And now my race report!

Lorraine:

I had so much fun! I think it was a perfect first triathlon. I enjoyed the entire thing, felt happy the entire time, and would definitely do one again. By that sentence you can tell I wasn't exactly out there to win or make any impressive time, but because I had fun and want to do it again, I met my goal! I also kept going the entire time (no walking or doggy paddling) - another goal!
My event was 800 meters swim in open water - a big lake. Lots of women wore wetsuits but I didn't, and it seemed fine. I wasn't too cold, although I've heard they make you swim better as you're much more buoyant. The only bad part of the entire triathlon was the first 3 minutes, when I thought I may not be cut out for this. I started near the front of my pack but still got beat left and write by other women for the first few minutes, plus there were some serious waves, and the SEAWEED. I had a full turban of seaweed including full seaweed goggles. I had to pull it off my goggles several times, which makes swimming more challenging! Then I got into my groove and enjoyed the rest of the swim. I was surprised to find that it's something many women really don't feel that comfortable with, so many women were doing sidestroke, breakstroke, etc. The triathlon (Danskin) is great and diverse and perfect for someone trying the first one. (800k, 16:32)

Then I had a 20k bike ride (38:21) and a 5k run (29:28). I was actually a bit surprised to look after the race and see my bike time - sure I really enjoyed it, but it was by far my worst performance comparatively. I'm now wondering if I need a real bike rather than an extremely heavy clunker!! I really only jogged for the run but I was still totally pleased with it, and the best part - as I came around the curve to turn into the finish, there were Mary, Amelia, and Oliver cheering for me! It was a great moment. I now proudly have my finisher's medal and hope to do another one when I can.



Thanks Hannah!

My Race Report

Hannah:
Swim- my swim was meant to be 400m (16 lengths of pool) pool swim. My lane counter mis-counted my lengths so I swam an extra 50m (2 lengths). I was expecting a 7min swim time but it was closer to 8mins.

Bike- the advertised 20km (12miles) was actually 14miles...those extra 2 miles were a little more than my legs could cope with. The bike was an out and back- cycle out 7miles, turn round and head home! I fell off my bike twice... and for the same reason each time. I had a little mechanical failure with my gears as they kept jamming. Both times I came off going up hill which was a little embarrassing. I then had to put the chain back on and sort the gears out each time. Oh well! There was a head wind going out, this was hard work but it made the journey back much quicker!

Run- I had a great run. The run was along a river side/ forest footpath. It was quite muddy but very scenic. I really enjoyed the run. I was met by Sophie 100yards from the finish and she 'helped' me to finish!

Thank you, Lorraine. You have been a great training partner and I am really proud of you for training so hard and doing so well today.

Check List

Hannah:

Googles- yep

Swim hat- pick up on race day

Tri-top and shorts- yep

Transition towel- yep

Bike- oh yes, tyres pumped up, gears oiled, race wheels on.

Bike shoes- yep

Helmet- yep

Sun glasses- yep

Number belt- oooo, where is it?

Run shoes- yes (do they still fit?)

Water bottle- not yet

Fitness- ooops, I had to forget something!

Supporters- yep x 2

Race info and directions- all read and digested

Early night- doubtful!

The de-forestation begins!

Hannah:
2 days to go! arghhhh, 2 days to go!

This morning I began the seemingly impossible task of de-foresting the legs. I need every last bit of wind resistance cut!

I have made a list of everything I need to pack, the race details are printed, the start time is memorised (10.10am) and the instructions have been read.

All I need now is some fitness!

Urp

Lorraine:

Hmm, really is close now! Okay, so yesterday (Wed) I actually managed to get up and went swimming. I swam laps for 20 minutes. In a stroke of luck, the pool was quite cloudy (hmmm) so I couldn't do flip turns - making it more like a "real" swim I suppose, except for how it was nice and toasty warm. I'm definitely continuing to be nervous about the water temperature!! Whenever I mention to someone over here that I'm not using a wetsuit, they raise their eyebrows and say "Hmmm." Ah well.

Yesterday's bike to and from the bus was quite brief - just 10 minutes each way. Today I did 10 mins in the morning but on the way home I'll do the longer 30 minute ride, complete with two massive hills at the end. I didn't actually get up to go running this morning, because I was thinking 30 mins run and 30 mins ride might be a bit much a few days before the race. Or maybe (more likely) I was just being lazy!

Tomorrow I do plan to do one easy run and then be done with exercise until Sunday.

Countdown time...

I really can't believe it's so soon!!!

