Kids Olympics

With track and field debuting today, we headed over to our local track. Two other families joined us for our own Track and Field Olympics.
Stretching...

Little girl's long jump...

The boy's long jump...

DD with Discus

DS with Discus...

The boys 400 meter run...

The girl's 400 meter run...

High Jump...

Our Gold Medal Athletes...

Other events not pictured; shot put, javelin, relay hand offs and paper bag hurdles.
The sweetest moments for me were the girls cheering for their brothers and the boys cheering for their sisters during the 400 meter run. It was super cute.
We finished the morning with a picnic lunch and fellowship with friends. Good times.

Attention Southside

For those of you living on the South side of Lansing the following information may be of interest to you.

This Saturday, April 19, 2008 from 1-3pm at the Fire Station on the corner of Jolly and Pleasant Grove there will be a community meeting.

The topic of discussion? The Benjamin Davis Park Trail, Information and Design.

I don't know about you but health and fitness are one of my passions. So when I heard about the proposal for Benjamin Davis I was thrilled. Don't know what I'm talking about? Let me fill you in. There is a 4 part proposal to improve the park and connect 19 city and county parks to the river trail.

Phase 1
12ft shared use asphalt path around clear perimeter of Davis Park.

Phase 2
Reclaim rustic trail through Davis Park woodlot.

Phase 3
12ft shared use asphalt path connecting Davis Park with Southside Community Center (located within Harry Hill) and extensions north to Jolly rd and South to Miller.

Phase 4
12ft shared use trail along Consumers Energy Right of Way from Waverly to Aurelius. This will connect 5 neighborhood parks in south Lansing to the River Trail on Sycamore Creek near Jolly and Aurelius.

I am excited about these proposals as it would allow us access to many miles of running and biking paths. I plan on attending the meeting. I hope to see you there.

To RSVP or for more information contact: South Lansing Community Development Association at 374-5700 or email SLCDA@comcast.net

Why You May Want To Wait

to ride and/or walk on the River Trail.

We had so much fun watching people as they got near and decided what to do.
3 out of 6 continued on.

Wanted

I am in need of childcare for the evening of Thursday February 21st from about 6:45-9:00pm

The reason I am in need of childcare is because I really want to go see this. It is a one night only showing, I missed the one is January not realizing that they were running it for only one night. I am in need of some inspiration and if you watch the movie trailer, I think this movie will provide just that.

I am also in need of a person to go and see it with me. Any one want to join me? Anyone want to take my kids?

Food Analyze

No fast food, more water. To help me keep track of my water consumption, I added my yearly water consumption to the side bar. Check it out. It is just below my miles for swimming, biking and running. At the gym last night, I ran 1 mile and biked 5. Drinking 40 ounces while working out. This felt productive.
In the evening I decided to take a look at foods consumed for the day. I made a list of all the food. Then I figured out the calories; 1665. Then I looked at the sodium; 2925. I was a bit shocked by this. Daily average should be 2000 or less. If I got nearly 3000 while eating more healthy, I cringe at the thought of what it was a week ago. Probably double maybe even triple. Next, I checked protein; 58 grams. Right on track there. Last, I figured out the fiber; 32 grams of fiber. Yeah!
I will probably keep track of my food intake for the next week. While I may not do it to the degree I did last night, I think it is helpful to see what I am eating. An informed consumer is a smart consumer.
How about you? Do you keep track of what you eat and calories?

Friday's Fragments

Our Christmas was wonderful. Fast paced and full of chaos. About an hour into each family celebration it was obvious the grandparents were not used to having kids running around their homes. Let alone kids hyped up on sugar and Christmas excitement. Ah good times.

On Wednesday, DD went to one cousins house for an all girls sleepover; my poor brother barely survived. DS went to another cousins to sleepover. I had grand visions of cleaning the house from top to bottom. No kids. No hubby. My thoughts were to crank the radio and groove my way through the cleaning. So imagine my surprise when I walked in the house and hubby was parked in his favorite chair, curled up in a blanket, watching TV. Deflated. I grabbed an assembly project and by the time that was complete, all resolve to clean was gone. Without my music I just could not muster the motivation. (Sigh) Hubby was feeling better the next morning so I had two blissful hours of music magic. And the living room looks great.

