Setting goals while running naked!

After about a two-second deliberation, I decided to try and work things out with my blog.  We have been having issues lately.  I told it "it's not you, it's me."  We've had a few "breaks" but I believe in commitment, so I want to work things out.

Sooooo...I'm setting goals while running naked!

No, I'm not an exhibitionist.  Actually, probably the furthest thing from it.  You see....if you are more well-endowed in the upstairs region - ironically - you tend not to call attention to your assets.  Meanwhile, anyone who wants a little upstairs padding is willing to pay big $ for it and then put it ALL out there....

So not what I was going to write about, but I am taking a cue from Mary Iron Matron and dipping my toes into "going there" when I feel I shouldn't.

So the title does mean something.  After my first month of base training and a HORRIBLE month of searching for my run fitness - I am setting goals and I am running naked! This is my lame attempt to drum up some more non-tri friend followers by appealing to their voyeuristic tendencies.  Not out of some vain self interest -- but more out of a OMG can't stop looking at a car accident sort-of thing.

Alright -- I probably should have some pictures -- but they would be really boring.  For my non-tri/running friends, running naked is just running without any sort of feedback, music, running partner or device to distract you from the hour of monotony.  So that means for me -- no Garmin (GPS watch that tells me my heart rate, my speed, and how far I have left to go), and no Ipod with Pink, Adam Lambert & K$SHA to drown out my heavy breathing.  Just me, myself and my thoughts.

A couple of reasons for this:

1. I have become obsessed and neurotic about the Garmin numbers.
2. My Ipod battery died, needs recharging and I haven't plugged it back in.
3. My triathlons are run semi-naked and I need to occasionally rely on my feel for my race.
4. It's one of those rare times during my day -- that I get to think about whatever I want to think about.  Not what I am going to get Elijah to eat for breakfast, when I am I going find time to plan my grammar lesson or what I left in the pantry for dinner.

The Garmin neurosis should be a positive -- but it has become a negative.  I am so concerned with my HR jumping to 170 at glacially slow running pace that it becomes a hinderance to any enjoyment on a run.  Not that I truly ever loved running.  But most days I didn't mind it.  And some days I even actually liked it.  But lately -- it's been this "oh my god -- it's climbing again/well...I think this is a hill so that may be why the HR is spiking/yikes there is major decoupling/I am going so slow/why in the hell am I going to Nationals in August with my run speed like this/I just suck!!!"

Yesterday -- I ran naked and had a great run.  It was beautiful outside.  The yucky roadside slush had reduced to where I could at least jump over most of it.  I had no idea what my HR was and my breathing seemed fine.  So then I could just concentrate on my goals and my upcoming race season.

Here are the races I have in mind:

• March - Eastern States 1/2 marathon (never done anything more than a 5k in an "official" race, so God help me.
• May - Polar Bear Triathlon
• June - Mooseman Olympic Tri
• July - Black Fly International Distance Tri
• August - Gloucester Fisherman Tri & NATIONALS in Burlington, Vermont
• September - Pumpkinman Sprint Tri

I'm also going to throw in a few 5k and 10k races between the triathlons and then thinking about maybe even the Kennebunk Firemen Tri and/or the Maniac Tri.  

So now that I have my race schedule solidified -- time for goals.  I know Mike (my coach) is going to want my goals within the month, so I've started thinking.

Last year's goals:

• Break 25 minutes in a 5k (24:40) -  CHECK
• Place consistently in my AG - PolarBear (4th and very close); Kennebunk Firemen (3rd); Pumpkinman (3rd); and Maniac (3rd) - CHECK
• Qualify for Nationals - CHECK
• Increase average bike speed to over 20mph - 20.5 and 21.4 in two races -- CHECK

Once I started being coached by Mike -- things changed DRAMATICALLY!  My previous swim workouts were just the "warm-up" from Mike's plan.  Although having Mike for a coach is a little overkill - I LOVE IT!  What I mean is this: it's like some old guy playing in an intramural men's basketball league at a community center coached by....say.....Michael Jordan.  Severe overkill -- but oh well.  How many times in my life am I going to be able to say my coach is a professional athlete? (husband as pro beach volleyball player/coach not included - we all know how my husband "coaching" me worked out! )

So this year's goals.........Goals 2011 (sounds like the old Clinton National Education Goals 2000 initiative)......drum roll please.......