Okay, as I said when camping I did no exercise at all, and in fact ate many marshmallows. Mmm. Sunday I tried to get in a bit of a workout - I did a spinning class (45 mins) and then ran 2.75 miles on the treadmill. I wanted to go the entire 5K, but I was pushing my time limit as I had to get the kids to a ferry. Yesterday I did nothing! Slept in and then took the kids to gymnastics at night. This morning I meant to go swimming but got to bed late- and I'm trying to get 6+ hours of sleep this week before the race. On the plus side, I'm riding to and from work and/or to and from a bus the rest of this week, so I'm getting some outdoor bike time. It's great to make sure I'm comfortable with my clipless pedals again and all that. This morning's ride was only about 15 minutes but this afternoon will be more like 30 as I'll get off the bus earlier. Same thing tomorrow and the next day. My plan is to go swimming tomorrow morning and maybe run (easy) on Thursday and Friday, then nothing on Saturday. Does that sound good?

OMG- less than a week to go!

Hannah:
This time next week the race will be over, our muscles will be aching but our finishers medals will be hanging proudly from the shelf!

There really hasn't been much time to train in the last week, though I did get a run in on Friday. It felt good. This week I have a friend staying so I'm not sure when I'll next get some training in. Sophie has a swim lesson on Thursday so I'll swim then.

Wow, 6 days to go!

Le longer-than-weekend

I'm so far behind in documenting, I worry I may have forgotten everything....

After my swim last Monday, on Tuesday I think I did a 3 mile run inside, since it was really cold. Wednesday I did the usual weights thing, which I should probably shake up a bit since I'm not getting sore at all anymore! Thursday I did nothing. Friday I did a 45-minute spin class and then ran a mile afterwards. Saturday and Sunday I did nothing except for some very minimal walking around since I was off camping with the kiddos. Plus plenty of marshmallow-eating :)

This Monday (yesterday) I ran for about 3.5 miles on the treadmill - pretty slow speed since I was tired after camping, but it felt quite easy and I could have gone a lot longer. This morning I went swimming and did the usual workout.

The more exciting plan is TOMORROW, when I'm cycling to work and back!! This is a pretty long effort, so I'll update tomorrow on how it goes. Plus I'll be on a REAL bike.

Horrifyingly I actually went to the race site today and saw that the water is approx 65 degrees which sounds freezing AND even more shocking the swim length is 800m when I'm pretty sure it was "supposed" to be 600m. In any event I've been swimming 600m (and then doing the pull buoy and kickboard after that). Oops.

Plus I'm entirely unclear on where I take my bike and all that. I can't believe it's coming up so soon!!!

More camping this Thurs-Sat, so probably no workout, but I'll try to do something good on Sunday.

Le Weekend

Hannah:
I managed a run on Saturday morning...yay! It didn't feel too bad and I quite enjoyed it. We were going to go bike riding on Sunday along the canal towpath but it rained all day so we didn't get to go. I must try and get out on bike this week...just to check it wont fall apart when I sit on it. Today (Monday) I will swim as Sophie has a swimming lesson. As long as I get 400m covered then I will be pleased!

Added- I swam today. I managed to get 400m in before being called over to watch Sophie. Her teacher was very excited by Sophie's progress so kept asking me to watch her. I swam sets of 2 lengths so that I could cheer Sophie on- she was doing a badge today. In my 2 lengths, I swam the first one fast and the second length very fast! It was a good swim...not quite as good as Sophie's swim, she got her badge!

Nothing...absolutely nothing!

Hannah:
It is now Friday and this week I haven't done any training at all. It doesn't help that I feel a bit flu-ey and I haven't slept properly since returning from holiday. I swam on Monday. Tuesday time was very limited- DH was working early and late and then on Wednesday I started to feel ill and spent most of the afternoon on the sofa. Today I just feel wiped out. I would like to run tomorrow as I need to....plus there is only 2 weeks left until the race. I need an energy boost, the motivation is there but the body is not willing.

Getting back into it....slowly!

Hannah:
Having spent 18hours of Thursday travelling I was too tired to do anything on Friday. So, I slobbed all day and recovered. On Saturday though I felt much better so went for a steady run. I ran for 30minutes. The first 25mins were good, the last 5minutes were a little lung bursting. I feel I have lost some running fitness in the last few weeks.

On Sunday we were out all day with friends so there was little time to train. Today Sophie had a swimming lesson which meant that I got to swim whilst she tried not to drown. I swam for 25minutes. The swim was broken up into..swim a few lengths, watch Sophie, swim a bit more, listen to the enthusiastic swim teacher, swim a bit, watch Sophie refuse to co-operate etc. Still, 25mins is better than nothing.

Not sure what training I will do this week but I know I need to run! For me, running gets me back to fitness far quicker than any other exercise.

Finally recovered

Lorraine:

The cold last week hit me pretty hard - plus the exhaustion from not sleeping all weekend. Altogether I didn't work out at all from Sat-Wed. Then I finally got back (somewhat) in gear:

Thursday: I started slow by doing a weights day, and then just ran a mile on the treadmill.

Friday: I cycled for 35 minutes, medium hard, but of course it felt extremely hard since I was still at the tail end of the cold.

Saturday: nothing! I had a full-day activity planned with the kids, so there was no way to fit in a workout.

