When we woke up this morning we did not expect it to be a monumental day. Yet that is what it has turned out to be.
Being the youngest can be tough at times; watching your older sibling do things that you yourself can not yet do. Some take this opportunity to indulge in self pity while others such as my daughter, it drives them towards excellence. A determination to achieve.
Ever since little girl realized she was tall enough to go down the water slide at the YMCA there has been a determination to learn how to swim so she could go down it. Whenever we would go to the Y she would practice and practice swimming, each time with her little booty sinking until she was merely treading water. Apparently being of healthy weight and build CAN have its disadvantages as the child has no fat to keep her buoyant.
Today started out much like the others, jumping into the big pool with the intent of practicing some more, merely biding time until she could take her swim class next month. Yet shortly into it I realized that something was different. She was kicking harder, looking stronger. I think she could feel it too. We started out short distances, pushing off the wall and swimming to me. Then gradually made those distances further and further until we realized she WAS doing it. Then we worked a bit on back stroke and the transition from front to back. A requirement for the YMCA youth swim test. Within minutes we knew she was ready. The moment had come. Very excitedly she went to the lifeguard and asked to take the swim test. With me still in the water she pushed off one end and swam and kicked. At the halfway point she rolled over with ease and made her last half doing kicking away on her back. SHE DID IT! She passed the swim test. She gave me the hugest hug and the biggest smile, then proudly walked to the life guard stand to get her name added to the book. The the bracelet around her wrist she made her way to the highly anticipated water slide where she went down three times in a row. Daddy was watching the last two times.
Can we say SUPER EXCITED?
I know one little girl who can.
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Showing posts with label swimming. Show all posts
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Taking My Pulse
One full week! This week has flown by.
I weighed in this morning and... will keep reading and I will tell you later in the post how much I have lost.
I love having my water consumption and exercise miles on my side bar. It is very rewarding seeing them add up. 576 ounces of water in one week. I bet this is more than a months worth maybe even two months worth previously. So this is a HUGE improvement.
I made it into the gym 4 out of the 7 days. My first day back in the pool I was wearing my kids goggles. I had a goal of half a mile and I made it. But was constantly adjusting the goggles. Last night I borrowed my nephews goggles and swam the first 10 lengths without stopping. A huge improvement on last year. And made my goal of 1/4 mile. Running and biking have been good too.
The food journal: I have tracked every morsel that has entered my mouth. And since I am writing it down I have been thinking twice about what I let enter. Earlier in the week I was having a hard time finding nutrition facts on some things . So I ordered the Biggest Loser calorie counter book. Since then I have found a GREAT site. My Daily Plate at http://www.thedailyplate.com/
You can track your weight, find your caloric needs, journal foods and find nutrition facts for just about everything. And it's free. It also has a exercise section for figuring out calories burned. I am going to stick to my written journal for now and occasionally enter a day in on the daily plate.
One thing I AM going to do is keep journaling. I read an article about the number one indicator of weight loss. It is not food or exercise it is whether or not you keep a food dairy. I know it is keeping me accountable. That and it is helping me to see what I am not getting. Like enough red or green vegetables. I am able to clearly see how much of each food group I have eaten and because of it my diet is more well rounded. Whatever it is I am doing it is working. I have lost 9 pounds this week. One or two of this may be clothing as I was wearing a thick fleece at initial weigh in. But this morning I used what I will wear each time so that it will be consistent.
Oh, for those of you wondering about my kids and how they are taking the change. They are doing fabulously. They are at such a fun age of understanding. They want to eat healthy. They want to eat their fruits and vegetables. They are always asking if something is healthy. Yesterday they made their own fruit smoothies and loved them.They declared that they need to eat them more often. Still little girl will ask when we get to goto Mc Donalds. And I tell her not until February. Maybe by February it will not even sound good to me.If this is the case I will let her go with grandma.
Thanks Wendy for encouraging me to put my totals on the sidebar, it was a great idea.
Happy and Healthy week to all of you.
I weighed in this morning and... will keep reading and I will tell you later in the post how much I have lost.
I love having my water consumption and exercise miles on my side bar. It is very rewarding seeing them add up. 576 ounces of water in one week. I bet this is more than a months worth maybe even two months worth previously. So this is a HUGE improvement.
I made it into the gym 4 out of the 7 days. My first day back in the pool I was wearing my kids goggles. I had a goal of half a mile and I made it. But was constantly adjusting the goggles. Last night I borrowed my nephews goggles and swam the first 10 lengths without stopping. A huge improvement on last year. And made my goal of 1/4 mile. Running and biking have been good too.
