35 Mile Bike Ride with H

Posted on by Sandy

paradiseI moved things around this weekend from the Training Schedule, because H wanted to do the 35 mile bike ride. So instead of doing the ride yesterday in Sonoma/Napa with the Coached Team, I did it today with H. That also means that I moved the “rest day” to yesterday – and the Swim/Run to tomorrow.

We rode from our house down to 5th Avenue, then out on H, and finally on Red Hill towards San Anselmo and the “hub.” There we turned and rode through the gorgeous homes in Ross (on “Shady Lane”), and then around to Redwood High School – which is where the 20 mile bike ride from 2 weeks ago began. We took the same path out of Redwood – up and over Paradise Drive (this is a photo from Paradise – what a GORGEOUS day!), through Tiburon, then around the back side of Strawberry (had to walk up one KILLER hill I had forgotten about – whoops!), then around the Strawberry Shopping Center and up and over to Mill Valley. We had eaten a “power bar” in Tiburon, but H was feeling very hungry. I actually think he was dehydrated – he still doesn’t have any way to hold water on his bike, since it’s an old frame without a way to attach a “cage” to it. So I carry his water. I was wearing my CamelBak, and WOW did it make all the difference in my staying hydrated. Wow wow wow. I remember that from when I was doing triathlons Oooooooh so many moons ago – but this really SHOWED me.

We went up and over Horse Hill and down into Corte Madera, where we stopped at Pacific Catch to get some lunch. That was Mile 27. I wanted seaweed salad and miso soup – H had fish and a full meal (and a glass of wine). After that, we went by REI, because H wanted to use his bike gloves (which I’d borrowed to try to pad my hands), so he bought me my own as an early Holiday Present.

We went from the shopping center back the same way – past Redwood, around and back through Ross, and home.

The bumpy roads are playing havoc with my hands, especially my left one. I don’t lean that “hard” on my hands, but every time we take an unexpected bump, it KILLS me. My left hand winds up totally numb by the end of the ride (similar to how my feet get numb when running. Something’s up).

Had a funny thing happen – I had put my iPod into a little $10 “speaker case” I had bought at Best Buy. It runs on 2 AA batteries – you plug your iPod into it and there are speakers on the front. I figured I’d give it a go to have some music on the ride, but H was less than enthusiastic. We got to a particularly hard part on Paradise, and I was wishing I had tunes. I went over a jarring bump – and the thing started playing! It cracked me up. The only problem was that it was playing one song over and over – and was skipping. I wasn’t sure if that was because it was really sort of “half on” or what, so when H stopped for some water (remember, I have his water on my bike), I took it out and put it on the last Playlist that I used. It worked GREAT! I’m still laughing though about how it turned itself on – I heard music, and I thought “Wow, one of those houses has a good song playing, but that’s pretty loud for me to hear it all the way here,” then I kept hearing it…then I realized D’oh! It’s ME! “Divine Intervention” or something! (smile)

I know you can’t use headphones in the race, but I wonder if I had Tunes this way, if it’s against the rules. I had it on pretty low – I couldn’t actually hear it if there was any traffic noise, etc., but then if it was quiet, I could. Sneaky Sneaky!

The odometer ticked over at 35 miles EXACTLY at the foot of 5th and River Oaks – we walked the bikes up home (another 0.3 miles, straight uphill). We were at 3 hours exactly of riding time at the 35 miles – the bike keeps track of how long the “wheels are turning,” though we had had a couple potty stops and also lunch. The ride was “supposed” to take 2 hours of riding time – we’re still way WAY behind the curve there. We averaged 11 or so MPH, though the max speed I got up to was 31 MPH – yikes! (That was coming down off Horse Hill – it’s a good road and one I know.) However, when I was a little bummed we were an hour longer that the schedule “planned,” H said, “There is NO WAY you could have done that ride 2 months ago – an hour longer, or not! I’m so proud of you! In another month, you’re going to smoke me!”

That made me feel GREAT!

How The Economy Affects Your Sex Life: Interview on Your Time With Kim (talk radio)

Posted on by Sandy

HEY! Sheila Stewart and I were interviewed on the talk radio show Your Time With Kim on How the Economy Affects Your Sex Life. Sheila and I met a while back when we were each speaking at a gig, and then I interviewed Sheila a few podcasts back. We had so much fun, we put the show on the road!

(This is a little break back into my “real life” and away from the Trials and Tribulations of turning CouchPotatoWoman into IronWoman!)

