My Journey

Florida

2008-12-26T12:45:00.004-05:00

I'm in Florida right now, and I am definitely loving it!

I arrived here the night of Dec. 18th. It was really late- about 1:30 in the morning, before I finally arrived at my grandparent's condo (which I am staying at for the duration of the trip).

While here, I have been able to open up the rest of my Christmas presents (I got a digital camera, money, some books, and a few other things), go shopping, and enjoy the Florida sun. I was also able to see an old friend from elementry school and visit with her for an afternoon.

I have definitly been loving the Florida sun. It is probably about 70-80 degrees here, as opposed to the freezing temperatures at home. I got to miss a couple of snow storms and a day where the temperatures dropped into the single digits. I am definitly happy about missing that!

I have also been going to the pool everyday, and have still been working out. My foot is still not recovered, so I have been doing lots of swimming, weights, and work on the exercise machines. I think I may go see a doctor about my foot if it is not better by the time I get home. I have no idea what happened to it!

With the small pool at Grandma's apartment complex, I have been spending a lot of time working on stroke technique. I have been working on bilateral breathing (it makes my stroke feel so much more balanced!), not breathing in and out of my turns (I get so much more momentum that way), and some stroke drills.

I have been doing something called a "catch-up drill" that helps a lot with extending your reach per stroke. I am really trying to get my stroke count down. It takes me almost 30 strokes to cover one length of the pool, which is not very good. I have also been trying to get my head up more when I swim freestyle.

I learned from one of the coaches on my swim team (she is a new coach, and I hope she stays around because she has really been a huge help to me) that I am swimming with my head too low, pretty much burying my head into the water everytime I take a stroke. When I tried lifting my head, it makes me feel a lot more like I am floating on top of the water when I swim (as opposed to just sinking into it).

There are also SO many other things I can do to improve my freestlye stroke. For one thing, your fingertips are supposed to enter the water (not your whole hand). I have been told by my swim coach before (not the new coach) that I "slap water". Having my finger tips enter the water first is one way I can fix that.

There are also many things I can fix to help me go faster on all my other strokes. On breast stroke, your legs are supposed to come together after every kick. On backstroke, you are supposed to rotate your hips. On fly, you are supposed to keep your head down.

This is really encouraging to me to know that I can get better at swimming. I got some books from the libray that helped me expose many of my stroke flaws (such as the ones listed above). I also got a book from the libray that has 100 different illistrated swim drills. I am going to try at least a couple of them.

For the next couple of months I am going to see how much I can improve at my swimming if I dedicate myself to it. Not only can I change my stroke, and swim faster in practice (like I mentioned before), but I can also improve my nutrition, start a good weight routine, etc.

I'm not ready to give up on a sport I have invested so much time and energy into over the past couple of years. I know my swimming is terrible, but I would really like to see if I can improve it if I work hard enough. I would really like to see how much of swimming is hard work vs. talent. Can hard work overcome lack of talent?

If I don't improve, I will start investing all my time and energy into running. Right now though, as my foot is healing and my swim season is in full swing, I just want to see how much I can improve my swim times. If I improve, that would be awesome! If not (which is highly unlikely), at least I will see the results of dedicating myself towards something. Nothing bad will happen either way.

I have always worked hard at swim practice. I go to practice almost every night, never missing a day unless I have to. I also "sprint" when the coach says "sprint", etc. Just by reading a little though, I have discovered that there is so much more I can be doing.

Swimming is not a sport like running where you get better just by doing it more often. Swimming is more technique driven than fitness driven. I completely have been ignoring the technique part of swimming because I found it so "boring".

I want to be a good swimmer though. I am sick of getting lapped every practice and sick of being ,like, 6 minutes behind everyone else when I race the mile.

My new years resoulutin (one of them, anyway) is to dedicate myself towards swimming as much as I possibly can. I found a good article about a 90 day experiment (where you dedicate yourself completely to swimming for 90 days) here:
http://www.usms.org/forums/showthread.php?t=4229&page=10

Since I don't have 90 days until the last meet of the swim season, however, I am going to have the experiment run from Jan. 1 (giving me a week to figure out exactly what I am going to do in this swim challenge) to Mar. 8 (the day of my last swim meet).

I hope to make some significant improvements, especially in my favorite event, the mile. Yes, this is the same race that I finish 6 minutes behind everyone else in.

I don't know though. If I stuck to the 5K challenge I set for myself (and will probably start once swim season is over and my foot heals), I only have to take 4 and a half minutes off my time. To feel satisfied with myself in this challenge, I would have to take 6 minutes off my mile time.

I don't know. Now I am just yammering. I'll figure out a goal soon though. Either way, I am SO fed up with being the slowest on my swim team!

P.S. You got to love Blogger's auto save feature. I accidently tuned the computer off by flicking the power button with my foot (don't ask how) and was afriad that this entire blog entry disappeared. That was not the case. Every single word was saved.

Thank you Blogger!

P.P.S. I'm still in Forida for a whole 'nother week. Gotta love winter break!

Happy birthday to me...

2008-12-17T17:00:00.004-05:00

Some highlights of things I got today:
1. A Garmin! (I've wanted one forever! Now I can actually make a running training program because I will finally know the distances I am running.)
2. An alarm clock can play my iPod.
3. A subscription to Runner's World and Triathlete magazines
4. A Hinder CD
5. A warm sweater
6. Some accessories for my Garmin (i.e. a thing that connects the Garmin to my bike).
7. A biography of Barak Obama (I wasn't really expecting this, but it looks really interesting).
8. A new pair of running shoes.

I still have some more nice things waiting for me to unwrap in Florida too!

As for my foot, it feels like it is finally starting to get better, but it still isn't 100 percent yet. I can't wait until it is finally better though. I have been unable to run for the past two and a half weeks. I am never going to run in non-motion control shoes again! (I injured my foot by running in the wrong type of shoes).

Another good birthday present I got today was a two hour delay for school this morning. It was snowing and raining ice last night, meaning the roads were terrible this morning. I loved this delay because it meant I got to open my presents in the morning, right when I woke up. If I didn't have this delay, I would have been forced to wait until the afternoon when I got home from school when I opened all my gifts.

You voted!

2008-12-07T09:14:00.004-05:00

From the results of the poll I put up a couple of weeks ago, it looks like you all like the large pictures on this blog.

Three of you voted. Two of you liked my large pictures. One of you didn't care whether or not there were large pictures on this blog.

Since three people is about the entire readership of this blog, it looks like I got a pretty good sampling of what my readers want on here. If you don't like the huge pictures on this blog, then too bad: you should have voted.

Here is a gallery of large random images to support your votes.

P.S. To whomever voted, thanks for your opinion!

Good morning!

2008-12-07T08:32:00.004-05:00

I haven't been doing much running this week, for a reason directly related to losing my shoe last week (but not directly related to losing that sock at Payless- I still have about 50 other pairs of socks!).

Since I don't have my normal motion control Brooks shoes, I had to wear a pair of some of my mom's old sneakers. They didn't fit her because they were too small- but they do fit me. The only problem though is that they are not motion control. I always wear motion control shoes because of my flat, overpronating feet. Without motion control shoes, my flat feet flop all over the place, and tend to get injured.

Such an injury happened this Monday while I was going for a quick 45 minute jog around my neighborhood. My feet were flopping all over the place, and felt a little sore when I returned home, but I didn't really think much about it until the next day (Tuesday).

On Tuesday, I woke up and felt a dull ache in my foot. This ache was on a bone on the side of my right foot. It wasn't extremely painful, but I felt this ache every time I took a step. This dull ache didn't go away on Wednesday- and it stayed with me the entire rest of the week. This is even though I didn't run a single step after Monday (for fear of making the injury worse).

My foot hasn't been feeling much better- but the injury hasn't gotten worse either. I hope my foot feels better so that I can go running tomorrow. I'm going to be extra careful though until my new pair of shoes that I ordered online (the same model I was wearing, just a different color) arrives in the mail. I don't want to hurt myself again!

Despite not being able to do much running, I have still been able to get in some pretty good workouts this week. Some of my swim practices have been killer!

An example of this is my high school practices. I go to my high school practices every Sunday (which means I have a practice with them today!). A lot of the sets we have been doing have killer (at least for me!) intervals. Try swimming 4 X 200 on 3:30, 10 X 50 on 45, and a couple fast 500s (all in the same practice!) and see how you feel!

I also have been having tough practices with my club team. One of such practices was 5 X 100 sprint. By the second 100, I felt really nauseous and out of breath- and I still had to do 3 more! You can imagine how the next three felt! I could barely move at the end of that killer practice!

Although these practices have been really tough, they have really been helping my fitness. An example of this is the meet I swam in yesterday.

In yesterday's meet, I swam the 500 free, and two relays. In one relay, I swam a 50 free. In another relay, I swam a 100 free.

The 500 free was my very first event. The weird thing about this 500 was that it didn't feel as hard swimming at maximum speed as it normally does. I wasn't dead tired, yet I was still working pretty much at maximum heart rate. I thought my time would be really slow, since it didn't feel like I was working that hard; however, I ended up getting a 2 second PR! I couldn't believe it!

I am also recovering a lot better between hard efforts. My coach was kind of evil, and put me in a relay that came pretty much right after my 500. I only had maybe 10 minutes rest. The lucky thing about this relay, however, was that it was only a 50- meaning I would only have to complete one lap (as opposed to 10!).

Despite this lack of recovery time, instead of being dead for the 50, I was able to put out a pretty good amount of speed. I was also able to put out a good amount of speed for my 100 relay about half an hour later. I could have even swum another event if I was forced to!

I had no idea speed work would help so much. Last night was the best I ever physically felt at a meet. I was still pretty tired, but I wasn't dead and exhausted like I normally am.

I thought I could do absolutely nothing else to improve my swimming. I thought that I have reached my potential and should move on. I guess that is not the case. Although I was probably still last in all or most of my events, and didn't take off very much time, it is great to know that I can still get in better shape for swimming. I will definitely appreciate all the speed stuff we have been doing at swim practice a whole lot more now!

This speed work idea will be great for my running also (once I build up a good base of fitness!).

Socks

2008-12-01T19:13:00.003-05:00

I will not stop carelessly loosing random things anytime soon.

Yesterday I lost a sock- yes, just one sock- while shopping for shoes at Payless.

I didn't notice I lost this sock until I was about to leave the store. I was about to put my regular shoes back on (my feet were barefoot from trying on so many shoes) when I realized I only had one sock.

I did a quick look around where I was sitting to see if the other sock would turn up. I thought a quick look through the aisle would produce this sock; boy-was I wrong!

This quick look through turned into a 20 minute searching ordeal. I looked under many chairs and through the shoe boxes of every shoe I tried on that afternoon (thinking I might have left it in one of them). No missing sock was found. This sock was also part of one of my favorite pairs!

After much frantic searching, I finally gave up and spent the rest of the day only wearing one sock. Let me tell you, this lopsided feeling was VERY strange. One foot was all nice and cozy, while the other foot was slipping and sliding all around the bottom of my shoe.

I have a theory: Some one-legged thief really loves my choice in footwear. He loved my Brooks shoe I lost the other day, so decided to take it.

This same guy realized he would need a sock to go with this stolen shoe- and what better place to steal it than when my feet are bare (while I am trying on shoes at Payless)!

I'm going to catch that thief one of these days, before he steals another shoe!

Missing shoe

2008-11-29T16:13:00.005-05:00

I had a great swim practice yesterday. A lot of people were gone for the Thanksgiving holiday, meaning there was a lot more lane space. Instead of 7 people trampling over me as they lap me, there were only 3-4 other swimmers in my lane. I really enjoyed this calmness.

Despite this great practice, I did two really stupid things.

1. I twisted my knee while doing a breaststroke kick. It popped and really hurt for the rest of the night. Thankfully, it feels perfectly fine today. I could barely walk last night and was worried it would compromise my running today.

2. (The dumbest thing I did)! I lost one of my running shoes. I just lost one running shoe- the right one. I brought my running shoes with me to swim practice last night; however, they were hanging off the edge of my swim bag and one must have dropped out sometime after I left practice.

All I know is that I came into swim practice with two running shoes; however, by the time I came home and went to put my stuff up, I noticed I only had one running shoe. After looking all through my bag, retracing my steps outside to my dad's car (my ride home) and looking through my dad's car, I realized that I could not find this other shoe! I completely panicked. I only have one pair of running shoes!

After calling the Rec center where I had swim practice and hearing that no shoes were found, my mom drove me back to the Rec center so that I could look around.

While at the Rec center, I looked outside.

I traced my path back to the locker room.

I looked in the locker room.

I looked on the pool deck.

I looked in the lost and found box.

I asked the people at the front desk again to see if they saw any shoes.

No right Brooks Addiction 7 Women's running shoe size 6 narrow was found.

I saw plenty of other shoes (especially in the lost and found box), but none that fit the above description.

After leaving the Rec center discouraged, my mom decided to take me to the local running shoe store this morning to see if I could purchase another pair of these shoes. After asking the sales guy about the Brooks Addiction brand, it turned out that the smallest size the store carried was a 6 and a half. They also could not order me the correct size because the Brooks store will not be open until Monday.

Defeated, I left the store and decided to order the shoe online like I have done in all previous years. The interesting thing this time about being able to order online is that Mom said she would let me spend $100 on shoes. If I find shoes cheaper than this amount, then I would be able to keep the change.

After about half an hour of digging around on the internet, I was able to find a pair of Brooks Addiction shoes for $43.98. This meant I was able to keep $56.02. Because of Mom's awesome idea (she wanted to teach me the value of money), I was able to get a new pair of shoes, and make some cash.

Not a bad price to pay for losing a shoe...

As for my running tonight, I guess I will just have to run in a really beat up pair of shoes that I normally use for when Dad forces me to do yard work. They used to be my mom's shoes, but they ended up being too small for her.

They are probably not the greatest shoes to be running in, but they will work for now. According to the website I ordered the shoes from, they should be arriving no later than Christmas Eve. I really hope they arrive sooner than that. I also hope that my right shoe turns up. They have been really great shoes so far!

Thanksgiving weekend

2008-11-28T09:55:00.003-05:00

The vacation turned out to be not as fun as I thought it would be, but it was still nice to get out of the house and see a different state. I have only been to Indiana a couple of times before.

We left to go to the hotel Wednesday around noon. We arrived around 2:30 and checked in. The hotel was absolutely in the middle of nowhere. It was about 15 miles just to get to the nearest Wal-Mart. I didn't end up doing anything special during this vacation- I pretty much just ended up staying in the hotel room the whole time.

My parents didn't even go skiing. My mom has bronchitis, so obviously that option was out. My parents wanted to go hiking instead, but the nearest state park was 30 miles away. They ended up walking around town instead. All that this "downtown" consisted of was a pawn shop and a bike shop. I declined on this "trip" to the middle of nowhere. I guess I could have gone. I just didn't really feel like it.

The rest of the night, my parents spent watching TV while I was in the middle of a good book. I ended up going downstairs to run for an hour on the treadmill as well. When I came back from this oh-so-fun treadmill run, I took a shower and pretty much just read for a while and attempted to go to sleep.

I say "attempted" because I didn't end up actually going to sleep for a couple hours after I put my head on the pillow. My parents go to bed a lot later than I do, and they had all the lights on, the TV going, and they were talking. It was pretty much impossible to sleep. When I ended up finally going to sleep, I was awoken several times by my dad's snoring. Surprisingly, I didn't wake up tired at all despite this lack of sleep.

After finally waking up the next day (Thursday), the rest of the morning was spent in the hotel room. After check out at noon, we had a Thanksgiving buffet at the hotel. Then it was time to go home. We arrived home at about 2:00. The rest of the night was spent just reading, playing on the computer, and going on another hour run on the treadmill later that night.

Today, my mom and I are going to do some Black Friday shopping. I hope there are some good deals!

Happy Thanksgiving (almost)!

2008-11-25T17:12:00.003-05:00

Yeah! It is oficially Thanksgiving break for me. School is now out for 5 days! For Thanksgiving, I am going down to Indiana for two days. My parents and I just felt like getting away for Thanksgiving (and didn't feel like cooking), so this is the reason we decided to go to Indiana.

We are staying at a really nice hotel with an indoor pool, casinos (for my parents), and a Thanksgiving buffet. There is also a ski lodge down in Indiana, but I am not sure if it is going to be open yet, or if I am even going skiiing (I don't really enjoy skiing. I hate the cold too much).

We are leaving for the hotel tomorrow morning and are coming back Thursday evening. It is about a 1-2 hour drive to this hotel in Indiana. I'm not sure yet about everything we will be doing there. I hope there is a mall there. I love to shop!

Template?

2008-11-23T17:15:00.004-05:00

Is it the new template of this blog that is making the pictures so big? I never had any problems on my old blogger template? Can templates do that: magically change the size of pictures?

I really don't know if templates can do that or not. Either way, I am keeping this template. It is a lot nicer than my previous template, and it is about 10X nicer than my original blog template.

I like blue. Blue is my favorite color. This template has lots of blue...

...and huge pictures. I'm not too crazy about the huge pictures (as you can tell... this is my second post about the issue).

Maybe I shouldn't post pictures on this blog. Then again, pictures make this blog so much prettier. I'll put a poll up shortly on the sidebar of my blog and get input about whether or not to keep posting huge pictures onto this blog. I think the more amazing thing than the answers to this poll would be whether or not I get any answers.

I'll be putting up the poll now. If you want to testify that this blog is not pathetic and that people actually read it, cast your vote. You could be the decider of the way pictures get loaded onto this blog (Wouldn't that decision make you feel important? Well...it should.)

Go on now! Vote!

Makeup of a champion

2008-11-23T16:34:00.004-05:00

Oops! Wrong kind of makeup!

Anyways...

I read a really interesting chapter yesterday in a book called "Runner's World Complete Book of Running". It was a chapter about the ways successful athletes think about their performances. It also told of ways you can get the most out of yourself physically, by changing your outlook mentally.

One thing I would like to share from this book is a list (of course...you know how I love lists) about the characteristics of a champion. I know I will never be a "champion" and win the Olympics, or something; however, this list has ideas that can apply to any athlete, no matter what their level of performance.

The characteristics of a champion:

1. The courage to risk failure, knowing that they will learn from their mistakes.

2. Using a race to gain greater self-knowledge as well as feedback on physical improvement.

3. Training thought processes as well as the body to produce a total approach to performance.

4. Understanding their athletic weaknesses, and working to improve these weaknesses.

5. Creating a life of balance, moderation, and simplicity- values that help improve running and life.

6. Understanding that they have both good and bad running performances, and learning to accept them both.

7. Enjoying running just for the fun of it.

8. Having vision. A champion dreams of things that haven't been and believes they are possible. A champion says "I can".

The book also explained some ways that you can tell if your thought process needs improving. I'm just going to paraphrase this list though. I don't like copying lots of stuff out of books. It feels too much like schoolwork.

Anyways, here are some ways you can tell:

1. You look only for external improvements, such as new PRs, as opposed to internal improvements.

2. You base your self-worth only upon these external improvements.

3. You focus on being perfect, instead of just being the best that you can possibly become.

4. You look at mistakes as failures.

5. You blame others or uncontrollable circumstances when things go wrong, leaving you feeling helpless.

6. You have unrealistic goals that only result in frustration.

After reading through this chapter, I found many positive things that I am doing right; however, I have also found many things that I could use some work on. One thing I found that I am doing right is having goals that are tough, yet achievable. (I.e. finishing an Ironman triathlon by 2010). I also do love to run (and work out in general) just for the fun of it. I never go on a run where I am not enjoying myself.

An example of a way I could be better, however, is that I can do a better job focusing on the internal improvements that have happened to me since I have begun this sport (i.e. I'm a lot happier and more confident than I used to be), instead of focusing mainly on the external things such as PRs. I always compare my times to everyone else's and feel bad about myself for not measuring up. I need to think more about all the positive things I have gained from participating in sports.

What are characteristics of a champion that you poses? What are ways you can find to improve your weaknesses?

A few quick updates

2008-11-20T20:05:00.003-05:00

I don't have time to make a whole huge post on this blog, but I still feel like making a small one.

1. I like making lists. You have probably seen (and will continue to see) many lists on this blog.

2. It is snowing tonight (Already...ugh) which means there is no swim practice tonight. That is the only reason I am sitting at this computer and not swimming 10 X 100 IM or something.

3. I have had so much homework this week. Can anybody say three essays in a single week? My teachers are insane!

4. Remember the thing I talked about a couple of posts ago about getting left off the swim team T-Shirt? It turns out that actually was not deliberate and my name was not crossed off a list Someone just simply forgot to write my name down on the list. There was not a list already pre-made.

5. I'm joining the track team this spring and am really excited about it! It will be something really different and fun to do. Every year since middle school, I have wanted to join the cross country and track teams, but never really acted on that desire. I always regretted my decision. As another benefit, the track team should give me extra leg speed in my quest for a sub-22 5K.

6. I officially got accepted into National Honor Society. The induction ceremony is in December. I am so glad I got in because the application process was really tough. We had to fill out this huge application about all our volunteer activities, extracurricular, etc. We also had to write an essay (yet again with the essays- I am becoming a professional essay writer at this point). I thought my application was really bad, and that I wouldn't get in. I was really surprised when I made it!

7. I had a really great run today in the snow! Normally I think of winter weather as really, really gross, but the snow shower I ran in today was actually very beautiful.

8. I ran two other times this week in the cold weather. It has never gotten above 35 degrees this week. I'm going to have a fun time training this winter (or not…)!

Huge pictures

2008-11-16T16:36:00.002-05:00

I have no idea why the last two pictures I have put on this blog have turned out so HUGE. Just to let you know, I didn't delebrately make the pictures that big. They just decided to grow themselves. I'm just hoping that future pictures turn out smaller. Large pictures bug me. Actually, the large pictures don't bug me. It is just the REALLY large pictures like the one on the previous post that bug me.

Do they bug you? Does anyone know how to shrink random pictures that just decide to have growth spurts right here on my blog?

Okay. I will stop rambling right now. Maybe I'll stop. I don't know. I'm procrastionating on the Spanish test I have to study for. Guess I better go study so I don't fail the thing. Maybe all my blog pictures will shrink in the meantime. I hope so

This runnin' thing

2008-11-16T15:19:00.004-05:00

In my quest for a sub 22 minute 5K, I am becoming completely addicted to the sport of running. I was already addicted to this sport before, but my new goal is giving me so much motivation that I am starting to love every step I take.

This whole 3 day weekend was almost completely devoted to running. I went for 2 runs this weekend. One run was an hour on the treadmill yesterday. Another run was a 45 minute jaunt outside in the 35 degree weather. I just now came back from this run. I still have the sweaty face and red glow on my cheeks to prove it!

The rest of the weekend has been devoted to reading everything I can about the sport. It is just my personality that when I become excited about obtaining a goal, I devote myself fully to it. Sometimes the pursuit of this goal is all I can think about. Ever since my 5K, I have been thinking very hard about all the ways I can improve in this sport. Here are all the books I have read within the past couple of weeks on the subject of running:

Run Fast- by Hal Higdon
Daniel's Running Formula- by Jack Daniels
The Competitive Runner's Handbook- by Bob Glover
The Cutting Edge Runner- by Matt Fitzgerald
Runner's World Guide to Road Racing- by Katie McDonald Neitz

...and the two I still have yet to finish:

Runner's World Complete Book of Running-by Amby Burfoot
Training for Young Distance Runners-by Larry Green and Russ Pate

If you are interested in learning more about running (Yes- There is more to it than left foot, right foot for all you sarcastic people out there) I would highly recommend any one of these books. They all have GREAT information.

Just a sample of the things I am learning:

1. When you are running up a hill, it is easier to lean back than to lean forward. I tried this tip on my run today while jogging up a relatively big hill. This tip definitely seemed to decrease the effort needed to climb the hill.

2. I learned all about the different types of speed work such as fartleks, tempo runs, intervals, etc. I also learned how long and for what paces you should be running these workouts. I also learned how much speed work to incorporate into a running program for best results.

3. I learned that more mileage is usually better and will normally help you run a lot faster in races. There is only one catch to this rule though: Don't run so much mileage that your body can't recover and get stronger. This will hinder your running performances- not help them.

4. I learned that the recovery between hard workouts is more important than the hard workouts themselves. This is because the recovery period is when torn up muscles rebuild themselves and become even stronger.

5. I saw many very good training programs in these books- and online- that will help me reach my goals. It's still too early though for me to decide on a specific one though.

So as you can tell, I am getting a little bit excited about this new goal. Once time passes and I get into a regular running routine (I am hoping to build up to at least 6-7 days of running per week) I will probably calm down tremendously. Hopefully by this time, I will still stay just as motivated as I am now. I am SO excited right now about the prospect of being able to succeed in a sport.

