"Right now" Van Halen

I heard this on the radio last night coming home from dinner with friends right before a scheduled call with my coach. It was exactly what I needed to hear to remind me why I'm attempting Ironman this year.

There was really no better or worse year to try this. I am also now in a small and friendly community of Multisport athletes and have the financial means to take on this training.

IT'S MY TOMORROW!!! :)



*****************************************************
Don't wanna wait til tomorrow,
Why put it off another day?
One more walk through problems,
Built up, and stand in our way ,ah
One step ahead, one step behind me
Now you gotta run to get even
Make future plans, don't dream about yesterday, hey
C'mon turn, turn this thing around
Right now, hey
It's your tomorrow
Right now,
C'mon,it's everything
Right now,
Catch a magic moment, do it
Right here and now
It means everything
Miss the beat, you lose the rhythm,
And nothing falls into place, no
Only missed by a fraction,
Slipped a little off your pace, oh,
The more things you get, the more you want,
Just trade in one for the other,
Workin so hard, to make it easier, whoa,
Got to turn, c'mon turn this thing around
Right now, hey
It's your tomorrow
Right now,
C'mon, it's everything
Right now,
Catch that magic moment, do it
Right here and now
It means everything
It's enlightened me, right now
What are you waitin for
Oh, yeah, right now
(solo)
Right now, hey
It's your tomorrow
Right now,
C'mon, it's everything
Right now,
Catch that magic moment, and do it right,
Right now
Right now, oh, right now
It's what's happening?
Right here and now
Right now
It's right now
Oh,
Tell me, what are you waiting for
Turn this thing around

Tuesday yoga

For the first time, I went to yoga before work at Om. It was a teacher with whom I haven't had a class with before ..
Granted, I was extremely tired and sore from the night before, but her class wasn't my favorite.

We started with one of the longest down dogs in the history of yoga! First thing! I thought we'd start a bit more gently since it was 6:30am for God's sake!!

I hated this class the full 60 minutes... You know when you're having that internal, self talk with yourself like "this class fucking sucks!!" Yeah. Had that this morning!

The irony was that when I went back to the studio in the afternoon and the owner asked me what I thought, I considered not saying anything... But eventually I did because if it were my first or second time to that studio, I wouldn't have returned.

Monday update

Last night was my weekly ride w Njoy Racing at Train Chicago. I threw caution to the wind and did their workout without worrying about my heart rate zones. It was a rough ride!

1) 10 minutes warm up with five 110% threshold 30 second spikes with 30 seconds rest;
2) 2x10 minute pushes @100% TH with 4 minutes recovery;
3) 2x5 minute pushes @110% TH with 2-4 minutes recovery (can't recall the recovery interval;
5). 10 minute cool down

Afterwards I headed over to Hop Haus for dinner with my friend Scott who was in town from Boston for work.

I emailed my coach afterwards, somewhat afraid (!), since I saw my heart rate at zone 4.7 in moments. She said it was okay and we modify my Thursday ride before work.

Sunday ride - 85 minutes

I was able to ride with the gal group today at Train even though I didn't exactly do their workout.  I followed my plan, but really enjoyed the ride.

I tried to use my new wireless headphones but I had used up the battery and they needed a charge.  Luckily today, the music was loud, I was on the end of the row and I actually enjoyed it.

Almost 20 miles in 85 minutes, 40 of which were warm up and cool down... I'm doing alright!

Praying this low heart rate zone training "works" and my metabolism is learning to start consuming my fat rather than carbs!  I have not been eating during or immediately following workouts either.

Saturday lap swim

Our Saturday workout was fantastic for me!!!

It was a skills work out rather than distance or sprinting... I truly feel these are the types of workouts that will get me more efficient and faster overall.  Most of the "A" lane gals were not there so we were B and B+'ers swimming together.  It was lovely.

226 days until race day and another day of rest... yeah!

Friday was a day off from training... I worked from home; I was supposed to be in the suburbs, but the morning commute was hellish.  It took me 45 minutes to drive 4 miles.  After 40 minutes and only 3 miles from home and 15 minutes from the start of the meeting, I contacted the general manager to let them know of my absence.

I took Ferra to the vet in the afternoon and picked up Michael after work since I was on Stoney Island and 69th and he was at a workshop on 81st Street.

We went to our neighborhood deli after work and bought a bunch of charcuterie ala our Spain trip and had an extravaganza at home and went to bed early.

Thursday 1/25- Standing bike climbing skills

Well, I reconfirmed what I have felt for much time now... I HATE STANDING IN THE SADDLE.  It kills and burns my quads which my coach calls a "deficiency".  The entire hour I kept thinking and occasionally saying "I'm not doing this during the race.  I'm staying in the saddle!"

