Training Quotes

• My face looks like the before picture in a Proactiv commercial.
• My apartment looks like a triathlon transition area between the bike, the wetsuit, swim caps, Gu....
• Is it wrong that I've started putting on Body Glide everyday?

The Light at the End of the Tunnel

Where to start, oh where to start.

Both the training and fundraising has been going really well as of late...which is really good considering my race is TWO WEEKS AWAY!  I have more to say about that a little later.

I found myself in a serious panic about fundraising two weeks ago.  It was just getting too late to host any kind of well-organized event and frankly, I'm not very good at asking people for money and following-up.  But, I managed to get over the shyness of asking and found that 85% of people are really generous!  All I can do is ask and remind...if someone chooses not to give, that's fine.  I know there are plenty of causes and fundraising efforts of friends that I've skipped and everyone knows that I need plenty of reminders.

There were a couple of "organized" fundraising events in which I participated.  On two different Sundays, I stood outside Giant (that's a supermarket if you're not in the know) and sold baked goods. I always thought bake sales were cheesy and probably a little gross if I did any of the baking myself.  Little did I know, with the right combination of people, how much fun they could also be.  The stories that I have...the woman yelling at me in Japanese, the person who refused to donate because she "doesn't support Lymphoma" and the guy who showed up in the banana suit...thinking about any of these incidences makes me dissolve into giggles.  I'll probably need to remind myself of these stories when I'm running by myself on Hains Point on race day.

Training has also felt super good lately.  On Wednesday, I ran 6 miles. (I would like to give a special shout out to every gym teach I had through grade school, junior high, and high school.  All of those mile runs that I gave half-assed efforts toward, it really was childhood rebellion and not an inability. Thank you.) 6 miles is probably the farthest that I've ever run in one shot. Ever. And let me just say, it felt awesome. By no means am I breaking any records. In fact, I'm pretty slow, but it feels good.  It's awesome.

Today was the cherry on top of the sundae. We had a mini practice triathlon.  It was only a 200 yard swim, 10 mile bike, and 3 mile run but it still felt good.  My transitions were easy and despite that getting on my bike wet and running after riding both feel really weird, I still like it.

Race day is 14 days away. I want to wet myself when I think about it, but really, I think I'm ready.  I'm scared and know that I'm not going to be fast, but I'm definitely going to finish this thing.  And hey, if it goes well, maybe I'll even do something like this again.

It Must be Freezing in Hell Right Now

I am wearing a helmet and remaining upright on a bike. That is all.

What a busy week! Here are the highlights:

Biking
Now that I'm finally riding, biking is not nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I mean, I've had my fair share of near falls in the middle of the streets of busy DC. Also, I definitely do not understand the finer points of how the gears really work. However, I can manage to shift relatively well, I feel good about my pedaling, and I even managed to adjust the seat height myself! Saturday's team ride was long and hilly so I was able to practice the rate of my pedaling and even spend some time on the aerobars. (If you're not familiar, aerobars are the bars that come off the front of the handlebars and allow triathletes to get down into a comfortable and aerodynamic position. While riding in that position gave my arms a nice rest, it was also very scary!)

Swimming
I got one of the biggest compliments on Tuesday morning when one of the coaches told me that my kick was too big and I should focus more on controlling my speed with my arms. At first, using my arms more stunk! But with a little practice, I can see how this will be more effective and help save my legs. It also boosted my spirits when the same coach told me that I'd be just fine in getting through the swim. PHEW!!

Running
I am not a good runner. I will never be a good or fast runner. Slow and steady is definitely my prerogative when it comes to runs and I need to get over the fear of walking. I will be running a 10k after swimming 1.5 kilometers and biking 40. There will be no shame if I allow myself to walk for 1 minute here or there. As long as I don't walk across the finish line. That would just be embarrasing!


Overall
I've gotten through 80% of my workouts this past week. Although it's difficult, I've been trying to reign in my diet including cutting out coffee and alcohol...not sure how long that will last, but I'm trying!! The fact that the event is 36 days away does not scare me. I feel like I'm in a good place training-wise and pretty sure I'll get through the whole thing. The likelihood that I'll sleep the entire afternoon and evening of September 12th is very, very high!