I am also starting to love running for a completely different reason as well: just being out there feels SO good. I love having the road to myself. I love not having to worry about people constantly on top of me, trying to get around me, and running over me like I do during a crowded swim practice. I also never have to compare myself to other people, since I am usually the only one out running in my rural neighborhood.

I also love just being outside in the elements and the huge endorphin rush that running brings.

As for swimming, I'm not going to let a few members of the swim team's opinion affect how I feel about the sport. I'm still going to swim as hard as I possibly can during the meets. I'm still going to go to practice every night.

Then again, if track season rolls along and I still feel the same way about swimming, you KNOW what I am going to do...

Just venting...

2008-11-14T11:18:00.003-05:00

Okay. I've been sick all week. I woke up with a sore throat last Thursday and continued to feel sick on Friday. I thought I was well enough Saturday to swim at a meet last weekend. I felt fine on Saturday, but when I came back on the second day of the meet and swam on Sunday, I started losing my voice. My voice was completely gone on Monday, and it didn't start coming back until Wednesday. Last night I finally felt well enough to go to swim practice. I got a wonderful welcome back.

Right after the warm-up set, the coach had us all gather in one lane at the far right side of the pool so that he could talk to us. He started off talking about a meeting that would take place for all members of the team planning to go to a swim meet in Indiana next weekend. (I'm not going to this meet- I don't feel like traveling to the next state over just to swim). He said a couple things about this meet, and then he started talking about team T-Shirts.

At this point, I was only maybe half paying attention. My mind was wandering between many random things such as what the coach was going to give us for our next set, and what I would do on my three day weekend (I got the day off from school today. Wahoo!). Then the coach said something about a person on the team deliberately leaving someone's name off of the Team T-Shirts.

Of course you know where this discussion is going. Why else would I bring this incident up? Apparently, someone on the team thought it would be a wonderful idea to leave my name off the team T-Shirts. I don't know who exactly decided to leave my name off. All I know is that the action was deliberate. I knew this by the way the coach was yelling, saying things like "We don't exclude anyone from this team!”

I didn't find out that I was the person left off the T-Shirts until almost the very end of the coach's speech. I heard him say something at the beginning of the speech like "Why would you exclude Amy from the list". I thought I was mishearing things though until towards the end of the speech, he stated this question again.

The second time the coach said my name in reference to this act, the words struck me like a blow to the stomach. It was all I could do not to burst out into tears right in the middle of swim practice. Apparently the people who excluded me from being on the T-Shirt don't feel like I'm good enough to be part of the team.
I know that I am a terrible swimmer: I am the slowest swimmer in the slowest lane. I get lapped every 200 yards by all the other swimmers in my lane- most still in middle school. Sometimes in practice, the coach will make separate intervals for me because I am too slow to keep up with the rest of the team.

I have frequently felt like I didn't belong on this team. My parents pay the same annual fee for me to swim on this team as any other team member's parents. I go to practice just as often and work just as hard as anyone else on the team- yet I never feel like I belong there.

It's mostly the frustrating feeling I feel when everyone in my lane laps me 5 or more times during a 1000 yard set. It's the feeling I get when no matter how hard I work, I can never place better than last at any swim meet I "compete" in. It's the feeling I get when I do a swim event such as the mile and finish 6 minutes behind the second to last person. It's the feeling I get when I have (according to my training log) devoted over 240 hours of my life-this year alone- to swimming and realize I am still as terrible of a swimmer as the day I started this sport.

This feeling is incredibly frustrating to say the least. That is what made my running victory I mentioned in the last post so amazing- I was actually able to work hard, improve, and get a respectable time that puts me in the middle of the pack.

So now you know why not being good enough to even get my name on a T-Shirt is such a crushing blow. I already feel like I am not good enough to belong on the team; however I thought this belief was like one of those irrational beliefs I had as a little kid, where if I didn't sleep with a nightlight, monsters would come and eat me. (I actually didn't believe that- I'm just using it as an example).

Don't get me wrong. Most of the people on my swim team are VERY supportive and nice to me. A couple of them approached me after the coach's lecture and said how bad they felt that someone would try and do that to me. Like I said, I don't know who exactly on my team would do that. It was probably someone I don't know very well (obviously!).

I have just been getting SO frustrated with the sport of swimming during the past few months. I am mad that I put this much dedication and hard work into something, yet still never improve and end up being so far behind everyone else. Every day, I think about how great it would be to quit the swim team and focus on my running- a sport where hard work and dedication actually pays off.

...Maybe if I did track and cross-country, I wouldn't be the joke of the team anymore. I might actually be good at those sports.

I do have dreams of making varsity cross country next year. If I can train hard and get my 5K time under 22:00, I definitely have a shot at making varsity cross-country. I have no idea what I would have to do to make varsity track. I'm going to train hard all winter though. I'm going to get my mileage up to at least 30-40 a week this winter. I am going to start adding speed work in the spring. I will further increase my mileage to maybe 50 this summer. I will put my heart and soul into running and I will ACHIEVE something.

The odd thing about my frustration with swimming is that though I am really starting to hate swimming, I love it at the same time. I love getting in the pool every night. I love the feeling of water against my skin; I love the smell of chlorine. I love the electrical feeling in the air at a swim meet. I love PR'ing in a swim meet- even if only by a few seconds. I love the calming monotony while doing long distance sets that almost lulls me to sleep, yet keeps me so awake at the same time. I love swimming IMs. I love the feeling of a heated pool in the middle of winter.

No. I am not ready to give up swimming just yet. I am just SO incredibly frustrated right now!

Yes. I did still end up getting my name on the back of the T-Shirt.

And no. You couldn’t pay me all the money in the world to wear that stupid shirt!

5K suprise

2008-11-12T17:06:00.005-05:00

I used to think I was terrible at every single athletic event imaginable. I completely surprised myself though on Nov 1 2008. I cut 3 minutes off my 5K time, going from a PR of 29:31 to a 26:28. If you want to read all about this race, I have the race report located at the side bar of this blog. All I can say about the 5K was that it was SO fun and I had no idea that I would do so well.

The thing that surprised me the most about this 5K was that overall, I finished 16th out of 83 people (but this placement also includes walkers). I also finished first place in my age group (out of three people) beating two people on the cross country team!

This race happened almost two weeks ago, but I am still incredibly proud of my accomplishment. This made me realized that I actually have potential in the sport of running, and that if I work hard in this sport, I can achieve many more great things.

I decided on a goal that I am extremely willing to work hard to achieve: A sub 22 minute 5K by (hopefully) August 2009. The reason I want a sub 22 in this time period is because I think it would be so neat to make the varsity cross country team at my school. To make the varsity cross country team at my school, you need a 5K time of 21minutes or under.

I have never been good (or even average) at a single sport in my life. To make the varsity cross country team would be an amazing goal that would completely change my entire perception on who I am as an athlete- and who I am as a person.

I already love the idea that I am actually improving as a runner. This kind of improvement never happened to me in a single sport before. I know I was able to improve my bicycling over the summer by a large amount- but definitely not enough to make me middle of the pack!

So this is my new goal for the upcoming season. To work hard at my running and cut my 5K time down as much as possible. I realize I have written about other goals before in this blog (i.e. a self-supported half-marathon) but I never really had enough motivation to actually accomplish them.

For this goal, I am willing to do whatever it takes to achieve it (except steroids, lol). I will build my mileage to at least 30-40 miles a week, I will start doing speed work sometime in the near future, and I may run on my school's track team this spring. I'm not quite sure about the track team yet though. I will just have to see.

I revived this blog to keep a record of my journey to a sub 22 minute 5K. I want some way of keeping myself motivated and accountable. I am willing to do whatever it takes though. Varsity cross country sounds likes a dream now, but maybe in another year it will be a reality.

A quick update

2008-10-04T20:34:00.003-04:00

Okay. I guess I will write a quick update about how my week has been going (if you really care...).

As you may have inferred from my previous post, I took an SAT today. The test was sooooo looooonggggggg. I arrived at the test center (a high school about 10-15 minutes away from where I live) at about 7:45. I thought the test would begin at 8:00 and end at 12:00. I told my dad to pick me up at 12:00- but made a huge mistake by telling him this.

The test actually did not end up beginning until about 8:40 (it took a while to get into the rooms, and the proctor had to read all the directions before we started the test). The test didn't actually end until past 1:00. My dad waited for over an hour for me. I felt so bad, but I couldn't contact him because I forgot to bring my cell phone. It wouldn’t have even made a difference if I brought the phone, however. The rules were that you could not use phones during the test.

So while my dad was waiting, I was furiously trying to answer math, reading, and writing questions. There were about 10 sections on this test (one 10 minute section, two 20 minute sections, and seven 25 minute sections). I also had an essay to write.

I can't tell specific details about the test questions until I get my official scores (talking about the questions is apparently against test center rules), but I can tell that the test went a lot better than I thought it would go.

I took a practice SAT in March, and ended up not doing so well. This practice test was at the end of a week of standardized testing at school and I didn't study at all for this test. The one I took today, however, I have been studying all week for. The studying helped tremendously to get me used to the question types on the test. I have no idea how well I did on the test today, but I know I will have done better than I did on the practice test in March.

Next up:
PSAT- Oct. 18
ACT- Oct. 25

I hope I do okay on those tests as well.

Another major thing that happened this week is that I got my braces off on Wednesday. It was so nice to get those things off! Now I don't get pieces of food stuck in my teeth after I eat (I had to clean out chunks of food stuck in my teeth after every meal when I had braces.). I also have straight teeth now instead of crooked ones.

Here are my weekly workout totals. For some reason, I have been feeling like posting them a lot lately. I have no idea why. Maybe to give me motivation?

The week ended with a nice, long bike ride today to blow off steam after the test. It was such a great ride! I love riding my bike!

Weekly totals: 9/28-10/4
Swim: 6h 50m
Bike: 3h 10m
Run: 1h 30m
Yoga: 57m
Total: 12h 27m

SAT tomorrow

2008-10-03T19:17:00.002-04:00

I'm taking the SAT tomorrow!

Wish me luck.

Can I count this test as an endurance event? The test is 3 hours and 45 minutes long, not including breaks.

I'm back

2008-09-28T10:01:00.003-04:00

Yes. I realize I haven't posted in here in a while. I have many good reasons.

First of all, two Sundays ago, a really bad windstorm came through the area. This windstorm was the remains of Hurricane Ike. I didn't get any rain or thunder that normally comes with a hurricane (and the winds weren't quite hurricane-force either), but the storm did knock down several trees in our yard- it also knocked out the power in our house for about a week and a half.

Life was pretty rough without power. The only good thing that came out of having no power was that I also had no school for two days (it took a while for the school to get power back as well).

During this time with no power, I had no running water, no computer, no ability to eat hot food (I ate a lot of sandwiches), no ability to see in the dark (I had to use a tiny flash light after the sun came down), and many other annoying inconveniences. I also had yet another week of not having swim team practice. The first week of practice was unofficially postponed until last Friday (due to the rec center not having power either).

The reason it took so long to get power back was that the power station caught on fire. I have no idea how, but for some reason the whole station caught on fire. I think there were over 400,000 people in our area without power.

With all the power and electric people hard at work, I finally got my power back this past Tuesday. Since then, I haven't really felt like writing in here, but now I finally do- so I am back.

The other interesting thing that has happened this past week was that I finally got to get behind the wheel of a car! I took Driver's Ed this past July and August, but haven't had a chance to actually drive a car until this past week. I haven't done anything fancy yet (just laps in a parking lot) but it was still pretty fun. So far, I have gotten to drive a car twice and will practice driving many more times to come (I am hoping to get my license in January).

I'm not really the greatest driver yet. On my first lesson, I drove onto a curb and gave my driving instructor (my dad's friend's son) a flat tire! I am definitely starting to get better at driving though. I can't wait to be able to take the car out on to the road!

I have another driving lesson scheduled today as well. This lesson is one with the driving school (so, a different instructor), but it should be fun too. It is a two hour lesson, and I think I might be getting on the roads today. Watch out Southern Ohio!

I guess I should update on my workouts too, since this is a triathlon blog. To sum up my workouts for the past two weeks: Last week I wasn't able to swim that much, so I did lots of running and biking. This week I was finally able to swim again, so I did lots of swimming.

I can post my workout totals for these past two weeks, if you really care at all:

Last week (Sept. 14-20)
Swim: 1h 33m
Bike: 6h 07m (my biggest bike week yet!)
Run: 3h 42m
Total: 11h 22m

This past week (Sept. 21-27)
Swim: 9h 16m (my catch-up week to the lack of swimming over the past month)
Bike: None (shame on me!)
Run: 2h 17m
Yoga: 50m
Total: 12h 23 min

P.S. I so badly hate the fact that autumn (and thus, winter) is coming. I looked at the extended weather forecast for this week, and it is supposed to get down to 38 degrees Thursday morning. Yucky!

Back in the pool

2008-09-12T13:37:00.002-04:00

As you may know already, my swim team has been on a three week break. I was able to swim at a health club for one of these weeks, but since the health club membership expired at the end of August and it was too expensive to renew, I have had no pool access for almost two weeks. That is a really long time to be unable to swim. I am used to swimming almost every day!

The swim team break was originally supposed to last until Monday because of pool construction; however, the construction finished early- which meant we were able to get back into the pool yesterday.

I was originally planning on not going back to practice yesterday since I would have to endure a long discussion about pool rules (never be on deck without a coach and lifeguard on deck at the same time, no running on the pool deck...). After almost two weeks of no swimming though, that plan changed. I missed swimming so much that the chance for some water time was worth having to endure the long pool rules discussion!

The pool rule discussion turned out not to be that bad. The coaches found a way to make the discussion interesting by talking about the upcoming swim season (I am SO excited for our first meet in October!) and by throwing in some jokes. The whole discussion only lasted about twenty minutes, then I finally had a chance to get back in the water!

It felt SO great to be back in the pool again. The time we were actually in the water was really short- only about 40 minutes- but I loved every minute of it!

I also loved how, since it was the first practice, that the coach made all the sets on really easy intervals (i.e. 10 X 50 on 1:00 instead of 10 X 50 on :55). I was actually able to keep up with these easy intervals! Normally I can never make the intervals, and I am always getting run over as people lap me. I am the slowest person in the lane by far (and I swim in the slowest lane available)! I am always getting lapped!

Speaking of being such a slow swimmer, I am really going to try hard to improve this year. It is so frustrating being the slowest person in the lane and always getting lapped. I haven't really improved my speed at all this past year. All I was able to do was to take off a few seconds on some of my swim times at meets. I was also able to keep up with some of the harder sprint sets the coach had us do in the pool this summer.

The only reason I was able to keep up with these sets though is because I would be pushing myself so hard I was literally gasping for air after every single set. I noticed everyone else in my lane was barely breathing hard to keep up the same pace.

To get faster this year, I have decided that I am going to work a lot on my stroke technique. I think there is something wrong with my stoke that is slowing me down so much. I know it is not a fitness issue, because I have been swimming at least 4-5 days a week (usually more) for the past year!

I know for a fact my stroke needs work because it takes me 30 strokes to get across the pool. I found this out during a stroke counting drill the coach had us do one night at practice. It took everyone else somewhere between 13-17 strokes to get across the pool!

My coach has stoke clinics that you can attend twice a month. There is a total of six swimmers in each of these clinics and he gives each of us personal feedback about what we can do to improve our stokes.

I attended some of these clinics last year, but I only went to maybe three or four the whole year. I was pretty busy with school and everything last year, and didn't realize the importance of these stoke clinics. Now I do and I am definitely going to discuss my concerns with my coach and go to as many stroke clinics as possible.

Don't think I am being really negative in this post. I would just really love to be able to reach my potential in this sport. I am obviously doing something wrong to prevent myself from reaching this potential if I am swimming 5 times a week and not getting faster. I'm not saying I want to be the next Michael Phelps. I just want to be the best swimmer (and the best triathlete) that I can possibly be.

13.1 Independent Run

2008-09-11T16:45:00.003-04:00

13.1 Independent Run.

The self-supported half marathon I am doing finally has a name. The "13.1" part comes from, ovbiously, the length of the race. The "Independent Run" part comes from the fact that it is completely self-suppoted, much like the Independent Duathlons I did a couple of months ago.

Here are all the details of my next event:

Who: Just me is all that is paricipating. No other participants, no entry fee, no T-Shirt. That is why the race is called "Independent".

What: A Self-Suppoted half marathon (I think I've already said that a couple of times!).

Where: The streets in my neighborhood I always train on. There will be no fancy course for this particular event!

When: I am planning to do the race Oct. 17. This date is not set in stone and may be moved due to weather conditions and/or how ready I feel to tackle a half marathon by that date (it may be moved to an eariler date, it may be moved to a later date. I have no idea yet).

Why: I have no transportation to get to an actual half marathon this year; but I made it my vow for 2008 to run this distance. A self-supported half maraton sounds like a fun idea too!

Self-supported half marathon

2008-09-10T20:38:00.003-04:00

I guess I won't be running an official half marathon this year.

As you may or may not know, I am learning how to drive this year. This means I can't drive on my own yet (I don't get my liscense untill at least January) amd thus, still have to rely on my parents for transportation.

My parents never really feel like taking me to races. They do take me sometimes, but not often (they will take me to all my swim meets, but outside of that, my only other races this season were two triathlons). I don't blame them. It is not much fun for them. From their prespective, all they get to do is wake up really early, and go on a long drive to sit around for two or more hours while I complete the race.

As you might have already inferred, my parents don't feel like driving me to any half marathons this year. I have no other option for transportation. That is why I am bringing the race to me. Within the next coming months (when I feel like my training has been going well and I am ready) I will do a self-supported half marathon.

I will make the course exactly 13.1 miles in length. The aid station/restrooms will be located at my house. The only challenge to this "race" besides finishing is finding a way to measure the course length accuratly. I will have to buy a bike computer or a Garmin for this purpose.

All I know is that I made it my vow at the beginning of the year to do a half marathon in 2008. I WILL make my wish come true, whatever the obsticles may be.

I should be able to run an officail half marathon next year in 2009. I will be able to drive (all by myself!) to a race by then!

Speaking of driving, I can't wait to get my liscense! The freedom of being able to go wherever I want, whenever I want sounds incredibly amazing.

No swimming = Sad

2008-09-03T18:05:00.003-04:00

The year-round club swim team I train with is currantly on a three week break. The break started Aug. 22 and continues untill Sept. 15.

I am also no longer a member of the health club I would normally swim at (which is only about 5 minutes away from home and very convienint). The membership dues were getting really expensive and my mom decided to cancel the membership to save money.

This means I have no pool to swim at- for two whole weeks.

I really hope I can find a pool around the area to swim at in the mean time. I feel weird when I don't swim for more than a day- let alone two weeks!

This was my litte rant for the day. Time to sign off now-

With no pool to swim in (tear).

First day of school

2008-08-26T18:24:00.008-04:00

My full race report is finished! You can view it here:
http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=129760

Yesterday was also my first day of school. I'm glad the triathlon gave me something to look forward to (so that I wasn't worrying about school the past few weeks). The summer went by way too fast- and school started again way too soon!

There is not much I can really say about my first day of school. I was given a pop-quiz first thing in the morning in U.S. History (me and the entire rest of the class failed this quiz!). I hope the quiz wasn't counted for a huge grade. I'm very relieved we are having a bonus quiz later in the week to be able to make up some points we lost from that pop quiz. I hope all the teacher's quizzes and tests aren't as hard as that first one I just took!

I was also given another quiz in chemisty. That quiz was pretty easy though. It was over the names of the elements in the periodic table (which I studied this summer). I only missed three questions out of about thirty on that quiz.

Yesterday, I was also given a ton of homework in math. I was given 6 sections of the book to complete, every section has about 50 problems. I'm incredibly glad we get two weeks to finish this assignment!

My study hall was really nice though. It gave me plenty of time to get some of those math problems done. I am so greatful for that study hall this year!

I think the funniest thing that happened yesteday was during third period spanish. I am taking Spanish 3, and throughout the entire class, the teacher thought that we were in the Spanish 2 class. She didn't realize her mistake untill the end of the period when someone pointed it out to her. That was definitely intresting!

My second day of school today was pretty much as uneventful as my first. It went by a lot easier though, now that I know what classes I have and where they are all located.

Just 178 more school days untill next summer break!

Some photos from the race

2008-08-24T19:53:00.011-04:00

Remember when I said I would have race photos up soon? Well, here they are. These pictures are only the ones that my parents took. I think the race organizers took photos as well. I'll have those up soon too.

I think this is the first time I posted photos on this blog. Now you all get to see what I look like. I'm sure you were dying to know.

The start of the swim. Just me and 750 of my closest friends.

Coming out of the swim. I am the one in the black swimsuit (not the wetsuit) just barely out of the lake.

Still coming out of the swim. In case you still haven't found me in the black swimsuit yet, I am the one with HUGE tan lines on my legs.

Running from the lake to the transiton area.

Running to the finish (this is when I picked up my pace from a walk to an almost sprint)!

Still running to the finish (now I'm sprinting- well, as much as I can after 4 hours of exercise)!

FOOD! (Yes, I look like crap after 4 hours of exercise in the heat. I think everyone does!).

I think the race orgainzers are going to have a lot more photos from between the swim and the finish. My parents weren't at the race site the whole time, so those are the only oppertunities they had to take pictures. Sorry if it seems like there is a huge gap in this photo-story!

Today's race: A brief report

2008-08-24T19:16:00.005-04:00

I finished!!! I did my first olympic-distance triathlon today and I finished!!!

The race was really fun, but pretty tireing. I enjoyed every moment of it!

Some highlights of the race-

The swim: I accidently swam the half ironman course. Oops. Oh well, the lake was nice anyway. Apparently when I saw some people turning, I was supposed to follow them toward the finish line. I wasn't supposed to keep going straight!

The bike: My new road bike made the 25 miles fly by. At the end of the ride, I felt like I could have actually went farther! I even ended up passing a couple people during this bike ride (all on road bikes!) even though maybe 20 or so people passed me. I never passed anyone on a bike before! The hills also felt SO much smaller and easier to climb on the road bike!

The run: Whew! This was when I was starting to get tired! I pretty much ran/walked the entire course. The race also finished in 85 (ish) degree heat. I kept myself plenty cool with the water at the aid stations, but the run was still pretty tough. My next goal is to be able to run the entire course (without walk breaks) next time I do an olympic-distance triathln.

The finish: Wow! The finish was amazing. I couldn't believe I just did an olympic distance triathlon. I did a huge sprint to the end, followed by much eating, drinking of water, and when I got home- a shower, nap, and more food.

Today's race was great! I love this sport SO much!

Full race report (with pictures!) coming soon.

Triathlon tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2008-08-23T19:40:00.003-04:00

I am so excited I can't sit still!!!!!! A moment ago, I was jumping up and down all over the room!!!!!!! I can't wait until tomorrow. I can't wait until tomorrow, I can't wait until tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tomorrow is my first Olympic distance triathlon, in case you may not have realized (well obviously, now you do)!!!!!!!

I wasn't even thinking about this race a whole bunch between the time I registered for it and now- it was just something that was in the back of my mind. It didn't seem real that I was actually doing it. Now it seems as real as the skin on my face (Was that the dumbest simile you ever heard?!).

What knocked me into this shock of reality was the planning that I just now realized I have to do for tomorrow. Tonight, I was half- heartedly thinking “oh, there is a race tomorrow". Then I (again half-heartedly) realized "Oops. I have to prepare!” By the time I started thinking of concrete details, however, the reality began to sink in. I started asking myself questions such as: What time do I need to leave the house? (I have to leave at 6:00 A.M. to be at the race site by 8:00 A.M.) How far away is the race from where I live? (54 minutes according to MapQuest) Should I start packing my gear now? (Yes!).

I can't believe this is actually happening!!!!!!

As you may recall, I haven't done a triathlon- of any distance- since the beginning of May. Now it is time to see the benefits of an entire summer of training. I've been training 2 hours a day for 6 days a week. I also got a road bike and increased my longest swim/bike/run distances- all by pretty good amounts.

This summer has basically gotten me addicted to the sport. I'm now completely addicted to training, and the euphoric way that I feel afterwards. This sport feels like more than just a hobby to me now. I love to race, but participating in this sport is no longer all about the races for me. I would keep on training- even if I never was able to race again.

This summer has shown that I have really found something in life that I love to do. I love this sport and am ready to tear the course up tomorrow! Maybe (if I am really, really lucky…) I will finish second to last place tomorrow. That is a big if- and I honestly could care less how I place! I looked at the participant list for tomorrow and I was the only one listed in my age group competing in the Olympic distance triathlon. I will still get a trophy no matter how slow I go! Horry for automatic awards!

