The holidays are over and I’m back in Seattle. Aside from the time I spent sick (Christmas Eve and Christmas day) I’m happy to report that I got in all of my time and miles over my vacation. Seriously, that has to be some sort of record, right? I’m feeling and seeing an improvement in my energy levels, speed, and power, from my training. That puts me in a happy place, for sure.
I spent the last few days getting my life back in order. Getting back into the work/training groove of things was a bit jarring. This weekend was spent having fun. On Friday night I moved my new/old bed into my apartment with some friends, and that night we headed out to a nice sushi restaurant in West Seattle. I played apartment therapy on Saturday: moving a new bed into its final place, moving some furniture around, going grocery shopping, making Mean Green juice again. I also managed to pack in a 2-hour massage at my favorite spot here in Seattle (Happy Feet Reflexology) and I was absolutely buzzing when I left last night. I’m planning on hanging up my lovely medal hanger that my boyfriend got me quite awhile ago.
I’m dedicating this one to my firsts. So far I have my Athens Classic Marathon medal, my Disneyland Half Marathon medal, my Dress for Success medal, and the LA Triathlon medal dedicated to this one. When I get my HITS full triathlon medal, it will hang here as well.
I bought a second medal hanger for all of my other medals.
I bought the brown colored finish so that it would visually go with all of my furniture and decor. (Or lack thereof!) I’ll be accumulating a lot of them with my Rock n Roll Tour Pass, so hopefully it can withstand a bit of weight! I’ve registered for 10 Rock n Roll events — yeah, you read that right — so it’ll be a busy year for me aside from the whole triathlon thing.
Vacation was very relaxing and it was great seeing all of my friends and family again. It’ll be awhile until I see them next, especially with all of my training. I also need to accrue more vacation time before I can take weekday time off again. All of my trips in the near future will be weekend trips, with exception of the full triathlon and the full marathon:
1) Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Arizona – January
2) Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Pasadena – February
2) Rock n Roll Half Marathon in San Francisco – early April
3) HITS Full Triathlon in Marble Falls, Texas – late April
4) Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Portland – mid May
5) Rock n Roll Marathon in Montreal – mid September
6) Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Los Angeles – late October
7) Rock n Roll Half Marathon in Las Vegas – mid November
All right, without further delay…
Recap of Week 7 base training:
Weekly total: Swim – 1.2 miles, Bike – 33.7 miles, Run: 7.91 miles.
I consider this a pretty mini/light week.
Monday, December 31: 1 hour 10 minutes free weight strength training. Elliptical warm up 5 min, Free weights – 2x10lbs, Squats 3×20, Lunges 3×20, Chest press 3×20, Bicep curl 3×20, Shoulder press 3×20, Butterfly kicks 3×20, Planks 1minx2, Elliptical cool down 5 minutes.
Tuesday, January 1: 1-hour swim/0.75 miles. New Years swim with my boyfriend. I loaned him my goggles and tried to help him get his head into the water. He had some great improvements in the short time we spent together in the pool.
Wednesday, January 2: 1-hour bike ride/20.7 miles. Rode solo at the gym listening to Finding Ultra. Such an awesome, awesome book.
Thursday, January 3: Off day, mainly because of traveling. I did, however, trek from the Convention Center to work because I took two wrong buses from the subway station. 20 minutes/1 mile, with one really heavy bag and a sour attitude!
Friday, January 4: First day back at the Seattle 24 Hour Fitness. 30-minute/0.5 mile swim and 30-minute/2.6 mile run on the treadmill. Pool was cold according to the other swimmers but was very refreshing to me. It was also sparkling clean since everyone was gone on vacation!
Saturday, January 5: After a day of procrastination, I made it out the door for my run in the late afternoon during sunset. Tackled an old route — from my apartment to UW and back. Felt refreshing and fast to run outside. 4-mile run in 47:10.
Sunday, January 6: 45-minute/13 mile bike ride, 15:46/1.29 mile run along Lake Union. So pretty!
Things I’ve learned this week:
1) I should’ve never stopped making Mean Green juice! I’m going to have it every morning for the next few weeks.
2) Eating vegetarian isn’t too difficult. I had some shrimp with my pad thai earlier this week, but once I got into Seattle, it’s been vegetarian city. No fish. Even at the sushi restaurant, I ordered vegetarian sushi, and I didn’t once feel like I was deprived. This might end up being sustainable.
3) Goals are good to have. I keep revisiting my goal of finishing grad school. I might not finish at the one I started at, though.
4) Sticking to a workout schedule is infinitely easier when you have a plan and you set it on autopilot. I never once had to think about what I was supposed to do. This is definitely easier than trying to create your own plan or freeball it.
5) If you think you need a triathlon training team, you probably do. I’m joining one tomorrow. (My personal trainer is starting one up at the local 24 Hour Fitness.)
6) I think I’m crazy for tackling a full triathlon and a 10-event Rock n Roll year-long season. When will the madness stop? (Hopefully, never.)
7) I need to incorporate lunchtime running soon. It’s not always raining mid-day and I could use the extra miles. I just need to get into the swing of things first.
Amara in Training 