thumb up

swam this morning - was afraid it might be my last swim for awhile
4 rounds of (200, 100, 50) rest the interval - I screwed up it was supposed to be 5 rounds of this. I thought I did 5 rounds but when I went back to take the times off my watch i can only find four rounds. it really felt like 5!  I didn't really have time for another round anyway because I had to get to work. I don't really like workouts that are rest the interval or more rest than work ratioed because I spend so much time not swimming and they take longer for me to complete which usually puts me in a rush to get to work.

100 warmup and 100 of switch, catch and drag

200 - 3:48 - accidently rested 2.48 before hitting the 100 because i forgot im a slow swimmer and i messed up the time
100 - 1.43
50 - 45
200 - 3.50
100 - 1.43
50 - 45
200 - 3.50
100- 1.41
50 - 45
200 - 3.51
100 - 1.41
50 - 46

the ortho visit went ok. I was dreading it because I was fearful of surgery or a cast! ive got the thumb in a splint/removable cast thing for 2 weeks. then i am going to go and get another xray. if it is working i will have to wear this contraption for a few more weeks. if not i will have to get a hard cast on. we're trying to avoid surgery on it. Im going to try to be very good and wear this thing as much as possible and hopefully avoid the torture of a hard cast. i can take it off to shower. I will tape my thumb to my fingers to swim. The doc would have preferred the hard cast option so that i complied and had it constantly immobilized but if this works it will allow me to keep training more than the hard cast will. If i get the hard cast the tris i wanted to do in august are pretty much out and would be sadness. 5 rounds of 10 meters forward quick feet drill 10 meters backward quick feet drill 50 meters walking lunges time 11:39 tried to be as accurate as possible on the quick feet drill. did it on a track not an agility ladder. tired and cranky tonight. didnt want to eat my dinner had a protein shake instead. not sure why. maybe the contraption is irritating me already. Reminds me of having to wear the sling for so long after shoulder surgery. im going to try my best to be good.

modifying

run 6.5 miles
easy pace - heel still hurts! used a silicone gel insert under it, i guess it helped a little but not much. If I ever run without pain it will be a miracle.

3 rounds of
1 minute - air squats
1 minute - abmat situps
1 minute - box jumps @ 24 inches
1 minute - back extensions
1 minute - isolated squat hold
1 minute rest
my back was killing me on the squat hold. The legs were shaking and not feeling so good either.
headed to the ortho tomorrow to find out about the hand. my thumb does actually feel better unless i hit it off something but it looks worse. I'd love to get good news tomorrow but im not expecting to.

broken but not finished

7.21.10
60 minute bike - 13.54 miles - did some hill climbing since my grip wasn't correct on the bike due to my hand injury did want to do fast riding without good handling.

75 squats with 20lb weight vest - 1:44

got some bad news today the xrays on my hand came back as an avulsion (chip) fracture of the thumb. I go to the orthopedic doctor on friday. I also have heel spurs which is why Ive been having so much pain in my foot for so long now. I am going to do my best to continue to train through all of this. I've had more serious injuries and trained through those but obviously I am not happy about any of it. Nothing I can do about it except deal with it though.

banana
sprouted grain bagel
vega wfo w/coconut water
grit tofu
dark chocolate peanut butter
tempeh scramble with swiss chard

Race Report - Anthracite Tri

hanging loose in the ambulance!Rocking the run! Getting the kickers on!

Anthracite Tri - Race Report!!! Olympic Distance

Saturday I did a quick 20 minute easy bike and 20 minute easy run with 3 20 second pickups in both sports. Then washed my bike and my friend got him all race ready! We taped the gels on the tube which I am not sure i really like since they scratched my legs up while riding. I did like the salt in the bento box though. I had to do my carb and electrolyte loading. So I made some wafflers, roasted potatoes and tempeh bacon. Then had some vegan pizza for lunch. I made ginger ale with coconut water for the electrolytes. I went to pick up my packet and found out it wouldn't be a wetsuit legal race which had me a little concerned since i've never done the lake swim without my wetsuit on but nothing I could do about it. Also they change the swim start from a beach start to an in water start because the water level was too low to the rocks. I liked this as it made it less crazy. The transistion area was really far from the lake several parking lots away but again it is what it is. Spent the night packing my stuff and trying to sleep. The sleeping did not go well at all! I guess I was nervous.

sunday morning - race day! even more nervous! I had no desire to eat but idid manage a banana. The whole drive down I thought I might throw up. Got to the race site and had about 20 minutes to check in, get marked up and setup my trainsition area. Walking to check in my arms and legs were shaking a little. yeah i was being pretty ridiculous about the whole thing. Got setup in transition and headed down to the water to take a little warmup swim. The water was really warm. they said 82. Felt good not to the wetsuit on for it. I was in wave 2 so I got to watch wave 1 take off before entering the water. I actually got much calmer once my wave walked into the water. treaded water until the gun went off and then I just tried to swim smoothly. I started towards the back of my wave since I am not a strong swimmer. I was ok with the contact which I was worried about going into the race. None of it was really bad. I did have to clear water out of my goggles at least twice which was weird since they were fine on the warmup. Ended up throwing in a little breast stroke at the 1st turn buoys because the girl in front of me was doing that and I couldn't get around her and it because a cluster of bodies around the turn. Then we were swimming directly into the sun and I couldn't see the next buoy to swim to so I was just following the swimmers in front of me since we were all going the same place. Hit a bunch of gross weeds that were tying themselves around me but I kept going and didn't allow myself to freak out. although I did pick some of them off of me when possible. Coming around the last turn the water got really choppy, not sure why but i was being tossed around from it. but we were getting closer to the beach and I was still feeling really good. I never got tired on the swim. Ran out of the water and uphill to the transition area and started feeling it. t1 went smoothly. Headed out on the bike and my garmin wasn't working. So I was playing with that trying to get it to work when I finally realized it was frozen at 10:16 pm saturday night. This has never happened with it before so of course it would happen for my first race. So I had no heart rate monitor, no distance, no cadence, etc for the bike or the run. The bike course was really hilly so I was not killing the pace since I had no idea how much distance was left to cover. At one point I lost the biker in front of me and no one was behind me so I was afraid I actually got off the course. I finally saw a guy on the street and i yelled to him to see if i was still on the course. Luckily I was! I didn't know the area at all and could have done much better on the bike if i knew the course because there were some great downhills but I didn't know where the turns were so I didn't go too crazy on the bike. I was almost done with the bike when I had a little incident where my bike started sliding off the road so I put my hand down on the guardrail to steady my position and just kept riding. I never fell just kept going but my thumb was killing me. It made it really hard to shift my bike so I was doing some interesting contortions to get that done when necessary. I was also not feeling well from the gels on the bike. It wasn't an issue when I tested them out training so it could be how nervous I was. Im not really sure. I took the gels and the salt and I didn't have an issue but I wouldn't be surprised if I threw up from them. Came off the bike still feeling strong. Headed out on the run which ended up being more of a trail run than advertised. Trail running is not my thing but I had to do it. There were four water stations and 2 of them were out of water. all they had was gatorade so I passed on it since I didn't want to get sick and just dealt with the water I could get. The was a big hill on the run that actually didn't feel nearly as bad as the bike climbs I'd already done. I came off the hill and thought I only have 3 miles left to go and I felt really good so im going to start pushing the pace when I tripped over a tree root and went down cutting my hand, arm and leg up. I got right back up and started running. I refused to even look down at myself because I didn't want to know how bad it was I just wanted to finish. I felt like I finished the run strong. I probably could have pushed it more in all aspects of the race. especially the bike and the swim. I did let the ambulance wash off my wounds but they were not really serious. Grabbed a banana and a vega and hung out for awhile. Iced the thumb a bit. After the race I was tired and didn't really do much the rest of the day. But I wasn't really sore just tired. Went to bed early. woke up a little tired but still not really sore and took a rest day monday. Went for an easy 30 minute swim and drills in the pool today. Shoulders were a little tight when I started but overall did fine. going to get my thumb looked at this afternoon even though I think it is fine. I can't grip weights or anything like that because it is swollen and a little bruised up but I don't think it is painful enough for it to be broken.

anthracite triathlon done!

so i finished my first triathlon today. olympic distance. tired. will post a race report tomorrow.

a kick in the..