Once I booted cleaning out the window on Wednesday night I made plans to join a girlfriend at the movies. We went to see Enchanted. Super sappy! Also very funny. Not sure if I am going to let the kids watch this one yet. The lady in front of us at the theater actually took a picture of her daughters horrified face when the evil stepmother was working her evil. There are a few scenes that I think I would rather the kids NOT see. However, since watching this movie I am sappily singing my way through each day. Dreaming of true love's kiss, of course.

My niece and nephew got a Wii for Christmas. When I first took my Wii fitness age, it said I was 80 years old. My niece took pity on me and helped me to the door. I returned yesterday and played bowling and dance dance revolution. We had so much fun. I got the new highest score and my nephew had to go again to try and beat it. Heehee. We are both currently B students when it comes to DDR.

Tracy, I am glad we were able to get together. So many times throughout the year I wanted to give you a hug. It was great to be able to do that last night. You crack me up. Praying 2008 is a fabulous year, complete with British accent.

After reading Wendy's post I decided to join her. Check out the sidebar to see the latest addition. The plan is to update miles as I swim, bike and run my way through the new year. Training has just begun for my next triathlon. Which will be in June. I will probably add a few 5K's and maybe a half marathon to the lineup as well. I would also LOVE to do a bike trip traveling across Michigan. Keeping track on the sidebar will hopefully motivate me to stay on track. Anyone care to join me?

God bless and have an awesome weekend!

Hike Bike Run Swim

How I chose to spend Mother's Day.

First the hike as we went out as a family and found 4 geocaches. Grandma came along for the last two.








In the evening I met up with some of the other athletes from the tri class at Hawk Island. This was the first time for many of them to even be at the park so it was a great way to view the course. We rode the bike route, they rode the full course. I cut 2 miles off and met back with the leaders just seconds before them. We rode the run route on our bikes before putting them up, the jog into the woods is very short, I had wondered about this. After securing our bikes we did one full lap around the lake (1.5miles) I ran it in 15.32, Which I was pleased with. I want to keep the run on race day under 35 so this pace was under that. One of the guys did his furthest run distances yet and we were all very proud of him. Actually I am proud of everyone. We were all curious about the water temp and since I had on my trisuit to try it out I said I would go in. J said he would if I did. He thought I meant put our toes in but no I meant in IN. We both did it. Initially it felt like ice water. Then it didn't seem that bad. I dove in and took a few strokes. Wishing I had my goggles J retrieved his from his bag and we both gave a go of swimming in the lake. First time breathing with your face in the cold it catches you. But not terrible. The water is MUCH clearer than I anticipated. I am so thankful I got in and did it. I now know I have nothing to fear about the water temp on race day. We were in for 8-10 minutes which will be the length on time it will take to swim the distance. Not even a slight sign of hypothermia or concern so I say it's a go. No wetsuit. The lifeguard said they had not yet taken a reading on the water temp so he was not certain of the actual temp. I may take a thermometer back today and see what it is now. It is only going to warmer, expected low 70's for race day.

That is how I chose to spend my day. Family and friends. Geocaching and training. Call me crazy but it was an awesome day.

Evening at the Y

When I first arrived at the YMCA, I was planning on a workout and then possibly a family swim with the kids. It was 5:15 when I checked them into Totwatch. Each day I am allotted one and a half hours of childcare for each of my children. Sweet!
I headed for the pool and was happy to see I had a lane all to myself. I am willing to share, aI really do not mind sharing but I was thankful I would have one to myself. From the starting gate I swam a 400, then rested a few minutes and swam 100. I wanted to go further on this one but was having fogging issues and in my right eye there was just enough water that every time I turned my head to breathe my eye was baptized. So I rested for a minute, fixed the goggle and went out on another 400. It felt really good to be doing the distance. By the last 100 my goggles were so fogged I could barely see shadows. I could not see any sort of time on my watch. I have got to do some Google searches and see what can be done for the fog.
After my swim I headed upstairs for a run. While changing over to my workout closes I downed some Sports Beans. Love them! I also found them for 96 cents at Wal-Mart. Orange flavor or fruit punch, equally delicious.
I hit my run with the determination to get in a mile at a decent pace. I ran it in 8.56; 6 seconds off my fastest time. It felt really good. Not sure how much of it is getting necessary energy from the beans but I actually felt like I had some energy.
After the run I hit the weights. Doing upper body. At this time I had about 10 minutes left to pick up the kids so I headed down to get them.
Little girl wanted to climb in the Kid Gym, which she did for a couple minutes. Then the boy and I climbed the wall a few times each. Last night I tried something I had never done before on the wall. I climbed up as normal then I CLIMBED back down, ironically enough they call it down climbing. My fingers felt really tight after that. For my second climb I was going to do a speed climb up course one but opted for course two which I did in 57 seconds.
Since I had promised little girl we would swim, we did. A nice leisurely swim with the kids. I tried to keep it short because at this point we had been there quite awhile. So I set the timer for 15 minutes. When the timer went off, I let the boy go down the water slide two more times then we were out of the pool. We raced to see who would get dressed first, DS won.
By the time we walked out the front doors it was 7:45. And well past time for dinner. Good thing becuase I had worked up an appetite.

Half Tri

Tonight was a good workout!
I went into it with the desire to complete a half tri. 200yd swim, 5 mile bike and 1.5 mile run.
I completed the swim in 4.22
Transitioned into bike/run clothes and headed upstairs. Transition time 4.02
Biked the 5 miles in 19.16
Transition from bike to run 47 seconds
Ran the 1.5 miles in 15.53
For a total time of 44.21
WooHoo!!!

The last time I did a half tri workout was 3/21/07 and my time then was 46.45. On that day my bike was faster at 17.42. I am wondering if I did it then at level 1 or if I was that much faster. Everything else I improved on. Dropping 10 seconds off the swim, 42 seconds off of transition 1, 2 seconds off of transition 2 and 3 minutes and 6 seconds off of the run.

10 Mile Mark

I guess this is the week of break through. I got to the YMCA this morning and there was only the recumbent bike available. So I determined ahead of time that I wanted to make 10 miles. I began to pedal and 36 minutes and 9 seconds later I had made it the distance. I am wondering if my legs are more efficient on the recumbent or if I was peddling faster than normal. The splits were much faster than I had anticipated. This is a good thing. I am still left wondering how it will be when I get out on MY bike. Hopefully the weather will begin to warm and the sun will begin to shine and the wind will die down. So I can get outside to ride.

Since I have been having success with goal setting this week, my next goal is to run 3 miles.
I have been doing more training on the elliptical this last month as my shins were beginning to hurt if I went over a mile running. Super stretching and pushing through any pain will have to come into play if I am going to make this three mile mark. That and pure determination.

My other goal is to do another half triathlon for one of my training times this week. Taking all the distances for the race I will be doing and halving all of them. Meaning 200yd swim, 5 mile bike and 1.5 mile run. Continuous with minimal transition time between each. Transition times are tricky at the YMCA going from a swim to a bike. It is not like outside where you wear the same suit for all three events. I actually need to dry off and completely change before going on to the bike. And I know they would frown on me wearing my wet suit upstairs in the work out room. My fastest turn around for YMCA swim to bike is about 5 minutes. What are you going to do?

On the last triathlon class one of the members said something I had never thought about before, "The truly serious elite athletes will not waste time stopping to go to the bathroom, they simply wet themselves as they ride or run." Ew, it made me think, how many will relieve themselves in the water before I swim through? I hope I don't drink any of the water.

Last Tri Class

Apparently I have not posted much about my training in the last month. Oops. I have been training 5-6 days a week, going between the three disciplines of swimming, biking and running. When I started about three months ago, it was all a struggle. I could go one length of the pool doing a forward stroke. Then I would either stop or roll over. My first day of the triathlon class you can read about here. It was hard. I remember feeling short of breath and having to sit down at various parts of the biking.
On Tuesday we had our last swim class. We worked on sprints. 10 sprints with 10 seconds recovery. I never knew 1o seconds could go so fast. The we worked on counting our strokes to see how many strokes it took to go one length. Then we tried to reduce the number of strokes we used. I need to work on my efficiency. After seven weeks I can go a continuous 200 yds or 8 lengths. A huge improvement from my starting 1 length. I am going to test this today and see if we can go further the the 200, which I believe I can.
Last night, it was the last class for the bike/run portion of the class. I am pretty sure she used the same sound track as the first time we did the class. Which means the workout was the same or very similar. It was a great gauge to see how far I have come in the biking. For the last three weeks I was able to complete the routine without scaling back or sitting down. I noticed my breathing was easier and more even then the starting day. Woohoo!
On the first night of running we ran a base mile. My time was then 11.29. Eleven minutes and 29 seconds. Last night we ran the mile again to see how much we had improved. I ran it in 8.50. Eight minutes and 50 seconds. I dropped 2 and a half minutes off my time. Yippee! I had the most improved time in class. Woohoo!

