SWIM! I’m hoping to do a 5k swim “race”, maybe 2 of them, over the summer. The first opportunity is on June 21st (Mashpee Super Swim), the second is in August (Race for Swim & Fin). We’ll see. I got a 2-mile swim in yesterday, so doing 3 miles in another week could happen… I’m a little nervous, not so much because of the distance, but that it could be choppy, and the water might still be a little chilly. I wore a shorty wetsuit yesterday and was shivering for quite a while after being in the water for an hour.
Yes, I’m a bit of a cold wimp – I think the water temp was around 73F
I figure the 3 miles (3 x 1-mile loops) will take me a about an hour and a half. I just want to settle into a forever pace and not blow out my shoulder (thus the quotation marks around race).
BIKE! I signed up to do the Rapha Women’s 100 on July 20th. I’ll be doing the 101km ride through Ride Studio Cafe with some friends (unless it’s raining). It’s my anniversary, so that’s my husband’s present to me: I get to ride all day. I’ve got the best husband ever!
READ! Me Before You, by Jojo Moyes. One of the best books I’ve read in a while.
and Eat! nothing too exciting in the eating department, but we have greens coming up in our garden and it’s grilling season!
I LOVE SUMMER
is not quite enough and hurts every time!
Just a quick post.
After last weekend’s swim in the tri (I was part of a relay), I realized that I MUST swim with faster others if I hope to get faster myself. So I went to a master practice yesterday. Wow. Kicked my butt. I’m a little sore today, but that could also have something to do with the pre-work interval challenge class or the post-work total body conditioning class I went to! It seems to be all or nothing some days. I might just swim at the pond today to stretch it all out.
I haven’t written anything lately mostly because I haven’t had much to say. I survived my 4 TRX classes. They were good and I really liked the instructor. I can see how doing it regularly would help with strength and tone, but then again, it doesn’t seem like it would be that hard to do similar exercises with weights or body weight in the gym. I still would need to actually GO TO THE GYM (see previous post on gym aversion)!
So… it’s finally race season. I watched a sprint triathlon on Mother’s Day – poor racers. The water was maybe 59 and it was cold and rainy out. So glad I didn’t sign up for that one! My first event is coming up on June 8th – Escape the Cape:
SWIM: That’s all I have to do. Hurray for relays! 1/3 of a mile. Easy. Cold. I did the whole tri last year (water was 64. Yikes!), but opted to be part of a relay this year. My goal is to beat my time, but I’m not swimming quite as well this year so we’ll see. Swim time to beat: 7:24. Last year it was a small women’s only tri, but this year it’s co-ed. I just hope the relays don’t get put in the same wave as the Clydesdales – it hurts when they swim over you.
Exit the water at a run!
2011 Title 9 tri
On one of my swims last week, I was lucky enough to have a kayak escort. I say “lucky” because it was foggy and I couldn’t see beyond the first buoy. But my kayaker could. Pretty cool! He just positioned himself so I wouldn’t go off course. The kayaker is planning to escort a swimmer for the Manhattan Marathon Swim in a couple weeks. Now that’s a serious swim.
BIKE: I ended up going to a spin class last week, but for the most part I’ve been riding outside. It’s so nice to be on the road again! I did 41 miles with a friend on Memorial Day and hope to get out a couple more times this week.
READ: Being Henry David, a young adult book, but suitable for adults. It’s set in Concord, MA and some of the action takes place at Walden Pond, where I swim, so I couldn’t resist. I also read two books by Gillian Flynn: Gone Girl and Sharp Objects. Dark and twisted. Creepy good.
and… EAT! A while back I wrote about what I was eating for breakfast. I was on an oatmeal kick for a bit – it was good – but I needed a change. Hello, Smoothie! But what to put in the smoothie? EVERYTHING (see below)! I consulted No Meat Athlete’s perfect smoothie recipe, and then went wild. I’m not vegan so I’m using BiPro protein powder – it’s whey protein isolate. It dissolves really well, no weird grittiness or taste. If at some point I decide I don’t want to eat whey, I’d probably use Hemp protein. Tons of options when it comes to smoothies.
Ingredients may vary
green goodness!
As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, I get kind of lost when I go to the gym on my own. So rather than suffer the embarrassment of gymnesia, I attend group exercise classes. They can be hard, fun, and/or goofy, but I (almost) always get something out of the experience.
I go to classes through Harvard Recreation – minimal cost, go to any class anytime, and pick from a range of offerings. I make it to Indoor Cycling and Interval Challenge classes pretty regularly through the winter, so that’s nothing new. I tried IndoRow (weird), and CardioKicks (one time it was fun, the next time a bust – instructor-related). I’ve also tried total body conditioning and yoga, and I keep telling myself I’ll try a Step class one of these years – I’m not very coordinated, so that could be a problem. Left? Oh THAT left! Sorry!
Every semester, Harvard Rec. offers specialty classes for a little extra money. So, with the encouragement of my husband (who is probably just curious to see how crazy I am) I signed up for TRX sessions. 4 sessions in May – 1xwk for 30 minutes. It will either kill me or make me stronger. I’m hoping for the latter. I’m a little worried about injuring myself, but I’m also really intrigued by TRX, so we’ll see what happens. I just hope it doesn’t adversely affect my swimming.
Have you tried TRX? Should I be scared?
I guess I’m supposed to do some cross-training – it has been suggested more than once. Actually I think I do a LOT of cross-training – the whole I’m-sort-of-a-triathlete thing – but what I mean is, I guess I should be doing more specific weight-training. I don’t mind the idea of it. I can see how it might be helpful to my performance and fitness. But as I commented to Waterblogged, I suffer from gymnesia when I walk into the gym alone. Even when I write circuits down, I manage to “forget” what I intended to do. Self-sabotage? Perhaps. Self-consciousness? Definitely. I go to gym classes at Harvard. There’s an Interval Challenge class I like: HIGH-intensity simple heart pumping cardio drills combined with muscle conditioning exercises to give you a total body workout. Be prepared to sweat! And I’ve been known to attend Total Body Conditioning: The focus of this class is to strengthen all muscle groups using hand weights, your own body weight, and much more! So it’s not like I don’t have a clue. Except when I walk into the gym. Alone. And I don’t have a clue.
In the spirit of trying new things – or old things that I haven’t done in a long time – and working on expanding my exercise boundaries, I’m going to make a concerted effort at… jumping rope. As a kid I used to spend afternoons jumping rope in my driveway. Imagine my surprise when I tried to jump rope the other day and could barely manage. Of course I blamed the jumprope. Well, it WAS a sucky rope: plastic, too light, too long. Did I mention I’m good at excuses? Stomping my feet, complaining, I cried to my husband. I wanted a REAL rope. He made me one. Shit. I mean OH BOY! It’s real rope. It’s just the right heft. I can adjust the length by wrapping the ends around my hands. It’s just like I remember from childhood!
First real attempt. After swimming 2500 yds, I went next door to one of the gyms that isn’t very busy (maybe 3 people there!) and did my best to hide in a corner. Got my supplies: my rope, some weights, a ball, a step. My idea was to just do a few rounds: alternating jumping rope with triceps, biceps, planks, core stuff. Takeaway – probably best to be a little more systematic about the whole thing and not just wing it! And doing all this after swimming? I was a little tired. I’m not sure I would have gone swimming afterward, though. What order do people do this stuff in? Swim first and then I’m tired, but probably still getting some benefit. Swim after and I’d be tired and probably end up with a lousy swim and leg cramps. A work in progress. I topped it off with a spin class after work. I’m trying for that full-body thrashing!
swim.bike.read. 