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!

Guess Who's Back

Whats up, readers? It's been a long time since a new post, but that is all about to change. There are only two days left in March, and if there is a governing deity in this world, then the snow will be melting soon, and I will be training for my second triathlon!

Get ready for a summer full of excitement, sweat, and progress towards new goals. I have signed up for the Square Lake Triathlon sprint distance race, which will take place on September 10th. This race is different from last year in a number of ways:

1. new location 
2. longer course (.5 mile swim, 16.5 mile bike, and 5 mile run)
3. later date aka more training time 

Since the St. Paul triathlon I have done my best to stay in shape so I wouldn't have to start from square one again this summer. It has been tough, especially with my last year of law school not being as easy as I anticipated, but I've managed to maintain a fairly frequent gym routine. I'm looking forward to starting a new training program soon and having a schedule to follow every day. My goal is to start actually training after finals, oh and a little thing I like to call GRADUATION. Until then I plan on continuing to work about 5 times a week, but trying not to feel to guilty if I let school work take priority over the gym.

Like last year, Chauncey and I met up over spring break, but this time I went to Berea, Ohio to visit him. Luckily, Berea had much less snow than Minneapolis, and we were able to go running together a few times. This is about the time last year when I had made the decision to sign up for a tri and really challenge myself. Running with Chauncey this spring made me realize how far I have come in a year (at this time last year I couldn't run for more than a mile without stopping!), and it really made me excited for this upcoming season.

Stay posted for more updates and reader love!

Final Stats

Vacation Sports posted the final times for the triathlon yesterday, and I was thrilled at the results of my first race! I met all of my goals (finishing; not finishing last; and not walking at all during the run portion), and when I came around the final turn towards the finish line, I thought I was going to die of happiness. Six months ago, I couldn't run a mile without stopping. To see hard work truly pay off in concrete results such as a race time is so gratifying.

My overall time was 1:31:19, and I finished:

• 264 out of 476 total competitors (men and women) in the sprint distance. 
• 79 out of 211 women
• 12 out of 23 in my age group (women 20-24)
• AND I had the third best bicycle time in my age group

It was such a great experience, and I can honestly say that every second of the time I was competing was enjoyable! I have already started looking at more triathlons, but one of the bad parts about living in Minnesota is that triathlon season is really only from May to September. At this point I am planning on competing in another sprint triathlon in spring 2011, and I'm going to aim for a specific time. In the meantime, I have to continue working out and maintaining the healthy habits I've picked up along the way. Second triathlon, here I come!

Hugs from the #1 fan!

Second Open Water Swim

Last night I attempted another open water swim in anticipation of my upcoming triathlon. While I am hesitant to say it went well, I will say that the experience was much better than swimming in Cedar Lake. I drove up to Clear Lake, MN with my friend, Phillip, and after surviving torrential downpours and flash flooding in Maple Grove, we finally it there around 7:30 pm. The section of the lake we were swimming was .4 mile, and I thought once we swam that leg, we would have a leisurely break on the beach and then swim back. Just kidding. Because once you swim out the .4 mile across the lake, there isn't a beach or place to exit. So we just had to turn around and swim back immediately. It felt like we had been swimming forever, and for one of the first times in my life, the thought of drowning briefly crossed my mind. Then Phillip reminded me that we had only been swimming for 17 minutes, and I realized I was being a HUGE baby and started swimming again.

While I was swimming, I tried practicing sighting, which involves turning your head forward to see where you are on the course, as you take a breath. It is definitely a practiced skill, but I was happy to try it out in open water, because going off course means being in the water longer, and I would very much prefer to be in the lake the shortest amount of time as possible. As I was swimming back to the beach on the second leg of the swim, I found myself thinking how great it would be to be a dolphin and have sonar. While this lake was clearer than Cedar Lake, I still could not see anything in front of me while my face was in the water, and I was slightly, read majorly, fearful of swimming directly into a sunken tree or a school of piranhas. I definitely felt more confident when I was swimming beside Phillip, which gives me hope that during the race, I will actually seek comfort in the fact that swimmers are close to me, rather than claustrophobia, which I have been anticipating feeling. Plus, all that splashing from others will drive away any creatures in the lake, right?

OMG Race Info!

Scratch the part about Jennifer Lopez being the best part about my day today. I just got an email with more information about race day! I LOVE information, and I hope you do too, because I'm sharing whether you like it or not and also including my lunatic ramblings: 

RACE DAY SCHEDULE:

6:00 AM- Transition area opens with bike racks.  First come, first served for your placement. What is the best placement to have?! Mental note to do research on placements in transition area to make best strategic decision.

6:15 AM- Registration opens. There, you'll pick up: bib number to pin on for bike & run (we have pins)  velcro strap with timing chip to wear on your left ankle, swim cap provided in the color of your "wave" start group, helmet numbers to place on front lowest brim of bike helmet, and race memento t-shirt. Yes! Race t-shirt that I will wear ALL.THE.TIME. (as long as I get a small and if there are no smalls, then I get an XXL per usual, and give it to my dad). Also, I hope the color of my swim cap is green, because that's my favorite color.

