One lousy swim and two great runs!

Since I am only doing the swim and the run on the race day, I am only concentrating on those two. Caught between my enthusiasm for Tri-ing and a lot of anxiety about my swimming capabilities, I sometimes forget that I am subjecting my body to ANY kind of workout after a long-long time (read: after more than one year). As a result, I am really fatigued the day after a long swim or when I work out everyday for 3 consecutive days. Sometimes I listen to my body and postpone the workout to the next day (as on Thu of last week) and at other times a mixture of enthusiasm and anxiety get the better of me (which is what happenned at the beginning of this week.) Anyhow, here's my training log for past 10 days or so.

Mon, June2nd: Swam in my apartment pool. Some kicking some swimming. Spent around 40 minutes there. But forgot to bring my kickboard back and never found it again :(

Tues, June 3rd: Did some elliptical and weights in the gym. Felt Great.

Wed, June 4th: Swam with the tri-oomph gang at Stacy pool. 5 laps in 33m Stacy Pool. Was initially scared of the deep but it slowly subsided. Sha also gave me a basic lesson on treading water.

Thu, June 5th: Was feeling very tired . Anyway got changed to go out for a run. But listened to my body and didn't go eventually. GOOD DECISION. Decided to run the next day.

Fri, June 6th: I ran for 35 minutes on a treadmill (sucks to run in a cage... but it is so hot outside) followed by some strength training. Was happy with how I felt at the end.

Sat, June 7th: Was out all day with friends, so the planned swim didn't happen.

Sun, June 8th: I headed out for a swim and did 16 laps in my apartment (~20m) pool with some breaks but I was really happy because I seemed to be building stamina in water. Felt wonderfully sore that night and next morning.

Mon, June 9th: Went to Lane Four and Academy. Got myself a pull buoy and shiny new PINK "Dora, the Explorer" kick board :). Even though my body felt tired from monday's swim, I thought I should stick to schedule and must go to Stacy Pool. BIG MISTAKE. I was tired, shoulders hurt and couldn't even do 6 proper laps. Should have run instead :( Seemed like I wasted a workout. I did some kicking though. Tried using the pull buoy to practice rotation of the upper body but somehow couldn't get the hang of it, my lower body kept swaying from side to side (any suggestions gals?)

Tues, June 10th: Did a great and fast(er) run on the treadmill followed by some weight training. Somehow my legs just wanted to go on and on. Wish my heart could keep up with the pumping :) But it was a great 2.5 mile run, albeit on the treadmill.

Lessons learned:
Listen to your body!
Alternate day Swim and Run workouts seem to work for me.
Swimming and Weight training are keeping my foot problem from flaring up. This is the part I am most thankful for right now. The fact that I am able to run without any foot issues is a big step. I am enjoying my short runs so very much :)

When in Rome...

Now that all of you are getting into the triathlete mindset, it's time you learned the lingo!

Check out this link.

Eight Days of Foggy Workout Memories

June 3: Steph II and I went for what was her first run in years. We did the 1st Street-Pedestrian Bridge Loop (1.5 mi). She did a great job, even sprinting half of the bridge just because I told her she had to. :-) We stretched and cooled down afterwards. My knee was a bit sore - I left my good shoes at work and had to run in old, blown out shoes.

Rule #1: Keep your gear in order.

June 4: Sharanya, Itisha, Steph II and I met up to swim at Stacy Pool. As you can tell from Sha's previous post, it was utter chaos. We all managed to get a decent swim in, though not without being grossed out a bit. I don't know exact distances, but hey, we made it in the pool!

Rule #2: Tinted goggles make it easier to ignore what's lurking on the bottom of the pool.

June 7: My boyfriend was kind enough to ride the Veloway with me, being so kind as to wait until halfway through the last lap before he took off an left me in the dust. He is a much faster cyclist, with a combination of natural ability and much nicer bike than my peugeot. We did 4 laps (12.4 miles) at a 15.3 mph pace. Not so bad for my first time on the bike in 2 months! We saw so much lovely wildlife while riding and it even sprinkled on us. It was a nice ride.

