Jenn's 5K PR = 35:37!!!

Well I did my first 5K this morning and now have a personal record of 35 mins 37 sec!! My goal was 36 minutes so I'm totally psyched at how well I did!! The weather was crappy - overcast, chilly and drizzling - and I had just gotten off a 12 hour overnight shift, but I showed up at the race determined to do well. The race was the Jay Dix Challenge to Cure, a race put on by the Columbia Multisport Club to honor the memory of Dr Dix who was a triathlete and runner. All of the money goes to our local cancer center and we also got nice performance t-shirts (it's all about the swag!)

I decided to go with a strategy of running 5 minutes and walking 1 minute to avoid losing my steam. It worked really well and I actually had to force myself to stop between mile 1 and mile 2, but I'm glad I did. I think I would have really slowed down if I hadn't given myself those breaks. At about the 2 1/2 mile point, I felt a side stitch coming on but I was determined to keep going. I did some deep belly breathing, slowed it down a bit, then got past it. As I saw the finish chute, I did kick it up -definitely not a sprint - but I wanted to break 36 and the announcer was encouraging me to make it! I finished feeling good and knowing that I probably could have been a bit faster, but hey - there's lot of races out there and now I know how it's done.

The sad part is that there was a concurrent 10K going on with those runners doing two laps. I had barely got my chip off and grabbed my water when the first 10K finishers were coming in the chute. I remarked to a couple of young girls who were right about my pace the whole race, "You know we're slow when the 10K runners are on our ass!"

I'm happy though! I was slower than most but faster than some and in the end, it's all about challenging myself and feeling fabulous doing it! Next race to be determined, but I can definitely lower my time .... I'll be shooting for 11 minute miles!!

I RAN 2 MILES!!!!!

So I totally can't believe it - but I ran 2 whole miles .... NON STOP!!! On my running plan it called for a 2 mile run with no walking breaks and I was thinking to myself, "I'll just shoot for a mile and a half but if I have to walk, it's OK." Shockingly, I was able to run the whole thing!! Even more impressive? The run was after a one hour bike ride!! I had planned a brick and I decided that if I felt good, I was going to go for it. The first 3/4 mile my legs felt horrible, I was OK heart rate/exertion-wise, but my legs felt like they didn't belong to me. I kept up with it, and by the first mile it felt like any other run. Now, I must admit that it was REALLY, REALLY slow - about an 11 & 1/2 minute mile pace, but I was afraid I'd blow it if I went any faster. The big thing was that I was able to sustain a run that whole distance, and I didn't feel like dying at the end!! Maybe three miles isn't too far on the horizon??

This weekend I'm doing my first 5K, the Jay Dix Challenge to Cure which benefits our local cancer center. I'm not even going to attempt to run the whole thing, but hopefully with strategically planned walk breaks I can do it in 38 minutes (my real goal is 36 but I thought I'd pad so as not to be disappointed). Also, plan on sticking with my tri training and hitting the pool at least three times. But now that I've realized that I can conquer the running, which was what I was most afraid of at the beginning of this journey, I just have faith that the rest of it will come together!!!

An ultrarunner in the family

So here I am doing my training and just totally excited when I'm able to run a mile non-stop without needing a walk break. Then I talk to my Mom and she tells me how my cousin had a training run "to Chatham and back" which in Central Illinois topography is at least 20 miles. Of course he's on a different page than me - he's an ultrarunner. Now I think to myself, "Great! Nobody will ever be impressed with my measly sprint tri when we've got family members running freaking marathons!" Because let's be honest, I'm a chic and at times, it really is all about me.

But seriously, he completed his first major race, the McNaughton Park Trail runs, and I am so excited and proud! Check out his race report blog here. I do wonder if sometime waaaaay down the road a marathon or a half mary may be in my future? Either way, I don't think I'd ever ask for 30 miles of singletrack and hills!!

So congratulations Trav! You set the bar pretty high, but you also inspire! I look forward to seeing what your next accomplishment will be!

A Brick and a "real" bike

Today was a great training day with two firsts - my first bike ride outdoors and my first brick workout!

