I'm definitely feeling better. After the back-pain and good food of the previous week, I really had a good workout week and I ate reasonably well. I ran a couple times without back pain, did yoga, swam before William's swim lessons (which were awesome! He's not yet three and a total fish!) and managed to squeeze in spinning and lifting. Not hard-core training, but not too shabby either. And here's the kicker - I got on the scale at the gym expecting to see punishment for my week of debauchery, and I actually lost a couple pounds. I have to hope that happened because I have been working out a lot and not something else... but still. Yoohoo!We went up to our vacation home in NH yesterday to get settled in (we bought into the house with some friends), and it was a tough night for the boys. Henry did okay (better than last time we were away from home) and William really struggled. Will's at the age where he's starting to get scared about things, especially at night, and the different sounds (the heat kicking on, etc) nearly sent him over the edge. Needless to say we are all tired, and we missed out on the one form of exercise that we had planned for the day. We were going to do a 1.5 mile easy hike with the boys (the King carrying Henry in the back pack and William walking with me), but we couldn't find the trail head and Will was starting to lose steam, so instead we went for lunch. Its tough trying to squeeze things in between Henry's morning and afternoon naps. I will be glad when he goes down to one. Anyway, I had thought about lifting tonight after we got the boys in bed, but I'm totally bushed. It will have to happen tomorrow...
I have a cold. Its April 24th and I have a cold. Seems pretty unfair, right? Not sure where it came from since both the kids are healthy. Maybe just fatigue...We have been non-stop crazy since before Easter with the King's family in town, Easter, Henry's birthday and friends' birthdays. All good things, but seriously busy. Plus I ran a bunch last week and my back was bothering me (I think because I didn't stretch afterward). I think I have that under control now though. I have been stretching and I even did one of the King's yoga tapes, which I really liked. I need to get it together though. Too many decadent meals and too much birthday cake hasn't helped. Now I feel like I need to get back into my routine, but my cold has slowed me down.
This doesn't bode well though, since we have a really crazy summer planned already... but I'll rally. I'm usually pretty adaptable to all the craziness and getting my training in. I just need to stay healthy. I have been reading the training book about training more efficiently and it seems like it can help. The challenge is that their training plans still call for 9 workouts per week, although many are shorter. I'll figure it out though. I want to get through the book and come up with a training plan to kick off next week. I have a 5k planned for May 21st and my first tri will be late July, so I think that will give me plenty of time. I am running 3-4 miles regularly now and swimming over a mile each workout, so I just need to get on the bike... once the King tunes it for me. Until then I've been to spinning class a couple times, but its just not the same! Anyway, I feel pretty good about where I am starting from for my training. I can do this.btw - three days after Henry turned a year he started walking. Pretty wild. Its almost like he decided that the time had come - he was one year old and he had to walk. Its all too cool though.
so we finally have a new laptop. I was hesitant at first to spend the money (I am realizing that I have become a bit of a miser since I stopped working), but our old laptop got to the point where it would close on our hands about every five minutes. pretty frustrating. especially since we use the laptop for hours each day... the King did all the research and got a good deal and now we have a slick new laptop. Yaaahhhooooooeeeeeeeeey!! This rocks!we had a fun Easter and a nice visit with the royal in-laws, but I am glad to be back to normal. I think I have about five pounds to lose from all the amazing meals and I am seriously aching to work out. I like my normal.
So the King and I talked about my races for the summer and he raised some really valid concerns about my training plans. When I first got into triathlons I worked out and kept a training log and followed a plan, but I was pretty laissez faire as well. I didn't really drink because it was hard to train the next day, but I took time off to hang out and do things too. My last year of racing I set my sights on a longer race (olympic - which was longer for me!) and I think that scared me into becoming a bit of a freak about training. I was getting pretty obsessive about training and I would stress out about missing workouts and skip off days until I finally was just wiped out and cranky. Needless to say he doesn't want that to happen again and is worried about the impact of juggling training and two little kids will have on all of us. But I don't want it to happen again either; so we have reached a compromise. We are both planning to do a 5k road race to benefit Children's Hospital at the end of May. Then I will sign up for a sprint tri in July and after we see how things are going possibly more in August/early Sept. I am only planning to do sprints this year, since I want to ensure that I can handle the distance and the training required (I know I can handle the swim in an Oly and probably the bike, but the run kills me). I think the King is happy with this approach and I know that I am. I don't want to be crazy workout lady again, but I like working towards goals. Goals are good.
