Tue 8/31/2010
pool swim at the Merritt 650 m 00:15:00
Swimming is sooooooooo luxurious now that I have finally learned how to breathe. Duh! I'm not even trying for speed....but I now do 13 laps in the same time it used to take me to do 10.
spin bike at the health club 6 mi 00:20 18.0mph pace
met up with Paddy at the Merritt - and decided to kill time and kill my legs all together.
Skate 12 miles at Gunpowder Falls State Park 12 mi 00:51 14.1mph pace
The water looked absolutely inviting, calm, not a ripple...but I was not there to swim today. There is a lovely 1.2 mile road loop in the Hammerman section of Gunpowder Falls State Park - perfect for skate training for SOTU. Not that I've committed to SOTU... Jus Say'n. The terrain is mostly flat...and the road surface is TOO GOOD. 10 laps =12 miles. Working on FORM and technique. Shortly after the 1st lap my form deteriorated. Yikes! Partly due to massive ankle pain and rubbage. When will skate manufacturers figure out that a comfy boot might encourage more folks to stick with the sport? I digress. Will dig out the heat gun when I am done. Anyway, despite my deteriorating skate form...I managed to (a) not fall (b) hear a heel carve (c) keep my weight back (d) pass bikers (ok...they were very old people...ok) (e) finish before it got to a zillion degrees and (e) enjoy the whole experience big time. Dang, I love to skate. If I could only get rid of the foot pain.
Mon 8/30/2010
Pool at the Merritt on Boston St in Canton (2700m 1hr 20 min)
An hour and 20 min in the pool MIGHT seem a bit excessive - but I was doing a research project - so I HAD TO BE IN THE WATER for a long time. My research project is to see how long I can last doing more and more freestyle by learning to breathe properly. Yup...it's conclusive. I can swim a LONG time -- now that the breathing issue seems to be put to bed. Would have gone to 2 hours...but my skin was shriveling up. This is all very exciting. 54 laps total today. By far my record swim of the year...and I'm swimming faster than b4 (even tho speed is just a secondary byproduct rite now)....Paddy showed up - and insisted I needed to be done with swimming today. OK Paddy....can't wait for tomorrow's swim tho ;-)
Sun 8/29/2010
SKATED !!! 6 whopping miles 6 miIt has been ONE year since I put these skates on...and the pressure points in my skate boots are still there! Despite the fact my feet hurt from boot rubbage....Jill and I had a most glorious skate thru the BWI woods...and along the flats. We decided we weren't ready for other challenges...such as bumpy wooden bridges....hills....navigating around sand patches (Sheldon??? I thought you were keeping this clean?)....but it was a good start. Realized how much I miss skating...but not the boot pressure points. Every now and then I think I heard a heel carve...or maybe not. Delightful!
2 bike loops around BWI airport 21 mi
Just delightful! Started at 7AM...briefly considered doing the much more challenging terrain at the IG course...but decided WHY? So opted for the BWI loop double instead. Many bikers must have felt the same - as it was busy busy! Not sure how long this took...didn't look at our watches and Jill and I blathered the entire time!
Sat 8/28/2010
pool swim at the Merritt 550 m
ooooh....the pool water is bliss compared to Gunpowder River. I needed this...just to feel as if I've decontaminated. Wanted to also test drive my new breathing methods...and sure enuf - they still are working. I'm increasing the % of freestyle...to % sidefish I swim....now up to 60% freestyle...without feeling any sense of being winded. It's a beautiful thing. I promise...done working out for today ;-)
elliptical at the Merritt Gym 3 mi 00:33
Paddy met me at the gym...for one more exercise adventure today. I am a bit pooped...having already swum in a cesspool...and 45 min on bike...but if Paddy wants to workout...I refuse to dog out. (no offense to dogs ;-)
bike at BWI loop and 1mile ex... 11 mi 00:42 15.7mph pace
With my belly full of a spinach omelette from the Diner...I met Jill at the BWI loop for a brief bike workout. I'm not sure if my legs have turned to dry rot...but it sure seemed to take a LONG TIME getting up the mile extension into the airport belly. I guess there was a headwind. Yeah...that's what it was! Anyway, it was good to be out on the bikes... Jill forgot to do her tire spin check...so I think she did the workout with her brakes on.
swim at Gunpowder River 1200 m 00:42
Not sure why I am still swimming in this cesspool....but the IG ladies wanted to do an open swim workout - so I caved and joined 'em. The waves were a bit much for my ability...I swam sidefish in one direction...and sputtered on my back in the opposite. The current felt strong...the water was slimy...and the water temps were cool. WTF? Tami and I swam together....kindof. She started getting dragged by the current OUT from shore...so I had to blow bubbles and yell to her at the same time -- "come back to shore Tam". I have to say the best part of this swim adventure...was getting out of the water - and having breakfast at the diner. Jill and her gang of mermaids (Eliott, Tricia, Laura and Patty) - swam the same distance in half the time.
