I am thankful to be feeling better now. This morning was still rough, but by 7:30pm I was feeling somewhat better. According to my plan, I had the option of doing my easy bike ride on the stationary bike so I took advantage of it. My workout was relatively easy which was good considering the day I had yesterday. Stationary bikes are just as miserable as a treadmill so I thought if I watched a movie it would help make the time pass. I recently purchased "127 hours" for $3.00 from Best Buy. I know the story so figured it was worth the three bucks. Sixteen minutes into the movie, the kid gets stuck between.... well.... a rock and a hard place. I stuck with the movie for another ten minutes and then both me and Justus had enough. I jumped off the bike and put in the classic movie "The Social Network" which got me through the workout, and quite honestly, is still on in the background while I type this. Before I knew it the workout was over... It's probably the most uneventful workout ever so there isn't much to say about it. I am happy that I am sticking to the plan. The blog is helping to hold me accountable. I appreciate everyone who takes the time to read this!

Workout Summary
Distance: 16.79 miles (stationary bike mileage is exaggerated if you ask me)
Time: 50:00 minutes

Today's Mantra: As long as you get started, you will never quit.

Well thank goodness that today is the first official rest day of the plan. I woke up this morning feeling sick but knew I had to pull it together in order to go to work. Today was an important day at school because we had an all day workshop that I was, beleive it or not, looking forward to, sort of! I went in to work and several people commented on how I looked miserable to be there and "Cheer up, it's Thursday!" I thought, "You don't know the half of it." I went to the bathroom and looked in the mirror and OMG, I didnt put on makeup today. No wonder I looked pitiful. I walked back to the meeting and before it started I started feeling worse but kept saying, "It's okay, it's not like you have the kids today. You can do this!" After the woman in charge of the meeting put a book on our table called "Piggy Pie" I immediately felt worse. I have not had the feeling of wanting to puke in a very long time and for some reason this book hit a nerve with me. I looked at the people at my table and said, "You know what... I think I'm going to go home." They agreed with me that I needed to go home and boy were they right! I was fortunate to catch almost every green light on the ride home and within 5 minutes of being home I had my head in the trashcan throwing up Pepto and a slice of bread. "Lovely!" I thought. My dog, Justus, looked at me like I was pitiful and I thanked him for being a witness to my pain. For the rest of the day I slept and used the bathroom. Tyler bought more Pepto and took care of me while I groaned in pain. By the end of the day all I had eaten was spaghettios and Pepto. On the way home from coaching track, Tyler brought me a Green Tea Latte from Starbucks which made me feel a little better.

Tomorrow's workout is a bike ride and we will see how that gets accomplished. I suppose as long as it is completed before midnight, even if it's on a stationary bike, it will still count! Good night!

Workout Summary:
Rest Day (and needed since I wouldn't have been able to workout anyway)

Today's mantra: Stay calm, and don't puke your guts out.

Today's workout was a Master Swim practice at GAFC. I have been with the group since January and I have made a huge improvement in my swim technique, although it is FAR from perfect. Its far from excellent, and maybe even good.... Who knows... All I know is I am better than I was in January and that's all that really matters.


My workout was completed in 48 laps, which is 96 lengths of the pool. Thirty-six laps is a mile, so you can do the math on the remainder of the workout. I'm not going to pretend to know the mileage and I'm too tired to Google it. Let me preface this post by saying that I felt a little off during the whole workout. The best way I can describe how I felt would be "off balance and boxy." It was like my body was confused in the water...

The workout was tough, as it always is. I am still working on my endurance which I have mastered in the run and bike, but struggle with the swim. Humans were not meant to live in the water, which I suppose is why most people struggle with swimming, even on a non-competitive level.

One of the drills tonight was where the coach put two lane lines about 18 inches apart and we had to swim in between the lanes. The idea was to work on "body roll" which trains your body to be more streamlined in the water. I was able to make it about half way down before I started bumping the lines like a pinball out of control. When attempting backstroke, I did my best to not get my head caught in the lane line and therefore drowning myself. This is definitely a place where I need some work.

Later in the workout, I swam a set using my awesome fins and half way down the pool my calves cramped simultaneously. I stopped, threw the fins off, and doggy paddled to the end of the pool. I couldn't even stand up and all I could think was, "The coach is going to think I'm weak and a quitter." This is the mentality I have since being a gymnast. It's the one thing I can't let go of.

The rest of the workout went well and it's one of my favorite workouts that we have done. I'm working on a slightly different stroke technique which works more of my shoulder and back rather than my triceps. Since I was using bigger muscles, I found that I tired quicker. I finished my workout at 8:45pm and was more than ready to call it a day.

Day two is officially in the books.

Workout Summary
Distance: 48 laps (2400 yards)
Time: 1:37:15 (includes total time in pool)

Today's mantra: Even slow progress, is still PROGRESS.

Ok, so technically today is "Day 2" on the training plan because "Day 1" is almost ALWAYS a rest day on any training plan you have, no matter if it is triathlon or running. I think this is so you can at least be successful on your first day... Smart move!

So today was the first day of actual training. I have been building a base since January of this year (slight base building at the end of 2013) and I feel prepared to complete a training plan that I found on Garmin Connect. Today's workout was pretty easy. The workout was a short warm up with a 20 minute easy run, followed by a short cool down. I decided to complete my first run in Brook Valley. This can be challenging, but I must say I was disappointed to not get as many hills as I would have liked. I know.... an "easy day" and I'm complaining that I didnt have enough hills. My response to that is this: "I dont have a shirt that says 'Hill Killer' for no reason." I feel accomplished today and look forward to tomorrow's workout: MASTER SWIM at GAFC!

Workout Summary:
Time: 30:31
Distance: 2.82
Average Pace: 10:49 (remember, I said EASY DAY!!!)

Today's mantra: "I run because I can."