mileage (pt. 1) + nature

despite last night's insomnia, i was able to do a good little run on the NCR trail. note to self: don't run at 1PM when the heat index is over 90-some degrees. the shade was a god-send. anyway, i had a little issue with cramping and breathing due to the humidity, but i did an easy 20 minutes. i have no clue how far i went, as i didn't pay attention to the markers, but whatever. my L leg is still annoying me, but it wasn't so bad that i had to stop; i just slowed down until i was comfortable. now's time for an ice bath. yee haw!

i took plenty of time after running to stretch and relax in the shade, and while i was doing so, a sizeable black and yellow butterfly fluttered by and landed on a bush right next to me. then a female cardinal flew back and forth between the trees nearby. plenty of other birds, as well as a number of insects, were chiming in, and a breeze was blowing small leaves across the tops of the high grasses. even though this was very close to Paper Mill Rd, you really wouldn't notice it because it was serene and quiet. this is one reason why i love running: the unending nurturing of appreciation for the life and beauty around you.

mileage and insomnia

this has been a poor week, mileage-wise. i'd overdone it with that wicked biking/running on sunday, so consequently i took monday and tuesday off to rest my very sore legs. then, wednesday, i got hit with a fever, which didn't break until thursday night. thus, i didn't get to train again until today. initially, it was a bit aggravating, but, thanks to brendan [h], i stopped worrying and just relaxed. sure enough, today's was a great workout. i just did 20 laps (1000m-0.6 miles) in the pool without stopping. sure, i won't have walls for push-off in the river (duh), but i'm still glad that i could manage it. i'm also very pleased because i figured out one reason why i'd been having trouble with freestyle; my breathing rhythm was off. it was much better once i fixed it, and even though it's still not very strong, it could still help me come race morning.

which, by the way, is only FIFTEEN DAYS AWAY. yikes. but yikes in a very good way. and funny thing--not only has laurie offered her good bike for me to borrow, but the shop was in fact able to fix my bike. from a dearth to a plethora. weird how that works.

and i can't sleep. it's weird. i haven't slept soundly this entire week, and tonight is the worst. i went to bed pretty tired at 10-ish and woke up at 12:30AM. i've been awake ever since. it's not all bad. haven't had warm milk to drink in awhile, and that's pretty yum. okay, that's weird, but whatever. i also have had time to relax and think about a few things like priorities and goals. i'm also creating something new: a life list of races/places to run. so far, i have the valley of fire [half] marathon*, the empire state building run-up, the army 10, the celtic solstice (here in dru hill park), the village of mata-solana (spain), and, by far the coolest on the list yet, THE GREAT WALL MARATHON. yes, that great wall. like i said, this is a life list, and it's bound to grow and shrink as the years go by. but i'm determined to enjoy life as much as possible, and adventure running is one of the best ways to do that!

*i'm bagging valley of fire for this year due to $$$ and the fact that i'll never be given the extra day off that i need. suck.

oh, and brendan [c] wants me to add the Death Valley marathon. that boy is insane. but if he dares me, i'll probably do it. i'm dumb that way.

:)

excessive mileage, for which brendan [H] must be punished

i love the hanraman. but my ass has officially put a hit out on him. see, brendan has been the most wonderful and helpful unofficial coach that i could have ever asked for, and he has provided me with hints, tips and workouts that will really help me go the distance.

that said, my legs now want to destroy him. here's the workout:

5 miles bike, 1 mile run.
do three times.

seriously, it's harder than it sounds. it took me ~2 hours to do the whole damn thing. and i just got out of a 20 minute ice bath and am parked on this recliner because i'm too tired and/or sore to move.

brendan had better hope i survive this stupid triathlon...

;)

a bike, a bike! my kingdom for a bike! oh, and some mileage too...

still no word on the bike front. still have some time though.

today i did my first swim/bike/run workout. i only did half the distances, just so that i wouldn't kill myself, but it turned out fine. my goal is to make sure that my body can be active for 3 straight hours because i'm estimating that that's the least amount of time i'll need to finish. today, i spent 1 hr, 15 min working out, broken down this way:

a) swim: 20 min (675m--race will be 1000m)
b) bike: 35 min (5-ish miles--race will be 14.5)
c) run: 20 min (1.7 miles--race will be 2.8)

today was the first day that the gym's pool was open, and i'm thrilled. two surprises: water was very chlorine-y, so it was pretty murky, and they hadn't set the temperature yet, so it was 70 degrees, if that. diving in was fairly odd; it certainly didn't feel like a real pool, and i had no concept of where the bottom was (10' deep, so i wasn't in danger of hitting my head or anything). i'd forgotten my goggles, so my eyes were closed (*contacts*), and it just felt... weird, a little disorienting even. but, all of that is actually good because the susquehanna river is not a hot spring. i'll be happy to not have to swim through an oil slick. but anyway. i alternated strokes, which was really helpful, and overall, i'm very pleased with the swim.