Fri 8/27/2010
Bike on mile loop at MLK in Silver Spring 10 mi
This is more of a TREK test than training...but I did enjoy the workout ;-) The TREK folks seem to think that I don't know how to ride my bike...so my plan is to test ride 2 trek bikes today - and see if I can recreate the dreaded bike wobble at high speeds. I tested my old Trek 1.2 bike,,,,and Trek Madone 4.7. Also swapped front wheels between the 2 bikes to see if this has any impact on downhill performance. Test inconclusive today...couldn't get going fast enough to create a road wobble in any situation. Not that I'm looking to be thrown from my bike....but it sure would be nice to solve this bike problemo. More testing will occur...
pool at the Merritt 1800 m 00:47
Getting closer to figuring out how to breathe while swimming. Pretty silly...right? Not at all like land activities...but here is todays discovery. (actually...a continuation of yesterdays discovery!). Exhale gently underwater. Don't worry...water won't fly up your nose if you exhale gently. Never quite grasped this b4. This is the main reason why I couldn't freestyle for any length of time...I exhaled so forceful....there was no way I could inhale enuf air back....and voila...outta breath. But today...is a different story. Exhale gentle...don't actually get rid of all the air down to your toes...and OMG...I could swim forever. ByGollyMissMolly there is hope. It was absolutely effortless and exhilarating ....could have kept swimming for hours....but had to go to work (sigh)
Thu 8/26/2010
salt water pool at the Merritt Gym 800 m
Gotta love the slightly cooler weather - as there is no lack of empty lanes. Love swimming in a pool. Swam 16 laps, half side-fish, and half-freestyle. Making little freestyle discoveries which are very exciting for a novice like moi. Such as, if I don't exhale like I'm trying to blow out birthday candles....then I don't get so friggin tired. Feeling much more relaxed AND doing my freestyle in the deepend (which I never ventured to do b4). Baby steps....my goal is to be a swimmmer....it may take awhile ;-) Paddy joined me for this fun. He is now up to 12 laps. Go Paddy!
Wed 8/25/2010
pool swim at the Merritt 550 m
forcing myself to swim half the distance doing freestyle. Wow...I'm lots faster....and lots more tired.
workout at Merritt w/Paddy 00:40
30 on elliptical and 10 on bike. Paddy avoided the lady who had him doing Jumping Jacks yesterday. No more jumping jacks for Paddy....
Canton / waterfront promenade 3.1 mi 00:31 10:00 pace
back to running with my ipod -- all is good! Temperature is perfect - no humidity. What a delight!
Tue 8/24/2010
pool swim at the Merritt Gym 00:40
Temps in the 60's - and no one wanted to swim in the outdoor pool....except me. Got in 40 min - unknown number of laps - felt great
Mon 8/23/2010
bike & treadmill at the Merritt 00:45
Workin' out with Paddy and dockmates Rick and Linda at the gym. Relaxing workout after IG weekend...
Sun 8/22/2010 Iron Girl Triathlon - Columbia MD
Centennial Lake - Iron Girl Race 1100 m 00:35
Swim wave started at 6:55AM...Tami & I swam together - we stayed on the far outside perimeter of the swim course just to be sure we missed the hundreds of swimmers. This meant we did lots of extra mileage out there - but hey - it's all good. Nobody swam into us or over us. I think we even passed someone...or maybe that was a floating log. I dunno. There was a very large wake in the beginning of our swim wave - and we found out later the reason why. Jill. She was zooming along at a 26 minute clip. The wake nearly drowned the rest of us ;-)
Centennial Park and Beyond - Iron Girl Bike Course 17.5 mi 01:06 15.9mph pace
Tami and I left the transition area rite after the swim...to hustle up the hill and start pedaling for the bike part of the Iron Girl race. This is when the clouds let go of all their water...and it poured for the first 20 minutes. Being somewhat nervous with my already malfunctioning bike (morphs into the bike noodle over 25mph now!)....I took it real slow. If only the race was ALL uphill - I would be in heaven. But no...what goes up...eventually comes down....and for the first 20 min...I braked that bike silly on the downhills. Very sad. Eventually, the rain gods let up....and my comfort zone with a wet slick bike course improved. Lost Tami in the crowds during the 2nd uphill grind...so we both had to work IronGirl solo from this point.
