Bike Ride & Pre-Race Q & A

I went on an hour long bike ride around campus last night. I'm feeling a lot more comfortable on the new bike, going faster, going around corners, etc. I still feel like it is more work to go fast on this bike, but maybe that is just because I have been sick for 2 weeks.

This morning I went to a Q & A session for the Playmakers Triathlon Team at Hawk Island for the Hawk-I-Tri tomorrow. There was some good information, and I feel pretty read for tomorrow. I do wish it would be warmer for the open water swim at 8am though! The packet pick-up is back at Hawk Island from 4pm-7pm tonight, and the beginner's meeting is at 7am tomorrow.

A wet and wild ride!

So I decide to finally take my new bike out for a spin, even though I've been feeling sick for a week. I put on my helmet and headed out the door. It was a pretty good ride, and I practiced with the gears, turning, stopping, etc. When I got out past Chandler Crossings, it started to sprinkle, which felt good because it was so warm and muggy. Then it started to rain harder. And then it started to pour. And thunder. And lighting. So I rode home in the pouring rain, getting my new bike soaked and covered in muddy water (which I would much prefer over trying to keep an expensive bike all neat and clean!).

I'm looking forward to my first outdoor triathlon on Sunday, but why does everything have to start so EARLY!? The beginners' meeting is at 7am, ugh.

My New Bike!

I finally bought a bike so I can actually race in the Hawk-I-Tri this weekend. I could not convince myself to spend $450 on a bike from velocipede peddler, so I got an $89 bike from Meijer! It is blue and looks cool! :) I also bought a helmet and water bottle holder contraption. I biked it home, and it seemed to work out pretty well. I'll have to take it out on some practice rides so I can get used to the gears. Now I don't have to worry about breaking an expensive bike!

The UNbridge bridge race

Today I ran what was supposed to be my 4th Mackinac Memorial Bridge Race. Since the construction was not done, it turned out to be a 3.8 run through Mackinaw City, which was still ok. It was not a staggered start, the breakfast was just bagels and muffins, there were certificates instead of trophies, and lanyards instead of finishers medals. I ran a 33:35 (8:51/mile) to get 11th of 29 in my age group, and 274 of 530 finishers overall. I also had a sore throat and a hacking cough. Dave took lots of photos of me, so I will post those on facebook soon!

Motorcycle class

This weekend, Dave and I took a motorcycle certification class. We rode the bikes for 5 hours on Saturday, and 4 hours on Sunday, which was so exhausting! My arms and lower back are really sore from controlling the bike for so long. Now I just need to win the lottery so I can buy my own bike!

Hiking at Yankee Springs

I went camping this weekend at Yankee Springs with Dave, Mike, Jen, Kiersten, Drew, Evan, Austin, Rebecca, Pete, and Mike S. Yesterday Jen, Kiersten, Drew, Mike, and Evan and I hiked to a landform called the Devil's Soupbowl, which turned out to be just a big hill, but we did get a 2 1/2 hour hike in beautiful, cool weather through nice trails. By the end of the hike, my feet were sore and my legs were tired, so it was definitely great exercise! I'm looking forward to more camping and more hiking all summer!

What kind of bike should I get?

Rode my bike around campus for an hour today. I think I want to get a mountain bike instead of a road bike. I'd rather come home from a ride and hose off the mud instead of worrying about every little scratch on it!

Some exercise is better than nothing...

On Thursday I went for a 50 minute bike ride. I did some of the Northern Tier Trail, went down Abbott Road, and onto campus. (I saw some beautiful flowers by IM Circle!) I'm still on my old, rusty trusty bike, because I can't seem to convince myself that I want to own a $400+ bike from Velocipede Peddler. (I prefer the $80 Meijer's version.)

On Friday I played my last Winner By Forfeit soccer game of the season. We lost 9-5, but it felt REALLY good to sprint around again! I got knocked down a few times, but nothing serious. (I do have a cool red line down my shin where a guy's cleat scraped me when we both got to the ball at the same time!)

My plan for today is to ride my bike around in the sunshine and enjoy the weather!

30 minute run

I finally convinced myself that I probably need to TRAIN if I ever want to be any good at triathlons. So today I did an easy 30 minute run on campus. It was the perfect cool temperature and I got to see all the flowers and budding trees! Hopefully I can keep up the training so I will be ready for the Mackinac Bridge Run as well as the Hawk-I-Tri, both at the end of May.

Last night I had a dream that I entered a 10k run, and I did really well, but I forgot that it was a 10k and not just a 5k, so I stopped half-way through and went home.