I am SO ready to see how much I have improved in this sport over the summer. This race is going to be the true test of that. I am going to do more exercise in a single day than I have ever done in my entire life. I have built up to biking 25 miles with a short run afterwards (about a 3 mile distance). I have also done some long runs (about 10 miles). I have never, however, rode my bike 25 miles and then ran 6. It should be quite the experience! I hope to finish strong!

Anyways, next time you hear from me, I will be writing a race report. I can't believe I am doing this!

Now, if you excuse me, this typing is WAY too much focus and sitting still for me right now. I shall return to jumping up and down and screaming loud, stupid songs.

I could really use a workout right now. A 2 hour swim, bike, or run sounds like heaven. The only problem is that I have to stay off my feet to keep myself fresh for tomorrow; however, I bet I won't be wishing for more workouts in the middle of that 6mile run tomorrow!

Getting used to my new bike: A daily diary

2008-08-22T15:30:00.003-04:00

Here is my daily diary (bought to you by my training log) of what it was like getting used to my road bike. I am pretty much used to it now, but still can not believe how fast it goes! I am so excited to use it in the triathlon on Sunday! Maybe it won't take me 3 hours to finish the 25 mile bike ride now! I am secretly hoping to finish the bike ride in less than 2 hours with my new, lightning-fast Trek Pilot 1.2. That would be so neat if I can make that goal!

Mon Aug. 18:

I got a new bike today!!!!! It is a Trek Pilot 1.2. It is so awesome and I can't wait to ride it! I test rode it in the parking lot of the bike shop, and it is SO fast compared to my mountain bike!!!

Tue Aug. 19:

I did an easy ride today (I rode for about 45 min) to get used to my new bike. Oh my gosh! It is so fast!!! I had to keep breaking and coasting to keep my speed down. I am not used to going so fast!

Tomorrow, I will try pedaling normally on the bike to get comfortable with the new speed.

My elbows are also really sore from riding my bike in a different position.

I LOVE MY NEW BIKE!!!

Wed Aug. 20:

I did another ride today to get used to my new bike. I rode for about 55 mins today. I am still getting used to the extra speed, but I am breaking and coasting less (I only did that a little on the down hills)!

I'm still getting used to the hand position too. My elbows were less sore, but my hands were kind of sore today. I am also getting used to the new way of turning. I accidentally went off the road twice while trying to turn!

I'm getting used to this bike :)

Thur Aug. 21:

I'm getting a little more used to this bike now. I was actually able to ride my normal route today- that I was originally riding with my mountain bike. I actually added 2 miles to the route and STILL finished in the same time that the mountain bike ride would have taken me (about 45 min)! I also wasn't even working that hard (I was barely sweating when I got home). I need to work harder and get used to all this free speed!

The turning is getting a little better too. I only went off the road once today!

My elbows and arms are still a little sore (though not as bad as yesterday) but I will get bike gloves to help with that.

Maybe I won't finish dead last in the triathlon Sunday. That is a BIG maybe...

Fri Aug. 22 ("That is today!" says Captain Obvious):

I love my new bike!!!

The same loop I rode today took 2:55 in May.

With my mountain bike a couple weeks ago, this loop took 1:55.

Now this loop takes 1:27!

I am getting better used to this bike now. I still have to break before I turn (which probably isn't good on the breaks) but I didn't run off the road once today.

This bike is so light. I feel like I can ride forever on it! The only problem is my hands hurt. I will get bike gloves for that this weekend.

I can't wait to see how fast I can go on the triathlon!

New bike!!!

2008-08-19T12:56:00.003-04:00

I finally got a road bike yesterday! It is so awesome and fast! Shown above is a picture of my new bike. My new bike is a Trek Pilot 1.2 and I love it!

My mom paid for half of the cost of the $660 bike. I had to pay the other half. I am now $330 poorer, but the bike is definitely worth the expensive cost. Maybe I will actually get to finish second to last in a triathlon (as opposed to dead last like I normally place!).

I took the bike on a test ride in the bike store parking lot yesterday, and was immediately amazed at the lightness and speed of the bike. I was even more impressed when I took the new bike on its first ride today.

The ride I did today was mostly just to get used to the bike. I rode the bike up and down the street right next to my house, where I wouldn't have to worry about cars. I practiced shifting gears and basically just getting used to the new feel of the bike.

These are the things I noticed while taking my new bike on its first spin today:

1. This bike is so much nicer than my previous steed- a $100 piece of crap from Wal-Mart.

2. This bike is so light!

3. The gear shifting on this bike is so much different than that of my previous bike.

4. The hand position is different too. My elbows are kind of stretched out and sore today, but I'm sure I will eventually get used to this new position.

5. This bike is SO light. I can actually lift the bike many feet above the ground. My other bike, I may have been able to lift an inch off the ground.

6. The suspension on the bike is very different. I can feel every little leaf and bump now. Now I see why people complain about bumpy roads in triathlons! On my old bike, I never felt any of the small bumps!

7. This. Bike. Is. So. Fast. The speed I can maintain pushing as hard as I can going downhill on my mountain bike is the same speed I can now maintain while barely pedaling on the flats!

8. Going faster is kind of scary! I had to keep braking and coasting because I wasn't used to all the new speed! I WILL get used to the new speed on this bike, and I WILL be comfortable enough to pedal normally and fly down the roads (They don't call this bike a 'Pilot" for nothing!).

9. This bike has no kickstand. I had issues leaning my bike against the wall today; having it clatter to the ground twice and making me look like a HUGE klutz!

10. I love my new bike and can't wait to ride it again tomorrow!

P.S. My mom and dad also got new road bikes yesterday too. My mom got the Trek 1000 and my dad got the 1.5 model of my bike. They couldn't stand me having something nice that they didn't have! All they had before they got these new bikes were 20 year old Schwinn mountain bikes, so they needed new bikes more than I did!

A quick stop in my school in the summer

2008-08-14T13:28:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, I had to go back to my school (in the summer time!) to get my picture taken. I have absolutely no idea why my school does pictures during the summer- I guess for the same reason that they have summer homework. They don't want us to have an actual summer break!

Anyways, I haven't gotten my picture taken since middle school (back in the time when they actually took pictures during the school day…) so I had to get my picture taken this year. Actually, my mom forced me to get my picture taken. I had no enthusiasm about the plan whatsoever. I already know what I look like! Why would I want to step into a school building two weeks early just to get more proof that I have blonde hair and braces?

My mom made a really huge deal about getting these pictures taken (since I haven't had any in three years!). She took me to a salon, where I got my hair blow dried and curled. Then, my mom had me put on a ton of makeup (which I normally never wear). This makeup included lip gloss, eye liner, eye shadow, mascara, blush, and some random green and beige goo that I had to rub on my face. By the time this was all done, I was all prim and pretty. I was as ready as I ever could be to step into a school building in the middle of the summer.

Thankfully, the line to take the pictures wasn't that long. I was done fairly quickly; however, for some reason, my mom forgot to put the check in the picture order form. I had to run all the way back out to the car to have mom write me another check! After this, I had to go all the way back to the gym (where the pictures were being taken) to give the picture guy the money!

After giving the picture guy the check (thankfully, I didn't have to wait in line again!) it was time to pick up my schedule for the upcoming school year. There is not really much to say about this schedule (It’s a school schedule. How fascinating can it be?). The only thing to say is that I have all my hard classes in the morning. All my easy classes are in the afternoon.

Morning classes: AP chemistry, AP U.S. History, A.P. Calculus, Spanish 3

Afternoon classes: A.P. English (the only hard class of the afternoon), Personal Finance, Study hall.

The one thing I would like to bring your attention to is the Study hall. I wasn't expecting a Study hall in my schedule, but I got one anyway. I was intending to take Journalism, but none of the Journalism classes fit with my schedule (they would all overlap with other classes I would be taking during the same period).

I was initially disappointed when I realized I didn't get into my Journalism class; however, I realized I can still take that class next year. In the mean time, I had an awesome study hall. I became SO happy!

Having a study hall means I will now have about an hour's less homework every night! This means an hour more of focused studying for quizzes and tests (It is so much easier to study at school than at home. There are so many fewer distractions!). This also means an hour less of homework every night, an hour more of free time, and an hour more of training time!

I was really freaking out about the number of AP classes I had this year, wondering how I would ever get all the homework done every night. This unexpected study hall is such a blessing!

Ready to race!

2008-08-13T12:21:00.004-04:00

Last running race: A 5K in the middle of December (In the middle of a blizzard! It was fun!).
Last triathlon: The OSU triathlon on May 4th.
Last swim meet: June 8th.
Last race of any kind: An open water swim race on June 28th I DNF'ed because I couldn't stand the cold.

As you can tell, it has been a long time since I last raced. It has been almost two months since my last swim race, and almost four since my last triathlon!

The whole summer I have done nothing but train, train, train. I have had some fun times involving great workouts and huge impovements on my fitness level; however, I am ready to race!

Just 11 days untill my first olympic distance triathlon!!!

I am so pumped!

Why I want to run a marathon in 2009...

2008-08-12T12:00:00.008-04:00

<---- Me in 2009 (though probably a lot slower!)

Running a marathon has always been a dream of mine. After looking at a book on running though called The Competitive Runner's Handbook I realized a way that this dream can become a reality for me.

I was browsing through the book reading all the advice about speed work, nutrition, etc. and came across a chapter on the marathon. The chapter also had a first timer's training plan for running the marathon. A different version of the schedule, which can be found online, is the schedule I am planning on using. The schedule starts at a base of 15 miles a week- which is the amount I have been running for the past 3 months! It builds very gradually to 35 miles a week, with 20 mile long runs. It builds so gradual that I would be strong enough at the end of the program to tackle those daunting long runs; yet, this program definitely has enough mileage to get me ready to run 26.2 come race day.

I haven't decided yet on the exact marathon I am going to run, but I know I want to do one by the end of the year.

Here is one that looks intresting:

Dec 2009- Florida’s Marathon

You may be asking yourself: Why on earth does this crazy girl want to run a marathon? Here are several reasons (bear with me, this may get long!):

1. It’s a great challenge.

2. I’ve always wanted to run one… ever since I was a wee young lad (ladette?).

3. It would keep me from getting lazy in the winter with my triathlon training and losing all my fitness. (I need a good motivation, because otherwise all I want to do in the winter is swim, swim, and swim some more in the heated pool).

4. I could finally call myself a runner.

5. Running would be a nice stress reliever from all the A.P. classes I am taking this year.

6. Being able to say “I did it!”

7. Being able to see what it would be like running that far.

8. I’d be in really great shape.

9. All the mileage would help me run faster (and maybe even swim and bike faster too!)

10. Being able to set a goal and stick to it.

11. Runner’s legs!

12. It would give variety to all the swim training I am doing this winter for swim season.

13. It sounds fun.

14. To prove I can do it.

15. Better now than never!

16. It would give me motivation during the dreary winter months, something to strive towards.

17. It would be an amazing life experience.

18. I would train through all the seasons to get ready for a marathon, and to keep my fitness up to a good level. I would run outside in spring, summer, fall, and winter- allowing me to experience more of nature.

19. Being able to call myself a marathoner.

20. Increased self-confidence for setting a goal and sticking to it.

21. It would prove me to be something other than the last one picked in gym.
22. The excitement of crossing the finish line.

23. As proof that anything is possible if you set your mind to it.
24. The cool T-Shirt and finisher’s medal.

25. The running would make me stronger mentally and physically.

26. Running is so relaxing and makes me feel so good.

27. I would really get to know myself through all those long runs (as if I don’t know myself already!).

28. It is a challenging goal, yet it is something I am capable of doing.

29. I would never be sitting at home bored. I would be outside running!

30. I would get lots of mental toughness for training in the winter months (i.e. getting outside in 20 degree weather, long treadmill runs when it is too icy outside, etc.).

31. Running is a great stress reliever. Any problems I have before running always seem to go away during a run.

32. Seeing if I can beat the infamous ‘wall”.

33. I want to do an Ironman triathlon and run ultras one day- this is a great first step!

34. It gives me something to look back on with pride my whole life.

35. It will change my life.

36. How would I know if I could finish a marathon if I have never tried?

37. Conquering all those voices in my head (No, I am not a psycho!) that tell me “I can’t”.

38. Just thinking about running one makes me SO happy. I can just imagine what finishing one would feel like.

39. It wouldn’t matter so much that I am slow. There is a whole bunch of pride just in finishing.

40. This quote says it all (although I have no idea who Mike Ness is!): "Reach for the sky because tomorrow may never come."- Mike Ness

One last shout out to all the marathoners reading this: Great job on accomplishing this amazing goal. I hope you are as proud of yourself as I am of you!

A long training day

2008-08-08T13:42:00.003-04:00

I just finished (about 2 hours ago) the longest workout I have ever done!

The workout was a 2:50 bike ride, followed by a :30 run. I finished tired and hungry, but still feeling strong. Because of this workout, I now know that I will definitely be able to finish the Olympic distance triathlon I have planned (for exactly 2 weeks and 2 days from today)!

The bike ride, I am sure, was at least the distance I will be riding in the triathlon (if not longer). It was so calm and relaxing being on my bike that long. I did get a little hungry half way through the ride though. I decided to eat a gel to boost my energy so I could finish the rest of the workout. Taking the gel definitely helped my energy levels!

The gel was a Carb Boom Apple Cinnamon flavor. I never took in any calories while working out before today (because I didn't really need to) but this gel was great. I got it for free as part of the samples of stuff they give away at triathlons. I am thinking about ordering more of this gel to have during my triathlon at the end of this month. I wonder if there is anywhere I can get it, besides online. I’ve never seen it in stores before.

After finishing the bike ride, my legs (particularly my quads) were SO tired, but I was able to make it through the run (without walking, none the less). The :30 run felt great! I am really starting to love running. Even though I enjoyed my bike ride, it felt great to get off the bike and run! The run felt great too, but I was eager to get home and have lunch! The Carb Boom definitely helped tide me over, but I was ready for some real food!

It was great being able to finish a workout like this. It gave me so much confidence for the Oly. I had no idea I was capable of a workout like that. I wonder what I will be able to do next year. Maybe a marathon?

Olympic Glory...

2008-08-03T20:18:00.005-04:00

Okay. I might not be going to the Beijing Olympics. To tell you the truth, I won't be in those kinds of Olympics at all, unless purple hippos start dancing.

The kind of Olympic glory I am talking about is the glory of taking on my first Olympic distance triathlon. Okay, technically I am not doing an Olympic distance triathlon. In reality, I am doing a "mini" distance triathlon. I like calling it an Olympic distance triathlon better though. Who the heck calls a triathlon a "mini"? It sounds too cute and fluffy to be a triathlon distance! You would pet something called “mini”, not race it for several hours...

... Which brings me to my major point about this distance: I AM SO NERVOUS!!!! I can't believe I am actually signed up for a triathlon of this distance. In addition to my nerves, I am also really excited for the day I can race. I am really looking forward to seeing what the distance is like, and how I will fare in a race this long.

I would be counting down the days to the race- that is, only if the date (Aug. 24) wasn't so close to the day that school starts (Aug. 26). It is weird to both look forward to, and dread a single date. I REALLY DON'T WANT MY SUMMER TO END!!!

Do you want to know what the official distances of this race are? Sure you do- that is why you are reading this post. If you don't care, go read something else! Sorry, didn't mean to offend you... you can care about whatever you feel like (tear).

Anyways, here are the distances of this triathlon (drum roll please...) 1000 m swim (so easy), 24.9 mile bike (so intimidating), 6.2 or 6.55 mile run (not sure of which distance- two places on the race website say two entirely different things).

My main questions:
Did I really sign up for this?
Am I sure I can do this?
Am I sure I can finish this in one piece?
What if I am not ready?
Oh my gosh! 25 miles of bicycling? Am I sure I can do this?
I wonder what a 6 mile run will feel like after bicycling 25?

And about the race:
What should my nutrition be like?
How can I make sure I have trained enough?
How hilly is the bicycle ride?
Will it take me 5 hours to finish this race?
Will I finish at all?
Should I get slicks for my mountain bike, or just leave the bike alone?

I guess I will find these questions out when I go to the race. I hope the race goes well. My mom made me pay $83 of the $93 entry fee myself. Ouch!

At least the entry fee isn't as expensive as a ticket to Beijing!

My blog in Spanish

2008-07-29T18:32:00.004-04:00

I just discovered how to translate my blog into Spanish.

Give it a try. It is awesome, especially if you are fluent in Spanish!

Okay. That is all.

Can you tell I'm bored?

A great fun weekend

2008-07-28T13:37:00.004-04:00

I had a great time seeing my cousins this weekend! They didn't end up coming until 10:00 on Thursday night. This was okay though, since it gave me all of Friday and Saturday to visit with them. They also didn't leave until yesterday at 5:00 P.M. Their late departure time gave me almost a whole extra day to visit with them.

During this time, we did lots of shopping, since many of my cousins needed new back to school clothes. I didn't really need any new clothes since I already have a ton of clothes (because I love to shop, and I haven't changed clothing sizes for at least a couple of years) but I still got two new pairs of shorts and a couple T-Shirts.

These new clothes I got are from a store that has always been in my mall, but that I have never really shopped at before called Aeropostale. I don't know why I never shopped in there before- but I am glad I decided to look in there while we were at the mall on Saturday. They have the cutest clothes there! I decided to get some stuff there because they were having a really big sale. Everything in the store was 50% off! I ended up getting six things for maybe $50. That is definitely a good price on things!

Besides shopping, my family and I did other things such as seeing a movie. We saw the new Batman movie. I was so bored during that movie that I fell asleep. I don't like action movies! I wasn't the only one that didn't like it though. Two of my cousins and my aunt also fell asleep.

Over the weekend, my mom also took me to Pearle Vision to get my glasses fixed. I was seeing really funny through my glasses. When I put them on, it was like looking underwater- definitely a messed up feeling! It turns out that I need to get a new prescription from my eye doctor. The prescription that was in these new glasses was too strong in my right eye.

At home, I had fun visiting with everybody. It was especially fun visiting with my cousin who is a girl (all my other cousins were boys!) and only a year younger then me. We did many things such as play cards, get each other's e-mails, and stay up late. Everybody else stayed up much later than I did (maybe 1:00 A.M.) but I made it up until about 10:00-10:30 each night. This is very late for me! I know- kind of pathetic.

Over the weekend, I even had a chance for a couple good workouts. I did a 1:20 run on Saturday before visiting with my cousins all day. Yesterday after they left, I did a 1:30 bike ride followed by a :45 run. My 1:30 bike rides are definitely taking me a lot farther than they used to!

A quiz and a quick note. Quirky, right?

2008-07-24T18:36:00.004-04:00

First, I will mention the quiz. Apparently, this is what my name means:

What Amy Means

You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.

You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.

You have the classic "Type A" personality.

You are confident, self assured, and capable. You are not easily intimidated.

You master any and all skills easily. You don't have to work hard for what you want.

You make your life out to be exactly how you want it. And you'll knock down anyone who gets in your way!

You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in.

You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising.

You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.

What's Your Name's Hidden Meaning?

I think the only thing true on that quiz was the part about me having a “type A” personality. The part about being confident and a free spirit is totally opposite of me. I am always questioning myself and I like to have everything planned Whoever said quizzes were completely right all the time is very, very wrong. Maybe this person should take a quiz about the accuracy of quizzes. They would fail! Any ways...

It is now time for the quick note:

Remember the bike ride I did in May that took me about 3 hours to complete? Today, I finished that same loop in just under 1:55. I also felt a lot fresher after riding the loop today than I did a few months ago (probably because I wasn't on my bike so long this time!). After riding this loop, I actually had enough energy to go out and rode my bike another 15 minutes. This gave me a total of 2:10 of bicycle riding today!

I hope this means I can get my speed up past 8 mph now, and will be able to complete an Olympic distance bike leg in a reasonable amount of time!

I was getting really discouraged at myself for my lack of improvement. Now all of a sudden, this whole week has been about improvement! I hope this improvement continues. I still haven't seen much improvement with my running!

In other happy news, my cousins are coming over to my house to stay the weekend! I am so excited to see them again! They live on the other side of the country and I haven’t seen them in two years. They will be arriving here at around 9:00 tonight and will be staying three nights with us. They leave on Sunday.

I also get to see my uncle, who I haven't seen in over a year, tonight. He has been stationed in Iraq for the past year. He is not in the military, but he drives military trucks there.

In addition to my four cousins and uncle, my aunt is coming. On top of this, one of my cousins is also bringing a friend. All together (in case you can't add) this is seven guests this weekend. This should definitely make for a full house. Normally, it is just me and my parents!

Lotsa food!

2008-07-23T13:28:00.003-04:00

I have been kind of hungry for the past few days. I think part of it had to do with the big swim workouts I did over the weekend. I ate a little extra on each day that I was hungrier than normal. I didn’t eat a whole bunch extra though. I was a little hungry when I went to bed each night, but being lazy and not wanting to wake up and get more food, I thought I was fine.

Apparently I wasn’t fine. Yesterday, I woke up STARVING and remained that way the entire day. No matter how much food I ate yesterday, I was still famished and would quickly need to shove more food in my mouth! It was like I had a tapeworm eating all my food and saving none for me. Have you ever had a day like this?

All together, I ate almost 3,000 calories yesterday over a total of 5 meals. You know how most people eat 3 meals? I just ate 5 yesterday! It must have worked though. I haven't been all that hungry today.

Just because I'm sure you are dying to know, here is everything I ate yesterday. Keep in mind I am not a good cook. Also keep in mind we don’t have that many varieties of food in our freezer. You will see the same 5 foods repeated over and over again on my menu yesterday.

Okay, here goes... Are you ready?

Breakfast (7:00 A.M.): 2 Pop-Tarts
Lunch (11:00 A.M.): A bunch of mini-vegetarian corn dogs and 2 packets of oatmeal
Dinner #1 (4:00 P.M.): Amy's Organic burrito and 2 packets of oatmeal
Dinner #2 (6:00 P.M.): More mini- vegetarian corndogs and 2 more packets of oatmeal
Dinner #3 (10:00 P.M.): 2 Slim-Fast bars and another burrito

Also keep in mind that my stomach was growling violently between all these meals. Another thing to keep in mind: Eating this much food in a single day is a pain in the behind!

Moral of the story: I will no longer be lazy and go to bed a little hungry. I will eat extra food when I am hungry so my body doesn't have to play catch up with me- and give me a crazy day such as yesterday. (This advice should be pretty self-explanatory, but apparently it wasn’t for me!)

Super Secret Gear

2008-07-22T15:15:00.004-04:00

My brand new, fixed bike is awesome! Okay, it is not really brand new- but it feels that way!

When my dad fixed my bike (it was making strange rattling noises because it was out of gear) he actually put my bike in the correct gear. It was a gear I never knew existed before! It was a Super Secret Gear!

I rode my newly fixed bike both today and yesterday. It rides so much better now! This Super Secret Gear makes it so that I actually move forward when I start pedaling. Before Dad fixed my bike, it felt like I wasn't moving at all!

In this new gear, I can actually pedal hard going downhill. I was never able to do that before. I was only able to coast downhill. That didn't make for the fastest riding! Now, being able to pedal downhill, I am able to go SO fast (relatively speaking, of course...)!

I bet right now, you are thinking "What a complete idiot, she doesn't even know how to gear her bike properly!"

Oh well. Continue thinking that, and I will continue pedaling away in my newly found Super Secret Gear!

Yesterday, I also uploaded to the computer a video about why I do triathlons . I uploaded this video because the website I uploaded this video to was having a contest.

The contest rules were that if you upload a video to their website during the month of July, you are eligible to win a bike. The winner of the bike will be selected by a raffle. You enter your name into this raffle (after you upload the video, of course!) and one winner will be randomly selected. I hope the winner is me! I really need a new bike!

It's pretty doubtful that I will win though. There are at least 30 other entries, and I am never lucky at winning raffles. Oh well. I can at least try; however, there is a very slight chance that the new bike is mine!

I’m glad the winner is randomly selected. If the winner was selected based on the quality of the video, I wouldn’t have even bothered entering my video into the contest.

All of the submissions so far to the website have been incredibly well-done. A lot of these people have used fancy video editing software that I don’t even have on my computer. This software gave these people the capability to add music, captions, and all sorts of other things to their videos.

Just to warn you, my video doesn’t have any of that stuff at all- it is just me talking, while sitting in a chair. Also, make sure to turn your speakers up really, really loud to be able to hear me. I got the cheapest recording device I could find (a $30 webcam) to make this video. Obviously, it means the quality of the video is not going to be the best!

