Things I Never Thought I'd Like so Much

There are several things that I have grown to appreciate throughout triathlon training, which I never thought would become so important to my lifestyle:

1.) A great pair of cycling bottoms that have plenty of padding to protect my femininity and that don't cut off my circulation at the waist like those horrible pantyhose I used to wear back in the day (Pearl iZUMi sugar knickers are my new favorite!). It's always going to be awkward having giant padding on your butt, however, the benefits of wearing padded shorts far outweigh the vanity factor.

This is not what I had in mind for cycling attire, but it's such an awkward advertisement I just have to
                     share! Nothing says "look at me boys!" like granny panties with added padding!

                                                     I wouldn't recommend this look either.....

2.)  A reliable pair of running socks that stay in place and don't cause friction---realized the importance of that when I went for a long run last week in cheap, thin socks because my nice $15 a pair running socks were dirty, and I got a few blisters :(  

3.)  Anti-chafing cream, roll-on, etc.  For cycling I swear by Butt'r and for everything else I use a glide stick or roll-on for my arms and legs to help prevent that nasty chafing rash. 

4.)  A good deodorant that has a nice, gentle scent and that KEEPS me smelling at least semi-nice during a sweaty workout (who am I kidding here? ALL my workouts are sweaty!). 

5.) A multi-tool to keep on my bike at all times.  Those suckers are so useful around the house too!

6.) Foam rollers/pvc pipe rollers/tennis balls--all of these things mentioned can be used to massage and stretch your muscles before and after workouts.  For people who don't have time and/or money to spend on an actual massage, these do the trick just fine :)

 (This is a drawer in my office at work--no joke--I have these things in my office at all times and keep an ice pack in the freezer.  Items shown in the photo are: 2 resistance bands of varying tension, an ACE bandage, Yoga Toes, tennis ball for massaging trigger points, and a hot water bottle.)

7.)  A durable swimsuit that is more chlorine resistant--nothing is worse to me than taking off my swimsuit and realizing it is starting to fall apart due to the chlorine--and I can't imagine anything more embarrassing than getting out of the pool and realizing that your suit is literally falling apart.  Luckily I haven't had that happen in public...yet.   

8.)  A water bottle with a strap that fits in your hand naturally so it isn't a pain to carry while you run.  I require A LOT of water, so when the weather gets warm, this little guy is my life saver!

9.)  And last but not least, my Road ID wrist band!

I'm sure I've left some things off this list and they will come to me later.  What about you?  Are there things important to you now that you never imagined would play any kind of role in your daily routine? 

Week Five Training Review (and some lessons in etiquette)

I know they say to save the best for last, but I feel the need to say (or rather scream loud and clear!) that I went on a 95 minute bike ride today and didn't fall once!!  Can we get a "Hallelujah!" in the house?!  I am by no means a clip-less pedal expert yet, BUT it is encouraging to see that I can stop about 10 times on a busy path without awkwardly tipping over :)  The 'getting going and clipping in part' is still not so graceful, but I just need some more practice.  The weather was absolutely beautiful this morning, so my training buddy and I headed to the Silver Comet Trail for our LSD ride.  Let me clarify, LSD in this context stands for Long Slow Distance, not the drug ;) 

                                                                The Silver Comet Trail

I tend to cycle like I drive and can become susceptible to road rage (or path rage in the case of cycling).  Because of this, I make an extra effort to be courteous and safe when cycling on a multi-use pedestrian path.  I call out "On your left!" as I approach people to pass, so they have ample warning.  This leads me to my rant of the day:

When I call out "On your left!" on a busy path and you and a friend are chatting while walking slowly next to each other taking up the entire right lane of the path, and a couple with a baby stroller is on the left lane coming towards me, I expect you and your friend to squeeze a little closer together so that I might pass without A.) having to come to a complete stop, or B.) having to hit you, because God knows I would rather hit you than the mother and baby.  When you fail to acknowledge my warning, I slow down and repeat myself as I get closer, not because I like to hear the sound of my own voice or because I have amnesia and forgot I already said it twice before, but because I am actually wanting a little more space to comfortably pass you on my bicycle.  When I safely and SLOWLY pass between you and the baby stroller after 3 "On your left" statements (after you still failed to move) and then you proceed to make snide comments about my passing, it makes me want to punch you in the face.  It is a SHARED trail.  Most of us learned how to share in kindergarten--it should be second nature by now. Please see my depiction of the event on the scanned post-it note below.

Phew, now that that's off my chest...

