Thursday, February 28, 2008

You are what you eat

This is something that Oprah had mentioned. I thought I would share this here as well.

I have come to understand that you cannot consume junk and expect not to have an unjunked life. This is true not only with food but with everything. You are what you eat, just like you are what you do and what you truely believe. Your beliefs can propel you forward or hold you back.

Over the past few years, I have tried to get my body into shape. I have recently come to realize that this process was not only about trying to look better, but learning to treat myself well. Eating well, staying fit and healthy is very symbolic of how you treat yourself. And when you treat yourself well, it shows and the glow radiates to every aspect of your life. Thus in some way, your attitude is linked to what you ingest.

This does not mean that I won't allow myself to eat what I love most - like a bowl of vanilla ice cream. Food that makes you feel good (what I call soul food) can give you a lot more than a lot of low calorie healthy food. All those carrot sticks won't give you the satisfaction if all you crave is ice cream. The next day after, I might go for an extra 30 minute run, but I know the ice cream was well worth it. In the end, it's all about balance.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Seattle Danskin

The largest triathlon in the World – and it is all women...here in Seattle!

Oh my God, registration for this triathlon filled up in hours! When I had reached my office after swim class this morning, the online registration had just closed and I had to rush to the post office to mail in my application as they still accepted entry forms post marked before or on today. Unfortunately there was no Seattle entry forms to download online - because registration had closed, thus I had to search on the web for it. I ended up finding a PDF version for Orlando, and had to "modify" it for Seattle. This is when being computer geek on paper really comes in handy. All the entry forms are the same except it has the city on the top, so you just have to change that - which wasn't too hard.

Race Distance: Open Water Swim - 604M, Bike - 12 miles, Run - 3.1 miles

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Whoa! That's a lot of laps

I signed up for the triathlon swim class last night. Good thing, because when I got into work, coach Josh had some swim suggestions waiting in my inbox. 28 laps (1 lap is one length and back) for the first workout - I think that is a good portion of a mile. I've never done that many laps in one workout ever. They did say that we can modify it to our ability. I think I will half workout #1.

Swim Workout #1

Warm up: 200S, 50K, 50S
Main Set: 300 S moderate tempo RI = 30 seconds
100 S fast RI = 30 seconds
200 S moderate tempo RI = 30 seconds
100 S fast RI = 30 seconds
100 S moderate tempo RI = 30 seconds
100 S fast RI = 30 seconds
Cool down: 200 S easy

Swim Workout #2

Warm up: 100S, 50K, 100P, 100S
Main Set: 8 x 50 fast RI = 20 seconds
Cool Down: 200 S easy

Swim Workout # 3

Warm up: 200S, 50K, 100P
Main Set: 5 x 100 on 10 sec rest. Maintain a steady pace on each 100.
Cool down: 100 S, 100 P, 100 K

Swim Workout #4

Warm up: 300S
Main set: 3 x 100 at moderate effort
2 x 200 at mildly difficult effort
1 x 300 at hard effort
Cool down: 200S

Sunday, February 17, 2008

It's murder on the track

Yesturday's track workout just whoop my butt. I am really, really sore today. No pain, no gain right? So far, I have taken 600 mg of ibuprophen and 1 extra strength tylenol. I've also had to whip out the Bengay as well. I wonder if other people are sore too? This is a little out of the ordinary because I run 10-12 miles/week on the treadmill so it's not like I am brand new to this. You would think that it works the same muscle groups right? I can't believe how much harder it is to run on solid ground.

My quads feel like they are bruised and my upper arms are hurting too. Unfortunately, I had to pass on swimming and cycling today because I was just too sore.

Work has been crazy so it's been a while since I have written here. Last week, I picked up my cycling shoes and tried them out in class. I'm not sure how I feel about the LOOK cleats. I think I prefer to be locked in a little more.

