This week

Boston- Looks like I will only really have time after 6:30pm to get much stuff in. Busy week and I am expected to attend all of the conference. I found a bike shop 2 blocks from the hotel and am trying to find some good routes. I think I will rent a bike. One route went to Walden Pond. That would be cool. Also, need some time away from my co-workers. This whole thing is going to take some planning though. Am going to bring a bunch of snacks and try and figure out if I can eat  later in the evening. Food is always kind of annoying to me on these trips. I always eat more than the people I go with.

Tuesday
Swam at lunch. Did your workout. Not feeling the 1k pace efforts. Just didn't have the heart or the arms to put the effort into them. Swimming not going well. I like your workouts though. They go by quick and are interesting. The b/c 3 is getting much easier and I think my form is better doing those than breathing on one side.
Ride- Rode the fixie around on dirt, trails, and road, That was fun and a pretty hard workout. The legs never get to stop.

Wednesday
Got up in the morning and did the run. Had an experiment at work. Run was pretty hard. Lots of intervals keeping me at a good clip for most of it.

Masters- Uggh. Nobody there. Swimming by myself for half of it. Also, boring workout. WU of 900. 3X300, 4x25 fast, 3x200, 4x25 fast, 3x100, 4x25 fast. I also think that the Swim Center puts agar in the pool. The water feels heavy. Feeling really down about my swimming. Work really hard to not go very fast. Not liking swimming this week.

Thursday
Day was pretty gray and I was worried about waiting until evening in fear that weather would go bad. Megan and I rode at lunch. That ride was a doozy. It was pretty hard and then we had a pretty good headwind for a lot of it. I like intervals in a headwind. Takes my mind off the wind. I was feeling pretty worked for the rest of the day. Stayed at work late and my eyes were pretty heavy.


Friday

  Good Day!! Had a meeting with the City Mangager which was really encouraging. Then met with Lawrence at the pool for some swim technique coaching. He thinks I need to work on my stretch. Get really stretched out and roll. Also, my right arm is going outside really far which is probably why I have a tendency to wiggle. He thinks doing some stroke counting and trying to get a lot of glide will help. He also talked a lot about the recovery which I will ask him more about. Drills for my right arm were just kicking on that side and he also suggested that drill where you run your arm up your body on the recovery to practice proper alignment of the catch and pull. I think I am letting my elbows drop below my wrists and not getting a very good catch. Watching Lawrence under water you could see him catch.  We are going to meet every Friday and do a little coaching session and a swim workout together.

   After the session I only had 35 minutes left before the pool closed. Didn't even count how far I went. Just swam the rest of the time. I was likely short on the 2000. Did a nice 30 minute run in the snow afterwards. Felt  good.

Saturday

Snow, snow and more snow. Did the run up Bozeman Creek. It was a slushy mess at the bottom. Exactly at the 3 mile marker there were no tracks. Ran two miles in snow breaking trail. Starting some new/good memories for the year. That was way more fun than pounding pavement for two hours. It was hard, especially when the snow got knee deep. Good.  Ran back down at a pretty good clip. 10 minutes faster than it took to go up.

Went to work and got a bunch of stuff done. Erik went camping and mt biking. Went home and rode rollers in the evening for an hour.

Sunday
Master's swim. Didn't quite get in 3k. Warm Up. Swam 1000. Except my lane lapped me so I only got in 900. It was supposed to be distance per stroke, so I was really focusing on stroke. I think they just went fast. Did 2X 5x100. The interval was 2:00 and then 1:55 in the meter pool. It was hard. I had to stay on peoples toes and draft just to get though these. Then we did some dolphin kick hypoxic stuff. Fun swim day.

Ride- Met up with Lawrence, Art, and Ryan. Art likes to race and Lawrence and I don't like to give him the satisfaction so we rode hard. Had a headwind for a large part of the day. The last 40 minutes or so we took quite a bit easier. Ride time was 3:30. We were out for more like 4:30. Flat tire fixing and food stops took up some time. Good hard ride. Excited to keep doing these with Lawrence and Art.

Monday
Feel sort of worked from yesterday. Slept good last night.

4/11/12 thru 4/23/12

Tuesday night races and Wednesday night girls hammer fest are two group rides coming up. If it works out I would like to do the Wed. night rides.

Masters swimming- I guess this summer there is only going to be Masters on Monday, Thursday, and Sundays.