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 16:03 — 14.8MB)

Subscribe: RSS

Swim Today Plus Playlist and as a BONUS, “Major Tom” lyrics in English & German

Posted on by Sandy

Today I got to the pool and realized I had left my workout on the passenger seat of the car! D’oh! I did remember it was 1750, and that the beginning was a 300 warmup, then the usual drills (3×50 of on back/swim then “catch up”/swim then scull/swim), and I knew there was a 300 cooldown . . . but the “meat” was a mystery (mystery meat! Gee I thought I left that behind at college!) I did my own version, doing some of the DPR drills, and then some of the L3-L4-L5 drills. It’s frustrating because I still am taking around 24-26 strokes to get across the pool – where my colleagues take about 14 strokes. That’s a LOT fewer strokes! My shoulder didn’t hurt that much today though, which was nice. It did sprinkle a bit, and I stayed in the pool a bit after the warmdown because the sun was just going down, and the sky was really pretty. (There was a HUGE rainbow when I came in.) Got changed, and the Greeter was out for the Synagogue that’s attached to the JCC, wishing everyone “Shabbat Shalom.” I should work it so that I work out and then go to services – that might be a nice way to end a week!

The Playlist for today’s Swim:
Baby I’m a Star, Prince & The Revolution
What I Like About You, The Romantics
Unwritten, Natasha Bedingfield – I just love what this song says.
Love Lockdown, Kanye West
Relax, Frankie Goes To Hollywood – great great song for strokes
Jump (feat. Nelly Furtado), Flo Rida
Right Round, Flo Rida
Life (12″ Mix), Haddaway – took me right back to Tony Robbins UPW!
My Sharona, The Knack – moved this down my playlist but it showed up here
Will The Circle Be Unbroken, Mavis Staples
Hot Like Wow, Nadia Oh
Cyclone (feat. T-Pain), Baby Bash – great for strokes, good for “grabbing” water
Real Wild Child (Wild One), Iggy Pop – had moved this down my playlist & here it was!
Major Tom (Live), Jo Hartmann
Major Tom – Chiasm, New Wave Undercover – like this version better than the previous one. Probably because it’s in German and I sing away making up words. H cracks up when he hears how I butcher his language when I sing this one. “Dan hin der up or…” (I just looked, because I was curious – it’s actually “Dan hebt er ab und…”)

OK what the heck, since it’s my blog, I will put the German words, and the English words, to “Major Tom” here because it’s a song I love. And this way I can find out how badly I’m butchering the song when it comes up again in my playlist 🙂

GERMAN:
Gründlich durchgecheckt steht Sie da
und wartet auf den Start , Alles klar.
Expirimenten streiten sich um ein paar Daten.
Die Crew hat dann nach ein paar Fragen,
doch der Countdown läuft.

Effektivität bestimt das Hendeln
Mann verläßt sich blind auf den andern
Jeder weiß genau was von ihm abhängt,
jeder is im Streß , Doch Majer Tom
macht einen Scherz
Dan hebt er ab und!

Völlig losgelöst von der Erde
schwebt das raumschiff völlig schwerelos

Die Erdanziehungkraft ist überwunden
Alles lauft perfekt schon seit Stunden
Wissenschaftliche Experimente,
doch was nützen die an Ende denkt sich Major Tom

Im Kontrollzentrum da wird man panisch
Der Kurs der Kapsel der stimt ja gar nicht
Hallo Major Tom können Sie hören,
Woll’n Sie das Projekt den so zerstören,
doch er kann nichts hörn
er schwebt weiter

Völlig losgelöst von der Erde
schwebt das raumschiff völlig schwerelos

Die Erde schimmert blau
Sein letzter Funk komt : Grüßt mir meine Frau
Und er verstummt

Unten trauern noch die Egoisten,
Major Tom denkt sich wenn die wüßten
mich führt hier ein licht durch das All,
das kennt ihr noch nicht , ich komme bald
Mir wird kalt

Vóllig losgelöst von der Erde
schwebt das raumschiff völlig schwerelos.

ENGLISH
Standing there alone
The ship is waiting
All systems are go
“Are you sure?”
Control is not convinced
But the computer
has the evidence
No need to abort
The countdown starts

Waiting in a trance

The crew is certain
Nothing left to chance
All is working
Trying to relax
up in the capsule
“Send me up a drink”
Jokes Major Tom
The Count goes on
4,3,2,1….

chorus:
Earth below us
Drifting, falling
Floating weightless
Calling, calling home

Second stage is cut
We’re now in orbit
stabilizers up
Running perfect
Starting to collect
Requested data
“What will it affect when all is done?”
Thinks Major Tom

Back at ground control
There is a problem
“Go to rockets full”
No responding
“Hello Major Tom are you receiving?
Turn the thrusters on we are standing by”
No reply
4,3,2,1…..

chorus:
Across the stratosphere
A final message:”Give my wife my love”
Then nothing more

