New Shoes

So it's time for me to start studying for the bar and re-learning all the things I've forgotten from the first year of law school, which means I suddenly have the urge to run random errands and update my blog. Weird.

Since the impromptu triathlon I have been running pretty regularly when the weather hasn't been literally insane, and I have been riding my bike to St. Paul every day for bar review courses. But after running the past couple weeks I've noticed that my heels have been hurting after running. I know that means I need new running shoes, but it's so hard for me to justify buying new shoes when the old ones still LOOK so nice!

After a bit of online research and emailing myself a 20% off coupon for Famous Footwear, I headed out to one of those suburban strip malls to do an afternoon of errands. Two hours later, I'm back in the car with some sweet kicks: 

I stuck with Asics, because I've had such great luck with them in the past. But this time, I made some big-boy moves and bought actual full-on, all-the-way running shoes (the Gel-Nimbus 12) priced at $189 at the Running Room. Luckily, my bargain alert was on high today, and with my coupon, plus an additional discount for Memorial Day, I scored these shoes for $99. BOOM.

I'll post a review later, because I'm about to leave for my first run around Lake Calhoun in the new shoes.

Bicycling Barristers

The above map is an approximate route of the bike ride I'm going to be doing every day this summer, twice a day, to my bar review course. The starting point is not at my apartment, just in case any of you stalkers out there were attempting to figure out my exact location. The ride is 8.5 miles each way and an estimated hour and a half commute roundtrip. I. AM. SO. EXCITED. I can't wait to start riding my bike again and really getting in some longer rides in the warm weather.

Even better, Erin lives near the Greenway, albeit a little further down the trail, and she plans on meeting up with me along the trail and finishing the ride together. I'm calling us the Bicycling Barristers. Maybe I'll even make t shirts. Studying for the bar 8 hours a day and still dealing with the additional pressure of not having a job has dampened the joy I typically experience in looking forward to the summer, but my daily bicycle ride is definitely something I can't wait for!

The Final Countdown

The triathlon is tomorrow! I was emailed final instructions for checking in and registration along with some mildly complicated directions about each leg of the race. My new fear is that I will somehow go off course and be disqualified.

The past two days have flown by with my number one fan in town. She showed up on Thursday night ready with a cowbell and a big sign. I think I am going to have the loudest cheering section at this triathlon! I woke up early this morning and went on a 50 minute bicycle ride. The lakes were completely covered in fog and the early morning mist made the ride seem vaguely eerie. But my legs felt good, and I think Golden Eagle Jr. is ready for the race tomorrow! I removed my pannier rack last night and my headlight in order to streamline Golden Eagle Jr. in any way possible. I may not have the fanciest bicycle out there, but at least I won't be a complete embarrassment to the sport of cycling.

Today's activities consist of some outdoor yoga at Lake Calhoun for one final big stretch before the race, and then heading over to Lake Phalen to scout out the course. I started packing my race bag last night, and I am SO EXCITED for tomorrow morning.

The Road to Recovery

All you readers out there have probably been anxiously awaiting my blog posts and concerned with the lack thereof. Sadly, your favorite triathlete was stricken with a bout of strep throat earlier this week and has been out of commission since Tuesday.

Being unable to maintain my training regiment has been very disappointing over this week, but the good news is that I am nearly 100% again and ready for action. Yesterday, I did one of my favorite bicycle rides to Hopkins with Erin. We took our time to enjoy the beautiful weather, and it was a good way to get back into the swing of things without going overboard the first day. If things go well today (meaning I leave the office at a regular time), then expect a post about my first lake swim very shortly!

Me: "I got mosquito bites last night on my bike ride." My boss: "You weren't moving fast enough."

Bike ride, schmike ride, my bicycling skillz are off the chain. Two recent bike stories for all you loyal readers:

After working 12 hours at the office on Monday, yes I said 12, I went on a long bike ride to work out some of aggression and manic feelings that had built up after sitting at my desk for so long. I did my typical ride to Hopkins, MN, home of beloved Cargill, and then looped back into the city via the Greenway. On the way home, I decided to do a bit more, and circled Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet before heading back to my apartment. Of course, once I reached my apartment, I ran into the infamous Larry, whose car btw, is no longer abandoned on the side of the street. I'm secretly dying to ask him about the engine fire, but don't care enough to get into a 20 minute discussion on why cars from the '80s randomly implode. Whenever I see Larry after a bike ride, he usually says something really intelligent like, "Looks like you missed the rain," (it hadn't rained in the past 48 hours and there was no future rain in the forecast), or "Looks like you went on a bike ride" (umm yeah thanks, Larry), or the all time classic where he says nothing at all, attempts to hold open my apartment door to "help" me inside and then proceeds to strike up a conversation about how I should go into elder law.