6:15 AM- Body Marking- participants will get their race number marked on their arm and leg by volunteers. Amazing! Temporary tattoos! So many sentences to put exclamation points at the end of!!!!!

7:30 AM- International (Long Course) Race start.  Last year there were 10 starting "waves".  The International Course were the first 3 waves.  Next up were Short course males from youngest to oldest, and then females-with the last wave being the oldest short course females.  Waves were only separated by a couple minutes, so it goes fast, be ready to go.  Actual waves will be set closer to race date. 10 minus 3 equals 7 waves of short course participants. That's me! More people participated in the short course last year - interesting....

8:00 AM- TENTATIVE race start time for Short Course.  Actual time will be set after waves are set the week of the race. YES YES YES! This is when I become a triathlete!!!

11:00 AM-Estimated time of awards.  Medals for top 3 in each age group, or category of Elite, Athena, Clydesdale, Male Team, Female Team, and Coed Team. Also, stick around for your chance to win door prizes! I will be hosting my own awards celebration in the parking lot with bottles of champagne and orange juice. Mimosas, anyone?

"Watch out for lake rats"

My first open water swim didn't go so well last night. It began when we arrived at Cedar Lake, and Jihone pushed me into a patch of algae, yelling "Get started!" Things only got worse once I started walking to the edge of the swimming area and felt unknown substances and possibly lake creatures underneath my toes. I'm not going to say that I was scared, but I will say that I had a mild panic attack when I put my face in the water and realized I couldn't see anything, even when using my goggles.

Once I had actually calmed down enough to contemplate swimming, more disasters ensued. My stroke broke down completely. I'm used to swimming four strokes, then turning to breathe. In the pool this isn't a problem because I can see through the water at all times. But in the lake, I found myself swimming in complete green darkness for four strokes until I finally took a breath and sighted.

After a brief coaching session, Jihone and I agreed that I needed to take a breath more frequently in order to see where I was going. Once I started taking a breath every other stroke, things got a little better, and by the end my confidence was back up again. If nothing else, now I know I need to do a lot more open water swimming before August 22nd. 26 days until race day!

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!

Tacos: Triathlete Super Food

I swam laps today, and once I was in the pool, I realized I hadn't been there in a week. So what, you might think, one week, stop crying about it already. Well, I'm not crying, but my legs are, because this workout kicked my butt. I wasn't in the water that much longer than normal, but my workout consisted of longer sets with shorter resting periods. It's exciting on one hand, because it means I am a lot closer to the actual race. But on the other hand, I was in the water swimming laps for about 45 minutes and by the time I hauled myself out of the pool, my legs felt like jelly and I was as hungry as Michael Phelps.

I'm starting to seriously consider buying some of those awkward gel packets to squeeze into my throat during the swim/bike transition during the race. They are kind of like Go-gurt, but energy and not yogurt... I have been trying to avoid looking like a real big weirdo in this race, and staying away from high tech energy foods may or may not fall into that category. I haven't decided yet.

As for tonight, I pushed the thoughts of drinking vitamin Gak out of my head, because I already had dinner plans with great friends, Adam and Rachael, and I quickly devoured three tacos at their house in quick succession. Yum! Maybe I can patent my own taco flavored energy gel and pay off my law school loans?

#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!

Even Independence Day Can't Stop this Triathlete

Over the weekend, I traveled back to the land of my ancestors to partake in 4th of July celebrations in one of the original colonies. Yes, of course, I am talking about the Keystone State, without which, this entire nation would crumble. Literally. That's what a keystone does. It was a great weekend, full of small town Americana. Local baseball games, fireworks, Pittsburgh accents, and some good old fashioned bug bites on my legs to round out the experience.

I was hesitant about working out while on my four day vacation. I have never worked out at my childhood home, nor did I belong to a gym of any sort growing up. Our house is located 25 minutes from the local Y, and I didn't know how my parents would respond to my taking the car and disappearing for a couple hours. But all my reservations were pushed to the side, when my number 1 fan, insisted that I maintain my training regiment. In fact, I was even treated to a new pair of running shoes!

I picked out another pair of Asics, because I was very happy with my old pair. So far these have been feeling great, and they are definitely giving me more support and shock resistance. I tested them out around the track of my old stomping grounds: the intermediate high school. A little under 35 minutes and 3.5 miles later, I was still pleased with my shoe purchase. The following day, I swam laps at the Y and successfully evaded paying the $3.50 visitor charge they attempted to push on me. Umm, I don't think so man-with-a-mullet-at-the-front-desk. I was supposed to bike the following day, Tuesday, but seeing as how Golden Eagle Jr. was in Minneapolis, and the bicycles at the Y were used to power Orville Wright's airplane, I decided to run on the treadmill instead. Thus, a very productive, yet relaxing trip. 46 days until race day!