The new year brought for me the realization that my youngest was almost a year old and therefore my excuse for being out of shape was quickly diminishing. So Andy and I got serious about getting in shape - through dieting and working out more. And it is working (diet and exercise - who knew?). I have reached my pre-pregnancy weight but am a few pounds up from my goal weight and I fit in to the clothes that I wanted to fit into, and actually have needed to buy some new stuff because I'm smaller than I've been in a while. I am really glad about this (actually its pretty huge for someone who has always struggled with weight), but the last few days I have been feeling pretty bad about my appearance and diet again. Maybe its because I have basically stopped dieting even though I have a few pounds to go, or maybe its because I haven't worked out the last couple days. Or maybe I'm starting to get nervous about training (and having the time to train). I don't know. And I know that a couple days off from training and a couple days of over-indulgence won't ruin everything, but I wish the two didn't happen in synch. I could justify the elaborate meal that Andy and I will have on our date night tonight if I knew I put some miles in today... but I need to relax. I think that part of the problem is that I am better when I have a plan, which is not to say that I am so rigid that I need to plan out every minute thing, but I need a general training plan and some races to shoot for to feel like I am working towards something. I have earmarked a few races, but haven't signed up fir anything because we have some family things to sort out (planning birthday parties and vacations...). And I haven't committed to a training plan yet because the ones I have found have either been too easy to too time consuming. I need a training plan that is challenging in intensity but doesn't require the 9-12 workouts per week that my former plan followed. I ordered a book from Amazon (Time Saving Training for Multisport Athletes) that my fellow triathletes recommended, and I hope that this book will help me modify the training plan I used previously to meet my time limitations. I think that if I get the training plan sorted out and the races decided upon then I will be more focused, and the eating thing will hopefully fall into line as well. Here's to hoping!
So yesterday I had a kisk-ass workout day. I got on a bike for the first time in years (granted for a spinning class, but it was a good workout and a good re-introduction to the term "saddle sore"). After spinning class I lifted. I have been following the advise of a great trainer who answers all kinds of questions on triathlete.com's forum for my lifting workouts. He has recommended certain exercises, but also suggested that triathletes need only to do one set of 12-15 reps for each exercise, as long as the weight is heavy enough that your muscles fatigue by that 12-15th rep. He said that this strategy builds muscle without bulk. Rock on! It has totally changed the way I lift and I can get through a lifting workout quite quickly. Yesterday I really pushed myself and I felt like a total stud.Today however I was sore. I have done little more than take an hour long leisurely stroll with the boys. And I have eaten a lot - mostly in the evening. I am feeling really full and sluggish right now. Like all my hard work from yesterday was erased by today. :-(Aaaaahh well... tomorrow is another day.
Last week someone posted a message on the forum at triathlete.com asking folks to describe their motivation, Its a pretty tricky question. I can tell you that four years ago when I was training for my first Olympic distance race (1 mi swim, 25 mi bike, 6 mi run) my motivation was to train a lot and prove to myself that I could complete and compete in a race that challenging. Pretty simple motivation, but it got me out of bed to go to the gym (or on the bike, or to the track) and kept me from drinking all summer long. But now I'm not sure what my motivation is. A comeback? I guess, but I don't anticipate I'll be competing t the same level since I don't anticipate training as much. Its kind of funny for me to talk about competing at the same level, since I've always been a mid-packer, but I am one of those people who likes to measure progress. I may finish 50th in a race, but as long as my times have improved (and I haven't come in dead last, of course) then I am pretty happy with the result. So what is my motivation when my expectation is that my times won't improve at all? I guess to see how close I can get with the amount of training that I can do. And to get in better shape, of course. I wish getting in better shape was my only motivation, but I am a competitor by nature, even if I'm only competing with my past.
