Soaking.

Just can't seem to stay dry around here!  The snow ended, then we went to Colorado, and swam outside in the snow. Now it is raining, raining, and raining.

Friday I had 5x1km hill repeats and nothing is stopping me with Costa Rica in all of 4 (*big gulp*) weeks away.  You would think we didn't even have windshield wipers on the car.  I tricked myself into driving to the walk-on passenger ferry that Mark was riding home, from downtown Seattle to Alki, so he could drive home then I would HAVE to run home.  Once he got across the water he met me on "the hill", with only one hill repeat remaining.  He had no sympathy for my 3 layer soaked-thru tops, my drenching hair and cold fingertips.  He handed me the keys to the house and drove away (okay, maybe not that brutal, but at the moment it sure seemed like he was asking me to drift away with the puddle of rivers streaming down the hills that the cars were so generously spraying over me).

A few days later I was eager to go to UW masters swims, it only fits in my plan once in awhile so I run with it when it fits.  The main set had my lats screaming in the way I have only felt at Honu 70.3 nearly two years ago. 

The main set started with some fairly quick 300's, with the last one on 3:30 then we went straight into:

8x{50 back on :45, then 4x25 on :25 going H/E, E/H, E, H, then 100 on 1:10, then 100 all out FAST on 1:30}

E=easy, H=hard

I typically don't share my workouts but this one was kind of sickly challenging in a way that I know some of you will want to to try it :)

This swim was a good kind of "soak".

Of course the weather has not let up!

 Just praying for a couple outdoor bike rides on the new Shiv (which is amazing BTW, but not nearly as amazing as the banana cream pie that came along with the selling of the previous ride) before it gets to travel to an exotic land!

Colorado

That big snow storm that made nation-wide news...well, that's the day we were off to Colorado. To Denver then Colorado Springs and later in the trip to Boulder.  We were amongst the lucky whom only had to sit around a few hours with flight delays.

This was a trip to gulp up as much information as possible and within an hour of landing I was working. Blood lactate testing immediately. Didn't even get to think about the altitude..OUCH!

The snow was falling so we tucked in early to arise for an early morning swim.  Coach eased us into things working on drill, after drill, after drill (so sore!), then decided to put icing on the cake with some sprints.  Its a good thing my coach growing up NEVER let us complain. Wait, we DID complain, but we never got a response...the swimmers were too tired to talk and our coach just ignored us. So really, there was no point in complaining if no one was listening.  Back to the sprints.  Coach showed me what was up on the first 50....he really meant SPRINT, I thought he meant sprint. Okay, game on then.....2, and 3, were great then he rested for 4,5,6,7,8...claiming he was watching or stroke :).  Then BAM he was SPRINTING again and I was sprinting.  Okay, I get this game....#10 was ALL OUT!

Next we were chilling our bones riding through the Gardens of the Gods.  We may have looked at the scenery as much as we pedaled but with a no-nap Saturday I was okay with this. Besides the robber face mask I wore that was filled with yucky nose gunk by the time we were finished.

No time for lunch, as we were off to run with a tire.....yep, run with a tire. I have a lot of technique to work on, which means, more running with tires.....feel free to jump on for a ride if you see me pass by. But I won't be passing anyone with that carnage around my waist.

Early to rise the next morning was an hour an a half of filming video clips of  "dos and dont's" of swimming with  Fretta. Later finding out I do a handful of the "dont's".  Underwater filming sure showed my flaws.  Being very eager to work on my swim, Coach and Mark quickly reminded me that tire running was more important!

And all the in-between time was watching films, learning, learning, more questions, and learning.  Loved every moment of it!

Then we were off to Boulder to meet up with our long-lost-world traveling friends.  Johnna and Ryan were spectacular hosts.  Between working out, chatting in the kitchen, hiking, dinners and even a little shopping, the day was perfect (minus losing Snickers ;( ).  The snow continued through the next day so it was unfortunate to not see them again with frozen pull buoys and walking barefoot outside in 30 degree snowy temps!  We look forward to next time and plan that it will be sooner than later....and I am gunning for Lane 2 :)

Thank you to Justin and Natalie for hosting us in Colorado Springs and filling us with more and more knowledge, ideas, and new friendships.  Dave the next chips, salsa and margaritas are on us (you two Nat and Trolle)!

