training: day one hundred and fourteen
RACE DAY! HOLY CATS!










training: swam 800m, biked 40k, ran 10k in 3:25:57

i did it. not fast at all, but not last either. the results were posted at www.tinmanhawaii.com, but removed due to a problem with the winner's results. They're back up again. they got it worked out for him, and i'm glad because otherwise he went from first place to seventh place, due to a drafting penalty that probably should not have been assessed in the first place.

here's all my stuff laid out BEFORE we even went to hawaii. i had a huge checklist that i went down (twice) to ensure i didn't forget anything. using the list not only soothed the totally obsessive-compulsive aspect of my personality, it also guaranteed everything got loaded into my backpack, which i took as a carry-on, since if any checked luggage would get lost, it would be the luggage with my triathlon gear in it! note the sports drinks and bars--i can't drink gatorade as it tears me up. i had been training with the active diet drink for a month before it occurred to me that i wouldn't be able to buy the stuff stateside. so i had to pack it in. i didn't need most of the stuff, but you should always be prepared.

the hat and the helmet are not on the bed with the other items because i am superstitious. there's an old wive's tale that a hat found lying on a bed portends a pregnancy. i am not taking any chances. i like my giro helmet a lot. the hat is pretty cute for two dollars and worked really well for me during the run.


this is the bike i rented from The Bike Shop Hawaii. they're a great group of people, do business with them if you ever have the chance. the bike is aluminium and has some carbon fiber components. it was a lot lighter and much more nimble than my terry bike. i was really suprised. i was unable to use my carnac shoes with the bike, mostly because they're an older style requiring an adapter plate. i was going to bring my pedals and shoes with me, but late in the game, we discovered we didn't have a pedal wrench at home so i couldn't bring my pedals. the straps worked out OK for me, although next time, i'll bring my pedals and shoes (we bought a pedal wrench at the shop. along with pedals and shoes for chris' recumbent).

this picture of the race packet course information page was taken the day before the race--it's the course map with my landmark notations on it. i took all kinds of notes! it turned out that on the race day, the course was coned off and all kinds of cops and race officials were around for guidance, so i did just fine. i had the map with me just in case, though the pink ink ran all over, thus rendering the map useless and turning my right boob partially magenta (i had the map tucked in my top). chris thought the notation DO NOT DROWN for the swim course was pretty funny. i did not. i was being serious!

check-in for the race began at 0400! i got up at 0330, after going to bed at almost 2300! luckily, i got a good night's rest the night before, which everyone says is what matters, anyway. i am not going to show you the really bad picture of me, but i will say that i look just like my mom with a three-day hangover. visualize that one yourself, i ain't showin' you. i will show you this one.








there are no prep pictures. unlike japan, hawaii is dark at 0400.

there are no swim pictures. i shooed chris off because i had such a bad case of the nerves. i was the last wave of starters. i was not the last swimmer to finish, though. and there were people cheering when i got out of the water, so it helped. but i was pretty freaked out during the swim. i was also pretty pissed off because my goggles fogged. oh well. i did the swim in just under 22 minutes. normally, it takes me half an hour to do 800 meters. i also got a huge gouge on my right inner shin, probably from scraping on a rock. i was too psyched to even notice until i got to T1 and went to get on my bike.

speaking of T1 (swim to bike)










T2 (bike to run) off and shuffling!










the run was AWFUL. it went around diamondhead crater, it was in the sun and the later morning and it killed my time. i could barely run after the swim and the bike, and although i made good time (for me) on the first two legs, well, after that, i literally had no legs to stand on. i walked or shuffled the uphill parts of the run ( there were a lot of climbs) and jogged the downhills. because of this, my time was utterly destroyed, but i did come in under the four hours, like i anticipated way back in april. i did not do anywhere near ten minute miles during the run, even though i mentioned that, too. because i am vain, i "saved a little bit" for the finish area and was able to actually, properly run the last 200m or so, past the stands, the remaining spectators and into the chute. the volunteers at the finish liked my skull and flower socks, too.

and that was my first triathlon. been there, done that, got the t-shirt and i got to fill in the other eye of my daruma.










i want to thank everyone who helped me along: the nice japanese swim instructor who helped me get more comfortable and even a little more proficient in the water, my family and my friends for taking an active interest in what i was doing. i want to thank the organizers and the participants, too--especially the other triathletes who friendly and warm and helped me get oriented and offered lots of encouragement. most of all, i want to thank chris for swimming endless laps with me, putting up with not seeing me very much (other than asleep on the couch) for putting up with more take-away dinners and fewer clean socks than was really proper, because i was too tired to do anything except hold the couch down, for backrubs and footrubs and for turning a blind eye (and a blank check) to the silly amout of money i spent on gear and for helping me scout the course and calming me down, for getting up at 0330 on race day, and for loving me so much that no matter what crazy goals i set myself, helping me to reach them.

ps: chris has decided he is going to do the tinman next year, too.

training: day one hundred and thirteen

I'm supposed to do a light pre-race brick, but i've scratched that. i know from experience that i need the rest more than the workout.

training: nerves of steel

i'm a wreck. a total wreck. a total, crazy, bitchy, ready-to-puke-from-nervers, cold-sweating wreck. i am seriously thinking of not showing up. arrrggghhhh! chris drove me around the race course(s) today, so i could scope things out. there's a lot of going uphill and a lot of navigating. i'm more freaked out about the navigating than anything else-i am totally useless for finding my way, even with a map! honestly, i'm not so sure about this right now. what if i dnf? what if i get lost? what if i get a flat (tinman doesn't have a sag van or assistance, you have to do it yourself and i take forever to change flats)? what if?

training: day one hundred and twelve

rest day. i'm supposed to stay off my feet as much as possible. ha ha ha. we went shopping so we walked all over the place. i'm trying to be good about not eating too much or too differently so close to the race. so my training is only eating half of everything i order. not as hard as i thought--serving sizes are out of control here!

training: wha?

i can't believe the race is so soon...

training: day one hundred and eleven

i spent two hours surfing so i scratched my swim workout. i now understand why there are no fat surfer girls. what a workout.

training: day one hundred and ten

man, i was jet-lagged. 23 hours of being up will do that. i laid down for a nap and woke up two hours later, and it was dark. too late to do my workouts! oh, man. well, long story short we found a 24 hour gym and they had a daily fee. however, the clerk had just cashed out her drawer for end-of-shift, and i was like oh, crap, and said "pleeease, let me work out it's 10pm, i'm jet-lagged and i am dying here."

in the spirit of the island, she said "oh, i'll let you work out. just go ahead. i'm tired, so i don't want mess with my cash drawer."

yay! free workout!

training: day one hundred and nine

greetings from Narita! Rest day, no workout per se, but we tromped all over the city. tomorrow, i'll have a workout--in hawaii.

training: day one hundred and eight

25 minute swimmy. did 800m. felt OK, if only i could relax, i think i would do better. too late now.

training: ginch

the base fitness center does something called fitlinxx. you accrue points for exercising. i signed up in april when i started training. today, i made the first level and got a FREE "fit to fight" tee shirt!
and i did it right before i leave, which makes it that much more kewl. TEE SHIRT!

training: day one hundred and seven

40 minute jog, easypeasy. except that it was at the gym. at 9pm. ran out of time. didn't want to run in the morning as it felt muggy. at 5pm the skies opened up (the streets were flooding) and it hasn't stopped since.

the tri is one week away. i am taking a break from last minute packing to type this up. i'm not sure how i'll do updates, maybe find an internet cafe in tokyo and a library in hawaii. one week!

training: tapir

my taper started today. i'm sure between travel, pms and the taper, i'm not gonna be much fun.

training: day one hundred and six

brick. 30 min bike, 30 min run. wouldn't have been so bad if i hadn't had dinner 45 minutes before. oh, well.

training: weak!

i feel like a total loser for whatever reason. i need to do affirmations, but i feel like that guy on the SNL skit...i can swim, bike, run...and gosh darn it, people like me. AAAAAAAAAAAARGHHHHH!

panic has started to creep into my thoughts. the race is just over a week away. also, having turning 35 panic. vacation panic. work panic. world war iii panic. panic panic panic panic panic. even chocolate is not helping. that's REALLY scary.

training: day one hundred and five

800 m swimmy. my freestyle sucks! gah, i'm gonna look like a goober doin' the swimleg breaststroke instead o' crawl. well, whatever keeps me from drowning.

training: day one hundred and four

supposed to run. it's hot and humid and i just didn't want to. switched it for an hour-long bike ride instead, and moved the 2nd workout to saturday.