                                                         Photograph: Joel Saget/AFP/Getty Images

I did the drills and mind you, we rode for an hour and probably only went 7-10 miles (my cadence sensor battery has died and I need to replace it).  Then afterwards we did 30 minutes of strength or what I'd call "let me show you how angry and weak I am"!!

I told my coach, "I am really getting angry at you right now".  At least she stopped coaching me and stepping away from in front of me (as I was doing one leg Roman dead lifts).  Afterwards, she made sure to tell me that "I'm really not that weak and I was doing a good job".  I think she saw that I was about to punch a hole in a wall.

Wed yoga teaching

The benefit to having yoga class on Tuesday night before teaching myself on Wednesdays, is that I can "steal"ideas from Beth!

That brutal class I took myself was modified and I incorporated for my coworkers on Wednesday.  Believe me, they were not complaining about how cold the room was this Wednesday!  That and I asked the property manager to insure that the heat was turned back on on the vacant floor where we practice.  ((Last week it was FREEZING and with the cold temps this week it wouldn't have been possible.))

Wed 1/24 Lap Swimming

After having a pet scare at home, I was late to get to Gill Park before work.  I managed to get in about 30 minutes of lap swimming nice and easy to calm down!

My poor cat started totally limping on her front right paw and since she's 15, I was totally freaked out!  I made an appointment with my vet, Dr. Jeremy Williams, for Friday to insure she's okay and get some treatment.

As far as my workout went, I definitely like Gill Park better than Welles Park.  Seemed like some VERY strong swimmers there all interested in their own workouts.  The seniors showed up while I was drying my hair in the locker room for their water aerobics class.  They recently updated the locker room, which meant new lockers and that's about it.

I find it annoying when I only swim for 25 minutes or so and it takes me twice as long to get ready and dry my massive mop of hair!

                                                           Marc Serota for The New York Times

Wow

That was by far one of the hardest yoga classes I have ever taken! Not because it was actually "hard" per se, but because my lats, delts, quads and hamstrings were all incredibly tight.

Doing a prayer twist was super challenging. It will make me more sympathetic towards my students tomorrow for sure!!

I'm glad I went and I'm glad the room was warm-- otherwise I would've been in some real trouble!

Baptiste Yoga

I have never been so happy to "just be practicing yoga" tonight!  I'm taking Beth's hour class at 4:30pm.  I guess this is one of the benefits (if not, the ONLY benefit!) to getting to work by 6:30am... I can leave early if I get everything done too!

Easy workout today and tomorrow I have swimming.  I think I'm going to try and get it done before work and then I teach yoga over my lunch hour tomorrow.

Are any of you finding it hard to believe that I actually don't like working out!!?  The days I'm home early, I'm not sure what to do with myself!

Tonight I'm going to eat sushi for dinner and work on my winter trip photo album while I'm in front of the television watching Parenthood!  I love this show!!

Monday double

Got up at 6:15am to run for an hour. Frigid getting out of bed, let alone running outside!  I couldn't do it...   

MB gave me a ride (he wasn't working) downtown to use my old boss' gym before work (he gave me an access card!). I couldn't get myself to RUN. It was a walk/jog morning. That was one of the few times I just couldn't do it!

At least I kept moving and got in about 4 miles.  Plus I got to see some horrible (awesome!) reality TV on cable.  E! the Kardashians take Miami premiere or something was I.  I loved it.

After work, I rode with the Njoy group for an hour.  Then got home to a nice dinner cooked by MB that I ate watching "The Biggest Loser".  I love the irony!

Sunday, 1/20

Today I had a 75 minute ride and 30 minutes of strength.

Training in heart rate zones two and three is incredibly boring, but I'm trying to stay committed to my coaches directions. I did this ride at Train Chicago: we rode Ironman Arizona and I only ended up riding the first 17 miles. I hate looking like a lazy rider or a bad rider when I have to keep my heart rate low! One of the guys riding with me in the same time rode 25 miles and I only rode 17. This bothers me. A lot.

Truth be told, I am somewhat afraid that going too slowly is not the right move for me, but again I continue to tell myself that the coaches know what they're doing

Fingers crossed!!

Saturday 1/19

REST DAY!!!

We spent the afternoon in Wisconsin at the outlet mall. Unsurprisingly, most of my time was spent at the sporting good stores buying gear for training!

Then that night, we went to a fancy dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria -plus a movie-. It was a great night!!

Friday flip with Saturday

Friday, I worked from home and intended to swim at the park district before work. I had a 9 AM conference call and wanted to do a 2,900 yard swim. Lap swim at Gill Park started at 7:00 am so I would have been fine... However, the pool was closed for servicing; at which time I had already parked and paid the meter! I got back in my car and drove to Welles Park to try to get in at least a half hour swimming there.

