My very first "rest" week

I promised my coach that I would take is easy after Bear Creek, so this post is going to chronicle my attempt at a so called "rest" week. I have never been good at resting so this is a new challenge for me.

Day 1 - Monday

My new running shoes came in the mail. Of course they show up on my very first rest day. Do you know how tempting it was to lace them up and take them out on the road!? And, they are super cute to boot.

Stop teasing me! I will try you out next week. That's a promise!

5:30 pm rolled around and it took every ounce of self control that I had to stay home. All I wanted to do was grab my bike and head out to EF for bike/run/strength class. But I told myself no, I need to rest and study for my two finals this week. So, I ended up making a delicious dinner and watching a movie with a glass of red.

Quinoa w/ roasted asparagus, beets, chick peas, and feta

Day 2 - Tuesday

I was planning on going to the 5:30 am swim practice, but when my alarm went off, I immediately hit the cancel button and kept on sleeping. It felt so great to sleep until 6:15. I guess my body needed it! I did a swim workout in the afternoon at the salt water pool. It's such a treat to swim in! Here's my workout:

300 warm up

4x100 as 50 catch up/50 swim

2x100 as 25 L/25R/50 swim

2x100 pull

4x200 zone 2 w/ 50 fast each 200

100 cool down

And yes, that's a rest day for me :-) It felt so good to get in the water and move my legs after the trail run. I was starting to feel really stiff. After a bit of studying, I ventured out to try to find a foam roller. I have heard wonderful things about them and decided it was time. I came back with sushi and another movie, and no foam roller. Oops! Rest day #2 complete.

Day 3 - Wednesday

I overslept again this morning! Man, my body is tired! Today, I had a strength training session with Camille at EF. I was skeptical going into this because I have never really focused on strength training and I have managed to improve without it. Maybe this is the ticket to becoming a pro? I did feel like I had reached a plateau towards the end of the season after seeing drastic improvements up until September. 

So, apparently I need to tap into my glutes and core. I guess everything isn't just linear? All I know how to do is swim, bike, run. I did more push ups today than I think I have ever done in my whole life. Total, that is. I also learned how to do a Burpee. Yuck. I don't like them one bit.  I do like planks however, but because I am too good at them, Camille is making me do "walking planks." You get the idea. Another yuck. I'm going to try to stay on the strength training band wagon, so I hope to see some results!

Day 4 - Thursday

No morning swim for me. I decided to sleep in/get up early to study for my final. The test went well enough, I think. Another true rest day. No activity other than riding my bike the mile to and from school. I'm getting tired of resting; it's so BORING! To keep myself busy, I baked some gluten free pumpkin, peanut butter, dark chocolate chip cookies. YUM!

Day 5 - Friday

I couldn't take it anymore! After a very rough week I needed to work out! I got up early and did a 2000 m swim which was a mix of drills and some fast freestyle. It felt GREAT to be pushing it again. After a second disastrous morning in clinic, I decided to test out the ol' knee during lunch. I did an easy 25 minutes on the treadmill. At about 20 minutes I could feel my IT band tightening up, but it didn't hurt per se. I stopped at 25 minutes, which I think was a good decision.

Things I have learned during my rest week:
1. I am NOT good at resting.
2. I am NOT good at doing easy workouts.
3. I am very grumpy when I am not working out! (Ask my boyfriend if you need verification.)
4. Strength training is going to be the death of me.

Time to enjoy the weekend! No workouts planned, just a lot of visiting with friends and family. It should be awesome and I am going to enjoy the best gluten free cupcakes ever, courtesy of Buzz Bakery. Next week, it's back to the grind. Three finals and a week full of workouts awaits!

Bear Creek 10 Miler

Trail running. 'Nuf said.

Alright, alright, I'll elaborate. I have never really been much of a trail runner. My experience on trails is very limited. I have run down in Virginia Beach through First Landing State Park, and ate it. I have run on Belle Isle in Richmond, and survived. Somehow I was TRICKED into signing up for a 10 mile trail run. By tricked, I mean most of my team was running this race in honor of our teammate, Amy. She is an inspiration to us all. I don't know if I would be as strong as she is through all of this.

The run was out in Cumberland, VA. Being a native Virginian, I was shocked to hear of a place I had never been, let alone heard of. The trail was mostly single track with a short portion on a fire road. Lots of mud. Good thing I bought some trail runners on a whim last year. I had used them to hike in Colorado, but I had never really run in them. Oops.

My right knee started bothering me around mile 4. Not excruciating pain, but enough to let me know it was there. I told my coaches I would stop if it acted up. Another oops. The pigheadedness kicked in and I kept running. Also, a teammate of mine, aka rival, was running with me and we were pacing together so I couldn't just stop. I kept truckin' and the IT band was feeling ok, not good, but ok.

We made it to the turn around. No fluids for me as I was running with my awesome camel back hydration belt. Yes, it is pink. If you have to ask, you obviously don't know me. On the ay to the turn around I saw a stump sticking up about 5 inches and noted it and hopping over. On the way back I nailed it; GU in hand, laid out on the trail. Great. Now I have more scars. Sorry, Billy.

Anyways, we kept running. I passed some more people and my teammate was still with me which was awesome. He was such a great motivator. One, because I didn't want to get destroyed by him, and two, because he really kept me going. I fell one more time in the last mile. Oops. 1:44:36. Go me.

The run was brutal. Twelve creek crossings? What on earth did I sign up for! All in all, I finished 4th overall and 1st in my age group. I am totally okay with the results considering I am still nursing Mr. IT Band back to health. And by nursing, I really mean that I am doing a horrible job at resting. I am a triathlete, afterall. We are all out of minds, or maybe, it's just me :-)

Endorphin Fitness Rocks!!

Single Malt Scotch

This is my first post as an aspiring new pro triathlete. As I am writing this, I am sipping on a single malt scotch. I know once the new year begins, there won't be many opportunities for late nights and night caps. With Thanksgiving behind us and Christmas quickly approaching, this off season is going to be over before I know it!

I am very excited to begin my journey as an aspiring pro triathlete at the age of 29. Well, I guess I'm already 30 according to USAT. I just completed my 2nd season as a triathlete and I have had some very high highs and some very low lows, but overall I have achieved more than I had ever dreamed of.

Here are the results from the 2011 triathlon season:

Ground Force IT Sprint Tri - 2nd overall
I Heart the Tavern Sprint Tri - 3rd overall
Rockett's Landing Int'l Tri - 5th in AG
Patriot's 1/2 IM - 1st in AG, 9th overall
Naylor's Beach Int'l - 1st in AG, 5th overall
Brickman Richmond Sprint - 3rd overall

Not too shabby. Of course I am naturally not happy with my results because I am a competitive person. If I don't win, I'm not happy. I didn't come to this realization until late in the season when I realized, with the help of my coaches and boyfriend, that I really do have the talent to make a name for myself in the world of triathlons. I was perfectly content with placing overall or in age group, until I discovered my potential to do more. This may be a slippery slope, but I am willing to give it my all to qualify for Kona in 2012 or 2013. Long course is going to be my focus, but a few short course races will definitely be thrown into the mix. I should know my tentative race schedule soon.

My coaches at Endorphin Fitness, Michael Harlow and Kyle Pawalczyk, have helped me improve tremendously this past season. I am looking forward to seeing what the future holds!