i expected to be tired on the bike but not as much as i was. more surprising, i didn't really recover much, even though i was taking it easy. it was the longest 35 minutes ever. bleh.

the run was far better, and i was taken aback when my second wind came then. i figured that, by then, my body would have had enough and would want to just stop. maybe it's because i was the most conservative there; i wanted to try to do the whole 20 minutes, instead of trying to be fast and crapping out at 10. also, maybe i was able to do it because i did give myself an out. i told myself that, if i start to feel shitty and/or achy and/or in pain, i will stop. i don't want to hurt myself trying to be a hero a month before the race. there's no need. knowing that i could step back if i needed to helped me slowly put one foot in front of the other.

all in all, it was probably one of the hardest workouts i've ever done because i haven't done anything like it. it hasn't made me feel the most awful, but the combination of disciplines and the constant (well, relatively) movement was quite challenging. that said, now that i've finished this one, i know that i can do another one. i am so excited for this triathlon!



now all i need is a bike...

yesterday's mileage

swam yesterday, and i'm very pleased because i went for the whole 35 minutes, whether or not it was the actual workout lengths. ended up doing 24 lengths of free + breaststroke, 16 lengths of sidestroke for warm-up & cool-down, and 20 lengths of random, just to keep moving. i also did 5 minutes of treading water, just to make sure i could in case i had issues and would need to rest during the tri. woo! i'm very pleased with the workout, although my R ear started to ache. i have to be really careful because i do NOT want an infection. i'm also a little concerned because i've been going for long periods without eating lately. i know i'm burning a bunch of calories, but i haven't felt hungry at all. i checked online, and apparently i should be consuming 2600 cals a day. i know that's not happening at all. that can't be good. don't know why this is happening...

i am tired and feeling like junk today. thank goodness that today's a rest day. that's a relief.

mileage + technical difficulties and new wounds

:D

first, yesterday's work. swim: 32 lengths, alternating freestyle & breaststroke. form and breathing has vastly improved, and i am much more confident. as a result, i'm that much more excited.

now today. i'm typing this without using my R middle finger... because i punctured it. but i'll get to that in a sec. bike: 85 min, B&A/BWI trails, from marley station mall to the airport and back.

THAT RIDE WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!! reasons why:
1) longest ride i've ever done
2) most scenic, in terms of buildings, people, AIRPLANES
3) airplanes were landing and taking off over me. coooooooooooooool! (you can tell i'm a pilot's daughter because i think that's cooooooooooooooooool)
4) spoke with other cyclists along the way; neat comradery (sp?).
5) i am more proficient at trouble-shooting than i thought.

#5--i was riding along dorsey road and went to change gears when i heard a loud snap. the one lever had lost its control, but it didn't cause any immediate danger. i just couldn't use all ten speeds. once i'd reached my turn-around time at 42:30, i dismounted and checked it. as it turns out, the one gear cable had snapped. it is an older bike, so the cable was rusted in two places, and i think that it'd just reached its breaking point. FYI, don't go to In-Gear cycling in annville, pa; we paid those guys to clean up the bike, replace old, worn-out parts. seems they didn't. anyway, i was able to get back to the car, figure out the problem, and poke around. that's when my hand slipped, and my finger met something sharp on the bike. it's a relatively deep puncture, but it's been cleaned and bandaged, so i'm not too worried. i just have to clean it every morning, as these types of wounds are more prone to infection than lacerations. my goal is to not have a gangrenous finger.