Went to bed early and still woke up really tired. Had to drag myself to the pool. Did my normal 100 warmup and 100 of the following drills side switch, catchup and fingertip drag. Felt sore when I started swimming.

Then 10 x 50 on 20 second rest followed by an easy 400.

1 - 45
2 -48
3 - 46
4 - 48
5 - 49
6 - 49
7 - 46
8 - 49
9 - 48
10 - 48
400 - 8:30

Pretty tired when I got out of the pool I hope I recover well the next couple of days before the tri on sunday. Im made an effort to eat more than I normally would just in case that is a source of some of my fatigue. That had me not feeling so great either. Drinking a ton of water too. Tomorrow I will start the carb/electrolyte loading as well as get myself race stuff ready to go. I plan on picking up my packet and attending the race meeting since I don't know this course at all. Had stuff I just didn't feel like dealing with today happen. Mobile phone broke so I had to take that to the store and I won't get another one until tomorrow. Also got locked out of my house when wind blew my door shut as I was moving groceries into the house. Had to walk in flip flops to my parents house to get keys to let myself back in. Nothing serious just annoying

sprouted grain bagel
vega wfo w.coconut water
tempeh bacon
dark chocolate peanut butter
Lentils & brown rice

hummus & veggies

possibly found out why Im having troubles with my heel. My tendon in my ankle is over stretched from having rolled it a couple of times and probably never letting it heal properly or rehabing it. I used to kickbox and do martial arts which are great for rolling ankles. So that is what I am going to attempt to do after this tri on sunday.

I just hope tomorrow and sunday go better than the rest of this week has been going.

Check out my interview!

so my athlete profile and interview on being a vegan athlete are up on veganbodybuilding.com! Here is a link if you want to check it out.

http://veganbodybuilding.com/?page=bio_stella

Didn't get enough sleep last night. Tired when I got up early to head out to the lake for an early swim. I was a little sore too although I think it if from the massage last night because It was an overall soreness not a specific area. Swam about a mile and a half but just to be in the open water, no watch and took breaks to do some tickle t snap!! I still feel gross swimming through the weeds and the shallow water. I do much better in the deeper water and I feel better on my way back than on my way out. Takes me awhile to get myself relaxed.

Did my usual bike commuting. Then I biked 3 x 1 mile repeats with 4 minutes of easy spinning between.
mile 1-3.24
mile 2 - 3.09
mile 3 - 3.30

tempeh bacon
vega wfo w/coconut water
dark chocolate peanut butter
sprouted grain bagel
grit tofu

 

hold your traffic please :)

crappy rainy day today but I had 5 mile bike time trial to get in so out in the rain me and stefan (bike) went. rode a 3 mile warmup and legs were a little sore. then hit it for 5 miles on flat terrain. took me 13.16 for 5.04 miles. Averaged 21 or 22 mph and maxed at 35mph.
mile time distance avg mph
1 00:02:57 1.00 20.2
2 00:02:55 1.00 20.5
3 00:02:25 1.00 24.7
4 00:02:50 1.00 21.1
5 00:02:33 1.00 23.5
6 00:00:05 0.04 28.3

Happy with it considering the conditions. I had to hit my brakes a few times because of traffic but just happy I got it done. relaxing 5 mile ride home just having fun riding in the rain. Rode through a construction zone and they held traffic for me to go through. That felt super kool. I wish they could have held the traffic for me on my time trial! Something about getting wet and dirty is just fun. I haven't had that much dirt in my hair since the tough mudder race.

50 burpees for time - 3:53 - i always seem to have burpees to do a day after pushups! That or back to back pullup days! Done whining cuz Im getting a pre-race massage tonight! The photo above is me with a little glaze after the burpee blitz.

potatoes
dark chocolate peanut butter
vega wfo w.coconut water
tofu, brown rice, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms
sprouted grain bagel


really not hungry today - maybe i will b later or tomorrow

pain time in crazyland

was just feeling crazy all day today, well until my swim workout tonight now Im too tired 2 b crazy. woke up and headed to the pool 2 swim but no lifeguard so I went 2 crossfit and hit cindy. wasn't really mentally prepared 4 it but did it anyway so I didn't waste the morning workout slot. Cindy is a 20 minute AMRAP of 5 pullups 10 pushups and 15 squats. I did 13 full rounds and 2 pullups of the 14th rounds before collapsing on the ground in the hysterical photo i've posted above. Yes I am wearing a swimsuit in it because I was supposed to be swimming and didn't have other clothes. I torn my hand open on the pullups AGAIN! Hope it heals up a it before race day. Got an extra round and pullup in since last time I did this. Work felt straining today which didn't help my overall mood.  Swim workout was 20x 100 on 30 seconds rest or pain time in crazyland. did 100 warmup and then 100 each of drills. I tried to center myself during these because I was just feeling scattered.
1- 1:44
2- 1:43
3-1:43
4-1:44
5- 1:45
6-1:46
7- 1:48
8- 1:45
9- 1:46
10-1:46 - wishing there was some kind of intermission or half time break but not so lucky
11- 1:48
12-1:48
13- 1:46 - starting to feel really bad about my swimming
14 1:48
15 1:46
16 1:47
17 1:45
18 1:45
19 1:41 - i have no idea where I pulled these last 2 out of!
20 1:40
I was hurting during the workout and just feeling bad about my swimming. Now that I am done Im sure it was just the pain telling me I can't swim. The pain likes to tell me I can't run or bike either but he is more convincing in water. Im going to have to drown him.

chocolate soymilk
sprouted grain bagel
vega wfo w/coconut water
dark chocolate peanut butter
Lentils & brown Rice &veggies
Gri Tofu
Potatoes & eggplant Dip

Relief...but its probably fake

7.12.10

Had time for an extra swim session this morning. did a warmup then my usual drill work shared a lane with my friend so i was swimming near someone to get more used to it.Then did some stroke count swimming. My friend let me practice drafting off of him for awhile. Then we did a few laps of full contact swimming where we swam right next to each other basically in contact the whole time. He was giving the bumping, pawing, pulling stuff that could go on during the race. I was able to maintain my line through it but I am sure it will be worse in the race. Today was a fun day in the pool. Tomorrows workout will be a pain day in the pool I can tell already! I'm still tired today I got to bed semi early last night but not early enough.Gotta correct that soon. Still taking the ibuprofen. It really makes me foot feel a lot better but I doubt it is a solution. 