Which is a perfect lead-in to my next story. On Thursday, I was on the West River Parkway trail, heading from school to Erin's house. This trail is massive. It's super wide and is always in great shape, which is why, when I pass slowpokes, I do not feel the need to shriek "on the left." Flash forward to halfway down the trail, I pass Mr. and Mrs. Old People pedaling along without a care in the world. With no one else approaching, I glided by unannounced. THEN, 10 minutes later, at a stop sign, Mr. Old Person breezes through the requisite stop (illegal btw) and yells "On the left! This what you're supposed to say when you pass someone!!!" I only wish I had been able to explain to him that the "lesson" he was trying to teach me was completely overshadowed by the fact that he almost got hit by a car during his instruction. But judging from how he swerved uglyass recumbent in the face of near death, I'm guessing he knows that already.

#1 Reason Why I Couldn't Train for a Triathlon Indoors

I am really lucky to live in such an awesome city like Minneapolis where bicycle trails are abundant. The trails are all well groomed and maintained (even in the winter months) and provide ample amounts of rides with interconnecting trails to facilitate longer rides. The only potential downside to the trails are the number of rollerbladers that hog up space on the trail and always seem to be listening to their music loud enough that they don't hear the annoying "on the left" alert from me when I try to pass them. Or maybe they're just ignoring me. I'd probably ignore me too.

As my time on the bike increases in training, I realized how much I would hate having to be on a stationary bicycle in a gym for over an hour. Talk about boring! Instead I have been on some great rides lately. My new favorite, a little longer ride of about 90 minutes, takes me around Lake Harriet (photo above), out to Hopkins, MN, and then back on the Greenway to wrap around Lake Calhoun and Lake Harriet again before heading home.

The best part is ending the ride on a beautiful evening like last night and seeing this sunset (photo below) over Lake Calhoun. Tres belle!

News Flash: I still hate running

Oh hey, what's up lazies? Guess who woke up at 7 am this morning to RUN? No, not you. Yep, this lunatic. I was out there with all my friends, the gnats and the moms. First of all, let me stress how much I hate working out in the morning. A lot. Add in 45 minutes of running before I've had my morning cup of tea and voila! One pissed Irish girl ready to kick babies, yell obscenities at old people and stop at nothing until she gets a shower.

So that was me this morning, running to, around, and back from Lake Harriet. Lucky for me, Minne the Lake Creature is back to lurking around the waters, and I get a cruel kind of satisfaction at watching innocent bystanders round the corner and jump when they see the lake monster smiling sweetly through the tree limbs.

Today was the last week of week 5 and the workouts are increasing in intensity again. I did a 70 minute bike ride to Hopkins, MN and back last night. It was a beautiful outside, around 85 degrees, and my ipod was doing this awesome thing where it kept playing Johnny Cash followed by hip hop, then back to Cash again. I'm not sure how the technology fairy knew how to do that and that it would actually sound appealing to my ears, but I didn't question it.

I elected not to work out on Saturday, choosing instead of get over my Friday night hangover by making these cupcakes and shopping at the outlets. Yum, raspberry coconut cupcakes with cream cheese frosting are manna for a triathlete's soul.

Sky Rats

I was riding my bicycle to work this morning along the Greenway, minding my own beeswax, when I heard the evil screech of a sky rat above me! Pedaling faster to no avail, I soon felt a wet drip on my calf. Yes, that's right readers, your faithful triathlete was shat upon this morning by a maniacal sky rat.

Oh wait, but then what happened? "Spice Up Your Life" came on my ipod, and I instantly forgot the doings of the sky rat and proceeded to have an awesome ride to work. And yes, I still listen to the Spice Girls, and I LOVE IT. Shat was wiped off immediately upon entering the building and making it to the nearest restroom.

Above is a drawing of the sky rat in action.

"I stopped riding bicycles when they stopped making seats big enough for my rear end."

The title of this post derives itself from a comment made by an older gentleman I work with when I mentioned that I was going on a bicycle ride after work. I instantly thought "Oh I've seen people way bigger than you on bicycles," but something kept me from spouting that out, and in retrospect I'm happy that I just laughed nervously instead and returned to my desk. People are so weird.

I completed a quick 35 minute bicycle ride on the Greenway, and honestly, I am having a problem adjusting to this recovery week. After riding for over a hour last week on my bike, 35 minutes seemed so short that I felt vaguely unfulfilled at the end of the ride. But I'm far from an expert on triathlon training, so I'm sticking to this 12 week program come hell or high water. As long as my butt continues to fit in the saddle that is.