Centennial Park - Iron Girl Run 3.4 mi 00:35 10:17 pace
Usually I run with my iPOD listening to my fav 2 tunes over and over (so sad)...but today during the IronGirl run - we had to leave our music behind. I kept hearing someone breathe very loudly near me....oh my....that's me?? Never realized I'm so noisy breathing, as I'm usually drowning out the noise with my iPOD. In any event, my goal was to just keep running -- and get to the finish line as fast as possible. Not because I'm trying for any overall time....but because I just wanna be done. Finally, 35 minutes of running put me at the IronGirl finish line. 2hrs 22min. A whopping 20 min improvement over 2 years ago. Still room for more improvement - but glad to finish the swim without having thoughts of drowning...and to finish the bike without a bad case of road rash....and to be able to cheer on the remaining sista-hood out there! Jill rocked with a 2hr 16min finish....Tami 2hr 29min...and ByGollyMissHolly in under 3 hours. It was an amazing day of celebration....but right now I'm thinking of getting a nap.
Fri 8/20/2010
to the Marina and back 00:10:00
This is a whopper workout...I needed to clean my bike to prep it for race day - which meant a walk to the marina and back to get the cleaner and lube from the car. I probably should take a nap now.
Thu 8/19/2010
at the Merritt pool 400 m
This was primarily the "wash cycle" after swimming in contaminated water at Gunpowder River. And it was delightful
at the Merritt 00:15:00
Seems like I rarely ride my bike outdoors....thanks to the heat and humidity.
elliptical @ The Merritt 00:30
I had the pleasure of watching Paddy and Rick do a circuit training on the Fast Trak (which looked kindof hard!)...while I bounced along on the elliptical
Gunpowder River 1200 m 00:35
Just a few days b4 IronGirl - and needed a good vibe in the open water swim practice. Swim buddy Jill and I briefly read the warning post at the shoreline. Something about severe water contamination...b careful w/open wounds...and better not swallow any of the water. It was a nose scrunching moment...but we got in anyway. I think the Perdue chicken farms got flooded upstream. The river is filled with feathers...and more things I don't want to think about. Jill swam laps around me....I got tangled in seaweed...and managed to finish 1200 despite many thoughts about the nasty water.Wed 8/18/2010
canton waterfront promenade 1 mi 00:08:05 08:05 pace
ran in the rain as fast as my wittle wegs would go....pretending that a 70 year old bionic man was about to pass me. Clocked my fastest time since high school (ok....I ran distance and wasn't very fast in HS ;-)
elliptical at the merritt gym 00:40
Rain sent me indoors (as if I'm going to melt). Thought I was doing well...until a 70 year old man who appeared to be bionic hopped on the elliptical next to me - at the maxed out setting. humbled once again by my elders
Tue 8/17/2010
to the Safeway for food 0.1 mi
it was really quite exhilarating in the 90 degree heat and humidity (not) - but we needed some kabobs for din din...i.e a trip to the safeway. Paddy and I walked down the A-dock...across the wooden pedestrian bridge that is falling apart....and crossed Boston St traffic in rush hour....which meant a mad-dash over 4 lanes of traffic. Does this count as exercise?
merritt pool 1400 m
the winds looked perfect (light) for an outdoor swim at Gunpowder Falls State Park - but my swim buddy (Paddy) wasn't in the mood for this adventure - so we opted for a workout at the gym. Paddy has taken to the Fast Trak equipment - and is showing me all sorts of weight resistance exercises using pulleys and stuff...but I made a beeline for the pool instead. Did 29 laps with a goal to not get winded. That part worked out well - I wasn't winded...but I think I looked like a manatee out there. Extremely slow...floating on the surface...barnacles everywhere (ok - maybe not the barnacles)...and not a lot of propulsion. Paddy joined me for my last 10 laps. He's a workout machine, so I had to pick up the pace on the last 10 laps ;-)
Mon 8/16/2010
pool swim at the Merritt 00:40
I brought my new fancy smanchy watch to help me count laps...but then I forgot to press the button each time I did a lap...so I have no idea how many laps I did. The one time I did remember to press the lap button on the watch....I nearly drowned - so decided knowing the number of laps wasn't that important. Some dude hopped in my lane after 30 min...couldn't he see I needed the whole lane to myself to do the side stroke? Had to reduce my kick after that....didn't want to cause him bodily injury
stationary bike at Merritt 00:15:00
It would be nice to bike outside...but temps too hot. A/C is lovely in the Merritt Gym and when I click on the little FAN button on the stationary bike (Linda showed me this feature!)-- my hairdo is flyin ;-) Paddy joined me at the gym - and he was busy outdoing himself on the elliptical machine with arms and legs going in every direction. That Paddy.
Canton-Fells Point waterfront... 2.6 mi 00:26 10:00 pace
run started early 7:30am - so it wasn't to beastly hot yet. Pace felt good for an ol'fart. Asked Paddy to join me on the bike...but he needed coffee
Sun 8/15/2010
Gunpowder Falls 1100 m
at Gunpowder Falls State Park - winds from southeast - huge waves - could only swim in 1 direction. Tami and I did water aerobics against the waves. It was really raucus. WTF???? Who's idea was it anyway to swim in this sh@#? (did someone say "Jill")?
Gunpowder Falls parking lot 00:10:00
ran around the parking lot cuz we didn't actually swim that much in the tsnaumi Gunpowder Falls. Jill, Elliott and Tricia had no problems swimming both directions....That's because they are pros. Every time I looked over at Tami she was being tossed around in the waves like a little cork. Tami and I thought the swimming was crazy. Nobody was real keen on running afterwards. I had to give Jill the stinkeye, and Tami eventually caved. Ok - so we did 3 measly laps around the parking lot to make up for the lack of quality swimming in the brown lake
8/12/2010
Iron Girl Course 3.4 mi 00:36 10:35 pace
Now, if you just look at the TIME...it may appear kindof slow, but I'm hoping that I'm still just figuring out how to use my new watch with the timer. Maybe I started it before we actually ran? or maybe I didn't stop it in time? I'm guessing that any slow factor should get blamed on the new watch.
Iron Girl Course 17.5 mi 01:03 16.7mph pace
slow on downhills - Ms. Madone still gives me road wobbles. I don't think we can be friends again until Ms. Madone gets over herself on those dang downhills. Jill and Tami were just moments behind. Jill had this brainy idea that we should all go at our own pace? What fun is in that? Had no one to talk to or to complain about my lack of oxygen on the uphills? Need to have a talk with Jill about her ideas.
8/14/2010
stationary bike 00:20
more workin out with Paddy. Is this really my husband? He is kickin my butt at the gym. I'm already thinking about my nap...to follow.
elliptical 00:30
workout with Paddy at the Merritt. He's a workout machine these days. I think Paddy has morphed into a Jock.
Merritt pool 1100 m 00:33
side stroked like a mother...Jill and I attempted Gunpower Falls - but water too turbulent - so ended up in the pool. It has finally dawned on me (being a boater) to check the winds and wave direction before we trek up to Gunpowder Falls. Any wind from the southeast - is gonna be trouble. And in my case, any wind at all creating an itsy bitsy ripple out there is no good either. Such a whiner.
8/13/2010
stationary bike at Merritt 00:55
Hopped in my car to drive the the BWI airport for a bike workout with Jill at 6:30AM (i'm not awake at this hour)...only to find out it would have been helpful to check the weather first. The moment we arrived...it poured....and poured....OK already...I get it. It's not going to stop raining. Returned back to B'more...and took the bike workout inside to the Merritt. It's not the same...but will have to do on a rainy day.
8/12/2010
Swim 1500 m 00:45
Pool workout at Merritt. For those of you who KNOW how to swim using strokes like the freestyle - or something that "normal" swimmers do...this is pretty slow time. But, for me and my piti side stroke....it isn't too bad....ok jus say'n. I know - someday I'll do freestyle for more than 100m....and then maybe not. Time will tell
8/11/2010
run on promenade on canton waterfront 2 mi
pokey slow. heat zaps my energy. only 2 miles and I'm drenched - need to run early early in b'more. Forgot to check time time before I left the boat so I don't know how long I ran. Listened to my iPod with a whopping 2 tunes installed (Love Shack and Amadeus)...and they repeat over and over. I don't know why I like running to these tunes so much....but they have a good running beat
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