Well, for all of my complaining at the start of last week, everything is getting much better.  I ran 2.5 miles last week (straight and slow).  This weekend, I went on my first bike ride of the season (and since I barely rode last summer because of injury, my first real ride in probably a year and nine months or so.  I was expecting it to be bad: the air was still a bit chilly so my lungs would be grumpy and I expected screaming quads.  Instead, it was amazing and pretty easy.  I felt aerobically stronger than almost any other time I have been on the bike and had several periods of biking 16-20 mph that didn't seem difficult at all.  We did two hills at the end, which were hard because I hate hills, but I wasn't wheezing when I got to the top and recovered pretty quickly. 

 

Today, I was planning a longer running, but decided to try a shorter less-slow run and did a mile in 10 MINUTES!!!  I was so excited I thought I would burst (though perhaps that was my lungs, who knows). 

 

The only problem I am experiencing are the excercise hunger pangs.  I am hungry (or eating) all the time.  All I want to do is eat.  Nom nom nom.

Why is it that it is the first day back from break and I feel more
worn down than when the break began? I went to the gym to do 2.5
miles on the treadmill and failed miserably. After 10 minutes I was
hurting a lot, after 12 my lungs were on fire, and at 15 I finally
stepped off wheezing and panting. Then both my ears clogged up and
remain so.
I am not sure how I am going to make it through the rest of the
semester sometimes.

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I ran... So far on the treadmill

After a bad last week for my running schedule with midterm,
travelling, springbreak, and laziness, I got on the treadmill
yesterday and today. Yesterday I ran for 20 minutes and hurt at the
end. Today I did 2 miles and felt pretty good. The new asthma med
makes me extra phlematic (tmi I know), so I have to step of too the
side to get a sip of water every few minutes.

I picked up a multi sport training book to help me figure out how to
do duathlon training.

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Well today was interesting. I had been having problems with my
inhaler not seeming as effective when I ran so I decided to go into
the doctor. After doing some air flow tests, he determined that I am
normally getting about half the air in each breath that I should be
able to. He seemed pretty surprised that I was able to run at all and
put me on a daily inhaler. The good news is that I should notice a
big improvement in about a month and running should become
significantly easier.

Maybe this means I will be a lot faster! Probably not.

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Today was very difficult and I think I need a rest day tomorrow. I
ran 20 minutes and it was like pulling teeth. I had to stop a few
times and catch my breath and got overwhelmingly hot 5 minutes into
it. Hmmm.

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I have also started a SparkPage over at Sparkpeople. The page has (egads) links to my daily food and exercise diary so I can keep track of what I'm eating and what I am burning. And, having it public makes me accountable (though I am going on a trip this weekend for my anniversary so don't expect any updates then)!

My SparkPage

Today was not the greatest workout day. I did my strength training
and was wiped out after 2 sets. As I was cooling down, my stomach
started going nuts and I remembered that I had not eaten dinner last
night.

D'oh.

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Tweaks

So this weekend, I started getting back on the (spin) bike to try to
get ready for the Ironman ride. I met with Jenn, personal trainer
extraordinaire and got a core routine to do on one of the bike days.
This routine included a plank on a balance ball, but when it seemed
likely I would fall off we switched to doing it on a Bosu. For the
first time in my life, I am able to do a side plank and not topple,
which I was really excited about.

Oh, and I ran 2 miles straight today in 23 minutes!!!!

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1.75 miles woohoo

Yesterday I woke up after a second night of haing slept horribly and the thought of a) getting up and b) working out almost drove me to tears. So I decided to take the day off and sleep in. I awoke to find the bed covered with 2 cats and a dog! (the dog is NOT allowed on the bed). I was, however, very warm.

I went in this morning and was not going to run but I really wanted to. And, I was feeling incredibly anxious, grumpy, and whiny, as my friend NGS can attest to. SO I ran for 21 minutes with he first half at 5 mph and the second half at 5.2 mph. Then I walked for the remainder of the 45 minutes at 4 mph. I changed something today with my running stride because it feels really different and I seem more efficient. I, however, have no clue what I have done. I think I stopped moving my hips, perhaps.

I was planning on going outside for a bike ride this weekend, but that is looking unlikely. Instead, I will ride the spin bike and play music the boy hates. He walked in when I was blasting the dance version of "Unchained melody" and just looked at me in horror. I have not yet subjected him to the dance version of "Don't Stop Believing." I think that will have to wait for a special occasion.

I am really whiny today. I woke up with a loud "no" in response to
the boy saying he was going to bus in. Therefore, I couldnt catch a
ride with him to school and leave at 8. Instead I had to be ready to
catch the 715 bus. Whine whine whine. Then the animals were extra
hyper and knocked my laptop and phone off my desk. While I was
checking those for damage, the cat ate my breakfast.

I did, however, have a really good workout. Today was strength
training and I am up to 3 sets. It was the first time I have lifted
in front of my mirror, and I lessened the weight on a couple of
exercises to improve the form. I am up to 45 seconds on the plank and
25 lbs for step ups. Take that mr. "slow jogger." (I try sometimes
to pretend that I am not competitive, but its a lie).

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HERE I GOOO AGAIN ON MYYYYY OWWWWNNNN......

It is 8:01 pm and I am in bed. I ran the 1.5 miles today and became convinced towards the end that I might die or throw up. Neither happened nor came remotely close to happening. At one point, I attempted to pump myself up by telling myself that there was ONLY 1 mile left. I did, however, do some intervals in there of 5.3 mph so I felt like a bad ass. I worked until 6pm, got home, waited for the boy to go running, then we made a delicious dinner of turkey tacos that I had with a glass of wine. Now, I feel very relaxed, and exhausted, and my legs are pleasantly sore. There is a decent chance I will fall asleep by 9:30.

I have decided that I am going to ride the Ironman on April 27. The boy is riding the 100 mile version (on a singlespeed, because he is crazy), but I think I will try out the 30 mile one. This does mean that I need to add some cycling a couple of days a week to my training to get back to the 30 mile riding range and to be able to endure 2 hours in the saddle.

I made a new workout playlist for running today and was happy to run along to songs I haven't heard in awhile. If you have any ideas for additions, let me know! Here is some of what is on there:

Whitesnake -- Here I go again
Apotgyma Berzerk -- Kathy's Song
REM -- Bad Day
Dj Someone or another -- Unchained Melody
Squirrel Nut Zippers -- Ghost of Stephen Foster
Run Lola Run -- Wish Kom Zu Mir
Beastie Boys -- Sabotage
Rolling Stones -- Paint it Black

I have begun to get even more antsy for bike season. I have been
sneaking down into the basement and lovingly petting the road bike. I
have ordered new tires for her and think I will get a nice computer
that measures cadence. She news a tune up, so I will be putting her
up in the rack, cleaning everything and letting the boy take a look.
I have also found a local bike team/shop that offers a beginner
program in road racing that I may sign up for. I can't get the boy to
go to the info meeting next week but I think I will still head out
there.

I keep trying to convince the boy to start doing some strength
training but I dont think he has been convinced.

I am looking forward to getting up to the 5k distance because then
hopefully I can work at getting faster. On some workout blog I read
someone referred to 5mph as a slow job and I wanted to write "it
doesn't FEEL like a slow jog, @&$)(;:@!!!!"

And today I will be running 1.5 miles at the slow jog pace. Uff da.

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I bought a Dyna disc for home last night at target, so I could do a
strength workout at home on the weekends. I am really starting to
wish it was warmer because I want to go riding.

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