Swimming 100's

I'm not doing my own Ironman this year but I'm helping Lan with his training for IMAZ.

 

Tonight I timed his 50's & 100's:

 

WARM UP

600 easy swim, holding proper form and letting your HR rise to 70% by the end. (ALTERNATE SET: Trim this to 400 Swim)

Intermediate set: 4 x 50 hard (@80-85%) w/15 sec rest after each

1. 39.00

2. 44.09

3. 43.17

4. 42.95

Average 42.73

MAIN SET -- BIG TARGET!

10 x 100 @race pace (85+%) w/10 sec rest between each

1.   1:30.09

2.   1:38.32

3.

4.   1:39.58

5.   1:33.51

6.   1:38.20

7.   1:39.02

8.   1:36.14

9.   1:41.34

10. 1:39.55

Average 1:37.10

-- keep track of your total time (add up the time for each of the 100's) and record the average pace per 100 in your log book, for future reference.

(ALTERNATE SET: 8 x 100)

COOL DOWN

6 x 50 @60% w/10 sec rest after each

 

 

He was supposed to follow up with a 35 minute run but his calf has been bothering him. If its not better in 2 weeks I'll insist he goes to his doctor.

Filling In

This girl,

 

 

Is filling that gigantic hole left in my heart when Hagen died. She's learning how to be a dog, not just a pup, she's learning to respond in the way we want. She's gentle and rough at the same time.

 

She makes me smile.

 

 

And the newest addition to the farm, chicks.

Probably both roosters but I'm hoping for a hen to brood eggs for me.

 

Then there is this new round hay bale holder. Got it yesterday at Tractor Supply for $185.

See all the hay spread out? That's what the horses ruined in 1 day with the whole bale available to them. This hay feeder should pay for itself pretty fast. I throw their alfalfa flakes right in there with the grass.

 

Enough room for them to share.

 

Tri related:

Lan is set to do the Black Diamond Long Course tomorrow at Enumclaw. He should do well but it is such a huge and competitive size A/G that he will still only come in 5th place. I'd LOVE to see him podium!!!

To make it a bit easier for him, I have filled the car with gas and stashed a $20 in the car for his after race lunch.

I signed up too but I'll be working a 13 hour day and my $200 registration fee is paying for Terry, Lilly & Brayden to enjoy MY race. I won't even get a fucking tee shirt.

 

At work:

I'll be working at Southworth dock for the fall/winter/spring season. Bremerton no longer offered the on-call days off I want and Southworth does so its there that I'lll be working. A 30 hour shift, 8pm-2am Saturday thru Wednesday with Thursdays & Fridays off. And most of all other days too, since I'll be working nights. Landing only 4 boats, all going to the same places in the same order.

I'm sure I'll be the one to mop floors and take trashes out, sweeping the dock and other shit like that. I hope the captain isn't an asshole.

10 Days

No time for anything with all the work I have to do. Still have to swim 45 minutes and run an hour. Ugh. Might do a spin class instead.
Need to go get hay, its already loaded in the trailer. Took the truck over there last night with every intention of running home but she talked my ear off and I got 3.1 miles before Lan showed up to get me. Luckily I left him a note with my route.
This morning I spent 2 hours out in the barn cleaning stalls, feeding breakfast, filling 10 water buckets, getting dinners all set. Also had to fuck with the fence so I could get the girls out in the back and Joey & Rosie in the front but Wifi had other plans and wouldn't cooperate. I finally just left them out there and she found her way out to the piles of hay I had left & then I beat feet out there to close the fence off. Stinker.

Run. Swim.

Today I run and swim.
Tomorrow I run and Bike.
Saturday only about 5 hours of running, biking and swimming.
Sunday Running and biking. Monday biking and running.
Or I can swim Saturday and nothing else but we're getting so close. Only 4.5 weeks away now.

On the home front:
Lan and I went to Olympia and met our new family member, a Brazilian Mastiff puppy, a little girl. I think we're going to call her Jenny.

