frogprincess72’s BodyBlog

As I got up Monday morning, I was nervous.. anxious… and there was a rumbley in my tumbly! It wasn’t long before the negative self-talk started to take over! "I’m not good enough..I’m not fit enough..What if I look like a poser in my tri suit?!" So needless to say, by the time we arrived at the park for the triathlon, I had already successfully taken myself OUT of the race. And don’t get me started about all the negativity running thru my head once i actually SAW the other triathletes! I was in full on HOUSEWIFE mode!!! Hubby dutifully held the camera and did what he does best.. capture the most candid moments on film EVER! well, they certainly tell a story, judging by the looks on my face! then he told me how difficult it was to witness how easily I allowed the fear of failure to take over when I had worked so hard to be where I am! He tried to give me the "pep talk" but it was to of no use. So he and little man decided to leave me and my self-pitying ass alone to set up my transition area.
Once I got my area set up, I continued to watch the other athletes set up, struggle into their wetsuits, and make their way to the water. "OH! guess I better do all this stuff too!" Talk about feeling like a bumbling athlete! ha!
At the water, I joined the other lemurs as we waded in to get "climatized". water temp was approximately 65 degrees. Then we all started to swarm like flies in a group at the start line. Well, lucky me! I got next to "THAT GUY!" we all know him. the great swimmer who starts in the WAY back cuz he wants the ego stroke of swimming OVER the rest of us! And he had the nerve to apologize BEFORE! "well then get your ever luvin’ flippered ass to the front", I kept saying on the inside!

Then suddenly we were off. And the water was splashing. and legs were kicking. and arms were flailing. And I felt like I was swallowing ALL of the lake water and surely I would drown from this IF i didn’t have my wetsuit! THANK GOD FOR WETSUITS i laughed to myself. but also, since this was a ’surfing’ suit, it didn’t allow me the normal arm stroke i’m used to. So i had to alter my stroke and breathing rate and this caused me to mildly panic. FYI.. panic in the water, albeit even MILD, is not a good thing. And as i neared the buoy, the swimmers were more spread out, enabling me to relax and not swallow so much water. And as i took one of my breathes, I looked to the shore and saw my "TEAM" yelling and screaming "GO MOMMY! GO MOMMY! GO MOMMY!!" and at that moment, i switched from HOUSEWIFE mode, to ATHLETE mode! IT’S SOOOOO ON.. and before i knew it, i was at the water’s edge, getting my land legs and running up the rocky path to T1!

CRAP this wetsuit is a biatch to get off!! And don’t forget the helmet!! and the GOO! and the socks… OOOOH.. SUNGLASSES! and i was off! LET"S GO MOXIE! And let me tell you, once I got my first road kill, II never felt stronger. It was a flat course with PERFECT race weather. I found my "zone" quickly. A fast and steady cadence with good speed, while sparing my quads. I kept my head down, looking out from the tops of my eyes, looking up only to see my next road kill- THE ONE LADY I PSYCHED MYSELF OUT OVER! At this moment, I thought about Kirby-how he used to "herd" me thru the crowds in our runs. How streamlined he was.. how focused.. I said "i need ya, Buddy!" and at that moment made my move and passed her. I know it doesnt seem like a lot but it was a victory for me and my psychy! And the tears started. GREAT! another FYI.. crying and cycling do not mix well together. But they were happy, therapeutic and motivating tears..
Then OH SNAP! The 13 miles is over! Time for T2! And in all that frenzy, somehow the helmet and bike shoes were off and my running cap and shoes were on. And I was off again! 3 miles to go!!! "GO MOMMY! GO MOMMY! GO MOMMY!" "YOU"RE #4 FEMALE!".. come again??? how can THAT be? i didn’t remember passing that many females and yet most were ahead of me after the swim. did they leave??? haha.. I looked in front of me and saw #3 female. i kept my stride quick and short to adjust to being off the bike. I thought a turtle would have been able to pass me. but i kept it up and within a minute had caught her. We exchanged smiles and "atta girls" and then I continued. I found my running legs quickly and settled into my stride. And before I knew it, I was coming back to the transition area. Just across the bridge to the finish line! DAMN! THAT FELT GOOD!
I had no idea at this point what my time was. I never even thougth to start my bike computer. Never thought to look at my watch. What kind of athlete AM i??!! haha..
So all in all, my total time (thanks to my hubby for keeping track for me) was
1:11:21
Swim 5:23 minutes (seriously, if you would have asked me, i could have SWORN it was 86.534343 kajillion hours!)
T1 1:57
bike 38 minutes (20.5 MPH average)
T2  about 1 minute
Run 24 minutes (8 minute mile/7.5 MPH)

Finished 3rd female. 1st in my age group. 17th overall.