If you want an idea of how awesome the bike I am now eligible to win is- click here.

All I can say is that it is one of the coolest bikes I have ever seen!

More good luck

2008-07-20T19:12:00.003-04:00

I have had some great luck this week (especially today)! Okay, I didn't win the lottery- but it was still a pretty lucky day today!

First of all, I got my bike fixed. My bike was making awful rattling noises, for the past month or so. My dad (who is great at all things mechanical) took a look at my bike. It turns out I had the d@mn thing out of gear!

I don't ride my bike for 2 weeks- thinking something was seriously wrong with it. I thought my bike was going to fall apart or something. The only thing wrong with it: the bike was out of gear! Hahaha. I'm an idiot.

I also went to the bike shop today. I have a $70 dollar store credit there. This is because I didn't like a bike computer I got there (the computer was supposed to be held to the bike through rubber bands...yeah). I decided to spend the store credit on some slick tires for my ever-so-slow mountain bike.

It turned out that they didn't have the slick tires, however. They were out of stock. They said they will be ordering them very soon and will call me once they get a new shipment. I can't wait to get them! They are supposed to make you a lot faster. At least that is what I read on one of the triathlon forums I like to visit.

You know another thing that might make me faster on my bike...inflating my tires! When I took my bike into the bike shop (thinking the mechanics would need the bike to put the tires on it) they told me my tires were almost flat!

I never said I was smart...

In other news, road bikes are supposed to make you faster (duh-uh). I never knew how much faster though, until the guy told me (unless it was a sells pitch...).

He said that if I go 13-14 miles an hour on a mountain bike (I wish!); I could go about 18-19 mph on a road bike. I know a piece of equipment isn't a guarantee, but that sounds like a HUGE speed increase to me. I don't know exactly how much faster a road bike would make me, but I am sure it makes quite a bit of difference.

I really want a road bike (or better yet, a tri bike).Too bad I don't have that much money! The road bikes in the store cost a minimum of about $650. I'm sure a triathlon bike would be even more expensive. I only have about $1,000 saved up, and I want a car WAY more than I want a fancy bike.

I will get a road (or tri) bike eventually though. I just need a lot more money! Those bikes are so pretty...

Okay, enough with my greediness. I still haven't written about my awesome swim workout today. Yes. Another awesome swim workout. I have been having many swim breakthroughs this week!

I swam 6000 yards today! Did you hear that? 6000 yards!

I finally had enough time to swim today to finish this workout. Normally my attempts get cut short because I have to leave the pool a lot sooner. I've tried several times to finish this workout, but today I actually had the time to do so.

Are you ready to hear my workout?

Okay, here goes...

1000 free
2 X (500 SKIDS*)
1000 free
5 X (100 IM, 200 free)
500 free
200 back
500 free
300 IM

* 500 SKIDS = 100 swim, 100 kick, 100 IM, 100 drill, 100 swim

I'm actually, surprisingly, not that tired; however, I was incredibly hungry when I finished. I ate about 1,000 calories of food tonight, and am still a little hungry. Other than that and a little tiredness in my arms, I feel fine. I feel very relaxed too. A long swim (or any other workout) has amazing powers of relaxation.

I am so glad I got my bike fixed today. I actually miss riding it, and am eager to ride it first thing in the morning!

Another swim breakthrough!

2008-07-19T11:35:00.006-04:00

Thursday night at swim practice, I had another swim breakthrough!

The main set we were given to swim at this practice was 6 X 200 hard on 3:40. As soon as I heard that set, I knew I would never make the interval. I'm just too slow. I normally swim my 200s on 4:00. Besides, whenever we have a set longer than a 25 (sometimes a 50 if I am lucky), I never make the interval. This is because I am the slowest person in the slowest paced swim lane. I get lapped a miliion times. If someone created a swim lane slower then the one I swim in, I would easily be in the new lane.

Despite being very unlikely to make the 3:40 intreval, on the first 200 I was still determined to swim hard. I knew even if I didn't make the interval, I should still swim at the intenesty that the coach perscribed. After powering through the water as hard as I could (without sprinting, and slow enough to save energy for the rest of the set) I was suprised that no one lapped me. I was even more suprised that I actually made the interval!

Okay, that was a one time thing only, I thought. Let's just see what happens after this next 200.

Suprisingly, after another hard 200, I realized that I actually made the interval again! I was even more suprised by this feat than I was the first time I made the interval. Not believing this happened, I buckled down and swam a third 200 hard.

I couldn't believe it! I actualy made the interval for the third time! By this time, I was wondering if I could make the entire interval on 3:40. I was starting to get pretty tired by this point, but managed a fourth 200 on 3:40. I was completely amazed and knew I could make all the other intervals. By this point, there were only two intervals left.

On the fifth 200, the person in front of me was slowing down and starting to get tired. I stayed on his toes for a couple laps - almost passing him- but not sure if I should. The person who was slowing down right in front of me normally laps me about 100 times on every other set

By the time I finished the fifth 200 (yet again, making the set), I was starting to get extremely giddy and tired- both at the same time. The guy that I caught up to remained directly in front of me for another couple laps. By the time I got to the end of the last set, however, he sped up. I guess he didn't want to get passed by the slowest person (by a long shot) in the lane.

By the time I finished the sixth 200 (and made the set- again) I couldn't believe I had made the entire set. That practice on Thursday was the first time I have ever made the tough intervals on a full, complete mainset in swim practice!

Just when I was getting discouraged...

2008-07-17T11:51:00.005-04:00

I thought I would never improve in triathlons;however, just when I was getting discouraged with my performance, I had a major swim breakthough. Last night, at the end of swim practice, we did 2 X 25 sprint. I normally do these 25's in 17-18 seconds.

Last night I did one of the 25's in 16.6 seconds. I couldn't belive it. I thought the coach messed up with his watch, or the pool somehow shrank. I knew however, that pools didn't shrink and watches are usally very accurate. In my state of disbelief, I stepped up to the blocks to do another 25 yard sprint.

I plowed though the water as fast as I possibly could. My new time: 15.6 seconds! A whole second off of what I thought would be my best time! This two second improvement was only off a 25. I can't wait to see what my times are going to be like in the longer swim races. Too bad I will have to wait untill October for my next swim meet.

It is weird the way that fitness comes. When you first start working out, you make huge improvements all the time. I remember last year when I was first getting into shape: almost every workout would be my longest or fastest swim/bike/run ever.

After a few months, these improvements would begin to slow down. I would continue making small improvements here and there, but my times and distances would pretty much stay the same. That is how everything has been for the past several months. Now, however, I must have hit one of those huge jumps in improvement.

I can tell because my arms and legs (especially my legs- from all the biking and running I have been doing) are starting to feel a lot stronger. Have you ever had that happen during a time of getitng into shape? Your arms and legs just feel stronger?

I am sure the reason I am experincing such a huge leap in fitness is because of the twelve to fourteen hour training weeks I have been putting in this summer. I have recently been doing about 2 hours of training a day. Before this summer, however, I only trained about 7-10 hours a week. I think since I have been increasing my training so much since June, my body is finally having a chance to absorb all the extra workouts.

However it happened dosn't really matter. No matter what, I can not wait to shatter some of my previous best times during the next swim meet in October!

Oh, and some more great news: I can finally do another triathlon. I havn't done a triathlon since the beginning of May. I kept asking my parents if I could do one these past two months and they kept saying "no". They said this because because there was a whole bunch of other thngs going on through out the past few months, such as swim meets and my grandparents visiting for a month. The month of August is pretty free though. I finally have parental permission to do a triathlon Aug. 24! All I have to do now is get registered for the thing!

The triathlon is called the Great Buckeye Challenge. It is in a town called Springfield (no- not the Simpson's Springfield) only about 45 minutes from home. I am hoping to do the "mini" distance. It sounds really cute, right?

Wrong! It will be my first olympic distance triathlon. 1000m swim/24.9 mile bike/6.55mile run. I am so excited and nervous- but with a name like "mini" how bad can it be?

This Disney character would enjoy herself in the triathlon:

I hope I will too!

Wondering about potential...

2008-07-13T18:43:00.005-04:00

I've been wondering a lot lately about potential. Most particually, I have been wondering about potential in the sports of triathlon and competitive swimming. I will focus right now on triathlons.

For me, a back of the pack triathlete, I am wondering what my potential could be if I did everything right in this sport. Is there a possibility that I could ever reach the level of being a middle of the pack triathlete (or beyond) if I did everything right in terms of training and recovery? Are my genes the only factor in my athletic abality, or is there a way I could work hard and improve beyond my back of the pack status?

For some examples, here are some things I could possibly do "more correctly". I am not saying I would necessairly do all these things, but if I did do them, how much would it help me?

Okay, here they are-

Swimming:
. Work on my stroke (ovbiously) and find ways to swim more efficiently.
. Practice very frequently, like I have been doing (5 X a week, usally).
. More speedwork?

Biking (okay, I have a lot here!):
. Get a road/triathlon bike.
. Put slicks on my mountain bike.
. Get areo bars, clipless pedals, etc.
. Bike more often (at least 4X a week, 5+ would be better if I really wanted to improve).
. Do more long rides
. Figure out how to do speedwork on the bike, and do it!
. Make sure my bike fits properly.

Running:
. Do more long runs/bricks.
. Do speedwork.
. Get orthotics or some kind of support (other than motion control shoes) for my flat feet!
. Run more often (not sure how often, since I would be using all that other time getting better at swim and bike. 3X a week? 4?).

All together:
. Figure out stratigies to make my transitions shorter.
. Follow a good training plan, instead of doing workouts randomly. (Not sure how complex I would have to go in this- would I have to follow a periodized plan like in the Triathlete's Training Bible?)

Other:
. Work on my nutrition (including eating more protien, fruits, and vegitables).
. Lift weights
. Stretch more.
. Learn how to fuel workouts properly, including what to eat during and after working out.

Okay, I think that is everything. Before I wrote that, I didn't even know what I knew (if that makes sense whatsoever!). There is still a lot that I don't know about these things though- including how well some of these things improve performance.

I don't know. I would just would really like to do well at this new-found sport!

Driving and Running

2008-07-12T16:13:00.008-04:00

more graph humor and song chart memes

Hahaha! And that funny graph was from GraphJam.com, a funny website that I discovered that has all sorts of equally amusing charts. If you don't believe me, check that website out for yourself. Trust me, you will enjoy it. I just recently looked through about 15 pages of graphs from there.

Anyways, you probably want to know about my week- since I havn't spent much time blogging this week. Well, to sum it up in two words, my week has been all about driving and running. It has also about procrastinating on my summer homework, but that is a whole other story.

I will begin with the driving part of my week. As you may know, I am spending this summer learning how to drive. After much studying of my driver's manual, I went down to the DMV to take my driving test. I was afraid I wouldn't pass, never get my liscence, and never learn how to drive. I soon found out that this fear was for nothing though. Out of the 32 questions they gave me on the test, I only missed two. I then got my learner's permit!

I started driving school on Thursday, going to two, 2 hour classes. Today, I went to another 2 hour class. I had different instucters each of these different days, but they have both been good teachers. They were both ex-cops and had a lot of intresting stories to tell!

In the classes, we learned about things such as the fact that you should look ahead when steering. We also learned things such as how to drive at night and on the freeway. I still have 9 classes to go, and a few hours where I actually get in the car and drive, then I will be done with driving school. I then have to complete 50 hours of driving with my parents (10 hours at night) and then I can drive all by myself! The driving on my own will start as soon as January- you have to wait to drive on your own untill 6 months after you get your learner's permit!

So the driver's education has occupied a pretty good portion of this week. Another thing that took up a big part of the week was running. Not the kind where people run off the roads because I am going to be driving on the roads soon, but real, actual running. The kind that makes you sweaty and comes as the last part on a triathlon. I'm not going to describe this exercise any further, since you are not a preschooler and know what running is, anyway...

I was unable to ride my bike this week. The chain feel off my bike last week and I didn't know how to fix it. I got my dad to fix it later, but my bike was still making a loud, obnoxious ratting noise. I decided not to mess with my bike and am choosing not to ride it- at least untill I bring it to the bike shop for the mechanics to take a look at it.

Since my bike was being so annoying, the only thing left for me to do was run (and swim, duh). This meant that I ended up running 5 times within 4 days. Don't ask why I spent so much time running- maybe I was going for a new world record. All I know is that last week, I ran the most I have ever done in a single week. On the last day of this "running festivity" I did two runs (that is how the 5 runs in 4 days thing came about) totaling about 2 hours and 15 mins. Even with my excruciatingly slow running pace, I probably ran at least 10 miles that day!

My legs are still a little sore today, but I am recovering well. My 4 days of consecutive running were from Monday-Thursday. I ended Friday with a nice, long 4500 yd swim and 20 mins on the stationary bike at the health club. Today is a complete rest day. I start again with the workouts tomorrow. I hope my bike gets fixed for this coming week though. I need some practice so that I can do an olympic distance triathlon this summer!

In other news, not only did I do the most running I have ever done this week; I also did my biggest workout week. My workout totals seem to be getting higher and higher every week! They will stop getting bigger soon though. I don't want to end up with 20hour weeks like someone in the peak of Ironman training- that is, untill I am training for an Ironman...

Okay, here it comes. Are you ready?

Swimming: 7 hours 55 mins

Bikig: 25 mins (Hey, my bike is broken!)

Running: 4 hours 38 min (No, that is not a hallucination!)

Yoga: 1 hr 25 mins

Total: 14 hours 23 mins (Yes, you read that right!)

Ending this post with a funny GraphJam...

more graph humor and song chart memes

Intresting Google Searches

2008-07-06T20:43:00.003-04:00

My blog has a neat tool that allows me to see how many people are visiting my blog. It also shows what websites they were visiting as they got referred to my blog. It also tells me the Google searches that people make to arrive here.

Here are some of the searches that people have made. There's nothng wrong with these searches, I am just woundering what was going through people's minds as they made them!

"Doing an olympic distance triathlon in 13 weeks"- Someone has a good goal. I hope to finish an olympic within 13 weeks myself.

"Cockitil sounds"- My bird makes plenty of sounds. "SCREECH!!!", being the most common.

"triathon" + "two swim suits"- Those things go together very well, especially if you are scatter-brained like me and forget one swim suit. You would always have a back up!

triathlons why- "Why not?", is my only reply.

P.S. If you are one of these Google-searching people who took the time to visit my blog, thanks for stopping by. For whatever reason you came here, I hope you found what you were looking for!

Week of 6/29-7/5 workout totals: Prepare to be amazed!

2008-07-05T16:46:00.004-04:00

I normally don't do workout totals in this blog, since no one really cares, but I have to post these totals. This is the biggest workout week I have ever done! I'm sure sometime in the future, my biggest workout week is going to be even more gigantic- but as for now, this is what I have:

Swimming: 5 hours 55 mins

Biking: 5 hours 11 mins (I never did this much bicycling in a single week before)!

Running: 1 hour 27 mins (kind of puny compared to the rest, but when you do that much swimming and bicycling, you have to sacrifice something).

Yoga: 1 hr 15 mins

Total: 13 hours 48 mins!!!

I bet you didn't see that comming!

Thought for the day

2008-07-04T20:17:00.003-04:00

Facebook games are so addictive! I just spent a couple hours playing some of them. My favorites are the Srabble game, the Word Twist game, the Parking Wars game, and the Slot Machine game.

If you have no idea what I am talking about, go to the Facebook website and put in a search for these games. After several hours of entertainment and happy computer fun, you will be thanking me!

Happy independence day, by the way. It is great to be a free American!

Just an edit

2008-06-30T13:37:00.004-04:00

Just as an edit, I have mentioned my 2008 training totals in a previous post. Here they are again:

2008 totals
Bike: 18h 18m 51s - 16.4 Mi
Run: 29h 26m 04s - 68.5 Mi
Swim: 140h 13m - 65275 Yd
Strength: 4h 43m
Yoga: 6h 00m

You may notice the distances look very low for the amount of time I had been training.

Just as an explination so that you don't think I have replaced Mr. Snail:

The workout distances were only from the workouts where I actually recorded distance. In all of my workouts, I record time, but only in some workouts do I record distance. This is usally because I don't have accuratly measured courses to track distance. Sometimes (such in swimming) I don't want to count every lap I swim, especially when a coach is designing the workout (and I don't have to worry about designing my own).

So in short, I am not Mr.Snail (Mr. Snail just gave a huge sigh of reilef). Those distances are only from a couple of workouts- not all of them!

Whew! Okay. Over and out!

One year triathlon anniversery!

2008-06-30T13:13:00.004-04:00

I offically became a triathlete one year ago today! I never thought I would stay with the sport so long. When I used to workout, the longest time I ever did it consistently was for about 5 months. This was from a few years ago when I was running almost every day. I never did run more then 4 miles at once though. Now 4 miles would be considered an easy run!

I love working out consistently a lot more than just randomly starting and stopping (which I have done for the past few years). I hate the feeling of gaining fitness, only to lose it all a few months later.

I started keeping a workout log on the computer this January. This log actually totals up all the workout distances I have done thus far. Since January first, I have done this much:

2008 totals
Bike: 18h 18m 51s - 16.4 Mi
Run: 29h 26m 04s - 68.5 Mi
Swim: 140h 13m - 65275 Yd
Strength: 4h 43m
Yoga: 6h 00m

This is not including everything from June through December of last year!

Also, this past year, I have done 4 triathlosn, 2 5K races, countless swim meets, and a bicycling event.

I wounder how far I will have came a year from today?

Ice skating!

2008-06-29T08:04:00.004-04:00

I swam the VCS open water challenge in Lake Erie yesterday. The water was so frigid, I am suprised the lake didn't freeze over and become an ice skating rink!

I began the journey to this lake on Friday. This was a day before the meet actually began. I had to leave this soon in order to make the four hour drive to Sandusky, Ohio (where the meet was held). My parents and I left at about 5 O'clock in the afternoon on Friday. We arrived at the hotel at about 9 O'cock in the evening.

I can say nothing about the drive except that it was incredibly LONG! I am not a huge fan of long car trips. They are so boring and mind- numbing! This car trip did, however, give me plenty of time to work on some of my summer homework. It also gave me plenty of time to study my driver's handbook, which I am going to memorize cover to cover. I really want to learn how to drive!

When we arrived at the hotel (it was a Hyatt) I was extremely suprised about how nice it looked. Everything about this suite-type hotel was extremly modern looking. This included the TV!

A neat screen saver type-design was flasing across the TV. I must have stared at this design a good 5 minutes after I walked in the room. I never saw anything like it before! The next thing I did after arriving in the hotel was to immediately fall asleeep.

After I woke up the following day and ate breakfast, me and my parents had to begin another hour long drive; this time we drove from the hotel to the place where the swim meet was located (the closest hotel my mom could find was an hour away from the swim meet).

After arriving at the meet and checking in, the first thing I did was to test the water and see how cold it was. I knew it was not going to be very warm, after hearing someone say that "it was the coldest water we've had in a long time" but I was still curious about the exact temperature.

Oh my gosh! The water was freezing! It felt like ice from the deepest parts of the freezer! It felt like Antartica in the winter! It felt like being barefoot in the snow!

Did I mention it was cold?

I spent the entire hour long warm-up trying to get used to the water. I stuck my feet in first. This was followed by my legs, followed by my waist, followed by my face. This warm-up (a.k.a. "freeze up") did not happen all at once. Every time I dipped a new part of my body into the water, I would have to run back out to dry land for a minute to warm up.

The only reason I was doing this "freeze up" in the first place was to prevent myself from hypervenilating when the actual swim race started. I also did not want the shock of stepping into cold water for the first time; I wanted to get used to the water gradually.

By the time "freeze-ups" were over, parts of my body were turning blue. I was also shaking like a leaf. The last thing I wanted to do was to get back in the Antartic waters.

I had to step back in eventually, though. The race director was calling for my wave to start!

While waiting to start, I was extremely nervous. I was also still shaking like a leaf. By this point, I would have rather gotten my head cut off then to go back in that frigid water.

By the time the horn blew to begin the race, I had to put all these doubts aside and just enter the water!

Oh my gosh! The water was frigid! I waited for the longest time to put my face into the water. By the time I mustered up enough courage to do so, the entire pack of swimmers was already long gone. For the rest of the swim, I was on my own.

By this time, I was not concered with swimming fast. My goals were just to survive the race, not freeze to death, and not get lost. With no pack of swimmers in front to guide me, I had no idea where I was going.

Eventually, I got so lost that a lifeguard pointed out the rest of the course for me. I followed her instructions while still freezing myself, but not yet ready to quit.

As I kept swimming, the water would continue to get deeper. This added depth brought extra coldness. Oh my gosh! It felt like the coldest day recorded at the North Pole, minus about a million degrees.

As I rounded the buoy where we were supposed to turn, I kept getting increasingly cold. I started woundering about quitting. I could not take these freezing temperatures any longer.

How should I do it, I woundered. Should I just swim to the shorelone about 100 yards away, or wait untill I finish this first lap (out of 3) and just stop and not do any more laps.

Thankfully, I did not have to think through this puzzle much longer. I started swimming with my head up. It must have been an instinct thing, with my body trying to conserve its little remaining heat.

Another lifeguard came to me and asked me if I was okay. I told him that the water was freezing and that I wanted to quit. He called down a boat to pick me up. By the time the boat arrived, two other swimmers also decided to quit. Apparently I wasn't the only one that found the water freezing!

The boat arrived, but we had to swim what felt like a mile in order to reach it (and was probably only about 25 yards). By this time, I could barely move my arms and legs because they were so cold and stiff. After doing an intresting compination of arm and leg dragging, doggie paddle, and breaststroke, I finally reached the boat.

A lifeguard had to literally drag me on to the boat. Like I said, I could barely move my arms and legs (making climbing on a boat impossible).

When I arrived on the boat, me and the two other people that had to quit all looked freezing. One boy's cheeks were bright red. My mom later said my cheeks were tomato-red as well (she also said my nose was blue).

When I arrived on the boat, I huddled myself in a ball, shaking like a leaf. I was also covered in goosebumps. I was overjoyed to be out of that freezing cold water! After an awesome 5 minute boat ride across the lake, it was time to offically quit. I gave the race director my number and walked off the boat. We had to walk across some knee-deep water in order to get off the boat, and to shore. I ran through this water as fast as I could!

When I arrived back on shore, I huddled myself in a towel for several minutes. I also later took a hot shower and changed into some warm clothes. I felt really bad about quitting, but knew I couldn't have physically went any farther- even if I had wanted to.

I remained shaking and freezing cold for about half an hour. I was still a little chikled even after the shower! I was only in the water for a total of about ten minutes during the race. No telling what would have happened had I decided to go farter.

After another long car trip, I was glad to be home. I had a fun time during this trip. It was nice seeing a new side of my state that I have never visited before, and despite the frigidness, the lake I swam on was a beautiful lake.

I was so glad to get home though!

Revealing the secret...

2008-06-26T14:18:00.003-04:00

I saw the light! (a.k.a. I actually learned a little bike lingo today).This means I can tell you exactly where the Secret Gear on my bike that makes me go oh-so-fast is located.

120 degrees north of the equator!

Never mind. I'll begin now with the awesome terminology I learned.

On the chain rings, I put the gear on the middle setting (my bike is a triple) and with the cogs (I have 7), I put it on the smallest cog (and shift to bigger ones when I go up a hill).

See, wasn't that neat! Can you belive a back of the backer who can only crack 10 mph going down a hill can actually say (err..write) those teams!

If you don't know what that means either, here are the definitinons.

Chainrings - Those are the gears in front, by your pedals. Most bikes have either two or three chainrings. Bikes with three chainrings are called "triples". How many does yours have? The biggest one is called the "big" ring, while the smallest is called the "small" ring. If you have three rings, then the very smallest is sometimes call the "granny" gear. And yes I have a granny gear.

Going from the smallest to the biggest rings will make pedaling "harder" but "faster" given the same cadence. Likewise, going from the big chainring to the smallest(smaller) chainring, will make pedaling "easier" but "slower", again for the same cadence.

Cogs - These are the gears by on your rear wheel. 9 or 10 cogs is the usual today. Here the opposite is true regarding easy/hard, slow/fast. Going from bigger cogs to smaller ones makes it harder to pedal, but you go faster for the same cadence while going from smaller cogs to larger ones makes it easy to pedal, but you go slower. Again, given the same cadence.

This was all explained to me by a nice person on beginnertriathlete.com who is great at helping confused newbies.

You learn something new everyday!

