I've found triathlons to be similar to the mentality of yoga -- you have to accept yourself for where you are in your training/practice and always look to improve. If you start to beat yourself up over how you should be better, stronger, faster, you really will only hinder your progress. This is something I struggle with nearly everyday, but with enough practice, I'm hoping I can conquer the mentality that I should set realistic goals and reach for them, while recognizing my limitations.

With that said, I'm hoping I can increase my training over the next few weeks so I feel confident to race on July 12.

Getting back on track

So I fell off the training bandwagon for awhile there. I really should have made time for it, but I guess that's just the way life goes sometimes.

I went on vacation to Florida with Adam and our friends Mindy and Nick to visit Adam's family and had a great time. It was nice to visit with them and have some time off from work. One of the first nights there we went to Hard Knocks, where you can play laser tag. This is no ordinary laser tag game, though. They had different missions and we played for more than two hours. The next morning I woke up and every muscle in my body was hurting -- how could I get THIS sore from laser tag? I hadn't even been this sore after my first triathlon!

By the time I recovered from that, we were on our way back to Illinois and it was time to start packing for my move back to Champaign. Saturday we moved my things home and yesterday was the first time I've trained since my last swim!

I decided to go for a run, but since I work nights its hard to get up before the weather gets hot and humid. There is a loop around our house and the surrounding streets which is .6 miles, so I ran four laps, but I had to take a break after the first two to get more water. It was extremely hot and my heart rate average was 176 -- way too high! But it felt great to get outside and be moving again.

Unfortunately my allergies are giving me problems today, so I'm going to stay indoors for my workout -- maybe pop in a workout DVD and do some weight training as well. Hopefully they'll clear up soon so I get get out on my bike!

Diving In

I always dread going to the pool for the first swim of training season. I know I need to go and just get it over with, but I'm never happy with where I'm at with endurance and form. That being said, it felt great to get in the pool again.

I headed over there for lap swim around noon last Thursday and told myself I would just take it easy and see how it goes. I started with an easy warm up of 200 with the kickboard and 200 with the pull. My arms were already feeling sore from my aerobics class I taught Wednesday night -- maybe I shouldn't had done those lateral raises and shoulder presses!

After the warm up, I swam 300 freestyle, but had to take a LOT of breaks in between those sets. In fact, It was hard to go 60 yards, before needing to catch my breath -- needless to say, there is much room for improvement! After getting frustrated with my endurance, I decided to focus on my form. I was going a lot slower, but I felt like I wasn't struggling against the water -- I was gliding with it.

I finished with a cool down of 200 with the pull and by the last 20 yards, my right shoulder was popping every rotation I made. So in the end, it took about a half-hour to do 900 yards, which is slightly longer than the distance I'll need to do for my race in July.

After I went home, I thought about how I can be a little hard on myself for not having good form or great endurance. I've established a starting point and now I can focus on making improvements as I move forward in training season.

Enjoying the journey

"It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end." —Ursula K. LeGuin

In 2007 I embarked on a new journey -- to train for and compete in my first sprint triathlon, which consisted of a half-mile swim, 12.4-mile bike ride and 3.1-mile run. Never did I think I would come to love to swim, bike and run so much -- especially since I wasn't extremely skilled in any of these sports.

To be honest, I was quite scared of the task ahead of me. The idea was presented to me by one of my editors at the newspaper where I work and after contemplating if this is something I could do, I accepted the challenge. I felt a lot of pressure -- self-inflicted, of course -- to do a good job. I would be writing a weekly report of my training for my 11 weeks leading up to the race and then write a final piece on participating in the event. We had a circulation of about 18,000 at the time and I was extremely hard on myself if I missed a workout. Not that all 18,000 readers would be awaiting my report each week; but I was held accountable for my training because I had to show what I had done in preparation for my race.

When I first accepted the challenge, I set a goal time for 1 hour, 30 minutes. About halfway through my training, I set a more realistic goal of 2 hours.

On race day, I was having extreme self-doubt. My then boyfriend (now fiance), Adam, said, "you don't have to do this if you don't want to." But I did want to! I had to put the training to the test and what I was capable of. These were just pre-race jitters and I just needed to dive in at the sound of the horn and have faith in myself and my abilities!

So that's exactly what I did. And at the end of the race, I had tears in my eyes -- but of course they were happy tears! I set a goal and though I finished 6 minutes past my goal, I had crossed that finish line. I was a triathlete!

After that, I was hooked on the sport and now have competed in three races.

Now, as I enter my third year in the sport, I want to start getting more serious about my training and partipate not just to cross that finish line, but to improve my times and fitness level. Though this blog will serve as a way for me to record workouts and write about my experiences in training, racing and life, I hope others will enjoy it and get something out of it -- whether it be a good laugh, something to do to pass the time or be inspired to try something new themselves!

Before I sign off for the night I do want to give a shout out to all my friends and family who have supported me in my training and races -- my parents, my brother Kyle, Aunt Mary, Adam and Katie for coming out and braving the cold at 5 a.m. on race day -- yes it is cold that early in the morning in July! Also, thank you to my former editor, Scott, for presenting this idea to me -- I may never have found a passion for this sport if he never gave me the idea to try it out!

Hope you all enjoy! Please leave comments/questions if you would like!