Nutrition and Weight

I am annoyed with myself for a few reasons.
1. I feel like I have been gaining weight the past few weeks even though I've been training a lot. I want to be somewhere between 125-130 but am creeping closer to 135. :(
2. Does this really matter? I'm not doing tri's to win. Maybe it's muscle? I know I'm in better shape than I've been in for a while (maybe ever?). Shouldn't that be the most important thing? My body weight is healthy so what's the big deal?

It's just that nagging feeling that I hate not looking like a triathlete. But maybe I do look like one and am just being hyper-critical. And what does a triathlete look like anyway. Are we talking real people triathletes or professional triathletes?
Argh. It's annoying. I want to not care but I can't help it! And, I'm not very good at watching what I eat. I like food. I feel like the majority of what I eat is healthy.

Ok, so here is my plan.
1. I am going to keep a food journal, this is supposed to be a good tool for figuring out where I can improve my eating habits.
2. 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day
3. I talked to my doctor today and she said I should be getting about 1200 mg of calcium a day. That is 120% of the daily value. So more low-fat dairy or other calcium sources.
4. I HATE doing core work, I think it's so boring, but I am going to do it more often (meaning I am going to do it at all, starting with about 5 days a week for about 10 minutes). This will help me feel better about myself AND having a strong core is really important anyway!

I have some other ideas for what would make a good daily diet but this is enough whining for now. If you are reading this and have some thoughts on weight and nutrition for triathletes, I'd love to hear them!

Week Fifteen - Wearing Down

I am ready for a break! This was my second week in a row with 100+ miles. Also my first week this year (I think) with 100+ miles on the bike, although I cheated and switched in a bike for a run on Sunday. Luckily I will be doing a semi-taper this week to get ready for the half marathon next weekend. I don't know what else to say, so here are the numbers.

Totals:
10:43, 112.5 miles
Swimming: 1:00, 2750 meters
Biking: 7:15, 103 miles (long 2:54, 46.5 miles)
Running: 2:29, 13 miles (long 1:07, 6.25 miles)

Week Fourteen - HUGE!

Last week was a big one - I successfully completed the 70 mile ride below and ran about 10.25 miles on Sunday - my two longest workouts yet! Actually, I am pretty sure I have NEVER ridden 70 miles by myself. I completely bonked at the end of the ride. It was 10 miles downhill to Colorado Springs at the end and I got hit with a 20+ mph headwind that destroyed me. I was out of the saddle going DOWNHILL and only managing 12 mph. I stopped at a gas station to refill on water and take a break. I was sitting on the sidewalk outside the convenience store and this woman walks by and says, "You really pushed it today, didn't you?" And I managed to say yes, and then she said, "I can tell. Well, at least you're doing something you enjoy!" At first I was like, "Yeah, right" but then realized that yes, I do enjoy this! So I headed back out and was pretty proud of myself when I made it back to my car. My average speed was 16.8 mph before the bonk, and was somewhere in the high 14's by the end of the ride. It took me 4:45.

Anywho, here are my totals from the week:
102.25 miles! My first 'centennial' week :) 11 hours
Swimming: 1:30, 3800 meters
Biking: 5:25, 76.25 miles
Running: 4:06, 23.1 miles (that's the most I've ever run in a week!!!) (long=10.25 miles, 1:50)

Colorado Springs - Penrose Ride

Tomorrow I'm hoping to ride 70 miles to Penrose (near Pueblo)! It will be my longest ride of the year by about 20 miles. According to a book I checked out of the library (Road Biking Colorado - the statewide guide, by Michael Seeberg), I think the total elevation gain will be 4000 feet. I wanted to do some mountain riding but up there it is going to be in the 30's with 50% chance of rain/snow. Down here it should be in the 50's and only 20% chance of rain. Wish me luck!!

decisions

I figured once I got back from Colorado Springs I would sign up with a coach in Ft Collins and/or join a tri team. Being on a team has a lot of benefits (fun and motivation probably being the biggest two to me), but it is also kind of crappy to have to create my schedule based on a team schedule. Since my schedule as a grad student is relatively flexible, I prefer to be home in the evenings when possible so I can hang out with Chris. Problem is, one or both of us have commitments every night except Thursday, so that limits how much time we can spend together.

No matter what I decide, I really like the idea of working from 7-3:30 Mon-Thursday, and from 1-5 on Friday (I volunteer at a house for youth on Friday mornings). What I like about this is - I have about 2 hours after work during which the weather should be nice and Chris won't be home yet. So it doesn't interfere with our time together. Also being at the office early while it's quiet is kind of nice if I can wake up.