2015 Race For A Soldier

 

 

Kyle Marshall Farr came back home “safe” from Iraq, but no so safe. He had PTSD, which sadly claimed his life. His mom, Leslie Mayne, an admirable woman, decided that Kyle’s death would not be in vain. Her mission was to get the necessary reform to help our military men and women suffering PTSD. She was determined to make Race For A Soldier, an instrument to bring awareness to our communities, military, and government that PTSD is a heartbreaking reality costing the lives of our men and women that have served for our freedom.

Exhausted

I'm not the only one, I've read several reports from other FB people that they just can't get enough sleep. This is when injuries happen so I'm being very careful. This morning I slept in until 9am, unheard of for me lately.
Today the only exercise I got was a 22 minute walk at the YMCA after I renewed my membership. I need a place to swim and the Y in Bremerton is so close to work that I can't go wrong. I'll swim before and/or after work. But I need a new bathing suit, my old one that fits is threadbare and see through, my others are too small since I've gained weight in the last 9 months.
This morning I did weigh in at 149.2, the least amount I have weighed in about 3 months.
I am enjoying having the CompuTrainer, its getting used a lot. The bummer is that if I take my bike outside for a good weather ride then I have to reset the CT and I'm too lazy. So last week I rode the trainer for a 3 hour ride, and I've ridden it several times for 2+ hour rides. They say indoor training is better for you than outdoor.

Ramping Up

This week the official amount of hours my training plan calls for is about 15 hours. So far I've completed 4 hours of training, all running and biking. Tomorrow will be more biking.
Neither of the two wetsuits I picked up from Wetsuitrentals.com will work, both are too big so I'll be returning them for another one or two.
I am also going to sign up for the YMCA again so I can get my miles in swimming. I think I'll be going in tomorrow for that.

We've Moved!

No, not this blog, but we are moving to another farm.

 

All summer I worked and did some training for triathlons, then we went to Phoenix for Ironman and I got signed up for IMAZ2015, then we cane home and spent a month trying to buy the new farm & for the last week its been work, packing, moving and Christmas. OMG, so busy!

 

This next week I don't have any more work days scheduled so I *should* have plenty of time to get my shit packed. But now the cold weather is coming, UGH. I'll be working extra hard in the barn to keep horses watered, waters thawed, and pipes not bursting. I'm going to borrow 3 horses from a friend, close them in at night to keep the barn warmer. When the air is in the low 20's, I need all the help I can get.

 

And since we're moving, I haven't been doing any workouts, not any at all. No walking, no swimming, no biking, no running. We are going to give up our YMCA membership that's about $85 monthly because 1, we aren't going and 2, we need to economize to save for two farm payments. I can swim at SKHS for $3.25 but its COLD and I can ride my bike trainers and run from home or on my own treadmill. I can watch yoga videos if I need to, I can do a weights workout at home.

 

Here is a photo of the workout area I have set up so far in the new house.

Plenty of room for more equipment

 

 

 This is a view from the other direction before I got it all arranged, piles of stuff everywhere.

This area used to be the original kitchen but a new one was added back there, you can see the fridge. I'm going ot have my Computrainer right here facing the window so I can look out and day dream as I ride. I'll also have the CyclOps set up here so I can just ride without a planned workout. The treadmill will be here somewhere too.

 

 

I haven't moved the horses to the new place yet, we need to work on the fences first but getting there.

Riding outside so much

These last 2 weeks it's been pretty darn nice outside so I've been riding out there and LOVING it.

On Monday I had my 2nd annual Practice Half Ironman and I did pretty dang good. Swam 1.2 miles at Bremerton pool in 58:59, right where I wanted to be and then I rode my bike 56 miles in 4:05:52.
This is planned not for speed necessarily but to guage how I'll feel mostly and I planned a 90 minute T1, enough time to get changed and drive home.

Bike split times were excellent:   ( the seconds were for slowing down & getting stopped)
28 miles, half way:  2:00:14

42 miles, 3/4 the distance:  3:00:15

56 miles, completed: 4:05:52

I was really hoping I'd get this done in 4 hours and I did it. I wasn't home at the end, I still had to go another 1.5 miles to get there but I didn't come up short, either.

My mental toughness has something to be desired. At the 3/4 mark I called Lan to let him know where I was and my timing & he said he might ride out to meet me. So right about mile 48, out on Sunnyslope road, I was so tired, I knew if he was coming it should be any time now and I was feeling a bit low. I almost started crying. But its hard to ride when you're crying and I knew I only had a short way to go. But I really needed to see him, you kow, that moral support.

