Saturday, January 31, 2009

I'm gonna need a gallon of K-Y to ease into this . . .

. . . that was my response to Vit when he told me - like he always does - that I needed to "ease into it" when we were trying to run some hills.

I am sure y'all know what K-Y is - !!?

If not, go to your local proctologist for an exam. Or watch Deliverance and see what happens when you don't have any!

I digress . . .here are a bunch of workouts that I did. I threw in some new stuff like trying a spinning class! That was tough . . . I was shvitzing by the end of class.

I tried the class with a colleague . . .he is Fine. No, really - he is Fine!

Let's see what else . . . Oh! I did a nice bike ride in the RAIN. By choice, I must admit. Vit was not happy with me. He wanted to turn around - girlie man - but I was having fun, so we rode on. We were soaked to the bone & filthy dirty - and we hadn't even started the ride!! ha ha . . .just kidding, Lola.

Again, I digress. Here is the week (plus) of workouts:



1/19: Rest day

1/20: Took a nice hour-long ride outdoors to ride the hills around my house.

1/21: GULP . . . I did nothing - get off my ass, Pendong.

1/22: Ran 6.5 miles. O.K., ran 3.5 & walked the other 3 w/friends. BUT, we did a big ol' hill!!

1/23: Swam 2,100 yds. & lifted.

1/24: Rode 57.48 - this was the ride in the rain. It rained from Granada Hills to LAX. We did continue on to Huntington Beach. Just when the ride starts to look pretty & the ocean is off to the right, we had to be picked up. No injuries, flats, etc. It was just time to get down to Carlsbad so Vit could pick up his race packet. He & some of his family & friends were going to do the Carlsbad Half Marathon the next day; I had to take my PALS course. Bummer.

The ride around LAX is nasty & scary & just no fun. I don't recommend it.
Also, Wilmington is no pleasure cruise either. Too many potholes which equals a massive headache for me! AND, nuts & bolts in the street. I thought I was at Pep Boys. If you're gonna steal a freakin' car tire, take the damn nuts & bolts!

1/25: Ran 6.8 miles of trails near my house. I did this after my PALS course. I needed a tension release.

1/26: MONDAY!!!! My rest day . . . I love you, MONDAY.

1/27: Vit & I took a nice 5-mile brisk walk. It was very windy & we headed up a lovely long hill.

1/28: Swam 2,150 yds. & lifted.

1/29: 55 mins. of shvitzing spin class at The Ride.

1/30: Well, this was supposed to be a swim & lift day, but NOOOOO. Instead, I had to deal with some wonderfully idiotic jackasses at work. I ended up doing, basically, a 12-hour shift. It was not a horrible day, but I did, at one point, want to beat the crap outta someone. AND, I like the guy . . . but boy, was he a "male genitalia"

Again, again, I digress . . .

Finally, today, 1/31, the end of the month - Vit & I rode hills for a couple of hours. It turned out to be a nice day.

I do need to give a shout out to my Vit for his patience & friendship. He is a tolerant kinda guy.

Most days.

Seriously, THANKS VIT.

Also, to his wonderful wife, Lola, she is just as amazing! Thanks to you both.

Well that is all, folks.

I am off to do the Surf City Half Marathon tomorrow with Lola, Becky G, & G-Money.

Peace & love, TracerX

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Just another manic Monday, followed by a bunch of other stuff . . .

Mon. 1/12: As usual, Monday was my rest day.

Tues. 1/13: SICK

Wed. 1/14: SICK

At this point, I am not a happy camper! I do not like missing out on training - let alone "just laying around doing nothing." I feel so helpless & pissed off all at the same time. (Yes, it is possible!)

Back to the training . . .


Thurs. 1/15: 51 mins. with the wonderful Coach Troy doing my Spinerval session, then lifted for 1/2 hour.

Fri. 1/16: Ran 1.25 miles on the treadmill, then swam 2,050 yds.