Sunday: Definitely the best day in a while. I did a 45-minute spin class, which is always a good workout, then I went directly to the treadmill and ran 5k! I was quite pleased with myself. I did a few interval-like things. I ran the first mile slow, at 6mph, then bumped it up to 7mph for a mile, then back to 6.5 for the last mile, then 6.0 for the 0.2 to make it a full 5k. Anyway, after having done the cycling too I felt pretty proud, and I was sporting a nice red face for a good 20 minutes afterward. Then I took the kids to a sporting goods store to pick out a triathlon outfit. I didn't go for matchy-match because I don't want to look like I think I'm a professional :) so I just got some shorts (black) and a tank/suit top (green/yellow).

Monday: I took my new get-up to swimming this morning. I'm half-pleased. The top is great and felt like a regular swim suit, but I think I made a mistake in going larger on the shorts. I thought it would be a better idea to get longer ones, but now I realize they're actually too roomy and not that great for swimming. I am going to try to exchange them for the next size down...

Anyway, today I did the "new" swim workout - 15 laps (600m, like the course) trying to pop my head up and look forward halfway down the lane as if I'm looking for a buoy, then 10 laps alternating pull buoy and swimming head up/forward, then 10 laps kicking.

I'm feeling back on track except when I realize I'm gone the next two weekends camping! Ack! Hannah, tell me this won't ruin everything!

Oh, and I picked up my bike from the shop finally. Now just to find a time to ride it....

I'm baaaaaack!

Hannah:
I'm back- fitter and leaner than when I went away. There is nothing like a spot of warm weather training to fine tune the muscles!

Yeah right! I'm about 7lbs heavier, less fit, more flabby, but tanned! I ate far too many Moules Frites (Mussels and chips), drank too much wine and did too much lazing....oh well!

I managed a few bike rides with Sophie. I recall a 7miler and an 8miler on my mountain bike, complete with kid seat and 26lb child. We did a few shorter rides too but nothing that got the heart rate up. As far as running went, I did a lot of chasing a child along the beach. Swimming was a no no as there wasn't anyone to watch Sophie.

It was a great holiday though and I feel very rested. Back to it tomorrow...maybe!

Oh dear me...

Lorraine:

Last week went great - Thursday I cycled pretty hard for 30 minutes and then ran for 15. Friday I attended a 45-minute spinning class and then ran a mile after that (not enough time to do more) but I did the mile at a much higher speed than I normally would, so it felt like a good challenge. Then came the weekend! Friday night I left on a red-eye flight over to New York to attend a wedding. I had zero sleep that night, then was at a wedding, reception, and after party all day Saturday (let's just say I may have overindulged a bit) and then up Sunday for another full day on a plane and hanging out at airports - I got home just after midnight last night. So for the weekend I had no sleep and no exercise! Plus I managed to catch a cold. I hope to get back on track first thing tomorrow morning....

Missing Hannah!

Lorraine:

So I have to warn the very few people who might read this blog - Hannah is off for TWO WEEKS on vacation without internet access. I know, such a thing is imaginable in some ways ;) So we won't have any idea what she's doing with training until she gets back and posts a 10-page summary. Until then you're stuck with me.

Yesterday I went swimming and thank goodness for Hannah (my personal triathlon coach) had some new things to work on. She pointed out that swimming in a large lake is somewhat....different...than swimming in a small clean pool. Basically that I need to be prepared to lift my head out a lot to check that I'm on track. I can guarantee you that had I arrived on triathlon day without thinking of this, I would have been found somewhere out in the middle of the lake 30 minutes later. So I did as Hannah suggested - every three to four strokes I lifted my head forward as if checking for buoys. Then after doing my 600m, instead of doing 10 laps with a pull buoy, I did 10 laps alternating pull buoy and then swimming a lap entirely with my head up. Certainly took me back to my lifeguard days! I definitely found it harder and am glad I'm getting the practice. It also took a bit longer so I wasn't able to do my last (10th) lap with the kickboard before I had to hop out to let the next person in at 30 minutes. Alas....

Today was, of course, "Wednesday Weights Day." I've found I am able to comfortably do more weights on several but I still have pretty puny arms. I did a bit of ab stuff but there were a few people on the mat and I didn't want to crowd so I skipped the last part. Oh well!

I think tomorrow I might try another Hannah suggestion, running on the treadmill with it set to a hill. Sounds....um....fun.

Slow weekend

Lorraine:

Hmm, where did I leave off? Let's see. Last Friday I did nothin' as my break day for the week. Or so I thought, as I ended up taking another one. Saturday I did a spinning class, which was pretty good - speed work, which I tend to dislike, so it was really good for me. Unfortunately I wasn't able to run afterwards because of the new timing of the kiddos' swim class - we had to rush right off. Sunday I had to drive for 7 hours (!!) to pick up the big one from her grandmother's and just couldn't fit anything else in that day. I did manage to eat two cookies and a slice of lemon tart though, which is an entirely different type of exercising. Today I snoozed for an entire SEVEN minutes after my 4:50am alarm and therefore could not go swimming (tight schedule to make sure I get a lane!) so I went and ran around the lake. I saw an adorable fluffy/gangly Canada goose baby snacking with its parents. Other highlights included a Dachsund in a stroller. Ahem.

