Chasing Iron

I guess the Tri Gods are actually in my corner these days. I continue to stumble across motivational websites when I need it the most. Today's lucky find? Chasing Iron. Go check it out! Talk about inspirational...it definitely put me in my place. I threw a tantrum because I hate the way my thighs look in my new Speedo suit and this iron girl is rounding out '08 with triathlons and marathons!

I wonder if humble pie is low in points?

Anyway, tantrum is officially over. My thighs are ginormous not petite, but these bad boys are going to get me through the triathlon. What's not to love about them? Go Team Thunder Thighs! Convinced? Me either...but I'll get there.

Hope you're all having a great weekend!
C

My boss is a slavedriver

Ok, not really, but he coached me through a workout today and it kicked my ass. He was a competitive swimmer all through HS and college and he's still pretty fast. His warm up was practically a full workout for me. But it was a great swim, and he even said that I was a "strong swimmer" and that I'll "have no problem with the swim". It felt good to hear that :)

Oh, and I biked home today too. Needless to say I'm pooped.

Just keep swimming, swimming, swimming...

Swam for 45 min this morning and it felt GOOD. I was supposed to do:

100 yd easy warm up
8 x 50 yd w/20-30 sec rest between 50s
3 x 50 yd using kickboard
100 yd easy cool down

Well, I did it all and then some. I totally lost count during my 8x50 so I think it could have been more like a 12 or 14x50 *lol* Better too much than not enough, right?

My Polar F6 is AWESOME. I love having a quantitative measure of my workouts :)

More soon on my blog and this one :)

Athena & Clydesdale Triathletes

Hey Divas-

I just wanted to post a link to the Athena & Clydesdale Forum. There's a lot of good information on the site. FYI, if you don't know what athenas and clydesdales are, you probably don't qualify. LOL Kidding...here's the official definition:

"Clydesdale" athletes are generally those men over 200 pounds, while "Athena" athletes are generally women over 150 pounds.

I hope everyone had a great holiday!
C

Zero to 1650/Fat Girl On a Bike

Check them out!

http://ruthkazez.com/SwimWorkouts/ZeroTo1mile.html

http://fatgirlonabike.wordpress.com/

Unexpected Benefits - Train for a Triathlon

Unexpected Benefits - Train for a Triathlon

Train for a triathlon - or any sport - and you'll hone fitness. But there's more. You'll pick up self esteem, coping methods, management skills, and team-building skills ... maybe even a new career option. Who knew?

By Karen Weir-Jimerson

Getting physical comes with surprise benefits that will serve every aspect of your life. Don't believe it? Figure magazine talked with several Seattle-area triathletes, each of whom reported that the determination, strength, and coordination they gained in pursuing their swim-bike-run event served them with skills they bank on every day.

Faith in yourself. Competing and completing an event builds self esteem. "Once you get one thing under your belt," says triathlete Angela Meeks, "you know you can accomplish anything." And the glow of great self esteem shines on past the finish line, no matter how you place in the race. "If you finish the race," says Angela, "you're a winner." Start but don't finish? You're present and accounted for, working toward a goal, while many people are simply in bed, saying to themselves, "I couldn't do that, I won't even try."

A better choice, a better road. Making positive choices in the face of adversity is a learned behavior. "When my mom died, I thought, 'Well I could (comfort my grief and) gain another 60 pounds, or, I could (train for) a triathlon,'" says Linda Keeney. "It was the first time I decided there was another way to grieve." A year later Linda's sister announced her own cancer diagnosis. Linda immediately signed up for another triathlon, relying once again on her new found method-of-choice to process her feelings about what was happening to her family.

The ability to divide and conquer. "You break it down," says Anne van Leeynseele, of training for a triathlon's components of a swim, bike, and run. She found focusing on each step was the path to bigger things. After all, a mile is just a series of steps. Breaking big things down into smaller do-able components is the essence of project (and life!) management, and Anne taps this now-honed skill frequently in her legal work. Angela Meeks, as well, says this break-it-down skill has served her well in work and home life.

Team building. Trainer and triathlete, Patty Swedburg, explains that training triathletes for event participation has offered her a fulfilling career path. Her method combines working with individuals who are part of a larger team. "I think I've found my life's work here," she says. "I love community building. I love finding a way for folks to connect." Team building creates positive ways to get things done-in family and community. Who knows, what opportunities might be awaiting you?

Hi, I'm Sally

SO I went to the seminar at REI on Wednesday night where I got to meet Sally Edwards. It was cool :) Pretty much a big sales pitch, but I bought into it anyway *LOL* She was very motivating, and I left there really feeling like this is something that I can do. I was waiting to talk to Susan, my coach, and then this short blond lady in all white turns, looks at me, sticks her hand out and says "Hi! I'm Sally!" and it took my brain a second to catch up as I shook her hand and introduced myself. She seems really cool and she was SUPER high energy.

So this poster thing I got is the 8 week training program, and it's really straightforward to follow and doesn't look as brutal as I thought it would be! :) It's "Tri(athlon)opoly, so you move around the board and follow the day by day workouts. It's really cool :) It's also got all the heart zones and the way to find your maxes and then the zones you should be in. I think we get a heart rate monitor as a part of the training too :) Not sure if we get to keep it or if we just use it during the training sessions.

Mass Mutual was there and they gave us DVD's on how to prepare your transition area, and part of my coaching fee covers the open swim clinic up at our swim site in June :) I'm so excited! :) We also got a danskin bag, some Jelly Belly energy beans or something like that, a bic razor and a coupon for $15 off a full price item at REI :)

So, the goodies were great, but the motivation is really what made it worth it. I know that I have the 5 of you the day of the race to keep me going in WI, but I'm glad I know I have a team here in Chicago too that can get me there in one piece :)

OH!!!! And my lovely wife said she might try to put together a weekend in Lake Geneva built around the Tri so that I can spend recovery in the spa!!! WOO HOO!!!! :)