Saturday Ride

Mileage: 25
Average speed: 13.9
Total Ride Time 1:40
Average HR:152
Max HR: 178
Calories: 2865

Notes: Overall a good ride. Felt good after and not "wiped" Did a great job with speed and cadence today, thanks to my riding partner. Interesting guy; works for FEMA and is here for a few months. He's 62 and does multi-sports also officiates triathlons.

Took the Kema bridge pretty good too -- I think better than last time, for sure!

Ignore the bike, it will go away

This is my current philosophy. It's irrational and unrealistic. I get that. I just do so much better in the pool than on the bike. Once I get to 2000 yards in the pool, I'm going to switch the majority of my workouts to bike work. Sadly.

I guess it's positive news that I'm hauling my bike with me this weekend when I go visit my mom. She just had knee replacement and is getting discharged from the rehab clinic on Saturday. I'm taking my bike because I know that I have to ride no matter how much I don't want to...and Mom's house is on a hill. A small hill, but a hill I can practice on.

Am I the only one that prefers the swim? lol

1 Lap Down, 31 to go...

I'm celebrating tonight because I swam an entire length of the pool without stopping! I'm so freaking excited. I almost cleared two lengths but I have a cold and kept getting really winded. There is always next time though! This is huge for me because I've never been a huge fan of water. Now I'm more determined than ever!

Let's go Team Tri Divas, let's rock the Danskin SheROX Austin Triathlon!!!
I'm "amped" already!

Breaking the Image

Five years ago, (AT 31!!) I thought my life was pretty much over. I was conformed to the idea that my prime had passed; that I was not qualified to be more than a frumpy OLD!?! wife and mother. (and not a very good one, according to my EX) Sooo, why even aspire to more?

Then, someone very special to me, basically shook me like a rag doll and the clouds began to clear... I knew my life would never be the same.

Today, I am a healthier, happier (about 5 years younger, than I was 5 yrs ago!), single mother, (hasn't killed me yet) a home-owner, who is Jeremiah's hot young grandmother, the steady girlfriend of a wonderful man, member of 24hr Fitness, Friend to so many incredible women that I sometimes wonder what I could have possibly done to deserve them, and (Lord help me) a member of Team Tri Divas!! Life is GOOOOOOD!!

New Baby

In keeping with my John Hughes 80's films naming methods, I'm leaning towards the name Ferris for my new bad boy :)

Keep in mind, I got this bike for WAY under the MSRP.

http://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/BikeSpecs.aspx?Year=2008&Brand=Fuji&Model=Roubaix+(USA)&Type=bike

More later!!!! :)

Ok, I confess

I went riding with Donna on Sunday morning. Despite the nasty drizzle and the cold. Sadly, my back tire had a slow leak which lead to only 2 miles [how sad and pathetic]. I was actually enjoying myself *gasps* while riding. Despite the Peruvian Butterfly Syndrome, here's what I learned:

Donna rocks it with her iHome2Go. I'm envious and will have to budget for this handy little gadget.
I need bike shorts.
I need to ditch the reflectors (handlebars and seat).
I need to find my repair kit.
I need to CHECK MY BIKE before getting to the park.
I need a class in basic bike repair -- like, oh, say...proper tire pressure, how to change that slow leaking tube.
I need a nifty bike pump like Donna has. Mine is uber-portable but tires [ha ha...no one fall over laughing now] me out in 10 seconds.
No more gel seat. My butt wasn't sore or numb the entire ride [all 2 miles] or afterward.

Progress. I can actually say I didn't hate my ride on Sunday.

P.S. Did you see the news about Lance Armstrong's time-trial bike getting stolen? $10,000 bike. You'd think they would have armed security at the equipment truck. Three other bikes were stolen. What idiot steals a one of a kind bike? Are they going to ride it? Are they going to dip it in bronze? Are they going to ransom it?

P.S.S Does anyone read PastaQueen? I just found out about her through a cousin. So far, she cracks me up!