So I kept going and right around the very next corner, there he was. I was so glad to see him! Then I did cry!  And I was bonking, just needed a boost. So he rode with me for the rest of the ride, he listened to me cry once more and he was there when I finished. And even with the bawling I felt good to be done.

Yesterday I rode with Windy on hill repeats for 1:30 and that was another good ride. Shes only training for a half IM but shes going at it harder than I am. She can't run either so we're in the same boat.

I'm not able to run right now, my Achilles tendons are sore and I'm scared of hurting them but I am swimming and biking.

I have a long way to go before IM CDA but once again, I'm getting there.  Training comes 1st.

When I know I've got to work I plan around it, if I'm not sure about work I'll plan workouts 1st thing in the morning. Usually after 12:00 I know if they are going to need me or not but hopefully by then I'm done with my ride or swim or whatever I'm doing.

Today is cross training, cleaning stalls at the big barn with Amy.

Horse news:

New horse in the barn, Sneakers. 16.2hh TB gelding, 3 white socks and a blaze, very striking. Until you see him up close; hes got a Roman nose and the shape of his head isn't that desirable. But maybe I'm just used to Joey.

Wifi is white again, so pretty.

 Shes also shedding it pretty fast and with the warmer days (60's) she gets sweaty fast. And shes a stinker, I really need to work with her.

Other news:
WE'RE GOING TO LAS VEGAS!!!  Late April, early May. Might have time to stop in & see Jeff & Hitomi.

What a great day

 ...to make up a couple missed workouts. Lan & I met with Windy at the Silverdale pool this morning & I swam 40 laps, a much needed 2000 yards of straight swimming. No drills, no flippers, no pool buoys, no nothing, just got in & swam. I finished in 55:54, not bad. Not good but not bad.

Went grocery shopping on the way home, can't believe the price of food now. Damn, its killing me.

Then Lan & I went for a run/walk and here we are:

Ended up going 5.56 miles in about 1:15. We did stop to talk to Ralph, who is building a new home, asked him about his new house. He was nice and helpful, glad to share his experiences and builder info.

Horse info:
Wifi is shedding, its almost time to get photos of her in her springtime coat. I need to ride.

Riding the bike trainer is fun

I've been riding my bike trainer since the week after Christmas in preparation for Ironman Coeur d'Alene in June. Here I was wearing my helmet to get my head used to the weight of it out on the road so I wouldn't have a sore neck. I need to start doing that again.

Wearing my The Amazing Race jersey 

LOL, my hair is getting too long so I wear lans sweatband to keep it off my forehead and out of my eyes.

Almost done!

I rarely use this bottle cage while in the house, its kind of inconvenient.

While I ride I've been watching the entire LOST show on netflix. I'm on season 2 now and even though I remember a lot of it, I've been surprised to see many of the things happen.

Shannon just died! Nathan is now dead due to one of the Others who infiltrated the tail end peoples camp. This is exciting.

 

I've been working almost full time the last few weeks, makes it hard to get all my training in. Usually I can fit a workout in before or after work but sometimes they want me to work Graveyard shift, or midnight to 9am. That fucks with me on so many levels.

 

Horse news: Joey has new shoes and the girls are both freshly trimmed. Now I just need a warm, dry day off work and someone to go ride with.

I had 1 day, I had made previous plans to go see Wenny. Ugh! I won't do that again.

 I'll ride my bike in the morning and my horse in the afternoon.

 

Yay for Daylight Savings Time!!

 

 

I'm still running

I've ran at least 1 mile every day this month so far in the Run Every Day In March Challenge. It's not hard when you're only doing 1 mile and it makes it easier when you need to go farther.

I've been reading a lot of magazines about triathlon lately and learning so much. They've got a plethora of information.

Wifi is home!

Shes got a bit of shedding to do before shes her prettiest, white with black points. I just can't wait for that.  Shes got a bigger butt after spending 2 months running in the big pasture.  I need to ride her now.

Run Every Day In March

On Face book they have the Run Every Day in March challenge, so I signed up. All you have to do is run 1 mile, every day. That's from my house out to the end of the road & back, not a big deal.