• Lose 20lbs. to help me get "runner lean" and give me some free speed.  (The upstairs twins probably hold at least 8 of those pounds....love to get a breast reduction!)  I know 20lbs. seems like a lot -- but people are always shocked to hear what I really weigh - as if I couldn't possibly weigh what I do.  But I do and it needs to go!!!  Jen and I have been going Paleo -- more Paleo for Athletes -- me more Paleo for Athletes + some dairy and low-carb bread and sugar-free chocolate.  (shhhh.....don't tell Jen and I HAVE seen some caveman bowling and eating dinner out on the Geico commercials - so it's plausible they eat milk, bread and chocolate!)  I am losing even with my transgressions.
• Break 22 minutes in a 5k.  At the end of last season, Mike projected that we would take 3 - 5 minutes off my 5k this season.  Damn.  I'm a little scared -- but if he believes....I'll believe.
• Break this damn 3rd place plateau in my age group.  I would LOVE to win my AG just once.  It's probably like anything else though - once you win, you'll want it again and again and again....
• Compete with the really, really fast girls. You know who you are and I want to be right there with ya!
• Drop my average 100 yd swim time to below 1:30.  Just two weeks ago - I jumped into a master's swim practice and equaled my last year's avg. of 1:40 without anything but TI technique and long slow distance training.
• Increase average bike speed one mile per hour - depending on course - gotta start concentrating on single leg drills. :)
• Survive the Olympic distance -- well more than survive -- but I really am scared about the jump from sprints to olympic.  I want to jump to half iron next year - but Olympic feels so "racey" to me.

Life Goals (even if I have to wait until I hit the 60 - 70 year old Age Group):

1. Make the National Team and go to the AG World Championships
2. Qualify for Half Iron World Championships
3. KONA! enough said.

So.....I've got some very ambitious goals and time is ticking.....I'm off to the pool to start working on that 100m time.  And I probably won't be running naked much once I start working with Mike again.

Here's to my on-again/off-again relationship with my blog and a few more weeks of running NAKED!

Hope the neighbors don't mind ;)

First "Race" of the Season - a long way to go....

Today was my first race of the new season.  Well……wasn’t really a race – more of an organized run.  It was for Operation Jack, a satellite run for Train for Autism.  My tri BFF Jen talked me into running it and I finally registered the day before.

This was before:

Let’s just say – the during wasn’t pretty.  I definitely had an off-season after my last triathlon.  I trained from January all the way until the end of September and really needed to not do or think bike/swim/run for a long time.  I complied for the most part about the “do” but definitely not about the “think.”  But “thinking” did not help me today. Some "doing" might have made it a lot better.

This morning – 18 degrees.  BRRRRRRR……no……effin BRRRRRRR.  And this would be the one time I don’t bring eight different outfit options with me.  Jen showed up at 7:00 a.m. and I picked up another runner friend, Misty, and off we went up to Southern Maine Community College for the run.

Now – the longest distance I’ve done in a  strictly running race is a 5k.  I actually swore I wouldn’t ever do a 10K – I was going to jump up to the half-iron distance  and skip over the whole Olympic distance triathlon.  Today – I did my first 10K…….and not well.

Granted  -- let me get my “excuses” out of the way:

1.  Started base training three days ago.  Running on the dreadmill, at a speed I am embarrassed to admit to, yielded a 169 heart rate three days ago.
2. Prior to three days ago – no running since the third week in November. I was up to 8 miles at that time. After that: nada – because…
3. I got very sick right after Thanksgiving – bronchitis and pneumonia that basically trashed my lungs for almost three weeks.  Strong, strong antibiotics, and orders forbidding me from running and had to stay out of the cold air as much as possible.