The Secret Gear

2008-06-24T13:53:00.006-04:00

I discovered a secret gear on my bike that makes me go incredibly fast! This Secret Gear made me 5-10 minutes faster on my normal training loop.

"How did you discover this Secret Gear", you may be woundering.

Well..if I told you that, then the gear wouldn't be a secret anymore! Now would it?

Okay, fine. I will tell you. It probably won't make sense though. I don't know any bicycle lingo.

The Secret Gear is the middle gear (gear 2 out of 3- my gears correspond to numbers on my handlebars) located on the side of my bike that controls the big gears. This is followed by the gear with the greatest resistence (highest?) on the side of my bike that controls the gears you adjust more often. The gears you adjust more often are numbered from 1-7. 7 (the gear with the greatest resistence) was the gear I was riding the most often. This (highest?) gear will change a few places up (to a lower gear?) when I am riding up a hill.

I told you I didn't know bike lingo!

All I know is that it was a complete accident that I found this gear. The way I found this gear (completely giving away the secret!) was that I heard a clicking noise on my bike. Thinking the bike was out of gear, I shifted some of my gears to correct the mistake.

I moved my big gears up from the lowest gear with the least resistence , to the middle gear. After moving to this gear, I noticed that I actually moved forward. This is opposed to the gear I had been using which caused me to pedal madly, yet move nowhere!

The entire remainder of this quicker-than-normal bike ride, I blasted up hills and was actually able to pedal the downhills, instead of merely coasting them! This was all thanks to the wounderful new gear!

The only thing I regret from this ride is that I didn't find this Secret Gear sooner. I also regret one other thing: My knees were kind of hurting while in this Secret Gear. I tink I need to make the seat on my bicycle a little higher. My knees felt really squeezed-in while riding today. I was probably putting too much pressure on cramped knees.

I hope this new found speed wasn't just a fluke. If I am able to ride at a faster speed more cosistently, I have a good shot at being able to do an olympic triathlon this summer (in less than 5 hours)!

Happy swim workout!

2008-06-23T12:05:00.002-04:00

Both yesterday and Friday, I swam on my own in the health club lap pool (swim team is only Monday-Thursday in the summer). On Friday, I swam a 5300 yard workout. Yesterday, I swam a 3600 yard workout.

Yesterday's workout was broken up into two parts: The first part was a little over 2,000 yards. The second part was a little over 1,000 yards.

The reason these workouts were broken up was because there was lightning in the pool. This meant I had to get out of the pool for about an hour until the storm passed. During this time, I decided to fo a little bicycle riding on the stationary bikes at the health club.

Unfortunately, there is one thing I always forget to bring when I plan to go swimming, but am not prepared to go bike riding

You guessed that right: Sneakers!!!

Just like a couple of weeks ago, I did my entire, hour long bike ride in flip-flops; however, being the amazingly talented flip-flop bicyclist I am, the shoes did not fall off even once!

I also got a blazing fast average speed while riding the stationary bike: 13 mph!!! If I could go that fast on my mountain bike, then I likely wouldn't finish triathlons in last place!

Maybe I need go bicycle riding in flip-flops more often...

After looking out the window about once every two minutes to see if the pool would finally re-open (I was ready to get off that bike! Stationary bicycling is so boring.) I finally noticed people in the pool after about an hour.

By this time, I had been working out almost two hours and only wanted a quick cool down (hence, my last swim only being just over 1,000 yards); however, there were some obnoxious kids in the pool during this swim!

These two kids decided the funnest thing to do would be to wander into my lane to play Marco-Polo (They had the entire, otherwise empty, pool to do this). They played in my lane for about the first ten minutes of my swim. After wandering away for a few minutes, they decided to come back in my lane to practice their cannon ball skills. They finally left after I unintentionally ran into them while doing the backstroke.

Despite the annoying kids, I had a wonderful swim (like there's any swimming that isn't wonderful!!!). I can not wait for the open water swim meet I am doing this weekend!

I also had a nice, quick 45 minute run this morning. After a cople more long runs, and some shorter runs during the week to build a good running base, I will be SO ready to run a half marathon.

My first post on Pool Stories

2008-06-20T10:09:00.005-04:00

If you want to see my first post on Pool Stories click here:

More bicycling than you can imagine...

2008-06-18T19:30:00.004-04:00

I did a lot of bicycle riding these past 2 days. All together, I have done 3 rides in the past 36 hours, totaling up to almost 3 and a half hours spent in the saddle.

"Why so much bicycle riding?" you ask (Is that sentance grammaticly correct? Just woundering...)

There are a number of reasons I have been working so hard on this section of a triathlon merely between an awesonme swim and a nice run:

1. Because I am horrible at it and need more practice
.
2. Because I don't want to run and further hurt my ankle (After Sunday's 2:10 run followed by a giant shopping trip, my pancake-flat feet rebelled against me and decided to give me ankle pain)

3. I couldn't go to swim practice because my parents went to a Willie Nelson concert at the same time as practice would have been.

Because of all these things, I had plenty of time to work on my bicycling. I rode my bike for a little under an hour yesterday morning. I dragged my Schwinn out again yesterday night to ride for 1:30 (instead of going to swim practice).

This afternoon, being unable to run and wanting some exercise, I rode my bike yet again. This afternoon I rode it the same duration as yesterday morning- a little under an hour. My quads were definately tired this morning. I am not used to that much bicycling!

Don't worry though. This swimmer is leaving for tonight's practice in about 20 minutes. I will be back in the pool where I belong! I may still do a short bicycle ride tomorrow though. Bicycling may never be as good as swimming; however, it is fun to see myself improve in this unfamillar sport.

I can tell I'm impriving because I am finishing my regular training loops a lot faster then I was able to complete them even a month ago. I am even starting to enjoy sprinting up hills.

Yes, you read that right! I am sprinting up hills! There is a really steep hiil (to me anyway) on a section of a street I ride. This street is right on my way home from every bicycle workout. It is becoming a tradition for me to ride up that hill as fast as I can!

In other news, I was selected to author an awesome blog called Pool Stories. It is a blog about swimming and all the intesting thigs that happen at the pool. I have been reading the blog ever since it got started. It is a very intresting and funny blog! If you havn't read it already- you should. I am so honored I am able to contribute to this blog.

A full weekend

2008-06-15T17:07:00.005-04:00

Yesterday, I had a wounderful day at the lake. I went up to the lake to have open water swim training with my swim team. We trained for the big open water meet that is comming up. The meet is three hours away in Cleveland. It should be fun!

We drove for about an hour and a half to get to the lake. When we got there, I got to splash around in the water a little before we started practice. After splashing around in the lake a little, the practice begun. All I have to say about the practice is that IT WAS SO MUCH FUN!!!!

We ended up swimming in various sections of the lake for a total of about fifteen minutes. I enjoyed every minute of it! I love swimming in lakes (unless they are freezing cold!). It feels so liberating. In lakes, there are no endless laps and blazing fast swimmers comming up from behind me every lap to pull on my toes. It was just me and the water!

The swim ended quickly because lunch was ready, and apparently we wern't going to do a long swim workout. I was disappointed we stopped so soon. Stopping the swim short was like taking a bite of a delicious food, and having the rest of the dish dangiling in front of you, but being unable to eat it. I enjoyed every moment of that short swim and didn't want the enjoyment taken away from me!

Despite not doing as much open water swimming as I would have liked, the rest of the day at the lake was wounderful! After lunch, we took a pontoon down to another section of the lake.

At this section of the lake, we were able to just splash around in the water. Little kids played games, daring individuals (not me!) decided to water ski. There were also a lot of rafts set out along the water. I decided to just lay on one and enjoy the lake. The lake was too cold to get fully submerged in!

We stayed out on this section of the lake for most of the afternoon. When we came back to the house where the get-together was held, I was very sunburned and tired. After dinner, we drove home (I fell asleep in the car) and arrived back at the house by 8:30 at night. We left for the lake at about 9:00 in the morning. This lake adventure made for a full day!

After I took a shower and washed all the grimy lake stuff off of me, I was ready to go to bed. When I woke up this morning it was time to go running. I ran for about 2:10, making for at least a 9 mile run -probably longer. This was the longest run I have ever done and I was very proud.

After my run, I went out shopping with my mom and grandma. I got some new clothes from Hollister (a cute pair of plaid shorts, and a blue top), a new swimsuit (my other swimsuits were getting old and baggy) and a pair of fins (I don't have any of my own and need some for swim practice).

All and all, this made for a pretty full weekend!

You might be a ____if...

2008-06-13T14:19:00.003-04:00

I always love those "you might be a ____ if..." jokes. I always find them extremely hillarious, even if I am the complete opposite of what they are describing. Here are a few I found from various websites that I thought would be fun to share.

YOU MIGHT BE A TRIATHLETE IF…..

· You are sick to your stomach at 2:00 in the morning and check the back of the Pepto Bismol bottle for caloric content and grams of carbohydrates, fat and protein.

· You have plenty of water bottles, safety pins, and t-shirts. · You have trouble keeping lunch less than 2000 calories.

· You usually wake up at 4:00 in the morning but do not get to work until way after 9:00.

· You have a $4000 bike strapped on top of your $2000 car.

· You have no trouble pushing a day’s caloric intake to over 8000 calories.

· Your estate needs rain badly but you’re mad when it does because it screws up your run and bike schedule. In fact, you might be mad but you still go out for your ride or your run in the rain …

· You’re always wet! Either sweat, pool water, seawater, shower water, bath water or its p*****g down outside~

· Your bed time reading on your nightstand consists of a pile of: DeSoto catalogs; InsideTri; Triathlete, VeloNews, USMA Swim, etc.

· You haven’t bought work clothes in two years, yet you own bike shorts made by every manufacturer under the sun and can recite the merits of CoolMax, Supplex, etc. in your sleep!

· Your car has at least one Power Bar wrapper and two sets of work out clothes!

· You know you could make a killing at Jeopardy if only the categories were:- Pat winners of Hawaii Ironman – Legs shaving techniques – 40-30-30 diet- Aerodynamics racing wheels- Gastrointestinal problems and long runs- How to justify a $4000 bike……

· Your kids’ idea of playing is a bike and run race followed by cliff bars, water bottles and awards ceremony.

· Your laundry constantly smells like if someone locked the cat in overnight.

· You leave your apartment or house in the morning with your swim bag on one arm, bike on one shoulder, a change of clothes in another bag in case you can get away at lunch for a workout.

· You look like a pack mule wherever you go.

· You wave at other cyclists, because all triathletes are friendly and if they are not, they are probably purist cyclists trying to get into triathlons and they do not know that triathletes are friendly.

· You can’t decide what tee shirt to wear to your next race.

· You no longer take vacations but weekend triathlon junkets.

· You have far more pairs of shoes in your closet than your non-tri wife does in hers.

· The only “suit” you own has a QR on the chest.

· You think about having sex, but you don’t want it to affect your morning run splits. (Or if you do, you wear a heart rate monitor and measure your recovery time afterwards)

· Your living room has the “swim pile”, the “bike pile”, the “run pile” and the “weight room pile” and you pick and choose from a cafeteria-like area on your way out the door.

· Your kitchen cupboards are organized into “protein”, “carbs” and “etc”

· Your breakfast consists of enough bagels that the bagel guy hands you a freezer bag with your order.

· You’re tempted to do your long rides in a Speedo so that you don’t have a stupid tan for your next race.

· Your bath towel is never dry.

· You bring bottled water to a party so that you’re properly hydrated for the next morning’s long run.

· Everyone else at the party also brought their own bottled water because you don’t have a social life outside of triathlon. Oh yeah, and they all showed up by 7pm and left by 10pm.

· Your company announces mandatory unpaid shutdown days – every other Friday throughout the summer – in order to cut costs and stay in business, and your response is “Great – now I can do two long workouts on the weekends and still have an easy day.”

· You buy a separate dresser for your entire race t-shirts.

· Your 8-year old comes home with the school record for the mile and told you he took it out in a nice pace he could hold… everyone else died.

· You fill your kids’ water bottles with Cytomax instead of blue Gatorade.

· You can ask your mom and your sister and all other girlfriends for shaving advice!!!

· You say that you went to a race last weekend… and somebody responds “running or biking” and you are again forced to explain…

· Your co-workers catch you with a “King Sized” meal deal from Burger King, and you can smile and tell them that you will have no problem working this off on the way home.

· You started the day with a protein shake had a scone and latte after swimming and commuting, then head out for coffee with the co-workers and have a bagel and cream cheese.

· You wear your bathing suit under your work clothes to make a fast transition from work to swim on your lunch hour.

· You name your two new puppies Kona and Hawi.

· Your RST time is cut short by training.

· The dog hides until you’ve showered.

· Your spouse wants dinner out and a movie, so you agree, but fall asleep during the previews and catch hell.

· You realized that mowing the lawn is really smart – after being pinned at all morning.

· You show up at the neighbourhood pool on your bike in a Speedo and embarrass your teenage daughters.

· You’ve spent more on bikes in the last 10 years than you have on clothes for the past 50!

· Y our hair is never dry.

· You were awake for the Northridge quake (4:30AM) because you were out running… and you showed up for 6AM Masters swim workout and wondered where everybody was.

· Somebody hands you a cup of water and you have to restrain yourself form pouring it on your head.

· You forget that talking about daily LSD (Long Slow Distance) and speed freak some people out.

· You have no FRIGGIN idea what to do with yourself on your off day. (Dimmit, I mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, washed the car, and there’s STILL 4 hours of daylight left! Aarrgghh!)

· You come into the office every morning and check RST before you check your email.

· You return from your *Mini-vacation* more exhausted than before you left!

· You feel like you took the day off because all you did was swim 3000 yards.

Haha. I can Identify with about 10 of them! I would probably be able to identify with more if I was older and had been in triathlons for more than a year.

Here's a couple extras I thought of:
1. You never have less than 3 swimsuits drying on your towel rack at one time.
2. You have ran in a blizzard...and actually enjoyed yourself!
3. You go through about 5 swimsuits in a year.
4. While running in the rain, you have had someone tell you "you should be indoors." You just smile and keep running.

Another "You might be a ____ if" list...

You might be a swimmer if:

>If whenever you hear an electronic beep, and you instinctively jump, you might be a swimmer.

>If you have rings around your eyes unrelated to the amount of sleep you got, you might be a swimmer.

>If waking up before dawn to exercise seems normal, you might be a swimmer. (You might also be crazy)

>If jamming a piece of Styrofoam between your legs is not a kinky sexual activity, you might be a swimmer.

>If bugs die of chlorine poisoning when they land on your skin, you might be a swimmer.

>If you sport long, curling hair with split ends on your legs, you might be a swimmer.

>If the phrase "This set with fins" is better than hearing "You just won $1000," you might be a swimmer.

>If you answer, "I don't need to" when someone asks when you showered last, you might be a swimmer.

>If you love a good lightning storm when you have outdoor practice, you might be a swimmer.

>When you learn how to squirt water 15 different ways, you might be a swimmer.

>When your long term goal is to slap your bicep on your lat, you might be a swimmer.

> When you wake up before six for the free doughnuts, you might be a swimmer.

>When you go through so much latex in one season you could wallpaper your room, you might be a swimmer.

>If a friend asks how a certain guy dresses and you reply, "I only see him without his clothes on" you might be a swimmer. [SPEEDOS!!!]

>If your friends have stopped asking you about your plans for the evenings, you might be a swimmer.

>If you go from store to store desperately trying to find your favorite sports drink, you might be a swimmer.

>If the first place you go when you're stressed out is a swimming pool, you might be a swimmer.

>If among your heroes are Janet, Jenny, or Amanda, or you know who I'm talking about, you might be a swimmer.

>If your daily apparel is held together by knots or is torn and see through, you might be a swimmer.

>If you have an inhaler in every color of the rainbow, you might be a swimmer.

>If the phrase, "50 double armed backstroke with a breast stroke kick makes you happier than anything, you might be a swimmer.

>If being fish-like is a compliment, you might be a swimmer.

>If your friends don't even call you anymore because they know that you have no time to do anything, you might be a swimmer.

>If your nightmares consist of a series of numbers ending in 0 or 5, you might be a swimmer.

>If you have hickeys on your neck, you might be a swimmer or you might be lucky.

>If you sweat chlorine even after showering, you might be a swimmer.

>If you just don't understand the charm of the swim suit edition, you might be a swimmer.

>If getting smacked on the butt doesn't bother you at all, you might be a swimmer.

>If someone asks if you have any siblings and you start listing teammates, you might be a swimmer.

>If you cut yourself every time you shave, because you only do it 3 or 4 times a year and are out of practice, you might be a female swimmer.

> If you are determined, strong, smart and tough, you might be a swimmer.

*If you shamelessly walk around the hallways at school in your bathing suit, you might be a swimmer.

*If you think bald heads are hot, you might be a female swimmer.

*If the person who sits behind you in you're math class always tells you that you reak of chlorine, you might be a swimmer.

* If land is your second home, you might be a swimmer.

* If you sometimes have trouble walking because you aren't use to it, you might be a swimmer.

* If you suck at running, you might be a swimmer.

* If your stronger than many of the guys and all the girls in your grade, you might be a female swimmer.

* If you have to try on 30 shirts just to find one that fits your shoulders, you might be a female swimmer.

* If your hair remains in a wet ponytail throughout the day, you might be a swimmer.

* If when the life guard tryouts say you have to swim a 500 in less than 9 minutes you laugh, you might be a swimmer.

* If you have a permanent suit, goggle, and cap tan, you might be a swimmer.

* If all you ever do is eat and sleep during school, you might be a swimmer.

* If all your saturday and friday nights are spent around water, you might be a swimmer.

* If The Toadies "I Come From The Water" is your theme song, you might be a swimmer.

* If the first thing you look at in a guy is abs, you might be a female (maybe even a male) swimmer.

* If you are at the school so early in the morning for practice that you beat the janitors there and the lights in the parking lot are off, you might be a swimmer.

*If a practice of only 5000 yards sounds like heaven to you, you might be a swimmer.

*If you practice 3 or more times a day during the summer, you might be a swimmer.

*If your used to takin a 2 miinute shower and rushing to get dressed just to make it to class a minute after the tardy bell rings, you might be a female swimmer.

* And finally, If every time someone complains about how early they got up to get ready for school, you turn around and bite their head off and almost beat the living **** out of them, you might be a swimmer.

*If your shoes always squeak when you walk down the hall, you might be a swimmer.

*If you walk around with minimal amounts of clothing on, you might be a swimmer.

*If the only thing you can talk about is swimming, you might be a swimmer.

*If you pee on the pooldeck then walk around barefoot, you might be a male swimmer.

*If there are wet towels over every door in your house, you might be a swimmer.

*If your siblings call you beefstick, man-shoulders, Amazon, or Behemoth (emphasis on the HE), you might be a swimmer

Haha. I can identify with almost all of them (except the no showering and the long hair on my legs. Eww!).

What I aspire to be one day..LOL!

You might be an ultrarunner if:

Your wife tries to introduce you to your three children and you reply "Three?"

You spend more time in the drug section than the food section of the local market.

You wonder why they don't make all running socks a dusty brown color.

You have more dirt on your shoes than in your garden.

You think that flagel and ibutrophin belong on the breakfast table.

You get more phone calls at 5:00 AM than at 5:00 PM.

You don't recognize your friends with their clothes on.

You have more buckles than belts.

You postpone your wedding because it will interfere with your training.

You keep mistaking your boss for Norm Klein.

6am is sleeping in.

Your feet look better without toenails.

Your idea of a fun date is a 30-mile training run.

You're tempted to look for a bush when there's a long line for the public restroom.

You don't think twice about eating food you've picked up off the floor.

You can expound on the virtues of eating salt.

You develop an unnatural fear of mountain lions.

When you wake up without the alarm at 4AM, pop out of bed and think "lets hit the trails".

When you can recite the protein grams by heart of each energy bar.

You don't even LOOK for the Porto-sans anymore.

Your ideal way to celebrate your birthday is to run at least your age in miles with some fellow crazies.

Your ideal way to have fun is to run as far as you can afford to with some fellow crazies.

You know the location of every 7-11, public restroom, and water fountain within a 25-mile radius of your house.

You run marathons for speed work.

You have more fanny packs and water bottles and flashlights than Imelda Marcos has shoes.

You visit a national park with your family and notice a thirty-mile trail connecting where you are with the place your family wants to visit next, which is a 100-mile drive away, and you think "Hmmmm".

Someone asks you how long your training run is going to be and you answer "seven or eight ... hours".

People at work think you're in a whole lot better shape than you think you are.

You actually are in a whole lot better shape than you think you are.

Your weekend runs are limited by how much time you have, not by how far you can run.

You always have at least one black toenail.

You buy economy-sized jars of Vaseline on a regular basis.

You tried hashing, but felt the trails were too short and easy.

You think of pavement as a necessary evil that connects trails.

You rotate your running shoes more often than you rotate your tires.

Your friends recognize your better dressed in shorts than in long pants.

You really envied Tom Hanks' long run as Forest Gump.

You carry money around in a zip lock bag because store clerks complained that your money's usually too sweaty.

Any time a plain old runner talks about her aches and pains, you can sympathize because you've already had that at least once.

You put more miles on your feet than on your rental car over the weekend.

You don't need to paint your toenails; they're already different colors.

You start planning the family vacation around races, and vice-versa.

When you start considering your next vacation location on the merits of its ultras only.

You spend you entire paycheck on running gear, ultrabars, and entry fees.

You miss a work deadline cause you just had to have that "one more minute" on-line writing to the list.

You become a quasi-expert on different detergents so as to not "hurt" your tee shirts.

You leave work early to hit the trails.

You wear t-shirts based on if you've had good work outs when you've worn them before.

Have a trail shoe collection that would make Imelda Marcos envious.

You walk up the stairs and run down them.

Peeing in the toilet seems unnatural.

You start wearing running clothes to work so you're prepared for afterwards.

Running trail is better then sex. (even if you don't get any)

Vaseline isn't just for fun anymore.

When the start of a marathon feels like a 5K and you're wondering "Why is everyone in such a rush? Where the ##@@**!! is the fire?"

As an infant you were dropped on your head.

Nobody recognizes your power T's. Met a guy at the market the other day who was wearing an AR50 T. So was I. I gave him a hearty, "Ta-da." He said, "Oh yeah, I tell people we were all acquitted and the charges were dropped."

You sign up for a 10K and
you strap on your fanny pack because you never know where the aid stations are.
you bring your own drinks.
you bring potatoes and salt.
you start fast and a six year old passes you.
you are the only one walking the up hills.
you run it a second time because its not far enough to call a training run (and you were racing the first time through).
you are the only one around who is eyeing the bushes THAT way.
you punch the lap button on your watch instead of the stop button at the finish.

When "NEXT GAS 36 MILES" signs start sounding like tempting runs.

Your pedicure kit includes a pair of pliers.

Your number of toes to toenails doesn't match.

You drink from a water bottle at the dinner table.

You consider the mold and mildew in your bottles extra electrolytes.

You just found out Poison and Oak are words by themselves.

You see a 1 quart water bottle colored like an Advil bottle, and don't realize that it's not in fact an Advil bottle.

You know you're married to an ultrarunner when Valentine's gifts come from Ultrafit.

You know you're married to an ultrarunner when she helps you up and says, "Come on, suck it up, keep moving!" and you know she means it in love.

You know you're an ultrarunner when a prospective employer asks for a photograph and all you have is race photos.

You know you're an ultrarunner when the races you enter end in a different area code. -and pass through several different Zip codes enroute.

You know you're an ultrarunner when your crew tries to keep you motivated by saying, "You're in second place and only 6 hours behind first with 25 miles to go!"

You know you're an ultrarunner when you go to your 8:00 a.m. college geology class and you can use the salt crystals, still caked on your glasses frames from your early morning run, in your talk on the category of sedimentary materials called evaporites (and I'm not making this up).

You know you're an ultrarunner when, on the night of a bad thunderstorm and downpour, you ring for a cab, and your announcement that this is the *first time* you're not getting home under your own steam causes a stunned silence in the office.

You bother to argue about (discuss the meaning of) what an UltraRunner is!!!

when you don't finish on the same day as the winner.

your dogs can drink out of water bottles

When you meet the opposite sex you see:
A possible crew.
A possible pacer.
A possible search and rescue team.
A possible race director.
A possible source of race entry fees.

You ask advice of hundreds of people on a list, looking for answers you have already determined to be correct, taking hold of only those, and running with 'em.

Your wife asks you the morning after your first 50 miler if you're still planning on that 100K in five weeks, and you say "Sure!"

You strap on your water bottles and walk the hills... in a 5 K race and consider that your 10 minute pace is a blistering pace.

People praise you to the high heavens for being able to finish a marathon, and you feel insulted.