Lazy

Well, I was pretty lazy last week, so I didn't really do any training. I did play soccer on Thursday and Friday night, and Winner By Forfeit had their FIRST win ever! Our record is now something like 1-1-47. :)

It's all Dave's fault for introducing me to World of Warcraft on the computer. :)

Rest Day

On Thursday and Friday I played soccer (Friday with no subs), so those are my sprint workouts for the week. On Thursday I also swam 12 laps (working on technique) and lifted weights.

Today was a rest day (much needed by my sore legs!), so I just took a short walk so I could get out in the sun for a bit.

I registered for the Hawk-I-Tri which is on May 31st, so I'll need to get a bicycle by then! It will be my first outdoor triathlon.

40 minute bike & weights (again)

Today I biked at the gym at a medium pace, and got just over 10 miles in 40 minutes. Then I walked for a cool down for 5 minutes, then lifted some leg weights. I have soccer for the next 2 days, so that should cover a good running/sprinting workout (too bad it's two days in a row). If I'm feeling extra ambitious, I may also go for a swim at the gym on Thursday or Friday.

40 minute bike & weights

I went to the gym and lifted some weights (mostly arms), then biked at an easy pace for 40 minutes (just over 8 miles). Then I ran on the treadmill for half a mile, just to get my legs used to biking and then immediately running.

I'm thinking of going to look at bikes today, just to get an idea of what is out there.

IronMAC triathlon results

Wow! I had a great day of racing yesterday in the IronMAC. I swam 35 lengths (25 meter pool = 875 meters total = 1/2 mile total), biked 4.9 miles, and ran 12.5 laps (1/5 mile track = 2.5 miles total).

I reached my goal of wanting to swim 16 laps (32 lengths)in the pool and wanting to run 12 laps on the track. I ALMOST hit my goal of biking 5 miles (.1 short!).

I wanted to earn at least 150 points (50 in each age group), and I managed to earn 55.4 in the swim (100 points for a 1 mile swim), 49 in the bike (100 points for a 10 mile bike), and 60 in the run (100 points for a 4 mile run), for a total of 164.4 points. (The points help equalize the events, making them more like an outdoor triathlon that has a different distances for each event).

I ended up getting 2nd place in my age group, so I won a really cool silver medal. I was 11th place out of 40 women overall. The most impressive stats are that I tied for SECOND place overall woman in the run, and I tied for THIRD place overall woman in the bike! My swim was tied for 17th place overall for woman, still in the top half.

Overall, very pleased with my performance. I need to work on transition times, especially between the swim and bike. Thank you to David, mom, and cousin Ken for coming to be my spectators!

IronMAC goals

Today I will be racing in the IronMAC triathlon at the Michigan Athletic Club in East Lansing... 20 minute swim, 20 minute bike, 20 minute run. My goals are .5 miles for the swim (16 laps in a 25 meter pool), over 5 miles for the bike, and over 2.25 miles for the run (12 laps on a 1/5 mile track).

Wish me luck! :)

Soccer- Winner by Forfeit team

Friday night I played soccer again... so that counts as a sprint workout. Saturday was a rest day (and I was home visiting my family). Today I did a yoga workout with my mom, and I carried boxes of books out of the basement and loaded them into my car (the plan is to donate them to the Books for Africa program at MSU), so that was sort of a weight lifting workout. :)

I'm hoping to have more time to do some REAL workouts during Spring Break!

Soccer- Paul Revere's Team

Last night I played soccer for an hour... that counts as a sprint workout, right? Especially since there were only 3 girls instead of 4 of us there.

40 minute bike ride

Almost stayed in tonight, after working 8:30am-6pm at school. But I convinced myself that I needed to have something to post on my blog, so I went for a bike ride. :) It was a bit chilly, but not raining or snowing. I biked on the trail north of my house, about 20 minutes out and 20 minutes back. It's mostly a smooth, flat trail, but I was riding into the wind on the way back. Also, my bike is an old, single-speed clunker, so that increases the workout a bit. My hope is to keep working out at least every other day. Thursday and Friday I have soccer, so that will take care of two days this week.

Team Playmakers Triathlon Training kick-off

Tonight I attended the kickoff for Team Playmakers Triathlon Training program. I'm very interested in becoming better at triathlons, and having people support me and keep me accountable will definitely help! They are going to have weekly swims at the Mason Aquatic Center, complete with swim stroke specialists to help us be more efficient swimmers. They will have bikes a couple of times a week, and running days a couple of times a week. The people at the kick-off seemed mostly like beginners, so I will fit right in!

My next step is to buy a bike and helmet. I'm planning to spend about $300 on a bike, but I'm not sure what exactly that will get me. I'd like to get a triathlon bike, but I might just get a mountain bike with some good tires.