Last week of proper training

Hannah:
Last week was my last proper week of training. Sophie is now on her summer vacation so trips to the gym are limited. Training wise, I didn't really make the most of the last week. On Tuesday I did a bike session, I rode hard for 20km and then rounded my time up to an hour. It was a good bike session. Wednesday was the last day of school so a few other mums and I met for an 'end of term' coffee.

On Saturday Sophie took part in a local 1 mile fun run. Both John and I ran with her and I have to say, she did really well. The run was flat for the first half mile and then a steep down hill for the last half mile. It was probably a little short in distance as she ran it in 13minutes! She did run the whole way (her choice) and looked thoroughly knackered at the end!

Today (Sunday) I went for a gentle run. I ran for about 35mins and really enjoyed it. I spent the afternoon servicing my mountain bike and adding the child seat to the back. Sophie was insistent on trying it out so we rode round the village several times...my legs were wobbly with the effort, but.... that was my first outing on the bike in a few years! I plan on cycling rather a lot in the next few weeks whilst on holiday.

Today, I....

Lorraine:

Today I was feeling verrrrrrrrrrry tired, so I dragged myself and the bags under my eyes to the gym, grabbed a magazine, and did the bike for 38 minutes. I did manage to get nice and sweaty but I can't say I pushed myself extremely hard!



Tomorrow I plan to have an off day. This weekend might be a challenge as I'll be driving 6 hours to pick up and bring Amelia home again, so you may have to get me back on track Hannah. Except (gasp!) you're going on vacation! What will I dooooooooooooooo???

What to wear!

Hannah:

There are a number of different clothing options for taking part in a triathlon.

You can wear a swim suit for the whole thing. Some cossies have built in support and a padded gusset for that all important protection!

Then there is the crop top and cycle short combination...be prepared to show off the 6 pack.

A tri-suit is like a swimming costume with build in cycle shorts. They tend to have added support and the padded section. There are pockets on the back for candy! Quite practical...never dared wear one though!

Just wear the same suit for the whole race. You can use a race belt to pin your number on so that you don't have to swim with your number pinned on. If you are wearing a wetsuit then you can pin your number onto your swim suit. As you come out of the swim start peeling your wetsuit off to the waist, as you come into transition area remove the rest of it. Put on your bike helmet (whilst treading your wetsuit off) and then your cycle shoes. In the last 100yards of the bike take your feet out of your bike shoes...keep the shoes clipped in though, this requires some practise. You will leap off your bike and then run bare foot into transition. Rack your bike, remove helmet, put on running shoes and go!

Wardrobe!

Lorraine:
Let's talk triathlon wardrobe. What will you be wearing Hannah? I recently heard about the existence of something called a "triathlon suit" - it appears to be a quick-drying tank w/sports bra built in a quick drying shorts, and you wear that to swim, bike, and run. Seems like a good plan. And then there's no shoes, bike shoes, then running shoes. What is your plan? I haven't gotten very far down this path....

Hmm, that ticker is looking worrisome!

Lorraine:
The ticker showing how many days left used to look quite large and now it certainly doesn't!

Yesterday I ran around the lake in the morning - the only difference to note is that I was able to pick up the pace at the end, which is completely not my style. Of course then I was panting for minutes afterward. I do think I run faster outside than the pace I set on a treadmill.

Today was weights day in the gym, and I was able to increase the weights on the things that are typically the toughest for me. Yay! I'm not there to build huge bulging muscles :) but my arms tend to be quite a bit weaker proportionally.

A big moment!

Lorraine:
The big moment I'm referring to is actually taking my bike out of the basement. More on that later, first a quick recap on exercise activities over the past few days.

Wed - typical weights workout, mostly arms but some legs and abs. Why must it be so cold in the mornings?

Thur - Nothing! Gasp!

Fri - This was a public holiday in the US, so I went with the kids to the gym in the midmorning. I was excited to have a bit more time than usual, and I planned to do a bit on the bike and then a bit of a run. As I was settling my stuff onto an exercise bike, I heard a distinct squawking sound and realized that a spinning class was going. Although I was 10 minutes late, I managed to skulk my way into the back of the class. See, I know that I'll get a more intense cycling workout in a spinning class than by myself on a bike with a magazine! Anyway, it was an instructor I'd never had before and she was doing a full-class hills workout. It was a great workout. I did the cool down leg stretches with the class, dripping with sweat, then headed over to the treadmill and ran for 2 miles. I was pretty proud of myself! The most impressive part to me was that I felt really quite comfortable running the entire time - not out of breath at all, not tired. I wanted to go 3 miles so it would be more like a 5k, but keeping an eye on the clock I knew I was running up against the gym daycare time limit. I was wondering if the workout feeling so good was mostly about just increasing fitness, or also partly because I usually work out at the crack of dawn and the 10am hour is much nicer!

Sat - The spinning instructor was doing the companion flats/sprinting class on Saturday, so again I hauled the children to the gym and did the full class this time - it was about 50 minutes. It was actually harder for me than the hills workout, since I typically really like hills and hate sprinting. Another thing I need an instructor to make me do. After that I only had time to run for 1 mile due to the gym daycare time limit, but still a pretty good showing for two days.

Sun - I had to take Amelia down to Oregon to meet halfway with my mom - she's spending a week at my mom's house. This is a 3-hour drive each way to the meeting spot, and a 6-hour drive in total for each of us. This left me with no time for a workout, but in the afternoon after Oliver's nap I strapped him on my back in the Ergo (which I continue to love), grabbed my very flat bike, and headed off for a 45-minute walk to the bike store to drop it off for a much-needed tune-up and new tires. Shockingly it won't be ready until July 22 (!!) due to a local huge bike race that's happening - all the other local bike stores are the same. So I really won't be able to get on my bike until a couple of weeks before the triathlon! I'll keep up with the indoor stuff, but I know it's not ideal. Probably should have done this errand earlier! Anyway, no official workout but it was a long walk there and back in the sun with my 32-lb toddler on my back.

Mon - today is swimming day, not to be boring or monotonous or anything. I did the same 30 minute workout as always. I have noticed it's getting a bit faster, so I'm left with 2 extra minutes of kickboarding at the end. Which I need - my kicking isn't the best!

My race in the rain!

Hannah:
I awoke this morning to a downpour, the wind was blowing and the rain was falling. We made our way to the race venue with the rain still coming down. We decided to stay in the car as long as possible so that we didn't get too wet. Eventually we thought we'd brave the rain, we were greeted by a lovely cold shower. I went to the start whilst John and Sophie went back to the car.

The race was part of the 'Race for Life' series in the UK. Each race is 5km long and open to women only. Women can walk, jog or run the course. All the proceeds go to the Cancer Research charity. Today there were 2500 shivering wet women taking part. Each competitor has to wear a race number. There is also an option of wearing a bright pink sign on your back naming the people you are running for. It is very emotional reading the pink signs. Today I ran with the name of 'Seth' on my back, a 12 month old boy who has recently been diagnosed with cancer. Putting the pink sign on my back with Seth's name on it was heartbreaking.

There was a minute of silence at the start and then a countdown began. The crowd and competitors provided a great atmosphere during the countdown. The klaxon then sounded and we were off.

I set off quite fast, as I felt good. I splashed my way through the fields still feeling good. We then hit 4km, I then started to feel a little tired, my lungs were hurting, my legs were cold and the rain was beginning to annoy me. I focused on the girl in front and caught her up. With 500yards to go I started my run for home, the girl I'd caught was still on my shoulder..she was very young so I let her pass as we crossed the finish line. I finished in the top 10 with a time that I am quite happy with- 23:05. I'm rather pleased with myself!

The last few days

Hannah:
On Tuesday I woke with sore legs from my speed session so I decided to ride the bike at the gym. I did a slow 20km followed by an even slower spin to round my bike time up to an hour. I then swam for a bit by plodding up and down the pool. I lacked the energy that day!

I ran for 30mins on the treadmill on Wednesday. It was sooooo hot in the gym that I sweating buckets after about 2mins. Feeling quite self conscious of the fact I was running on water, I slowed down...didn't help really! I had a quick swim afterwards where I actually felt like I was making some progress in the pool. I felt strong and my stroke was decent!

Today I had a coffee with some of the other mums in Sophie's class. We then went into the gym together where I ran a good 30minutes. I felt quite good though a little hot again! We warmed down with another coffee!

This weekend I am running a 5km charity run (Race for Life again). I would quite like to run a fastish (for me) time. I'm looking forward to it a lot.

Long delicious weekend

First a quick note - last Wed I did a gym/weights day, mostly arms but some legs. Then Thursday since it was the start of vacation I did nothing, as in nothing. Mary and I headed off for the San Juan islands that afternoon for a lovely kid-free (at their grandparents) weekend for my birthday! Woo hoo! I can't decide if I should be apologizing to my training schedule for taking two of the days totally off (Thurs and Sun) or boasting about the other two very active days. One thing is certain - it was a huge boost to my training to get on a real bike, in the real out-of-doors. I've even gone so far as to drag the bike out of the basement! I think it needs a real tune up though after 6 years of inactivity....