Not a big deal I say now...

So far I did 3.74, 1 & 4.5. Its going to add up fast. As long as I keep it up.

Here is a picture of me today:

Work this week has already interfered with my training; 38 hours of work will be a nice paycheck but I only rode 24 miles on the bike. They were mostly fucked up hours too, midnight - 4am BS. Yesterday I showed up at 2:10pm & found out I wasn't supposed to be there until 3:10 but only because they had changed the schedule and neglected to tell me. At least I was early and not late. But still.

This weekend I had 2 selling shifts so its more pay and easy work but heck, any of the work there is pretty damn easy. Next Friday, on Lans 46th birthday, I'll work midnight to 9am, gonna KILL me.

Yesterday was the ending party of the YMCA weight loss challenge, we weren't able to attend but I guess Lan & I won a prize and got an honorable mention or something. That's great, too bad we missed it. Lans final weight loss was 12 lbs, mine was 4. And I've gained 2 back but that doesn't surprise me at all.

Triathlon has given me many things

I'm going into my 5th year of triathlon, before that I didn't even know what one was.  But since then I've gained so much, mostly due to triathlon.

new friends
memories
toys
time with Lan doing what he loves
learned to swim
learned about my body
sporting magazines

I could go on and on. But the most important thing is that I have met so many wonderful people. The Kitsap TriBabes are great & it feels good to ride with them, they think I'm something special but I just like to see them try hard.

West Sound Tri Club has a lot of members that I can call friends. They are also the ones who have taught me the most about swimming and lead the Masters swimming at Bremerton YMCA and Triday Friday. There are a lot of them that do a lot of Ironmans.

I have a couple new friends this year that I'm really liking, Windy, that drove me crazy for a long time, until I got to know her. And Heidi, who thinks I can do no wrong. I like both of them a lot.

I can now read a magazine and know so much about the sport, then I go thru the same magazine & check out all the ads for things I'd love to have.

Priorities

Yesterday I had a ton of shit to do and a ton more shit I wanted to do. I needed hay, we had a weigh-in, I needed groceries, workout, visiting friends, delivering compost. Here is how my day ended up:

Lan loaded up the truck with the compost & we drove it to Olalla, shoveled it out.
Went to Cenex & got grain.
Stopped at the post office for the first time in 2 weeks.
Got hay at his parents house.
Came home, traded cars, changed clothes and went to Silverdale YMCA for our final weigh-in for the weight loss challenge. Lan is down 12 lbs & I'm down 4* in 6 weeks!!
Stopped at Winco & got a cart of groceries that were badly needed.
Got home & I got on my bike trainer for a hard ride.
Went to work at Midnight.

And Lan got to go visit friends at their new property warming party out at Wildcat Lake. I had to stay home to ride, just had to. I was about 2/3 finished with it when Lan left and I told him to tell them they weren't my #1 priority. They understand, they were both Ironman CDA finishers last year.

I was supposed to run too, even got changed and was out on the road but heard horses kicking and squealing so went down to the barn instead. No one hurt but I spent too much time & it got dark.

Anyway... after that I watched some tv, read a bit of my book & then left for work at 11:20pm to work night watch midnight till 4am.

That shift sucks.

 *I haven't lost a lot of weight but I have lost inches in my waist.
<- 17="" 22nd.="" and="" difference.="" february="" huge="" january="" lower="" p="" photo="" taken="" the="" this="" was="">Look, the muffin top is going away. My hips aren't bulging. I have a waist.

I'm pretty proud of myself and it's only going to get better.



So today we went to Lowes and bought enough supplies to make 3 sets of jump standards to sell, I paid $101.38 for the stuff. Lan was helping but he wasn't too happy until I told him the money was going to purchase his birthday present.

His friend Les is selling 2 older bike frames for $200 and Lans bday is coming. Lans whole attitude was changed after I told him that surprise. He was more patient and talkative, more willing to go get a tool or drill out the pin holes.  I can't wait until we sell these and can go get the bikes.

 

Swimming makes me hungry

I had to swim today, plan called for up to 44 laps, I did 34. Which was fine, I had choices.