You do a triathlon and it is your RUN time that is slower than the years when you specialized in triathlon.

You are told *not* to run another marathon during the next few months (because that would be bad for your health), and you really follow that advice - by immediately sending off the entry form for your next 50/100 miler.

Somebody asks about the distance of an upcoming race and you, without thinking, say, "Oh, it's just a 50K."

You're running a marathon and at mile 20 say to yourself, "Wow, only 6 more miles left, this is such a great training run!"

You know you are a clumsy ultrarunner when after running headfirst into the trail for the third time get up and continue running even though you are bleeding and covered in maple syrup where your gel flask exploded and you have another 20k to go.

You go for an easy 2 hour run in the middle of a Hurricane and think it is fun to get wet, muddy and run through the rivers that were once trails.

You get to the 81 mile point of a 100 miler and say to yourself, "Wow, only 19 miles left!"

You try to tie double knots in your Oxfords.

You pass a swamp towards the end of a run and think 'How bad could it be?"

Livestock salt blocks look good after a run.

You're embarrassed that you've only done 50K's...

Your wife/girlfriend/significant other asks you if you want to have sex on any particular night and you respond with:
"sorry, I don't have time, I have to go running"
"sorry, I'm too tired, I just went running"
"sorry, I would rather go read all my messages from the ultra-list"

You go down a flight of stairs, uh, backwards, after an ultra and everybody laughs.

No one believes you when you say "never again".

You refer to certain 100 mile races as "low-key."

You number your running shoes to distinguish old from new, since they all look dirty.

Prior to running a difficult race, you check to see if local hospitals and urgent care centers are in your PPO.

The only time major household projects get done is in a taper or race recovery.

Everything in your life, everything, is organized in different sized zip-loc bags.

You call a 50-mile race "just another training run".

You think a 100-mile race is easier than a 50 miler because you don't have to go out as fast.

You say, "Taper? Who's got time to taper? I have a race coming up this weekend."

You're tapering/recovering, and you'd rather drive 50 miles to watch Ann Trason's heavenly running style for 20 seconds than the Super Bowl.

You have to rent a car to drive to a major event because you and your pacer own stick shifts and neither will be able to drive them on the return trip.

You actually DO drive a stick shift home with a severely pulled left hamstring

You meet someone of the opposite sex on the trail of a 100 and all of conversation is about what color is your urine, can you drink? and were you able to dump.

Ya know you're and ultra runner when a girl changes her tank and her bra in front of you and all you do is take another drink of water, look at your watch, get up and tell your pacer "Let's hit the trail."

On a long drive you see the road signs listing various mileages to different places and think of how long it would take to get there on foot rather than by the car your driving.

You've started a race in the dark, run all day, and finished in the dark (if your lucky).

Your non-Ultrarunning running friends look at you strange when you tell them that 10:00/Mile is a fast pace for a 100 mile race (not to mention most ultras).

You don't hesitate to lie down in the trail (anywhere) when you are falling asleep on your feet during the early morning hours on the second day of a 100 miler; and it feels so comfortable.
Finally...

You know your an ultrarunner when you actually sit down and read all of the postings about, "You know your an ultrarunner when..." and can laugh and relate to all of the comments.

If you have any other "you might be a ___if" jokes, post them!

Lots of bicycle riding!!!

2008-06-12T14:00:00.006-04:00

I did another bike ride this morning! This makes for a total of four bike rides this week! You heard that right: This swimmer actually got her butt on her Schwinn, turned the petals, and repeated this process a total of four times this week.

I think I rode my bike this week as many times as I have done so far this entire year. Before this week, I have only gotten on my bike maybe five times for the whole year.

I don't know why I have been avoiding riding my bike so much- maybe because I am horrible at it (insert lots of laughter here:_______________________________).
Seriously though, I probably climb up hills at about 2 miles an hour, am terrible at shifting gears, and it takes me about 3 hours to ride my bike 20 miles. Of course, if you have been reading this blog, you alredy know I am no Lance Armstrong :)

An intresting thing is happening though: I am actually starting to love spending time on my bicycle. I love the thrill of speeding down a hill at a supersonic speed (10 mph?) with the wind blowing in my hair. I love the way my legs burn when I am pedaling up a steep hill. I love the feeling of absulute freedom I feel while riding my bike.

This morning was also a beautiful day for a bicycle ride. The weather for the morning was sunny with temperatures in the mid 60s. Gotta love those cool mornings! I was actually riding a lot faster today than I normally do (I may have upped my speed to 9 mph! I need to get a non-broken cycle computer to double check).

In my quicker-than-normal bicycle riding today, I even decided to sprint up a couple of hills. It was a great bike ride today, and I am definately planning on many more rides in the future.

Sadly enough though, this morning was my last bike session of the week. This is because tomorrow I am taking a day off (I need one because I havn't taken a day off since last Tuesday). Saturday, my swim team is going up a lake to do some open water swim training.

We have a big open water meet comming up the week after next. My coach decided that everyone participating in that meet could use a little practice beforehand.

The coach has decided that we will go up to the lake and start the swim around 11 O'clock or noon. We will swim for an hour, then we will have lunch and hang out at the lake all day. It should be fun!

I am SO excited for the open water meet in two weeks. We will be swimming 3000 meters, which is the longest I have ever swam in a meet. The lake the meet will be at is right near Ceader Point, a huge amusment park. Hopefully I will be able to go on a few water rides (my favorites!) while I am up there!

You might be a back of the packer if...

2008-06-10T10:40:00.007-04:00

<------ Not me!

So far, I am adding lots of biking and running to my training! I am doing all three sports instead of mostly swimming like I have been lately. Yesterday morning, I ran 3.5 miles in about 45 minutes. I then went to yesterday evening's swim practice and swam for an hour.

The reason I only swam for an hour this time is because we had to get out early due to thunder and lightning. I decided to spend the last half an hour of swim practice (what would have been practice anyway, if there were no thunderstorms) riding on the stationary bike in the gym.

The funny thing about this ride: I didn't bring sneakers with me, thinking I was only going to be swimming. All I had with me were my flip-flops. I ended up peadeling twenty-five minutes on the bike in my flip-flops without the shoes falling off. I was pretty impressed.

The only thing that was wrong with the flip-flops is that I could feel the little harness on top of the pedals that you put your shoes in (don't know the exact name, but you know what I mean) digging into my feet. Another huge accomplishment, I ended up with no red marks on my feet! Yet again, I was impressed.

Although I discovered last night that I am great at bicycling in my flip-flop, I much prefer bicycling in my sneakers. I will definately remember to pack sneakers in my swim bag next time there is a threat of a thunderstorm.

I actually ended up swimming, biking, AND running last night. The swimming was great, but you know what? The biking and running weren't so bad either!

I was looking through one of those triathlon forums I like to read yet again (It's summer. I'm bored) and came across a funny thread titled "You might be a back of the packer if..." and of course I thought of plenty of things to say in that thread. I also thought of plenty more ideas that I didn't write down. Here are some of my thoughts:

1. You try to race people running... while still on your bike!

2. Everybody's packed up and leaving, and you are just about to start your run.

3. You consider it a huge victory when you finish second to last.

4. Many people finish Olympic distance triathlons in less time than it takes you to finish a sprint.

5. In all or most of your races, you finish dead last.

6. You get passed by ten year olds, eighty year olds, and 300 pound men- all in the same race.

7. You actually have people tell you to "fix your gears" while on the bike section of the race.

8. You have had a lifeguard ask if you were okay during the swim (Yes, this did happen during a triathlon in freezing cold water. My body does not do well with the cold at all. I wasn't wearing a wetsuit, and I started hypervenilating).

9. You have expierenced riding your bike or running all by yourself, with no one else in sight...in the middle of a race with over 200 people registered!

10. You do a sprint distance race and have people doing the olympic distance race pass you on the run. Never mind their race started half an hour later that yours and they swam and biked twice as far before passing you!

11. In the back of the pack, there is an intense competitipn not to get last place. In one triathlon, you lost that competition and had the "winner" (second to last) brag about beating you!

12. You have never onece said "on your left" on the bike...but have heard it said to you so many times it makes your head spin.

13. Besides the date and location of the race, one thing you have to take into serous consideration when choosing a race is the cut off times.

14. You scroll up from the bottom to read the race results instead of down from the top (I didn't make this one up, but read it on the triathlon forum. I found it SO true).

Swim meet!!!

2008-06-08T18:39:00.007-04:00

I had a great swim meet yesterday!

The swim meet took place about an hour away from where I live. Warm-ups started at 7:00 in the morning, meaning I had to get up at 5:20 A.M. I was really excited to swim, however, because I havn't been to a swim meet for about 3 months!

The warm-up was very entertaining. I am the slowest swimmer on the whole swim team. I was also the slowest swimmer, I think, at the whole meet! This is partially because I suck at all sports. Another reason is because most of the swimmers have been swimming since they were five years old. I've only been swimming year-round for less than a year

Every single swimmer kept pummiling over me during the warm-up. My swim coach kept telling me to "stay to the right of the lane" so that I would not get myself injured! I also could not do flip turns, because every time I tried, I would end up running into someone comming from behind me.

This went on for about 45 minutes. I kept thinking to myself I hate being slow. This really pumped me up for the rest of the meet because I wanted to swim fast d%mn it!!!

I ended up swimming the following events:
100 backstroke (which took 1 minute and 52 seconds)
100 freestyle in 1:37
50 fly in 51 seconds
50 breast in 52 seconds

I normally only sign myself up for three events, but felt like doing four events this time. This was because I was only able to swim in one day of the meet. The meets run for three days, but I could not go to all three sessions since the meet was so far away. My parents refused to drive an hour each way three days in a row!

I was very tired at the end of the meet. I actually had to force myself to stay awake during the car trip home. The combination of the early start times and the number of events I was in made me exhausted!

I did end up swimming faster than I normally do. I wouldn't know it by my times because I was swimming in a longer pool than I normally do. This meant (ovbiously) that each event took longer to complete than it normally would.

My coach said I did well, however. On the 100 backstroke he told me "I never saw you swim that fast before." I was still last place in all my events, but it felt good to beat a lot of my previous times.

I also learned something intresting at this meet: Many times in practice, I have seen people wear two swim suits. I used to think it was some strange fashion statement. Now I know the reason they wear the two suits.

As explained to me by my coach, it is becuse swimming in two suits creates drag and makes you feel heavier in the water. When you wear two swimsuits, you eventually get used to swimming with this extra heaviness.

When you put on one, tight fitting suit for the swim meet you will feel blazing fast in the water. As told to me by my coach, you feel "like snot on a doorknob." This idea of intentionally creating extra drag in the water is similar to some walkers wearing ankle weights for extra resistance.

I tried the two swimsuit techinque while swimming laps at the health club today. I did feel a lot heavier near the middle of my body. Hopefully I will get used to the two suits, and when I take one off for my next swim meet, I will shatter my previous times!

Oh, and one additional announcement: I rode on the stationary bike at the health club for 35 minutes today after my swim! You are probably woundering what the big deal is. Anybody can ride a bike for 35 minutes!

The big deal is this: I actually got on the bicycle today instead of doing more swimming. Normally, I like to swim for over two hours at the health club. I may do triathlons, but swimming has always been my favorite sport out of the three.
Don't you agree that swimming is funner than bucycling and running?

Despite loving to swim, I need lots of work on my running and bicycling. I have many goals for myself that I would like to acheve by the end of summer. You may have read these goals in previous entries in this blog; however, I will say them again for clarification: I would like to run a half marathon, and do an olympic distance triathlon.

Crossing the finish line of my first triathlon gave me more satisfaction than any swim meet ever will. I LOVE swim meets, but there is just something about triathlons that competitive swimming will never have. This "something" would probably have to do with the endurance aspect of triathlons.

I have always loved endurance more than I have enjoyed speed. This is partially because I have no speed (insert laughter here:_________). The main reason, however, is because anybody can go fast (except me. Haha.). Not very many people can do endurace events.

Think about running a 100 mile ultramarathon or completing the Ironman triathlon. How many people can say they have done that? Just to let you know, all Ironman finishers and ultramarathoners have my strongest respect and admiration.

Another, larger reason I love endurance events or workouts are because they are so calming. Doing the same motions over and over again for hours on end without anything to distract you gives yplenty of time to be alone with your thoughts.

You can be alone with your thoughts while working out without becoming bored and anxious like you would if you were sitting still and doing nothing but thinking (how boring would that be?). I have thought of some of the best ideas and solutions to problens while out on long swims, bike rides, runs, etc.

I also love the way you feel after a long swim, bike ride, run, etc. You feel so calm and relaxed and have the hugest endorphin rush. You also feel on top of the world after conquering a distance onece thought unimaginable.

Like I said, I love swimming. I love the thrill of competing, the feel of the water, and the way you feel weightless. I would ,however, love to get into some longer events.

For swimming, the longest event (which I love, by the way) is the mile. The mile only takes about 30 minutes to swim. For some triathlons and running events, you can go for days if you want to (think: double Ironman).

I now realize I will not get better at running, or be able to do the bicycling I need to do for longer triathlons simply by swimming. With this realization, I looked through my training logs for this year.

These are the total amounts of each sport I have done so far this year:
Bike: 9 hours 23 minutes 51 seconds
Run: 22 hours 41 minutes 04 seconds
Swim: 122 hours 08 minutes

Notice the discrepancy?

If I did more biking and running throughout the year, I might have been able to achieve some of the goals I had set out for myself a lot sooner. I could have already ran my first half marathon and be setting out now to run a full marathon!

I need to get my butt on a bicycle and my feet in running shoes!

I am going to enjoy every moment of swim team for as long as I possibly can (and will definately sign up for a masters swim team when I get older) but this summer, I am hoping to stretch my limits and do all of the endurance stuff I love. Not just swimming!

Half-marathon?

2008-06-06T18:56:00.004-04:00

I did a nice, long run today of about 8 miles (not exactly sure of the distance, it was just whatever I could cover in about 1:45) It was a great run. It tied for the longest I have ever ran so far.

The run was really HOT though. I started running early in the morning when it was still supposed to be cool oustide. The coolness ovbiously did not happen. At eight in the morning it was already almost 80 degrees! I was dripping sweat through out the entire run.

The last two milles were really hot and difficult but I am hoping to run even farther. I know I can because if it wasn't so hot outside on today's run, I would have definatly been able to go longer. I want to do a half marathon this summer(hopefully) or fall (if I can't do one this summer.)

I have been planning on doing a half marathon since August, but swim team practice got "in the way" of training. I leave "in the way" in quotes because swim practice is definatly not an intrusion. I love every moment of it!

Since the swim team practices are fewer in the summer (4 days a week instead of 6) and I have a lot more time in the summer to train, I have decided that now is the time when I will start training for the half-marathon. I am sick of woundering what a half marathon would be like. I just want to do it.

I have actually found another great race directory on the internet. I found it while browsing some forums while bored. It is the most comprehensive race directtory I have ever seen except for Trifind.com.

From this directory, I have found a couple of potential races I would like to run. This is all very tenitave because of the Olympic triathlons I would like to do this sumemr as well. I can only do about one race a month because I have to depend on my mom in order to have transportation to the races (I know, I am going to learn how to drive very soon!). My race scheduule is whatever is convienient to her (except for swim meets. I always get to do swim meets.)

I would like to do one or more of these races this summer/fall:
Lifeline of Ohio Dash for Donation- July 26 (only if I don't do that other triathlon I want to do planned a week before)
Columbus Half Marathon and 5K- Aug 24
United States Air Force Marathon (Only about half an hour away from where I live)-Sept 20
Dayton River Corridor Classic Half Marathon (again, only about half an hour from where I live)-Oct 12

I would love to be able to live out my dream this summer!!!

Psycho treadmill

2008-06-05T10:49:00.003-04:00

I had a psycho treadmill run last night. I was using the treadmill because there was a lot of nasty thunderstorms outside. I had to be indoors. When I went on the treadmill, however, it kept shutting off. I would turn it on for about 30 seconds, then a huge "E6" sign would flash across the display menu. After this sign flashed, the treadmill would shut down.

I tried unplugging and restarting my treadmill about 3 times. Finally, I went to ask my dad for help- he is a construction worker and good at all things mechanical.

He found the owner's manual for the treadmill and told me to turn to the "troubleshooting" section of the manual. After looking through the manual, I found out that the treadmill needed to be lubricated. Apparently there is some wax coating on the bottom of the treadmill that wears off every few months.

My dad said he had no idea how to wax the bottom of the treadmill; however, he found the wax stick, stuck it under the belt and tried anyway. My dad never uses the treadmill, so fixing the treadmill would be a shot of pure luck for him.

I went upstairs to ask my mom if she knew how to fix the treadmill. She should be able to, I figured, since she actually uses the treadmill sometimes.
After I asked her to fix the treadmill, I found out she apparantly did know how to apply wax to the bottom of the treadmill. She was sick, however, and didn't feel like going down to the basement to fix the treadmil.

My dad continued to play the guessing game of how to rub the wax under the belt. after a few minutes, he stopped and I was able to get back on and start my workout. The treadmill was actually running smoothly for about 3 minutes from the time I climed on. I actually thought Dad had the treadmill fixed!

Suddenly, however, the treadmill came to an abrupt stop. The famillar "E6" flashed across the screen. After a total of 7 minutes of running on the broken treadmill the whole frustrating night, I finally gave up and decided to lift weights instead.

Wolves in the neighborhood!

2008-06-03T19:52:00.006-04:00

Yesterday I went for an hour and a half run in my neighborhood. It was a great run. One of the longest runs I have done this year. I think I went about 7 miles or more. When I came home, however, I found out that there is a pack of wolves in our neighborhood. The animal control people came over to our house last night to tell us.

A PACK OF WOLVES!!! CAN YOU BELIEVE IT????
We found out that the wolves are still a couple of miles down the road, but they are still pretty close to our house. That is how you know you live in the middle of nowhere! When you are being threatened by wolves! I am very thankful I didn't get attacked!

You know what the funniest thing is? My mom thinks she heard strange howling noises a couple of days ago? She could be imagining the noises, but that is still kind of strange.

I guess untill the animal control people figure out what to do about the pack of wolves, I am not going to be able to run or ride my bike much in the neighborhood. Perfect, as soon as the weather gets nice, I get chased inside again by a pack of wolves! That is Ohio for you though. A very bizzare state.

I want to pet a wolf! Haha. Just kidding. I would probably run for my life if I saw one.

One exam down...three to go

2008-06-02T17:09:00.003-04:00

I took my English final today. It was pretty easy except for a section of random quotes characters said in The Great Gatsby. Some of the quotes I don't even remember seeing before. Most of the questions, however, were over plot details and things from other units we studied in English. I think I did pretty well on those sections.

All I have left to take is Spanish, which I am taking tomorrow and am already done studying for. My last two finals will be on Wednesday. I will be taking Biology and American Studies. American Studies will probably be my hardest final, if only for the amount of studying I will have to do.

Then after Wednesday, I am done with school for the year and have three whole months of summer! I can't wait. Only 2 days of school left!

As for my workouts, yesterday I swam 3 miles. I can't belive I am saying this- but that workout is starting to become old news. It dosn't even feel long anymore. I wounder what I can do this summer to challange myself in the pool? I am thinking of adding some speed workouts. I am SO slow and would really like to be able to go faster.

My two-a-day workouts that I am doing this summer are also starting next monday. I am thinking of doing two-a-day workouts on Monday-Thursday, resting on Friday, and doing some longer workouts on the weekends. I don't know yet. All I know is that I am extremly ready to start training for a half marathon and an Olymplc-distance triathlon this summer!

Speaking of summer, here are my results from a flip-flop test:

What Your Flip Flops Say About You

You are an outdoorsy person. You feel most comfortable in nature.

Beautiful scenery and good weather always brighten up your day.

Being outside allows you to feel calm and connected to the world.

Problems don't seem so big when you realize how small you are in the scheme of things.

Your ideal warm weather place: Costa Rica

The Flip Flop Test

Happy almost Summer everyone!

Why would anyone do this?

2008-06-01T18:03:00.004-04:00

I was looking around on the internet and found these race reports by people who have finished double and triple ironman triathlons. These events consist of a 4.8 mile swim, 224 mile bike, and 52.4 mile run for the double ironman. The triple ironman consists of a 7.8 mile swim, 332 mile bike, and a 78.6 mile run. These athletes do these enormous distances continuuously- for however long it takes them. Thhey don't even stop to sleep.

I have always been intresed in what it takes to do ultra distance races, but these distances sound insane. In the race report I read for one of the people doing the triple, she was hallucinating, falling asleep on her feet, and towards the end she needed to have somebody help her sit down and stand up.

I don't think I would ever do an event of this magnitude unless someone was holding a gun to my head and threatened to shoot me if I didn't participate. The stress on the body after an event like this seems unbelievable.

I do admire, however, the level of mental toughness it would take to complete an event such as this. I would get SO bored doing nothing but swimming, riding my bike, and running for 2-3 days nonstop. I also would never be able to cope with the lack of sleep and there would be SO many times that I would want to quit.

It must feel like such a huge accomplishment crossing the finish line after an event such as this. I'm still unsure, though, the reasons for competing in an event such as this. Why would you want to do all those things to your body?

I can see why you might want to for an ironman or something. The event is over within the same day, and you would feel such a strong feeling of accomplishment; but to keep going and foing for over 2 days straight? I just can't imagine!

Busy week

2008-05-30T19:26:00.003-04:00

This week has been an epic week. It has been filled with a lot of workouts (did anyone say lots of swimming?). It has also been filled with lots of exam studying and summer homework assignments (Yes. I have homework in the summer! My school is retarded.). It has also been jammmed-packed with a sinus infection that has me consuming large volumes of Day-Quill and has my nose running like a faucet. I also got an award in Social Studies during this epic week!

Okay, I will start with the massive workouts, since that is the first thing I mentioned and this is a triathlon blog. After my 4,400 yard swim on Saturday, I just couldn't get enough of the pool. I decided to swim again on Sunday. This swim was 5,300 yards in length. What can I say? I love to swim and once I start, I don't feel like stopping.

On Monday, I swam again. This time I swam 5,700 yards. I was trying to go for 6,000 yards but I had to leave(my parents decided they had enough of the pool after 2 hours and they were my only ride home). I left with only a 300 left to swim. I was a little upset- but I will get a 6,000 yard workout before this summer's over.

All these swims were done over the Memorial Day weekend when my swim team was not practicing. They were all done in the indoor pool of my local gym. I enjoyed every minute of those swims! I hope to eventually swim to 6,000 yards and beyond.

Following the Memorial Day Weekend of Epic Swims, I swam for another hour on Tuesday with the swim team since practice was again in session. Practice is only for an hour this week (and next week) because many of the swimmers (including me) are still in school. We can only get the pool really late in the summer. Instead of normal practice time of 7:30-9:00, we have practice from 8:30-10:00 in the summer. Practice ended at 9:30 so that we wouldn't be exhausted the next morning for school that starts at 7:30 in the morning.

In addition to this swim, I also ran up and down my street on Tuesday for a total of 3.5 miles. I repeated the hour swim and 3.5 mile run on wedesday. This was before I got sick.

On Thursday (yesterday), I woke up with a runny nose and sore throat that I think has become a sinus infection. Of course, I didn't work out Thursday or today because I feel like crap; however, I feel better this evening after taking plenty of Day-Quill. I hope I feel well enough to work out tomorrow.

I also have a butt-load of exam studying to do. I exempted (meaning I don't have to take) my math exam, which should free up a lot of time otherwise spent studyying. I also do not have to take exams for the two art classes I am taking. We had final projects as opposed to final exams. We did those projects in class, so now we don't have to take final exams.

Since I am exempting math, I do not have to go in for the last day of school. My last day of school will be Wednesday as opposed to Thursday. I also only have to take 4 exams this quarter-as opposed to seven. Don't think I have it easy though. I have to memorize over 300 vocab words for Social Studies! I already got some studying done tonight. I am planning to spread my studying out over the weekend and next week so that I do not have to do a whole bunch of studying at onece.

I also have a boat load of summer homework I have to do before the first day of my next school year. THIS IS ALL DUE BEFORE AUG 26!

English: I have to read 4 books (one of which is Shakesphere-ugh), write 2 essays,and read and summerize a whole bunch of articles.

Chemistry: I have to read the first chapter, and do 2 packets (about 20 pages in length- front and back) which include notes on the first chapter, and lots of math problems. I also have to memorize a whole bunch of stuff for the quiz given on the first day of school over the table of elements,and many other things I already forgot.