I LOVED THIS RIDE!!!!!!!!!!

yikes, mileage

a stabbing in my neighborhood: yikes. anybody know positive ways to handle this sort of thing? i'm going to keep doing what i'm doing, with more care and an extra glance over my shoulder, etc., but any extra advice would help.

so that makes this feel a little superficial, but i don't want to be all paranoid and all that. anyway, i bagged the trail race i thought i'd want to do because my right leg woke me up in the middle of the night. instead, i went up to NCR and just did 35 minutes, easy. surprisingly, my legs felt very fresh. the weird part was that i felt as though i was carrying a 2x8 across my shoulders. seriously. after all that swimming, my shoulders feel so wide, and it definitely affected my arm carriage. but, it didn't take terribly long to get used to it, and i'll just be stretching a lot and get somebody to massage my back every so often. all said, i'm very excited for the triathlon. awesome.

pet peeve, mileage

okay, i know there are little racing machine enthusiasts all around. however, said machines are noisy and intrusive for those of us trying to relax in the comfort of our own home. instead of zipping them up and down the parking lot, disturbing a large number of residents, how about taking the little machine across the street to one of the extra target parking lots? how about at shoppers next door? what about the elementary school or park within a mile's drive? hmm? hmmmm? i wouldn't be terribly upset if the little machine was run over...

so i'm a little behind in my reporting, so we'll see if i can remember the past few days' workouts.

Thursday: short, 15 min. swim (felt good)
Friday: 70 min bike (@ gym b/c of the bad heat)
Today:
a) 25 min. swim (25 lengths, plus extra lengths for wm up & cl down)
b) 45 min. bike (@ gym again b/c of bad heat and humidity)

i'm feeling a lot more comfortable with my two strokes and my breathing. yeehaw! only thing is that i did the swim and bike so on top of each other, and having not done that before, i was not prepared for the exhaustion carrying over... however, i survived and survived well. i'm also learning how my body feels after swimming. not sure how to explain it. my shoulders are also... not bulking up, but the shoulder portions in my shirts are tighter. :( i can't afford new clothes! but, the shoulder thing is supposed to be a good sign, right?

right?

bumps, heat, success, and mileage

so i am the legend of the fall. falls. many falls. toby and i went for a hike with cj, courtney, four of their friends, and three other dogs, and we were out for about an hour and a half. wouldn't you know though, that i can't go a whole year without him injuring me. such was the case on sunday when he pulled me down a hill, and i scraped up my left forearm. awesome, toby. awesome.

monday, i attempted to make up for sunday's missed swim+bike workout by going for a run+bike combination. i had a good, short 20 minute run, but unfortunately, i was poorly hydrated and had eaten too close to workout time. consequently, i nearly passed out once i returned to the start. that was a tiny bit upsetting, but i worked hard, i tried, and that's that. at least i was able to do something.

yesterday's workout was much better, by far. a 30 minute swim was slated, and i did a ladder of lengths (not laps). i surprised myself because i was working so hard, but i completed it without numerous breaks. i took maybe two 1 minute breaks, a few 15 or 30 second breaks, and then the other recovery time was spent with the backstroke (or what passes for it, considering my experience). i did approximately 40 lengths (!) of the apt. pool, and that probably only translates to about 20 or 25 of a real pool. but, i still did it. yeehaw!!!!

today was the american visionary art museum's pet parade. i only heard about it because i'd accidentally left my radio alarm on, and npr did a short little blurb about it. so toby and i went to federal hill, and we had a blast. it'd take too long to describe it, so i'll just include a few pictures.

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!

:)

mileage, bike

got on my bike today. the real bike. did the B&A trail, and i was really pleased. i haven't been on that particular bike in a while, so i had to adjust, play with the gears a little bit, etc., but overall, it was fine. it was particularly exciting to realize how good i felt, even after completing 9 1/2 miles. i'm successfully relaxing by just logging the time. no pressure! yes!

the only issue i had was my fear of falling. i don't remember having this fear as a child, but, since then, it's become quite amplified, and i'm terrified of my body going fast. perhaps it's that i have no sense of where my body is in space and thus lose control of it very quickly... anyway, this fear always emerges when my body is going fast and going downhill. not good for being on a bike. but, i did it! i was able to go the whole time without falling downhill! instead, i fell going uphill.

seriously. i did. this kid in front of me was having trouble going up, and he lost his balance and consequently fell to his left. i had to quickly adjust and swerved to miss him, but then i lost my balance and bit it, right into the fence on the left. he felt so guilty, even when i reassured him that i was fine. i really should have indicated that i was as close as i was, so it's probably partially my own dumb fault. anyway, that was my fall for the day, with the scars to prove it. but, i was out, had a good ride (60 min.), and enjoyed an absolutely beautiful day while doing it.

