End of week one

I completed all of the bike work outs for the first week. I have already learned a lot. Especially yesterday. Yesterday I did the long bike ride for the week. I rode 55 minutes. Here's what I learned:

First, inclines suck. My legs were BURNING after those 4 steep inclines that had me out of the saddle pumping away. Nevertheless, I did do them. I rode for 30 seconds each time. The last incline, I thought I was going to die, but I didn't. I sure was shaky though.

photo retrieved from: http://whynottri.wordpress.com/tag/triathlon-bike-vs-road-bike/

Second, I rock in my seat when I am getting tired, so I really started to pay attention to that. I'm assuming that rocking side to side is my body's way to get out of working so hard, so I started using the arm rests. I found that when I leaned forward in my bike seat and put my arms on the arm rests, I was able to pay attention better to whether or not I was rocking back and forth.

Third, I know why they make special shorts for bikers. My butt was sore and (apologizing now for my graphic description) my crotch felt like it was ON FIRE when I got off the bike. I need to get a pair of biking shorts.

Fourth, my toes fell asleep while riding. Have to figure that one out. I still need to incorporate the weight lifting, but I did start the sit ups and push ups. Still need to figure out the bike situation. I am currently using the bike machines at the rec center, but one of the riding on the road. My friend, Leslie, said I could borrow her bike if I wanted to, but when it comes to purchasing my own, I have to figure out what kind to buy and how I'm going to pay for it. I found this blog post on bike choices. He suggested a road bike for beginners. I think it's good advice, but what do I know? On to week 2.

Week one (Again)

Ok, I've completed two of the three bike work outs in the beginner program. I will do the last one tomorrow. Tomorrow is supposed to be a "long" bike, much like a running schedule has a long run day. I'm supposed to include at least, but no more than, 4 inclines intense enough for me to have to stand up in the pedals. Ugh. Sounds tough, but this is just the beginning and eventually I will get there. I still have to add the weight lifting to my schedule. I did do push ups and sit ups tonight. I figure I can at least do that until I start doing the weights.

I'm a little disheartened that Jeff and Jackson haven't done anything yet. We all supposedly started together on August 1, but no one has been to the rec center since we joined it except me. Trying to rally the family to change our lifestyle is hard to do, and I don't want to nag. We still have 9 months until the race, but I'm certainly not going to sign up for it if no one is training. It's too expensive! I think it's like $125 per person. And getting everyone to eat better is tough too. Well, a little at a time. Jeff said he'd go to the rec center with me tomorrow- if his back is feeling better. He can't move much tonight. And Jackson DID go with me this evening. We only had time to work out 15 minutes because we didn't know the rec center closes at 9PM on Fridays. Anyway, we're trying...

Reboot

Well, as you can see, we ALREADY didn't follow through. Time to start over. I came home from Minnesota with a new, and embarrassing, all time weight! Grad school has occupied the majority of my life since we returned, but my final is Monday, so I think it's safe to start back into a running program. Alas, it IS the hottest day of the year, so it will be quite the challenge. I've lost 10.5 pounds since returning from Minnesota. That tells you just how much junk we ate up there.

Jeff has been swamped at work, and hasn't been working out at all. I've had grad school stuff to get done. But in all reality, these are just excuses. If we REALLY want to do this thing, we've got to start making better choices. Jackson at least has been going to football conditioning 4 days a week, but even he has to start a serious running and eating plan. He's really cut down on the junk food though, so that's a start. I've quit drinking alcohol and have tried to consume about 100 oz of water a day. So, there are some good things going on, just not enough of them.

Back to the drawing board. Time to reboot and git 'er done!

Day 4

So yesterday was supposed to be a work out day, but everyone was a little tired. With Michael and Lori coming in Tuesday afternoon, we were busy bees and stayed up too late. I did find time to walk into town and back (about 2 miles), but that was all. Jackson slept til 2 and Jeff said he was too sore from the swim the day before. He TUBED yesterday! And so did Jackson for that matter, so we all did something active, just not the work outs we were supposed to.



So day 4 you'd think we'd all be raring to go. I can't say we did anything too strenuous. I walked for an hour, but didn't wear my Garmin, so I have no idea what my pace was nor how far I went. I also did another 12 minute swim. I am happy to report that it went MUCH better. I can't imagine it's because I'm in better shape already, more that the wind and currents were in my favor. Jackson kept saying he was going to swim and/or ride the bike, but so far he hasn't. He is tubing though. Jeff says he's way too sore from tubing yesterday to do anything.

I look forward to getting back to Dallas and joining the rec center, so I can start that beginner exercise program I found. It's a combination of walking, swimming, biking, and lifting weights. I hope Jeff will do that with me. I think with football practice, Jackson can focus on the tri program we started with.

Day 2- off

Well, it was an off day for Jeff and I, but Jackson decided to do the 12 minute swim. I will admit he did MUCH better than jeff and I, but he was still tired. He also did a very short bike ride. Tomorrow I will walk and then do a swim. NOT 12 minutes though.

Day 1- bike 24 minutes, swim 12 minutes

The first day on the plan I had printed out was an off day, but Jackson and I wanted to do something to commemorate the beginning of our training, so decided we'd start the day with an easy 2 mile run. I haven't been running since April, but back in April, a 2 mile run was nothing. Oh how quickly the body forgets. We set off, and it was clear that Jackson could run much faster than me, so I waved him on ahead and kept my own steady (11:00-13:00 minute mile) pace. Jackson ran at a faster pace, and stopped to walk more, I kept a slow steady jog and walked less. We finished together in 26:38- SLOW, but we did it.

While we were running, Jeff decided to dust off his bike and go for a 30 minute bike ride. When he returned he said he did not have a problem and felt good. We were all pretty proud of ourselves since we had accomplished something and all felt pretty good.

At lunch, I did a little more research on the web and found another work out that I liked better since it listed the events in minutes rather than in distances. I thought that would be easier for for us to do since we are all beginners. The particular program said on day one of training, swim 12 minutes. That sounds easy, we thought. Let's go ahead and do it.

Naturally we all assumed that we could swim for 12 minutes without a problem. HA! I went first and wisely had Jeff follow me in the kayak. I have a MUCH deeper respect for those swimmers we saw at the Ironman in Couer d'Alene. They swam for two hours! I couldn't do 12 minutes. I didn't quit though, I just switched back and forth from freestyle to breaststroke until the torture was over.

It was a little scary to watch Jeff, who started off really fast and strong (he was on the swim team in high school, by God, no matter it was over 20 years ago) and quickly deteriorated to thrashing in the water, rolling from his front to his back on an odd combination of freestyle and backstroke. Needless to say I think we were both humbled by the experience. Jackson didn't attempt it.

So here I am, morning of day 2 of training, looking at other beginner programs. Sure, I'll still swim in the lake, walk, and maybe even run (though my knee doth protest), but I think it would be safer to follow this other program called The Beginner Exercise program. This seems a little more sane and emphasizes weight loss and conditioning before adding the running, swimming and biking (so my protesting knee will stop complaining). I'll let you know how it goes.