One-Hour Postal Swim 2012

Couldn't have been more excited for my third annual One-hour Postal swim. Yep, last year I snuck in with zero training, well, I got in the water the week of the event and swam a bit but just enough to get some sort of feel for the water, and then never spoke of it.  A year prior I was in some heavy training and shoved it into the schedule amongst endless hours on the bike.  This year, I really wanted to try my best and aim for my furthest distance to date.

Being that my last two races reflected results from  4-5'ish years ago. I aimed for the postal swim to mirror that of 2 years ago.  Claiming a slot in the first (of three) early morning 7am heat in order to prevent myself from becoming incredibly nervous.

A tad  OCD over it, or determined,  but paces and splits were studied over and over. 

(Those that don't know this is what it looks like at the event, with each swimmer having a pace and lap counter, and you may be able to find Waldo in here too!)

Luckily, I was able to swim right next to my all-time favorite swim buddy (Tom) and to share a lane with a super fabulous teammate (Kim).  For ultimate comfort I chose my favorite new TYR suit (blue and green with TNM logo) and my favorite TYR pink tracer goggles. I stuck with Tom the first few 100's and then held on to the same exact pace through the next entire hour. The goal was to hold 1:14/100 yards or 1:21/100 meters.

I did it!  4817 yards (or 4405 meters), 60 yards more than ever.

What was incredibly exciting was seeing the additional TNM swimmers who were improving by 100, 200 (this included Mark) and 300 more yards over just a year ago!  Seeing their progress reminds me of what a fulfilling and rewarding job I have.  They are inspiring and prove the truth that hard work pays off!

Ironically this weekend I had my first swim analysis and have so much more I can improve upon.  Many things I teach athletes "not" to do, I was doing.  The goal not necessarily to swim lots faster but to stop wasting so much energy. Back to work! ;)

January Catch-Up.

Two posts in January. Progress?!  Maybe?!

I hate to use the excuse "busy"....ever. Because in reality we are all busy.  Sometimes busy even means sitting your bum on the couch and doing nothing.  It is something that has to be done and must be fit into "life".

In reality, bum-on-the-couch has not been in the cards. 

*93-year-old Grandma passed earlier this month. If you know the Webb family you can't help but notice the closeness they all share.  A huge part of this loving family was because of Grandma.  She was a caring, loving, gentle soul.  She embraced her family unlike anything I have ever seen.  Tomorrow we say our good-bys, although the traditions she instilled amongst her family will live on forever. She left footprints on every heart she touched.

(Kitty footprints in the snow)

*Did you hear it snowed in Seattle?!  Immediately followed up by a rain storm? Then a wind storm? It was fun and crazy all at the same time. We gym hopped to find one that was open, only to find an 86 degree pool. After a 1:30 tempo run on a treadmill a sweaty hot pool is less than desirable.  We busted it out. Once we had enough cabin fever we ran outside.  In puddles and brown-dirty-slushy snow. But with the right friends we can't complain.

(Run buddy Elizabeth)



*The weather left us bundled inside. I cleaned out my closet that looked like it could have been border-line hoarding. It is officially a walk-in closet again. And I feel lost without all my shoes. But thanks to Zoot, it will be Christmas in January soon!

*It has been 6, yep, SIX entire months of no hospital visits and in turn 6 months of solid training.  6 months ago I held an FTP of  150'ish. This number (although tough to swallow) kept me going, knowing how much further I could push.  Seeing gains made me excited to ride, excited to train, and anxious to get stronger. Not one week has surpassed 15 hours, my body has limits.  BUT I am excited to enter a race in 8 weeks with the most fitness I have had since August of 2010. 

