Sorta New Bike Trainer

I will admit it, I am a fair-weather biker.  Riding in the rain scares me, and although I do it, I would prefer not to.  As the PNW is prone to rainy days, I decided that the best thing would be to invest in a bike trainer so I can get the miles in while dry and toasty in my home.

Bike trainers (at least the good ones) run about $300, which is a bit pricey for me.  So I thought for a bit and realized that a friend of mine used to really be into biking and no longer is.  He is one of those people that always purchase the best of the best, so chances were that he had purchased a top of the line bike trainer a few years ago.  I contacted him and asked him if he was willing to sell me his bike trainer that was currently in storage, not being used.  He agreed.  I now the proud owner of a Cyclops Fluid indoor bike trainer.

Ah-ma-zing Motivational Exercise Video

"If you have something bottled up inside you, go straight to the snake shaker."

Sunday Ride - Lake Stevens

Yesterday we rode the first loop of the Lake Stevens bike course for the first time.  It is brutal. And we will be doing the loop twice.  This was the first time I have ridden since the Chuckanut Century in the fall and lets just say that I have a long way to go to get ready for this race.

We ended up doing about 32 miles and my average moving pace was 13.5mph.  Not bad for not riding in months, but not nearly good enough yet.

Here is the elevation climb, please note the lovely little gems located between miles 22 and 24.  These two have been dubbed "Big Pappa" and "Little Bitch"

Schedule of Events - So Far

There are so many fun events and vacations to do when the weather gets warm again.  As the weather is currently not very pleasant, I like to plan out my schedule for the season.

Here is my schedule of events and vacations to look forward to so far (suggestions for events welcome), and I am sure plenty more will be added on:

May 6-11: Florida vacation
May 26-30: Vegas
June 11: Moses Lake Olympic Triathlon
June 25: Seattle Rock n Roll Half Marathon
July 9-10: STP
July 16: Warrior Dash
July 24: Seafair Triathlon
August 14: Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3

If There Is A Will, There Is A Way

I follow lots of blogs, my newest one is Weight in Vain, where a 20-something loses 50 pounds, runs the Chicago marathon and discovers herself along the way.

She just posted a really good blog on a story of faith and determination.  I would repost it here, but I am not certain of the copyright laws on blogs.  So go here and read it for yourself.

Inspiration

Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Officially Sick

I am officially sick...boo.  :(

Everything Hurts

As I am blessed with the body of a 50 year old, when the weather is as cold as it has been, everything starts to hurt and ache.

After an intense bootcamp on Saturday, running, dancing the night away in heels, then yoga and ice skating on Sunday, everything hurts.  It hurts to just touch my legs, sitting and standing are pretty pathetic to see as well.

However, I am not complaining.  Yes, the weather has been abnormally cold for Seattle and I would love some sunshine warmth, but I know that cause of the pain is good in the long run.  For now, ibprofen is my new friend.

Training Schedule All Set....Well, Kinda

With the help of Runner's World SmartCoach system, I just built out my 8 month training program for the Seattle Rock n Roll half marathon and the Lake Stevens Ironman 70.3.  Runner's World has an incredible amount of great information on their website, but their website could use some work.  So if you are willing to sort through to find the gems (much like shopping at Ross or Nordstrom Rack) it will be worth your while.

I built out a powerpoint deck, with a slide per month on what I will be doing each day, with countdowns to the actual races.  I plan on browsing the college dorm section of Target tonight to find a fun whiteboard or bulletin board to hang on my wall in my apartment.  In plain sight, my schedule, inspirational quotes and goals will be in front of me constantly, motivating me.

I purchased The Triathlete's Training Bible and Triathlete Magazine's Week by Week Training Guide and plan to go through them to build out a triathlon training program for myself.  Once I have this program built (and once I finish going through the large books), then this program will be incorporated into my running program.  As running is my greatest weakness in the multisport event, I feel like it would benefit me to focus heavily on running in my training.

Off to Target!