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I put some new slicks on my bike and got it into riding shape after freeing it from its hiding space in my garage. I just never got the chance to take it out until today which turned out to be perfect! The weather was nice and I was off work on-call so I had plenty of free time to hit the trail after waking up. I ended up riding about 35 minutes (6 miles) on Columbia's fabulous MKT trail and the new tires were awesome! Since it was my first time on a "real" bike in many years, I was playing with the gears and just getting used to the feel of it again. I'm a bit of a gear-idiot as my friend Mitch can attest to based on a sad and painful experience in South Dakota in 1999 when I completely lost it over my inability to climb some small, pathetic hills on the Centennial Trail. Then he noticed I was in my "granny gear" (I still don't know what the hell that means) but apparently I was in the worst possible gear for climbing so I was actually making the task damn near impossible. Honestly I haven't learned much since then because I pretty much chucked the whole idea of biking altogether based on that trip.

But anyway, today's ride was nice and it felt good. What didn't feel so good was my first brick (workout with a transition to running after the bike). I've read that it's a killer and they weren't kidding! I had to walk the first 3 minutes or so because my legs just felt so weird, I wasn't even sure if I could have coordinated a run had I wanted to. Then I just pushed myself into it and ran/walked for 2 miles. Towards the end I started feeling much better and I ran the last half-mile and still felt really strong at the end. I also tried my new DeSoto tri shorts for the first time today. My butt didn't hurt during the bike (probably a combo of the quick ride, the shorts, my saddle and some manipulations of my bike seat position) and during the run I didn't have any chafing plus I didn't feel like I was totally exposed the way I do in running shorts. All in all, I think they will be great for race day!!

Hello Denver!

I need to perform a shout out to my one loyal reader from Denver! I also appreciate his free bike maintenance advice over the phone, yes I am a clueless chic who is easily confused by tire valves - leave me alone!

He's a real bike rider - fancy carbon frame, bike clothes and all :) I will embarrass him now by posting a pic of him and his bike. I'm not sure of the exact model but I know it wasn't cheap. I can only dream of having such a sweet ride one day. Of course I need to spend some quality time in the saddle before I even deserve a new bike. And when the time comes I hope I can find a cute one, cause maybe if I look cool, people won't realize how slow I am.

Swimming - AAARRGH!

Why can't I swim? I love the water, it feels great, I can float around like a kid all day long ... but make me do a freestyle across a pool and forget about it. I can do the stroke, (I'm sure my form is a total nightmare but I can propel myself forward) but the breathing is killing me. If only I had gills because I just can't coordinate the putting my head to the side and breathing part that is unfortunately required to prevent death in the swim portion of the race.

To make myself feel better, I did some laps of breaststoke and back stroke, did a few drills I learned at my triathlon clinic, then forced myself to do four lengths (with rests between each of course) of my Jennstyle.

Of course I need to remind myself that I have been avoiding the pool like the plague so I have practically no experience with it. I need to remember that when I started running I could barely go a minute without feeling like I was going to puke and now I can run a half mile and feel good about it. I need to just keep practicing and hopefully there will be improvement. And the bright side, it's not like I can get any worse at it .... right?

So right here on my blog I will solemnly resolve to swim three times a week - no matter how pitiful it may be. I may never be a Summer Sanders (only chic swimmer I can think of) but maybe I can make it through my 700 meter swim without completely embarrassing myself.

Update on how the training is coming along

This past week was actually a great week for my training. I think that the triathlon clinic really helped me kick it up a notch! I've been loosely following a plan in the book Triathlon Training in Four Hours a Week to get started. I've been scheduling all of the recommended workouts in the book but generally doing more running since I'm still following the Couch to 5K plan (still stuck on week 5!) and hoping to complete a 5K soon. To break it all down ...

Running - I feel that I've made tremendous progress here! In my workouts I'm up to half-mile runs with 1/4 mile walk breaks for a total of 2 miles. I remember the first time I ran a half-mile, I felt like my side was going to explode and the effort required was ridiculous. Now I can do a half-mile and still feel pretty good with controlled breathing and though it's not necessarily a conversational feeling, I could talk in short sentences (or in my case sing along in short phrases to my ipod!) I tried the treadmill a few times but really hated it and felt my equilibrium was off when I was finished, so I'm sticking to the track. I've been out on the trail a few times and liked it, but it's hard to measure the distances I need and I hate running by time and constantly looking at my watch. My body has been feeling great - no aches or pains yet and my shoes seem to be doing the trick. I just am not built to wear running shorts but perhaps I'll make a separate entry for that one of these days.