*Speaking of race.  We are headed to Costa Rica.  I don't own a passport.  We are working on that.  My picture got denied.  No headbands. I don't live a day without a headband. New photo submitted. Convinced I will go un-recognized.

*Humira can cause arthritis. Humira is used to treat arthritis. Makes sense right?! I now have arthritis in my foot.  It hurts. But not enough to stop me from sport. So my right foot will be swimming, biking, running OR sitting in an ice bucket. This was determined after multiple (ie:8) doctor visits.  No wonder there is no time to blog. Stress fracture, gout, cyst were all ruled out. Actually a huge cyst was found, but it doesn't hurt, so "it" needs to be named because" it" will be with me forever.

*Some non-racing goals were set for the new year. One has been a huge success: Spend more time with girlfriends. Dinners, coffees, mani/pedis, have been super enjoyable catching up with new and old friends. Epic fail on the other: No shopping for three months.  The new Coach bag was reaching for me, I budged, but half of it was accounted for through gift cards, so maybe I only failed half way. I will make up for it by spending more time with friends. :)

*Up and Coming events: One hour postal swim on Sunday and Colorado next week!

Live it up!

2012 *bam*

WOW! Its the end of 2011 and I just have to post.

I went back to see what I was doing last year and reminisced.  I was defining what it feels like to be an athlete.  I was trying to figure out what was next. I wrote goals.

Race goals for 2011 was to just show up at a start line and race! Mission accomplished.

Race goals for 2012. A little more lofty and I have to hit some big numbers to get there. So the goal watts and paces are within reach and I am feeling nervous with excitement. Nearly puking every S/B/R....but seeing my race plans and goals flash before my eyes on that refrigerator that sat practically blank at the end of last year is huge motivation. AND, those plane tickets to Costa Rica are purchased!!!

*I was taught at a young age that if you HAND write your goals and post them in a place you frequent then you are more likely to accomplish them. Our refrigerator is full of our goals, what we need to do to get there, and why it is important to us. A trait I feel truly works and that everyone wanting to achieve anything should follow.

*I would post photos but was also taught to only share your goals with individuals that 100% believe in you. Since blog land is, well, blogland, then keeping them private I must. When a goal is accomplished then I can share. I believe I posted a small visual of it once before post-St. Croix in 2009.

2011 Stats:

I tracked my "training hours" and am surprised that this year my hours are higher (bike less).  NOW, let me follow this up by saying I fully believe in quality over quantity and measurement of hours is not a true indicator of fitness, BUT it is kind of fun data to look at (amongst all the other fun data I can geek out on).  This year was very sporadic but consistently sporadic, last year was full of tons of training until late July and then it cam to a huge halt. Here are the numbers (a little embarrassed but also very proud, I gave it my best!).

Swim: 115 hours

Bike: 224 hours

Run: 127 hours

*34 hours of strength

2010 numbers

In great news the Humira is working besides feeling incredibly tired for 1-2 days.  I can handle this (and the bruises too)!  Mark just loves being able to prick me with the painful epi-pen every two weeks, twiddling his thumbs in excitement and listening to it go "whoosh" as it is inserted.

Last year I posted about all the things I "wanted" to do this time of year and wasn't able to. My last post stated ALL those things that I "GOT" to do this year! Yipee!!!

Remember the good, let go of the bad, and shine bright in 2012.  Happy New Year!

Holiday- Mania

What is the best way to stay fit during the holiday season?! Make all your holiday gatherings revolve around fitness
Holidazzle run with some super fit, crazy-fun-girlfriends. 4.5 miles around Queen Anne looking at lights, singing, caroling, and picture taking. Thank you Cathleen Knutson for organizing, baking, making CD, etc, etc....you are a super-girl!

(Bridget Jones-BFF!!)
And fantastic jewelry-maker too....no pics from her jewel-polooza party, but her crafts are shiny and sparkly and any girls dream!