Then did a crossfit workout of 3 rounds for time of 50 Wallballs - 14lb ball between 9 - 10 ft target - 20 pullups. time 21:50

Vegetable pizza - broccoli, carrots, red peppers, mushrooms, artichokes
Vega wfo w.coconut water
tofu, brown rice, broccoli, carrots, peppers, green beans, mushrooms.
dark chocolate peanut butter
lentils& brown rice
Steamed broccoli w/roasted red pepper baba ganoush

1 week 2 tri

 so this is how I wish I could wear my tri top.. more like a sports bra but with some storage! LOL!
7.11.10
ultra light on sleep AGAIN! :( but had a great time at the wedding. Hit some vega sport and a banana before heading out to train today. Didn't have the time or stomach for anything more. Started with an open water swim. went over a 1.5 miler but not quite a 2. It seems to take me awhile to settle myself into a pace in open water. I feel anxious or excited or nervous or something when I start. Maybe because I am not a fan of swimming in the shallow water with the plant life etc. Maybe because I haven't done much of it, I don't really know what my issue is. Takes awhile for me to feel comfortable breathing too. I always swim better on my way back than on my way out. Forgot my watch so I dont know how long it took and was chatting afterwards. Drove home and headed out for a 20 mile ride and 3.25 mile run. took 2:04 I did some hills and 1 really good climb. Went later in the day so I had some traffic issues. My lower back was tight towards the end of the bike and I've never had that before. It was a nutrition and hydration practice today so I worked on that too. I was hurting and tired for the run but I got through it. I didn't get sick from the gels but I thought I might for a bit. It was hot and I was sweating a ton but I tired to be really good with the water. Although I feel a little distoriented when Im done.  I was thinking it is 1 week to my first triathlon.Wondering what it is going to be like besides painful and fun . I know I am using this one as more of a training race than a real race for the learning curve etc. Its going to be an interesting week. Im probably going to drive Jay insane! I need to get back on a good diet and also catch up on some sleep. Still hitting some ibu as it does seem to be working. Although my legs are tired for the workout today, not recovered yet.

Sprouted grain bagel
Blueberries
Vega wfo w/coconut water

I won't b asking your permission today

7/10/10 - wanted to sleep in but my body is used to getting up early. Had a dinner to attend last night and was short on sleep. Also it was raining and crappy out so no biking today Did an 8 mile run instead.Took me an hour and twenty minutes. Then did an extra .29 as a cool down. It took me a mile or so to beat my heel into submission and the idea that we were going to be running. After the mile I finally started to loosen up a bit. The pain came back around mile 7 or so that is usually when my feet start to go numb too. I really think it is because they are so tight. my heel hurt when I was done and I would b at a wedding all day so I took some ibuprofen to help with the inflammation and pain Since I was only able 2 ice right after the run. It does seem to help. Food was off because of the wedding factor. didn't take in as much protein as I would have liked and I was kinda hungry throughout the day. I should have planned better.

"When anyone tells me I can't do anything...I'm just not listening anymore." - Florence Griffith-Joyner

Gel - 1 packet before I went out to run mostly because I was hungry but didn't want to take the time to eat. ALso wanted to see what it would b like as a pre workout thing.
Banana
blueberry pie
VEGA wfo /coconut water
Potato Pancakes w/applesauce
polenta w/mushroom ragout
fruit salad
salad
Penne w.marinara
cumin lime rice
black bean sweet potatoe enchiladas w/salsa
raspberry cake

7.9.10 - late night last night, but got up to swim. warmup - 100 then 100 each of 6 beat switch, catchup, fingertip then 30 minute time trial. - covered 61 laps. I  ended up being a bit over the 30 minutes.b I got into a easy sustainable pace and just kept going. I didn't feel like I was really pushing it at any point and now I am kinda disappointed that I didn't go for it more. I don't really know how to pace myself for this kinda of a swim. Maybe I was tired  from not enough sleep but I felt like I could have done more so I don't know why I didn't go harder.  I stopped after about 14 minutes to rip off my kinesio tape as it was mostly off anyway.any other breaks were quick to look at my watch. I wasn't tired when I got out of the pool and felt like I could have done more. I should have gone harder.





sprouted grain bagel
vega wfo w.coconut water
carmelized onion hummus
w.steamed broccoli&carrots
vega sport performance protein w. OJ & coconut water
vegan moussaka
blueberry pie

had a bachlorette party last night, rehearsal dinner tonight and wedding tomorrow so food is going to be a little off

somehow we'll make it cuz that's what we do!

7.8.10 - went to bed early again last night. much easier to get up this morning although I probably could have slept even longer if the alarm didn't go off. I might try to go to bed even earlier if possible when I get a chance. Have a party tonight so it isn't likely. it is hard to go to bed when it is still light outside and I'. crawling into bed like a little kid. I guess I just have to get used to it. Im sure it is better for me. Run 5.1 miles with 50 squats after each mile - time - 53 minutes - I took a hilly course because i wanted to get some hills in. When I started I felt like I was running with one good leg and one wooden leg with my heel. It eventually stretched out but it is an issue Im dealing with for sure. As Many Rounds as Possible in 20 minutes of 25 burpees 25 situps 25 back extensions 2 complete rounds and did the burpees and situps of the 3rd round. I really thought I would have gotten more rounds in. The burpees were rough after all of the pushups yesterday. I was still sore from those and it was a decent amount of burpees per round. got my fuel belt today. Tried it on and i like it although I didn't test it with water for a run yet. Will do that over the weekend.

Pain in my companion!

I was pretty tired getting up this morning even though I went to bed early. Probably catching up from not enough sleep over the holiday weekend. Yesterday's training had me a little sore and slow moving to start the day. Did a 3 mile warmup and then hit 8 rounds of 2 minutes on and 1 minute off on my bike. Went to my outside personal velodrome (ok it is really a loop around a school) I still don't feel right when turning right not sure if it is psychological or what at this point. Reversed the loop and did some with left turns before going back to the right hand turns laps again. Happy this was a workout I like to do because it was a sluggish morning. Covered 5.34 miles avg speed was 17.5 mph max of 21.3 on this flat surface. Did my bike commute today too.

On my lunch hour at work I did  - 3 rounds for time of 30 pushups, 75 squats.
time: 11:23
round 1 - 3.25
round 2 -3.58
round 3 - 3.58

chocolate soymilk
banana
vega wfo w/coconut water
vegan pizza
vega performance protein w.coconut water
dark chocolate peanut butter
Hummus w/pita

So I've been getting some commentary lately from people who think I need a rest day or that i've been overtraining. I'm sure they mean well but I really don't want to hear it. I find it amusing that people have no problem telling you, that you work out too much or your too strict with your diet etc. Why do they feel the need? I'll never understand that. Can you feel what I feel? Then how would you know? ok done venting and to bed early tonight hopefully! :)

prescription strength

started the day with a swim - warmup then 30 x 50 on 20 sec rest.  This was a tough workout. 20 seconds is only enough time to realize how much pain you are in. The time is take me to swim aa 50 it is almost  a tabata workout with the rest.
1 - 47
2 - 46
3 - 46
4 - 46
5 - 47
6 - 47
7 - 48
8 - 48
9 - 48
10 - 49
 11 - 49
12 - 48
13 - 50
14 - 49
15 - 51
16 - 46
17 - 49
18 - 51
19 - 48
20 - 48
21 - 51
22 - 50
23 - 50
24 - 51
25 - 50
26 - 50
27 - 50
28 - 53
29 - 52
30 - 48

Then it was time for "fran".  Not a fan of fran. But I am happy with my effort. I did it as rx'ed for the first time. No scaling of the weight and all pullups without assistance. I also started the weight from the ground. so anytime you put the weight down you have to clean it back for the thruster.
21-15-9
65lb Thrusters
Pullups (kipping)
Time: 9:51

My heel was really sore again today. Stretched, iced and applied Kinesio tape. I thought this was getting better but it's been sore again the last few days.

