boo!

happy halloween, y'all! (for you non-Star Wars nerds--he's an Ewok)

PS...there is now officially LESS THAN 300 days until IRONMAN Louisvile! Eep. 

#sandy

Hurricane Sandy rolled through Beantown on Monday. i am grateful to be able to say we got out unscathed.  here's hoping those more seriously affected are able to return to normal shortly.

we even had an emergency baby boat for the little dude:

as for swimming, i ended up keeping Monday as a rest day, what with Sandy being all windy and whatnot. did 1 mi continuous today (with a new pool PR: 31:50) + 100 kick & 100 cd. i am still hashing out what to do with the rest of my workouts this week, as we have a full calendar of halloween engagements and friend coming in town on Saturday. stay tuned for a workout recap on Sunday.

[if you're wondering...yes. we are still having date night tonight :) ]

swim focus - week tres

also known as week fighting the sickness. also ALSO known as the week three update that i put up AFTER the week four preview. i am a genius sometimes. 

we've been achoo-ing for over a week in our house. a bunch of kids at playgroup had the sniffles, there's a 'work bug' (no code pun intended) going around the CTO's office, AND the CTO came back from SFO with something. methinks we've just been trading viral strains back and forth.

so, this week we're all snotty, scratchy-throated, and coughy. i don't feel too TOO bad, thankfully. nothing a little tea, extra vitamin C and rest won't cure.

though i had a good interval workout planned, i ended up taking Wed off. the CTO looked at me like i was crazy when i started to pack my things for the gym. (i may have sneezed 3 times in a row, coughed, and had tissue stuffed in my nostrils) then he says,

"you realize you don't have to swim tonight, right? you are in the off-season. it's okay to take a day off during the off-season. save this power-through-it, i'm-so-tough attitude for when training actually starts, so you have something left."

my first instinct was to argue (my parents are lawyers, after all) but in the end, he was so very right. i ended up sleeping like a husband Wed night.

from someecards 

and, the whole time in the back of my head, i'm thinking: best case scenario, if i feet better by Thurs i could still get my 5 days in! (here's a hint. this is not a best-case-scenario type of week.) Thurs ended up being a complete fucking mess wash bc the dudebaby had a meltdown at the gym playroom (they had to come get me out of the pool to calm him down. we left early bc he was such a fusspants, poor kiddo.) as for the rest of the week, i could tell i still wasn't feeling 100%. but kiddo made it through Fri's workout without a meltdown. and it felt GOOD to be in the water. (holy crap i can't believe it...am i actually starting to enjoy swimming??) the CTO had a hackathon all day Saturday, and i forgot to make playroom reservations, so there was no swimming. instead, bebe and i ran. hopefully the hackathon will end early enough today for me to get to the pool before any gnarly weather hits.

back to swimming. this week in workouts:

Mon: OFF
Tues: horrid 1 mi drills. took me foreverandever to get through (still in denial about having the ICK)
Wed: OFF
Thurs: 250wu, 6x25 drills, 8x100 @ mod :15 rest, 200 kick, 200 pull   get out and rescue bebe
Fri: 1 mi continuous TT, 200 kick, 200 cd
Sat: OFF-swim, 3mi run in AM
Today: 200wu, 200 drills, 8x50 @ max :30-45 rest, 2x100 kick, 200 cd

4 out of 5 ain't bad. i'm going to need some good juju to get me to the pool today...send it my way if you can spare!

SWIM FOCUS WEEK 4 vs. HURRICANE SANDY

this is what i'm up against next week:

from the weather channel . com

went to the store yesterday to stock up on water, batteries, canned food, baby food, and dog food. the camping stove is out, the coolers are ready for ice, flashlights are ready.