For anyone who doesn't know anything about circle swimming, you swim down the lane on one side and up on the other. This is a very common way to swim and allows for different people and different paces to swim in the same lane.

Welles Park has six lanes, however they only had in two lane lines. This means, essentially, they had three massive lanes. The average age of swimmers there was -on the young side- 75 years old. These swimmers swam the double lanes circular swimming which means you would swim down on the right and then have to scoot over the width of two lanes to swim back up on the left. It was insane!

When I suggested we split the land meaning the faster swimmers( i.e. me) take one lane to swim up and back and the slower swimmers swim circular they were having none of it.

I cannot tell you how many people I lapped in 20-ish minutes & my 1,125 yard swim. I am sure I swam more than that due to having to scoot three lanes wide to start the return lap.

Dude to the mishap at Gill Park, I just narrowly got onto my 9 AM conference call. Thankfully, I was pulling into home and could take out my notes and iPad to lead the call.

My second workout on Friday was a 70 minute run over lunch. I literally ran 6 miles of laps around my block because it was protected from the wind. The excitement after that run included me finding five teenagers (presumably from Senn high school?) hiding under our stairwell- doing Lord knows what- smoking pot maybe? I had to call 911 and the police showed up to try to hunt them down afterwards.

It was not a relaxing Friday working from home as I expected it to be. The good news was that Friday was a rest day- and that workout was actually for Saturday- so I was able to go out Friday night with friends, sleep in, and have a whole afternoon with MB!

Cycling class - Train Chicago

Thursday night I cycle at Train Chicago Studios with the Max Multisport group of ladies and my coach.

We rode at 100% of threshold for quite a bit of time and then afterwards, we a 1 mile at 100+ threshold all out.

I like Thursday night cycling, but I do not like coming in second, or third or anything behind first!!

1/16 frigid run

Today's work was supposed to be a 35 minute run followed by 2,400 yards in the pool.

I was dreading the run all day: I put on two pairs of pants, socks (I near wear socks to run or to bike), two technical shirts and a sweater plus a scarf, hat, gloves and lululemon jacket.

The run wasn't actually too bad, but when I got back home and MB was getting ready to leave for swimming (he is one of the coaches), I was not excited about leaving the warmth of my apartment for the cold of the air and the pool.

I stayed home and relaxed and went to bed early. I felt fabulous on Thursday morning!

Daily workout, training day #9: Yoga

Yesterday's work out was 60 minutes of teaching yoga (in a freezing!! room) and 60 minutes of hot yoga class at Om on the Range.  

It's so awesome to be done with work and working out by 6:15 pm and on the couch with my sushi dinner.  For some time now, my Tuesday night ritual is yoga followed by sushi.  For about a month, Michael joined me at yoga and now he just asks me to supply him with the sushi dinner too!  ha!
According to my Garmin (I wear my heart rate monitor whenever I do any sort of workout), I burned 346 calories yesterday- despite staying HR zones 1-2.  I take 'em!

For more information on heart rate zones, check this article out.

Heartland Alliance

This is why I'm raising money through this race for Heartland Alliance.  Check out their latest video!

Donate here!

Lap Swim

Just bought my winter season lap swim pass from the Chicago Park District!  Three months costs $40 and I can swim anywhere there are lap swims.  There are several facilities not far from our apartment, although sometimes the hours are funky.

Mather High School
Gill Park
Welles Park

I wish Senn High School's pool was still open/available...that was the easiest!

In any case, it just gives me a bit of flexibility for when I miss the team practices.  This Friday, I'll swim before work rather than on Saturday.

Lance Amrstrong

I appreciate what you've done for cancer research and your personal fight against the disease, however the fact that you lied and fought the truth so long and so hard is a disgrace.

A man only has his word and his integrity.

You have neither.

See the story here

Training day 8

63 minute ride and I prepared our playlist.

I few nods and smiles that they liked it but the loudest disappointment was actually a gal I know. She has terrible (or at the very least narrow!) taste in music so I'm not too upset! ;)

It's hard to ride in zones 2-3 when everyone around me is pushing themselves and I look either weak or terrible when they're riding 10 miles more than I am in a hour!

First indoor triathlon ever/first triathlon of 2013

I got up at 6:15 AM on Sunday for my first ever indoor triathlon.

It was in Lisle at a small workout facility there. The swim was in a (small!!) 20 yard pool; the bike was on a stationary bike (not my own); and the run was on a treadmill. We had 10 minutes to swim, 10 minutes in transition, 30 minutes on the bike, and 20 minutes on the treadmill.