So today was my first 10k “race.”   Two words: it sucked.  The air was so cold and raw that it felt like all my airways constricted.  I was breathing really shallow and basically my lungs burned for the first two miles.  Thank God Jen was there to distract me from myself.  I vaguely remember her singing Christmas carols and pointing out a Santa that had fallen drunk along the route(I think it was an inflatable one – but I can’t be sure.)  The pace was glacial for her – but she is an awesome friend and stuck with me. 

Oh and one more thing about the route – how in the hell can there be that many HILLS in one South Portland neighborhood????  For crying out loud – Jen finally just said “don’t look up.”  She kept asking me these questions – I don’t even remember what she asked me – but my answer was the same “Do you want me to puke?”  Literally, it was the answer to at least four separate questions.

Alas – one foot in front of the other – I finished.  It was one of those terrible, awful runs that you just have to get through.  And I did.  I looked at my Garmin close to the end and realized that I was close to breaking 60 minutes.  I did.  Whew.   

Oh man. Six months from now I need to be sub 45 minutes.  This is where I begin.   Bring it on.

In Medias Res - into the middle of things

I have been thinking about writing a blog for as long as I have known blogs to be in existence.  I guess that would be about three years or so.  But the thing is, I always thought there had to be a "perfect" time to start my blog.  Either it was the start of a school year, the start of a triathlon season, the start of a new diet.  And it seemed that I would never remember at the start of anything, so I never started it.

The term "in medias res" is latin for into the middle of things.  I am a high school English teacher, and my students sometimes have trouble beginning a piece of writing.  And my advice always is "in medias res."  And of course they look at me as if I have just starting speaking in tongues and my head has spun around several times.  But then I explain -- just start in the middle.  I advise them that it's better to jump right into the action.

So I am taking my own advice -- I'm jumping right into the action.  In this case.....my blog.

It's not the beginning or end of my triathlon season.  In fact, it's three weeks into my mandatory rest period.  It's not the beginning of my school year -- progress reports are due on Monday and I'm not done yet. Yikes.  It's right in the middle of nothing and everything and like the title of my blog - I'm trying for everything.

I'm not going to stuff my first post with background stuff.  I'll try and flashback as we go.  I'm deathly afraid if I front-load all the background stuff, I'll end overwhelmed and with nothing at all.

Blah, blah, blah.

Tomorrow -- I resume training.  I am a triathlete and I am finding myself a little tooooooo comfortable with my mandatory break.  Thank goodness for my new friend Jen!!!!!  She is this super fit amazing runner/triathlete/fitness nut that I recently met at my final triathlon of the season and I am going running with her tomorrow and maybe her little munchkin - Lola.  Every time I say her name I also sing the song in my head.  LOLA, la la la la la LOLA.  What a GREAT name!  And can I just say she is super cute and super smart?

My birthday was Tuesday and I got a brand new Garmin that I have been coveting all season.  Thank you honey!  And Jen, Lola and I went to Maine Running Company to spend my B-day $ on a new pair of running sneakers.  I am thrilled that I have been moved out of the super supportive (aka memere-ish looking) stability range and downgraded into the only slightly overpronating line of sneakers.  Much cuter options!

I ended up with the Saucony Glide -- with metallic blue on the sides.  I got talked into a pair of running socks which will probably start a new obsession with Balega Endurance socks.  It doesn't take much.  I also tried on racing flats and checked out a fuel belt.  LOVE, love, love running gear.

Anyway -- my goals for this fall's off season of triathlon are:

1. focus on running (weakest event)
2. strength training (starting with Insanity -- crazy, I know)
3. improve swim technique (Total Immersion clinic with Celeste St. Pierre)

So tomorrow -- I start back into running.  I'm only doing 3.5 to 4 miles at a 9.5 min/mile pace.  And I'll now know my pace because I'm trying out my new GARMIN!!!!  Yea!!! Instead of attempting to do the math in my head when I hit an approximate mile marker.  Very scary.

So...here I go.  :)  I'll fill you in about my tri history and my racing obsession and my school life and my fam....and.....I'll save it all for other posts.