Friday we borrowed the B&B's bikes and went for a 18 mile round trip bike ride, which was really lovely and would have been even more so if one of the bikes hadn't been far too short and constantly shifting itself. There were some middle-sized hills, but we made it to our destination of awesome views and had a nice break by the water reading a travel book. Then we made it back for a light lunch and then went on a 3-hour kayak excursion! We were lucky enough to be the only two in the group, so we moved at quite a clip (and had quite sore arms!) - so much so that we had an extra 45 minutes, so we stopped on a tiny island and hiked around the perimeter. Very pretty. It was our first time ever kayaking together!

Saturday was quite a big day as I was determined to circumnavigate the island despite having done one bike ride together (the previous day) in six years. So we headed off to a bike rental place and rented road bikes that actually fit us, packed the bags with a book, some coats we would never need, and a few snacks, and headed off. The loop around the island with a couple of short detours was about 35 miles - long story short we made it! There were some big hills but overall it was a lovely ride. So much fun to do something active together like that! Then we collapsed and didn't move a muscle unnecessarily on Sunday.

Monday I did my usual morning swim, and today I went for a run around the lake (3mi). Back to routine!

The last few days

Hannah:
I've been a bit busy recently so training has taken a back seat. I did run on Thursday for 30mins, I followed the run with a 30min easy swim. I had no time on Friday to train and the weekend was taken up with parties (social 3yr old) and relatives visiting. '

Today I ran at 8am. I was just going to do the usual 'hill' run but the cow (oh, those bloody cows) were in the way. One even had the audacity to be leaning against the gate! I decided against scaling the river bank and turned around. I then thought a bit of speed work might go down well so I did 6 lots of 1minute. I ran the 1mins very hard. I made it harder by giving myself a minutes recovery. By recovery this meant standing on the path breathing very loudly with my heart thumping and my legs aching! I then staggered/jogged home!

YAWN!

Lorraine:
As I said, I went swimming last night since I missed it in the morning. I got to the pool at about 8:30 and was done about 9pm, then I ran to the store, then went home to watch the tail end of a movie that was on w/Mary. Imagine my delight when Oliver woke up at 4am (luckily I settled him down again pretty quickly). I then headed off to the gym at 5 and did a 5k run on the treadmill (still cold outside in the mornings, can you believe it??). I felt a little sluggish I have to say - I think it had to do with exercising at night and again in the morning. Or maybe I was feeling sluggish since I read mind-melting celebrity news while running. I have no interest in the fashion pieces (surprise, surprise) and was less than amused by the endless coverage of how to become a "recessionista." In other words, a fashionista in a recession. How very, very clever.

Ill!

Hannah:
Yesterday (Monday) was the peak of my stressfulness (is that a word)...naturally I wake up this morning with a stress induced cold.

I went to the gym and ran steadily for 30mins on the treadmill. I felt much better so swam for half an hour. Needless to say, I now feel worse! An early night and a rest day tomorrow should sort me out.

I don't really need to get the bike out, right?

I still have not fished my bike out of the basement...

Another long catch-up. I will stop doing these and get back in blogging shape soon!

Last Wed
Lifting day - I've changed this a bit so it's a catch-all day at the gym, including plenty of arms lifting, a little bit of legs lifting, and some abs. I tried to do that abs thing where you dangle by your arms and lift your legs up, but found it quite....challenging. So I did other abs stuff involving that big exercise ball and the very tilted bench where all the blood rushes to your head.

Last Thur
This day was a "morale event" at work which involved showing up somewhere at 6:45am to get on a boat for 3 hours and then not get back into dock near home until 6:30pm. Talk about improving morale! Anyway, I just headed to the gym briefly for a 35-min stationary bike ride and tried to push it relatively hard. During the morale event I have to add that I went on a 45-minute hike but I should also add to be fair that I ate for well more than 45 minutes :)

Last Fri - nothing! Day off.

Saturday
I wanted to do another mini-brick, so I headed to the gym again. It was actually another freezing day, so don't fault me for yet again leaving my bike in the basement! I rode the bike for 12 miles, which is the short triathlon distance. I put the resistance pretty high, and at that level (while reading a trashy magazine) it took about 35 minutes. I wiped down the bike and trotted immediately over to the treadmill, where I ran at a 10 minute mile pace (yes I'm a slowpoke!) for one mile. It felt good and I could have done more but a 45 minute workout w/shower afterwards was pushing it during naptime! Anyway, hopefully in the future I'll have time to do more running after the bike. I can see how it's really important to practice that as the muscles used are quite different.

Sunday
I wanted to go for an outdoor run but the only time I had free was about 11:30am - too early for naptime, so I figured I had to go to the gym so the kids could go to the daycare. As we were about to head out, my carpool buddy's wife called and said her hubby could watch all four kids so we could go for a run together around the lake! I haven't ever really run with other people as I'm always scared I'll be too horrifically panting and won't be able to talk and will slow the other person down. So we went, and it was great for my self-esteem! We had a good run, it felt comfortable and I would happily do it again. If only Hannah and I were in the same spot!