The food journal: I have tracked every morsel that has entered my mouth. And since I am writing it down I have been thinking twice about what I let enter. Earlier in the week I was having a hard time finding nutrition facts on some things . So I ordered the Biggest Loser calorie counter book. Since then I have found a GREAT site. My Daily Plate at http://www.thedailyplate.com/
You can track your weight, find your caloric needs, journal foods and find nutrition facts for just about everything. And it's free. It also has a exercise section for figuring out calories burned. I am going to stick to my written journal for now and occasionally enter a day in on the daily plate.
One thing I AM going to do is keep journaling. I read an article about the number one indicator of weight loss. It is not food or exercise it is whether or not you keep a food dairy. I know it is keeping me accountable. That and it is helping me to see what I am not getting. Like enough red or green vegetables. I am able to clearly see how much of each food group I have eaten and because of it my diet is more well rounded. Whatever it is I am doing it is working. I have lost 9 pounds this week. One or two of this may be clothing as I was wearing a thick fleece at initial weigh in. But this morning I used what I will wear each time so that it will be consistent.
Oh, for those of you wondering about my kids and how they are taking the change. They are doing fabulously. They are at such a fun age of understanding. They want to eat healthy. They want to eat their fruits and vegetables. They are always asking if something is healthy. Yesterday they made their own fruit smoothies and loved them.They declared that they need to eat them more often. Still little girl will ask when we get to goto Mc Donalds. And I tell her not until February. Maybe by February it will not even sound good to me.If this is the case I will let her go with grandma.
Thanks Wendy for encouraging me to put my totals on the sidebar, it was a great idea.
Happy and Healthy week to all of you.
Friday, December 28, 2007
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!
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!
Monday, May 21, 2007
The Weekend
Friday night I got a call from my good friend's mother. My friends husband had been hit by a SUV going 60mph while her husband was going around 20mph on his bicycle. Praise God he is alive and well. Banged up and bruised but in good spirits. He had surgery on his shoulder on Saturday. He is currently home and resting. Thank You Lord for your protective hand!
While up to the hospital visiting above friend, I got to meet my new nephew, Luke. See cute picture of him on previous post. He's adorable. Mom and baby are well. They have quite a birth story but I will let Mindy tell it on her blog in due time.
On Saturday we went to Fitness Fair at church and had a good time. I rappelled off the roof. The first few moments going over the edge were awkward but I made it safely back to the ground. No crazy jumping away from the wall for me. Nice gentle descent. I got a great massage ate some good food. The kids had fun on the inflatables. I raced both my boy and my friend in the bungee bean bag. Good times. Hubby spent the afternoon giving rides on his motorcycle. He got a kick out of the kids, one girl in particular who kept wanting to go faster. How fast can you really go in a church parking lot? If you did not attend this year, I highly recommend you go next year.
After the fitness fair we hit some caches. One that was a travel bug motel. Someone got there before us and took the TB I really wanted, but I still managed to get two that I will send out to meet their goals. We also found some small caches that are called micros. They were in matchstick containers. They were a bit tricky and took some time to find them but we found them. We are currently at 38 finds in the world of geocaching.
Sunday we went to church, where the message was on unity in the family. This has been a recent prayer focus for me. Unity in the church, unity in marriage and unity in families. Good stuff.
In the evening I headed over for a tri training time with fellow triathletes. I had predetermined I wanted to do a half tri consistently moving from one discipline to the next so I could work on transitions. What I did not take into consideration was the weather. It was 55, cloudy and windy. I did it anyway. With lifeguard approval I got in and swam within the perimeters of the swim area. IT WAS COLD! The coldness threw off my breathing making it easier to swim with my head out of the water. Not the norm for me but I finished the distance none the less. And moved right away to the bike. In setting up my transition zone I forgot to lay out my helmet. And I forgot to attach my front break when I put the tire back on. Oops. I quickly retrieved the helmet from the trunk and attached the brake after trying to brake the first time and realizing my mistake. The tire still seemed off so instead of doing the road course I adjusted the wheel and opted to ride 5 miles around the lake instead. Being wet and knowing the guys were going to pass me, I wanted to be where I could stop if needed. After riding 5 miles. I transitioned to my run. Running 1.5 miles, one time around the lake. It felt good and I pushed myself to finish. I ended it after 58 minutes of continuous movement. I was a bit cold but not traumatized. It made me that much more confident of the actual triathlon. It also made me desire weather conditions of 70 degrees and no wind for race day. Less than 2 weeks of training left.