(This may or may not have included a bar stop.)
(Caroling)

Prior to the run was some "real" workouts including but no-way limited too my favorite workout day with Curt. Band-tastic Wednesday, and since I have been talking about it alot lately, here is a short glimpse of the fun:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DtwqO_gp6fw
and
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l4TkjmWgNME

*Sorry for the lame post of videos, taking me forever to download onto computer, so this was easiest :)
Then some big swims were ahead!

75x100 with TNM-mates
All in prep for the 10K swim the following week:

(25+ swimmers, in an outdoor pool, in 40 degree air temps, swimming on Christmas Eve)

(The 10K group- 110x100)

About 40 of the 100's were on 1:25, 10 on 1:20. Additional 100's consisted of 10 warmup on 1:40, 5 kick on 2:00, 10 backstroke on 1:45 and a few on 1:30.

Thank you Laura O'Meara for organizing once again and Powerbar for the fuel!

In even better news. My mom has officially retired (at 55!) So proud of you Mom and excited for all your new adventures, probably consisting of traveling and organizing events with your friends/family!

(Mom and I at Cafe Campagne)

Mark is busy with his new toy....he is on his THIRD time "recovering" today and he only worked out once.

Asking for a screwdriver and some more monkey bread at the same time. Ha! And I am getting excited to figure out my new Go Pro Camera!! Yippee!
And most importantly we are just enjoying lots of time with friends and family while taking valuable time out to remembering our loved ones in heaven.

Love you Dad!
(he loves treats too)
Wishing every one of you a year of health, happiness, friends and family. Live your dreams, love much, and appreciate everything. Happiest of holidays!

Pluggin' away!

This blog has been on vacation while I have been working. NOT FAIR?! Okay, maybe it is because I am so excited to be seeing improvements every week in my training. And if I look back to 12 weeks ago the gains look pretty significant. This is excites me and leaves me with that burning desire to set some real goals and AIM high!

Back up to six months ago when I could workout but could not see any fitness gains, in fact, all I could do is soak in my own pity on how far I had fallen. I had a process in my head that thought:
#1 When you can’t workout you just can’t work out, accept it, make use of your time and heal.
#2 You now “GET” to workout, enjoy it, love it, and be thankful.
#3 You will soon be where you want to be and ready to race. Just like magic.

I believe so much that if you know you are giving all you can and doing all you can to succeed then you WILL succeed. But the success I was looking for was not coming at the rate I was expecting.

The third was the biggest wake up call. After 8 weeks of solid training (ie: no hospital visits, the humira seems to be working, etc), I was struggling. How could it be SO hard to get back in shape. How come when I was in shape all I did was want more. To be faster, to critique my performance, to not embrace the fitness I worked so hard for?

Of course that is a logical method as an athlete looking to be their best. And I understand we must evaluate where we are at and what we can do better to improve BUT why is it so often overlooked when we are at our peak? As an athlete if you have given your all, day in and day out in training and put it all out on the line on race day, then the only thing you should do is embrace your accomplishments. Be proud of your gains and appreciate all your hard work.

I needed a major overhaul in my training and approach in order to “see” improvements. My volume is still very low, my intensity is high, and I am keeping a solid balance in all three disciples. Strength training is up a ton. Not traditional strength training, a lot of pilates and sport specific plyometrics with bands, drills, and dynamic stretching (Thanks to Kinetic Force and Curt). I am doing a lot of the same workouts over and over to see gains. Typically I love a ton of variety, but it is not the best for me right now.

De-training is a must in all training programs, but I de-trained to nothing. Every muscle disappeared. In fact, I had my first shoulder injury from loss of muscle and sleeping so much on one side (when I was sick I slept a minimum of 12-14 hours a day and all on my right side).

I can honestly say that I am doing nearly everything (come on, I love chocolate cake!) in my power to do the best I can right now. Does this mean I am following my plan 100%, NOPE, not the written down workouts, BUT I am listening to my body and doing as much as it allows me to. I continue to plug away each and every day looking for little improvements, setting super small goals and looking at my new goals for 2012!

Lets just say I am loving it!