Today I would normally have gone for a 5am swim, but I'll be doing it tonight instead for various reasons.

This weekend we're going away for a long weekend (Thurs-Sun) while the kiddos go to grandparents!! I'll take running gear and they have bikes to borrow, so here's hoping I stay somewhat on track.

Race for Life

Hannah:
Every year in the UK over half a million women take part in the 'Race for Life' races raising money for Cancer research. Each race is 5km long and women can run, jog or walk their way round.
Today, my mum (Val) and I took part in a local 'Race for Life'. We lined up alongside 4600 other women all participating for various reasons. Apart from wearing race numbers, most participants also wear a pink sign on their back naming all the people they are running for or are running in memory of. Val and I ran with the name of a family friend on our backs. Joe died of lung cancer aged just 32 earlier this year, he had never smoked and never got to meet his baby daughter born 2months after he died. Val and I walked and ran round the course, we were joined by Sophie for the final half mile. It was a very emotional race. Reading the signs on the other women's backs was heartbreaking. For more info about 'Race for Life' in the UK, click here!

Being social at the gym!

Hannah:

Quite a few of the other mums in Sophie's class are members of my gym- it is the closest one to the school...and probably the nicest in the area! Normally we all say hi to each other and then go and do our sessions. Today though, I ran side by side on the treadmill with another mum. We chatted for the whole 30mins about school things, it was great catching up with playground gossip! I had upped my speed again (by another 0.2kph) which I didn't notice as I was too busy being social!

I then went for a swim and got chatting with the lady sharing my lane. She is friends with the treadmill mum...small world! We had a chat about swimming, holidays and injuries! In total I swam about 600m! I then met the Nanny of Sophie's school friend and we had a chat...more playground gossip! I haven't been this social in ages...it feels good!

So, 30mins of running at a new speed and 600m of swimming! I was on such a high that I went shopping and bought some new jeans in a size smaller than my current jeans...yay! Happy, happy, happy!

Bizarre dream!

Hannah:
Last night I had a very odd dream. I dreamt that John, Sophie and I had flown to Seattle for me to take part in the Seattle Triathlon...except that Seattle had moved and was now next to Tennessee on the map! We met up with Lorraine, Mary, Amelia and Oliver. Mary and John said that Lorraine and I could go out for the night to discuss race tactics...we were keen on winning! We went to a bar where my bag was stolen. On race day Lorraine and I started the swim, we were leading until we came into transition and we couldn't find our tandem bike. I then woke up!

Yep...odd! Is this a sign that both Lorraine and I are going to win our triathlons? Is it a sign that I am feeling ill prepared? Is it a sign that we need anther meet up...or maybe the dream was just a sign of impending madness, who knows!

Now back to reality. On Monday I had a bonus swim session as Sophie had her swimming lesson. I managed 1.2km. Sophie's swim teacher was keen on stopping me at the end of some lengths to show me some marvellous thing that Sophie was doing!

On Tuesday I ran on the treadmill, I upped the speed by 0.2kph...not much but it felt faster! I then pedalled on the bike for 10km. I did the first 5km at an easyish pace and then I went up through the levels and pushed the final 5km.

Today (Wednesday) I didn't train as I met with a mum who has a child who is very similar to Sophie.

Lazy blogger!

Lorraine:
You could say busy or lazy...but I haven't updated in ages!

Friday
Happily recovering from seven-course, six-drink (one cocktail and five tasting wines) magnificent dinner Thursday night. No exercise! Even got to sleep until 7:45am....can't say I've done that in years.

Saturday
Due to a scheduling conflict I only had 25 minutes, so I tossed on running gear and headed straight out from the house rather than driving over to the lake. This meant that there were more hills (gasp!) involved, but it was a lovely run and I got back just in time. Maybe because it was shorter, but I felt energetic and wanted to keep going!

Sunday
Same ol' same ol' - spinning classfor 45 minutes. It occurred to me as I clomped away on my bike shoes that I should bring running shoes so I can try to run even a touch after the class - it's one of the only two days I really have more than 30 minutes! And I want to be like cool Hannah...

Monday
A morning swim, the typical Lorraine Thirty Minute Swim Workout, up at 4:50 and home by 6am.

Tuesday
Today I was determined to run outside in the morning since I've been so wimpy lately with "June-uary" as it's being called here in Seattle. Fishing around in the drawers in the dark I could not find my gym pants, so I headed out in tiny flimsy shorts and a long sleeve running shirt. Let me just say BRRRR. But the run itself was perfectly fine - around the lake (3mi) as usual!

The hill!

Hannah:
I ran up the hill! I ran up the hill! I didn't stop once. I ran up the hill!

As you can tell, I am rather pleased with myself! My mind was pre-occupied with something school related (as usual) so I didn't notice my lungs bursting, my legs screaming and the sweat dripping! I made it to the top and just carried on. I was only a few seconds off my best time for the course so I was really pleased!