Last week, I did get into the pool and was able to last longer and swim faster than before. Progess, that is what I like to see! I am planning on taking the triathlon swim class to get some pointers - thank God there is a 9:30am class! The other option is a really early swim class - but I like sleeping in :)

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Always hungry

I've noticed that I have been a lot more hungry lately. Usually I don't finish a complete meal, but this has not been a problem more recently. This started to raise some concerns because I realize that if you don't watch what you put into your mouth, bad things happen to your figure. So I have been carefully monitoring the amount of carbs I have been consuming, opting to eat more protein and veggies instead. The less of me there is, the less I have to bike up a hill or drag through the water with. So far, these 100 calorie granola bars have been pretty successful at giving me some energy before my workouts.

I have been trying to keep my daily food consumption to about 1500-1700 calories a day. I hardly ever weigh myself (maybe once a month), but I might need to start watching that number a bit more carefully.

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Heart rate

Today I got an opportunity to try out the underwater treadmill. Basically, it is like a regular treadmill, but it is underwater - duh? There are cameras so that you can see your form and jets that push you for resistance. We all got a 15 minute demo, but the guy before me didn't show so I took his spot as well. In the end I got a 30 minute workout. After all that, I did 10 laps in the pool (still needed to rest in between laps). Is it just me or is it easier to swim in deeper water?

Anyways, so I was watching Dr. Oz talk about heart rate on Oprah tonight. Which got me thinking about my target heart rate. Here are my numbers:

Resting heart rate: 66 beats/min - count how many in 10 seconds then I multiply by 6 (while sitting down watching TV)
Target heart rate: 129-172 beats/min

Goals and Training plan

We've been asked to take time to think about goals and a training plan. I can't help but smirk a little, because for the past week, my biggest goal was not to drown in Lake Sammammish. I had even thought about how I could hide floatation devices on my body during the swim. Given how tight the wetsuit is, I think only implants would work.

Goals for 2008 in order
----------------------------
1) Swim half a mile non stop
2) Become a decent road biker (learn how to bike at a good pace and distance, be able to change my own flats and use clipless pedals)
3) Run 10k without barfing
4) Do the above 3 things back to back
5) Do the Danskin triathlon
6) Do some other sprint triathlon

Weekly Training Program
-----------------------------
I workout about 5-6 times a week regularly. Usually it is some form of circuit training. About 30 minutes of weights (arms, shoulders, back) and some running afterwards. But, my endurance is still not really good. Strength wise, I think I am pretty strong.

Monday = Circuit training + Run 14 minutes (add 1 minute every week)
Tuesday = Indoor Cycling
Wednesday = Swimming
Thursday = Circuit training + Run 10 minutes (add 1 minute every week)
Friday = Rest
Saturday = Team workout
Sunday = Swimming + Cycling

Monday, February 4, 2008

Day 1: Meet and Greet

So on Saturday we had a team kick off and it was great to see that everyone was really nice. The room was full of your everyday individuals - only this group was highly motivated and had big goals. Some people didn't even know how to swim!

We were introduced to the coaches and then everyone got a chance to introduce themselves. After the meeting, one of our coaches Josh took us to workout - indoor cycling followed by some interval run. It was awesome to get an intro to indoor cycling. Man, I have not sweat like that in a while and my butt was really sore from that seat! Triathletes get free indoor cycling, so all I am waiting on is for my cycling shoes to arrive. I have found it pretty challenging to find the right gear. Almost everything is too big for me. It took me a lot of shopping around to find the right bike, then a lot of shopping around to find the right pair of shoes. I ended up purchasing 2007 tri cycling shoes by Sidi. Luckily they were on clearance and one of the few models that had my size.


So these are triathlon specific road shoes, as they are specially designed to be put on quickly as you transition from the swim to the bike portion. Also they have a lining in the shoe so that you can bike without socks and air vents to dry your feet. Lastly, they tend to be lighter then regular cycling shoes as they have fewer buckles.