Far beneath the ship
The world is mourning
They don’t realize He’s alive
No one understands but Major Tom sees
“Now the lights commands
This is my home
I’m coming home”

chorus:
Earth below us
Drifting, falling
Floating weightless
Calling, calling home

Happy Turkey Day! Recipes, Run and Playlist

Posted on by Sandy

Got up this morning, and H and I got to work preparing for Thanksgiving. First, wild mushroom soup (serves 6):

2 lbs wild mushrooms, 1/2 c unsalted butter, 1/3 cup chopped green onions, 6 garlic cloves, peeled, 3T flour, 6 cups chicken stock, 3/4 c heavy cream, 2 tsp tarragon, 1/4 cup Creme Fraiche, 1 egg yolk, 1 T lemon juice, 2 tsp salt, 1 Tb Metaxa.

Saute mushrooms in 1/4c butter for 5 minutes. Add green onions & garlic, saute for another minute, set aside.

Make roux of remaining 1/4 c butter and the flower. Cook for 4 mins over medium heat, whisk constantly, don’t let it brown.

Add chicken stock (you can do veggie stock if you want) to the roux, bring to a boil/stir frequently, then simmer for 5 mins. Add mushroom mix,simmer for 15 mins. Take off heat. Puree, add heavy cream. Add tarragon, salt, Metaxa.

Make liaison: Stir together egg yolk, lemon juice and creme fraiche (made by mixing a cup heavy cream with 1 Tb buttermilk – or as many cups as you want with 1 Tb buttermilk to each, combine over medium heat just to take the chill off, pour into a glass jar, cover lightly and let sit in a warm place at about 70 degrees for 20 hours). Pour soup in heated bowls, Dribble liaison into the soup in a design.

(We made the soup, and the liaison, but will heat the soup back up for dinner at 4:00).

Next, made the salad: Arugula & Roasted Pear Salad w/Walnuts and Parmesan Cheese (serves 6):

Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position, place a baking sheet on the rack, and heat to 500 degrees.

Peel and halve 4 firm Bartlett pears lengthwise. Remove core. Set each half cut-side down and slice lengthwise, into 5ths (4 cuts). Put the slices in a large bowl, and toss with 1 T melted unsalted butter, then add 2 T sugar and toss again. Spread the pears in a single layer on the baking sheet, making sure each lies flat. Roast until browned on the bottom, about 10 minutes. Flip each slice and roast until deep golden brown on the other side, about 5 more minutes. Remove from oven and put on plate to cool.

Take 1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts, toast in a small dry skillet over medium heat until lightly browned and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Be SURE to not let the smaller pieces or “dust” get in the pan – go for even pieces. Otherwise the small ones burn and the big ones don’t get toasted. Trust me. We discovered this the hard way.

Make vinaigrette: Whisk together 1.5T extra virgin olive oil, 2 t white wine vinegar, 1/2 t salt, ground pepper.

Combine 2 bunches arugula (stems removed, leaves washed and dried then torn into bite sized pieces) with 4 oz Parmesan cheese, shaved with a vegetable peeler off a big block with the roasted pear slices in a large serving bowl. Add the vinaigrette and toss gently to combine. Put in bowls – put walnuts on top.

We have stuffing and an organic, pre-roasted turkey from Whole Foods (yeah, cheaters, cheaters, I know), and mom is bringing spiced onions with almonds, plus some appetizers (cheese/veggies), plus some small French tarts (as in, SMALL) for dessert. Champagne for before – wine with din-din.

After doing the above, I went for a RUN. We were supposed to do 800 repeats – oh, come ON. That means finding a track, or knowing exactly WHERE 1/2 mile is. I just wanted to get out, do it, and come back. So instead, I ran out to Court Street and back (I have done that mileage before, I don’t have it here and don’t want to map it right now, but it’s way less than 5 miles I know that). I decided to run to the tempo of the music I had in the playlist. Some were too slow (noted – I will move those to a lower “position” in my playlist – hey, it’s all a learning!), and some (Sexy Vampire in particular) kicked my boo-TAY! I had fun. Total, including walking Moody up home (which was 7 minutes) was 56 minutes.

