Saturday, January 22, 2011

I’m not good at this…

…and I am not ashamed to admit it. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. And apparently rest days are my weakness, for now. In the past I had no trouble resting, take a day off and sing the song of You Need to Rest! I still believe it but now I feel like I can’t find a good workout to miss. My calendar is full of workouts! I go 7 days a week. My easy day is Friday with a swim only. But if I skip a part of a workout earlier in the week I add it to my Friday.

As of now Wednesday is a run only day. I focus on speed work that day. Friday is a swim only day. Saturday is my long run day and Sunday is my long bike ride day. So I can’t skip any of those. Monday I double up swim/spin, Tuesday is swim/run and Thurs is bike/run.  How does one choose which one to drop? It’s like asking am mom which kid to take to Disney land….well, we all know the answer this mom will give: Take them all, leave me behind or get me a hotel with a swanky pool and  a swim up bar. I’ll be there…. But really, I am in the building phase of my training and cannot afford (at least I feel) to cut anything right now. Eventually something will have to give and I will have to take a day off.

Today I did my long run: 7 miles. It was a good run despite the freezing temps. I find it takes me about 3 miles to get warmed up. Sometimes before I hit the 3 mile mark I am exhausted, my muscles are tight, sore and I’m straight up ready to stop.  I never had this problem before. I first noticed it when I got here….very strange.

How long does it take you to get warmed up?

I’m trying to slowly gather things that I will need for the Half Iron and on that list was speed laces:

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Yep, that is them. The directions were very complicated.  I ordered them through Amazon but they were shipped from swimoutlet.com. If you haven’t checked them out you should…I love that site.

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But I figured out how to get my old shoelaces out and the speed laces in…Whew! And Lazy Dog was very helpful…

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I was going to leave it like this and give it a test run to see how they compared but then I decided while I was at it I might as well change them both out.

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So here they are, speed laces. Apparently you need them for quicker T2 times and I can see how this will help enormously. I just have to get used to them. I will trim the ends, the tails hanging off to each side at the toe end, after I find the comfortable tightness. Today’s run was a wee bit uncomfortable. They were too tight. I need to loosen them up a bit. After my first run though I would say they are pretty cool and actually make for a nice, snug fit over the top of my shoe. It hugs my foot like never before.

And finally, the random picture of the day (as if the above ones weren't’ random enough): please excuse the huge wet dog nose smear on my windshield…

speed hump

I know it is hard to read but it says “Speed Hump”. What? What ever happened to Speed Bump?  In Washington it was the Honey Bucket (aka Porta Potty) here it is a Speed Hump.

What other weird things do I need to know before I move to your state? I hate being left in the dark.

Happy Saturday night!!! What are you up to? I’m rocking out to Guitar Hero!!!

19 comments:

  1. It takes me 3-4 to get warm.. I hate that. But I have always been that way. Werid! I am on computer watching the hubs play Call of Duty. Fun

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  2. It takes me a good 2-3 miles to feel warm and in a groove even in warm temps!

    You are a rock star! I'm hanging out with T Junior and Nana the dog while Mr. T plays a video game downstairs. Tonight, Operation Rearrange Bedroom for Treadmill resumes!

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  3. Ditto! For so long I only ran 3 and once I trained for my first half I realized it only feels good after 3. I love miles 3 to 6 the best. Can't wait to see all the gear u collect. All I have For the sprint is a belt for my bib. I did buy new sneaks today. Scary....I've only worn nikes until now.

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  4. I have such a problem with mile 1, and working into mile 2. I'm with you I want to stop so bad the first few miles, after you break through though it feels good.
    I'm at home answering your tag blog and getting ready for the super cold ride in the morning. ;)

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  5. HAHA! I totally noticed my first Speed "Hump" in September and couldn't stop laughing

    http://mondaynightgolfandsurfvacations.blogspot.com/2010/08/really.html

    ...especially since it was located right at the entrance of our Dog Park (AKA: Speed Hump Central) :D

    One thing I do to make T1 quicker is not trying to put my socks on wet feet. I've found I do fine on the bike with no socks...but then you DO have to deal with putting them on at T2 but hopefully you haven't peed all over your feet on the bike and they should be relatively dry!

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  6. Wow that is a rock star workout schedule! I would like to start adding spin to my workouts. I need a little variation.
    It takes me about 2 miles or so to warm up.
    That speed hump makes me think of that whole soda or pop or is it soda pop?

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  7. That's for real?!?!! hahahaha! How are we supposed to not let our minds go there?

    Just like the Kum & Go gas stations, right?

    I'm working on a post where I incorporate the word NOOB. I will let you know how that goes! :)

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  8. sorry cali already has speed humps. They're great! They are set up like a table top bmx jump. If you drive fast enough when you hit the first you can clear the second one!

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  9. I need to try the speed laces, thanks for the shopping tip. As for warming, it takes 2-3 miles for me to settle into my stride.

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  10. No way!!! Check out my post here ~ http://stacie615.blogspot.com/2009/05/clam-digging.html

    You will find a familiar sign :) I thought it was hilarious.

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  11. My first mile is always my first. It feels like it will never get easier. Then, BOOM, it does.

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  12. It always takes me at least 2 miles to feel warmed up and in a groove. It's the main reason I am not a big fan of 5k's :) You definitely have a full training schedule but I can imagine that it is the only way to get all your tri training in! I am sure if your body told you to take a rest day you would :)

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  13. For the most part I am very much like yourself; it is hard for me to be ok with the idea of taking a day off. I feel like I'm missing out on a perfectly good day to get another workout in. But as you well know, sufficient rest is just as important as sufficient work. However, since you are in the build up stage now, if you plan on incorporating a taper phase at the end of your training, then I'd say the rest is a bit less important NOW as long as you're still ABLE to do your long workouts.

    Also, someone told me once about this training schedule by Gale Bernhardt that I think you might be interested in. It is geared towards a full Ironman, but I'm sure you can make use of it. It has one if not two days off a week!

    Thanks for the tip on the laces - I need to get some myself. I'll look into that site.

    Best of luck!

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  14. Hi there. I gave you an award! Check it out here (http://brunetteonamission.blogspot.com/2011/01/stylish-blogger-award.html)

    Monica

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  15. Michigan has a highway sign that says: do not pass when opposing traffic present. Huh, really?

    It takes me into mile 3 or 4 before I start to catch a groove. Miles 1-3 is where I wanna quit. I hate those miles.

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  16. 1-2 miles for a warm up.

    I think the speed laces will make you a "speed racer"

    And here in New England we have "Frost Heaves". They are bumps in the road caused by expanding frost/ice under the pavement. Not to be confused with heaving after having to many "frosty ones"

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  17. Running high mileage, I start to loosen up from the previous workout after 2 miles, but mostly I don't really hit my stride until miles 5 or 6.

    Like the sign. There must be a lot of couples in the cars around it having a nooner.

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  18. hey hey, congrats for being nominated as one of the "Best Running Blogs 2011" hope to read many more of your fantastic running stories. sending you greetings from Malaysia...

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  19. Playing comment catchup.. Those laces are funny, takes me 2 miles to warm-up and there are Speed humps in Bonney Lake :)

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You're pretty much awesome!!

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