 Chocolate Soymilk
Banana
VEGA WFO w/coconut water
Tofu Teriyaki, Brown Rice, Broccoli, Carrots, Peppers, Green Beans
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
Romaine Salad
Vegan Pizza
VEGA Performance Protein

the streak is broken

Here I am at Harvey's lake getting an open water swim in. This is the lake I will be swimming in for the Wilkes-Barre Triathlon. Swam for about 38 minutes. I was told it was a mile and a half but I doubt that distance since I don't swim that fast. Still it was good to get out in the open water and working on my sighting. I did better this time than last time but I am still more comfortable in a pool than I am in open water. I actually don't mind the deep part of the lake I love swimming there. It is the shallow beachy area of the lake I don't like swimming in.  I just feel uncomfortable trying to swim in water I can stand up and run in.  I guess I have to get used to it. Hopefully all of the fireworks are over for me in my training  as I didn't have any accidents today! I also hope my neighbors used all of their fireworks up so I can get some sleep tonight!

the streak continues...

I've had a streak of bad luck this week and it continued today when I fell at the starting line of my 3 mile road race. Not sure exactly what happened. I looked down to start my watch when the gun went off and then poof I was looking at the ground very close up.. Skinned my knees but got right up and started running. My elbow hurts but I don't remember hitting that.  I've heard there were anywhere from 400- 700 people but I don't know for sure.  It was a bunch and it was chaotic. Had a decent race. took me 24:15. It was pretty hot out. I feel like I ran a steady race -  mile 1 - 7:49 mile 2 - 8:18 mile 3 - 8:17.  I didn't even feel like racing last night or this morning. I was so tired this morning I went back to bed twice before forcing myself to get up and get ready. I couldn't stomach any food, just feeling too nauseated and tired so I had a vega sport which is an energy drink mixed with coconut water. I think it helped.  I tried to stretch before and after the race but my heel is sore.

Swagger

Eventful ride this morning. Sooooooo happy I got it in because I needed it.  Spent awhile trying to get air in my tire. There is a different valve on it now and not sure what my issue was exactly just hope I don't have it again. I rode about 3 miles as a warmup - stopping every so often to check noises and things out on the bike. Then finally decided to just go for the ride it must be fine. Spent the first couple miles of my ride trying to figure out what was wrong with the bike. I just didn't feel comfortable on it. Today was a nutrition and hydration practice ride so it was time for my first gel and there must be kryptonite in this damn hammer gels because after my feeding it hit me what was wrong. It wasn't the bike it was me.  I'd lost my swagger! I wasn't riding the bike like I normally do, I was riding the bike like i was afraid of crashing again. I was being too cautious and ridiculous about it so I settled myself down and just got back into riding and feeling like part of the machine instead of seperated from it. I'm certain I will crash the bike again, it's part of the game. I've had my bike up to 48 mph downhill just this week, I'm not normally afraid of being on the bike I usually love it! I did fine with the nutrition. I set an alarm on my watch to go off everyone 20 minutes for the gel and about 10 minutes into that I would use a salt tab. Only had one incident where I dropped my water bottle on the road. I don't really like the placement of my second new water bottle but i don't really think there is anywhere else to put it on the bike so I better just get used to it. There isn't much clearance to get the bottle in and out quickly while riding. First time using it so maybe i will get used to it with more use. Had a few traffic issue towards the end of the ride that slowed me down a bit but not much i can do about that.  I finished the 30 mile ride and it was time for a gel but I decided to skip that and the salt because i only had to run a mile and i just didn't need it. not sure if that's the right decision or not. I like the transition with the yanks on my sneaks so much faster but as soon as I started running these new sneakers just feel weird like I am running on something. The feeling stayed for awhile. Of course my legs felt like crap when running. When I got done I did feel much better than I normally do. Normally I want to drink everything in sight and Im hungry except I don't feel like I could stomach food.  Today I wasn't dieing of thirst and I was able to start eating when I got home. Something I almost never do. I guess I really need to work on my drinking etc. when training. I just don't make myself do it until i feel i need it and its probably too late then.

swim 100s

Started the day with a swim workout. warmup then 8 times 100s on 4 minutes rest. went 1:40, 1:42, 1:38, 1:38, 1:38, 1:43 (pool got crowded and someone swimming in my lane kicked me in the face as I was coming off the wall behind them, didnt hurt but i swallowed some gross pool water ) 1:42, 1:42 - I felt a little hesitant swimming the last two because I was trying to pay attention to where the other swimmer was so we wouldn't crash again and I just felt unfocused doing that. I wasn't pushing it as hard as I should have so I am annoyed with myself on those last couple efforts. I feel like I should start swimming with someone in a lane when possible so i get used to space sharing and contact.


Got to pick up my bike today only damage was to the tire tube so that's good.  Got another water bottle added since i've been told 1 isn't enough water. Picked up my nutrition stuff for tomorrow. I'm going to try hammer gels and salt stick caps for nutrition and hydration practice ride/run tomorrow.







chocolate soymilk
tempeh bacon
vega wfo w/coconut water
dark chocolate peanut butter
tofu, broccoli & carrots
sprouted grain bagel
red beans and brown rice





:

merely a flesh wound

Started the day with Griff which is an 800 meter run forward followed by a 400 meter run backwards repeated twice.  I walked to the track and did a slow mile warmup. Time - 15.43.  Doing this wod made me think of my dad because I started running with him when I was very young.  Of course I was doing his warmup with him as he ran marathons but he would often run backward and offer encouragement. Doing that was harder than it looked!

Then I crashed on my bike commute today. I was coming down a hill and I made a right hand turn into a surprise! Some glass from an automobile accident and my bike just slide out from under me. In some miraculous fashion I was able to jump off the bike and land on my feet without every falling although the bike went skidding into the road. I was able to grab the bike before it got hit by any cars so I was lucky again. My leg is cut up probably from hitting the gears getting off the bike but i will take that over how bad it could have been. I was really lucky not to land in the glass or get hit by a car. I did something to the tire and not sure about the rest of the bike. The water bottle holder broke but that is nothing.Took it to the shop and hope to get it back tomorrow so I can do my workout on saturday with it.

Then did my backsquats wod but I was rushed because I had to get a ride there and back over my lunch hour.  Did ok, as the depth on the 145 was feeling comprised on the 4 and 5th rep. I would have liked to go higher but at least i got it done.
5x95
5x115
5x125
5x135
5x145

Hills 2 Climb

I started the day off with 66 laps in the pool. It wasn't a scheduled workout I just felt like I needed a good swim after yesterdays tough one.  I wasn't really going for time but I did time it and it took me 34 minutes.  I left the pool feeling fantastic which was nice.  I had a bike workout of 4:3 2:.30 1:3 2:.30 4 (on:off) and I took a new road and found nice hills to climb. I should have turned around about half way into the workout and started back but I kept finding another hill I wanted to get up. And I wanted to be working on the "on" and not going down a hill.   So I ended up riding the whole distance back easy and mostly downhill but it did have a few uphills which i didn't think about when doing the workout. Luckily it was a short one so I don't think it matter much. Again I felt really good riding and good afterwards. Just have good energy today! :) I registered for the Anthracite Triathlon on July 18th. It is relatively close to my house and it is an Olympic distance tri. I want to use this Tri as a dress rehearsal for the Wilkes-Barre Tri in August. I want it to be a good hard training race to get me more comfortable  in the wb tri. I've heard from numerous people that the Anthracite tri has a harder bike and run course then wb due to its hilly nature. Good news is it is a much smaller race participants wise.