I chose the shorter swim because:

• A fast lady got in my lane, I felt clumsy and awkward
• Another woman & her son were waiting for a lane
• I was hungry

I ate lunch right before I left but I guess swimming doesn't care, if it wants you to be starved then you will be.

Stopped at Albertsons for a Recovery bar but they didn't have any, I had to settle for a different bar and it wasn't as good.

Horsey news:
Kate at Windstone wants me to come out Sunday to start working for her. That will be great except I wanted to go to the mtn bike races at Dash Point that day. sigh.

Bike, Run, Swim, in that order

Yesterday I helped other people do things in the morning, then in the early afternoon I went to a movie with a friend. Since I had missed my morning workout Lan & I figured we could go to Silverdale Y to do it.

Silverdale YMCA pool

Wrong!

That place was packed & Lan couldn't get in the pool unless he wanted to share a lane with 3 other people. He hadn't brought any other workout clothes so we were going to go to Gig Harbor but on the road figured a half hour swim wasn't really worth it.

Gig Harbor YMCA pool

So today I did yesterdays workout in the morning and an hour ago I finished today's swim.
I'm beat now.

While at the pool today I saw Lindy, shes a tribabe and she used to do Torreys class all the time too. Lindy travels all over the world and I hadn't seen her in a couple months so it was nice to get a chat in.

Bremerton YMCA pool

We sometimes go to Bremerton Y for their Masters (now 'Coached Swim) classes but the pool is closed this week. I dislike going because they usually shove me into the slow lane (because I'm slow) with 6 other slow people & it never fails, there will be one lady who doesn't want to improve, she just wants to swim with other people. She can't aim so there have been plenty of accidents. She also kicks like a frog & I've been kicked several times.
Besides her, there are so many people in the class that there is never any individual instruction. I can get a better workout on my own.

I'm just bitching.

I'm tired, need a nap and am kinda grouchy.

Horse news:
Wifi is still at Amy's, Glory is still here and in training with Kate.

Here is a picture of Sunshower when she cut her leg & I found out she was pregnant. All the vet did was slice off the torn hide and its still bald in that spot, 5.5 years later.

Losing Weight

I've been working out pretty hard for 4 weeks and its beginning to show. Yesterday I was able to get into a smaller pair of pants, YAYAYAYAYA! These are pants I got last year when all my others were just too baggy and honestly, I didn't realize I needed smaller pants because I didn't know I was getting skinny last year. But this year I remembered the feeling so tried them on again.

Feels so good.

What I weighed this morning

Two weeks ago Lan & I signed up for the 'Shed Challenge' at Silverdale YMCA, a 6 week project for teams to workout together and lose weight. After 2 weeks Lan lost 4 lbs (217) and I lost 2 (149.8) but we were wearing heavier clothing today than we were when we originally weighed in so I'll add 1 for me & 2 for him because his pants and belt are heavier. Good job, us.
The teams of 4 people who lose the most weight will win the cash pot but I have no idea how much that will be. I think we're doing OK to have lost 6 between us.
There are 2 Y gals on our team also but one is the leader of the program & shes already skinny so she wont lose any weight. The other gal says she'd like to lose 15 lbs but shes nicely rounded now. Maybe I should tell her that??

I've been working out pretty hard most days and filling out the book Les gave me for my birthday. Thursday was hard for me, I had worked until midnight before that & then worked midnight til 9am Friday so I was messed up. I didn't run the half marathon I had planned on running, I slept right through the alarm.

Linda was mad at me for 23 days. 23 days! And when she did decide its ok to talk to me again it was to bitch about Barbara (not the one above). I miss spending time with her, I miss chatting about everything but I'm not going to let that happen again. Fuck that.

I usually only say that about my family but it now applies to Linda too. It was Windy who brought it to my attention and I'm glad she did. I know Windy has many other friends but shes pretty damn smart when this shit happens. So I'm betting it has happened to her, too.

Horsey things:

Sarah came over to day so her, Cassie, Page & I gossiped and chatted for 2 hours. It was so good to have some girl time that wasn't triathlon talk. But I miss that too.

Sarah filled me in on Barbara, who wants to board a horse here. If its Barbs big mare, Diva, then I don't want it here, shes too big, eat too much and do too much damage to the runs. But if its her smaller mare then she would be fine here. But I doubt the owner would come out to see her horse and they need their owners to pay attention to them. I hate when horses sit in their runs & no one does anything with them. LIKE MINE.