I wasn't quite sure how fast to go and how much effort to put out. The swim was strange in such a short pool: I stopped doing flip-turns because I was exerting so much energy for such a short length. The bike was a little uncomfortable since I was using a stationary bike again; thankfully I still have my mountain bike clips! The treadmill of fine, although it was on a zero incline (downhill).

I finished 11 out of 37 overall. I'm not sure if I should be proud, satisfied, or embarrassed!! in any case I got up early after a few drinks the night before and had a hard workout for about an hour!

 Channel 7 News was also there live filming us for the Sunday morning news, which was fun!  You can see me participate via this clip!

Day six

Today was a swim bike combo.

I swam in the morning for an hour (2,400 yards) and in the afternoon after we went grocery shopping and had lunch & before my haircut, I rode my bike for 45 minutes. I felt good afterwards, but was tired for the evening's festivities.

We had our Max end of the year/beginning of the year party at Mi Tierra restaurant on Belmont. It was great but I was extremely tired for my triathlon Sunday morning. I won an award for my bra blooper at the Muncie 70.3 this July!!

Day 5: REST DAY!

240 days until race day

Tabata Intervals. Training Day 4

Last night at Train Chicago, the Max gals did Tabata Intervals.  I'd never heard of these or done them before, but I loved it!

Five times we did sets of five minutes:  30 seconds of the hardest intensity FTP power possible and then 30 second recovery.  Read about Tabata Intervals here:  Intensity vs. Duration.  These workouts build power.

I have to say, I loved it!!!  Apparently, according to my coach, this means I'm a "sprinter" which may prove difficult since I am training for an Ironman!  A tapata protocol can be used for any discipline however, I suspect it's easiest to go between sprint and recovery on a bike.  I hope we do more of these!

Training Day #3, workout 3

Over lunchtime I taught yoga to my coworkers and its been several months since we did that so it was a good time and some fun too.

After work, I went home to make/have dinner (chicken soup to ward off any colds!) and the get ready for swimming. I've been bored lately at swimming and last night was no exception. However, I was exhausted! I think the jet lag I've been fighting and pushing back. I'm so happy to cycle tonight and do nothing on Friday!!! Last night's swim was a lot of kicking and low mileage however I did about 1,200yd of the A group and the intervals were just too much so I bumped down to B+. :)

I have a ton of meetings to get through today and then I'll head over to my compu-training class...

I would have never imagined that I'd like biking as much as I do. I never seem to dread a ride. I'm so thankful for it since its the longest part of the race too!

Training day 3 - workout #1

An hourlong run on the treadmill today before work.

I was actually excited to try out one of our building's workout rooms (not my office, unfortunately) because they have big TVs and cable! To my dismay, they only have basic cable so it's really not mucho the than my free antenna tv at home. I was praying for RHW or E! to carry me through. Instead I watched some pretty horrible AM shows about traffic, weather, viewer-submitted artwork and talk about Miss Alabama and Bret Musburger.

I am on my way home for a break for awhile before a very late 8:30pm start!!) swim session.

Day 2 Vinyasa Yoga

After having been a regular yoga devotee for some time, really culminating in 2011, I eased off last spring & summer. So taking a weekly or occasional class has proven somewhat challenging. "Easy" poses are easy no more andante of my muscles are weather right or not strong like they've been in the past.

I have changed up my plans and will be doing 60 minutes of yoga rather than a 90 minute Bikram class and this is something I'm both relieved and excited about.

Last night was a great class at Om on the Range with Beth.

Lady bits

Training Day #1:  60 minute HR zone 2-3 ride.  Without padding.  After two weeks out of the saddle...

Well, hello there lady bits!!!  

Training Day 1, 244 Days until Race

I'm signed up for Ironman Wisconsin on September 8th, 2013.  It will be my first full distance Ironman triathlon:  2.4 mi swim; 112 mi bike; 26.2 mi run.  

I am a "normal" person and not a super athlete, but I have drive and conviction and I believe this is something I can and will complete.  Along the way, I have decided to also raise money for Heartland Alliance and their efforts to end poverty.

I'm intending to use this blog to update you on my training, both mileage and statistics, as well as my physical and mental transformation along the way.

We just returned from a two week overseas adventure to Morocco and Spain late last night so I am quite tired, but I am also finding myself energized and excited for my first Ironman workout!  

I'm heading to Train Chicago for a compu-training class with Njoy Racing to kick-start my "base building".  A compu-trainer is an indoor cycling simulator that measures one's power wattage, heart rate and cadence.  The computer is in the rotor in on your bike's rear wheel and applies various pressure to simulate real life hills, etc.  The studio can also show videos on a screen in front of you for further simulation.

  Here's what a compu-trainer class looks like

I'm glad that I have this class to attend, otherwise, I'm sure I'd find myself on my couch or in bed early trying to recover from my jet lag!