Double workout days

Jumping into a marathon training program is tough enough without having to think about triathlon training too.

After's Sunday's terrible swim result I vowed to kick the training into high gear this week. I took a little spin on my new bike Sunday night when we got back into the city which was great. Monday I rested (so sore from the swim! forearms, triceps, shoulders, back, legs....).

This morning I actually made it to the pool! I managed to get in 1200 meters (3/4 of a mile) before hitting the nearby track for a 3 mile run. I'm definitely on a roll!

Tonight will be reserved for some much-needed rest.

68 Days...

Apparently Timberman is a mere 68 days away.
Sixty Eight! How is this possible?

This year has totally gotten away from me and now I am just over two months from my third Half Ironman. I am definitely the least prepared that I have ever been at this point to do such a race. I have a lot of ground to cover between now and August!

My frightening consistency stays true for the Half Ironman distance. Much like my ability to stick right around the three hour mark for olympic-distances, my Half time is apparently 6:42.

TIMBERMAN 2007
swim - 48:36
T1 - 3:22
Bike - 3:33:10
T2 - 2:44
Run - 2:15:06
Overall - 6:42:56

MOOSEMAN 2008
Swim - 39:05
T1 - 3:00
Bike - 3:41:21
T2 - 2:41
Run - 2:16:21
Overall - 6:42:26

We'll see what happens this year. All bets are off!

Chesapeake Bay One Mile swim

Yesterday was the Chesapeake Bay One Mile swim.

The one miler is a subset of the big one...the famous 4.4 mile swim from Sandy Point State Park to the marina on the other side of the Bay Bridge near Hemmingway's restaurant in Stevensville, MD.
Although I have great respect for the 4.4 mile swimmers, there is no way I would ever be able to enter that lottery let alone make the swim! Great job to all that can and did.

Given my lack of swim training this season one mile was more than enough for me. The race didn't get going until 10:30 which was a nice change of pace. We also had lots of time to relax before suiting up and getting in the water which was much appreciated. I knew that it would not be one of my easiest races ever but I managed to complete it nonetheless. Certainly not my fastest one mile or the prettiest but when there isn't a bike or a run at the end it doesn't really count. Right?

Anyways...the race was set up in a triangle on the south side of the bridge. There were 5 bouys going out, one more to turn around after the swim towards the bridge and then 2 or 3 more on the way back in. I would have liked to have seen more and maybe in a color other than that of swim wave 2's cap color but that is just me. The sighting problems, lack of training and crazy, choppy water made it a difficult day. I had a few usual kicks to the head, leg, stomach as well as an in-water battle with a swim wave foe who kept getting off-course then correcting himself by swimming over/into me and doing it all over again. The fourth time he did this I couldn't resist the temptation to give him a hard kick myself and keep going. I lost him after that by either swimming off course myself or getting far enough out of his range.

I thought I was doing pretty well until I made the mistake of glancing at my watch on the last straight-away. Soooo slow. Oh well, no bother. It was an experience and a good training day I guess! I can only get better from here! And really, the swim at Timberman is just .2 miles longer....not that much distance to gain over the next couple of months. Come to think of it, I probably swam over 1.2 miles yesterday with all the re-routing I did to stay on course. Gold star!

Up and Running!

Now that my MARATHON TRAINING has officially begun it is time to get this blog up and running, along with myself.

Last week was Week One of my 17-week marathon training program. Coincidentally it was also the first week of Team In Training for the Fall triathlon team that I am helping to train for the Nation's triathlon on September 13. It somehow seems fitting that these two endeavors started at the same time as I expect that much of my summer/fall will be dominated by trying to balance both along with a semblance of a social life...for good reasons all around!

This week marks six months since my mom lost her battle with cancer on December 28, 2008. It's been a long and hard time for me, definitely the toughest period in my life so far. I am grateful to my friends/family for their amazing support but nothing can really help the sadness/anger/regret that I feel on a daily basis. although I am taking on a lot with the Komen Team training, coaching, Timberman training, etc. I am hoping that in some small way it is going to help me deal with the loss in my own way. Jumping into an intense training program may seem insane to most people...but then again, I don't really care what most people think.