PLAYLIST (and comments):

When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down), Great Big Sea. I know I know I am stuck on this one. It makes me happy
Scar That Never Heals, Jeremy Fisher (ditto above comment)
Suddenly I See, KT Tunstall. This was my favorite song from 2006 when I last exercised!
Oh Oh Oh Sexy Vampire, Fright Ranger. This kicked my BUTT! The tempo was actually a blast to run to. I just kept my steps small.
I Am The Walrus, Bono & The Secret Machines. Too Slow
With A Little Help From My Friends, Jim Sturgess & Joe Anderson. Too Slow
Spotlight, MuteMath. This was a great one! Thanks Hannah!
She’s Got The (Who-Hoo), Sugar Ray. Too Slow.
Single Ladies, Beyonce. Fun, but just not quite the right beat – couldn’t get into the “running groove” with it
Calle Ocho, Pitbull. Good one, Leann!
This is How A Heart Breaks, Rob Thomas. Ditto – great one Leann!
Solsbury Hill (Live), Peter Gabriel. Too slow.
Daniella, John  Butler Trio. Surprisingly this worked – I was slowing down by then though!
Get The Party Started, P!nk. Just not quite the right tempo. Sort of like the Beyonce one. Surprising.
Mony Mony, Billy Idol. This worked well.

That got me home! Time to get the turkey in!

My first “brick” and its Playlist

Posted on by Sandy

DSCF6108This was my view for an hour yesterday as I sat on my bike trainer on the driveway, peddling away. Well, until dusk, then dark – then I wasn’t seeing much of anything (smile).

Yesterday’s workout was a “brick” – meaning 2 disciplines right after each other. First, the bike for an hour. This involved warming up for 10 minutes, then doing 10 repeats of 3 minutes at 100 RPM, and then 1 minute at 80 RPM, using the hardest gear that you can maintain.

When I started, I was on the middle ring in front and back. But when I had to do the 100 RPM (I don’t have a bike computer, so I had to time it at 25 RPM in 15 seconds and keep timing every now and again to be sure I was still “on”), I had to drop down to 3rd from the easiest gear, or I was way outside of my aerobic zone.

After I had done about the 5th or so repeat of the 10, for some reason, it got easier. I was able to slowly and carefully shift down (I think it’s “down” – meaning “harder”), and wound up ultimately doing it on that “middle middle” ring. That made me feel very happy!

After a 10 minute “cool down” on the bike, I grabbed the flashlight and headed out on the road. I just ran in my bike shorts, to see what that was like. I thought it would be awful, and in fact it was fine. I was supposed to do a 10 minute warmup, but I was pretty doggone warm from the biking. So I just started from the house down the driveway, doing the 5 repeats that were required. It was run 7 minutes at a pace you could hold for a long time, then 1 minute walk, repeating it 5 times (for a total of 40 minutes). I got to G Street and turned around, and the 40 minutes got me back up around the curve from River Oaks to Moody. Then I finished by walking to the house. Total was a little under 50 minutes, 2.78 miles. I know it’s WAY too slow, but I felt GOOD – in fact, really super good. I had spent a very frustrating day of realizing that I have no $ and bills coming out my ears – it felt when I was out there that here is SOMETHING I can control. Susan and Katie (my neighbors) actually stopped when I was jogging up Moody Court (at the VERY steep “turn” from River Oaks) and shouted out from their car that I was their Hero. That made me feel WONDERFUL!

I biked/ran to songs that folks had suggested for a Playlist, and then filled in with others. If you have any songs that really inspire you, BRING’EM ON! I am taking all comers! (smile)

Playlist for Bike/Run Brick (total of about 2 hours):

Oh Oh Oh Sexy Vampire (JustinB Video Edit), Fright Ranger
Calle Ocho, Pitbull
Sex On Fire, Kings of Leon
This is How A Heart Breaks, Rob Thomas
Supermassive Black Hole, Muse
Say Hey (I Love You), Michael Franti
The Time Of My Life, David Cook
Whatcha Say, Jason Derulo
Pursuit, Cirque de Soleil (this is one of the ALL TIME great bike trainer songs)
When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down), Great Big Sea (I really love this song)
Scar That Never Heals, Jeremy Fisher (ditto – ok I played this twice actually)
My Sharona, The Knack
Pony, Far
Love Shack, B-52s
Everybody Knows, Elizabeth & The Catapult
She’s Got the (Who-Hoo), Sugar Ray
Jerk It, Thunderheist
Single Ladies, Beyonce
Daniella, John Butler Trio (another GREAT song)
Get The Party Started, P!nk
Mony Mony, Billy Idol
Hiphip Chinchin, Club des Belugas
U Can’t Touch This, MC Hammer
I Gotta Feeling, Black Eyed Peas
Let’s Get Loud, Jennifer Lopez
Real Wild Child, Joan Jett and the Blackhearts
Real Wild Child (Wild One), Iggy Pop
I’m Alright (Theme from Caddyshack), Kenny Loggins

Who has some great songs for me to try??

Happy Thanksgiving everyone – today is a Run – and I have to do Strength Training, too. (I was supposed to do it yesterday too, just ran out of time.) Hopefully (maybe?) I can get H to run with me – it’s going to have to be in the dark again, because I have a TON of cooking and cleaning to do. In fact, time to make some coffee and wake the Big Man up! Have a Great One!