:)

mileage, calendar

yesterday i worked on a training calendar that should take me all the way to the valley of fire half. i used a variety of sources, and it still needs to be more specific, but at least i got off to a good start by doing the 35 minutes slated. i ran with brian and duke and focused on a) safety in the heat, b) good form for efficient energy expenditure, and c) use of topography to my advantage (that just means running hills well). my core work paid off even more than i ever thought it would because my posture was excellent, which, in turn, kept my chest open for better breathing, even when i was tired. the fact that i even noticed the strength in those muscles is a good sign--people often underestimate the impact of abs on fitness; they just want the 6-pack. but anyway. brian and i and the dog did the loop by his house, and i extended it by 5 minutes by charging up the hill on bond st. ugh. even though it's a bitch of a hill, i was able to stay focused and speed back down, finishing strong just beyond brian's house. i'm really excited at how focused and disciplined i was, especially since yesterday was not good and that i was nervous about running in heat. yee-haw!

mileage + random

so i have this book now. it's a good one. i can't find it or remember the title. but it's good and helpful. it's given me a perspective on training for the triathlon, and now i can stop pestering brendan ad nauseum. that's a relief; i hate being a pest. it also gives me a better idea of how i want to space my training so that i'm not worried as to how much or how little i should do. that said, here was my day:

swimming in the pool--
since it was relatively empty, i was able to do longer lengths that are closer to 25 meters. i did 5 laps breaststroke and 5 laps freestyle. initially, i was really worried because about 3 laps into the total 10, my chest started to close up. i had to stop in the middle and walk over to the side. i was upset that that'd happened, but then i just stopped, rested, and started again. i then focused on form and breathing. i guess i tend to do harder workouts than slower ones, which i should do instead so that i can focus on form and breathing. once i did that, i was fine and relaxed and able to finish.

gym--
i was on the elliptical for 2x15 minutes, going backward first, forward second. if i do elliptical, i always do backward for my hamstrings; it helps. after those 30 minutes, i did 15 minutes stretching and then worked on my hip flexors and abductors. did some sumo squats and some intense core work and came home to crash like a ton of bricks.

overall, i'm really pleased with how today went, and i'm tired but not sore. i'll be able to spend more time planning out the rest of the SEVEN WEEKS BEFORE THE TRIATHLON! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

:)

adventures in the mundane.

1) last week, i left the headlights on. cue 'groan' as i discover my gaff upon leaving work. luckily, i get a jump and am able to make it home. later, the car starts sufficiently despite its protests, so i deem it safe to drive to PA. i drive during the day so as to not use the headlights, and i go with the radio off and the windows down to save the extra juice, just in case. fast forward to today when the car coughs and sputters and only starts once i begin to pray because i can't have a broken car. i made it to work and then went to the shop immediately afterward in order to get it fixed. it was much cheaper than i thought it'd be, considering that the shop is part of the dealership, and they also did a great job. the car is good.

2) on friday, i logged a few miles running up in lebanon. it made me miss running in the country. lebanon is far from being the 'burbs, and it's so quiet and peaceful. i think i must have done 3 miles without even thinking about it. took the obligatory dip in my parents' pool afterward. it was a great run.

3) saturday was the hixson family reunion. it's kind of unfortunate because, for all that my cousins and i gripe about it, it is something really special that not every family has, and this year, attendance was at an all-time low. to get an idea of what i'm talking about--my grandfather has six living sisters, each of whom is married and has at least two children, and those children are also married and have at least two children. taken at the bare minimum then (i cannot for the life of me remember who's who and stuff), that's ... 60 people? throw in my grandfather's contigent, and that's about 90 people. attendance on saturday? 28. sure, my dad and i were still the hecklers in the back row during the "family entertainment hour," but i just wish more could have shown, which would have delighted my grandfather. the man is 84, after all.

4) saturday night, i met up with corey shepler for dinner at a tavern in kleinfeltersville (little itty, bitty town east of lebanon). i haven't really talked to corey in ~10 years, and while driving to the tavern, i was a little nervous... would we have anything to talk about? would we even get along? how different are we now? as it turns out, neither of us would shut up for the whole time, we laughed for hours on end, and while we've definitely grown, our friendship seems to have picked up exactly where it left off in 1997. and apparently, i should still be called "catherine the great." corey still won't tell me what that means.

5) on sunday, i was exhausted. i'd been trying to sleep on an uncomfortably firm mattress and having nightmares, so i basically crashed on the couch as soon as i got back from the early service at st. andrews. since there was no time for workouts on saturday though, i did jump in the pool with half an intention to get laps and drills in. the breathing drills went surprisingly well, and even just the small bit that i did helped me to get a better feel for form. THANK YOU, BRENDAN! however, after only a few laps of freestyle, i wanted to fall asleep. not good while swimming. my dad was out with me, and he said to just bag it; he knows that when i get frustrated, i push too hard and then ruin my workouts and my entire day. he was right. i made myself just let it go. and then i slept on the couch again.

