Swim Practice, Tour De Cure, and Tri Training

Now that I waited 4 days before posting about Thursday's Swim practice, I cant remember what we did. Sorry! However, the temp was in the low 60's, cloudy and I learned a new drill. All in all, I swam 2200M that morning!

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Saturday morning was the Tour De Cure ride for Diabetes.

Check-in time was 8am and we left around 9:00am for the 32 mile joy ride! When we took off it was about 70 degrees, sunny, and not a single breeze. There were about 30 some riders that rode the 32 mile route. I finished in about 2:15:00, about 14mph speed. It was pretty slow, but a very enjoyable ride.

I want to thank EVERYONE for all the donations and wondeful comments! It was a great ride! Here are some pics from that day....

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Week 8 of Sprint Tri Training:
Monday:
REST
Volleyball
Tuesday:
Adult Swim Team - 2200M Total
4x200M (Free/Kick/Free/Kick)
4x300M w/:30RI (using pull bouy & swim paddles)
200M c/d
Wednesday:
Run - 1.27 miles
Bike - 5.07 miles
Run - 1.75 miles
Thursday:
Adult Swim Team - 2200M total
Friday:
Run - 2.6 miles
Saturday:
Tour De Cure - Bike -32 miles, 2:15:00, 14.22mph
Sunday:
REST

Pretty decent week. Knee is doing better, but still not 100%. I'm telling you, it's super weird.

Swim Practice Numero Dos

This morning marked the 2nd day of outdoor swim practice with the coaches! As much as I dreaded getting out of bed, I was happy to see it wasn't raining and the temperature was warmer than the 44 degrees last Thursday!

(Just a FYI...I will be posting my regular swim workouts given by the coaches and linking to them in the sidebar if anyone is looking for ideas to change up their swim workouts.)



Wake-up Time: 5:15am
Swim Practice Time: 550am - 700am
Location: Outoor Pool (50M)
Air Temperature: 66 degrees and cloudy, slight breeze
Pool Temperature: felt cooler than the air temp


Practice Group: The 3 coaches rotated today. Our lead coach, Coach T was in charge of the Triathlon group. I didn't have to think twice about joining that group.

Workout:

• 4x200M - Set 1 - 200M freestyle, Set 2 - 200M kick, Set 3 - swimmers choice, and Set 4 - freestyle. I after the first 400M of this drill I forgot I was in a 50M pool and lost track of my swimming. Thus, I did 200M free, 200M kick, 100M free, 100M kick, 200M free. A little ass-backwards, but I got in the 800M!
• 4x300M Free w/:30 RI - This was part of a ladder workout* that I didn't get to complete due to limited time. During these 300M sets, we used pull bouys and swim paddles. I had never used swim paddles and it was an adjustment; maybe a sure sign that something wasn't right with my form?! After my first 100M, Coach T pulled me asside and explained to me what I was doing wrong with my stroke. I was so happy that she noticed and before I got a chance to ask her. That's why I am paying the bucks, right? She said that I was crossing my hands over my body as I was pulling and proceeded to show me correct form! After 1200M of using the pull bouys and swim paddles I felt that I was well on my way to improving my stroke!
• 200M c/d - pretty self explanitory. Felt pretty strong after 1200M of pulling. This was a nice cool down before hitting the showers and heading to work. I probably could have snuck in another 200M, but wanted to make sure I had enough time to shower and get to work on time.
  

Total Swim: 2200M


I thought this session went just as well as the first, if not better. There's just something about being able to get out there and swim before work, all while enjoying the fresh air and sun rising!



* Here's the Ladder Workout in complete:
4x300M Free w/:30 RI (Rest Intervals) - using swim paddles and pull bouys
4x200M Free w/:15 RI (Building - increasing speed on each set)
4x100M Sprints w/:10 RI - your choice of swim (free, back, butterfly, breast)

Girls weekend with a Concert!

Here's a quick recap of my workouts this week. It sure feels good to be getting back to a routine after the past couple of weeks!

Monday:
The only workout I did was 2 hours of shoveling 17 inches of heavy snow. That was enough for this chica.

Tuesday:
I ran 3.1 miles on the treadmill. My knee was fine, but started feeling a little tight about 2.75 miles in.

Wednesday:
I hit up the pool for a 1 mile swim while I was still in Bismarck. It felt good to get back in, since it had been about 2 weeks since my last swim. I started Jillian's 30-day shred over again with day 1 today.

Thursday:
After completing day 2 of Jillian's 30-Day shred, I popped in a trainer dvd and went away on the bike for approximately 50 minutes. Afterwards, I did a about 25 minutes of pilates and threw out a few cuss words while getting to know the foam roller.... youch. Reminder... check back early next week for a product review!

Today:
I woke this morning at 445am, trying to get back into an early morning routine. I was suprsed to feel rested and ready for a good workout. I did Day 3 of the shred, had a bowl of cheerios and 1/2 a banana and then hit up the gym. I ran 2.5 miles (with sprints at 7.5mph) and then jumped in the pool for 1000M. I used to do this a lot in the evenings last school year, but it got to be so late since the pool was only open for lap swim in the evening from 8-10pm. This workout felt great overall but I was pretty worn-out when I finished the swim. The knee felt good through the entire run. I am hoping that my newly found friendship with the foam roaller is going to make a difference!