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.

"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.

Recovery Week

I didn't mention this yesterday, but it was the first day of week 4 in training. Weeks 1-3 flew by, and after the completion of this week, I will be a third of the way to the triathlon! The book calls this week a "recovery week," meaning all my routines decrease in intensity and duration for one week. Today's swim routine decreased to 800 meters, which is 500 meters less than what I swam last week. It felt very easy, and I was in and out of the pool in no time.

On the way out of the gym, I stopped to ask two important questions: when does my current membership expire, and can I go to other YMCA locations with my membership? I need to remember to renew by July 17th, and I found out that I'll be able to work out at the YMCA in PA when I am home over the 4th of July. Awesome!

Sub 30 minute 5K!

Hey there readers! Guess who's favorite triathlete ran her first sub 30 minute 5K this evening? YOURS TRULY! I guess the trick to running faster is to head to Lake Calhoun, alone, around 8:30 pm just as the sun is setting, and then halfway around the lake remember that there was a shooting there just a couple weeks ago. Oh shit. Run faster. Claw the eyes out of anyone who approaches.

Don't worry Mum readers, I made it out of the war zone before it was completely dark and back into the safety of my car. It was then, when I checked my cell phone, that I noticed it was not even 9 pm. I left the car at approximately 8:30 pm and was back by 8:58 pm, which I don't know if you can keep up with the math, but that is less than 30 minutes! My miles thus far have all been around 10 minutes, so this was a really big deal for me. It means that I'm becoming faster and stronger, and I'm going to ANNIHILATE this triathlon and every contestant around me. Ok, I'm getting a little carried away. But really, I am hoping to at least smoke one person, even if that person is 60 years older than me. 70 days until race day!

Bicycle Ride to Hopkins

After work yesterday, I completed a bicycle ride to Hopkins, MN and back. The ride took about 70 minutes, including time spent stopping to take pictures. I wore my bicycle jersey that I purchased at the Microsoft campus when I was in Seattle in March. Actually, Giul and I bought these together - twinsies! As you can see, it's not nerdy at all and obviously something that only very sexy, cool people wear while bicycling.

Anyway, this was the first time I had ridden to Hopkins and back by myself, and I was mildly nervous about getting lost. But with the help of my friend, Lee, I wrote down some detailed directions on a scrap of paper, stuck it in the nifty back pockets of my jersey and was off. I referred to the directions a couple times on the ride, but really they served as a safety blanket, because I was always going the right way and recognized the turns and trail changes from my previous rides.

As evidence of my dedication to this blog, I remembered to bring my camera along for the ride and capture one of my favorite parts. This is a beautiful tunnel on the North Cedar Lake Trail (obviously), and it's a lot of fun to ride a bike through. The temperature drops, you're momentarily sheltered from wind and outside sounds become muffled. It also separates two distinct worlds: the forest you can vaguely see at the other end of the tunnel and a series of baseball fields and starter homes on the other side out of view. The baseball fields were packed last night with kids in uniforms and parents perched on top of coolers. Summer in Minnesota really is one of my favorite times of the year. I mean it's not Christmas or my birthday, but it really is a close third.

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!

The Night I Won $4

See the horse coming in second? That horse won me four freaking dollars the other night at Canterbury! I know, pretty amazing. I bet you've never heard of anyone cleaning up like that at a race track. Next time I will have to make more of an effort to place bets. Figuring out whether the odds made it worth it to place a bet combined with semi-complicated betting machines made me less than enthusiastic to place bets. Too hard. I just like watching the horses.

I felt vaguely guilty for drinking beer and eating nachos and hotdogs instead of working out that night....nah actually I didn't feel that guilty at all! But I'm back on the path of straight and narrow now. I ran 35 minutes yesterday, and swam laps today. I have been following the swim workouts without adding up the total meter length of each workout, and I realized today that I've been swimming over half a mile already! Horray! A half mile (the length of the swim in the triathlon) is approximately 805 meters. I swam 1,100 meters today, no problem.

Looking back on the workouts from week one, I am already feeling a sense of accomplishment. The first week I swam 800 meters and felt sore and tired. Three weeks and an additional 300 meters later, I'm feeling confident and strong in the pool. I signed up for this triathlon to challenge myself and to have a reason to work out other than being obsessed with losing weight. I still have a long way until race day (78 days!), but I am extremely happy with my decision to sign up and have already seen the positive mental and physical effects of training. It's a good feeling.

NEWS FLASH

I just ran for a second time today! Yes, that is correct - two workouts in one day. Has the whole world gone crazy? Did I ingest crazy pills along with my marshmellow peeps this morning? Who knows! But the idea of running around Lake Calhoun with my friend, Jihone, and enjoying the last few minutes of sunshine in the day made me realize I. Had. Not. Had. Enough.

This means I ran about 6 miles today. I'm not sure if I could have done it consecutively, but I am going to start pushing myself for more speed now that I know I have built up more endurance.