Have a great day!
While up to the hospital visiting above friend, I got to meet my new nephew, Luke. See cute picture of him on previous post. He's adorable. Mom and baby are well. They have quite a birth story but I will let Mindy tell it on her blog in due time.
On Saturday we went to Fitness Fair at church and had a good time. I rappelled off the roof. The first few moments going over the edge were awkward but I made it safely back to the ground. No crazy jumping away from the wall for me. Nice gentle descent. I got a great massage ate some good food. The kids had fun on the inflatables. I raced both my boy and my friend in the bungee bean bag. Good times. Hubby spent the afternoon giving rides on his motorcycle. He got a kick out of the kids, one girl in particular who kept wanting to go faster. How fast can you really go in a church parking lot? If you did not attend this year, I highly recommend you go next year.
After the fitness fair we hit some caches. One that was a travel bug motel. Someone got there before us and took the TB I really wanted, but I still managed to get two that I will send out to meet their goals. We also found some small caches that are called micros. They were in matchstick containers. They were a bit tricky and took some time to find them but we found them. We are currently at 38 finds in the world of geocaching.
Sunday we went to church, where the message was on unity in the family. This has been a recent prayer focus for me. Unity in the church, unity in marriage and unity in families. Good stuff.
In the evening I headed over for a tri training time with fellow triathletes. I had predetermined I wanted to do a half tri consistently moving from one discipline to the next so I could work on transitions. What I did not take into consideration was the weather. It was 55, cloudy and windy. I did it anyway. With lifeguard approval I got in and swam within the perimeters of the swim area. IT WAS COLD! The coldness threw off my breathing making it easier to swim with my head out of the water. Not the norm for me but I finished the distance none the less. And moved right away to the bike. In setting up my transition zone I forgot to lay out my helmet. And I forgot to attach my front break when I put the tire back on. Oops. I quickly retrieved the helmet from the trunk and attached the brake after trying to brake the first time and realizing my mistake. The tire still seemed off so instead of doing the road course I adjusted the wheel and opted to ride 5 miles around the lake instead. Being wet and knowing the guys were going to pass me, I wanted to be where I could stop if needed. After riding 5 miles. I transitioned to my run. Running 1.5 miles, one time around the lake. It felt good and I pushed myself to finish. I ended it after 58 minutes of continuous movement. I was a bit cold but not traumatized. It made me that much more confident of the actual triathlon. It also made me desire weather conditions of 70 degrees and no wind for race day. Less than 2 weeks of training left.
Have a great day!
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Girl's Date And Other Stuff
The boy had a sleep over at his cousin's so after the housework was (mostly) done, little girl and I went on a date. We loaded up the bike and tag-along. Packed a lunch and headed out for one of our favorite parks. Before I left I got the coordinates for a couple caches within the park. The park has some nice bike trails making caching by bike a nice option for us. Little girl likes treasure hunting, she does not always enjoy hiking. We biked and found the two treasures. The one was the glitter cache and everything inside was glittery. Perfect for little girl and our girl's only date.
The weather was gorgeous (83 degrees) and the splash pad was open so we found our swimsuits in the gym bag. We had so much fun. I took a few pictures of the girl and she took some of me.
After we splashed around we decided to go down to the lake as the guard was on duty and people were in the water. I put on my swim cap and goggles and swam out to the buoy and back. This was a bit of an eye opener for me as I am SOOO used to the pool were you touch feet against the side of the pool every 25yds. I swam out and started heading back a bit disoriented from the break in my rhythm. I ended up touching down as soon as I could touch before continuing on. It made me realize this pool mentality I have. I think ifit would have been a straight live it would not have bothered me but turning around without touching down and breaking up my breathing threw me.
Today I went to the gym wanting to figure out how to fix it. I set the time for 15 minutes and swam it continuously WITHOUT TOUCHING THE WALL to turn around. I did it! I swam 600yds and only once (accidentally) touched the wall. I realized even in the midst of turning I need to keep my breathing pattern. HUGE difference. No longer concerned about the swim, still want another warm day to try it out.
I went with my parents to the grave sides and got pictures and GPS coordinates for them. I am in the midst of putting all the information together and plan to send it on to family members. Still need to do a few more that we did not make it to the other day.