History: I have to read 5 chapters in this huge textbook. Each chapter is about 30 pages in length. I have to take notes (a page in length) on each chapter. I also have to take a take-home quiz on each of these 5 chapters, fill out a worksheet on each of the 27 ammendments to the constiution, and memorize each of the presidents and their political parties.

Math: I don't think I have any math homework this year (like I did last year) but my new math teacher might get evil the last week of school and suprise us. I hope not. I hope my new math teacher will be nice. He is pretty nice. I had him 2 years ago for geometry. I am not sure how nice he will be with the summer homework this year.

I will have no summer this year!

Oh, in other good and intresting news, I got an award yesterday at our yearly awards ceremony. It was for social studies and only one other person in my grade got the award. I got a medal too and went up in front of the entire school to get the award.

Am I boring you with school stuff? I would rather not think about school either. I am just so excited that this year is finally comming to a close! I am looking forward to whatever little summer I may have.

I added this race to the races I someday want to do. It is a 24 hour triathlon held in Colorado. It's far away from where I live, but I can always fly there (duh!) I've never been to Colorado before. It would have to wait untill at least 2010 though because I have to be at least 18 to do it. I wouldn't be ready to do it sooner then that anyway. It's like an ultramarathon of running except it also involves swimming! Oh, and bicycling too. You basically try to cover as much distance as you possibly can in 24 hours. The course consists of a .24 mile swim, an 11.2 mile bike, and a 2.6 mile run that you repeat as many times as possible. They aslo have a shorter 8 hour race.

Everyday it seems, I am finding out more really intresting events to do. It seems impossible that I would ever get sick of triathlon and endurance sports. I am getting sick of writing though. Bye for now!

Outdoor pool opened today!

2008-05-24T15:45:00.003-04:00

The outdoor pool opened today! I swim in the indoor pool, however. The reason is that every 45 minutes in the outdoor pool, everybody under 18 years old has to get out of the water for 15 minutes. This is Ohio law. They were on one of those breaks when I arrived at the pool, so I decided to swim in the indoor pool, where they don't make you take those breaks.
I swam for 2 hours, and swam a total of 4400 yards. It was a nice workout. Though the weather is not that much warmer yet, I am still excited that it is amost summer.
On another note, I got a new slogan:

Your Slogan Should Be

How Do You Handle a Hungry Man? Amy.

The Slogan Generator

One year ago

2008-05-23T16:16:00.004-04:00

I was just thinking about what I was doing one year ago today. I thought about this because they were metioning it on one of the triathlon fourms I like to look at. I realized I came pretty far in a year!

This is what I realized:

A year ago, I was not yet a triathlon finisher. Now I have finished four.

A year ago, I was just signing up with the recreational swim team that I used to be a part of in the summer. I wan't even working out yet. I am now on a more competitive year-round swim team.

A year ago, I thought swimming a mile was hard work. Now I can easily swim 5,000 yards.

I used to swim a 50 meter sprint in 38 seconds. Now I can do it in 35.

I used to barely be able to run a mile. Now I can run 8 without stopping.

I used to not even know how to work the gears on my too-small bike. Now I have a good fitting bike (not a fancy one, still a mountain bike you can find at Wal-Mart) and can ride (slowly) up to 3 hours.

One year to date, I knew about triathlons, found a race that looked intresting, and though I wouldn't start working out and training untill June, I was woundering "what if..."

Where were you one year ago?

Bubble came off today!

2008-05-22T20:17:00.005-04:00

The "bubble" went off the pool tonight. What that means is that an indoor pool was transformed into an outdoor pool tonight. The "bubble" is the spherical shaped covering that forms the roof of the area we swim in during the winter. This "roof" gets removed during the summer, leaving only the walls around the pool and the warm sun pouring in.

It was so awesome having the bubble off tonight. The pool area was so bright and cheery. We also did an awesome swim workout today. The main set was 3 X 800. Since I love distance workouts, and love summer so much, that workout today was heaven.

The pool I go to during the summer when I am not at swim practice opens tomorrow too. I can't wait! I love desiging my own workouts in there and making the workout all distance (and a little bit of individual medley thrown in for fun!)

A typical workout I like to make for myself is usally something like this: (if I have 2 hours to spare)
3 X (1000 free, 2 X 200 IM)
4 X 200 IM

I also love going off the high dive at the pool, and just being out in the sun. I can't wait for summer to come, and for school to let out.

9 more days.

Me and my Schwinn are friends

2008-05-18T08:36:00.004-04:00

Note: I actually found a picture of my exact bike on the internet. Isn't it pretty? (If you are a triathlete with a $1,000,000,00000 high-tech bike don't say anything!)

I rode my bike (my blue Schwinn) for almost 3 hours yesterday! (2 hours and 55 minutes to be exact!) I didn't start out the bike ride wanting it to be that long. I was originally planning only to do a 2 hour bike ride. I wanted to get some bike riding done because I want to get ready to do an olympic distance triathlon this summer.

It was a beautiful day outside when I rode my bike. It was sunny and almost 70 degrees! We havn't had a nice day like that for at least 3 weeks! Normally, I don't enjoy riding my bike as much as I enjoy swimming and running. Yesterday, however, was the best bike ride EVER.

I basically just rode around the streets near my home. I rode up and down 3 times this really long street, and up and down some cul-de-sacs several times. I was loving every minute of this bike ride! Untill I got home, I didn't realize I almost went 3 hours. I thought I went just a little bit over two hours. Time flies when you are enjoying yourself!

I am guessing I covered at least 20 miles. My cycling computer is broke, so I am not exactly sure of the distance I covered. Howver, with my average speed about 8 miles an hour, maybe a little slower since the ride was so long, 20 miles would seem about accurate.

Don't laugh at my slowness. Laughing at people is not nice! It's okay to laugh if you really feel the need though. I will probably laughat my slowness when I re-read this blog in a couple years.

The only thing that really hurt on this bicycle ride was the muscles in the tops of my legs (quads?) about 2 hours into the ride. I am a little sore today, but not a ton. I slept very good last night!

I have also realized that all this working out and everything has become a part of my life now. A year ago, when I first started doing triathlons, I would have never realized I would continue with the sport so long. I have done workout routines before, but have always quit after a couple of months. With triathlon and swimming, however, I am enjoying myself so much that I don't want to quit.

If I don't get in my daily (except for one day a week I take off to recover) workout, somehing feels very weird. Working out is starting to feel as natural as brushing my teeth.

I have also realized that although, I love doing races, they are not the most important thing anymore. When I first started doing triathlons, I worked out mostly so I could get ready for the next race. Now I enjoy a good workout as much as I enjoy a race.

Speaking of races, there are two races coming up that seem really awesome. The first one is the Columbus International Triathlon and Sports Festival which takes place July 19-20. On July 19th, there are 3 open water swims. The swims are distances of .75K, 1.5K, and 3K. They have the swims staggered out so that you are able to do each one and the swims do not overlap with one another.

They also only charge $25 for the first distance you swim and $5 for each additional distance. That pretty much forces you to do all 3 distances! You could do only one distance if you wanted, but who would do that?

The next day of this fesival, you have a chance to do a choice of various distances of triathlons and duathlons. Of course, I would like to do the international distance triathlon. A whole lot of swimming and a triathlon! How fun does that weekend sound?

Speaking of fun weekends, on the third week of January next year, just a couple of hours away from home in Indiana, there is the Chili Hilly which is a two day race cosisting of five distances. On the first day you get there, you would do a 10K race, and later that night, a four mile race.

When you wake up the next morning (in one of the awesome camp-style cabins they provide) you get to run a 5K race, followed later by a 10 mile race, and a 1 mile race. That sounds really cool to me! I would definatly have to train a lot to do this race-but the training would definatly be worth it. As a bonus, you get a free sweatshirt when you register. Sweatshits are the best thing ever. I'm always freezing cold and they keep you soooo warm. I wear sweathsirts all the time (except in the summer when its actually warm outside!)

Wow! That was a long post. I think I have finally said everything I wanted to say today. I really hope I can do those two races.

Wow! This is amazing!

2008-05-16T16:30:00.003-04:00

This person swam 100 X 100 on the 100. That means she swam 4 lengths of the pool (a 100) 100 times, swimming each 100 in 100 seconds (a minute and 40 seconds) Wow! I want to do that someday.

As you may already know, distance swimming is my favorite thing ever. I swam in a swim-a-thon about a month ago for my swim team. We swam a 5000 yard straight swim. Everybody hated it except for me. I swam in the swim-a-thon both days it was offered instead of swimming it the one required day.

That swim-a-thon was only 5,000 yards. I can not even imagine swimming 10,000 yards! I felt tired after the 5,000. I can especially not imagine swimming them on 100 seconds each. It takes me 2 minutes to swim a 100, unless I am sprinting it. I wouldn't be able to sprint for an entire 10,000.

I really admire what that lady did. Untill this point, I didn't even think you could swim 10,000 yards in a single workout.

In other exciting news, I only have to take 4 of my final exams out of 7 classes. This is because 2 of my classes are art classes. We are doing a final project in each of these classes instead of a seprate final exam we have to go to school on exam week to take.

I also get to exempt one exam from a class that I have an "A" in. I was thinking about exempting math. That math exam is going to require a lot of studing. Pre-Calculus is pretty tough! I probably won't be able to exempt math, however, since I got a "C" on the test

I stuidied over 2 HOURS for. My grade in that class is about an "A-" right now. You need a solid "A" in order to exempt. Oh well. I will probably exempt American-History, since that exam will require a lot of studying as well.

13 days left of school :)

P.S. If none of my posts where I complain about the computer and format of the blog make sense, it is because I changed the format of my blog. I used to have a hard-to-read blue background for this blog. I have changed my background to a pretty pink-and-white. This blog format looks so much better! If you have no idea what I'm talking about, you can ignore this post.

cross country

2008-05-15T17:58:00.002-04:00

I'm debating over whether to do cross-country next year.

On one hand, it would be an intresting new expierence, as I have never done cross-country before.

On the other hand, it would mean I would have to give up a huge portion of fall swim team practices (which I really don't want to do!)

I still don't know wheter I will do it or not. I guess I will decide eventually. The first pracitce is August sometime.

Summer time

2008-05-14T18:06:00.004-04:00

The weather so far this month has been very annoying! Today, the highs were only in the 50s. It is May. I really wish it would warm up.

On the other hand, there are only 15 days left of school (including final exams) ; however,

I don't get to be a lifeguard like I wanted. I failed the lifeguarding class. There was a lifeguarding class I had to take that was two weeks long. I had to pass that class in order to be a certified lifeguard. There were tests periodically in that class, such as how to save someone who was drowning in a certain way.

Apparently I wasn't saving people the way the instructer wanted me to. Instead of explaining things to me ,however, the instructer failed me and made me drop the whole class.

Oh well. Since I am not going to be a lifeguard this summer, more time will be left to workout. I would like to increase my training to about 2 hours a day this summer. That would really get me into shape and reaqdy to race my first olympic distance triathlon!

My race report is up!

2008-05-05T18:05:00.003-04:00

You can view the report here.

Don't ask!

2008-05-04T20:09:00.003-04:00

Don't even ask why half my previous post is in black ink.

Don't ask me how to change it. I don't know how.

Just highlight the black text with your mouse so it becomes white text.

Then enjoy.

As you can tell, I'm not vey good at computers.

OSU Sprint Triathlon results

2008-05-04T19:41:00.005-04:00

That person in the picture above is me!

Haha! Not! I finished dead last. Out of 249 racers I finished #249.

Place: 249/249

Swim 400 meters:

Rnk: 250/ 249 (How did that happen? Someone must have quit the race after the swim?)
Time: 17:21 (I had to poo and change my clothes. That took 10 minutes. It dosen't take me 17:21 to swim 400 meters!)

T1 Time : 1:34 (more like 15 minutes! They counted most of my transiton time in my swim)

Bike 12.4 miles:

Rnk: 249/249
Time: 1:35:51
Rate: 7.8 MPH (I'm blazing fast!)

T2 Time: 1:09 (A little shorter this time!)

Run 3 miles:

Rank: 226/249 (Yeah! Not dead last on this one!)

Time: 30:10
Pace: 10:03 (Either I've gotten really fast on the run or they mismeasured the course. I hope it's the former!)

Total time 2:26:05 (Yeah! I'm blazing fast. Call me the next winner of the Hawaii Ironman!)

Believe it or not, I still got first place in my age group since I was the only one in my age group. It was a very nice first place plaque I recieved.

I think I am ready to move up tp Olympic distance triathlons now (after I work a little on my bicycling skills). I didn't feel very tired after this triathlon like I did after all 3 triathlons i did last year. It felt like the end of a normal workout. Maybe I just need to go faster!

Oh well, that was probably my best race performance yet. Full report comming tomorrow.

Participation lists for the OSU sprint triathlon are up!

2008-05-02T20:45:00.005-04:00

Haha. Isn't that picture awesome!

I am already extremly excited for this triathlon. Out of 248 participants, I am the only one in my age group. Yeah! Definate trophy for me!

I already won 2 trophies out of three of the triathlons I have participated in. This is because there are so few people in my age group. Now I will most likely add a third to my collection. You would think I'm actually good at triathlons. I'm actually not. It takes me over 2 hours to finish a sprint distance triathlon. Oh well, at least by winning a trophy I will look fast!

We leave for Colombus at 6:30 A.M. tomorrow morning for a 9:00 tour of OSU. I most likely won't be writing in here tomorrow, unless the hotel I'm staying in has internet acess.

See you after becoming a triathlon finisher for the 4th time!

Wish me luck...

Help!

2008-05-01T18:39:00.004-04:00

How do you make the font size bigger so that people don't have to squint to read my posts?

Help!

Hint: In case you don't want eye damage, on your computer tool bar go to the box on the top of your screen that says "View" Click on this box. Later, click on the "Text Size" box in this view windowwindow to select a larger sized texts.

That's the only way I know how to get the font bigger for now.

Does my explination make sense?

Ahhhhh!!!!

Help.

54 things about me

2008-05-01T17:51:00.004-04:00

Wow! I can actually make the text size bigger on this blog so that you can actually see what I am writing! (sorry, as you can tell- I'm new at this whole blogging thing) In case this type size runs exactly the same as all my previous posts, consider me retarded.

In case you are woundering who the heck's blog you have been reading for I- don't-know-how-long, here are a few things about me:

1. My middle name's Marie.

2. I have lived in California, Florida, and Ohio.

3. I only lived in California untill I was about a year old

4. I lived in Florida from when I was a year old untill I was eleven.

5. I now live in Ohio

6. Guess which one I liked the best? (hint: It's not Ohio)

7. I liked living in Florida the best because of the warm weather, that I had a whole bunch of family up there, and that we lived in a suburb.

8. Living in the suburb meant it would only take about 5 minutes to get to the mall.

9. I now live in the middle of nowhere.

10. The country roads, however, make for great bicycling and running routes.

11. I now live about a 20 minute drive from the nearest mall.

12. I love to shop.

13. My favorite store is Hollister.

14. I have a dog( a Shitzu) and a bird (a Cockitil).

15. The dog is named Sake and the bird is named Pretty Boy.

16. The bird makes lots of annoying screetches, and drives me crazy!

17. I'm an only child.

18. I'm a vegitarian. (but am not sure if I spelled "vegitarian" right)

19. I have been a vegitarian for over 4 years.

20. Amy's Organic TV dinners are my favorite.

21. I'm also addicted to Pop-Tarts and flavored water.

22. My favorite music is rock.

23. My favorite band is Nine Inch Nails.

24. I was born cross-eyed

25. I had an operation when I was a little kid and am not cross-eyed any more.

26. I still had (and have) lots of other eye issues though.

27. I wore an eye patch untill I was 7.

28. I still wear glasses and contacts.

29. I have a lazy eye and astigmatism (not sure if I spelled "astigmatism" right either)

30. Believe it or not, in 8th grade I actually qualified for the first round of the school spelling bee.

31. There was about 40 people there out of 200 in our grade.

32. I qualified only because for the round to see who got in the spelling bee, you could write words down on paper and erase if you made a mistake.

33. In the first round of the spelling bee, I missed because I got nervous and spelled "sundae" wrong.

34. In that round, you couldn't write words down on paper.

35. I get nervous a lot.

36. I am extremly shy. It is always the first thing people notice about me.

37. If you met me, you would notice it too.

38. My life time dream is to do an Ironman riathlon.

39. I have wanted to do an Ironman triathlon since I was 11 years old.

40. I have wanted to do any sort of triathlon since I was 11 years old.

41. I am doing my 4th triathlon this weekend at OSU (as you may know).

42. Swimming's my favorite part of a triathlon (as you can tell by my user name "Swimming Rose")

43. Once I start swimming, I feel like I can swim forever.

44. I love that feeling!

45. Distance is my favorite type of swimming. The longer the better!

46. I want to be some sort of doctor when I grow up.

47. I'm not sure what kind of doctor yet. I just want to be a doctor.

48. When I was 5 years old, I cracked my head open on a coffee table and needed five stitches.

49. I am a horrible singer.

50. I can bend my thumb all the way back to my wrist.

51. It is 6:32 P.M. right now.

52. Only 3 more days untill the OSU triathlon.

53. I am very excited.

54. I can't think of anything else to say.

More Blogger issues

2008-04-30T18:45:00.004-04:00

The formatting on the previous post is really weird. There are no spaces between the last couple paragraphs. I tried to edit the post, but no matter how many times I tried, the post would not change.

Aaahhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!

At least I can add pictures now, unlike my previous computer frustrations.

Oh! And now I can link random words! (Don't click the link unless you want to be take somewhere very random!)

Hopefully, nothing is wrong with this post!

Treadmill runs can solve anything

2008-04-30T18:07:00.007-04:00

I love exercising because it always puts you in such a good mood afterwards. Everytime I have a long workout (i.e. 2 hour swim, or a triathlon) the way I feel afterwards is on top of the world. Even short workouts can help a lot.

Yesterday I was in a really bad mood thinking about something depressing that has gone on in my life for quite a bit of time. I normally try to forget about this particular thing but yesterday I couldn't stop thinking about it. I was in a bad mood all day and was really looking forward to my workout.

It was amazing because after about 40 minutes on the treadmill, the problem didn't matter as much anymore. I felt relaxed, calm, and ready to go to sleep and start a new day. I was still upset, but a little less so.

I am loving all my workouts. I love the way you feel afterwords-relaxed, calm, and ready to take on the world. I don't feel that way so much in my regular life. Some things I just feel powerless to change.

Ending on a happy note, I am really looking forward to going to Colombus this weekend for the triathlon I am doing at Ohio State University . I am spending the weekend in Colombus. On Saturday, my parents and I are driving up to Colombus to get a tour of Ohio State University.

OSU is one of my college choices, though not a top one. I would rather go to college somewhere warm, such as Florida. Since we are going to be in Colombus for the triathlon, however, I decided to tour the campus. I will tour the campus to get a feel for what the college is like even if I don't decide to go to college there.

I may decide to go to college there, however, since it is only 2 hours from where I live. Like I said though, I am more intrested in going to college somewhere in Florida. I have toured the University of Miami campus while vacationing in Florida and really love it. University of Miami is definatly my first college choice. I used to live in Florida a few years ago, and really miss living there.

After the tour is finished, my parents and I will explore Colombus. We will later go back to a hotel and stay the night. In this hotel I get MY OWN ROOM, like I said on a previous blog post. I will spend the night in Colombus, do the triathlon Sunday morning, and then drive back home. It will be an intresting weekend!

The SOMIHID and swim coaching evening

2008-04-29T17:33:00.003-04:00

SOMIHID (pronounced some-e-hid) stands for the Spur-Of-The-Moment-Incredibly- Hot-Independent-Duathlon I did yesterday. I did SOMIHID because since I was swim coaching, I would not be able to do a swim workout. I went to the gym an hour early to get in a good bike and run workout before I had to do swim coaching.

I decided to put this workout in the form of a duathlon because I loved the Independent- Du I did on Saturday. and wanted to do another workout of the same kind. This duathlon was spur of the moment because I didn't decide to do it untill I got to the gym.

I called the duathlon increadibly hot for reasons already stated. The cardio room where I did

my bicycle riding was incredibly hot. Sweaty hot. Forida in the middle of Augst hot. I was sweating buckets, and I'm not a huge sweater to begin with. That place really needs to get more fans!

This was also called an Independent-Duathlon for reasons already ovbious. It was not an offical duathlon. I did the "race" all by myself. SOMIHID conisted of a 15 minute run on the indoor track, followed by 40 minutes on the stationary bike, followed by another 6 minutes on the indoor track. I know 6 minutes is a random number, but it was exactly how much time I had remaining untill I had to go over to the pool to coach swim practice,

Since I don't feel like making this a huge, long post, I am not going to say every little detail that happened during SOMIHID. I am just going to say that is was a lot like Saturday's Independent-Baby- Du except it was a little shorter, a lot hotter, and indoors instead of outdoors.

The swim coaching thing was also pretty awesome. Everybody basiclly liked my workout. I actually had a couple people say to me how much they liked it. I would have liked it too if I got to swim it! Maybe I will swim that particular workout in one of my own workouts. Maybe not. I tend to prefer a lot more distance swimming.

As I was being the "coach" I got to talk to the actual swim coach while the swim team was doing the workout I assigned. He gave me lots of swim tips, such as how to improve my flip turns. He also had a lot of intresting stories to tell, such as the fact that he used to be a lifeguard, and swam a 20 second 50 meter freestyle. (he almost qualified for the Olympics in 1980, before they got boycotted)

I thought it was very intresting to make up workouts and have everybody swim them. It was pretty neat being the swim coach!

Swim coach for a day

2008-04-28T16:20:00.004-04:00

Tonight I am going to be the swim coach. You heard that right. I'm going to be the swim coach! Recently, my swim coach has given the entire team a chance to be swim coach for a day. This means we get to write out the workouts and shout them out to the team to do. Tonight is my turn!

The rules were that you can make the workout anything you wanted it to be- the only constraint was that it had to total 5,000 yards. I was almost going to make the whole workout distance freestyle (including a 3000 freestyle straight swim) because that is what I love to swim. Since I don't want the whole team to hate me, however, I am sticking with this workout. A lot of this workout is intresting things I did while on each of the 3 different swim teams I have been on.

Here is the workout:

Warm-Up:

500 SKIDS (100 swim, 100 kick, 100 IM, 100 drill, 100 swim)

Main Set:

(Pyramid)

100 free

100 IM

200 free

100 IM

300 free

100 IM

400 free

100 IM

500 free

100 IM

400 free

100 IM

300 free

100 IM

200 free

100 IM

100 free

100 easy

3 X 200 reverse IM

Cool- Down:

10 X 50 pull

If you were coach for a day, what would you have as a workout?

Weekly workout totals: 4/20/08-4/26/08

2008-04-27T20:40:00.002-04:00

Another great workout week!

Swimming: 410 minutes (6 hours 50 minutes)

Biking: 30 minutes

Running: 53 minutes

Yoga: 55 Minutes

Weekly total: 548 minutes ( 9 hours 8 minutes)

My longest workout week ever! ( This blog is really inspiring me to get into shape!)

Independent-Tri #1: Independent- Baby Du

2008-04-26T20:40:00.003-04:00

Note: This picture is not of me (since I'm a girl!) or anyone I know- but the guy is really cute!

My first Independent-Tri was today. It was actually a duathlon. I ended up running 2 miles, then biking 4 miles, then running another 2 miles. My total time including transitions was 1 hour 27 minutes (yeah, I'm slow!)

This morning I went for a swim at my local health club, which lasted about 45 minutes. I then went to the grocrey store with my mom and did some other things before I went home. I started my Independent-Baby Du (called "Baby Du" because the distances were so short) in the late afternoon. The weather was perfect for a bunch of running and bicycling. Temperatures were in the lower sixties.

Run #1: Run #1 started out nice. I ran almost to the end of a long street and back. This was the first time in a while that I wore a watch while running- actually the fist time in a couple years. I ended up staring at the watch for a good portion of the run! I was still a little tired from this morning's swimming when I started, but I quickly warmed up. As I ran back towards my house, I spent a few minutes fumbling around to get my bike (The garage door was locked, so I tried to open the back door. The back door was also locked. I finally went in my house from the front door then went to the garage to get my bike) I got my bicycle, put on my helmet, and took off bicycling.

Total time for the run (excluding the transitions) :25 minutes

Bike: I rode my bike up and down the same street I ran on- I just went further. It felt nice to be on my bike outside again. There have only been a handful of times I rode my bike outside since last September (the end of triathlon season for me) My legs burned riding the uphhills, but I loved riding the downhills! It felt incredible having the cool wind blow on my increasingly sweaty face. I eventually rode back to my house and put my bike up. Transition only took about a minute this time since I left the garage door unlocked. This made it easy to put my bike up. I then quickly ran out of the garage to start my final leg of the Baby-Du

Total time for the bike (again, excluding transition): 30 minutes (I never said I was fast!)