For the next six weeks I will continue my training on my own. Balancing the three disciplines and pushing myself to do better and worker harder. I am excited when I think of the possibilities. I know I can do it. I believe I will be successful in completing this triathlon. How hard I work in the coming weeks will determine the times.
My goals are to swim the 400 completely forward stroke in a time under 10 minutes. To bike the 10 miles in 45 minutes. To run the 5K in 35 minutes, preferably all running. That would make the total tri time 1 hour and 30 minutes. The elite athletes and winners of the race will probably finish in under an hour. I will be ecstatic to finish and finish well, for me.

Updated: I forgot about transition times in the above goals. Since I have no idea what to expect and how long it will take me to go from one to the other I will add 5 minutes to my total goal time making it 1 hour, 35 minutes.

Pyramids

Tri class last night started with our 30 minute or so bike ride on the spin bikes. I am not sure if it was an easier workout last night or if it is getting easier but it did not seem to bad last night. Now don't get me wrong, it was still hard, it just did not feel like I was riding to save my life only to find out I am still being chased.
The run started out with the 5 minute warm-up as usual. Intentional focus on form as we transition from bike to run. Interesting on how your body responds to the transition. The calves just love it. After a few laps it is usually worked out and the body is ready to run.
The drill we used last night was called a pyramid. Run 2 laps walk a lap, run 4 walk a lap, run 8 walk a lap. then back down, run 4 walk a lap, run 2 walk a lap. Running 1.5 miles in all. The idea is to run at about 80%, recovering with a walking lap then increasing your volume. Thus increasing your endurance and stamina. I really pushed it, running some of my fastest laps. I broke my 30 second lap. Yippee. But the thing that I really was in awe about, the time. Comparing it to the lap times from the previous day when I ran the two mile The total time for the 25 times around the track was 3 seconds less then when I ran continuously. My pace was that much faster, that even though there was 5 laps of walking it was still a faster time. I went over it and over it, did lap averages and it is true. Remarkable.
So with a successful night on the track I decided to take pyramids to the pool today. 1 length rest, 2 lengths rest, 3 lengths rest, 4 lengths rest, then back down 3, 2, 1 with a recovery rest in between each. It was great! The 4 was a real challenge and I ended up rolling over to the back on the 4th length but that was the only time I rolled. With both my warm up and cool down I did 475 of the 500 with the front crawl. Of course I realize this was with recovery rests but this is still huge for me. I really liked how the pyramid challenges me to push it.
I am so thankful I am taking this class. I am learning a ton.

Mission Accomplished

My dear brother called me this morning and asked if he could take my kids for a couple hours. Are you serious, of course you can! With a couple hours on my hands I finished up some emails and stuff around the house, then hit the gym. I was determined to run my 2 miles. I started with my warm-up laps, then stretched. Right before I hit the track a few things were going through my mind.
-Did I drink enough water to get me through?
-2 miles huh?
-That makes 28 times around this thing.
-Boy I hope I don't get side stitches today!
-Breathe, remember to breathe.
-Don't push it too hard.
-Remember your form
-2 miles huh?
I set the stop watch took one last swig of water and off I went. At first I had in my mind 28 laps. And I began to feel overwhelmed by the number. So I told myself 2 laps, do 2 laps and that's what I did. Then I would do 1 lap and say do it again. Until before I knew it I was at 1/2 a mile, a quarter of the way. Around and around and around I went until I was at 1.5 miles. I noticed my breathing was pretty relaxed and I still had quite a bit of energy so I decided to pick it up just a bit. Lap 26 I decided let's finish this thing strong. So I picked it up some more. Then last lap I pushed it doing the lap in 35.17 making it my fastest lap of the run. WooHoo 2 miles in 21.21. I did it. And I felt great. And I have hope for the next goal, 2.5. I finally made it past that mental barrier. One down, many more to overcome. Yet with each victory it brings this joy and hope.
Oh, just in case you were wondering, I did not find myself thirsty during the run itself. I did however chug down about 20 oz shortly after. :)


Note: Thanks for all the encouragement I have received in this training process! And Kili normally I would take my kids to the totwatch provided by the YMCA at no extra charge. Then we do some physical activity together, making it fun for them too.