training: meltdown

i'm getting a bad case of the nerves and it's manifesting itself as sheer, unadulterated crankiness. i had a total meltdown last night. i was hot, tired, frustrated and didn't want to do my workout; additionally, i seriously considered not going to the the tri. i haven't wanted to work out for well over a week (this may be indicative of burnout, i usually like my workouts) and i ended up procrastinating until 9pm and had to do my workout late, which in turn affects my sleep, etc etc. i was pretty bitchy. however, after i was done being three years old, it occurred to me that i owe that race not only to myself, but to my husband (who has swum countless laps in the pool with me, put up with take-out more times than necessary because i was asleep on the couch instead of cooking dinner and has really been a saint about anything and everything tri-related the last three months), to my friends who have taken an active interest in what i am doing for training (as well as offering encouragement and advice), to my family (who despite thinking it's nuts to try something like this, are still cheering for me) and even the people who have organized the race.

training: nekkid

i've gained a few pounds the last two weeks. i'm praying i'm retaining water. please. i don't want to gain back what i've lost! anyway, it's on my mind because i dreamed my trisuit (which is very fitted) got too big and fell off during the swim leg of the tri. it was either bike and run nekkid or get a DNF. i woke up going "WHAT DO I DO!

training: day one hundred and three

200m swim, five times. 30 second rest between each set of 200. i think i am getting burned out. it's hard to be focuses on the workouts lately.

training: day one hundred and two

1000m swimmy scheduled, opted for a 40 minute bike ride on the trainer. damn, i am still feeling the effects of the two-weeks-ago doctor adventure. holy sweet babby zombie jeebus. i am tired, cranky, crampy, constipated and bleeding intermittently. its definitely affected my training. sheesh. that was probably more than you all wanted to know.

training: sweet

kelly soup thought of me, forwarding an email about a woman triathlete (who's so cute!). an inspiration (both kelly soup and the cutiepie triathlete). it made my day!

training: day one hundred and one
it's 3am and i can't sleep. part of it was that damn pizza, i'm sure but some of it is nerves. i leave for hawaii in seven days. the race is less than two weeks away now!

training: to do
after i finish blogging this, i'll go do some laundry and other housework, prep a few more things for the hawaii trip. once the sun comes up in about an hour, i'll go for a run and then go to work. it's seems like it took forever to get to here from april, and now the week remaining doesn't seem like enough time to get ready!

training: running
what a horrible run. i should have learned long ago that pizza hut does not agree with me, not 15 minutes after or the morning after. i thought i was gonna end up puking in someone's flowerbed. ungh.

training: day one hundred

i'm taking another rest day. i am all off kilter from eating and drinking too much in tokyo. actually, i did great until i got home, had a bad case of the nerves and ate half a pizza. not used to the grease or the heavy food and not working out two days in a row.

training: short

my workouts are getting shorter! it's odd, but i have a harder time getting motivated to do a short workout than to do a long one. not sure why that is.

training: day ninety-nine

recovery. i'm glad i moved my workouts around. tokyo is hot and humid and i probably would have dropped dead.

training: day ninety-eight

1200 meter swim. at 5:30 in the morning! well, at least i was most of the way done before i really woke up. this is the longest swim workout yet. soon, i begin my tapers. the race is just a bit more than two weeks away. i keep thinking about it a lot.

training: day ninety-seven

scheduled for 30 minute run. it's still raining. rode the bike for 1:40 instead.

training: day ninety-six

swimmy. 900m. speed swimmy. not sure what was up with that, as the 900m workout usually takes a good 45 minutes and i was done in 30. okay, for the first time since i started this crazy endeavour, i actually had a good swim. i've probably used up all my supply of good swim. oh well.

training: day ninety-five

i'm really moving my schedule around, so that i can accomodate a weekend trip to tokyo. i'm trying to work it so my oyasumi (rest) day is on saturday of this week, instead of the usual monday. my rescheduled workout got rescheduled because himberg pool was closed today, despite having a "holiday schedule" printed out, which implied they'd be open. so no swim on the anniversary of our great nation's founding. so... i did ANOTHER brick, 30 min on the bike, 1 hour on the treadmill (hates it) because it's still craptaculuar out. i'm half tempted to say screw it, and go do my swim workout at komaki's and take TWO days IN A ROW off, but i'd get 100 meters into the swim and probably die.

training: grrrrrrr

goes my stomach, bladder and all the jumbly bits of plumbing contained in my "abominable region". will it ever stop being fucked up? it sure doesn't feel like it. what i really want is a beer, but what i had was a japanese tonic (a concentrated vitamin drink, which replaces b vitamins, mostly but has iron and magnesium, too) with a blackstrap molasses chaser (iron and calcium, 20% of my rda in a tablespoon) instead. i've been wondering if my heme count is a little low and that's why i've been so tired. not that the fact i'm WORKING OUT SIX FREAKING DAYS A WEEK for the last ninety-five days has anything to do with it...

training: day ninety-four

moving the workouts around. today's workout was actually thursday's. it's pouring out, so i didn't want to be outside. i rode the trainer for 45 minutes. it's boring. i hate it.

training: what would you do for a klondike bar?

ride the trainer for 45 minutes. duh.

training: day ninety-three

second brick. one and a half hours on the bike, 10 minutes running at high cadence. it was pouring down rain outside (and has been doing so for more than 24 hours now) so I changed the run to 10 minutes high-cadence, light resistance on the bike. not quite the same, but close enough.

training: wiped out

i've been taking a weeklong course of pretty strong broad-spectrum antibiotics, as a preventive for infection because of last tuesday's ongoings. the ongoings wore me out for two days, but the antibiotics have been continually kicking my ass. i'm so tired, and it's not the good, worked-out tired of training, but that grotty tired you get from medicines. it's made my training more difficult, because I feel so worn out. yesterday, i calculated that on average, i've been sleeping about 11 hours a day since last week -- i usually do fine on eight. however, there is one bright spot. in addition to not walking around with an internal infection-- the drugs cleared up my skin like you wouldn't believe! it looks great! wow! one dark spot, it cleared out all the beneficial flora in my gut like you wouldn't believe. time to buy lots of yogurt. erg.

training: you'll be in my dreams

dreamed about the tri again, just a sort of general dream. in reality, all the trip details are set, the itineraries and activities planned and printed out, tickets purchases, clothes laid out. i should post some pictures.

training: day ninety-two

my first brick. a brick is when you follow one workout immediately with another. so i did 30 minutes on the bike, then went and ran for an hour. it wasn't too bad. it was too great, either, though.

then i went home and took a hour and a half nap.

training: day ninety-one

800m swimmy. i was tired the whole time. chris claimed i was booking, but it took me about 30 minutes to complete the swim.

training: dreamin' redux

i'm dreaming about the triathlon a LOT. weird dreams, too. like being stuck in traffic on the way home from work and not being able to get my workout in. stuff like that.

training: day ninety

30 minute run. the loop that used to take me 40 minutes now only takes about 25. i had some cramping during my run as a result from my medical misadventure on tuesday, but i soldiered through.

training: buggin' out

i decided to eat dinner after my run, since it was a heavier meal. i had a light snack of some pineapple chunks and a handful of almonds and went for my recovery trot. well, currently the evenings are cool and clear, with slight breeze to blow away most of the bugs. i say most because i think i managed to suck down enough bugs (particularly around the open gutters) to meet and/exceed my daily protein requirements. it was beautiful last night, it was a really enjoyable run, i spent most of it looking at the horizon and all the gorgeous bands of colors in the gloaming.

training: day eighty-nine

a light 20 minute spin on the bike. thank goodness for recovery weeks.

training: dreamin'

i've been dreaming about the triathlon. i had a dream i lead the swim leg, but couldn't find my bike when i got out of the transistion area!

training: day eighty-eight

recovery. good thing i switched my workouts. i wasn't really in any shape to be running, biking or swimmy.

training: 989

my race registration packet came today! i am number 989. there will be about 900 people at the tinman, 33% of them first-time triathletes. approximately one-third of the 900 participates will be women.

the average time to complete the race: 2 hours and 26 minutes. the winner of my age group (35 to 39) completed the race in 2:07:54. damn.

training: day eighty-seven

today was 800m swimmy. no rests.normally today is a rest day, but i have a hospital procedure tomorrow and wasn't sure if i'd feel like working out. i sure as hell didn't feel like working out today, that's for sure. but work out i did. it was 800m non-stop.

training: turd

i can't do freestyle the full 800m meter. I can only do about 100. this is indicative of a problem, but i am not sure what. so i freestyle my first 100m, then it is a combination of freestyle, backstroke, sidestroke, breakstroke (which i really like) and something i like to call the turdstroke. turdstroke is pretty much me floating in the water like a turd. i try not to be a turd too much during a workout, it sort of defeats the purpose.

heh heh heh. turd.

training: day eighty-six

running for 75 minutes. easy and comfortable. this is the best i've felt in about two weeks. i think my body finally adjusted to the increased training load. sleeping for 12 hours on Saturday probably had something to do with it, too.