In the car ride home, we did the post-race goal setting session. really a no brainer! Open water swim and Mental strength! I have 4 weeks to continue to build before my 1 week taper! I have an Olympic distance tri on June 15th. I will be attending an Open water swim clinic for the next 4 wednesdays. that will give me 5 more open water swim practices. And i will more than likely buy a tri wetsuit! Possibly without arms! haha.
And I will focus on being kind to me! I may not be the smallest.. Or the fittest.. Or the thinnest.. BUT i am strong.. and determined.. and stubborn as a donkey! And I deserve to be a triathlete just as much as any one else!

 Waiting for the neighbor to throw him another snow ball =)

Today, I lost the best running partner I could have ever asked for. Kirby has been sick for the last month, battling and struggling through it all, but still with his fiery spirit! Until yesterday. He stopped eating and drinking. He could no longer stand on his own. He and I had a pretty special bond and I knew he was telling me he no longer had the fight in him. It was time. So, today we took him in and let him go to the big off leash dog park in the sky. I miss him and our runs together. I miss that silly, furry buddy of mine….

so today’s train was suppose to be a swim of 2500 yards and a long run of 1 hour 40 minutes. I had been planning on riding in a local ride that had various miles (was thinking of doing the 75 mile section) but my legs were a little tired after yesterday’s brick workout of 1 hour 30 minutes bike/ 20 minute threshold run, so i wasnt’ sure i was up for 75 miles on the bike, even if it was a "FUN" ride with really yummy food..

so late last night, i remembered that today was the local marathon/half marathon and decided that as my training run i would join in with the half marathoners. i had  a spell of about 2 hours where i was fairly anxious about it, mostly because i’m a planner, and an OVER planner at that. but i was also experiencing anxieties about a lot of little, and not so little, things as well during the day so it was par for the course.

and in the end, i finished the 13.1 miles in 1:49:51. Not the best but considering i wasn’t tapering and had a killer brick workout yesterday i am ok with the finish time. I averaged about an 8:20 minute mile. AND when i ran this same race 5 years ago, my finish time was 1:57:and some seconds.. SO considering i’m 5 years older and am FASTER, i’m kinda cool with that..

after the run, i picked up TJ and we went to LA fitness to borrow their pool so she could critique my swim stroke. Now i must say, how boring it must be to watch someone swim, but she never let on that she was. She used to be a swimmer as well and she had some good tips and tweaked my finger entry a  bit which helped shave just a fraction of my time off but helped me glide longer, therefore getting a longer time to breathe.. overall, my swim stroke looks strong and efficient, which is good to know.. :)

and after this, we went to lunch and had the BEST soup and salad i think i have EVER eaten. ok, perhaps not, but i’ll tell ya, i could have been served canned dog food and i would have gulped that down!  and now, i am tucked under the bed covers and will be getting some sleep ..

JUST FOUND OUT IF FINISHED 9TH OUT OF 83 IN MY AGE GROUP.  56 OUT OF 501 OVERALL WOMEN.  190TH OUT OF 834 OVERALL IN THE HALF MARATHON

SO today’s workout consisted of a full body circuit train with TJ.. She went kinda light on me.. just 3 sets of speed ladder work (1st set 62 seconds; 2nd set 57 seconds; 3rd set 52 seconds.. why do i get faster at the LAST set.. hmmmmm).. with a cable chest press on Smith ball, one leg up and one leg on the ground for balance.. Alternate legs 2nd set and 3rd set alternate arms..

Then some lat work with overhead tricep extensions; 3 sets.. apparently i was rather chatty so I ended up going pretty heavy in her attempt to shut me up… Seemed to do it..

Then hamstring curls on the bench with dumbell between my feet superset with deadlifts, 3 sets.. Then one legged lunges with 10 pound dumbells, then 12.5 pounds, then 15 pounds. 10 reps each leg x 10..