Run #2: This second run was located on exactly the same route as my first fun. I ran up and down the same street on much more tired legs. My legs did not feel as brick-like as when I do triathlons, however. This was probably because I only rode my bike four miles. I ran through this route, enjoying the spring weather but eager to get done. I was hungry and wanted to shower. As I ran back to my house, I was proud that I finished my first Independent-Du and resolved to do these types of "races"more often.

Total time for Run #2: 28 minutes (yes, it actually WAS possible to slow down)

Total time for the whole event: 1 hour 27 minutes

Home: I was pretty tired when I got home. I took a quick shower, ate a bunch of food, read a book for a little while, then started on this blog. I am now eager to go to bed, and now have a new favorite workout.

I LOVED DOING THE INDEPENDENT- BABY DU!

Awesome Swim meet!

2008-04-25T20:19:00.004-04:00

I am doing the most awesome swim meet June 28! It is an open water swim where I get to swim 3000 meters!

That is like doing four 750 meter sprint triathlon swims. That is twice the longest event in a swim meet-the mile. I never did a swim meet that long before. It should be exciting!

Good morning!

2008-04-24T10:23:00.004-04:00

Yes..It's 10:24 A.M. on a Thursday. I should be in school right now. Don't tell anyone! I missed today because we had a 3 hour play in the afternoon that I didn't feel like sittling through. I only missed one other day this semester so it is not like it counts for anything. I really didn't feel like sitting through one of those plays. The plays are normally 2 hours, which already feels like an enternity. I really do not want to sit through 3 hours!

I swam for an hour yesterday. It would have been more, but my coach got really angry at some people. he stopped practice to give a 20 minute speech on why the whole team wasn't taking swimming seriously enough. He must have been really upset because my swim coach is normally a very easy going, nice guy. I have never seen him yell like that before. I am definatly going to work a million times harder then I already have been working because I do not want him to get mad again!

I am planning to do an Independent-Tri this weekend perhaps. It would probably be a duathlon.that I would do it after a swim workout. I would make it about an hour. Since i am oh-so-very-slow, that would mean a 2 mile run/4 mile bike/ 1 mile run. Something along those lines. I'm not quite sure yet.

The Yoga confilct is resolved

2008-04-23T15:33:00.005-04:00

I am loving the warm weather here today! 76 degrees! Yesterday I finally made it to yoga practice for swim team. We normally do yoga once a week, but there were conflicts about finding an appropriate room to do the yoga in (most of the rec rooms are being used for other things such as aerobics classes at the time we need them for yoga).

First, the yoga was scheduled for Mondays at 7:30 PM. Then, it switched to Tuesdays at 7:00 PM. Later, it switched to Wednesdays at 7:00 PM. FINALLY, it switched back to Tuesdays at 7:00 PM. I kept getting confused, as you would imagine, and showed up for yoga class on the wrong day.

I also showed up half an hour late on days there actually was yoga class. This was because I did not know of the change, and swim practice starts normally at 7:30. I would show up at 7:30 for normal swim practice and end up missing yoga. As you can tell, I was glad to finally make yoga class this week.

I can tell that this week will be a big workout week. Normaly, on Wednesdays after working out 3 days in a row, I would be exhausted and would have to take the night off. Today, I feel energetic enough to go to swim practice. I am only planning on taking one day off this week. I hope to get as much, if not more, training time this week than last week!

Independent-Tris and other ramblings

2008-04-22T18:10:00.005-04:00

Dear Blogger,

It is a very nice day out again today. it is about 75 degrees. I am very much looking forward to the OSU triathlon May 4. It is now official. My mom even picked out the hotel rooms. This time she actually booked 2 rooms, giving me my very own hotel room. I am spoiled!

This is awesome because dad's snoring and the TV running untill late at night mean I never get any sleep when I share a hotel room with my parents. Now I get a good night's sleep before the triathlon. I guess mom just got sick of the complaining.

I am so excited for summer! I am really eager to try out the Independent-Tri idea. I am hoping to to one this Saturday at the gym. If i can't get to the gym, I will make it an Independent- Du (run, bike, run).

Ways an Independent-Tri is different form a triathlon:

1. I can do them when ever I want

2. I can do them where ever I want

3. They don't cost anything

4. There are no other competitors (no 100,000 "on your lefts" on the bike- also no motivation to sprint to try to catch a 10-year old on the run!)

5. No t-Shirts or any other freebies

6. I don't have to rely on anyone to take me to an Independent-tri (except if I want to go to the gym)

7. I can pick the distances ("lengthen the swim?" you ask. I'm already ahead of you!)

8. It's less official :(

Ways an Independent-Tri is different from a workout:

1. it will be timed

2. I'll go as fast as I can

3. I will plan for the Independent-Tri at least a day ahead of time

4. It will be in the format of an official triathlon

5. It will usally be longer then the average workout

P.S. I just had the most IMPOSSIBLE math test today! I understood how to do most of the problems, but it took forever and I'm not sure how many problems I got right. I'll find out my grade soon. I hope he adds a curve to the test. I really want an "A" . I need an "A" average this quarter so I can exempt the final exam! I don't want to take the final exam in math. Finals in math always take 10+ hours to study for. Ugh!

Spring is finally comming!

2008-04-21T18:13:00.004-04:00

There are less than 2 weeks untill my first triatlon this season. 13 days to be percise. The thing that is intresting about this triathlon is that the swim will take place in a pool. All the triathlons I have done so far have had swims that took place in lakes. A pool swim will be very intresting. Not really- since I swim in pools all the time.

Speaking of which, I am also looking forward to long course season in swimming. It starts for me, in June (Since I have to take lifeguarding classes in May) One of the swims I am really looking forward to is a 3000 meter (or yards, I can't remember) swim that will be taking place at the end of June in Lake Eerie (spelling?)

It is finally Spring and will be summer in a few months. I am also thinking about what other races I would like to do. I would like to do an olympic distance triathlon and half-marathon this year. There is a good olympic distance triathlon about 20 minutes from home that I could do in July.

I am also thinking about doing my own triathlons. These would be triathlons that I would organize and complete all by myself- in the gym or on the road somewhere. I remember I used to do a few of these when I was 11 years old (this was when I thought I was too young for triathlons- so I did some of my own). These triathlons were typically very small distances- about a 300 yard swim, 3 mile bike, and 1 mile run.

I thought about the idea of doing some more of these types of independent triathlons after reading this blog: http://crackheadfe.blogspot.com/ where she talks about doing NothingMan triathlons.

The benefit to doing these types of triathlons (with real races thrown in, ovbiously) is that untill I learn how to drive (which I am hoping to learn how to do this summer) I can only go to triathlons when my parents feel like taking me. This means I can only do a triathlon maybe once a month, if that.

If I did Independent-Tris (as I will call them) I would not have to collaberate my idea of fun with my parent's ideo of fun as much. Plus, I can do Independent-Tris in the winter as well!

I will do as many triathlons as I can, but the idea of an Independent-Tri sounds awesome!

P.S. If photos do not upload correctly, is there any way to delete them?

My first triathlon

2008-04-20T20:34:00.003-04:00

Note: This was originally an essay I published on http://www.helium.com/ but decided to put on this blog.

It was 4:30 P.M. on Saturday June 30, 2007. As the horn signaled to start the race, I excitedly realized that I was finally becoming a triathlete! This was the moment I had been anticipating for the past 5 years! "5 years?", you wounder. "How could it possibly have taken 5 years to train for a triathlon?"

Let me back up a minute. Ever since I was 11 years old, and first heard the word "triathlon" mentioned, I have made it my vow to do one. I was completly astounded with the level of dedication and endurance these athletes posessed to become masters of three entirely different sports: swimming, bicycling, and running. Yet, I held off on the idea of actually doing a triathlon for so long becaus I thought I was too young to do one. "What 11 year old does triathlons?", I thought. Plus, I assumed that the distances were impossile. " A half-mile swim, 10-15 mile bike, AND a 5K run", I thought. "And that is the shorthest distance avalible? How will I ever do that?"

Even through all of this, I could not give up on my dream of finishing a triathlon. For the next several years, my thoughts would always drift back to doing a triathlon. I would oftentimes pick up triathlon books and magazines, reading them for hours. I would look at the pictures of smiling, exhausted athletes crossing the finish line and think to myself "that could be me." The longing never went away.

The dream finally surfaced into a reality when I was on the internet looking up bicycle races. My parents and I had just finished an amazing bicycle race. I wanted to do another bicycle race with them and was on the internet looking for others. I was on a website that had events listed for every sport. Of course, the longing came back and I had to check which triathlon events were avalible. Amidst all the notices for extremly long and intimidating (at least to me at the time) events, I found a link that provided informatiaon about a race taking place 3 weeks from the time I was looking at the computer. It was in a town only an hour away from where I live. Best of all, the race was at 4:30 in the afternoon, meaning I could sleep in! This race was a Super-Sprint triatlon.

"What is a Super-Sprint triathlon?" you may ask. A Super-Sprint triathlon is one of the shortest and least intimidating distances of triathlon availibe. It was a distance I had never heard about, up untill this point. The distance was a 300m (about 12 lengths of a pool) swim, 6 mile bike, and a 3K run (shortly under 2 miles). This, I realiized, was a perfectly feasable distance. Maybe my dream of becoming a triathlon finisher could finally become a reality!

I quickly thought of whether I would be able to cover these distances with only 3 weeks of training. I suddenly realized that it was a definate possibility. I was on a summer swim team at that point, and was swimming about an hour a day. 12 lengths of a pool was merely a warm-up to me! I have also ran a small amount in the past, and had even joined the track team 2 years ago in middle school. Running the 3K race would be doable with a few weeks of training. I could already comfortably run a mile! The biking would be relitivly easy as well. The bike ride I completed with my parents was 12 miles, double the distance of the bike leg in the Super-Sprint. 3 weeks later, I was able to comfortably run 2 miles. I was also becoming more famillar with the gears on my bike, and of course, going to swim practice. I felt very confident that I could complete the distances of the triathlon.

After 5 years of longing to do a triathlon and 3 weeks of traning and anticipation so strong I could barely sleep, I was finally ready to start my first triathlon. The first thing I remember about the triathon was that the lake was very warm. As I stood engulfed in the pleasent water waiting for the signal to start, I thought about the race ahead. The whole expierence was surreal. The dream I had fantisized about for the past 5 years was now about to come true! The horn sounded. I could not believe the race was actually happening!

I dove into the comfortable lake to begin my swim. "This is just like every day at swim practice", I kept telling myself. Eventually my body obeyed by slowing down my breathing and allowing me to become more comfortable in the water. The swim quickly ended and I ran out of the water to grab my bike and helmet. I turned my head around, and saw my parents waving at me and encouraging me. I smiled back. They also told me I was one of the first people out of the water. I could not belive my parents untill I looked behind me and saw almost everybody was still in the water. Now filled with even more energy, I hastily grabbed my helmet (carelessly putting in on backwards, alost chocking myself, and having to have a whole team of people help me turn it around) and was off to the bike course.

The bike course was astoundigly beautiful. The race took place in the Ohio country and the summer landscade and trees were the most beautiful shades of olive green. The course was also extremly hilly and on one hill I actually had to stop, get off my bike, and walk it up the trechoursly steep hill. The lead I created from the swim did not last very long. All the people I passed on the swim (and some people from the longer triathlon that started about half an hour after the Super-Sprint) blitzed passed me on their high-tech carbon fiber bikes. I plodded slowly along on my completly out of gear, too small Schwinn, and I couldn't have cared less. Towards the end of the bike ride, I was starting to get tired. I was also incredibly thirsty! As I rolled into the transition area to get my running gear, and put away my bicycle and helmet, I gulped down two full cups of water. After I guzzled the water like I was stranded in the Sahara Dessert, it was time to start the run.

The run took place in another beautiful location. It was a bike trail with several tall trees hanging above, providing shade on this hot summer day. The run went by relitivly easy and by this point, I was confident that I would finish. The only pain I felt was a slight tiredness and a heavy feeling in my legs, which came from transferring from bicycling immediatly to running. This heavy feeling even had me walking for part of the run! As the run drew to an end, I could not believe what I was about to accomplish. As I saw the finish line, I used every last reserve of strength and sprinted toward the finish line.

I saw my time on the clock. 1 hour and 12 minutes. I finished second to last; however, my final standing in the race did not matter to me. I was so thrilled that I finally became the thing I was dreaming about for so long. I finally became the smiling triathlete I saw crossing the finish lines in all those glossy triathlon magazines. I sudddenly realized I was starving!

I walked to the snack table to grab a couple Rice Krispie bars, and to my dad's truck to grab a swandwich and soda. I ate this food ravenously. After I finished my dinner, I walked from my dad's truck over to the site of the race to watch the organizers announce the results. I was shocked to found I had won a first place trophy in my age group. Even though I was the only one in my age group at the triathlon, that trophy made me feel very proud.

I was overjoyed to complete this onece-thought impossble feat and realized that not many people my age are doing triathlons. I suddenly felt very special and made a promise to myself to do more triathlons! As I rode home in the truck, I thought about where my next triathon would be. I decided to do a triathlon in the same city, a month away. This triathon would be a sprint, one of the distances that I used to belive was daunting.

Just to let you know, I finished that triatlon, and one additional triatlon before that summer ended. I am also planning to do many more triathlons this summer. I now either swim, bike, or run every day to keep in shape for my next triathlon. I have ran distances up to 8 miles, shattered personsl best times in swim meets, and also have gotten a better bike.

I plan do triathlons for the rest of my life and now relize that limits are only in the mind. This is true for triathlon as well as every other aspect of your life. Becoming a triathon finisher has made me confident in many other aspects of my life. One example is that it has made me more determined in my school work, helping me study harder and get the best grades I have ever recieved. I strongly believe that becoming a triathlete is not as hard as it sounds. Finishing a triathlon is feasable for every person that has a desire to do so and is willing to work hard.

Swim-a-thon: Part 2

2008-04-20T20:11:00.004-04:00

Today was my second day of the swim-a-thon since I swam another swim-a-thon on Friday. (Get it? Today was part 2.) I swam 100 laps again (down to the end of the pool and back- It bugs me when people call one length of the pool a lap) for a total of 5000 yards.

I enjoyed my swim-a-thon today. I don't feel as tired as I did on Friday. Maybe that day of rest I took yesterday actually helped. The one thing I didn't enjoy however, was that there were 3 other swimmers in my lane. Very fast swimmers. They kept running over me every other lap. It was very annoying. As I was getting kicked and bumped, all the while, I was looking forward to when they finished their 100 laps and got out of the pool.

Eventually they got out of the pool and I had the lane all to myself. No kicking or brusing. Yeah! I got the lane to myself for about 20 minutes. I was getting the nice, wounderful feeling I get when I do a good, hard workout. The only thing that wasn't so good though was that I really had to pee. I'll save the details, but all I can say was that I was very excited to be done with the swim so that I could run to the bathroom.

When the swim-a-thon was over, I felt a little tired, but not extremly. I only felt as tired as I normally do at the end of swim practice. I wasn't very hungry this time and still havn't ate a snack. It felt really awesome doing 2 swim-a-thons in a weekend. I was the only one on my swim team to do 2. I love distance swimming, as I said before. I wish they had swim-a-thons more then once a year. Every week would be nice. Maybe twice a week. Three times...

Biggest workout week ever!

2008-04-19T11:34:00.005-04:00

This week has been my largest volume workout week of the whole year, according to my training log! The graph that shows my weekly workout minutes in each sport used to have an interval of 0-500 minutes of workouts per week. Now, after this week, where I worked out over 500 minutes this week, my workout graph now goes from 0-600 minutes.

I've been having so much energy lately. Normally, I will workout anywhere from 2-4 days-then have to take a day off because I am falling asleep on my floor. This week, I worked out 7 straight days in a row (my longest contiuous string of workouts ever) and don't feel a thing.

I want to workout again today but have decided to restrain myself. I need some rest after the swim-a-thon yesterday (and before tomorrow's!) . I guess I need rest even though I don't fel like I do.

I think improving my nutrition is helping a lot. When I started working out, I was eating the same amout as when I sit around and do nothing, even though I am swimming or ding some other type of workout 1- 2 hours most nights of the week. I have started eating a slim-fast bar every night before I go to bed (and sometimes more then one) . I like slim-fast bars because they taste good (strawberry-cream cheese is the best!) and have lots of vitamins and other things.

I will probably still, however, have to eat yet even more. I want to gain enough weight so that I am up to 95 pounds. I was 89.5 pounds before I began eating the slim-fast bars. Now, after a month of eating them every night, I am only up to 90.5 pounds.

This week's workout totals

Swimming: 440 minutes (that would be 7 hours 20 minutes)

Bicycling:20 minutes (kind of pathetic but I'm not a huge fan of bicycling)

Running: 78 minutes (or 1 hour and 18 minutes)

Total: 538 minutes (or 8 hours 58 minutes!)

My largest workout week ever.

Swimming laps+ 2 hours=happiness

2008-04-18T20:41:00.003-04:00

Today was the wounderful swim-a-thon (part one-since I am doing another swim-a-thon on Sunday). I loved it. All together, I swam 5300 yards. That was the longest I ever swim! It was really relaxing swimming all those laps on a Friday night. I am very wounderfully tired now. I am the kind of tired that only comes from a nice, long workout.

I shared a lap lane with one other person. That person normally is a very fast swimmer. I am usally the slowest swimmer on the team. (I honestly mean it- I love swimming but I am really slow!) Today, for some reason, she was swimming really slow. Even slower then me. She was probably very confident that she would make the 100 laps and trying to save her energy. She did make the 100 laps!

I neve swam a swim-a-thon before so I was sprinting so that I could swim the entire 100 laps on time. I must have lapped her about 10 times in the whole practice. It was pretty nice being the faster one in the lane, instead of being the one getting run over- even though come practice time, she can swim circles around me.

The swim-a-thon was supposed to be 5000 yards all together. I actually went a little bit over the designated distance. The reason is that I went an extra 100-200 yards because I did not realize I already finished the 100 laps untill I heard my coach yell my name. I also honestly didn't want to stop! After the swim-a-thon, I did a short cool-down and practice was over.

I'm not as tired as I thought I would be. I am a little sleepy right now, but I normally go to bed in about 10 minutes anyway. I will have a great night's rest tonight!

I was also very hungy! I ate a snack as soon as I got home. I ate outside and enjoyed the wounderful weather. It went up to 75 degrees today! After I ate, I felt a lot better.

Today was a perfect day for swimming. I am very excited that I get to do the same thing again on Sunday. I love long workouts like that. They make me feel on top of the world!

Creepy

2008-04-17T17:27:00.003-04:00

I just had some online pervert add me as a friend on facebook. I cllicked "yes" on the friend request, not knowing that it was a pervert. I quickly realized it was a perv however, when I saw pictures of penises on his profile page. Also, his name didn't sound famillar and neither did the names of his friends displayed on his profile.

The only reason I cliked "yes" on the "add to friends request" was because usally, if I don't recognize someone's name, I will remember them onece I see a picture of them, and what school they go to. In his profile, there was no picture of him or his school. Only pictures of penises.

I quickly clicked "remove from friends" button on Facebook and was more then a little weirded out. If there are any pervs looking at this blog, please get the fuck off here.

In other news, my swim team is having a swim-a-thon both tommorrow and Sunday. What this means is instead of regular practice, we get to see how many laps we get to swim in 2 hours!!!! I am very excited because I love distance swiimming.

There are two days we can swim in the swim-a-thon and we have the option of swimming either day. I am ovbiously swimming both days because why wouldn't I? I LOVE distance swimming and am very excited for the swim-a-thon(s) !!!!!

Reflections on why I do triathlons

2008-04-16T17:29:00.003-04:00

1. The mental and physical high you get after a tough workout.

2. The feeling of confidence you get after going farther or faster then you ever have before

3. Three sports in one race means you don't get bored

4. Seeing how far you can go

5, Swimming in lakes

6. Enjoying the outdoors

7. All the fitness you gain from training for 3 different sports

8. The possibility of doing an ironman triathlon, or achiving another tough goal

9. Expierencing the outdoors (I once ran a 5K in the middle of a snowstorm!)

10. Free T-Shirts!

11. Biking/Running in the rain on a hot summer day

12. You can escape the mundaness of daily life for a liitle while (during your workouts)

13. The way time seems to dissapear in the middle of a good swim workout

14. Feeling on top of the world after your first triathlon

15. Feeling on top of the world after every triathlon you do

16. Seeing different part of the country (or of a state) as you do different triathlons

17. Seeing how much you progress as you train ("I used to think that was hard?")

18. Riding a bike full speed downhill

19. Realizing that missing a workout makes you go crazy!

20. Always looking forward to the next event...

I finally got images to load! (I'm just not very good at figuring out how to move them)

2008-04-15T16:24:00.007-04:00

Yesterday, I did not swim, but I ran. My parents couldn't take me to swim practice because they had to do taxes. Since I couldn't go to swim practice, I ran outside instead.

It was pretty chilly outsde, only about 45 degrees. Right now it is only about 55 degrees outsde. I am getting very annoyed with all this cold weather. It is the middle of April already!

Anyway, the run was pretty nice. I ran for about an hour, and the cool air felt nice when I was running. I kind of hurt a muscle at the top of my leg when I was running, however. It is still a little sore today but it is getting better. I have pancke-flat feet so I tend to injure myself a lot when I run. I never get very serious injuries. Just small, annoying ones.

P.S. I finally got images to load on to my blog. I think I am finallly starting to get the hang of this. All I need to learn how to do now is move images where ever I want them on my blog post.

crap!

2008-04-14T18:40:00.002-04:00

I try to upload photos, but somehow, they do not display. If anybody knows how to fix that, please tell me. (notice the blank photo thing on the post below this)

Start of this blog, and long course season in swimming

2008-04-14T18:18:00.004-04:00

Hi again. Since this blog is all about swimming and triathlon, I guess I will start off by talking (or writing!) about the workout I did yesterday.

I did a 1:50 swim workout with the swim team. We are starting to get into the summer swim season (long course) so the swim workouts are starting to get harder again. For the past month or so, we have mainly been working on drills to make our swim strokes better. Now we have been doing a lot of endurance stuff, which is my favorite type of workout!

Our main set was 3,000 yards. I left the workout feeling so wounderfully tired, the way I always feel after a long workout. I was hungry too! I actually ended up eating two dinners last night. I ate my normal dinner around 4:00 and had to have a second dinner after my workout. don't think I'm a pig or anything. I'm 5 ft 1 and only 90 pounds. I'm actually trying to gain weight.

This has been my first year on a year- round swim team and I am loving it so far. This will be my first summer swim season in a long course pool (50 meters long instead of 25 yards) and I am really looking forward to it.

I'm going to have to start my long course season a month later then I would normally be able to. Instead of starting the season in May, I will have to start it in June. I can't swim any of the meets we have in May because I am going to take classes to become a lifeguard. The classes happen to coincide with the same exact days of the swim meet.

I am very excited about becoming a lifeguard. I hope to lifeguard for 5 seasons, a place with a very nice pool only 5 minutes from my house. It will be my first job!

Hi Blogger!

2008-04-13T20:21:00.000-04:00

Hi. This is my first time using a blog. I decided to write about swimming and doing triathlons becaues that is what intrests me the most. I also started this blog to show my journey. I know that sounds kind of corny but I would like to look back some time in the future and see how far I have come with my training and with life.

I remember a year ago I was barely working out at all. I did a season of swim team at school, but that was the extent of everything I had done that year. Now, I swim almost every single day and have done three triathlons. I am signed up for a fourth next month!

I like swimming, triathlons, and working out in general because it gives me so much confidence. Last year, i could barely run a mile. Now I can run 8 without stopping. Last year, I could barely figure out my gears on my bicycle. Now I am slowly getting somewhere (even though bicycling is my weakest sport) Last year an hour swim felt really, really, long. Now I can swim for two hours easily. I am also a lot faster at swimming then I was last year. When I improve that much at something in so little time, I feel like I can do anything.

This comming up year, I would like to do even more. I want to continue to improve my swimming times. I also want to do farther distance triathlons, such as an olympic-distance event. Last but not least, I would like to run a half-marathon. This is a goal I had since August of last year. I hope to accomplish it this year.

Someday, I would like to run a marathon and do an ironman distance triathlon. I know that is a very long way off. It seems unachiveable now, but maybe when I look back on my blog 5 years from now, I could laugh at this post. I could laugh because I would already have the finishers medals hanging up in my bedroom.