Rule #3: Ride the Veloway early to see bunnies and raccoons.

June 9: I made plans to swim with Steph II at Stacy, but a bit of personal drama left me apologizing for not being able to join her in the water. After spending a little while at home collecting myself, I received a text from Steph saying that she "Swam 5 laps without stopping!" So, I raced out of the house and down to the pool to get in what swimming I could in the last 15 minutes of pool hours. Itisha was finishing up her laps when I arrived and we chatted briefly before I began my maniacal 15 minutes of swimming. I swam 5 freestyle laps in under 7 minutes. It was awesome! I did a few more laps of drills until the whistle blew. I'm so glad that I went!

Rule #4: Sometimes the perspective you're looking for is just below the surface of the water.

Today calls for a swim AND a run. Oy.

Biking and Blogging : Round One

See myself in a greater need for motivation to blog compared to the motivation levels Icurrently have for biking ;)

Was in Cary,NC last Saturday...
Inspite of the 96F+ and super-humid morning, Bhaskar and I got out on 8 mile
biking session , starting at the bottom of the hill at W Dynasty Dr near West Dynasty
Drive (http://www.townofcary.org/depts/dsdept/P&Z/bicycleplan/bicyclemap.pdf)
and all the way into William Umstead Satead State Park.

Was great for the most part except at one point down a downhill....poor Bhaskar waited for atleast 25 mins at the bottom of the downhill, just beause I was scared to let my brakes lose to come/ride down the downhill...well,well...now I am all set to teach Biking down a downhill 101.

Hoping to get better soon at everything.......blogging, biking downhill and changing gears.....

-Savitha
(Feeling a sense of accomplishment on completion of my first ever blogging experience)

Throw in a Brick this weekend

Bike-Run-ICK! That's how your legs feel for the first part of the run. Wobbly. Like Jello-O. It was apparently named by Mark Sisson and Scott Zagarino one day in 1988 after they completed a Bike-Run workout -- "Just another brick in the wall".

I came across an interesting article on Bricks . Doing bricks helped me understand transition, because the practice was useful in gauging myself - how long I took to change gear and how I felt going from one activity to the next. Bricks also actively prepare the muscles for the physical demands of racing. Swim-bike bricks are not as crucial as run-bike bricks, but can give helpful insights. Check out beginnertriathlete.com for some variations on brick workouts.

Confessions of a different kind of slacker!

Yes! I have been a slacker too. But as the subject says - of a different kind. I actually have been pretty good with my training. I have been consistently making it to 2 spinning classes per week at the South Austin 24 h fitness(which are killllerss, btw) AND I have been swimming once a week at the 24 h pool for the last 3 weeks! So why am I slacker?? Cause I have been too lazy to post on this wonderful blog about and share my experiences with you guys! I guess I was waiting for my darling Cha to return from Singapore and give me that nudge! Yeah ... I am a nudge kind of person and she knows it. :D

Anyway, my first week swimming - I did 32 laps of the 25m pool at 24h fitness with a lot of breathers, which I still thought was amazing! Cause I hadn't swam for years and am definitely not excellent in my technique. In week 2 and 3, I impressed myself even more - I did 50 laps!!! And this time the breathers were barely there. I just swam and swam and didn't feel it till I got out of the pool and had to take my first step on land! Ouch!

Of course my main goal, like all of you, is to complete this triathlon strong. But I have a side goal which I hope to accomplish along with this one - to lose some body fat, get leaner, get healthier!! :D My Bday is on the 1st of August - 4 days after our triathlon! I know I will be 10 shades darker, but to make up for it, I hope I'll be at least a size smaller! I am pretty sure those unforgiving tri suits will keep me motivated! :D

Keep training ... keep smiling! :-)

Love G3

Back on Track!!