Let's get right to the race since that is what I want to talk about. First, this years journey is different. We talked about this before, but I am still struggling with how to see it. Last year I didn't know what to expect and was in general really happy with my racing. This year I have expectation and on one hand I don't want to be disappointed all year, yet I still want to set the standards higher. Maybe it is a matter of setting very specific goals for each race and being happy if I can meet them and then not worry about everything else. So this year for the Grizzly we worked on my swim. I feel like I worked pretty hard to set some pace times and really train them. And guess what it worked!!! I took off about 35 seconds from last year and wasn't the last one out of the pool (which was part of the goal). That was awesome. Even though I was in the gutter lane. Maybe if I keep upping my goals I can keep getting out earlier? Anyway, nothing to complain about on the bike. I used my water bottle on my aerobars which I hadn't added on after the new fit. It was kind of in the way. Couldn't hunker down as much as I wanted too. My right hamstring was a little cramped when I started. Couldn't get going very fast right away. I didn't chase down girls like I did last year on the bike. But that seems to be the case lately so I wasn't too worried. Except that some of those girls are getting faster on their bikes. Also, played a little demoralization game with some girl up the hill. I love cycling. Run started out like usual. Jelly legs and about 1/2 mile to feel normal. Is that normal? Up the hill and down the hill. Oh crap. I cramped up soooo bad on the downhill. Came hobbling around the corned and had to wait a while just to bend my leg enough to stretch. Kept going and eventually the cramp went away and I could pick up the pace again. Not feeling super great about the race at the finish. But after anaylzing the numbers I'm happier. Swim was faster, bike 1 second faster, and run a little slower, but that was because of that cramp. Had a raging headache the night before and had to take ibuprofen in the morning so was having some sort of dehydration/electrolyte balance issue. Erik you shouldn't have your birthday around this race every year. Also, I want Sue Huse's contant info. She seems pretty cool and says she comes to Bozeman a lot. Maybe a new playing buddy? Do you think I can do the Grizzly in 1:10? That is my goal for next year.

In general. All those pacing workouts were really good for me. Gave me a good feeling for what I wanted/could do. Maybe the run was a little ambitous but I'm okay with overambitous.

Wed. Went and did the strides. Wow 15. That seemed like a lot but they ticked off quick. That seemed like a hard, but short run.
Went to Master's- not a lot of people there. Got in the 3000 but wish there was more energy at these swims. All of this was in free.

Thursday
Bike pacing workout- Good workout. Feel like I could really dial in my pacing. Meeting was good. I have a new goal of being the City's Recreation and Parks Director. I might use you for a reference of some sort if you don't mind.

Friday
Amy and I planned on going to BeerFest. Went after work and busted out the swim. Was running late and pressed for time so skipped the run. Opps. Felt bad about doing this. Beer- Maybe drank too much of this these couple of weeks.

Saturday
Group ride/alone ride with Art and Ryan (Art takes off and races me and Ryan doesn't talk). Busted out the intervals. Felt pretty worked after all of them. Was a pretty tough workout. Had the wind in our faces the whole time. Felt pretty worked when I got back. Erik made a funny comment about these group rides. Something like how many triathletes does it take to go on a group ride?

Sunday
Master's swim. The group wasn't super motivated and we didn't get in all of the workout. Probably only about 2600-2800.
Watched the snow flurries for a while at work and then motivated to get out and do the run. Targeted a 7:00 minute mile pace. It was doable. Hoping to keep that up at the Grizzly. Felt really good and pretty excited about being able to hold that pace. Had a hard time or felt overwhelmed with a 7:30 pace last year. (Wrote this last Friday before the race, didn't quite happen) I really like this workout though. Pushed myself hard and felt very gratified.

Monday
Had GAS girls dinner so left work a little early and rode the TT bike. Good ride. Nice and easy.

Tuesday
Rode out with Erik and Amy to the Tuesday night race. Rode the TT bike and finished off the loop by myself when they raced. Rode more like 1:30 total, but tried to keep it easy.

Wednesday
Went over at lunch and did the swim. The 100's were right on. Feeling good. Stayed a little late at work and worked on some other stuff (job application).

Thursday
Did the run mid morning. Went over to Pete's hill. Feeling strong.
Rode with Angie after work. Found a good place to go and do the intervals. Brought out the TT bike with the new wheels and tires. Felt fast. I like feeling fast!
Had Eriks birthday at Colombo's. He got his new bike. Some of the anticipation is gone. Now still feeling it for the race on Sat.

Friday
Went and got the swim knocked out. Was a few seconds faster for each interval than the goal time. Feeling good. Did the run right after. Also feeling good. Getting excited for tomorrows race.

4-2-12 thru 4-9-12

For the last couple of weeks have been feelilng tired up to Thursday. This week I got this eye twitch. I think I did too much. Too much other stuff.

Tuesday

Run. Legs felt tired and heavy. Got into the intervals though. Felt good with them. Was pretty tired all day.

Wednesday

3000 swim. Good. Was right on pace for the intervals.

Thursday

Long work day. Shouldn't have been. I lost an hour in there somewhere. Got home and did the trainer ride. Ooops. Didn't read your updated workout and did 2X15 at 1/2 IM pace. Rode most of that ride pretty hard though. Did n't just easily spin for the other hour.

Ran after. Was feeling pretty bonky on the way home. Should have eaten more.

Friday

Left work early to get the swim and run in. Went to the pool. Umm. Didn't read the swim workout until right beforeWhat's up with the band around the ankles? Couldn't find a band on short notice. Just pulled my legs and tried not to kick. Michael (the president of Masters) showed up. I started the 1500 and felt really good. Like I was finally recovered. Did ~300 and he stopped me to say that my form looked awful. Uggh. Not sure how I felt about it all. On one hand I appreciate the tips, but I really wanted to do that 1500 continuous. Anyway, did a broken 1500 and improved my form.