Week 3 Begins! A Trip to Bodega Bay, Swimming with Iron Mel, Playlist, $250 Donation!

Posted on by Sandy

The Story Of This Map Is Below.Week 3 is here!
Here is my schedule at a glance…and then a bit about what I’ve done so far! 🙂

THE WEEK AHEAD

MONDAY – Off day.
TUESDAY – Swim 60’ (total 1850) & Strength 40’
WEDNESDAY – Bike 60′ & Run 20′
THURSDAY – Strength 40’ (Turkey Day: gobble, gobble!)
FRIDAY – Swim 60’, Run 60’ & Stretch 20’
SATURDAY – Bike (captains workout) Rolling hills for 35 miles.
SUNDAY – Swim 60’, Run 60’ & Stretch 20’

(the map at the left might LOOK like a Treasure Map minus the “X Marks the Spot,” but it will be explained below!)

DSCF6189So, on Sunday, H decided that we needed to get away. We actually did the Run together, which was fun (did I blog about that? I think I did), and then headed off to Bodega Bay Lodge. It’s about an hour’s drive away. The photo to the right was from our deck, out over the marshes and to the ocean.

DSCF6183H wanted to bike, and so Monday became a bike day instead of a “rest” day. H had reconditioned his bike before we left – but didn’t have any extra handlebar tape. We picked some up at Summit Bikes (where we were told of their Team in Training discount – yay!), and he taped up his handlebars before we headed out on our ride. So handy!

DSCF6191

We biked for a little over 2 hours, 19 miles…and 4 walks up hills! There are a LOT of steep hills out on the coast. We also TOTALLY got lost. If you look at our “map” (top of the page), you will probably know WHY. We didn’t have a bike map, so we drew one based on Google Maps. The problem was that it didn’t list the little “connecting roads” that we needed to “get to” the main roads…well, we had fun anyway, though we definitely did NOT get where we thought we would! We did, however, get out to the Fisherman’s Monument, ate some “award winning” clam chowder and fresh crab sandwiches, then came back to hot tub and of course champagne, some oranges, and chocolate!

DSCF6193

We took a walk out into the marshes on Tuesday before we left – probably about a mile – and then antique-ed our way home. That was fun as well. Iron Mel had texted me to find out if I was working out at the JCC, and so she joined us. H wasn’t so happy that I “made him go to the gym again” (I think in particular because he forgot his headphones to plug into the machines!), but after, we went to see the movie 2012, so he was happy. (I think H’s reaction to that movie, which I tweeted, about sums it up: “Saw 2012. It was a Disaster.”)

Iron Mel had an interesting experience when we were getting ready to swim. We were talking about her being single in Marin, about finding the right sort of guy, etc., and she said however that she really KNEW that it was coming. She could feel it. Then she put on her cap and BANG! – it split in 1/2. Right through her old married name, which was written on the side. We both had a “goose bumps on the arms” moment – and took it as a good omen! I threw in the requisite “Mazel Tov!” of course!

We were out swimming under the stars again. I had a weird experience in the training (didn’t do the Strength – didn’t see it until I got home) – got fairly ‘scared’ in the water. Not sure if that’s because I had seen some clips from Louisville, or because I was really thinking about it, or what. I remember the last triathlon I did was the Go Girl Tri. It was just a sprint distance, but somewhere fairly close to the end, I started spazzing out because the water was so murky. I actually remember I did fine in my first triathlon (Bahamas), and then in the subsequent ones, but then when I was at Chicago, I super spazzed out and actually had to swim “boat to boat.” I think that this training is going to get us very prepared – but between the mental “drowning spazz” and the “fixing a flat spazz” I keep getting reminders of the mental stuff I don’t like that pops up. I don’t like being freaked out in the water. I think part of it also was that we were doing these drills that take you “up to” swimming at Level 5 – it was 5 x 200, starting with just 50 at L3 and 150 at L4, but it works its way up so that at the end, you do your last 200 at L5. I was tired, and pooped, and freaked. I guess that tired/pooped/freaked thing just happens, and I gotta just deal. I did at least have my Otterbox (smile).

PLAYLIST for the swim:

Pony, Far
#1 Crush, Garbage
REV 22:20, Puscifer
Billie Jean, Chris Cornell
The Party Song, Blink-182
I Wanna Be Sedated, The Ramones
Whatsername, Green Day
Real Wild Child, Iggy Pop
Crazy Bitch, Buckcherry
I Don’t Care, Fall Out Boy
The World Is Not Enough, Garbage
Check Yes Juliet, We The Kings

I also received a $250 Donation from a friend. I am SO EXCITED. She is sponsoring my first Swim Mile. So maybe that’s a little Push from the Universe after my awful tired/pooped/scared swim experience.

