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.