So how many bottles do you think I need to hang from this fuel belt? Just wondering what one I should get. As always thanks!

are you tough enough?

 

This morning I def was not tough enough. The Swim with the tough enough tshirt on was tough.. The lifeguard was over 30 minutes late so I didn't have time for much of a warmup or drills. I did do a 150 to warmup. Then did a 500 time trial wearing this tshirt. It didn't go well at all I felt like the tshirt was really dragging me down. It took me 11:25 and was just not good swimming at all, mostly mentally I was checked out. I just did not like the feeling of the tshirt and I couldn't wait to get it off and I let it get to me. I didn't just deal with it.  My swimming technique isnt the greatest (understatement) and the drag was just making it worse. Frustrated with myself for sure. I did a 50 to cooldown without the tshirt so that I could feel normal swimming again. I most likely will go swim tomorrow morning just to feel better about swimming again. Since i had myself all jacked up I decided i needed to go and do jackie  "jackie is " - 1000m row  - 50 - 45lb Thrusters - 30 pullups time - 12:49 I needed this workout mentally after this crappy swim this morning. I'm feeling pretty good today. energy level high. Not really sore. I fairly certain that will change but it is nice to say occasionally.

Looking for recommendations on a hydration system? What works better the belt with the bottles or the camelbak hydrabackpack things?

banana
vega wfo w/coconut water
peanut butter
tempeh with veggies
tofu
roasted cauliflower

a preview from eclipse

6.28.10  - Everytime I wear my tri top I keep getting these cuts. I have no idea what from as there isnt any rough edges. I also used some bodyglide first this time to try to prevent it. I can't figure out why I am getting these. if anyone has an answer I'd love to know so people can stop asking my why I have vampire marks on my neck.

Overhead Squats
45x5
65x5
75x5
75x5
75x5

then shoulder stability work with a kettlebell trying to bring the bell back while lieing prone on the floor and actively stabilize and hold it using 20 and 25 lbs. If I could get better range in my surgical shoulder I know I could have more weight up on the OH squats. I stayed with 75 because every set there was a least one crappy one that I didn't count so until I could get them all good I don't want to push the weight until I know my shoulder can handle it. Thought about swimming this morning but I slept in so it didn't happen. My left inside ankle is a little sore and tight from yesterday but that is my only complaint.

13 mile run ... hang on a little bit longer.. running with the ramones!

Completed a 13 mile run today. This is the farthest I have run at one time yet. The last couple of miles were tough. I was rocking the ramones on the ipod to get me through it. I was having problems with my feet growing numb around mile 3 and that continued for the next 10 miles or so, then they just started to hurt.

So here I am now enjoying the ice soak, AKA Jay Swift Torture Treatment!!

I didnt take any water or anything with me. I lost 4 pounds of sweat. It took me 2:28 minutes. Im happy just to get through it. 

20amrap

got a sunburn today pretty much everywhere. My right inner thigh has been really sore since the DU/Overhead Squats. Not sure what is going on with it.  Did as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of 20 double unders 20 ABMAT situps 20 back extension. got 8 completed rounds and 20 double unders and 1 situps of the 9th round. Nothing hurts like whipping your fresh sunburn doing double unders.

vega wfo w.coconut water, mango, berries
tempeh sausage, tofu scramble w/spinach &  potatoes
Soba noodles w/tofu, avocados, peas & romaine
dark chocolate peanut butter
vega performance protein w. apple juice/water

25 mile bike

Rode 25 miles on my bike this morning.  time - 1:39:35.  Had some traffic issues but not too bad although some suicidal squirrel tried to off himself in my front tire. Course was mostly flat, a few hills but no major long climbs. The last 5 miles or so I was tired and ready to be done.  I thought my legs were mostly recovered this morning until I got on the bike. They were sore the whole way. the 13 mile run tomorrow is going to be interesting. Have an AMRAP to do later. Jay is racing this morning. Can't wait to hear how he does.

Recovering

6.25.10 - went to bed at a decent time last night and got some good sleep which my legs really needed. they are not 100 % today but they feel much better than yesterday. Its so hard to get to bed early but it really does help. I have to get improve on that aspect for sure.

Swim - 100 warmup + 300 of drills - 6 beat switch, catch up & finger tip drag

3 x 500 on 30 seconds rest
1 - 10:16
2 - 11:35 - i think I added up a extra couple of laps - bad counter - didn't want to end up short
3 - 10:37

 
"helen" 3 rounds for time of 400 meter row, 21 kettlebells swings at 35lbs, 12 pullups
time - 13:50

sprouted grain bagel
dark chocolate peanut butter
vega wfo w/coconut water
Tofu, brown rice, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms
Tofu Scramble with spinach
Tempeh Sausage
Sauteed Fingerling Potatoes 

now to work on recovery with the stick!  and get ready for the weekend workouts.

New Kicks

Picked up a pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 13s. They are lightweight and relatively flat (not much of a heel) but have some cushion compared to my inov8s. I also laced them up with yanks so I won't have to be tieing shoes in transition. Woke up with supersore legs this morning. Walked to my track, did 1 mile warmup and then 4 x 800s with about a 4:30 pace (thanks to the sore legs). 2 minutes between, mostly used for stretching as I wasn't really needing a recovery. Then walked back home. Getting showers here today so i didn't commute on my bike, my legs could use the rest anyway. deadlifts - legs were super sore going in so i wasn't expecting much. Pulled 135,155,175,195,205,215, failed 220, failed 215. Didn't push it even though I was a bit below my max becuase I was hurting going in. Really tired and sore afterwards. Stopped at my parents to use their jacuzzi. That helped for a bit. but legs are sore again. I hope to wake up tomorrow with fresh legs But i doubt it.

sprouted grain bagel
vega wfo w.coconut water
thai tofu with brown rice and veggies
dark chocolate peanut butter
double vega performance protein with apple juice mixed with water
grit tofu with roasted green and yellow beans
gingered broccoli
OJ

field of....

6.23.10 - Got a better amount of sleep night still tired getting up this morning. Took a little jog to the track and did 400 meters of walking lunges then did another jog home. My feet were sore just jogging. gotta try some new sneaks! then 5 x .85 mile hill climbs, recover on the descent. Alternate spinning up the hill in the saddle and standing. I had about 3 good climbs on the hill but there were semi-flat recovery section in the middle so i think I need to find a harder hill next time. My legs are feeling both of these workouts.

banana, mango, date, coconut water vega performance protein smoothie
tempeh bacon
vega wfo w/coconut water
tofu teriyaki, brown rice, veggies
dark chocolate peanut butter

vega wfo w/coconut water

Sprouted Grain Bagel

I picked up a pair of Mizuno Wave Rider 13. Hopefully my feet will not hurt as much now. taking them out for a test run tomorrow morning.