THEN, it was time for my triathlon brick workout.. 60 minute bike ride, and since it is a gorgeous spring day, i took it outside. I averaged 18 MPH with a cadence of 88.. not horrible but not as fast as i’d like. About 30 minutes in, a racer caught up to me.. and low and behold, he had the same exact bike as me! MOXIE x 2!! We rode together about a mile until his course veered off and then i was back to my lonesome. I really need to start riding with the cycling group. I get so freakin’ bored and i know i would push myself and learn alot more if i rode with experienced riders.. and there’s always food involved with the rides.. i’m all about the food these days!

Once the ride was over, it was time to practice my T2 and get my running legs engaged. Not sure they ever did get engaged but i pushed through it. and it was slow! i need to really practice this transition!!!! good thing i have 7 weeks left.. Well, really only 4 for serious training..

So for the next few weeks, i’m focusing on my swim and the bike/run transition. I’m going to try to maintain my bike skills (or lack there of) for the time being. And hopefully my body and I survive the next few weeks of hard training..

the last few weeks has been rather intense, to say the least! not just in my trainings but in life as well..it’s been full of relaxed sprints, VO2 max lactate intervals and foundation trainings.. no recovery trainings for a few more weeks! ARGH.. and each days training is a minimum of 1.5 hours.. and that’s a SHORT day!! this body is feeling it, let me tell you! and since my chiropractor is still on maternity leave, and i couldn’t get in to see the one covering her until this coming monday, my hips have been screaming at me! but alas, i’m being good at stretching… oooooh, and we got a new bed!! and that’s all i’ll say about that.. haha…

and then it was brought to my attention that i am indeed only 8 WEEKS from Lake Stevens, not the 9 weeks like i had thought! well that threw me into a tail spin last night and a slight freak out sesssion ensued.. but all is good today.. TJ is like my prozac.. i called her and she gave me the pep talk that i needed.. then my sis called and we had a good talk.. she is nothing like me in personality.. what i am, she is not.. and what she is, i am not.. so when she says "sonja, you’re gonna kick ASS on the course" i about lost it! to me, "ass" is just another word, like so/the/it/but/and…. to her, tho, it’s a word that is saved for that very special occasion! so to say the least, i felt honored and pepped up!!

something that’s been bugging me is the fact that my resistance training is down to once a week! and i can tell.. i fell puffy and loose and like all my definition is gone.. TJ and i also talked about this, cuz it’s really bugging me.. to be on here with all these hard bodies with their cuts and striations and defined muscles.. i feel like a poser! i can’t seem to get a muscle to show thru!!!! but she brought up a good point as well.. in order to continue my resistance training at the level i was, would mean i would need to take away from my endurance training and "THAT"S WHAT YOU"RE TRAINING FOR, YOU NUT" is what TJ told me.. she has a way with words… so we came up with some quick circuits that i can add once or twice a week to keep what i have and feel like a hard body.. haha.. without the sacrificing my endurance training or injury

 OH…. something kinda big.. to me anyways.. to those who know i’ve done this, it just confirms my "too muchness".. but i named my bike.. i know.. but i do that.. i’ve done it with my running shoes and tri suit.. yes, i’m a nut.. but to me, it fires me up to say "i’m gonna lace up my froggers (running shoes) and zip up gloria (my trisuit named after gloria gaynor’s "i will survive") and hop on MOXIE!! that’s my bikes name.. i figure that as long as i have MOXIE, i will never be disappointed so a big thanks to CG and FB for their help with that one! you two are simply the best!! OOOOH, maybe i’ll call you two TINA (for tina turner.. haha).. now i’m just too deep into the nuttiness to get out now…

and one last thing…Kirby had a relapse earlier this week, requiring another stay at the vets.. he’s home and much better now, but these weekly blood tests are killing the budget.. especiallly considering the guy i take care of was in the hospital for over 2 weeks, so i lost all that paycheck…. ARGH!! oh well…. whatcha gonna do??!! buckle down and git ‘er done, i suppose…

and now it’s time to strap on the SIDI’s, zip up GLORIA, and clip in to MOXIE and have my much needed therapy session .. i swear, there’s something so empowering and calming about being in the saddle… seeing the sweat bead up on my shoulders and run down my arms?? AWESOME! and kinda gross to some.. but to me?? it’s what i live for!!