Swimming - This is my weak spot and I should be flogged for it! I swam once this week but it was a recreational swim with my friend Kristin and her little girl Erin. The second planned swim, I went to the rec with my swim suit, goggles and cap in tow but there were no lanes available. I like to use the 25 meter lanes in the diving well and though the schedule said they were to be open, they were not. So instead there were four lanes open in the 50 meter pool but they were filled already. So I ran instead. This week - I am absolutely committed to swimming laps AT LEAST TWICE! I need to get over that feeling that I look like a fool and that everybody is staring at me. I felt that way the first few times I ran and I got over that, so I just need to (excuse the pun) take the plunge.

Biking- I've spent most of my bike time on the stationary one at the gym riding hill programs. Though it's not the same as outdoors, I can really tell the difference in my stamina and leg strength over the weeks. Last night I did 45 minutes of hills at a high cadence with a small amount of resistance (level 4 of 20) and really felt good the whole workout.

As for the "real" bike, I made some purchases yesterday. First of all, my ride is a 1997 Kona Lavadome mountain bike, the current 2006 version is pictured above and though components have changed over the years, it's basically the same bike. I got it on sale in spring of '98 at a bike shop in Pekin, IL and at the time I was going to become a great mountain biker ..... well that never happened! It hasn't been ridden a lot and has been kept indoors so is actually in good condition. My old roomie was an avid biker and she checked it out and even borrowed it for her boyfriend on at least one occasion. So anyway, I went to the bike shop and first of all got new tires - told them I was wanting tires for the pavement and tubes to match - also got a pump for the garage, and a little bag to go below my saddle. It took some work, but I did manage to change the tires out last night all by myself (much thanks to Chris Palmquist for showing us how to change out a flat at the triathlon clinic!) and get my wheels back on! It may seem small, but I'm not the most mechanically inclined and the old tires had never been off or stretched and they required much coaxing with the tire lever thingees. When it was all said and done it was dark, so I've yet to take her out. I do think I need to clean and oil my chain though since it's been sitting a LONG time so I think I'll swing by the bike shop and ask about that on my way to work. Anyway, this week I plan on getting out on the real bike and we'll see how that goes.

So that about sums up where we are training-wise. I'll fill ya in this weekend on how well I do at getting my butt in the pool!!

Fun Day at a Triathlon Clinic

I just got back from a women's triathlon clinic put on by Ultramax events and I am SO PSYCHED to continue training for my first race! There were approximately 25 women there of various ages and physical abilities all with the goal of completing their triathlons. The three coaches there were women affiliated with Joe Friel's Training Bible program and they were very enthusiastic ambassadors for the sport. The most impressive thing to me was that they have all completed Ironman distance events, all are married, and two have young children. When I heard them describing how they get their training in, including 4:30 a.m. rise times, quick runs whenever someone was around to watch the kids, and hours on the indoor bike trainer it quickly made me feel ashamed at my "I'm too tired" and "I don't have time" excuses. Let's face it , I work and that's about it. In theory, I have tons of time to train, hell I could be training 20 hours a week if I just got off my butt, turned off the TV and quit surfing the internet. This day really made me WANT to be a triathlete, made me crave the accomplishment of finishing a race, made me want to be a stronger woman. Now I just need to challenge that desire into consistent training!!

Another aspect of the day was the chance to see other people's nifty gear. I'm now coveting a road bike (will my '99 Kona mountain bike really get me through?) and fancy race clothes (I'd be so much faster in a cool pair of tri shorts) and kick ass athletic looking sunglasses. Of course, my budget is limited so I'll need to decide what I really need as opposed to want. Of course I did do twenty hours of overtime this week ... I was going to put it all on my credit card debt but maybe I can put $200 away in my "road bike" fund. Enough overtime shifts and maybe I can have a shiny new bike before my race in July. Think of how fast I'll be! I'll actually want to get on my bike! After tri season, I can train for charity bike rides - I could do good for humanity!! (If you haven't noticed I'm really good at this rationalization thing .. it's a forte of mine :)

Of course before I even worry about getting a bike, I need to start consistently training. So far I've run twice this week and completed one strength session (I hate lunges and squats!). Tomorrow I'm going to swim and bike so that way I can say I got all three sports in this week. Next week I need to really commit to my training plan and stop making excuses. I need to stop wasting the time and actually find the time. I finally believe that I can do it, and it's a pretty exciting feeling!