NSTAR's website tells me to fill the bathtub and large containers with water...maybe i can just swim in there? or the streets, perhaps? 

what's more concerning to me than missing a swim $20 billion in damage to the northeast is the fact that the CTO and i had a freaking date night planned for Tuesday... #thanksalotsandy

two things about kona

1. tonight @ 4-6PM EST, the WTC airs coverage of Kona. if I had cable, you know i'd be all up on that (comcast channel 62 for those of you up here in Beantown)  maybe they'll air it somewhere on the interwebs as well???
2. i signed myself up for the Kona Lottery program!!

from ironman.com

i know, i know. i'm crazy. 

the chances are slim. next year, in all likelihood, will be the only time in my life where i'll be able to do two full IMs in one year. and the hubs was supportive. and AND i have this irrational expectation of getting in because a friend from Austin was selected for this year. 

they announce the lottery winners at noon on April 14th, 2013. wish me luck!

swim focus week 2

is in the books. and it looked a little something like this: (a like this-a like that-a like this-and uh...)

Mon: OFF
Tues: 1mi mixed drills, 200 kick, 200 pull, 200 cool down (cd)
Wed: 250wu, 250 drills, 4x100 @ threshold :30 rest, 200 kick, 250cd +*new suit!
Thurs:  4mi run in evening
Fri: 1mi continuous, 200 kick, 200 cd
Sat: 1mi mixed drills, 2x100 kick :15 rest, 250cd;
Sun: 250wu, 250 drills, 5x100 @ moderate :20 rest, 200 kick, 250cd + 1hr spin

i don't know if it was the new suit, or just the pure joy of having a new suit, but I felt f-a-s-t in my Wed interval workout. [swim outlet to the rescue again. crazy floral like last year, but black/aqua theme this time.]

i was actually pulling sub 1:45 splits. for me, this is huge. i felt like an olympian.

i hereby give myself a giant PAT ON THE BACK for pwning swim focus week 2. it was a crazy hard week with the hubs being out of town, the baby on a teething frenzy and a napping strike, and the dog wearing the cone of shame. IMLou training, the deeper into motherhood i get, the less and less scary you get.

that being said... DAMN, GENA. i need a break! monday off day, i love you <3

today, i may or may not have:

1. gone for a run instead of a swim
2. drank straight from the wine bottle (and polished it off. do i even need parentheses here?)
3. ate the top 1/4 of the cream cheese icing tub with my finger
4. laughed so hard i cried/peed while reading : 
1. http://www.buzzfeed.com/mattbellassai/27-reasons-why-kids-are-actually-the-worst-6z51 AND
2. http://www.buzzfeed.com/samir/the-biggest-kid-fails-of-all-time (ilovemykidILOVEMYKID)

don't be jealous of my thursday, y'all.  

perfect timing

USA Triathlon magazine's most recent issue has an article titled 'Five Key Strength Exercises to Improve Your Swim.' I do some of them already, but will be adding the last two swim-specific exercises (standing rear deltoid raise, and swim specific pull-down) to my strength workouts.

What swim-specific strength exercises do y'all do??

swim focus week one: success!

against all odds, swim focus month do-over is off to a good (second) start!

Monday: OFF (in NYC)
Tuesday: 1mi of mixed drills
Wednesday: OFF
Thursday: 1mi continuous
Friday: 1mi mixed drills + 200 kick
Saturday: 200 warm up, 4x50 kick :15 rest, 4x50 drill :15 rest, 4x50 swim :15 rest, 4x50 drill :20 rest, 4x50 kick :20 rest, 100 cool down
Sunday: 1mi continuous, 200 kick, 200 pull, 200 cool down

i'm in serious need of a few swim items: clarifying shampoo + good conditioner(hair is WRECKED after just a few days); a new suit (booty's getting pretty saggy & see-through); and new goggles (see last race report.) time to hit up swim outlet's grab bag :) i don't know how people pay full price for swimsuits elsewhere. i'm not even a frugal/cheap person. i got a brand new TYR suit and goggles + case for under $50, with shipping!

the only catch is that you don't know what you're going to get. this was my suit from last year:

i am not a girlie girl, so this made me feel like aloha barbie! 