It was snowing and blowing. Ran on the treadmill for 25 minutes.

Bought my boss's kid a Strider so took it over to his houses.

Saturday

Rocky Mountain Roubaix. Race started out good. Megan and I probably shouldn't have pulled all the way through to the first hill, but at some point it was too late to go back. I don't like being in the back when there is an attack. I held on pretty easy to Lisa's first attack and then Megan, Amy, and I kept attacking to get Lindsy tired. It was fun. It was fun to be part of a large womens field. Then I flatted. Got my wheel changed. Caught up with a group of 4's and then saw Lindsy got a flat. She caught us. I tried to keep with her, but she dropped me and kept working through the field. Dammit alone on this race again. I rode as hard as I could on that pavement to get back. Figured I might as well make a good workout of it. Before the race we decided GAS should get 2 podium spots and Linsdy one. That's how it worked out. Amy won, Lindsy (that animal) got 2nd, and Lisa 3rd. Hard riding, just wish I hadn't flatted. Also, need to keep perspective. A couple of years ago I was a cat 4 finishing last. Now I can hold my own with the cat 3s.

Sunday

Had every intention on Saturday night and early Sunday morning to run after people came over from brunch. Got up to watch the finish of the Paris-Roubaix and drank some coffee. Started to feel soo tired. Took another nap before people came over and went back to bed when people left. Didn't do run. Barely got out of my pajamas and didn't leave the house. My cat loves me though. Won't stop cuddling.

Monday

Still really tired. Think I'm going to call in sick and stay home today or at least this morning.

Monday

Goals for the week.

Need another week of nothing in the evenings. When it rains it pours. Last week was crazy. Now I'm exhausted

Need to not blow myself up on the bike at the Grizzly.

Need to stop being hard on myself about racing. Last weekend at the Speedwagon I had some problems. Again this weekend. I need to think more positively.

March 28-April 2nd 2012

Tuesday

Got up at 530 and headed to the gym for a swim. Got the swim in, got to work, and had a big day at work.

Did the run postwork. Ran out at Story Hill (thats the big hill we rode). There is usually a couple of good trails. The cows have taken over though and couldn't find the trail at times. Finally after stepping ankle deep into some soft mud found the road and went back down. Felt like the run was maybe not super focused, but I kept trying to keep moving. Still had some time so ran over by the dump and finished off running a bit faster.

I felt really good for a hilly run last week. Kept the pace up etc. This week not feeling as good. My legs were tired. Like dusk runs though. Get to see deer etc.

Wednesday

Went home a little early and got the hour ride in. Rode the trainer. Am having a hard time getting outside in bad weather. Did the 20 minutes effort. Sweated a lot. Did n't have the cross bike ready to ride yet.

Master's swim

Got in 3k.Barely though. Was dragging though the whole swim. There were only 4 of us there though. Not super motivating.

Thursday

Got home and waited for my mechanic to get the cross bike ready and then went with him on the ride. I hope this was supposed to be easy because it wasn't very directed. Erik got a flat so waited for that etc.

Went on a run after getting home. Run felt good. It got late. I was still running when other people were going to bed. I couldn't decide how I felt about that. The sky was beautiful that night though. Bright moon and those two planets have been fun to watch.

Friday

Went and did the swim at lunch. Nothing fancy. Busted it out.

Sat.

Race

Got the bike out. Hadn't ridden it much so was shifting it pretty hard just to make sure everything was okay. Ughh. Wouldn't shift down when in the big ring. Lubed up the shifter and Erik gave me a tutorial on flicking it. Still wasn't really working. Got shot off the back of the pack during a couple of big surges very early in the race. Not super happy with the bike.

Lindsy had gotten a little ahead of me but Erik and Matthew (he was being an awesome teammate. worked me back up to her. The race was hard at this point. I don't think I could have kept going at that pace for the whole time. Maybe though, it is annoying to not know. Anyway, that's were my seat post bolt failed and my seat kind of collapsed on me. Anyway, you know the rest.

Sun.

Tired this am.

Got my butt to the pool. Did the workout. I must have been slow though. I timed the fast 100. Same speed at 1000. That isn't really what I would call "FAST"

Did the run. Wasn't sure if I would fill the hilly criteria, but think it was pretty good. Ran on the farm roads from Kalispell back to Erik's brothers house. Found some good dirt. Actually reminded me of riding the day before.

Monday

What is today.?

I was sort of leaning against the Roubaix, but now want to go. Want to have a good race. Saturday left a bad image in my brain. I think I am going to try for a drive over and back on one day. Also, Sunday is Easter and demanding on family time. I guess we are already going to brunch at Erik's Moms. She gets all hurt if you want to leave to exercise.

Wednesday from 6:30-8:30pm is a public comment period on the possible new pool. I have some thoughts brewing about that and other things and want to go.

Tuesday my sister's new fiance's Dad is in town. She wants us to meet him. I think this doesn't have to be dinner though. It can be later. I hope. This week is busy.

Can we talk about May. My trip to Boston.

Tuesday is a big work day.

I am needy this week, aren't I?