My homeschool support group had an open house last night. I am amazed at how many families are a part of this group; over 200. And all the resources we have available to us. I signed up for Enrichment Day in the fall. They had openings for 8-9 more families and we were number 9 to sign up so I am hoping we DO get in. If they fill up for AM we do have PM as an option but most of my peer group is in the AM class. Hope to know soon.
The falcons did not hatch. It was an unsuccessful clutch. They may breed again and still have a late clutch this year. No hatchlings to watch. (Sad)
Plugging away at school. Vacation is coming up SOON. I am getting excited about the trip. I plan to convert my aunt and uncle into geocaching. Sounds like they are up for the challenge and excited about it too. We plan to take a few travel bugs along with us to move them along towards their goal. Miss Monkey will be seeing the National Zoo and The Bill will go to see the capital. Lots of fun to be had.
The weather was gorgeous (83 degrees) and the splash pad was open so we found our swimsuits in the gym bag. We had so much fun. I took a few pictures of the girl and she took some of me.
After we splashed around we decided to go down to the lake as the guard was on duty and people were in the water. I put on my swim cap and goggles and swam out to the buoy and back. This was a bit of an eye opener for me as I am SOOO used to the pool were you touch feet against the side of the pool every 25yds. I swam out and started heading back a bit disoriented from the break in my rhythm. I ended up touching down as soon as I could touch before continuing on. It made me realize this pool mentality I have. I think ifit would have been a straight live it would not have bothered me but turning around without touching down and breaking up my breathing threw me.
Today I went to the gym wanting to figure out how to fix it. I set the time for 15 minutes and swam it continuously WITHOUT TOUCHING THE WALL to turn around. I did it! I swam 600yds and only once (accidentally) touched the wall. I realized even in the midst of turning I need to keep my breathing pattern. HUGE difference. No longer concerned about the swim, still want another warm day to try it out.
I went with my parents to the grave sides and got pictures and GPS coordinates for them. I am in the midst of putting all the information together and plan to send it on to family members. Still need to do a few more that we did not make it to the other day.
My homeschool support group had an open house last night. I am amazed at how many families are a part of this group; over 200. And all the resources we have available to us. I signed up for Enrichment Day in the fall. They had openings for 8-9 more families and we were number 9 to sign up so I am hoping we DO get in. If they fill up for AM we do have PM as an option but most of my peer group is in the AM class. Hope to know soon.
The falcons did not hatch. It was an unsuccessful clutch. They may breed again and still have a late clutch this year. No hatchlings to watch. (Sad)
Plugging away at school. Vacation is coming up SOON. I am getting excited about the trip. I plan to convert my aunt and uncle into geocaching. Sounds like they are up for the challenge and excited about it too. We plan to take a few travel bugs along with us to move them along towards their goal. Miss Monkey will be seeing the National Zoo and The Bill will go to see the capital. Lots of fun to be had.
Monday, May 14, 2007
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.
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.
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Goggle Fog
I looked to Google to answer my questions on goggle fog and I found a few interesting results.
1. I could spit in them
2. I could put a drop of liquid dish soap on them
3. I could purchase some anti-fog lenses cleaner
I think I will try option 1 and 2 and if they fail I will look to option 3.
1. I could spit in them
2. I could put a drop of liquid dish soap on them
3. I could purchase some anti-fog lenses cleaner
I think I will try option 1 and 2 and if they fail I will look to option 3.
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.
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.
Tuesday, April 24, 2007
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.
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.
Friday, April 13, 2007
Swimming
I went to the pool today with the hopes to increase my forward crawl distance. Previously my furthest distances of all forward had been 200. I wanted to beat that today with the goal of completing 400yds. I had hoped to try and do all 400 without rolling over. AND I DID IT! I was so excited. The time was 9.24. My breathing has finally cooperated and was not an issue at all. I think I could have gone another 100. I did notice my arms tiring in the triceps. So starting today I am weight training in the arms and shoulders. I think this will help. Our swim instructor showed us some target areas to work. Hubby had the day off today so he showed me a good triceps routine. I may not be able to move them much tomorrow. We shall see.
I also rode the bike 5 miles; 18.25. I do believe this is my fastest time for 5 miles. I need to start adding more distance to my biking. At a four minute pace I should be able to get 10 miles done in 40 minutes. I think is my next goal.
I also rode the bike 5 miles; 18.25. I do believe this is my fastest time for 5 miles. I need to start adding more distance to my biking. At a four minute pace I should be able to get 10 miles done in 40 minutes. I think is my next goal.
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.
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.
Friday, March 16, 2007
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
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.
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.
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