I have done pretty well with eating better and cutting back on the high calorie coffees for the past few days. I truly do love my Dunkin' Donuts coffee with splenda and sugar free creamer, so this transition won't be too big of a deal for me. I have been able to get about 8-8.5 hours of sleep each night. I am sure this has a lot to do with not working at all this past week and no schedule. I hope to be able to continue this once school starts back up again next week.


Well, I am signing off for the weekend. I will be spending the weekend in the cities with my sisters and mom. We've got big plans for this evening... Britney Spears babay!!!! I know you all are soo jealous! This is part of my youngest sisters Christmas gift! I am so pumped! It's been so long since I have been to a concert!

If you could go to any concert, which one would you choose? Another one that I would really like to go is Coldplay!

4 Day Weekend Kick-off

This 4-day weekend, due to ND Teacher's Convention (that isn't required), couldn't have come at a more perfect time. I was starting to reach my breaking point at work, due to paperwork, meetings, behavior issues, etc. On top of that, closing on the house, packing, moving, cleaning, and trying to be consistent with my workouts and nutrition has been hard. But, after this week, I hope to be back to my normal self. Whatever that may be.

To kick-off the 4 day weekend of craziness, I met a friend at the pool for a long swim. We did a lot of speed work and I probably only took 2 breaks. She was planning to finish with 2500M, and I just couldn't stop there; I wanted to push another 100M. So, we did.

Afterwards, I made breakfast for the both of us while we did some packing and loaded up both of our cars with boxes and hanging clothes. Good thing I am only moving a few blocks from my current apartment.

Now, I am going to do some more packing and cleaning before my parents and baby sis get to town tonight. Tomorrow Steph will be joining us and we will have a busy weekend full of unpacking, little cleaning, and more painting! I might have to put a few cold ones in the fridge to keep them all happy!

Have a great weekend y'all. I will catch up with you later and will hopefully have some pictures to post!

Today's Swim: 2600M, 58:00. 2:13/100M

Today's Song: New Kids on The Block ft. Ne-Yo - "Single"

Off to a good start

October is off to a great start. I spent almost an hour lifting and working on the abs yesterday after work, and then almost an hour in the pool this morning. Cha-ching. Tomorrow I will be getting up early for a run; hopefully something longer than 3 miles.

As much as I love lifting, it can be soooo time consuming and I am looking into different forms of strength training. Kelsalynn has been doing a lot with CrossFit and I am quite intrigued. I will be looking to her for further information and such. It's sounds like she knows her shiznit!

Tomorrow the kiddo's don't have school, but us educators are taking part in our first Staff Development day for the school year. yeaaaahhh. Can you sense my excitement? Maybe it has a bit to do with the fact that I will be presenting information on RtI and helping my team inform our teachers about the changes we will be making at our school with interventions and such. yeeeaaahhh.

Today's Swim: 2000M, 51:00 (approx.), 2:33/100M

Today's Song: Pink - So What?

...Today's Breast Cancer Awareness information...

The most common risk factors:

1. Sex. The highest risk factor for breast cancer is being female; the disease is about 100 times more common among women.
2. Age. The risk of breast cancer increases as a woman grows older. The risk is especially high for women age 60 and older. Breast cancer is uncommon in women younger than age 35, although it does occur. There is some evidence to suggest young African American women are at greater risk for breast cancer than young Caucasian women.
3. Personal History. Women who have had breast cancer and women with a history of breast disease (not cancer, but a condition that may predispose them to cancer) may develop it again.
4. Family History. The risk of developing breast cancer increases for a woman whose mother, sister, daughter, or two or more close relatives have had the disease. It is important to know how old they were at the time they were diagnosed.
5. The Breast Cancer Genes. Some individuals, both women and men, may be born with an "alteration" (or change) in one of two genes that are important for regulating breast cell growth. Individuals who inherit an alteration in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 gene are at an "inherited" higher risk for breast cancer. They also may pass this alteration on to their children. It is very rare. Scientists estimate that only about 5-10 percent of all breast cancers are due to genetic changes. One out of two women with these changes are likely to develop breast cancer. Women with a family history of breast cancer are encouraged to speak to a genetics counselor to determine the pros and cons of genetic testing.

Intervals in the pool

I love being able to get into the pool more than once a week. I can tell things are starting to change and I am starting to get a bit better with not only my endurance but some speed. Yesterday was a prime example.

Prior to getting into the pool, I didn't really know what I wanted to do. I was kind of sick of just doing laps and really didn't like what I found online for swim workouts (thus far). So what does a girl do? make up her own workout.

I got my feet wet and was quite consistent over my first 500M. No breaks necessary. After the first 500M, I grabbed th kick board and kicked for 250M. Then I did the same routine over again; swim 500M, kick 250M. I finished off with a nice strong 500M cooldown, which ended up being faster than my first 500M. Hard to consider that one a cooldown. I really wanted to add in another interval, but thought I would save it for next time.

OSN: 2000M, 53:00
500M w/u, 12:00
250M kick, 10:00
500M free, 12:00
250M kick, 9:00
500M c/d, 10:00

Even though the sun is shining as I type this post, the rain clouds will be rolling in this afternoon and I will not be joining the cycle group tonight for an outdoor ride. Thus, I will be doing it at the gym. Blech.

On the flip side... tonight is Game 4 of the NBA Finals... and I will be watching this one on the big screen in high def.