Sunday, June 26, 2011

5k PR!

I ran a 5k yesterday, first one in a long time. It was a smaller event, probably 300 or so runners, no chip timing, but gun start/timing. I knew I was going to push myself in this one. I believe it's the first one since I ran the half-marathon. I've done a 4-miler, but I don't know if I did a 5k or not... Anyway, I told myself I was going to give it my all, and push hard. I was feeling pretty good and looked down at my Garmin and my pace stayed below 10:00/mile the whole time! The race finished on a high school track and coming around the last curve the time was in the 29:00 range. I kicked it into high gear and finished at 29:36!!! First time ever below 30 minutes and a PR! I believe I may have shaved 3+ minutes off my time!

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Swim Lesson

I had a swim lesson on Monday night. I'm 33 years old and I am just learning to swim. Yes, I know how to float and move around in the water, but I've never learned to properly swim. I had a 1/2 hour lesson on Monday night that taught me the basics of the proper way to swim. Boy do I have some work to do! I worked on it in my swim workout yesterday and at times I was confident and at other times I was very doubtful of my possibility of completing the triathlon next month. Towards the end of the workout I started to get the hang of it but I still need practice.

I'm anxious to get out and run tomorrow. It's been a while since I've run more than 2.25 miles. I didn't get to run on Sunday due to time constraints so tomorrow hopefully will be 3 miles. I'm doing a 5k on Saturday morning and REALLY looking forward to the race. It's a small one, but I love the atmosphere of a race.

On a side note, my brother and sister who both are training with the Couch to 5k program are doing an awesome job. My brother is up to a 20 minute run, which with his height should be close to 2.5 miles. My sister is hitting a milestone this weekend too. She's going to run 2 miles this week, as far as she'd run when training years ago. I'm so proud of both of them for taking on this challenge. And this is without me urging them to. They came to me interested. Working on a race day for my brother. My sister and I are running in the TwinsDay festival 5k in Twinsburg the first weekend of August. I can't wait to run with them!

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Where Have I Been?

It's been a while, but I'm still here and still training for my triathlon. I'm sticking to the scheduled training now that we're back from our cruise. Here's what the schedule usually has me doing:

Monday--rest (woohoo!)
Tuesday--swim
Wednesday--bike
Thursday--run
Friday--swim
Saturday--run
Sunday--bike/run w/transition.

I haven't been able to do the bike/run transition yet, but I'm not worried. I need to focus on swimming and figuring out how to breathe. Hubby got a book and a video from the library to help me learn and to help him improve his swimming but we haven't watched it yet. Hopefully it'll help because I need some serious help to get the endurance going on the swim...

I still miss running though. After my triathlon, I think I'm going to focus back on running. I love the freedom it gives me, the exhilaration and how good it makes me feel when I'm done. I really feel like I did some work when I get done running. I probably will still do another triathlon someday but I really enjoy the running right now. Maybe after I really figure out the swim, I'll enjoy it more.

Any swimming tips from anyone out there?

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Off Track

I got off track on my tri-training last week. Hubby and I were on a cruise to celebrate our 10 year anniversary, so it was for a good reason! Don't yell at me :) I did work out twice on the boat, so at least I did something. I ran one time, probably 2 miles and I rode bike for 30 minutes. I'm trying to get back on track this week. We finally found some swimming goggles that work for me. Of course they were in the kids' section... So, with those goggles and a nose plug, I set out to swim today and see what I really could do (I grew up plugging my nose when I swam, or wearing full-faced goggles). Once I found out the goggles were okay, I went to town. I was able to do almost a full 100 yards before I had to stop to catch my breath. My form is awful and it was very awkward today trying to focus on breathing, kicking and paddling. I really tried focusing on my breathing since that was the most important part of it. Once I get that pattern down, I can focus on other things.

The triathlon is scheduled for the end of July and I'm debating whether or not I should do this one still or try another one later in the season. I just don't know if I'll be ready for it or not. Maybe I'll give it a few more weeks and see what happens. I have until mid-July to register.