thinking of adding a little speed work to next week's lineup, for variety's sake. my main goal with the high frequency is to work on form, but i've been seeing disappointing split times feeling sluggish, so a few intervals here and there couldn't hurt, right? :P

all this swimming has done two things to me:
1) metamorphosed me into a freaking HUNGRY HIPPO. more so than regular 6-day-a-week tri training.
2) sucked all of the ever-loving energy out of me. for the first time since the baby was 0-3mo old, i absolutely MUST take a nap. so, i guess that means it has made me into a narcoleptic? zzzzZzzzZZzzzzzz

next week will be tricky to keep up the 5x a week. the hubster is going to SFO for a few days, and it's just harder to be the only one doing everything for the baby, the house, and the dog and still have time to work out. no excuses, though! IT WILL BE DONE.

KonakonaKONAkonakona

For those of you unawares, tomorrow is one of the biggest days in triathlon.  It is the day the IRONMAN World Championship race takes place in KONA. And one very fine triathlon coach/tri-team boss who I've had the pleasure of working with (sort of! haha) is racing tomorrow.

Moxie Boss--kick some butt out there tomorrow! All us Moxicans (past & present) are cheering you on from the mainland! Can't wait to see my IronTrac app filled with your super-badass (fast) times!

Do work!

off season plan - october

How are we already into the second week of October??

My plan for this month is to swim 5 days a week, focusing on form. I've found a site that posts master's swim workouts every day, so I'll alternate between drills and those workouts. I'll still cycle and run at least 1x week as well.

That is, when I get started.

Technically, I started last week. Swam once, on Tuesday. Then my parents came into town for a day. Then our little fam took the train to NYC. In my mind, I was going to swim at the hotel. Turns out hubby booked us at the Waldorf Astoria. I was so excited about staying in this fancy-ass place I didn't do any research on it other than to ooh and ahh at the pictures online.

babyman eating spinach in his suite:

For all the swank, though, this place DOES NOT HAVE A POOL. And since I am swim-focusing, I didn't bring my running shoes. Thus, my workouts for the four day weekend included walking, pushing a stroller, walking, lifting a stroller down stairs to gain access to a handicap elevator (I kid you not,) and walking some more.

Next time we go on vacation and I have a training schedule (which is always) I'll need to research the hotel a little more. Lesson learned.

Mondays are my day off still, so I'm calling do-overs and will start my four week swim focus now. As in today. Today, the day my kiddo is freaking-out teething. Today, the day I have a babysitter interview at 7PM that I haven't prepared for. Today, the day the gym playroom is booked up.

This is all good practice for the determination I will need to keep up my intense training schedule that starts in February. I can do this. I WILL DO THIS. Starting with a swim today!

Drum roll please...

I finally picked a coach!

After researching coaches for months, contacting more than 20, phone interviewing 7, and following up on references for 5, I have finally decided who will help guide me through the training and completion of my first full Ironman!

It just so happens this person was the first person who responded to my emails, and the first person with whom I had a phone interview. Needless to say, this person totally killed the phone interview--knowledgeable, easy to talk to, and we just 'clicked.' This person was the only coach, in fact, that I felt I had any sort of connection with from the get-go.

There are so many other reasons I went with this person.  Their coaching philosophy is spot on with what I want and need from a coach; they have a scientific, educational approach to coaching (they even send out a review of a scientific article each month that is pertinent to training...um hello nerd porn. This one was hook-line-&-sinker for me.) There are many other reasons which I would be happy to share with you if you are curious! (Just trying to contain myself, folks. I have full-on crazy-eyes right now thinking about this and could drone on and on and on about it. Oh wait...)

So, Jesus, just get to it already. WHO IS 'THIS PERSON' OF WHOM I SPEAK???

None other than Jason Gootman, MS CSCS of Tri-Hard Coaching!

I would say I'm thrilled beyond words--but who am I kidding? I'm never without words. So instead, I am just plain thrilled. Giddy. Nonsensical in my elation (can you tell I just finished Northanger Abbey??)

Don't worry. I'm still TERRIFIED respectful of Ironman training. And at the same time, I can't wait to get started in February. Until then, I'll just be too excited to sleep: