i'm back!

I missed a few days because I was sick, but today I'm back in action. I ran....it was rough after being gone a few days. I think my biggest problem was that I caved while I was off and ate grease and drank Dr. Pepper......

Oops.

I could definitely feel it. My legs were really tight as well, and so apparently I lost some flexibility during my time off. Hopefully it won't take me long to get back into the swing of things.

Tomorrow I swim! And this week begins weeks 4-7 which are the peak training weeks...so it's really important that I push myself and don't slack off. These weeks are key (from what I've been reading) preparation for race day. Wish me luck!

effective (yet unlikely) motivation.

Anyone who watches TLC knows about the Duggar family. 18 children. None adopted. Mrs. Duggar gave birth to all 18 kids.

I was not aware of the Duggar family until this evening. Apparently, the oldest Duggar child was recently married, and they are now expecting their first child. I know this, because as I was cycling my 8 miles tonight at the REC, I was obligated to learn about the Duggars' lives thanks to the flat screen T.V. tuned to TLC. Riveting.

I was bored with the whole scene, struggling to find motivation to push harder, until I heard "Mother Duggar" telling new pregnant "Daughter-in-law Duggar" how many years of her life she spent nursing her children. Take a quick guess. You're probably wrong.

TWENTY-FIVE.

25 years, nursing 18 children is too long. It made my 30 minute bike ride seem like a piece of cake. I immediately started riding harder. I was tired afterwards, but not tired like Mrs. Duggar.

Whatever keeps you going...

tough day.

I wouldn't say that I hit a wall, but today was tough for me. It was the first day of training that I felt like I was really pushing myself...maybe I was trying harder or something.

I ran this morning and pushed through, keeping pace the whole time. It was a challenge, for sure. I had a busy day ahead of me.

Endorphins kicked in, though, so post-run I ran by the house, danced around the kitchen a little, ate some salmon spinach salad, and then headed up to the church to work. Then right after work I headed to the pool.

On my last set in the water, I felt like I was sinking. That's not really a fun feeling. But I pushed through and came home to cook some dinner with some friends, study, and watch the torrential downpour.

It was a nice, full day, and I'm ready for bed.

texas heat.

Well, my day off was yesterday, so I'm back to it today. Saturday, however, I had the brilliant idea of running at 12 noon. It didn't feel too hot when I stepped outside, and there were some trees in the neighborhood that I was planning to run in. Worst idea of my life. It was as if the sun knew that I was outside running and so it intensified the heat and humidity as I went, leaving me exhausted, dehydrated, and unable to get cool!

It probably didn't help that I drank a Dr. Pepper the night before...

It's amazing how your body knows what you've put in it! I felt like I was at an extreme disadvantage: one, because of the heat, but also because of the mexican food and D.P. that I had eaten. Never again. I'll stick to water, gatorade, and non-greasy food.

Non-greasy food. I can't believe I'm endorsing this.

better together.

I rearranged my schedule this week since my parents are moving on Friday and Saturday. So instead of doing my 10 mile bike ride on Saturday, I did it yesterday. Lucky for me, I didn't have to go alone :). My good friend Pilar went with me, and we loved it! Despite it being at least 95 degrees outside, we rode 5 minutes from her house and hit up some country roads. You would have never thought that just prior to our quiet, rolling roads we were dodging cars and construction. It was only 50 meters of busy road, but trust me, it was not fun to ride on. Normally there's a shoulder, but I guess construction has overtaken that, leaving me with a measly white stripe to ride on. All I was thinking was "stay on the line, stay on the line," but my thoughts were distracted by the cars buzzing by. Thankfully this was a route frequented by cyclists, so people aren't surprised to see them, and will often make room.

So for 10 miles we explored countryside with cows, horses, miniature horses (which are for sale I might add), tractors, farmers, and front-porch sitters. Along the way we conquered some minor hills as well. It was delightful. It solidified my love for training. I didn't think it could get much better, but having Pilar along for some company made it wonderful. And it looks like I'll have her along for more than just some of my bike rides! She is going to do the race with me. I'm so thrilled! Everything is better when you have someone to share it with!

Here is a picture of us after our ride yesterday. See how happy we look? It's as if we're just setting out.

i woke up this morning a little bit sore.

Well the past couple of days have been busy due to Biochemistry and Genetics obligations, but I've still completed my training! I biked Tuesday and swam yesterday. The biking was an easy 6 miles that I had already done last week. Swimming was a bit more challenging as I increased my distance.

Tiffany was great, and went with me to time my laps as I swam, which prevented me from cheating and taking longer rests in between lengths. It was a challenge, but I surprised myself with what I was able to do, and it felt good afterwards.

I think, as a rule, you can always do more and better than you think you can. Give that philosophy a try today and let me know what you think!

week 2!

Well I went and bought some biking shorts. Unfortunately, not the ones with the padded seat, but ones long enough to cover my legs and prevent chafing on the bike. Apparently, the situation that I talked about in my previous post was a bit more serious than I thought.

I had broken the skin on a sizable portion of my leg, and it was bleeding. Bleeding. From riding my bike. I realized the severity of it when I tried to walk around at church the next morning. Walk. I was so embarrassed. And so uncomfortable.

The thought of running the next day, and/or even trying to bike, made me feel even more miserable, and so at the risk of humiliating myself, I told the nurses at the doctor's office of my predicament, and my need to continue training. They kindly gave me a band aid pad and some tape to wear under my shorts the next time I rode to make sure it healed as quickly as possible. As soon as I left work, I bought my shorts.

They are Underarmour, and let me tell you, that was the best $24.99 that I've ever spent. I wore them tonight when I went on my run, and it was as if I was wearing nothing. I must admit that I was nervous about hitting the gym in spandex. You know, the kind those girls with chicken legs wear (no offense if you have chicken legs...I just don't). Before I left, I asked my roommate Tiffany if she thought people would think I looked funny. She laughed at me. That certainly solidified my fear. But I went anyways, sporting the spandex. Much to my surprise (although it shouldn't have been), I fit in very well in my spandex, and no one seemed to notice. It is, after all, a gym.

It was probably the most pleasant run I've ever been on. My shorts weren't moving around in weird and unnatural ways; they weren't getting drenched in sweat; it was quite delightful. I followed my run with a swim, and felt great afterwards. I ran at the new pace I've been finding that is quite a bit faster than what I've managed before. I've always thought myself a rather slow runner, and have run sort of laboriously at my slow pace. I've heard of people who just "fall into" their pace - the most comfortable rhythm, gait, and stride that is the easiest on your body. Apparently I've been running too slow and making running much harder for myself, ironically. It will take some time to get used to running faster, and to build up cardiovascular endurance to be able to keep the pace, but it's a heck of a lot more fun to run fast :).

After my workout tonight, my roommate Tiffany (also an ex-cross-country runner), stretched me using the very effective method of "PNF stretching," short for Proprioceptive Neuromuscular Facilitation. I've been stretching a lot as I've been training and have found that I'm not as sore the next day, and when I start my workout, my legs are already more flexible from the day before. I don't stretch much before I train since I always warmup by starting out slow, but I've found that stretching extensively after each session helps my legs recover faster and better.

So next time you workout, take 10 minutes after to stretch out and cool down! It might be painful while you're doing it, especially for you inflexible folks, but you'll feel great afterward, I promise.

Thanks for keeping up with my training! Any comments, feedback, questions, words of encouragement, advice, etc. is welcomed! I'm new at this, too, so I'll take all the help I can get! Tomorrow, something to look forward to, I'll be utilizing my glorious spandex for my bike ride. Get excited.