Over the Overhead Squat

went to bed way too late last night. Tired getting up this morning but dragged myself to the pool. Did my usual warmup of 100, then 300 worth of drills. Then swam a 1000 in 24:42.  wasn't really feeling that great swimming today.  maybe cuz I was tired.  Crossfit workday today was Nancy but I changed the 400 meter runs to rowing to save my feet a bit.  So 5 rounds of row 400 meters and 35 lb Overhead Squats. Time 13:35.  I can't believe I am going to say this but overhead squats were not that bad this time. I think I will go heavier on them next time. I was able to get through all of these without breaking any of the sets. Did my usual bike commuting. Ended up coming home in a rain storm. going to get some new sneakers and see if that helps my feet at all.

Banana, Mango Coconut water Vega performance protein
Tempeh Bacon
VEGA wfo w/coconut water
Tempeh & vegetables
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
Tofu Teriyaki, Vegetables, Brown Rice

The picture is of my new swim watch. It is the Timex Ironman Sleek 15 with tapscreen. I mostly use it for swimming and use my garmin for GPS and heart rate things. The Ironman is much easier to wear as an everyday watch because it fits much better than the clunky garmin. I have had a few issues with it when biking, if you bump it when riding or if you hit a pothole really hard it laps. I have to check if it has a lock function for the tapscreen so i can lock that out when needed.  

rest day

had a scheduled rest day today which I am taking. I don't really feel like I need it but I haven't taken one in awhile so I know it was a good idea to take one completely off. I did an hour of stretching and rolling to work on loosening my legs up. Got a quick 20 minute massage just working on my calves. I may get new sneakers to see if that helps with the trouble i am having with my feet. Slept in a little this morning. I am def ready to get back to doubles tomorrow! Going to a local running club meeting tonight.

Vegan Broccoli Pizza
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
vega wfo w.coconut water
buckwheat soba noodles with spinach and tofu

banana

cashews

Sloppy Tempeh & veggies

1st du done! :)

6.20.10 - Did my first duathlon today. It was really fun. I was nervous beforehand. Was only able to eat half a bagel this morning. Just didn't have an appetite. Rode my bike to the race for a warmup about 3 miles. Got there and had almost no room in the my transition area. I had to put my shoes under my bike and my helmet on my bars. Should have left earlier. Didn't have much time to get ready for the race. I did a little stretching through the athletes meeting. Then it was time to line up. It felt fantastic when we were sent out. People were really running the first leg. I think I may have done the first run a little faster than I should have. My heart rate monitor kept telling me I was above my desired zone but I wasn't feeling bad so I tried to hold back a little but not too much. I actually really liked the running course they had, which is good since I had to do it twice. When I got to the transition area I was so excited to get out on my bike I started leaving the transition area without my helmet on. On of the nice volunteers reminded me and he held my bike while I strapped it on. Then I was out on the bike and I was still feeling good although my heart rate was still higher than it was supposed to be. Maybe I was just excited with it all or maybe because it was so hot. I felt like I rode pretty well. Kept on it as much as possible. I was really thirsty on the bike but only took a couple of sips. The traffic control was really well done, thankfully. Some people from my gym were doing the race in teams so I had some cheers en route which was great! Got back to transition again and another disaster. First I was trying to run with my cleats on and that wasn't going so well. Didn't fall but didn't feel like I was making much progress either. Then my assigned bike spot was taken as well as all of the spots around. Another very nice volunteer guy came and took my bike from me so i could just keep moving. I was supposed to take a gel and head out on the run but I decided against it since it was so hot and I was feeling dehyrdated I just didnt feel like I could scarf it down. Also I knew I would get done right around the 2 hour mark so I didn't feel like I really needed it. I think I made the right decision because I didn't feel any need for it. I was taking water at the water stations, just a sip and then over the head went the rest of it. The legs were a little dead heading into the last run but not so bad that I couldn't keep moving. They came alive again after a mile or so. My feet were really starting to hurt probably running with bad form from fatigue. Wish I could have pushed it a little more on the last run. Finished in 2:05:24. When I got done I had some pneumonia lungs. Trying to talk to some friends that were there and I was feeling the pneumonia! I probably should have walked around after finishing to cooldown because I felt like when I did move if I moved too fast my legs would hurt. It was a weird feeling. If I moved slow they were fine if I moved fast they were unhappy with me. Weird? Waiting to see the results online to see what it all ended up looking like for me. Lots of things to work on and improve for sure but I did have a great time. I was pounding the water down after the race but didn't have real food for almost 6 hours later. just didn't have an appetite. When I say real food I mean solid food not smoothies or protein shakes etc. Not exactly sure why on that one. Doing ice soaks for my feet since they hurt, otherwise I feel ok.

pre race 1/2 bagel
post race 1/2 bagel
vega wfo w/coconut water
banana pineapple mango smoothie with coconut water and vega performance protein
2 slices of vegan broccoli pizza
dark chocolate peanut butter

warming up 4 race day

6.19.10

Slept ok last night, went to bed late but got up a little late too. Did an easy 20ish minutes on my bike. kept it mostly flat. Then walked to the track and did 4 x 200 meters on 30 seconds rest. took 43- 46 seconds. walked back home. Doing my ice soaking. Need to stretch and roll later. Also the hydration stuff, eating clean etc. Have to go to my nieces dance recital this afternoon so that will be hours and sitting and relaxing. going to try to keep in light today.

I dream of....

Got to bed on time last night and slept mostly well. I had a weird dream last night where I was racing in the duathlon and they made us take the wheels off our bikes to store them so when I got to my Transition area I couldn't get my wheels on my bike to start the bike portion. How weird.

Swimming - warmup 100, drills - 100 - 6 beat switch, 100 catch up, 100 finger tip. Didn't feel physically tired but swimming was difficult today. I just didn't get comfortable in the pool. Could be the little taper I am doing, sometimes I find I feel weak during that kind of time.
800 yds time trial - 16:33 - I didn't really feel all that great when doing this and expected my time to be horrible but I kept telling myself to just keep going. I was surprised when I saw the time. I expected it to be higher. I was focusing on taking nice long strokes and gliding more than I normally would. Maybe it helped or maybe I miscounted on my laps.

Bike Commuting and Did another hour worth of stretching today. I going to be using my rolling pin and golf ball and just going after it the next couple of day to try to lossen up a bit for the du on sunday. I went and picked up my packet tonight. I looked through it pretty quickly and there isn't any rules etc in there. Just a note that there is an athlete meeting at 7:15. I don't really like the timing chip I have it seems like a really old one. Ive never seen one like this before. I like the tshirts, they are cute with a bike with sneakers hanging from the handle bars.

have some things going on tonight and tomorrow so im not sure how the resting/sleeping thing is going to go but I am going to try to be good.

6.17.10 Still a little sore when I got up this morning. Did a mile warmup jog then focused on lower leg stretching as my legs are just so tight lately. I feel like I really need it to get worked out. I know that my inov8s are supposed to be better for my pose running and that my intention was to do this to keep my running injury free but honestly my feet hurt more than when I was wearing my orthotics and Brooks. Maybe need ART again? I'm going to keep going with it and hope it all works itself out. Also not sure about these running shorts I got. I like that they have the little key pocket but I swear the soccer shorts I normally run in are more comfortable because they are silky and just slide off of each other more than these really lightweight running shorts that just seem to roll up when you run. I know people laugh that I run in soccer shorts but I like them. If only they had the little key pocket!

Run 2 x 1 mile on 4 minute rest - did it on a track
mile 1 - 8:01 - felt good probably could have gone faster
mile 2 - 8:22 - felt good but I lost my focus from trying to move fast and have to refocus myself a couple of times.
1/2 mile cooldown jog

Since I did not have a double session today I took an hour to just stretch. Mostly focused on my legs, especially the lower but did everything. Hopefully my arms will not still be sore tomorrow.