Finally, I received more songs to check out! Please send any you love to work out to – believe me, I can take all the motivation I can get! The new ones, courtesy of the gorgeous Leann McFalls, are:

Say Hey (I Love you) by Michael Franti
Supermassive Black Hole by Muse
This is how a heart breaks by Rob Thomas (my Favorite artist!!!)
Sex on Fire by Kings of Leon
I Know you want me (calle ocho) by pitbull

I might have Calle Ocho, gotta check. OK – one last photo – then it’s time to get into the 302 emails I got in the 3 days on “vacation” (there is work in here somewhere, I know I saw it), then to pole class. And gotta do the bike/run tonight. Oh, and buy all those Thanksgiving groceries, clean the house, dot dot dot?
DSCF6194

Run workout and Playlist

Posted on by Sandy

Ran today with H. It was 10 minute warmup, then run 8 minutes, walk 2, for an hour (then warm down). Also Strength workout (same as before)

H said he didn’t mind if I ran in my headset, which he knows helps me gut it out. I hadn’t set up a Playlist though, so the Playlist was just chronologically backward, the last songs I downloaded, which were:

The Time Of My Life, David Cook (courtesy of Erin at TriNReality)
Whatcha Say, Jason Derulo
Pursuit, Ka/Cirque de Soleil
When I’m Up (I Can’t Get Down), Great Big Sea
Move, Shake, Drop Remix, DJ Laz, Flo Rida & Casely
Ice Cream Paint Job, Dorrough
Scar That Never Heals, Jeremy Fisher
My Sharona, The Knack
Just Ain’t Gonna Work Out, Mayer Hawthorne
Pony, Far
Everything You Want, Vertical Horizon
Rise Up, Diane Birch
Love Shack, The B-52s
I and Love and You, The Avett Brothers (Pole Danced to this last week. GREAT song for it.)
Everybody Knows, Elizabeth and the Catapult
She’s Got The (Who-Hoo), Sugar Ray

My learning from that? At LEAST pick a song and put the “Genius” on the iPod. Not a very motivating set, and way too eclectic. But it was nice to run with H – reminds me of when we were training for the Big Sur Marathon. That also started with him laughing at my shuffling and walking next to me. But I finished, and so did he. I just wish he wouldn’t laugh so hard…Have written to Simon (the running coach) and my Mentor about the fact that I feel like CRAP for the first 30 minutes, then at about 40, I feel FINE. My BPM is right in there about the same (in the 142-155 range, which is a bit high but not awful like it was last week) – but at 40 minutes I suddenly feel cheery, my pace picked up (H was actually jogging, not walking fast next to me), I could talk, etc. Something’s up. I will let you know what Simon Says!

Off to pack for a jaunt into the Foothills…or Calistoga…or Clear Lake…or somewhere. We’re bringing the bikes – H cleaned up his road bike last night. Tomorrow is supposed to be a Rest Day but if H wants to bike with me, I am willing. I’ll just trade it out sometime else. Hopefully we can be home soon enough to swim on Tuesday night – otherwise I will just shuffle stuff around I guess.

Dear Coach Helen…

Posted on by Sandy

DSCF6180

[this is a note I just sent to Coach Helen, cc’ing, of course, Head Coach Dave. With respect to what I just blogged about – the fact Coach Dave said I had to have “stiffer shoes.”]

Dear Coach Helen:

As you know I want to be sure I do well on the Ironman, and I was concerned today during the bike. You know I’m already afraid of clipless pedals, but then I was afraid I had the wrong bendy shoes and didn’t want to let Coach Dave down. He really cares a lot about the team and wants the best for us.

Do you think these shoes would work better? I know they are a lot less flexible and I am just not sure. You are the expert.

Warmest,
Sandy (“Shep”) Shepard

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Bike Training, Swim, Iron University

Posted on by Sandy

with bike galsToday was another coached workout – we did bike drills, a LOT of swimming, and then learned more about the bike. It was at Redwood High, where I went to high school. W-O-W, the school is beyond gorgeous now. Landscaping, HUGE pool, the works. W-O-W.

fixing trainerFirst we did drills on a “trainer.” The last time I had a “bike trainer” was 20 years ago – and it was basically a flywheel on a stand. The funniest part is that I only gave that thing to charity about a year ago. I dragged it around all this time – now here I am needing a trainer again! Coach Mike is going to loan me one of the fancy-schmancy ones – the photo on the right is Coach Mike and Coach Tony from LLS putting the trainer together.