training: donut dilemma

here's the problem. there's a huge, fresh cinnamon-maple donut in the kitchen, in plain sight, on the counter (curse the husband, we hates it for bringing the donuts). you want to eat the donut, to revel in its deep-fried fatty goodness but you need to lose a little weight and you are in training and since donuts are not healthy, you should NOT eat the donut. such a quandry. you've spent an inordinate amount of the morning obssessing about that goddamn donut. and the numbers on the scale. finally, that donut and your reaction to it plucks on your last nerve, so you make a deal with yourself. you go put on your vacation bikini. yes, bikini. you get the donut from the kitchen. you stand in front of the full length mirror. the deal is you can eat the donut, but you have to do so in front of the mirror, whilst wearing your bikini. you won't eat the donut. trust me. you'll cry yourself blind, so you can't even see the donut, let alone eat it.

training: day eighty-five

i've been really tired and impossibly sore the last week. it's been miserable. i've been miserable.
so instead of getting up at 4:30 and going for a two-hour bike ride, i turned over and went back to sleep. for another five hours. then i proceeded to spend the day doing a whole lot of nothing except hanging out with my poor, neglected husband. i ended up having to do a two-hour stint on the trainer, since daylight was gone, but it was so worth it. i feel much, much better.

training: day eighty-four

swimmy. tough swimmy. urgh. 900 meters. slow and graceless, but completed.
i've officially done race distance for all events in practice.

training: day eighty-three

30 minute run, kinda late (8pm). the roads i run are not well-lit and the woods are just as spooky for me at 35 years old as they were when i was five years old. i think i shaved two minutes off my run time, booking through the darker areas of my run circuit.

training: dragging

i've been tired and cranky lately. i've been napping a lot lately and i am barely dragging myself out to do my workout. usually i feel pretty relaxed during my workout but this hasn't been the case lately. i've been downright pissed off. i'm not sure what that's about. i'm struggling, but i'm sticking to it.

training: day eighty-two

switched my bike and run workout. 45 minutes on the trainer, as it was raining. the weather is starting to turn nice. hopefully it will hold for my long workouts this weekend.

training: day eighty-one

600 meter swim. i left work at lunch, swam and came back, to avoid the summertime/school's out crowd of kids during open swim.

training: yay!

as i was getting ready for my swimmy, a woman in the lockerroom complimented my tattoos and asked me how long ago my armband was done. it was done in 97, and when i told her, she looked really shocked. she then said "just how old are you?" i told her that i would be thirty-five this summer. turns out she was only 15 (i thought she was nineteen, perhaps a recently enlisted person). as it turns out, i happen to be the same age as her *mother*, but "you look really, really young, i thought you were in your twenties!" yay! yay! YAY!

training: squeezy

becca gave me a squeeze at work, and made fun of me for having muscles and not being squishy like she is.
what a silly.

training: day eighty

1 hour and 10 minute run, split into 9 minutes run / 1 minute walk intervals. I got up at four am, so i could squeeze in my run before work. tt was actually really nice out, for the first time in weeks. it was just perfect weather for a run. that made me happy.

training: random observations

adjust your fanny back before you go running, as it's impossible to do so while you are actually running. you won't realize how annoying it is to have it bounce until you've run about twenty minutes. then you will end up twisting and turning in a vain attempt to adjust the damn thing and NOT SEEING THE GIANT POTHOLE which will engulf your left foot in its entirety and damn near send you careening headfirst into a lightpole.

if you think you will be clever and wear the pack in the front, so it jounces less, make sure you zip it up, because it still jounces more than you think and your cell phone will fly out, hit the ground and land ahead of you so you almost step on it.

trailmix, while delicous, is not necessarily a good on-the-run food. Especially if your hands are sweaty and you are running downhill at a pretty good clip and the bag with which you are dealing is hermetically sealed. you will struggle with the bag and when you least expect it, the bag will violently split in two and cashews, raisins, chocolate chips will spray out in a lovely caloric arc. the sight of your breakfast scattered on the country road will nearly reduce you to tears. you will then briefly entertain actually pausing to scoop up the scattered trailmix, because you are that hungry. you will actually take this idea far enough that you will look around to see if there are any potential witnesses that you may have to kill, should they see you eating trailmix that's been laying on the ground. then, sensibly, you will decide that it's not worth it and teary-eyed, jog off, realizing that the crows will be getting a hell of a treat. you will then make a mental note to buy some cliff bars stat.

farting is not a form of jet propulsion and therefore will not make you go uphill any faster.

there's a reason why the lady at the Outdoor Recreation office suggested you buy the "drinking" lid adapters for your nifty Nalgene bottles. you had your reasons not to purchase them. as you try to drink while running downhill and you will find that half of your bottle of sports drink will slosh out, going all over your face, up your nose and down your shirt, thusly turning your morning run into a mobile freakshow/wet t-shirt contest. sports drinks also burn considerably when splashed into your eyes and this will make you cry. normally this is humiliating and inconvenient, but this time it served to wash some of the sticky sports drink off your face. you will of course, be despondent that half of your drink is now gone and you still have 45 minutes remaining in your run and you forgot to put some change in your hip pack, so all the vending machines full of delicous cool drinks openly mock you as you shuffle miserably past them. you will make a mental note to buy some drink adapters stat.

the loveliest neighborhoods have the stinkiest sewers. stinky enough to make your nose run. but you can't tell if you are sticky from snot or sticky from sports drink so it doesn't matter.

japanese moped drivers have an inferiority complex. therefore, they are quite aggressive and should they think you are taking up more than your alloted share of the SIDEWALK, they will run you off of it.

exercise feels good. when you stop.

training: day seventy-nine

biking! i did the full race distance (40k or 24.85 miles) in just under two hours, without trying really hard. i rode from 6 to 8 am. i garnered a lot of attention, mostly because it's not every day you see a pudgy white girl in black and blue spandex on funky-looking road bike flying down the highway (i rode a rolling, hilly area, so i could practice descents). i had a whole busload of school kids waving at me, which i found amusing.

training: necessity is the mother...

...and cold arms are a mother, too. however, my riding jersey is short-sleeved. and i didn't want to wear a jacket, so i got myself some ghetto armwarmers. my "armwarmers" are re-purposed japanese legwarmers. seriously. they cost 100 yen (about 88 cents). they're made from this really soft plushy material and are really stretchy so they didn't fall down at all during my ride. and they are stripey, which is an added bonus. japanese women have skinny legs and i have sausage arms, so it worked out well, despite being warmers being a just a tad bit short for my gorilla girl arms. the cost of the Canari jersey balances out the cheesiness of the arm-legwarmers. i leave my shoes clipped in, plus walking around in them is bad for the bottoms, so i wore regular sneaks while chris snapped the pic.

also, i want to get these real armwarmers.

training: room with a view

...rice paddies, the mountains (with snow still on), flower gardens, strip malls, irrigation ditches (raised, so it was weird to have the water on the same level as the road) street vendor ladies--old enough to be god's grammas, patches of blue sky, hawks, horses, more than one souped-up crotch rocket motorcycle (although one guy gave me a thumbs-up), an old lady on a bright teal three speed (i almost wanted to trade her my bike)...oh yeah, and man (and bike) eating potholes.

training: drink this!

my kimono sensei gave me a some sort of crazy-ass japanese health tonic today. she's become my unofficial coach/nutritionist. she was right about the rice being a good snack, so i duly slugged back whatever the hell it was, and even though it tasted like ass, it really worked. i feel hella better.

training: day seventy-eight

determined not to break my streak, i ended up having to do 45 minute wind sprints on the treadmill at the gym, because it was 7pm and cold and rainy out. el sucko. the gym is hot and stinky, the treadmill plucks on my last nerves and it makes my ankles hurt for whatever reason, and it is boring as hell.

training: powered by rice

my kimono sensei is in town and she's been giving me batches of onigiri to eat before, during and after my workout. i was suprised, i tolerate them pretty well, even right before swimming.

training: silver streak
here's a picture of my silver sneaks. they were only 22 dollars! chris bought them for me as a surprise.

i know i've been promising pictures of the trisuit and the wetsuit, but you'll just have to wait--i gained five pounds and the fucking wetsuit doesn't fit. those five pounds just cost me three hundred bucks. i was dropping weight like crazy til the damn wetsuit arrived. go figure.

training: day seventy-seven

recovery. i just didn't feel like working out.

training: bumps

i have a ganglia on the back of my knee. gross and a little ouchy. it feels like a marble rolling around under my skin.

training: day seventy-six

swimmy, to break up the runs, because my schedule is all jacked up, and i almost got to do three running workouts in a row. as messed-up as it may be, i am still on my workout streak.

so i did 550 meters, at komaki onsen pool, because school is now out and the base pool was full of kids, one of whom puked in the water. i kid you not. puking, screaming, flailing, splashing, kicks to the head. holy shit, i just realized that sounds like the start of the swim leg of a triathlon!

chris and i had the komaki pool to ourselves and then soaked in the onsen after. after i was in the hot tub for a few minutes, i went and stood in the ice-cold bath to soothe my ankles and knees (and inadvertently chilled my hoo-hoo to the point where i was wondering what gender i was). my knees are not very happy with the sudden increasing in running workouts, and i had read that many professional athletes use ice-baths to assist in their recovery/pain management and you know what? that cold soak helped tremendously. even though i went from the hot tub to the cold bath, i didn't get a cerebral apopolexy, like the warning sign by the bath said i would. maybe i should ask for my money back.

training: left, right, left, your left, left, right, left

i am still having problems with my left-side breathing. it was pretty disheartening. i got a lot of water up my nose and didn't get a very smooth stroking rythym going. to cheer myself up at the end of my swim, i tried diving off the starting blocks. talk about a belly flop. i was suprised to find my boobs still attached, that's how hard i hit. i was so glad that i still had my boobs on that i forgot about my crappy left-side breathing. anyway, to address the left-side problem, i got some training drills that might help and will add those to my swimmy.

training: day seventy-five

running. at 10pm, because the day got away from me! luckily, it was only a half-hour run, and i did about 4.4 klicks. there were still a lot of people out and about on the main street, but the back neighborhoods were foggy and creepy. creeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeepy. like a certain guy i know.

training: eating right

okonomiyaki is a great training meal. i ate a whole one and it was filling but not heavy. good thing because i went for my run after dinner.

training: day seventy-four

550 swimmy. went faster than i thought, too.

training: stinky

the care tag in my trisuit says "do not leave rolled up in towel." well, duh, i thought when i first saw that. duh, indeed. i forgot and left my suit rolled up in a towel, in my workout bag. i normally have spare suits, but i left those at the house. do not leave rolled up in towel or you will have a clammy, stinky-ass trisuit that you have to swim in because it is all you've got. gross.

training: day seventy-three

biking for 45 minutes. i'm supposed to be running but the weather is totally shitty and i don't want to run outside. i also don't want to run on the treadmill. bah.

training: gear

i keep promising to take pictures of my cool stuff and i keep not doing it. i swear i will.

training: day seventy-two

recovery day. it's pouring outside and it's been grey and crappy all week. it's making me grey and crappy.

tomorrow, i'm going to give the wetsuit a test run in the bathtub, for giggles. I should probably post a picture of my new sneakers, since they're cool in a totally dorky 1980's kind of way.

training: day seventy-one

two hours on the bike. yerk. i need to look at the postion of my clips, something about my position on the pedals makes my knees ache.

training: feed me seymour

dunno what it is, but i am all about carbs lately. it's horrible. i crave cookies. i've tried carrots, renkon, other crispy veggies, but it's not working. mostly i think i'm craving the sweetness. it's driving me nuts.

training: day seventy

400 meter swim. and it went faster than i thought! i'm still having trouble, particularly with my left-side form, but i've come a long way in two months.

training: day sixty-nine

my workout today consisted of a three hour nap. best workout ever.

training: day sixty-eight

2 hours on the bike, stuck on the fluid trainer because of crappy weather. two hours! TWO HOURS! aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! well, two hours and thirty clicks. the bike leg of the race is 40k so at least i know i can do most of the distance. two hours. or two X-files episodes, anyway.

training: i've got a bike

...but i think i'm going to rent one from the shop in ohau, so i don't have to worry about shipping
the terry.

training: day sixty-seven

400m swimmy. wow, i did it! i still can't do the whole thing crawl, but i'm halfway to race distance. Yay!
Also biked 30 minutes, because i still need to do the 2 hour bike ride and tomorrow's workout is also a bike ride, but for 20 minutes, so rather than doing a 2:20 workout, I'll just do a 2:00. The extra 10 minutes was for fun.

Then I laid on the couch with ice packs on my knees and watched X-files on DVD.

training: spiffy

Chris bought me a new pair of Asics sneakers! They're silver! They will make me go fast!

training: travel-ly

Working on hashing out the details of the Hawaii trip--for activities other than the tri. So far we've got surfing, sailing, shopping and hiking.

training: day sixty-six

I was supposed to do a two-hour bike ride today, but elected to do a twenty-minute run, because I ran out of time.

My speed has improved, it used be it took me almost 40 minutes to run my "neighborhood loop." now I can do it in fifteen.

My knees are achey, need to buy reuseable cold packs.

training: day sixty-five

recovery. that is all.

training: day sixty-four

today was an hour run. i usually try to do a loop, but not today. it was so interesting to go
through the neighborhoods that i just kept going. i ran out of pavement! then the gravel ran out! then i was on a mud road! then i was on the other freaking side of town! i walked home, and almost home, my flexors started tightening up and my right calf got a big knot in it too. i need to get a hip belt so i can carry change, snacks, phone, etc.

chris and i went back and got the mileage. i ran 9.5 klicks and then walked 7.5 klicks to get home, for a total of two hours' worth of activity.

jay smith, a coworker, must have been riding loops thru town on his motorcycles, i saw him three times!

also, today is my 2 year anniversary of arriving in japan.

training: day sixty-three

swimming. oh, dear lord, swimming. 550 meters' worth. it wasn't so bad this time, for whatever reason.

there are 51 days left til the tinman. i swam in my trisuit today, just to get used to the feel of it. i wanted to put on the wetsuit and go out in the lake and swim, but the weather wasn't cooperating.

hey! i forgot to mention that my wetsuit arrived yesterday. it smells like an inner tube. sorta looks like one, too. interestingly enough, it's made from yamamoto (japanese) brand rubber, so basically, the rubber has returned home! if you need a wetsuit for triathlon, i would heartily recommend desoto sports. the customer service is out of this world and the products (triahtlon-centric) are terrific.

training:
here's a cute picture of my swimmysuits and caps (each suit has a coordinating cap--i'm such a girly girl sometimes) drying in the sun. you can probably tell by the logos on the suits that I favor speedo brand. the really tiny one, hanging all by itself on the crossbar is a racing suit, which is indecently tight at first. The racer is also cut really high along the legs and the back is sort of like a brazilian cut, so i was concerned i'd be mooning the entire himberg pool staff. however, once you get the racer wet, the fabric relaxes, much to my relief (and coverage). the racing fabric is also very thin, compared to my normalworkout suits, which are thicker so as to make them more chlorine resistant, so i feel like i've forgotten to put on the suit, and keep double-checking to ensure i is not nekkid. in addition, the racing suit is very, very pretty. It has a Japanese print of a moon window and plum blossoms on it. it is actually quite elegant--well, at least when i'm not in it. when i'm wearing it the elegance is diminished by the fact i make it kinda lumpy. my swim caps are on the shelf. they're spandex caps, not silicone, so they don't pull out your hair. the rack is a japanese laundry rack. japanese people don't really use dryers, they hang everything they wash out to dry, so there's a variety of shelves, racks, hangers and other gizmos upon which you can dry your duds. we used this rack when we first moved here, until we got a washer and dryer. It works great for my swimsuits.

training:
here's a picture of my back, finally starting to have some tone!
Thanks to Brian Lynch, portrait photographer.

training: day sixty-two

20 minute run. i had to poop so bad during the run! of course, i take the ONE route (of several) i use that has NO BATHROOMS. anyhoo, i did the 400m dash when i was on the home stretch. aahhhh. my knees are acting hinky, but probably because i was beating feet to make it to the bathroom in time, because to be honest, i didn't want to have to scrub racing stripes out of my spandex. yecccchhhh.

training: sparkly

i had painted my toenails purple with teal sparklies in hopes it would make me swim/bike/run faster. when i told my mom about this, she made this very good point: shiny purple toes with sparklies...look like fishing lures. way to be inconspicuous to the sharks. good point mom. i am also deeply relieved that i am not the only one worried about sharks. SHAAAAAAAARRRRKKS!

training: day sixty-one

forty minutes on the bike.

training: further doubts

it's beginning to look more and more like i am not going to be doing the tinman. i am simultaneoulsy relieved and sad.

training: day sixty

that's a streak, isn't it? today was swimming, which despite all my efforts is not getting any easier.
i have made a deal with myself that if i am not confident in my swimming abilities by the end of june/first week of july, i'm cancelling the trip to hawaii.

training: bleh

i'm not sure if it's the weather or work or coming off the meds, but i have not been myself lately and it's slopping over into my training and it seems i get discouraged so easily. i don't feel like doing anything and it's a struggle to drag myself out for a run or to get on the bike or into the pool.

training: day fifty-nine

running. outdoors. in the rain.

well, it sucked, but i'm closing in on a sixty-day streak. i am not doing nearly as well as i had hoped though and i am doubting my abilities.

training: day fifty-eight

recovery day.

training: day fifty-seven

swimming. i hates the swimming. hates it. struggled through 400m meters. i have decided if i am not confident in my swimming by the end of the first week in july, i'm cancelling the tri-trip. i'll aim for the xterra tri in Nigata, which is in September, here in Japan.

training: boo hiss

i gained a couple of pounds! i wish i could believe they are muscle, but i don't think so.

training: day fifty-six

I was supposed to swim today but there was a hiccup in my biological schedule. Let's just leave it at that, ok?

I did the bicycle workout, riding the trainer for an hour and a half. Yes, an hour and a half. To pass the time, I play "pick up the cadence so the fluid trainer screams and drowns out the TV and annoys Chris." I also play "stare at the ceiling", "listen to the mp3 player", "get cramps in my calves" as well as playing "let your nether regions get numb" <-- not a fun one, not at all.

training: not going swimmingly

Swimming is also pretty discouraging to me, I am not doing as well as I would like to be doing. =(
However, I am marching on and placed the order for my wetsuit on Friday. Did I mention that already? The base beach opens tomorrow, so I'll be able to start my open water swims once the suit arrives. Yay. I am overcome with excitement.

training: day fifty-five

running. eh. i generally try not to run after eating but it while it can be slightly uncomfortable, it's never really bothered me. however, never run on a full stomach when you live in a country with open sewers. i have a pretty good constitution, but whatever the foosh it was in that sewer damn near made me puke. seriously, i thought i was gonna lose my peanut butter on whole wheat toast. i have never EVER smelled anything like that.

training: official

i forgot to mention this last week, but on the 18th, the check for my regsistration fee for the tinman cleared the bank. i'm officially registered.

training: day fifty-four

i just found out that the sharks must have chewed a huge-ass hole in the pool--it won't be open until sunday, may 28! so further shuffling of the workouts isn't really an option. i hope i can use the komaki pool for my workouts this week (today and friday the 26).

this just in: used the komaki onsen pool. it doesn't have a deep end! also, the pool is much warmer than himberg and they didn't have the floaty lane markers. i was sort of nervous about going to the pool, but chris went too, and that made it a little better. it cost me 500 yen (about five bucks) to swim, so you bet yer sweet bippy i had a serious practice.

training: glub

i am still having a helluva time with the swimming. yipes.

training: friends

two of the guys i work with will be living in hawaii (on Oahu) when i'll be there for the tri and vacation. i can't wait to see them. i think it will be lots of fun.

training: day fifty-three

the sharks chewed a hole in himberg pool! apparently there was a hole in the piping system, and the maintenance crew had drained half of himberg in an attempt to find the leak. so, even after i convinced beccaboo to go swimming with me, we couldn't! i was pretty disappointed because i've been reading up on my Total Immersion technique book and wanted to do some drills after i did my regular swim workout.

so it was switch up the workouts. i really didn't feel like running, which would have been the next day's workout, so i switched to thursday's workout, which was the bike, and did that.

if himberg hasn't reopened today, i'll run--indoors if it's raining, outdoors if it's not.

training: day fifty-two

i hate hill work. it makes me feel sick to my stomach when i am done. the hill drill is supposed to make you stronger. that which does not kill me only makes me barf. i ended up laying in the foyer for five minutes when i got done with the drill. i am so grateful it's only 30 minutes.

training: trippy

i have begun planning our hawaii trip in earnest. actually, the trip isn't in earnest, it's in july but i am dedicating a lot of time to figuring out schedules and activities and triathlon logistics. trying to wrap my head around flying my bike to hawaii is killing me. i wonder if i can rent a bike? hmmmm...

training: day fifty-one

rest day. i'm supposed to do a workout today, but i HATE doing workouts on sunday. so i will do eet tomorrow. i overate today but man, i enjoyed it.

training: day fifty

1:15 on the bike (on the fluid trainer). i was a total bum and despite it being gorgeous out, did not get to my workout during the day. actually, i just wanted to enjoy the nice weather. and i did.

training: day forty-nine

200 meters, non-stop. i did it slowly, but i did it!

training: planning

i booked our flight and hotel today! that might have had something to do with my having such a good swim workout. yay!

training: day forty-eight

20 minute run early in the morning. no problems, except that later in the day, i kept forgetting that i had done the workout and kept thinking i still had a workout due.

training: bennies

my body is toning up and while i look better in my clothes, being nekkid still needs some improvement. One area in particular is the back of my thighs, which have some serious firmness issues. Despite that, i am pretty happy with how i look. you know, ihave not owned a bikini since i was 10. i bought one today! it looks good except for the legs. =)

training: day forty-seven

easy 20 minute workout on the bike, pretty late at night because time got away from me, i watched sealab 2021 while pedaling. i also couldn't figure out how to reset my bike computer, which annoyed me.

training: more gear

i got my new bike pump (with gauge) and actually have my tyres inflated to the proper pressure now. makes a big difference. also, a helmet mirror for road rides and a bottle of chain lube. i still have a veritable shopping list of things to get, including spare toobs for the tyres.

training: day forty-six

200 meters non-stop in the pool. couldn't do it. i suck.

training: nobody told me there'd be days like these (i predicted them myself)

well, i am heading for the meltdown, as predicted in my first post. coincidence or self-fufilling prophecy. i had a horrible practice this afternoon, i just felt all out of sorts and on top of that, my goggle strap broke! that wasn't such a big deal, i tied a knot in it and finished my workout. this only stresses the importance of being prepared (i'll be picking up a spare set of goggles this week) and the fact that there is no such thing as a problem-free triathlon.

speaking of problem-free, it may be that i won't be going to hawaii due to budget restraints. we thought we could do hawaii for a week and home leave for three weeks, but it may not be so. and hawaii gets the short end of the stick. this possibility made me upset and that may have been a big factor in the shitty practice.

on the lighter side, the army guys were doing water training, so i got to see an entire group of them jump into the pool, fully clothed, complete with fake battle gear.

training: day forty-five

recovery day. i have a mystery ache in my shoulders. also, i want to eat everything in sight.

training: day forty-four

forty minutes on the treadmill. wouldn't have been so bad, except the AC cut out and i was dying and i screwed up programming the workout so it wasn't until i was well into the run that i realized i couldn't increase the treadmill speed past 4.5 miles per hour. that made for an easy, but boring, workout.

training: chchchchchchchanges

i'm looking a lot more fit lately and a few people have noticed. i certainly feel much better than i did a while back, even before i started training. last week, i tried to incorporate 2 weight sessions and 2 yoga sessions, but my body didn't want anything to do with that, so i only got 1 weight session in. i'll try to do one weight session and one yoga session this week. we'll see how i feel.

training: day forty-three

it has been pouring out (suprise, suprise), so i switched my bike and run workout. tomorrow, i'll go run on the treadmill at the gym. boo. the more i ride the bike, the more i find things that need to be adjusted--the seat, the handlebars, the angle of the clipless pedals, etc. at least i am discovering this now, rather than in the middle of a race.

training: day forty-two

swimming. i've actually come to look forward to my friday afternoon swims. today i had a couple of lengths that chris said actually looked pretty good. i'm to the point now where i am not constantly focusing on the exhale, it's become more automatic, so i can work on the arm stroke and my kicking. after doing the prescribed 20 minutes today, i did another 10 meters today. although i rested briefly at the end of each length (per training plan) i suddenly realized that when i first started swimming, i couldn't get from one end of the pool without stopping. a pool length is 25meters. overall, and today i swam 550. i am a bit more than 1/3 of the way to my goal of 1500 meters (per training plan--the race is only 800m, but i'm training for 1500)

training: not so much a flounder

someone mistook me for a member of the swim team today =)

training: road crew 2

after working out, i ran errands for a couple of hours. when i came home, chris had set up my cycling/cadence computer for me! =) works great--just to see what it felt like, i got the rpm's (in an easy gear) up to 100 (for about five seconds) whew. i told chris that i had read that
lance armstrong has a cadence of 120, even in low gears. we were both pretty much blown away by that (well, that and he was boinking Sheryl Crow).

training: day forty-one

an hour and forty-five on my bike, on the trainer. my butt is gonna hurt tomorrow.

training: road crew

while my husband constantly denigrates his mechanical abilities, he really shouldn't. he's been taking care of my bike (and me) from the outset and the terry sure is working a lot better lately.

training: day forty

20 minute run this morning. i am not sure what my pace was, but it was much faster then usual. i tore through the run. it was pretty cool AND as a BONUS --i got the dry heaves at the end of the run. Urk. i perked up a bit after a shower, though, and the thought that more triathlon equipment should arrive in the mail today also made me feel better. the most awesome thing this morning is that the scale said 115. i finally shook those last three pounds.

training: orienteering

it was damp and really foggy this morning. i actually almost got lost. in my own neighborhood. where i have lived for two years. duh.

training: day thirty-nine

easy day in the pool, mostly working on form and breathing. i had one or two good runs where it felt pretty effortless, but mostly, i am still kiki mcflailey. i fear for my life in the pool, so what the hell am i gonna do in the freakin' ocean? All i can do is keep plugging away. i've been having dreams about swimming, where the pool turns into the ocean and my goggles have gone missing, i can't sight the shore and something in the water is sneaking up on me, for to gobblemeup. Arrrrrrrrrrghhhhhhhh!

training: fluidity

still trying to find a good price on a wetsuit, the 2005 Ironman Stealth Fullsuit (new in bag) I bid on for a 100 dollars on ebay got away by a buck. dammit. i'm not all that broken up, what i really want a 2 piece DeSoto, but those are a bit pricey albeit everything i read says they are the bombdiggity. one guy who bought a suit from them said the owner actually worked with him to make sure he had everything he needed/wanted. so wow. that's awesome. i can't start open-water swim practice 'til May 29 when the beach opens, so i have some time to find a suitable..um...wetsuit. yeah. pray to the neoprene god that i get a lucky break so as not to break my equipment budget.

however,despite the bummer about ebay, i had happyhappyjoyjoy at the postoffice because my Cycleops fluid trainer arrived in the mail yesterday! Yokata! So when i can't ride outside (typhoon season) i don't have to go to the gym to use teh sux0r stat bike. i can ride on my own bike! yokata (hurray)!

training: day thirty-eight

this was actually sunday's workout, but i switched them around.

i just discovered my workout schedule was all screwed up...my schedule was set for a race on june 25. i got it fixed and now i am on track (and field and on the road and in the pool) for my july 23 tri in hawaii. i'm glad i caught the error! i am also glad that as a result of pushing the schedule forward, i'm back to easier workouts.

training: tuneage

loaded new music onto my mp3 player. how exciting. i have been listening to the same songs for the last month and a half and as such, i was like shutup madonna, shut up. =)soon, i will be like shut up franz ferdinand, shut up.
Also: Dear Chemical Brothers; I lurve you.

training: wobbly

i did 30 minutes of weightlifting this morning. my arms were so wobbly, when i got to the truck, i could barely open the door. also, i need to use freeweights, because judging by the people using the nautilius/cybex equipment, nautilius/cybex equipment is for old flabby dudes. not fierce at all.

training: day thirty-seven

recovery day! swapped out today's workout with monday's, in hopes that the rain would stop. ha ha ha.

training: day thirty-six

One hour run like so: run 9 minutes, rest one. i ended up on the other side of base when i finished, so i had a 35 minute walk back to the gym parking lot. i hate that.

so this is what i was thinking when i run:

idontwannarunidontwannarunidontwannarunidon'tfeelgoodandihave
aheadacheandi'msuchaloser
notanathleteandwhydoieventhinkicandothisatleastitsniceoutsideandiam
notrunningintherain
okaythefirsttenminutesarehardenoughbutiprobablyshouldnothavehadthattea URP
ooooh,there'sthebananaihadforbreakfastohmani
'mgonnapukeohnoamiNOTpukingupthatsoy barcuzitcoststwobucksthatswithmykneeowowowowowowowohlookthelake
ohlookheyithink
theresascratchonmyoakleysowsidestitchmaybenexttimei'llrunonanempty
HEYYOUwiththestrollergetthefuckouttamyway
ohmanthishillissteeperthanitlooksithinkihavecrampiwonder
whateverhappenedtothathomelyredheadedchickiknewinhighschooliwonder
howiamgonnaship
mybiketohawaiiheyithinkineedawetsuitmaybei'llbuyaoneafteri'mdonerunning
heyi'mupinthe
northareaiwonderificanstopbytatesandusethebathroomohman
mycalfhurtsheyiwonderhow
manycaloriesi'veusedupihaven'tseenchrishewassupposedtocomeupthisway
iwonderwhatthe
weatherwillbeliketomorrowOOOHGARBAGETRUCK!heythejapanese driveriswavingatme!HI!maybeishouldgoswimmingafteriamdoneWHAT
aminutsshiti'mgoing
homeandhoggingthesofaforthenexttenhoursyouknowidon'trememberthelast
timei poopednowaitthatwasthismorningwhatistodayanywayohthesixth
pattysbirthdayisinaugustslysis injuneandshethirtythisyearholyshiti'mthirtyfiveiwonderifi'velostenough
weight
towearthosethighhighbootsnowandistillcan'tfindmygreenandpurple
underpants
iwonderifilefttheminsapporoinfebruaryiwonderifishoulddotheXTERRAtri
inseptember
buttheniwouldneedamountainbikeforthatiwonderhowmuchliftingweights
wouldhelpmeandifitwouldgetridofmyflabbybellyalsoineedtodownloadthat
testsoftwareformyMSCA
andowmychesthurtsandithinkiamhavingaheartattackHOLYSHIT
whoopsiwasinthemiddleoftheroad!
welliguessi'dratherhaveaheartattackthangetrunover
youknowimissmydadbuthewouldthinkiwasnutsfordoingthis
somaybeitsgoodhesnotaround
SHUTUPANDRUNALREADY!!!!! ..................................................................................................................................................................... ....................................................................whatthatsthehourimdone?

training: day thirty-five

swimming. urk. i was supposed to do 500 m like this: 150m and rest, 100m and rest, and so on til i got to 500. well, i just realized that i got an extra 50m in there. sheesh.

chris helped me today by pacing me and keeping an eye on my form. it's getting a little better, but not much. i am doing better since i figured out i need to rotate my body a bit when i come up for air, not just my neck. regardless of this, i got two snootfuls of water and had two coughing fits, which were a bit embarassing.

as i was leaving the gym, i ran into kelly, who tried to get me to go work out again.

training: suitably

i look a teeny bit better in my suit. just a teeny bit, though.

training: day thirty-four

forty minutes on the stat bike. i did the stat bike only because i recently signed up for fitlinxx at the gym, so i wanted to see how the automatic tracking of training worked. this should be great for when i do weightlifting! plus, if i get enough points, i can get swag! might as well get junk in addition to getting into shape.

i did the 40 minutes at a higher cadence (but no resistance) than i am used to and i didn't even get winded. my legs were burning a little bit, but away i went. then i went home and went right to bed.

if i am not training, i am at work, if i am not at work, i am asleep. my husband isn't really happy about this.

training: logistics

sat down and started to try to plan the hawaii/stateside trip. it's gonna be expensive. so we may just take a week's vacation in hawaii and that's it. i need to figure out how to ship my bike and all that. chris had suggested we visit the East Coast first, but i wouldn't be able to train if we did that. i just got very unhappy about trying to train, trying to do a triathlon while trying take a vacation, trying to see my family, going without a paycheck for three weeks (the both of us) and then another week or two without pay when Chris' family comes to visit, etc. and i've just had a general feeling of indeterminate unhappiness for the last two weeks, despite having nothing to complain about.

training: day thirty-three

easy twenty-minute run. i can go A LOT further in 20 minutes now than i could at the start of this programme. it was clear and cool outside and it made for such a nice run. having the sun up by 4:30am is something else, although i run at about 5:00am. the only problem is that the farmers have started fertilizing the fields in preparation for rice planting and they use nightsoil, so it is tremendously stinky. it's enough to make me pull a "KRK" and go "ACK! GACK! GURK!" gagging, while I run. usually stuff like that doesn't bother me, but when you're sucking in huge amounts of air, well, yuck.

training: eat 'em up, eat 'em up, eat 'em up, yum.

i am having a really, really difficult time sticking to my 1200 calorie a day diet. the last few days, i've overshot my daily caloric limit by about 300 calories. i am hungry. all. the. time. and its totally for carbs, too (BREAD!). i'm trying to up my healthy carbs (fruits, veggies, maybe some whole wheat bread) and balance it with a bit of extra protein, but it's pretty tough. i don't like to do excess protein, it's too hard on my poor old stone-ridden left kidney, but i need a little more protien than usual to repair, especially now that i've begun adding weightlifting to the workout mix. i am terrified of getting fat (again) but i need to make sure i'm getting adequate food. what's a gal to do?

training: smoooooth

chris dragged out all the instruction manuals and did some tuning on my bike. the front cartridge was going ckKRJDFLDFJCCCkkkkkT! and wouldn't shift properly. i think it may have got mashed a little during the move overseas and then some more when it was jammed in the storage shed. chris got it fixed (after some aggravation) and now it sounds (and works) much better. after he finished the front, he was going to work on the back, however, it apparently didn't need any work, because it was smooth enough already, but we had this unintentionally funny conversation:

chris: (picking up bike, hitting the pedals and watching the back derailleur shift) front's done. well, hey, wow...your rear is really smooth. i mean like butter.

jodi: (only half paying attention, and not looking at chris) thanks! i've been using that elizabeth arden firming lotion on it...you know, that one that you like how it smells...

chris: what? you do realize i'm talking about your rear wheel. on your bike.

jodi: bike? rear? oh.

chris: well, your rear is nice, too.

jodi: nice try, but too late.

training: day thirty-two

i struggled through my swim workout today, which really bummed me out. if i can't handle 400 meters in a pool, how am I gonna handle 800m in open water. i guess i really need to work on the breathing/stroke stuff. i don't understand why all of a sudden, i've started to panic in the water.
i had the pool to myself again today. thank god, because i must look like a total dork when swimming.

training: nobody told me there'd be days like these.

a bad workout shouldn't make you cry, but it almost did. i'm so frustrated with the swimming and i am not even doing that much of it! i want to make sure that i can nail this, so that i can feel confident in the water, even if i am not fast.

training: day thirty-one

a recovery day. feels weird but good. all i did was want to eat! why am i so hungry? and why is it all i want is bread, cookies, chips and other white, processed, carbs? argh.

training: day thirty

one month in. whew. 50 minute run--9 run, 1 rest. outside, because we had two nice days in a row...on a weekend. this is highly unusual. i actually did 60 minutes in the 9/1 run/walk--simply because it takes too long to walk home. i went all through town, all over the place. i really enjoyed it, too. it's a nice way to see the neighborhoods.

when i got home, i showered, soaked in the tub and did some errands. then i came home and crashed. totally. chris said i was out for almost two hours.

i did nothing but eat all day. not so good, but tomorrow's a new day and i'll just start up again. i weighed in at 116 this morning, but i think i am seriously dehydrated, so that's probably not an accurate number.

as of this post, there are 84 days, 3 hours and 27 minutes 'til the race begins. i need to find a countdown timer for my page!

eta: i found one!

training: day twenty-nine

YAY! finally, the weather held and i actually got in a bike ride on the bike! 1.5 hours later, i was pretty darn tired but happy. the adjustment to the handlebars made a world of difference. however, a new problem, there's something going on with the shifting on the bike, so i can't get the chain to go to the largest ring in the front. something else to work on, i guess.

i also need to figure out how to work weight training into my training schedule. urk.

training: day twenty-eight

today was a swimming workout.

100m, rest, 75m, rest, 50 m, rest, 25m, rest. i did another 100m using fins, so i could work on my breathing. lately i'm really afraid of inhaling water. it's stupid. i need to get a nose pinchy-thingy. also fins. i did okay as long as i went slow and focused on breathing out underwater and not trying to lift my head too far up as i came up for air.

training: home is where you work out

i went swimming right after work, at 2pm. nobody was there! it was my own personal pool!

these are two of the lifeguards who work at himberg pool, keeping me safe from sharks. i always make sure to thank the guards when i am done swimming.


here's the outside of himberg. pretty dumpy. it needs painted!

training: day twenty-seven

forty minutes on the sux0r stat bike. that is all.

training: day twenty-six

i have been trying to use training as a stress release (in the past, it was binge eating), but today, it was a good excuse to leave work early. work's been really stressful for the guys in my office, because of some ongoing issues. tater, a mellow d00d by any definition, is pretty lit. amazing. i haven't seen tater mad about anything in the two years i've worked with/sat next to him. so it's pretty depressing/anxiety causing because i pick up on all the bad vibes. as i result, i really don't want to be at work, so i fled at 11:30 to himberg pool, to avoid sharks and practice my laps. i think i will start taking a long lunch on tuesdays so i can swim laps during this time, because i had a lane all to myself. even if i take 3 hours, as long as i get in at 6am, i can still go home at 4pm. this should be OK, since the office is pretty good about letting me flex my time.

my form was pretty shitty and i need to slow down. but it got my mind off work and it felt good not to have five thousand, three hundred and fifteen thoughts going through my head-there was just one (OH SWEET BABBY ZOMBIE JEEBUS, KINDLY DO NOT LET ME DROWN) which was odd, i've never seriously been worried about drowning before. i know it has to do with my poor breathing/stroke technique (just call my Kiki McFlailey). i noticed the guys (all guys) swimming and the ones that were doing the laps in the fewest strokes were not going fast, they were going powerful. really nice strong, graceful strokes. hoo boy. i gotta long way to go before i sleep (sorry, robt. frost).

training: fini

my swimming lessons are done. i still need help, like i mentioned above, but i have seen some really good improvement.

training: z00t s00t

my replacement tri suit came today! i wear a small! yay! i tried another brand, but it didn't look as good as the TYR one.

training: ring-a-ding

i am 21 pounds lighter than i was in december and fully 10 pounds lighter than i was when i got married two years ago. my wedding ring slipped off three times today. i mean it just fell off. i'm wearing it on a necklace now, because i really can't have it resized without ruining the design of the ring. i forget it's on a necklace and have had several mini-coronarys because i keep thinking i've lost it. i am totally the spaz-0-matic 3000 lately, not just about the ring, but everything. i have got to stop with it, i am sure i am driving everyone (including myself) nuts.

also, a vendor who comes once-a-month to the BX stopped me and said "can i ask you something? i mean, you were pretty small to begin with, but have you lost weight? you're really tiny!" YAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTAAAAA!!!

training: losing your head

i lost my powder-blue swimcap last week. it wasn't at the gym or pool lost and found. i can't find it at home and i am still kind of annoyed. perhaps it was gobbled up by one of the himberg pool sharks. i am obsessive about things like this, so i went to buy another one (at a different store) but its the wrong colour and i want the correct colour blue so its another trip back to the place i purchased the now-lost cap. i normally don't lose things, but lately i have cranial-rectal inversion and thusly, my head is up my ass. i think i just need a day to stay home and calm down and not constantly feel like i'm behind on things for whatever reason.

training: day twenty-five

teh stat bike is teh sux0r, d00dz.
i rode the stat bike for one and a half HOURS. HOURS, people. i was at the fitness center from 9:15pm to 10:45pm. it was awful. but i did it.

training: out of habit

it takes 6 to 8 weeks to establish a habit. i am almost 4 weeks into the training. another couple of weeks and maybe i won' be fighting myself so much when it comes time to train.

training: day twenty-four

i ended up really switching around my workouts because despite my taking the day off, i ran out of time and didn't get to the bike ride or to the gym to use the stat bike. so it was 10 AT NIGHT and i was freaking out because the fitness center closes at 11pm and i wasn't going to fit in a 1.5 hour workout nor was I going to ride my bike in the dark. so i moved around the workouts even more than usual and did a 20 minute run which should have been wednesday's workout, but wednesday is my swimming lesson, so wednesday is usually switched with tuesday, which is supposed to be a swim. so today i did tuesday's w/o, on tuesday (tomorow) i'll do monday's workout and on wednesday it will be swimming. i'm glad i wrote it all down. anyway, the run in the dark at night was kinda unsettling, as even though there's some amount of light pollution here, it's still much darker than Columbia, MD ever was. I wasn't so much worried for my saftey, since japan is pretty safe, i was more worried about not seeing a chuckhole and wiping out -- my eyes don't dark-adapt well at all. one thing about running at night that was cool, was looking into livingrooms as i trotted past houses -- a lot of japanese are clutterbugs, don't let those pictures of the austere, immaculate, zen houses fool you.

training: angst

i was really upset at the prospect of missing a workout. mostly because yesterday i had told chris i have done 23 days of training without missing a workout...i've switched them up, but i haven't skipped any. i'm starting to get a little obsessive about workouts. i am supposed to go visit my kimono sensei at her home in akita in may and part of me doesn't want to because i can't figure out how to do the workouts.

training: sp(r)ite

don't chug a whole can of sprite and go for a brisk run. it makes your stomach very annoyed.

training: day twenty-three

recovery day. my recovery day is supposed to be monday but it never seems to work out that way. i haven't done a workout yet that was not changed from my training calendar. plus, i am finding i really dislike biking right now. i'm hoping that adjusting the fit will help me. i enjoy running, it's pretty straightforward. i like the swimming, not so much the effort itself, but i like how i feel afterwards. and right now, i like biking the least. maybe because it's the longest workout i am doing.

training: day twenty-two

today was a 30 minute run. uphill. sprinting. so i would sprint for a minute up the hill. walk down the hill. sprint up the hill, walk down the hill. at least i had a pretty spot to run, as the hill overlooked the lake and there was also a mountain view. i also got to run on a wide swath of grass, so my knees and ankles weren't too sore.

here's the hill and the views. the "slow moving vehicles entering road" would be me.
training: breaking wind (it's not what you think)

it was windy and the wind was really cold, probably because it was coming off the mountains and the lake. and it was blowing into my ears, so they really hurt, even though i had headphones in. it's also no fun running into to the wind, but it's nice to have it at your back, because it gives you a boost.

training: day twenty-one

swimming is harder than it looks. i did my 225 meters a bit too quickly, because my form went all to hell. that was pretty much it, when i was done, i got out and went home.

training: day twenty

easy biking day, 20 minutes, light on the pedals. i still got pissed off because i left my gym stuff at home, in the kitchen (of all places) this is the first time in a long while i've forgotten my gear. so i went and did errands and then went to the gym late. it has been freaking pouring out since 5am this morning. i think i will buy a wind/fluid trainer for my terry, since spring/rainy season is here for the next two months and i want to ride MY bike, not the stat bike in the gym. yeah, yeah, i should be out riding in the rain, blah, blah, blah but no. the roads get slick (yes, i know that bikes don't hydroplane and that despite their smooth appearance, my tires will grip just fine) but i am more concerned about visibility because bad fog often accompanies the spring rains here.
bad fog + blind curves = flat biker.

training: the bee's knees

my knees are getting a little sore. not bad, just a subtle stiffness. i hope this doesn't bode badly for me. maybe it is from swimming with the fins yesterday.

training: the cat's pyjamas

i am in my jammies and in bed by 8:30pm lately. although i do have to add that i get up around 4am. i am not even a month into training and i know that i'll need even more sleep as training progresses. sheesh.