Banana, Mango, Pineapple, Coconut water Vega Performance Protein
VEGA WFO w/coconut water
Tempeh salad w/peas, asain pear and wasabi dressing w/brown rice crackers
dark chocolate peanut butter
tempeh with tomatoes,onions, peppers, daiya chedder, black beans and corn chips
chocolate soymilk

swimming tomorrow morning then starting my hydration protocol for sundays race.
Did my usual bike commuting. Took my mountain bike out for a short store trip> it feels better now but i just enjoy riding my road bike more lately.

from 90 to a 100

well I didn't suceed in getting to bed early last night so I woke up pretty tired again today. But today is another day for me to get to bed early(ish).

I was pretty sore from the CF wod yesterday so I really needed the warmup 3 miles on the bike before hitting the main bike set. I did a bunch of 1 leggers to work on pulling up in my bike stoke. Then 6 rounds of 90 seconds on 90 second off. All out efforts.
Round 1 - .44
Round 2 - .46
Round 3 - .44
Round 4 - .43
Round 5 - .43
Round 6 - .44

Did a cooldown back to the house. It was stormy weather today so no commuting on my bike. Eager to take my mountain bike for a ride now that I have it back to see how it feels.

CF wod for today was 100 pushups, 100 situps, 100 squats for time. TIME : 11:35
pushups - my arms were sore to the touch today so I did 30 real pushups and the form (depth) started getting really bad really fast so I decided to take the ego hit and drop to my knees so that my chest was hitting the floor everytime and I was able to count the reps. Situps were done on a ABMAT. My tris are really sore from controlling the weight down from the jerks onto my chest yesterday. This was my last double workout day until after the duathlon I am racing in this weekend. I am still working out everyday but just a little taper to get some rest and recovery happening. Curious to see how I will make out in the DU. I know I will finish it but I don't really have a time goal. I would like to not crash on my bike and just have a solid effort and see where that puts me.

Banana, Mango, Pineapple, Coconut water, Vega Performance Protein
Tempeh Bacon
VEGA WFO w/coconut water
Grit Tofu
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
tofu scramble with broccoli
fingerling hashbrowns

bringing it all back home

went to bed too late last night. Woke up tired and felt like I was dragging myself to the pool. Totally fine once I got there.
swim - 100 warmup, 100 6 beat switch, 100 catchup, 100 fingertip then 15 x 50 yards on 20 seconds rest
1 - 48
2 - 48
3 - 47
4 - 45
5 - 48
6 - 48
7 - 48
8 - 48
9 - 48
10 - 47
11 - 48
12 - 48
13 - 48
14 - 47
15 - 46

Happy I was able to keep the times fairly consistent. Used my new watch and so far I really like it!

Bike commuting again today

5 rounds for time of 15 Split Jerks @ 65lbs and 5 pushups
time - 14:09
round 1 - 1:35
round 2 - 2.52
round 3 - 2.56
round 4 - 3.25
round 5 - 3.20
grip was killing me for this. arms were twitching afterward. Maybe I went too heavy on the weight but I made it through it.

banana
vegan pizza slice
dark chocolate peanut butter
vega wfo w/coconut water
tofu, brown rice, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms
Mango, Pineapple,Coconut water, VEGA performance protein
enthiopian lentils, coconut rice (small)

kinda tired today. hopefully to bed earlier tonight. I got my car back today! I also got my mountain bike back from the shop today.

bad day

finished yesterday eating with
Vegan Pizza - 2 slices
Salad
Mango, Pineapple, Orange, VEGA Protein

6.14.10
Slept pretty well last night. Swim - 100 warmup then drills 100 6 beat switch, 100 catchup, 100 finger tip, then swim 800 - timed it just to have an idea of how long it took me but I wasn't swimming for time. I was trying to focus on cutting down the number of stroke it takes me to get across the pool. Wasn't really successful. Still up in the 21 range. Time was 18:25. Good swim anyway.

Mango, Pineapple, Orange, Vega Protein
Banana
Tempeh Bacon
VEGA wfo w/coconut water
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
Grit Tofu
Vega Vibrancy Bar
Sprouted Grain Bagel

"eva" - felt tired going in and knew I was in trouble from round 1. My Eva is 5 rounds of row 800 meters, 30 Kettlebells swings @ 35lbs, 30 pullups. Time 54:19 including the time I spent getting gloves etc. I tore my hand on the second round of pullups so that really added to the fun of the rest of the workout. I attempted to wear gloves, then I wrapped it in a shirt, then i just dealt with it as my pullup count went to reps of 1! I also crashed on my bike this morning. Nothing too serious but my elbow is sore from the fall. I think my bike is ok but it moved my bike sensor around so I have to check and make sure it is going on. Tomorrow is going to have to be a better day than today! I got my new swim watch the timex ironman sleep 150 tap screen. so i'll try that out tomorrow morning in the pool.

Wilkes-Barre Duathlon Bike Course then 3 x 5:2

I slept 10 hours last night!! I haven't had the opportunity to do that in a long time so it felt nice. Legs were fatigued from yesterday's workouts before I even started this but I really want to get another ride in on the duathlon course before I race it next sunday. Did a 3 mile warmup then the 16 mile course. Not my effort as my legs were sore but happy I did it anyway. after the course I did 3 rounds of 5 minutes on 2 minutes off on my way back home. icing down my feet, they were not bad this morning but they would have hurt to run on. Trying to get them to the place where that isn't ever the case.

Carob Mint Sports Drink
Banana
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
Tofu, Brown Rice, Peas

extra swim

Had the time to get any extra swim in today. Did 100 warmup, 100 6 beat switch 100catchup, 100 finger trip drag and then worked on breathing and rotation. Didn't swim very fast or long but did laps with 6 strokes per breathe, 5, and 4. Also worked on mt left side breathing it isn't as fluid as my right side.

Grit tofu, Brown rice, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter

3 mile run, 15 mile bike, 5 mile run

wore my new tri top and shorts for this work out. Oddly I got about 4 small cuts on my chest from the zipper. I love the shorts. Ok with the shirt, its not as good as a sports bra but has more storage. The first three miles went well enough I notice my lower legs were tight. I stretched them before I went out. I just can't seem to loosen them up enough anymore. Transition onto the bike went well. Rode most of the Duathlon course I will be racing next weekend. I felt good on the bike until the last couple of miles. Fatigue or something was coming over me then. I couldn't wait to get off the bike. I had a little of a homemade sports drinks I made up while changing my gear. I know I shouldn't have needed it but I thought It might help how I was feeling. No Transition issues. So then I was off to my run. Legs felt crappy for the start. Then I settled into just keeping going. The toes on my right foot felt like they pressing into the top of my sneaker and that was annoying me the whole way. Never had that happen before. time - 2:28. Doing an ice soak for my feet now as they are sore. Have Kinesio tape on them since last night. Overall not feeling too bad. Considering hitting the pool this afternoon as I just feel like swimming today even though it isn't on the program.

sports drink
banana
vega wfo w.coconut water

swim 400s & leg destroyer wod

Swim - warmup 100, 100 6 beat switch, 100 catchup, 100 fingertip drills

4 x 400 meters on 30 seconds rest
1 - 8:43
2 - 8:45
3 - 8:50
4 - 8:53

I think I could have done these a little harder I wasn't sure how to pace because I wanted to make sure I could go the distance but I didn't really have a problem with that so next time I will go a little harder.