New Design

And, what do you think of this new blog design? I love that a bicycle design was available!

Swim swim swimming

My swim workout increased today from 1,100 meters to 1,300 meters, and though the increase was fairly small, I was tired at the end. But not too tired to be eternally grateful that I finished my workout just as a man with a HANDLEBAR mustache and a speedo asked if he could share my lane. Dude, doesn't that thing give you major drag in the water? And I'm not talking about the saggy junk you are so eager to show off.

In other news, I continue to be very satisfied with the training program I'm following in The Complete Idiot's Guide to Triathlon Training. Every time I begin to feel comfortable in a workout, be it running, bicycling, or swimming, the workout increases just enough to bring that challenge back. I love that the workouts are easy to understand, and I trust the authors' advice because they are both Ironmen. In the past, I avoided following workout routines because the instructions were confusing, and I typically forgot what I was supposed to be doing halfway through the workout. That hasn't even happened to me once in the past three weeks of following the 12 week program in this book.

Plus, guess what readers?! In addition to building stamina and muscle, I have also lost weight. I stepped on the scale for the first time since making the decision to sign up for the triathlon, and I have lost seven pounds! It felt awesome to see success in one solid number.

Tomorrow is my "day off" from training. I won't be doing anything in an official capacity, but I'll still ride my bike 12 miles to work and back. I might have to step it up on my ride home to make it to Gigis in time to meet Erin for happy hour. Although, I can't think of many things that are more motivating than a glass of wine with a great friend!

Summer Is Officially Here!

I went on my usual 45 minute bicycle ride yesterday and the day before that I did a 35 minute run on the treadmill. Both felt pretty good, even the run! The only interesting thing that happened was running into a flock of 20 Canadian geese on my bike ride near Lake of the Isles. Groups of them were gathered on either sides of the path, and I had to cycle through the gamut. I fully expected one of them to snake its head around and snap at my legs, but luckily rider and birds kept to themselves. One would think that this much exercise would be enough for me, and I would spend the rest of the time eating chips and watching Law & Order re-runs, but I have been surprisingly active otherwise.


As promised, here is a picture of the Greenway, my route to school. Riding to work two days a
week gives me an additional 24 miles of road time and time to improve upon my RPMs (revolutions per minute). I have been able to maintain 80 RPMs pretty easily, but getting closer to 90 has been a little difficult. I'm supposed to be between 80 and 100 RPMs, so 80 is by no means a failure, but with a higher RPM I would obviously increase my speed as well.




Today's activities involved a canoe trip to Lake Nokomis with Erin, Caleb, Sogn (the golden retriever) and Jihone. The lake was pretty empty and we found ourselves a nice secluded spot on the beach. At one point, Jihone and I took the canoe out on a little adventure to explore the other areas of the lake. Long story short, after jumping out to swim, he attempted to get back in the canoe...and we flipped. Ha! The canoe filled partially with water, and on our attempt to get back in, the canoe flipped again and filled COMPLETELY with water. Onlookers from the shore began to gather and watch as Jihone and I laughed our heads off and wondered whether this canoe was going to sink to the bottom of the lake. After getting a good laugh in, Erin came to our rescue and helped us swim the canoe to the shore so we could dump it and paddle back to our original location. All's well that ends well right?

Back in the Pool

I drove directly from work to the gym last night to get some laps in before meeting friends at the fabulous Tin Fish for dinner on Lake Calhoun. Normally I swim much later in the evening, and for some odd reason, the compulsive planner in me did not check the lap pool schedule for the earlier times in the day.

I had just finished the work out portion of swimming and had started on my cool down laps, when something happened...swim practice. These little brats took up every lane, and I was forced to dogg it out in the open water portion of the pool. Luckily I only had 200 meters left, so it really wasn't that bad.

Swimming has by far been my favorite portion of training, and I think the biggest reason for that is because I don't sweat. Well, to clarify, I do sweat. It is a cardio workout, people. But I'm not sweaty because I'm underwater. Very unlike the experiences I have running or biking where when I begin to sweat, I quickly start to hate the fact that I have clothes on, or skin, or the world in general. Like today on my bike ride to work. My head was so warm, and I only can push the helmet back so far off my brow until I start to feel guilty and slam it back into place! AND speaking of, I FINALLY remembered to bring my camera, so I'll post a couple pictures of the Greenway tonight.

Rainstorm!

I rode my bicycle home in a complete downpour today. I'm talking all out thunder, lightning, and rain the entire 7 miles. At one point, I was crossing the Stone Arch Bridge when lightning lit up the sky, and I could see clearly (maybe a little too clearly) how fast the water was rushing below.

I usually hate the rain on all occasions, and that is because it's always raining when I need to reach a destination for an event. Example, riding my bike to meet someone for happy hour and it starts raining. Then I show up with crazy hair, generally feeling angry at the world. However, on rare occasions when the only place I am riding is home, I LOVE the rain. I think bicycling in the rain is exciting. I roar through as many puddles as possible, relish in being soaked down to my underwear, and generally just enjoy the overall experience. Tonight's experience was topped off by the fact that I had the foresight to bring my new Cannondale jacket, purchased from the REI Outlet and it was AWESOME. It kept my upper half completely dry and protected from the wind. My arms did feel a little warm, but I think that had a lot to do with the fact that I was wearing a tank top and my bare skin was sweating against the fabric.

I was supposed to run 37 minutes today as part of training. After that ride, I quickly changed (it was 9:15 and my gym closes at 10), drove to the gym in the storm, and ran for eh, 20 minutes before I said eff this I'm tired. I only feel sorta bad for skimping on the run because I did so much bicycling today. But I'm justifying my laziness, which needs to stop immediately. As much as I thought I had fixed my mental block about running, it is still the activity that I dread the most out of the three.

First Transition Workout

So for any of you who don't live in Minneapolis, it was about 90 degrees outside and HUMID. Not exactly the best weather for exercising, but riding a bicycle outdoors is so much different ie, better, than riding a trainer inside, that I waited for the sun to begin to set and headed out on my bike around 7:30.

I keep meaning to stick my camera in the back pocket of my jersey to take some pictures along my ride, and I really wish I would have remembered today! There were a ton of sailboats on Lake Calhoun and cute ducks waddling around everywhere. Plus I saw a family of Canadian geese, little fuzzy yellow babies and all. And some straight-up-off-the-chain-people-watching. Old guy riding his bike without a shirt, stop it. Your nipples are scaring everyone. So, if you can, just imagine that scene, and I promise I'll start remembering to bring my camera on future rides!

Bicycling felt great. I did my usual 45 minute ride around the Chain of the Lakes and then headed home. I stashed my bicycle in my apartment, exchanged my helmet for a headband and was out the door again for a 10 minute run! Running was...eh...not so fun. By this point I had literally sweated through my tank top and was feeling the heat. But I ran for 10 minutes and completed the workout. From what I understand, the running portion was meant to be focused more on becoming comfortable transitioning activities, as opposed to experiencing a great running workout. I have really enjoyed the various workouts in this week's plan, and I'm looking forward to turning up the intensity dial next week.

And, if any of you were wondering, I succumbed to the evil Comcast giant and signed up for internet at my apartment. Downside: no longer sticking it to the man. Upside: regular blog posts!

Days 3, 4, & 5

Friday, Day 3, consisted of a 45 minute bicycle ride around the Chain of Lakes. It was a cool, overcast evening so the trails weren't crowded. After a quick shower, I spent the rest of the evening working on my upper body strength with three games of bowling at Memory Lanes. I could barely shift gears on the drive home, but it worked somehow.

On Saturday, Day 4, I swam laps again, adding one more lap to the warm up and changing the workout to 6 x 100. It was a windy day, so I wore my new jacket on my bike ride to the gym. Sidenote, I didn't buy that jacket from that website, I got it from REI. A totally normal store.

Anyway, swimming felt pretty good. I am still working on bilateral breathing. I breath on my left side, so transitioning to my right has been difficult. But the books I've read have suggested bilateral breathing, because it allows you to sight better when in the water so you don't go off course, which adds time to the swimming phase. Right now I'm adding time because I keep sucking down pool water every time I try to breath on the right side. I'm hoping balance will happen at some point soon. Also, chlorine makes my hair feel like sheep wool. Solutions?

Today was Day 5, and guess what I did today? Nothing! Day 5 was a resting day. Pfffff. This triathlon training is going to be a freaking breeze. I am the best at resting. I had brunch with some awesome friends at the Herkimer and drank wonderful beer brewed by Gustavo. Then I watched 30 Rock and The Office, and THEN went to Rachael's house and ate delicious grilled cheeseburgers. Day 5 resting - check!

And, as a special treat for reading until the end of this post, here is a picture of my new favorite dinosaur: Protosaurus. Photographed at the Field Museum in Chicago.

Weekend Wrap Up

This weekend was packed full of activities, but between studying and some socializing, I also managed to get in some great workouts.

Saturday morning, I woke up at 7:30 to go to the gym. In doing so, I conceded to myself that I was totally insane, because no sane person would wake up that early on a Saturday to work out. Or so I thought until I got to the gym. The parking lot was PACKED. Who are these people? I had a nice 2 mile run, watched some of The Hills re-runs, and then wrapped it up with some weights. After swimming the other day, I thought I should probably lift some weights to build muscle in my arms because they were dragging by the end of my laps. I wish there was a girls only weights section though, so I didn't feel like such a dweeb with my 15 pound weights next to the guy on 'roids throwing down his barbell yelling "rarrr!" Again, at 8 am. Chill, dude. Roid rage is so 2001.

Today, I first spent an hour on my own attempting to install my bicycle computer that I bought a year ago to track my speed and cadence. After numerous failed attempts, I remembered why I had put off installing the computer so many times. I called my friend, Lee, bicycle extraordinaire, who came over and helped me finish the job. A dozen zip-ties later, I had all the sensors hooked up to my bike and was off on a 20 mile bike ride to Hopkins, MN and back. The bike computer definitely made me work harder on the ride as I struggled to maintain a constant RPM (revolutions per minute) on flat surfaces and inclines alike. It was a chilly day, but the ride was great, and I'm looking forward to more long bike rides as my training progresses.

p.s. Kerri Strug got married this weekend! Childhood flashback right here!

Kickass Bike Ride!

So today, I found myself making excuses for not wanting to work out. I was worried about school work, I was tired, I was hungry, etc. Then I mentally slapped myself, put on my sports bra and took Golden Eagle Jr. out for a spin. I made one rule for myself today: no coasting.

Typically, I have biked for leisure or to commute. Well my friends, welcome to a new era. You will stand and applaud after reading this story.

I decided to tackle the Chain of the Lakes route and made my way towards Lake Harriet. Halfway around, I was fast approaching a man on a decked out super pricey looking road bike, complete in matching gear, clipped in shoes, etc. Hmm, I decide, I wonder if I can match his pace.

OH AND I DID AND MORE! I smoked him going up a hill and then did. not. quit. Golden Eagle Jr. was so on top of it, and I silently took back any thoughts I had of buying a new bicycle. Finally, I arrived at the intersection where the trail crosses to meet Lake Calhoun, and as I sat at the stop light waiting for the green, my defeated bicycle friend pulled up beside me.

"Nice pace," he said.

"I know," I replied.

"This is the first time I've been out this year," he said, trying to make himself feel better after getting smoked by a girl on a hybrid bicycle with a pannier rack.

"You should really get out more," I said, silently gearing up to race out of the stop light. I could see old people approaching, and I didn't want to get stuck behind their wrinkly old butts on the bike path.

"Yeah, you know work gets in..." he began and then his words fell to the wayside as I took off into the sunset, not really caring to hear excuses.

The rest of my bike ride was equally awesome. The lakes looked beautiful at night, and I was really happy I forced myself to get out there and ride. I won't be working out at all tomorrow because I'm going to the Twins game after school! What up Target Field?!

The Good and the Bad of Today's Ride

Best part about long bicycle rides: bike jerseys! I love wearing bike jerseys for longer, purely for exercise, rides. My favorite things about bike jerseys are the pockets built in the back and the elastic that keeps your shirt from riding up. The jersey I wore today is from bonktown.com and it's made by Giordana in case you can't tell from the picture. It has mesh sleeves, which I love for keeping cool, and soft fabric. The designers were also smart enough not to include an itchy tag, so all around its a great jersey! Bonktown.com is my favorite place to buy discounted cycling gear, although I guess I have only used it to buy this jersey and my tri-shorts... but I feel like I am on the site all the time scoping out deals!

I decided to switch it up today and go on a bike ride when I got home. I rode around Lake Harriet first and had planned to ride the loop around the lakes (Lake Harriet, Lake Calhoun and Lake of the Isles), but by the time I got to Lake Calhoun, I was so into the ride that I missed the turnoff to Lake of the Isles. oops. So I just finished Lake Calhoun, then went back to Harriet and rode around there again. The weather was nice with the exception of some strong winds.

HOWEVER, something is going on with Golden Eagle Jr. There were some awkward sounds coming from my chain, and when I switched gears there was unnecessary clanking. Unfortunately, I no longer live in DC and can't take my bike to Revolution Cycles <--- the best bike shop ever. So now I need to find a new place to go, or bike-knowledge friend to give me a diagnosis. I probably just need some oil, grease, etc. but I'm pretty ignorant in that department so I'd rather leave it up to the experts. I just found out that I got a job for the summer, so my former stance on not buying a new bicycle for the triathlon has already begun to waiver. eek!

Looking forward to a run with some friends tomorrow, but the forecast is calling for thunderstorms. We'll see what happens!