I am seriously thinking about selling Wifi so someone will do something with her but I'm terrified that she would some day end up at an auction or starved and it scares the hell out of me. Shes got some basic training and I'd take her on trails with Joey and Sunshower but I'd like to see if she wants to be a jumper. She can jump and she is beautiful.

When you can't work out

Today I needed to swim and run, figured I'd get the run done at the indoor track at the Y & then swim. Got myself all dressed and ready to go, bag packed, etc and the phone rings.

Its my boss, he needs me to come in to work. On my day off.

I could have said no but it was auto ticket sales, it pays a bit more than traffic attendant. So off with the workout clothes, on with the work uniform.

I worked 1-6pm and after I got off I headed directly to the Bremerton YMCA.

But walking in the door I heard them say the pool is closed. Hhhhmmm... Um, that's why I was there. So I left, called Lan & we decided to go to the Gig Harbor Y but then I thought I'd rather go pay for the 2 boxes of Jelly Belly Energy Beans I'd ordered so suddenly today became my day off and tomorrow I'll do my today workout.

45 minutes of swimming & a half hour run.

Tomorrow afternoon Lan & I will go have dinner with Les out in Shelton or where ever the hell he lives. I want to take some lasagna or something. Anyway, while we're out there we'll got for a bike ride if its not too stinking cold.

See my picture? Thats me riding my indoor bike trainer with my helmet on. So I can build my neck muscles & not get a sore neck when I can go outside to ride.

Carry on.

Pilate's

I went to Roller Pilate's at Gig Harbor YMCA this morning, first time I've done a roller class. I only fell off the dang thing 2 or 3 times, otherwise it was OK. The lady made me feel kinda stupid for the first few minutes but after she saw I was paying attention she backed off. I could see that she only wants to make sure everyone is doing it correctly and she thinks we're completely new gym members.

I'm enjoying the classes that I haven't taken before I just need to find instructors I like. I have 3 gyms I can choose from so I shouldn't be that hard, but it is.

I also did a fast & furious 30 minute spin class, got in about 8 miles. I didn't particularly care for the instructor or her choice of music; shes from L.A. & does all the hand signs and head movements. Um, you're not in California any more. I will admit I was the only one besides her that knew all the words to 'Dirty Low Down' by Boz Scaggs.

We had planned on going to Triday Friday right this minute (they are between swimming & spinning right now) but had an injury in the barn so had to deal with that.

I do have a new swim suit so I can go to the Triday Friday and not feel like I'm wearing someones pregnant bathing suit.

I have 2.5 days until the Yukon Do It Half Marathon, I'm going to try to run most of it. Lan & I were going to sign up for the Bremerton YMCA Resolution Runs but I saw that they are doing a mtn bike duathlon instead so I want to do that. Run 2 miles, ride 6 miles & run another one. Sounds like way more fun to me. I've ridden on some of those trails & they are easy... or they were 2 years ago.

We'll still do the remaining Resolution Runs, they are the first Sunday mornings of each month January through April, starting with 5k then 10k, 15k & finally 20k. Certainly wont hurt me to do them.

Horse update:
Joey got another cut on his face and it was very bloody, it was pouring down his face. Lan saw it & came to get me. I got it cleaned up & it stopped bleeding as soon as it was cleaned up. He didn't want to be caught, he knew what was up but once he was in the cross ties and I had warm water he was better. Its not bad, just a small gouge above his eye and a cut alongside his eye, they wont scar. I'm lucky he hasn't put out his eye with all the times he has cut his face this exact same way.
I made him a warm mash with alfalfa pellets, beet pulp, oats & 2 Bute. Then I locked him in the foaling stall. I'll have to do a quick check of it in the morning before I leave for work.

This morning I was in a hurry so I only threw some hay into each stall like we used to do. When I got home from the gym I put the girls out in the arena & Joey & Mark went into the small pasture. I gave them all hay outside to eat. Then I cleaned their stalls. I cant believe how much hay was wasting on the floor! I need to make time to fill the hay nets, no matter what.

Lans not going to like doing that very much.