bike commuting 11 miles

for time - 100 step ups onto an 18 inch box, 75 box jumps @24 inches, 50 walking lunges, 25 squats time: 12:51

I considered doing the steps onto the 24inches box but it is a little high for my height but I think I could have done it. Maybe next time.

vega performance protein w/coconut water, peach, blueberries
dark chocolate peanut butter
tempeh bacon
vega wfo w.coconut water
cumin lime tofu
roasted yellow and green beans
orange juice
ethopian lentils
coconut brown rice

Got my tri top and tri shorts in the mail today I am going to test them out on my run bike run wod today. I am starting to believe that my feet are hurting from my lower legs just being so tight all the time! Must improve the flexibility. I also have to ice them as much as possible and kinesio tape when I can. I don't want them to be a limiting factor. I have been debating doing my first marathon this year. the steamtown marathon. It is very close to my house and from everyone I have every talked to about it a nice race. I know I can do a half marathon but can I do a full? Will the legs/feet hold up through that? I've been debating this in my own head all day.

Giants Despair & Bike Tabata

6.10.10 - 1 mile hill run at Giants Despair.
http://www.pahillclimb.org/Courses/Giants.htm
Didn't do much of a warmup because how can you remember prep yourself for the giant! I ran it in 15 minutes. It is a pretty serious hill with over a .25 at 22 % grade. Happy to get it done. Now I want to get better at it! My heart rate spiked all the way to 229 today while doing this! I am surprised because I didn't even know it went that high! I walked back down not wanting to put any pounding into my sore feet. I had my kinesio tape on and now I am in an ice bath. They don't feel too bad at least not yet. I was pretty tired afterwards, it was a slower than usual commute to work on my bike. Then Tabata bike intervals for 16 rounds. had minimal traffic interruption. Will try to do this as earlier in the morning next time.

banana, mango, blueberry, orange, vega performance protein
tempeh bacon
vega wfo w.coconut water
salad
cumin lime tofu
hummus w.steamed broccoli
dark chocolate peanut butter

Registered for a sprint tri today and an open water 1 mile swim race both in august. I want to put my race schedule up on my blog but i don't know how.

feeling better today

Im feeling better today. Got an extra swim in this morning. Did my usual warmup and drills. Then hit 6 x 25 meters and I think this is the fastest I have gone yet. Can't wait 2 get my new watch and get back to timing. Then practiced drafting off a friend. I feel like i keep my head up too much to watch where he was. Second workout was a 12 minute AMRAP of 10 Kettlebells Swings at 35lbs and 20 pushups. Got 6 full rounds done and 13 pushups in the 7th round. I should have gone heavier with the kettlebell. I thought I didn't want to go too heavy for a metcon but the reps were low so heavier would have been better.

Sprouted Grain BAgel w. earth balance
VEGA WFO w/coconut water
Tempeh BAcon
Tempeh Scallopini w/mushrooms
Banana
Chocolate Soymilk w/vega performance protein
Hummus w.steamed broccoli and carrots

Swim TT & CF total

got ready to swim this morning and my swimming watch broke. I saw a hairline crack on the face so water must have gotten into it. I did my usual warmup of 100, 100 6 beat switch, 100 catch up, 100 finger tip, 100. Then I was supposed to do a 9 minute time trial. I used the watch on the wall and it ended up being a 15 minute time trial. I ordered the Timex Ironman Sleek 150 lap tap screen watch. The tap screen is supposed to work in the water where I think it would be really useful instead of trying to hit the buttons on it. I also for my rode bike back, it feels fantastic again. I gave them my mountain bike to work on now. I did Crossfit total today and i was feeling the last couple days of workouts. legs are wasted from the back squats and lunges, lats are sore from 105 pullups yesterday but I did what I could. no PRs everything was lower. So I need to focus on recovering tonight. I have to get to bed early. I haven't in over a week.

Shoulder Press 80 failed at 85 1 attempt
Backsquat 175, moved 185 but didn't get deep enough. Ive moved 185/190 before.
Deadlift 205 fail 215 - 2 attempts i;ve had 230 before so i was well off the mark on this.

vega wfo w/coconut water
dark chocolate peanut butter
tofu, brown rice, broccoli, carrots, mushrooms
vega vibrnacy bar
vega performance protein w/ apple
sprouted grain bagel
tempeh scallopini w/mushrooms
sauteed spinach

Run/Lunge Wod & Erin

Really tired when I got up today just been busy and not getting enough sleep. Need to correct that this week. I dragged myself out to do a six mile run with 50 walking lunges after each mile. 6.13 total time of 1:06. Feet/legs were tight and sore before I started and even worse aftewards. I got them kinesio taped and they felt better. My roll of kinesio tape came in the mail today and I am going to learn how to use it soon as i have a hard time actually keeping this from peeling off my feet/legs. Also feel like my diet has suffered a bit the last couple of days. Just feeling nauseated a bit and haven't been eating as much as normal. Then "Erin" 5 rounds of 15 split cleans with 15 lbs dumbbells and 21 pullups. I definately could have gone heavier on the cleans. I started off with 20s but felt like they were going to slow me down so I went lighter. I wanted to make sure I had good control over the weights and one of the dumbbells didn't get instabile and pull my shoulder behind me. I also used a blue band for the pullups since there were so many of them. My grip was actually what was killing me as the wod went on and for awhile afterwards. erin took me 17:30 I did all of my commuting by bike again today. Took my road bike in to get it adjusted. Rode my mountain bike a bit and it feels funny i have gotten so accustomed to my road bike.

Banana
vega wfo w.coconut water
red beans & brown rice
vega vibrancy bar
spouted grain bagel w. earth balance
thai salad
thai tofu, veggies & brown rice

backsquats with a bike commute

Backsquats
5 x 95
5 x 105
5 x 115
5 x 125
5 x 135 reps 4 depth felt restricted rep 5 depth was questionable but i was by myself so no one to spot or watch.

commuted to and from the gym on my bike. kinda funny how the 3 mile ride took longer after the back squats.

sprouted grain bagel
vega wfo
Grit Tofu
Pizza w.roasted red peppers, artichokes and mushrooms
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter
Red Beans & Brown Rice

1st open water swim

Did my first open water swim in the lake I will be swimming the WB tri in. Had some help getting my wetsuit on which made it quick and easier. Swam over a mile. I noticed my surgical shoulder was a little achy in the water and on the car ride home. Not sure if this is because of the wetsuit. I noticed I was not getting my right elbow high coming out of the water (surgical side) when compared to my left elbow. The person i was swimming with confirmed that for me as well. My biggest issue when swimming today was trying to site. I was trying to follow my friend and thought I was swimming in a straight line right behind him but I would always end up of course. I'd recollect and start swimming at him again. I even lead a couple of times and still did the same thing. I definitely need to work on that and will try to lake swim as much as I can just to work on it. He even said to me well you would be fast if we could keep you swimming in a straight line. This lake is pretty murky so that doesn't help. My biggest issue when siteing is I feel like I need to pop my head up like a seal to really see where i am going. Of course everytime I do this it drops my butt down and costs me time. Im really glad I got this swim in. I didn't feel up to running my feet were still sore when I got up today. I've got them in the jay swift torture treatment right now, which is really just an ice bath but it sounds more accurate my way. I really love my new sports bikini, so glad I got it.