It snowed today

It snowed today!  It's April 18th and it snowed...I'm so disgusted with Chicago weather.  Why can't it just be a pleasant 70 degrees outside.  I want to ride my bike :(

Well this week is my rest week which is perfect since I will be leaving to go to Wisconsin Wednesday night.  Today I lifted for about 30 minutes.  I focused on legs and shoulders today and then ran 4 miles.  I started cramping after about 3 miles and the last mile was a rough one.  Tomorrow I will lift and swim for about a mile.  Wednesday I will do the same.  My goal is to try to run 5-6 miles when I'm at home in Wisconsin.  My parents live about 4 miles from town and if the weather cooperates I would love to be able to run to town and back Thursday or Friday.  Fingers crossed it doesn't snow.

Swim Workout #1

One of my clients has been helping me out with my swimming.  She was a collegiate swimmer and a coach for a  few years.  She went to the pool with me a few weeks ago and needless to say she impressed me!!  So today I tried one f the swim workouts she gave me.  I thought I was going to die at the half way point but glad to say I powered through!!

She had me doing drills which I hate...probably because I'm not very good at them.  I started with swim/kick/pull rotation.  Then I moved to side swim and technique drills.  The endurance part of the workout was about 960 meters and then I got a 80 meter cool down.  Altogether I was in the pool for over an hour.  I love the way I feel when I'm getting out of the pool.  I feel refreshed and strangely energized.  After my swim I lifted for about 30 minutes.  I did some chest, bicep, triceps and ab work. 

So far this week I've stuck to my schedule.  Monday I did a 7 mile run.  Tuesday I lifted, focusing on my legs.  Then I took a spin class and finished my workout with 20 laps in the pool.  Today was my long swim.  Hopefully I won't run outta steam for the rest of the week!

Make up day

Since I was so unproductive yesterday I needed to step it up today.  I got to work at 6am and was feeling good and motivated so I started my workout with a 5 mile run.  I was only scheduled to do 4 miles today but figured I better step it up from being a slacker the past 3 days.  After my run I lifted weights for about 30 minutes.  I don't usually do a hard weight workout on the days I'm doing heavy cardio.  Today I did some abs and back.  I started with a cable row and crunches on a bosu.  Then I did some bicycles on the bosu, TRX reverse flys, TRX bicep curl, cable cross, assisted pull ups and ended with some wide grip pull downs.   After my weights I headed down to the pool where I swam for about 50 minutes.  I kinda lost track of how many laps I did but I'm pretty confident I did my mile.   

My workout felt good today.  I was excited to get back into it.  Tomorrow I need to have a good day in the weight room.  I plan on running for about 8 miles and then spending a solid hour lifting.  I'll let you know how it goes!!  I gotta tell you I'm glad I opted for the full triathlon, as crazy as it sounds I don't think a sprint tri would have challenged me  :)

Dedication

My brother helped me set up this blog.  He thought it would be cool if I tracked my triathlon training and I totally agree but I've been slacking big time.  I promise to start talking more about my actual training.  I haven't worked out since Saturday...but Saturday was a good workout.  I took a spin class, swam a mile and lifted for about 45 minutes.  Today I had big workout plans but didn't get much accomplished. 

My grandma has Alzheimer's disease and this awful disease is running its course on her and our family.  When I'm working out I have a lot of time to be alone with my thoughts and more often then not my thoughts circle around her.  The disease has taken quite a toll on her over the past week and I feel angry and sad about losing the grandma that I love so much.  This is what I was thinking about this morning when I was trying to workout.  And this is why I didn't get much done...it's really difficult to run through tears because it makes breathing difficult. 

The point is, I have decided to dedicate all my races to my grandma.  She was always taking my brother, sister, and I to the track to run around or to the swimming pool or letting us ride her bike.  She was always encouraging us to be active and try new things.  I know she would be proud of me and I want to do something that lets her know that I'm proud of her too!