So, I dragged my butt out of bed at 5:30 this morning so that I could get in a run and a swim today. Our swim practice was cancelled last night because someone pooped in the pool! So, I went running this morning, and then I'm meeting up with one of our mentors later this afternoon to swim.
My run this morning was amazing and I'm so proud of myself. I ran about 4.25 miles straight, without stopping to walk even once. That is the longest I've ever run in my life, I think! And I did it in okay time, too. I mean, I'm slow, but I could have been slower. Just under 12 minutes/mile. SO this is a pretty amazing feat for me, although some of you might not understand it or think it's that impressive. I suppose my new running shoes (instead of my two year old cross-trainers) probably had something to do with it, along with my new running belt that holds 20oz of water and the fresh morning cool air.
I even forgot my ipod, and I think that might have surprisingly made it all easier. There's something really sweet about running along a dirt path with trees overhead but the freeway right on the other side of the trees crowded with people hurrying to work and you're just running along with only the thought of the next foot in front of the other. It was almost like the respite I find in the pool -- but not quite as super duper (oh yeah, we're bringing that back!).
YAY!! I'm getting there, slowly but surely. I am getting there!
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Training Schedule Week #9
Well, we are officially halfway done with training. I thought some of you may be interested in my training schedule. Here it is for this week.
Monday -- DAY OFF :)
Tuesday -- Bike 22 miles in hilly terrain.
Wednesday -- Coached swim 8-9pm
Thursday -- Run/Walk 6 miles in hilly terrain.
Friday -- Swim 2000 yards (drills and laps)
Saturday -- Coached run 8am
Sunday -- Bike 20 miles
There it is! If you want to join me for any of this, just let me know! :)
Monday -- DAY OFF :)
Tuesday -- Bike 22 miles in hilly terrain.
Wednesday -- Coached swim 8-9pm
Thursday -- Run/Walk 6 miles in hilly terrain.
Friday -- Swim 2000 yards (drills and laps)
Saturday -- Coached run 8am
Sunday -- Bike 20 miles
There it is! If you want to join me for any of this, just let me know! :)
Exhausted!
We had our camping training weekend this weekend. The three teams of LA (South Bay, Westside, and Eastside) gathered up by Lake Piru bright and early on Saturday to start our training. After setting up camp, we headed off for training at 10am.
First we went swimming in the Lake. I had a hard time of it for a few minutes. The water was so cold I couldn't get my breathing right which made my technique go out the window at first. Plus it was VERY different having a ton of people around you. It was a little nerve-wracking at first, and that wasn't even close to the number of people that are going to be at the actual triathlon. Eventually, my breathing calmed down, and I started to get into my rhythm. Unfortunately, that rhythm was constantly interrupted by the fact that there were feet in my face, a body brushing up against me, or the simple fact that I kept getting off course. I need to work on my sighting. Despite all of the new challenges that the open water added, I did very well. I swam four laps of our course, and I could have kept going, but they made us move on. I am feeling very confident with the swimming.
Next was biking and running. We were alternating loops with these. I ran one loop, then biked a loop, then ran a loop, then biked a loop. It was extraordinarily hot during this. One girl's bike thermometer said that the road temperature was 114. Now the air temp wasn't as hot, but that 114 was bouncing off the road onto us as we were riding/running. As I prepared to head off for my third loop of running, Jessica (our campaign manager) stopped me saying they were cutting people off. It was too hot to train. So I ran back to the water and swam a bit more.
After training, we went back to camp and hung out, eating lunch. The coaches and mentors made us dinner that evening. A small group of us walked down to the lake again and jumped in (in our clothes -- haha).
We went to sleep around 12am on the hard, cool ground. I woke up at about 5:30am to a VERY loud bird call. I dragged myself out of "bed" and started taking apart my camp. I figured I wouldn't want to do it after we got back from our morning run. I got everything packed up just in time for us to head out. It was 8am and already hot. I ran 3 miles and walked one. 4 miles by 8:45 am -- nice way to start the day. I drove away sweaty and exhausted.
Today is my day off (whew!). I have a bunch of stuff to do. I desperately need new running shoes. I've had a blister the size of a quarter on my big toe since I started training. It's causing problems with my ankle from over-compensation. I also need to get my sister's bike fixed. Plus I have a lot of fundraising things to do today. No time for exhaustion!
First we went swimming in the Lake. I had a hard time of it for a few minutes. The water was so cold I couldn't get my breathing right which made my technique go out the window at first. Plus it was VERY different having a ton of people around you. It was a little nerve-wracking at first, and that wasn't even close to the number of people that are going to be at the actual triathlon. Eventually, my breathing calmed down, and I started to get into my rhythm. Unfortunately, that rhythm was constantly interrupted by the fact that there were feet in my face, a body brushing up against me, or the simple fact that I kept getting off course. I need to work on my sighting. Despite all of the new challenges that the open water added, I did very well. I swam four laps of our course, and I could have kept going, but they made us move on. I am feeling very confident with the swimming.