Sat. 1/17: Got to go on a great bike ride with two of my favorite guys - Vit, of course, and my buddy G-Money! G-Money is the best! He is such a talented athlete - the guy was a golf pro. He kicks booty in a triathlon and runs ultramarathons - well, you get the picture. He is a stud. Much like Vit & Pendong & Big Daddy. AND, G Money is an all-around nice guy. Much like Vit, Pendong & Big Daddy.

So, back to the ride: we rode 47 miles in just under 4 hrs. We did some hills, Woolsey Cyn. & Mulholland & got some flats & some rollers.

All in all the day was beautiful & I had two handsome men to ride with!

Sun. 1/18: Swam 2,750 & r/w 4 miles.

Well, that's all, folks.

Peace & love, TracerX

Friday, January 16, 2009

Tonight after swimming, I was standing in the shower with water running down my body....

Sorry, no picture attached!! But it hit me that I am signed up to do an IRONMAN this year!! WTF did I do? Seriously? And, I paid for it!!!

I had a bit of an anxiety attack, which I'm sure I will have plenty more of in the future.

So back to the shower (still no picture).....I just sorta stood there thinking, "Can I do this? Can I sustain 14, 15, 16 hours of a triathlon?" YES, of course I can! I mean, "I think I can"? Right? And, I was not really sure what part was freaking me out: the swim with a couple thousand of my closest friends - who, by the way, are punching & kicking me? Or is it the 112-mile bike ride, where I get to pee on myself & my sweet Penelope? Or is it the 26.2 miles of running/walking/crawling? (Yes, you are allowed to crawl; it's in the official "Ironman rules"!! Tanks God for that.)

I think it is the run/walk/crawl-that is causing my high anxiety. OH - and the nutrition aspect of it all. * * * note here: I am definitely experimenting with different sources of nutrition. Right now I am trying Hammer Sustained Energy. I will let you know how it goes.

Well, I just decided not to dwell on it & move forward & take it one day at a time!
Wish me luck.

So, that's it for now.

P.S.: I was wearing my swimsuit in the shower, as I had just finished a 2,050-yd. swim workout!


ha ha









Peace & love, TracerX

Sunday, January 11, 2009

A week of workouts...

Well, I am going to make this short & sweet. Let us start with:

Mon. 1/5: NADA-rest day

Tues. 1/6: Rode the trainer for 47 mins., then lifted. Just a note here: I like to follow Mark Allen On-line training.

Wed. 1/7: I walked the dog for 30 mins. - pretty pathetic, I know. BUT, Vit & I were supposed to swim & he called to say he was sick...I just decided that I needed Vit with me to swim (not really, but it was a good excuse!).

Thurs. 1/8: Did a 6 mile run...aka run/walk.

Fri. 1/9: Lifted, then swam. I had a 3,500-yard swim workout planned, but when I got ready to get in the pool, I realized that I had no swim cap!!! Suit - check. Goggles - check. Cap for my long hair - NOT!!! So, I tried but there were just too many hairs flying around. I kicked, did backstroke, breaststroke etc. And, I was just getting too pissed off. I managed 800 yds.

Sat. 1/10: Coach Troy & his Spinervals to the rescue: I did "Hillacious" for 62 mins. then "Suffer Fest & Threshold Test" (sounds fun) for 58 mins. This was followed by a 31 min. run - again, please read that as "run/walk".(r/w)

Sun.1/11: Swam 3,100 yds. and ran 4 miles. r/w

Oh, and here is a picture of me & my beagle, Stella Blue. Yes, she is named after the Grateful Dead song.


















It was a good week except for my training buddy, Vit, being sick...get better soon Vit.

Time to go....peace & love, TracerX

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Sorry I have been a blog slacker...

I want to wish you a Happy New Year!!
Vit & I have been training & we did a nice hilly ride on 1/1/09. I promise to post a blog with all the details of my training. Soon..I really mean it, but for now, please accept my Happy 2009 wishes!

Peace & love, TracerX