The plan for the week will involve a couple of spin classes, weight training, a bike/run brick workout and possibly a hike. I will be eating extremely clean throughout the week because Saturday has the potential to be high calorie. My monthly girls' lunch is at a Mexican restaurant. Although I've already picked the most healthy option, it's still restaurant food, ya know? Saturday night I'm celebrating a friend's birthday at Crú and it has the potential to be dangerous. Luckily I weigh in on Saturday morning, so I'll have a week to do damage control. What a tangled web we weave...LOL

Less than 4 months until Danskin SheRox!

Hope you all have a great week!
Courtney

You have to start somewhere...

Swim: Zero to 1650

Bike: Beginner Cycling Program

Run: Couch to 5K

Lesli: Swimming

I swam this morning. For the first time in ages. I was miserable. I decided it would be best to get used to the frackin' swim cap now than fight with it during the TRI. I had to adjust my cap three times. "Never again," I kept telling myself. I HATE that cap about as much as I hate the bike. However, "never" is never going to happen. It's a safety precaution to make us wear caps. I get that.

Other than the cap issues [fyi, a swim cap is a lot like a giant condom...without any of the fun], my swim as good. I practiced the motions of a few drills I've picked up. Then I swam my real workout: 400 yrds, freestyle. I'm completely embarrassed by how much I've lost to inactivity. UGH. At least I know the swimming part will come back fairly quickly. My goal is to be up to 2000 yards by next Saturday. Then I am going to start adding walking to the weekend workouts.

I hope to be doing bricks by end of March.

V-Day Riding

Ride conditions were cloudy and gusty with scattered rain. :( Not the prettiest day to ride.

Opted not to meet up with the team to ride. The threat of rain was 50-50 and the last thing I wanted to do was get stuck in rain on te Kema Bridge. So instead I enjoyed my iPod speakers and rode on my own. :)

15.8 Miles
Average 14.1 mph
Ride Time 1:07
Average HR 150
Max HR 176
Calories 1,493

Zoot TriFit Race Tank

I just scored the Zoot TriFit Race Tank in an XXL for $55. I've seen them all over the net for as high as $90. Team Estrogen has the XXL in stock, if you like blue. Here's their size chart -- their XXL is generous compared to other technical apparel vendors:

The support in this tank is awesome. I tried on the XL last year and it was just a little too snug for my liking... so I was glad to find the XXL, which is soooo hard to find.

I think I am going with a 2 piece this year -- it's more potty friendly, and it feels more like wearing cycling gear, so there's more comfort. I tried the 1 piece last year and felt so self-conscious (oiy!). Plus I had to wear a sports bra underneath, which I really hated.

Bike saddle

Now that the coughing and stuffiness are nearly an end, I feel like I can actually commit myself to a workout program. *sighs* One that involves a lot of weekend biking. Have I mentioned I hate cycling? Give me a twelve mile swim and a half mile bike ride. I can do that. I might being freaking exhausted, but I wouldn't flinch at that. Cycling? More than two blocks? I'd rather not, thanks.

I'm actually considering buying the cushiest [perhaps I should say, "most comfortable"] bike seat saddle [while I hate the actual activity, I can at least use the right vocabulary, lol] I can afford. Any recommendations?

Here We Go!

I just posted my payment and I'm signed up for Austin '09. I'm with lass and feel like my guts are in some serious trouble... but hey... what doesn't kill us, blah blah blah, we're some touch chicks!

I'm so excited! Lass... we'll eat those hills up!

I'm sure I'll be wanting to swallow those words at some point... but if you can't start on a positive foot, it can only get worse from there.

Here we go!

It's On

Registration opened today. My stomach is one giant knot of greasy fear. I'm not ready. I'm not even close to ready. The hills in Austin scare me.

I've been so scared of this year's TRI, I've thought up at least 1000 reasons to NOT participate. Every time I get ready to chicken out and email our crazy wild little group, I remember that fear didn't stop me from moving to IL and traveling for a living. Fear didn't stop me from move back to Texas. Fear doesn't stop me.

That's my new mantra.