The 500

Tri class, taking discipline to the next level. Hopping in the pool I noticed the comradery that has developed between all of us triathletes. General encouragement. Training progress. Life in general. Difficulties experienced. It's great. We are all doing triathlon for different reasons. Yet we have a common goal. To finish a sprint triathlon. Not necessarily be the first to finish, most of us will be simply ecstatic to finish.
In the pool, the instructors tell us to do a 75 warm-up (3 lengths) which we do. At this point I think this is the farthest continuous swim I had done. We get to the other end completing the 75 and with impish grins they advise we stretch GOOD. The look in their eyes told me we were in for it. Then their little plan was told. Swim a timed 500, continuous. 20 lengths of the pool. Excuse me, come again. Yikes. To say I felt a bit intimidated would be speaking the truth. That's what I do, speak truth. Then they decided to have mercy on us and allow us to switch strokes as necessary. Meaning I could use my beloved back stroke. Setting off I wanted to use the front crawl for as much of the 500 as I possibly could manage. Lengths turned into laps and so it continued for many laps. We all lost count of how many we had done, including the instructors. I knew that the fastest guy in my lane had lapped me once, so I figured once he stops I have one lap to go. He finished and I did 50 more. Then I finished. Repeat I finished....yeah! Everyone cheered each other on and congratulated each other on a finish. My time was 12:40. I seriously think we did 50 more yards than were needed. Because for most of it I had been counting then I lost track. So worst case I did 550 yards.
The triathlon length will be 400 meters. So now I know I can do the length. This exercise pushed be beyond my own expectations. It is time to up my performance and training in the pool. I now know I CAN DO 100's. And I can do a continuous 500, perhaps not all front, but my goal is to do all front for the triathlon. I have a feeling many more 500's will be in my near future. Each one doing one less lap of back stroke than the previous.
After my swim I went to the track and got in a one mile run. Nothing fabulous but I got a feeling of the energy that will be required to complete the whole triathlon. Time to improve my nutrition. I have slacked the last two weeks. Ferocious appetite I tell you. I know I need the calories and the food, now I need to make the most of that intake.
Today, I intend to conquer my two mile run, yet to be accomplished. I know I will feel triumphant to get it done.

Ecstatic

After taking a look at my splits for the mile and a half I was encouraged and challenged that I can improve. I was talking to my Dad who figured out the math of what my splits needed to be to bring my mile under 10 minutes. 42 seconds per lap on my YMCA track, which is 14 laps to the mile. Last night my times were averaging around 52 seconds and I had only one lap that was under the time of 42 seconds. It was my last lap at 36 seconds. I really pushed myself to finish strong.
So tonight with my handy new watch, I hit the track, ready to pick up the pace. My first lap I ran in 35 seconds, interesting.
Lap 2, 36.38
Lap 3, 39.89
Lap 4, 40.51
I was noticing the trend of slowing down. Yet I also knew that I was in this for the whole mile and my times were still under the 42 second goal.
Lap 5, 42.08
Lap 6, 43.71
Lap 7, 43.29
Half way there and my total time was at 4 minutes and 40 seconds. I checked again to make sure. Did this mean I might actually break the 10 minute mark? If I kept up the pace, yes!
Lap 8, 42.82
Lap 9, 42.41
Lap10, 42.57
Lap 11, 42.41
Lap12, 41.02
All those times were at or under my goal...I was beginning to get excited at the reality. I knew I still had some energy and wanted to finish the last two laps strong so I tried picking it up a bit.
Lap13, 39.36
Lap 14, 37.54
Total time 9 minutes and 29 seconds!
I had dropped TWO WHOLE MINUTES off my time. WOOHOO!!!!!! Definitely out of breathe but doing a little dance. Oh, did I forget to mention? I did this after a butt-kicking workout in the pool.
My next goal is to run 2 miles. I will let you know when and if this is accomplished.
On Thursday we will work on form. I look forward to learning what I can do to improve. The better the form the easier the run. The easier the run, the farther I can go. The farther I can go...