Friday

Today I gave up the bike ride for a quick nap. It was a beautiful day, but and would've been perfect for a ride... but I came home from work, and was really tired, so I was only going to take a quick nap. Well an hour later I was nearly out of daylight.
So I headed to the pool and got in a 1000m swim. It felt better than earlier this week. I even did some 400 and 200 repeats, and I wasn't as winded as I was on wednesday.
I think that tomorrow I'll go on a long-ish bike ride with a brick at the end. I mean, where else can you go on a bike ride on Christmas Eve??
Happy Holidays!!

Thursday

As I'm settling into a schedule in here, I need to sit down and write out a training plan for the winter. I have one in my head, but it always helps to put it on paper. So right now I feel like I'm training without any real goals yet. I don't know if I'm going to do a full marathon or only a half in April, so I'm not sure how much milage I should be adding to my running yet, and then I want to also increase my time on the bike, but if I do a full marathon, then I should be running more.... ahh, all these questions.
I've decided though, that I'll let myself train "how I feel" between now and the end of the year (so about another week). And in that time period I'll attempt to figure out my training plan for the next 4 months.
Tonight I did a GF-type workout. I started with a 1.5 mile loop that put me back at my doorstep. So I did some spiders and pushups. Went out for another 1.5 mile loop, this time pushing the pace (I could feel that! Wow! The longest 1.5 miles ever!) Then I did situps, planks, and a 2 min wall sit before heading out for my last 1.5 mile loop. This time I ran the loop easy (but nicely, it still was a 9 min pace - ish) then I finished up with some additional pushups and stretching. It was a good solid hour workout that got a little bit of everything in.
I hope to get out on my bike again tomorrow, and hopefully hit the pool for a longer swim workout.
Until then...

Rebuilding the Foundation

Today is my day off from work, so I enjoyed sleeping in and a lazy morning. I was wide awake by 8am, but the true luxury was being able to lay in bed and watch T.V. until I felt compelled to actually get up. Those days are few and far between in my world, so I enjoyed it thoroughly this morning.
By 10:30 I was dressed and ready to take on the traffic and road hazards florida had to throw at me on my bike. I had planned to ride for about an hour. After 35 min or so, I found myself back at the gate of the Polo Club, so I decided to ride through the Polo Club and home. My total ride was 45 min. I averaged 17 mph and went 13 miles. All but one section of road was light traffic, and most drivers gave me plenty of room. It wasn't bad at all getting out there again.
Last winter I got a lot of experience by riding with a group of 'Roadies' on monday night. They were an intense group, riding in a pace line on roads without shoulders at night. There is nothing like riding in the middle of a pace line at night at 20mph with your only focus being the white line and the tire of the guy in front of you. You did what you had to to keep up! So I stopped into the bike shop this afternoon to inquire about the rides again. They are still holding them on monday nights, but then I asked about riding with a tri bike... yeah, just as I expected, they don't like us "Tri Geeks" riding in a pace line with aerobars. Looks like I'm on my own this year. That's ok, he gave me a good route with safe roads to ride on. Maybe next year I can swing a road bike and ride with them in the future...
After my bike ride, I headed over to the pool for a quick swim. Best to start getting in the habit of swimming a few times a week again. I can tell it's been a long time since I swam any distance. After a 100m I was breathing like I'd never swam before. So it's time to hit the pool on a regular basis and start rebuilding that aerobic foundation. I'd actually like to find a swim group to help me work on my technique a little bit, since I'm certain that is partially why I am so slow in the water.
Well, I've got some more errands to run, so I'd best be off. Catch ya' later.

Putting the wheels in motion

Monday I finally took the bike out for an inagural ride. I think I must have smiled the entire time. When I stepped outside, I thought it might be a bit chilly... but in no time I was working up a sweat. I didn't go far - about a 30 min ride, averaging 16 mph. It was nice to get out there again.
Tonight I went for a run - just over 6.5 miles. It was cool and overcast. Perfect for an evening run. I was running about a 9:30 pace with walk breaks every mile or so. All was well until the end when my stomach decided that it was not happy... guess I'll have to figure out what I ate last, and remember to NOT EVER eat that before a run again!!
Tomorrow is my day off, so I'm planning on taking my bike out for an easy ride to refamiliarize myself with the roads. I'll probably hit the pool as well. Until next time...

Acclimation

Sorry it's been awhile since I checked in last... But I'm finally in sunny south Florida. Yay. It's been sunny and high 70s, so it's been a great change from the sub-zero temps of Minnesota.
After driving for 2 full days it was time to go for a run. Matt and I did an easy 6.5 miles our first day out. It felt VERY warm, but in reality, it wasn't THAT hot, we just weren't used to it. It felt good to really sweat.
The following day we did a GF-type workout. With a 1.5 mile warmup then situps and pushups then a lap around the condo with more situps/pushups, spiders and of course, a wall sit. I can tell that it's been a couple weeks since I last did spiders - I definitely enjoyed them the next day :)
The past couple days I've been feeling a little tired, and Matt and I have been enjoying the "Palm Beach Experience" so I haven't worked out much. Lots of good food and a trip to the ocean. Next week I'll pay for all my extravagence - no more eating out and plenty of working out!
Until next time...