In our bike training (that’s me, far left in the photo above), we did things like how to pick a dropped chain up while still riding, cornering drills, stopping on a dime, and the like. I did OK with this. I do still have good bike handling drills from the years doing traithlons in the past. OK, and I will totally admit, the new women’s bike shorts are AWESOME. Coach Dave was right. You gotta have’em. I purchased a swim parka on eBay, and the guy found out I was TNT and threw in the bike shorts, and even a TNT bike jersey (from ’98). Thank you, Henry! You rock!

I had something happen though that I’m going to put in another post. I’m the only person on the team who is not using clipless pedals – they freak me out because I had an accident in them. (You can see my very sexy “tuck pants into sock” combo in the above photo.) The head coach, Dave, told me today that I really had to find another shoe then besides the running shoes I was using – because their sole wasn’t really stiff enough. I mentioned to one of the other Coaches, Helen, that I wondered whether my pole dancing shoes would fit the bill as I didn’t have anything else but the running shoes, flip flops, loafers, and pole shoes. She thought that’d be perfect.

So I’m going to post those pictures next.

Next, we got changed for our swim workout. When I was at Redwood, there was a “regular” pool, about 5 lanes I think, and then a diving pool. They’ve converted the entire area, and now it’s one big pool with like 20 lanes. It’s a SHOCK. It also has bathrooms on the inside of the pool, and some hot showers outside. No more having to run from the locker room out to the pool, in complete view from the parking lot. 🙂

I was going to post the swim workout here, but the one on Training Peaks doesn’t match what we did. We did a lot of drills; we wound up covering (if at least the mileage in Training Peaks is correct) 2350 yards. The drills included “closed fist” swimming (which I actually rather liked) and the ‘counting your strokes’ exercise from last week. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong. Now granted, I’m not kicking, but my strokes were like 25 (counting both left and right hand) for a length of the pool. Other folks are at like 14, 15. I don’t get it. Left shoulder still hurts as well – I think it’s an overuse injury from pole dancing which just sucks. I haven’t really done that much in class for months – and it’s still not 100%. We were in the pool for about an hour and a half.

hydratingOK yeah, I know, how sexy is this photo – me drinking swamp water (a/k/a InnerLight AlkaBlast, Prime pH and Super Greens combo, suggested by Coach Stu Mittleman) with my sunglasses on and my goggles on the top of my head!

I worked out a little too hard I think – I felt actually sick at the end of the workout (as in throwing up sick). I even tried to keep hydrated during the swim, taking sips between the exercises. I did not actually throw up, but close. I think because I am SO out of shape, I need to really start doing some sort of food replacement, supplement, what-have-you sooner than perhaps other folks. I also need to hydrate more on the bike, “even if you’re ‘just’ on a trainer,” as Coach Doug reminded us.

Had fun today! The team is so great. Every one of them. AND I found out I get Coach Margaret from Napa as my Mentor! I am STOKED. I REALLY like her. She’s just one of those people that you meet, you know, you instantly like them? That’s how it was when I met her at the Kickoff in Berkeley, in fact. She’s a little older (not as old as I am though I don’t think, but still, not 24), and is a real hard-core athlete in a nice way. She’s doing Ironman British Columbia. She’s the sort of person that I aspire to be!

Swim Day (with Playlist) and Run Day

Posted on by Sandy

OK I really should have taken photos. Next time. I am SURE there will be MANY “next times”! Just picture here a drowned rat grrl from running, and a swim workout with a flashlight on it!

I did the swim workout at about 7:00 p.m. yesterday, because I had a meeting from 3:00 to 6:00 that wound up being WORTHLESS. I was not happy – I got very ‘bouncy legged’ about it but didn’t want to leave and be rude. It was up in Petaluma, so I had gone all the way up from San Rafael…not so happy. I had brought my swim stuff though, and so H and I met at the JCC. He did his standard cardio/crosstrainer and some weights, I did the swim. Under the stars! That’s the photo I wish I’d taken – my training page, in the ziplock, and the flashlight, lying on the pool deck! I was just barely able to see the workout,  so didn’t need the flashlight – it was pretty funny though. I forgot how bright the pool would be with the lights inside (duh!) The pool was nice and warm, it was the running out to and coming “from” that was not so pleasant. Consoled myself with a nice Steam after!