training: visible results

a co-worker complimented me on my appearance today, remarking that i must be spending a lot of time in the gym, since i look really good lately. YAY! take that, stupid clingy last three pounds!

training: day nineteen

today was a non-stop swim of 200 meters. i did it! slowly, but i did it. before swim class! and then oh, man, there was no mercy in swim class. the instructor kept me moving the entire time. i also got to practice flip turns and get gallons of water up my nose.

i had one lap where i felt GREAT. i think i actually had good form, as it felt effortless and fluid and i was hauling down the lane. alas, it was not to be continuous and i ended up back to my floundering technique. i need to review the total immersion course DVD and practice the drills some more.

training: one size fits . . . most

when i got home from swimming, there was a package for me from team estrogen. it contained my trisuit! i was really excited about it, until i put the suit on. it looked great but the fit wasn't quite right. i fired off an email to customer service and asked about how the suits should fit. the answer (which came back within an hour)is "tightly"...which means that my medium-sized tri suit is too big. i ordered another of the same make in a small as well as another brand in a medium (sizing for this brand seems to run smaller). now i just have to wait...argh, waiting.

training: day eighteen

Today was an easy day, only 20 minutes on the treadmill. Hardly anything, really. I'm more worried about the swim workout tomorrow, 200m without stopping. the tinman website had the registration forms online, so i downloaded it, printed it and filled it out. i need to get it mailed now and start planning out our trip. i also noticed they changed the info on the swim--it's 800m not 750.i sorta freaked out but then calmer minds prevailed: 800 is a nice even number and anyway, what's 50 more m at this point? actually, fifty more m's look exactly like this:
mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
i also think i'm gonna need a wetsuit, after all. terrific, as if the bathing suit wasn't bad enough, now i'm really gonna look like a 5 foot tall sausage. just call me jimmy dean.

training: ankle bite(r)

my ankle is still way cranky. although the visible bruise has diminished, it hurts deeply, which is not like other bruises i have had. it doesn't seem to hurt during my workouts though and my range of motion seems okay, it just is this dull, annoying ache, a persistent sore spot. it is tender to the touch, although it wouldn't be tender to the touch if i didn't keep on poking at it, going "ow! ow! ow!"

training: weighting game

maybe that should be the crying game. my weight loss has plateaued and i've been stuck at the same place (3 pounds shy of my goal weight) for three weeks. i've tried eating less (crazy) more (fun but disconcerting) and a few other things. looks like i need to really, seriously start lifting weights. the reluctance of the scale to inch downward, well, it's got me a bit upset but at least over the last few months, i've started to notice that i'm looking fitter (some muscles, however stringy, have appeared and i have collar bones now) and that some of my clothes are really baggy. but that 3 pounds is bugging the hell out of me. the lighter i get, the faster i go. go away, three pounds!

training: day seventeen

today would have been a rest day, but like i mentioned earlier, my workouts were all shifted one day to let me catch up for taking saturday off. so today was 1 hour and 15 minutes on the stationary bike. i had been looking forward to riding outside, but we were having 40mph wind gusts and had no desire to get blown into the path of an oncoming vehicle. i totally had a bunch of errands to do and waffled all the way from the office to the gym. i really wanted to do my errands first but i was a good girl and got on that stupid suck-ass bike. for 1:15. Urk. it wasn't a hard workout, just long. and boring.

training: ring of fire

last evening, when i was running on the treadmill, i took off my wedding band and dropped it into the cup holder. the ring is loose-fitting to begin with and once i get sweaty and swinging my arms, it has a propensity go flying off. normally, i am good about collecting up all my stuff but i'm off my usual routine and i just flew out of the gym when i was done because it was getting late and i had other stuff to do. i got up this morning, showered and went to reach for my ring (it's rote to take it off before i shower) and all of a sudden it hit me-i had left my one-of-a-kind-custom-made wedding band AT THE GYM. i finished getting ready in record time and drove like a bat out of hell to the gym. of course, the one treadmill i needed to check was in use (out of four) and i think i freaked out the guy using it but luckily, the ring was still there.

training: day sixteen

i've moved my workouts around to accomodate our daytrip to kakunodate. today was 40 minutes on the treadmill. i did 10 minute miles and did them comfortably. improvement!

training: feel the (heart)burn

my resting heart rate is about 63bpm. Not great but not bad either. it still shoots up like crazy during workouts (if the heart rate monitor is correct) to about 163, but I don't feel winded, really. i have noticed that my recovery time is getting better, with my heart rate dropping much more quickly than it did two months ago.

training: day fifteen

we are going on a day trip, so i am taking the day off. this means i will need to shuffle my workouts around a little. my ankle (see yesterday's entry) is still sore, so maybe i should skip the 40 minute run entirely, but part of me is very loathe to do that. sunday's training is supposed to be a bike ride. maybe i can brick the workouts? hmmm...

training: day fourteen

a pool workout. i went back and forth for forty minutes today, with a little break at the end of each length, for a total of 225 meters. the thermometer said 86 degrees for the pool but it sure didn't feel like it, it was a bit chilly upon entering but once i got moving it was okay. as usual, i was starving when i hauled my waterlogged ass out of the water. having a can of hot milk tea helped, but not much. what i really wanted was a grilled cheese, onion rings, two beers and half a dozen donuts. what i had was a small salad and a quarter cup of rice and some veggies.

training: dizzy up the girl

i don't know if it is because i am dieting or dehydrated or dying or whatever, but i damn near blacked out twice this morning. upon getting out of bed. i stood up, reached for my glasses and then next thing i knew, sat down hard on the floor. no big thing, i figured i had just stood up too fast after lying asleep for 11 hours. so i stood up properly and went to the bathroom. upstairs is chris' bathroom, and it has a raised threshold you have to step over upon entering or exiting. i went in, bent down to flip the toilet lid up, stood up and and everything went whoooooops! the next thing i knew i had fallen through the doorway (causing the door to fly open with a BANG!) and fell over the threshold and spilled out into the hallway. in the process, i banged the hell out of my ankle. (the bruise was showing by the time i came around). chris said he practically flew out of the bedroom when he heard the commotion. i think he asked me "what happened?" and i think i said "i think i may have just fainted. or i got dizzy." and "i banged up my ankle." it's all sort of muzzy. at any rate, i ended up semi-lucid and sprawled out in the hallway wearing nothing but a pair of lime-green panties. at least i didn't pee all over myself or the bathroom or the hall runner. criminy. and despite eating and drinking a bit more than usual, i still felt woozy most of the rest of the day.

training: day thirteen

i went for a bike ride! on a real bike! my bike! it was a little cooler than i expected once i got moving. i'll need to add another layer next time. i need to raise my handlebar stem and adjust my clipless pedals/shoes, whenever i hit a bump, i come unhooked. mostly went at an easy speed, trying out shifting, cadence, "pulling" on the pedals. i did have one little sprint--when an obaachan (granny) went by on a pokey old moped, i chased after her. i did this for a few minutes, but it seemed to really make her nervous that i was right behind her (can you draft a moped?) and i was getting winded, so i stopped and went back to cruising speed. the 40 minutes went a lot faster than it does when i am on the stationary bike.

okay, moment of truth. i am pretty nervous when i bike. mostly i am afraid of wiping out. i do carry an id card written in Japanese and English with phone numbers in case i am totally damaged, so that helps alleviate some aspects of crash anxiety. i didn't learn to ride a bike until i was about eight. some of my issues may be related to the fact that i always had a bike that was too big for me, but i always feel like a crash is imminent. the little terry is rather light and nimble and i always have a this sneaking suspicion that it is going to squirt out from underneath me and it will all end in tears. and road rash. although, if i crash and bust something up and i get a piece of titanium as a result, i think that may just qualify me for "real cyclist" status. it doesn't help that the roads in misawa are full of frost heaves and chuckholes and wonky patch jobs, so that was a little rough. at least the japanese are accustomed to sharing the road with bikes, so that wasn't so bad, they don't panic or get aggresive. i appreciate the wide berth they give me...did you know i can bow on a bike? i can! i did a lot of bowing this morning because drivers were really kind to me. HOWEVER rounding a blind curve, a lady tried to pass a truck and she was coming right toward me and i really didn't have any shoulder to go onto, so a bail-out would have entailed going into one of the sewage ditches. urgh. that lady could tell i was cussing her out, especially because she was trying to pass in an area marked no passing! but back to my obsession with crashing. i had a really bad spill when i was a teenager, involving a near-collision with a car and me careening off into a ditch. i think that's when the anxiety really started. i am also obsessed with getting a flat tyre. (with my car, i am obsessed with running out of gas). all i can do is ride more, focus on booting the fearful, negative thoughts out of my head, and, uh, ride more.

training: resistance is futile

i had completely forgot about wind resistance because i am usually on the stationary bike. right now, it is trying to be spring so if it's not rainy, it's windy or it's both. and this morning, my dumb ass always managed to be biking into the wind no matter which way i went. it didn't ruin the fact that i had a really nice bike ride, though.