6) today was fine. car issues aside, i was happy because i got to work with some good kids, and i appreciated their politeness and independence. i was still tired, so i took a nap, and then i headed to brian's place to use his treadmill. i didn't go to the gym or run outside for an important reason--i wanted to run in my tri outfit, to see if it would chafe, ride up, etc. that's not something i really want to do in public. running in public in a bra and shorts is one thing. running in public in a bikini is quite another. but i digress. i did 2 miles and might have gone further if i had not been insanely bored. even with my iPod and gilmore girls playing on the tv, i just couldn't run another step. it's something about brian's basement... anyway, the outfit worked out surprisingly well and was supportive and comfortable. now all i have to do is decide which i like better--the bra top or the tank top...

i'm tired again. hopefully i'll be able to sleep without having any nightmares.

apparently, i must not have enough drama in my life

...if i have to be upset about my swimming. stupid thing is, yesterday, one of my friends sent me some advice, i looked at a website he recommended, and the rest of the day was great. i carefully read everything and tried to implement one or two points when i headed out to the pool in the afternoon. turns out, i'm not as terrible as i thought, form-wise. of course, i still have a lot to work on, but at least i know i'll be able to breathe. according to brendan h. (and he seems to be my most involved advisor, so i think i'll stick with his tips), i just need to focus on time in the water and doing a few form drills regularly. i think i can handle that.

of course, buoyed by my success,* i devoured the july issue of runners' world after getting out of the water. that's not so smart after a workout. i was so excited and psyched after the swim that i decided it was entirely necessary to throw in a run before the day's end. so i didn't do just a long, slow run. i felt compelled to do a tempo run. my R leg still gives me issues, but nothing was so bad that i couldn't run through it. i skipped doing any core work afterward because i was desparate to get home and ice down. and this is where i took some more rw advice... i sat in an ICE BATH for twenty minutes--legs completely covered by extremely cold water and a good amount of ice cubes. i have to admit though... as tough as the run was, my legs feel relatively good today, which is usually not the case otherwise... i HATE when they're right about stuff like that!

workout totals:

swim--10 laps** each, breaststroke and freestyle
alternated types: e.g., 2 laps BR, 2 laps FR, etc.
took small breaks between each type
goal next time is to do 4 laps without stopping

run--forced to use treadmill (long story)
5 min walk warm-up
5 min 5.5mph warm-up
5x3 min up tempo (90% race pace)
1 min break between each (6mph)
5 min 5.5mph cool-down
5 min walk cool-down

i'm going to insert one change-up run per week, either fartlek, interval, tempo, or hill, just to build some of those fast-twitch that keep me going in the last few meters of the race. woo!

*and yes, the pun is completely intentional. welcome to my world of bad jokes.
**still not sure of the meter-age of my pool at the apartment. i forgot to see how long i was in the water, which, for now is what i want to pin-point.

nerves

i'm freaked. my strokes suck. they're terrible. you'd think i didn't know how to swim at all. well, it's probably not that bad, but my lack of proper form worries me. when it comes to the tri, i have no issues with the bike or run. the swim is a whole different can of worms. since it's the first part, it'll be doubly hard and completely kick my ass before i even get to the comfortable parts. now, my goal is just to finish. i'm not trying to qualify for the Gatorade ironman or anything. but i do want to survive the swim and come out of the water alive and with enough energy to slog my way through the rest of the race.

part of the problem is that i have so many resources. that is a problem because i don't know who the best person to listen to is, what the best website is, what training calendar fits me best, and so on and so forth. i get such a variety of information that i'm overwhelmed and don't know which options to choose. so, consequently, i'm picking from here and there and making it up as i go. i'm keeping a journal of my workouts and everything, and i'm trying to plan ahead of time which days are best for swim/bike/run. i'm also attempting to organize the specific workout for the day (e.g., how many laps or minutes to swim, how many miles to bike/run). like i said, the bike and run=cake walk. no big deal. i also know that i'm in good shape for sports since i've lost weight, built my endurance base, significantly lowered my body fat%, and increased my fitness level substantially. but, not knowing what i'm doing otherwise freaks me out.

while i just said that i have too many sources of information about swimming, i would really appreciate any advice you'd have on mental relaxation/preparedness/toughness.