Here is the Ze Playlist for the swim:

Cold Hearted Snake, Paula Abdul
Check On It, Destiny’s Child
Paper and Fire, John Cougar Mellencamp
Valerie, this is a mix, not sure who did it (techno-ish beat, Steve Winwood song)
She’s Ugly From The Front, Lyle Lovett
Hung Up (Live), Madonna
Torn, Natalie Imbruglia
Don’t Say You Love Me, Natalie Imbruglia
Brass In Pocket, Pretenders
Message of Love, Pretenders
Let’s Go Crazy, Prince
Controversy, Prince

And below is Ze Workout. I tried to look up on YouTube what the various drills looked like (DPS and SAR). Dave Scott has some podcasts out there, and wow, he looks the same as he did 20 years ago! It’s funny – I learned to swim and bike and run (and really “train”) from Dave Scott’s book. I never had any coaches – wish we’d had YouTube back then, I would have loved to have really “seen” what he was talking about, in motion! DPS is basically counting your strokes per length of the pool. If you can keep track of how much time a length takes you, and then how many strokes it takes you, you can figure out your strokes per minute, and all that jazz. I really wasn’t able to read all my notes by the light of the moon (smile), and so I forgot to try to keep track of the times for the laps. I’m not so good juggling it all in my head, anyway – I imagine we will do that tomorrow in our Coached Training. Be that as it may, I wound up with 14 “cycles” (e.g., counting only left arm in) per length of the pool. Very consistently. Not sure of the time it took, though.  For the SAR, there were two different ways to “stop” the arm – one was at the hip (elbow high), one was at the shoulder. The hip one was OK, the shoulder one hurt my shoulder (as did the CatchUp drills, still). So I sort of bagged it in favor of just swimming. Sedonia had said we could just swim anyway (since she hadn’t shown us the drills), so I didn’t feel that bad. Did the whole thing in 48 minutes, which doesn’t seem so bad since it says it should take 60 (and I’m not kicking). The kicking drills, which are sort of just “easy” are hard for me because I just don’t kick in the pool! It’s funny. They wipe me out!

Swim Workout:

Warmup
300 EZ
3×50 25 kick on back/25 free    RI    10″ (RI means “rest interval”)
3×50 25 Catch Up (CU)/25 free    RI    10″
3×50 25 scull/25 free    RI    10″

Pyramid:
100 Distance per Stroke (DPS)    RI    15″
200 Breathing every 3    RI    20″
300 Slow Arm Recovery (SAR)    RI    30″
200 Breathing every 3    RI    20″
100 Distance per Stroke (DPS)    RI    15″

Cool Down    100 EZ
Total                1750 – THIS IS ONLY 10 YARDS SHY OF A MILE! Whoot! Whoot!

Run Workout:

Today was a run workout. I read it wrong – it was supposed to be another run for 5 minutes, walk for 1 minute, go for 42 minutes gig. I actually thought it was run for 8, walk for 1, then couldn’t figure out how the math didn’t work out at 42 minutes (duh). I had it all set to run with Sharyn, but after my 7:00-8:30 meeting and then my 9:00-11:00 meeting, it was HOWLING with wind and rain. I texted Sharyn and said “No Can Do” and she wrote back “Oh Yes You Can” – she already was at my house, with her “foul weather gear” on. So, I did. Actually it worked out great – the rain let up when we were about 1/4 of the way done, and the wind cut down. (We did have a tiny bit of hail in there for good measure.) Again – wish I had the camera – 2 very soggy girls and a very soggy dog trotting through San Rafael. She was GREAT for me to run with, because we can chat and catch up, but also because she really will run at any speed and I don’t feel “bad” about being so slow. She’s so happy I’m back exercising again… I feel almost guilty at how relieved she is. Of course we’ve been friends since Massage School in 2002, so she really HAS seen me MUCH more fit. After being at my peak in 2006, of course I quit and took a job in the city to try to make more $ – that lasted all of about 6 months but in that time I had gained 30 lbs and all of it toxic fat, due to the stress. Then never lost it.

She keeps raiding my closet for clothes that used to fit me back then, that I don’t even have a prayer of wearing now. It’s amazing when I realize that she and I are (were) EXACTLY the same size – the clothes I keep loaning her out fit her like a glove, and I can’t even approach them. But silly to just have them hanging there. I really do plan to get back into them – though right now, I’m indulging a serious carb craving.

After a meeting with my CPA (not good at all – $ is really, really bad), my last meeting of the day was with a gal who bailed on our meeting last time – and she bailed on me AGAIN!!!! So I sat at the nice cafe and had a mocha and a bagel with cream cheese and honey AND a gingersnap cookie (fresh and warm). I know, really bad. I will cut back on this – I just feel so virtuous doing things like going out in the pouring rain that I am indulging myself in things I wouldn’t even dream of otherwise. I’m giving myself until the end of the year to Get Over It – but that’s my trade. If I do all the workouts, I can have whatever I feel like, until December 31st.

Okie dokie, have been really off the computer for 2 days now, and H wants to get away for Sunday through Tuesday. So I have to regroup and get some things done – especially as I have training starting at 0-dark-00 tomorrow with the group. At least this time it’s in Marin, so I don’t have to drive so far.