Other training highlights include a 50 minute run outside in the park, which was great, and I was so excited that I did it!  However, today (the day after) my body decided to revolt against me and practically screamed "Why are you doing this to me? Whyy?? ".  Perhaps that was too much too soon for my aching joints...ice is my best friend today and the chiropractic appointment was very welcomed :) 

Swimming was somewhat pivotal for me, and I feel I am gradually settling into my groove.  Monday the pool was ridiculously crowded, and I swam beside the wall--meaning the waves from all the swimmers hit the wall and bounced back on me as I swam.  I struggled...a lot.  I kept telling myself that it was good open water swim practice, similar to swimming in a lake during the triathlons.  It's amazing what you can convince yourself to do sometimes.    

                                 Pool lesson learned: Next time, I need to remember my inner tube!


Thanks for reading my weekly training review!  Hope everyone's weekend is fantastic :)

Month 1-Training Review

The first month of training for this season has already come and gone, and I'm still alive and walking!  I'm not going to lie, there are mornings when it is extra hard to get up due to various aches, and I have to literally roll myself out of bed.

The purpose of today's post is just to give a little overview of weekly training for the first month.  From here on out I hope to do a short weekly overview every Sunday...for now I am just catching up :)

Week 1: 

I actually came down with a horrible flu/cold the weekend before training began.  It was really not fun at all and that week is pretty much a blur.  Needless to say, I decided to begin training with Week 2 instead.  Plus, I figured I would get too many weird looks if I showed up at the gym coughing and sneezing everywhere with Kleenex stuffed up my nostrils.  Attractive image, I know.   

Week 2:

Training began with a Monday swim, during which I realized I still need to work on my freestyle stroke technique. Swimming still doesn't feel natural to me, and I realize it is important to continue working on technique, speedwork, and also need to be patient with myself.  It's only been a year since I started learning, and I have come a long way since then.

I ran twice this week and noticed some issues with my back, but overall was happy with my lung capacity and time.

As for cycling, I bought a new road bike with clipless pedals and have it set up on an indoor trainer for days when it's too dark, cold or rainy to ride outside.

Week 3:

 Was having some issues with swimming and my neck/shoulder area tensing up.  My training buddy has a past in competitive swimming and coaching, so she looked at my stroke and helped me by pointing out my flaws.  It is a major blessing having her close to give me advice and suggestions :)

Running was put on hold this week and I trained on the elliptical instead due to a "dance injury" to my right ankle.  Long story short: I was dancing at a wedding barefoot to the song "Shout", and right when the lyrics were "You know you make me wanna SHOUT!"  I yelled "Owwwwwowww!!!" as a man stepped back onto my right ankle.  He asked me if I was ok and I quickly replied,  "I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine" as if saying it more would make me believe that I really was fine.  I didn't shed a tear, but when I got home later it was definitely swollen, sore and painful.  Good thing the weather turned warmer so I didn't look weird wearing sandals to work :P

This was also the week I took the bike outside with the clipless pedals for the first time.  Gained a few more bruises from that experience--about 6 bruises if I counted correctly.  But I LOVE the feel of the bike and having my feet clipped in just changes the whole ride for the better :)

                                                                    My cycling shoes :)


Week 4:

This week things were thrown a little out of whack Monday.  As I was driving from work to the gym in a torrential downpour with tornado warnings, my training buddy called to inform me she was at the gym and the pool was undergoing maintenance.  It ended up being closed all week, but luckily another LA Fitness in the vicinity has a pool as well, so I just shifted my swim days around and still managed to get my swim on twice.  I decided to add sprint drills to my swimming one day a week.  This week Friday was the lucky day that I pushed my aerobic threshold in the pool, so much so, that I thought my head was going to explode and pop my swim cap right off! 

Running was still a no-go :(   My ankle needs a little more time to heal from this "dance injury" before I start pounding the pavement with it.  No worries though, I was able to make my elliptical sessions pretty hard-core by throwing in Tabatas (sprint 20 seconds, rest 10 seconds and repeat for 8-12 minutes).  Phew, lots of sweating and almost felt like I was going to pass out at times--but that means I did them right!

Cycling was indoors this week due to a gray, rainy, cold weekend.  But it's ok, I suppose I should let my bruises heal before replacing them with new ones. 

In other news, today I went to Home Depot and bought some PVC pipe to use in place of my foam roller.  A chiropractor who specializes in sports suggested this to me since I have a major issue with trigger points.  The edges of the pipe were sharp, so I covered them in electrical tape for some protection.  This is a much much cheaper option than all the other products out there.  Here's what mine look like:

That's it for now!  Tomorrow starts Week 5 of training...let's do this!