Running

For me, running is my biggest battle.  Its boring, I am not very fast, and did I mention boring?  Besides that, it hurts, a lot.  In the bad pain kind of way, not the good pain.  Majority of the pain comes from previous injuries, which deserves an entire post on its own, but lets just say that I have really bad knees and really bad feet. 

For the feet I had my podiatrist create custom inserts that have changed my life.

For my knee (especially my right one), I just purchased the knee strap that is supposed to reduce pain caused by patellar tendonitis.  Whether I have this in my knee amongst my ruined meniscus, torn cartilage and destroyed ACL, I have no idea.  But hopefully it will help.

Any opinions?

UPDATE:

THe Mueller and McDavid brands work well, but they do not have a pull for leverage when using the knee strap.  They just have a wrap-around velcro piece that is tough to adjust for tightness.  I returned my McDavid one and have just purchased one with an adjustable strap.  The ACE brand and Imak brand have these options.

A Word of Thanks

At the age of 5, I joined my first team, the local summer swim team.  I stayed on this team for the next 13 years (when I got too old) and then ended up coaching it.  Growing up, I have always been on a team.  Softball, basketball, multiple volleyball teams, recreational and club swim teams and crew team.

Of course I have to mention my built-in team, my family, especially my parents.  My mom took turns driving me and my two sisters to each of our multiple sporting events, oftentimes just driving back and forth.  Many times, my older sister and I played against each other, which was great for carpooling, but uncomfortable for the loser on the drive home.  Even more uncomfortable when I, as a pitcher on the softball team, brushed her back from crowding the plate while she was up to bat.  My dad was at every single one of my games.  Every single one.  Weekend tournaments in warehouses in the middle of no-where, he was there.  Early week-day games, he was there in his suit and tie, pager going off, but cheering for me nonetheless.

Having teammates and family support peaked as I became a collegiate athlete.  Now I had multiple trainers, specialized coaches and a large team to fall back on.  Upon graduation, I found myself lost without a team.  Being an athlete on a team was part of my identity, part of who I was.  No longer a student, no longer an official athlete, I found myself struggling with figuring out who I was as an adult.

Fast-forward 3.5 years.  The last 9 months have helped shape me and have helped me realize who I really am and I feel like I am finally comfortable and happy with that person.

As my 26th birthday approaches, I feel like some thanks are due to these people in the last 9 months.  I have finally found a team of amazing and wonderful people who welcomed me in, no questions asked.  Twitterbugs, you know who you are, and you are amazing.  The support you have given me to shape myself as an individual athlete is refreshing, and quite frankly, something that I did not know existed anymore. 

So, without embarassing anyone, and without getting too mushy, I would just like to say thanks.  Twitterbugs, thank-you for allowing me to train with you for my first STP, including me on your weekend adventures, pushing me to become a better athlete, and supporting me as we train for the Ironman 70.3.  You are all wonderful people who I wholly appreciate.

charity: water

Right now, almost a billion people on the planet don’t have access to clean, safe drinking water. That’s one in eight of us.

It seems that majority of my friends these days are involved in some sports event.  Whether it is running, biking, triathlons, fitness modeling, everyone is super active and continuously pushing themselves.  Many of my friends participates in Team in Training, which raises money for cancer research for sporting events.  While I would love to do TNT, the practices conflict with my school schedule in the evenings.  So I pondered, what could I do in support of my athletic events?

The answer came to me in the form of my lovely friend, Julie Rossman.  Julie trains for fitness competitions and is incredibly healthy and obsessed with water.  Truly.  She found a foundation called charity: water which provides clean water to those who otherwise would not have it.  $5 provides 1 person with clean water.  Just $5!  Your morning Starbucks could provide someone with clean water.

charity: water is a non-profit organization bringing clean, safe drinking water to people in developing nations. 100% of public donations directly fund sustainable water solutions in areas of greatest need. Just $20 can give one person clean water for 20 years.  More info here.

As an athlete, I know and appreciate the need for clean water.  Before, during and after a workout, hydration is a must.  So I want to call attention to this often-overlooked comfort.  Clean water. 

My goal is to raise $500 by August 14, 2011, the day of my race. 
http://mycharitywater.org/stephlovescleanwater