So like Sha, I've been completely slacking off these last few weeks with respect to Tri Training - not to mention was on a fabulous vacation in my home away from home Singapore - where I was piling on the lbs eating the most yummy food ever to found!!

I came back to Austin on Monday night and one of the first emails I found on Tues morning was the training chedule that Sha had sent for the month of June...call me weird...but I am a sucker for schedules and timetables!! :p So right on schedule, I went to a swim session last night at the 24 hour pool!! Sha and Steph were gonna meet later in the evening for a swim session, and I would have ideally loved to join them!! But since I had a previous engagement, I went to 24 hours much earlier!

Swimming is one of those activites that u r always lazy to do...but once you're in the water, you just cannot stop!! Not having swam (swum? swimmed? :p) for close to 6 months, I was able to do about 50 laps in the 25 yard pool - a mixture of freestyle and breastroke - pretty enthusiastically...but it was not until I went home showered went for dinner and returned though, that the soreness in my arm started kicking in! And my arms and shoulder blades have been hurting all night!! Guess I really did overdo it....should have taken it nice and easy, especially since I was entering the pool after a long long time!

Regardless of that, I am glad than I am back doing Tri training - it feels good to stop slacking and becoming more active!! I will be running at Town Lake around 6:30-7pm today - will probably do the 3 mile loop! If any of you girls are interested in joining, do ping me!!

Cheers!
C

Positive Peer Pressure

Can go a long way, evidentally.

Yesterday, we met up at Big Stacy Pool. I arrived promptly but ended up wasting 15min looking for a parking spot. And as I finally walked into the pool premises, I stared in horror at the scene before me - a pool teeming with hormonal teenagers and screaming kids. It reminded me of the pizza party at St. Stephen's pool last year (remember that, steph?) during one of our swim training sessions. I cringed.

Iti and I looked at each other, and she said, you know, I could go back to my apt pool.. Just then, I spotted the Stephanies. They had already begun and waved enthusiastically.

"The water looks disgusting, and the pool is too crowded. I'm not feelin' it" I complained to StepheR, as I examined the murky water and floating debris (human or nature?). She looked at me as if I had lost my mind. "Get into the pool, let's go" I sighed and got in, reluctantly. Iti stayed on the peripheral, still unsure. My first lap was on kickboard. I could barely see the bottom of the pool at the deep end. Water tasted kind of salty (?!!) I spent the next few laps thinking about the mould on the lane dividers, how I had to share the lane with four other people, observing suspicious-looking debris and averting my gaze from the dirt that had collected at the bottom of the pool.

As I whined to StepheR for the third time, she shot me a sharp look, as if to say - quit being a wuss and do your thing. And that kept me going. Magically, by my 6th lap, I had stopped focusing on the filth & noise, and started feelin' it - the swish of the water as I took long strokes, the gentle motion of rolling side-to-side, as I glided across the pool. It felt good to be back in the swim of the things.

We discussed strokes & techniques, we laughed, we took pics as we celebrated our first group swim. And as we walked back to our cars, I told StepheR if it weren't for her, I would have fled the crowded pool on sight. Her parting shot was truly Zen, "I guess we have to find our inner clear, silent pool and practice there.." :)

Confessions of a slacker

So, I haven't trained. At all. Not even kept up with doing brisk walks regularly. A brief glance at the countdown counter (on the right. your right) made me sit up and take notice of how I had really slacked off on training. Last week, some of us Tri-oomphers got together at Mozart's and charted out what we wanted to do. We were charged and enthused. Then, Memorial Day Weekend came along, and swept my attention away.

One of the challenges has been nursing my back to recovery. It had become such a preoccupation that I was afraid to do anything (on reflection, maybe I used it as an excuse to do nothing). Arv encouraged me to keep up with my walking, but I've been weasling my way out of any exercise of late. And in truth, my back condition won't let me bike yet, so that's an easy door to shut on bike-training. All in all, I've had a surprising lack of motivation.

But enough whining. Got a schedule going, and I'm starting my swim training. Albeit, tommorrow. :)