Now, if only I could wrap-up my fundraising....

Up Like a Rosebud, High on the Vine!

Things are looking up! I had a very productive weekend followed by two great workouts today. It's quite possible that the best thing is the continued generosity of my friends. It's created a nice pick-up in my fundraising. I continue to be amazed by their thoughtfulness in donations and encouraging words.

Now it's off to bed so I stay awake for tomorrow's 5:30 AM swim!

Swamp-ed

I am frustrated. It's not the normal, everyday frustrated. In fact, I'm stressing and frustrated. How's that for a combo?

Here, in no particular order are my areas of frustration:

1 - DC is currently a swamp. It's hot. It's humid. The only possible time to get in a good run is early o'clock AM or late:30 PM. My run tonight is an excellent illustration. I left my apartment at 9:45 PM. I thought I could easily put in 30 minutes. HA! No sir, no how, no way. It sucked. Well at least the 20 minutes that I ran really stunk. My entire body was pretty much one big cramp. I was gasping for breath. I was sweating from places that I didn't know could produce sweat. I tried to be crafty and run close to the doors of buildings, hoping that I would catch enough icy cold air to keep me going. (As an aside, the World Bank is great for this purpose. They seem to air condition the entire block between 19th and 20th streets.) It didn't work. I returned home with my head hung in shame.

2 - I am not a good fundraiser. Really, I have not put too much effort into it but $2,400 is not a lot of money. I probably drop that annually on going out. Actually, no. I spend much much more than that. So what's the problem?

3 - Bike. Oh, I can't even talk about it.

4 - Although it's unrelated to my triathlon training, I am in a weight loss "contest" at work. The idea is that I drop of total of 10 pounds. It does not look like it will happen. I have not been going to CrossFit regularly. I feel weak. And slow. I miss it.

The bottom line is that I need to perk up about the whole thing. I will take donations, motivation, and inspiration in equal doses. Finally, if someone could manage to get rid of the heat and humidity, I would greatly appreciate it.

http://pages.teamintraining.org/nca/nattri10/mzentnecxd

P-A-C-I-N-G

Never in a million, billion, trillion years did I ever think that I would need to tell myself to slow down. I was always been the kid who ran pretty slowly. I usually cannot talk when running or working out in general. Why? Well, I'm too busy gasping for breath. Over the last few weeks, I have been forced to realize that if I just slow down my pace a little, in both running and swimming, I can go farther and for longer, and manage to talk while running.

Pacing is a lesson that I think I missed in junior high gym class. Maybe instead of spending so much time insisting that we all shower after class or getting us excited to do butt slides, those teachers could have given us some lessons in how to appreciate running. It wasn't until after college that I started to see running as a fun activity. In my mind, running was something to be dreaded, especially in the spring when we had to run a mile.

Not that I can entirely blame the gym teachers of my childhood. I have never been an athlete, but I have discovered that I'm pretty good at working out. Really, what is a triathlon except one really, really long workout? As long as I can keep moving in a forward direction for 3-4 hours, without injuring myself, I will finish and after all, that is the main point for me. Although, I also am raising money for a great cause too!

Thus far, the training has only been okay. Between work and trying to maintain a social life, it's hard to find the time everyday to put in the miles. Also, since it is clearly summer in the fair District of Columbia, any outdoor activities need to be done at sunrise or after sunset. Even this morning's 8:30 AM run should have been done a good hour beforehand and I know that I'll be paying for it with a mild headache all day.

Besides the obvious training that I need to focus on, I really must start putting efforts into my fundraising. For over a month, I have been at 10% to my fundraising goal...which is great and I'm so appreciate to everyone who has donated thus far! But, $2400 is still a long way off and this is an effort I'm not willing to quit.

So, since it is the end of June, I'm committing (or re-committing?) myself to both my training and fundraising efforts. The race date of September 12th seems so far off, but time moves quickly and I know it will be here in no time!