I have come to really enjoy swimming with a Masters group (I've been swimming at the Ft Collins Club). It is way more entertaining than swimming by myself, and I miss very few swims since I know I am paying for each one! So I want Masters at least once a week. Also the thing that Chris does on Wed. night is softball, and I can play too if I want (or have any extra energy after training 10-14 hrs a week??).

Another amazing thing is the two-a-day. I think I can realistically fit 9 workouts into 5-6 days of training. So I will always have at least one day off :) A good thing to do on one of those days off would be yoga ... since I have given up on strength training. I will look into that. In the mean time I have some decisions to make. I will "test drive" the 7-3:30 schedule next week (supposed to be a 12-13 hr week) and see how it goes before making any commitments.

Week Thirteen - This is hard!

Two big workouts this week really wiped me out! The run I talked about below and a 35 mile bike ride with a decent amount of climbing. Just to keep in mind, here is how my week progressed:
Monday ride 2-1/2 hours, waste the rest of the night daydreaming about my bike and penalize myself with all work and no training on Tuesday
Wednesday run 95 minutes (9.3 miles) - hardest run yet
Thursday planned 4x6 LT's on the bike but my legs couldn't go hard for 6 minutes, so I did 2 10 minute intervals with 1 minute fast, 1 minute rest and 30 sec on/30 sec off the second time. Was able to do 1 6 minute hard interval at the end but then was wiped out.
Friday "easy" 30 minute run - my blister got worse and my shins/calves hurt really bad.
Saturday 50 minute swim wiped me out
Sunday I am pooped, too much work, too much intensity in training, and not enough sleep this week!!

Anywho, the totals:
6:03, 60 miles
Swim: 50 minutes, 2050 m
Bike: 3:10, 47 miles
Run: 2:05, 12.3 miles

Next week I have two more big workouts I will focus on. Thursday I will be done teaching and if the weather is nice I want to go on a 50-70 bike ride. Pray for good weather!!

Ouch!

I just got done with one of my hardest runs ever. It was a long (90 minute) run, but with some intensity mixed in (tried to get my heart rate up into zone 3-4 for 20 minutes throughout the run). Usually when I do my long run it is a very relaxed pace, so this was a big challenge!

My legs felt bad the first couple of miles. Mainly my calves and hamstrings felt kind of tight. They eventually loosened up though and for the rest of the run felt really good. Surprisingly good, really. I even blew by a guy at one point, I am not used to passing people when I run!! The only bad thing is I got a huge blister on one of my toes. I have pretty blister-prone feet, but not usually on this toe. It is probably about half the size of my toe and to prove it I took a lovely picture that you can see at the end of this post :) Haha. I am also sure I will be sore from this run, my muscles are already feeling a little tender.

But overall I'm psyched about the run. It was a little under 9 miles and I ran it in 1:23, so about a 9:25 pace. Plus I walked a few times so I must have been running faster than that. It was also a decently hilly course. I think it was 8.8 miles - 45 minutes out and 38 minutes back. Wow that is an 8:37 pace on the way back :) Sweet! Oh yeah I had a gel after about 50-55 minutes. I think it helped my energy level but my stomach was not super excited.

Here is my awesome picture: Actually I think it deserves two:



Oh yeah, now I am going out to dinner because I want to eat a lot of food and think I have earned a good meal! :)

Week Twelve - Yatai!

OK, Don't know what I actually said in my title but I am trying to say "I did it!" in Japanese, after Hiro, in Heroes, you know the best show on tv right now :). So my biggest accomplishment last week wasn't any particular huge workout but the fact that, on top of working 60+ hours, I completed all of my training goals for the week. So what if it was a rest week, this is still an accomplishment.

Totals: 5:46, 46 miles
Swimming: 1:45, 4750 meters
Biking: 2:35, 38 miles
Running: 1:23, 8.1 miles
plus
leisurely hike around Garden of the Gods: 1 to 2 hours, probably about 3-4 miles.

I need to get in a few more hours of training this week so wish me luck! It's also the last full week of teaching.

March Madness

Here are my 'stats' from March.
cycling - 182 miles, 13:37 hours
running - 49 miles, 9:42
swimming - 12 miles, 7:45
walking - 10.75 miles, 3:30

Good to see that my swimming and running time and distance both went up (from 10.5 miles and 28 miles, respectively) during Feb. I am overall happy with this. :) Woohoo!