Next was biking and running. We were alternating loops with these. I ran one loop, then biked a loop, then ran a loop, then biked a loop. It was extraordinarily hot during this. One girl's bike thermometer said that the road temperature was 114. Now the air temp wasn't as hot, but that 114 was bouncing off the road onto us as we were riding/running. As I prepared to head off for my third loop of running, Jessica (our campaign manager) stopped me saying they were cutting people off. It was too hot to train. So I ran back to the water and swam a bit more.
After training, we went back to camp and hung out, eating lunch. The coaches and mentors made us dinner that evening. A small group of us walked down to the lake again and jumped in (in our clothes -- haha).
We went to sleep around 12am on the hard, cool ground. I woke up at about 5:30am to a VERY loud bird call. I dragged myself out of "bed" and started taking apart my camp. I figured I wouldn't want to do it after we got back from our morning run. I got everything packed up just in time for us to head out. It was 8am and already hot. I ran 3 miles and walked one. 4 miles by 8:45 am -- nice way to start the day. I drove away sweaty and exhausted.
Today is my day off (whew!). I have a bunch of stuff to do. I desperately need new running shoes. I've had a blister the size of a quarter on my big toe since I started training. It's causing problems with my ankle from over-compensation. I also need to get my sister's bike fixed. Plus I have a lot of fundraising things to do today. No time for exhaustion!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
I'm not selling girl scout cookies...
So, I had this pretty amazing, eye-opening experience this past Saturday.
We train as a team two times a week -- Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Well, at Saturday's practice, our honored teammate was there. This is the person the team is doing the triathlon for (individually, I am also competing in honor of my Aunt Ginny, Uncle Joe, and Mrs. Ju). Her name is Eileen. She told us her story:
She's 43 years old, and two years ago she was diagnosed with Lymphoma. She had been having symptoms for a while, but she just thought is was stress with work and her parents passing away. One day she found a lump in her armpit, so she went to the doctor. They removed it and called to tell her she had cancer. The doctor told her she is stage 4. He said there's good news and bad news. "There are two types of this cancer, aggressive and non-aggressive. You have the non-aggressive type. The bad news is that there is no treatment for it. If I had diagnosed you four years ago, I would have told you that you had 3 - 5 years to live. This is four years later though." (We can all do the math here.) He continues, "There is a new drug out now that has extended the life expectancy to 8 - 10 years. We're going to put you on that." (Again, we can all do the math.) "You should live like you're going to live. We're getting closer everyday to finding a cure, so keep up your hopes and live your life like you're going to live."
After she tells us all of this, she looks at us and says, "Thank you guys for doing what you're doing. You're not selling girlscout cookies so that I can go to camp. You're raising money so that I can live. Thank you."
This hit me hard. Don't get me wrong, I knew I was doing this for a cause. It's one thing to have this idea, but it's another thing to have someone who's dying of cancer telling you thank you for trying to save my life. Hits home a little bit more -- the responsibility (outside of training) in doing this thing.
So I just want to thank you again for supporting me in this endeavour. Thank you for helping me to save Eileen's life! It's amazing the little things that mean so so so much.
We train as a team two times a week -- Wednesdays and Saturdays.
Well, at Saturday's practice, our honored teammate was there. This is the person the team is doing the triathlon for (individually, I am also competing in honor of my Aunt Ginny, Uncle Joe, and Mrs. Ju). Her name is Eileen. She told us her story:
She's 43 years old, and two years ago she was diagnosed with Lymphoma. She had been having symptoms for a while, but she just thought is was stress with work and her parents passing away. One day she found a lump in her armpit, so she went to the doctor. They removed it and called to tell her she had cancer. The doctor told her she is stage 4. He said there's good news and bad news. "There are two types of this cancer, aggressive and non-aggressive. You have the non-aggressive type. The bad news is that there is no treatment for it. If I had diagnosed you four years ago, I would have told you that you had 3 - 5 years to live. This is four years later though." (We can all do the math here.) He continues, "There is a new drug out now that has extended the life expectancy to 8 - 10 years. We're going to put you on that." (Again, we can all do the math.) "You should live like you're going to live. We're getting closer everyday to finding a cure, so keep up your hopes and live your life like you're going to live."
After she tells us all of this, she looks at us and says, "Thank you guys for doing what you're doing. You're not selling girlscout cookies so that I can go to camp. You're raising money so that I can live. Thank you."
This hit me hard. Don't get me wrong, I knew I was doing this for a cause. It's one thing to have this idea, but it's another thing to have someone who's dying of cancer telling you thank you for trying to save my life. Hits home a little bit more -- the responsibility (outside of training) in doing this thing.
So I just want to thank you again for supporting me in this endeavour. Thank you for helping me to save Eileen's life! It's amazing the little things that mean so so so much.
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