***HELP!!!***

mileage update, etc.

so i've still been plagued by injuries, so i put in some time in the pool while i was at my parents' place this past week. i did my laps a la galloway, which is really helpful, considering that's my weakest point. that also saved on any wear & tear, thank goodness. today, again, i wanted to spare my body, so i lifted at the gym and did elliptical (reverse, for hamstrings). immediately after getting back to my place, i hopped in the pool for a cool-down swim, for two reasons: 1) relaxes the muscles and speeds recovery afterward and 2) gets me in the water again. i don't know of any specific distances today, but i got the time in, which almost seems to be the main idea anyway.

other update. a few assholes notwithstanding, my faith in humanity is somewhat restored. HALLELUJAH! and i was beginning to worry that common courtesy had become extinct. and, so beautifully, at the very moment when i think it's dead and gone, very pleasant surprises pop up out of nowhere and simply make my day. so thank you to those who still practice daily kindnesses and don't make jerks of themselves. you're beautiful.

oh, and here's the most random but new favorite sign:

i have GOT to stop pulling muscles

so i finally made it into a pool today. and it was bad. now i'm really nervous about the tri because my form is shitty, and i have roughly two months before the Catfish. what happens is that i can do the arms okay, but i have never felt comfortable with the breathing. then i get nervous while swimming, and my form gets worse, and so on and so forth. part of it, i know, is that i try to go too fast, and i should slow down and concentrate on the simple mechanics. but, the obvious problem is that i can't see wtf i'm doing. i've consulted my triathlete friends, and i've heard two schools of thought: a) it's absolutely essential to log lots of pool time or else i'll fall apart, and b) just doggie-paddle if i have to and concentrate on one piece at a time so that i can finish. i'm more encouraged by the latter, but the former is freaking me out when i'm in the pool. HELP!

although, i do look killer in my speedo. ;)

the other piece of today's pool time is that, because i was trying harder than i should have, my triceps are bugging me. of course, it's a common thing when starting something new. but my entire right side has been aching for the past few days, so that makes me uneasy. i can still run, bike and swim fine, but afterward, i'm so freaking uncomfortable. sometimes, the aches wake me up. that can't be good. it's tough because i have no reference point on what the hell i'm doing. i have no training partners/coaches/etc. in close proximity; it's all advice from friends via email or from credible websites. if anyone can offer suggestions on how to ameliorate these problems, i would be super-appreciative.

so, i have no idea how far or how long i swam, although it was just a beginner's day and really not all that much. i tried though. *sigh* this triathlon is going to be really hard.

:(

mileage and such

i've been taking it easy this week because it seems as though my right leg is having a good time messing with me. sometimes, the lateral muscles in my knee flare up. or, the tendons above and/or below the knee cap kick in. occasionally, it's the hamstrings. at times, my quadriceps join in the fun. WTF!!!

obviously, it's entirely frustrating, and i'm hoping to get into a pool anywhere just to do some non-weight-bearing work. i'm also being really diligent about RICE, wrapping, and taking ibuprofen for once. i'm usually quite negligent about that sort of thing because i hate taking medicine and being relatively inactive. anyway, i'm taking my time and going slow and steady.

so the actual mileage:
6/5--stat. bike @ the gym, 9 miles (equals 3 miles running) for 30 min., stretched
6/7--run 3 miles for 30 min. w/ Brian, Duke & Toby; took a few breaks for the dogs' having to do their business

core:
6/5--Adam's ladder: 10 push-ups, 9, 8, etc, Russian Twists: 1x25 no weight, 4x25 w/ 10 lbs, Crunches: 5x50, Hyperextensions 5x20
6/7--none

no swim work yet :-\

miiiiiiiiiiiileage

okay, so i biked today, ~11 miles. that's about the same as 3 2/3 miles running. yay.

shock o' the mornin to ya!

okay, so this is wild. yes, i've been working out four times a week on average, and i've tried to keep an eye on my food. but i haven't gone psycho-obsessive about a healthful lifestyle, and i certainly didn't expect this. i got "reassessed" at the gym today, and this is the deal. on december 30th, i was at 141 lbs and had 29% body fat. NOW, now now now now, i'm at... drumroll, please...

127 lbs and 16% body fat!

WOOHA!!!

i'm not trying to be a size 2 or anything, but i am really excited about all of this. i haven't seen <130 lbs since my freshman year in high school! and, i should be able to kick my metabolism into high gear with that percentage, perfect for being in shape for the triathlon. wow. i can't believe this. this is crazy.