The last few days...

Hannah:
I haven't updated my training this week.
On Monday I went to LegoLand with Sophie so didn't have any opportunity to train. I did manage rather a lot of roller coaster rides though.

On Tuesday I ran for 30mins on the treadmill and then had a little cool down swim. I have never been very good at tumble turns (flip turns) but I managed for 10laps, which has to be an all time record! My swimming lane filled up with breast-strokers so I got out as they were annoying me a little!

On Wednesday I sat on the bike and rode 20kms. I used the 'random' cycle setting which meant a few hills, I wanted to try and ride the second 10km faster than the first10km. I also tried to keep my cadence above 90 for the whole ride. I jumped into the pool after my bike and swam for 15minutes.

Today, I felt so stressed out (the culmination of several weeks) that the motivation was very very low. I forced myself onto the treadmill and just ran. I can't say it helped me feel any less stressed but it was a good run. I had a long shower, ordered a large smoothie and then read the paper.

Wardrobe malfunction

Lorraine:
Due to a "wardrobe malfunction" I wasn't able to run today as I'd hoped to, so I just hopped on the elliptical at the gym for 35 minutes and tried to work as hard as possible. Oh right, and also I "read" a trashy celeb magazine.

Tonight we're going out to what will prove to be a wonderfully long dinner complete with wine flight (holiday gift!).....so there will be no working out tomorrow!!

Burst of activity

Lorraine:
Yesterday after sitting in a training all day and stuffing my face with free food (no need to list it here) I felt dumpy and sluggish, so I headed to the gym in the evening and cycled pretty hard for 12 miles, which I think is the distance we have to ride for on the triathlon. It took quite a while, but then I had put it on a pretty high resistance. I was certainly panting and sweating heavily at the end!

And THEN after finishing cooking a veggie pasta dish for 25 people at today's class picnic for Amelia (which I can't attend) last night at 11pm, I got up bright and early and headed to the pool. I think I've found the perfect swim workout for the 30 minutes I can be in the water. I do 15 laps (the triathlon length) pretty hard, then 10 laps with the pull buoy so I'm using arms only, then 10 laps with the kickboard so legs only. It definitely feels like a good workout.

Conspiracy theory

Lorraine:
For various reasons I had to stay up late last night working, and got to bed around 12:15am. I still gamely set my alarm for 4:50am, meaning to do a swim workout. Oliver woke up screaming at 2:30am, and it took me about 30 minutes to get him back to sleep - I think it was teething pain. At 3am I made the snap decision to reset the alarm for the more luxurious 6am time. So no workout today....

Global wetting

Lorraine:
It clearly shouldn't be pouring rain and cold (50 degrees F) in early to mid-June. Combine the weather with my overall wimpiness, and I was inside for all of my recent workouts. The last few things I did:

Friday - I went swimming, but due to getting up a bit later than planned, I only had 20 minutes to swim, so I did some drills - 10 laps arms only (with pull buoy) and 10 laps legs only (with kickboard). It was definitely a good experience to focus one at a time - thanks for the idea Hannah!

Saturday - This would typically be my day to do a lovely outdoor run around the lake, but as it was gray and cold and lightly sprinkling, I decided to go to the gym instead. I paid myself back though by running at a higher speed (don't laugh - up to 6.3 now) and for 35 minutes rather than 30, plus an extra 5 for warmup and cool-down. My face was still bright red after my shower!

Sunday - This is the spinning class day (45 minute class). I think I mentioned that they play a video on a projector screen during the class, which is pretty odd. Last week it was downhill mountain biking tricksters, but this week was a focus on Lance Armstrong's 7th Tour de France. Even though there's no sound I totally enjoyed watching it and was more or less able to ignore the instructor I'm not fond of. My legs were a bit sore by Sunday night, probably from a good run and then spinning right after. I was wondering to myself if eventually I'll be able to hop on the treadmill and run after the class - we'll see! Amelia has become not fond of the gym daycare and always gives me clear instructions as I'm dropping her off to "only do one machine, okay Mama?"

Monday - This morning I thought it would be good to do a little arms weight lifting, so I headed to the gym again. I added two legs things and a tiny bit of abs, but no cardio at all today.

And it's still raining!

There was an (old) lady that swallowed a fly...oh Bullocks!

Hannah:
I ran my usual trot through the fields today and as usual encountered the cows! This time there was a herd of baby bulls in the field that were blocking my entrance. On the other side of the fence is a river so I decided that instead of running through the cows, I would precariously make my way along the side of the river. I clung to the fence (carefully avoiding the electric wire) and made my way to safety. The river was very high so I got wet feet!

The next part of the run was up 'the hill'. The hill is about 3/4mile long, it has been the bane of my life for years! I headed up the hill feeling ok and then I swallowed a fly! All I could think about was that the fly could have been sitting on the cow pats that I'd just avoided, and that I was about to die of some mad cow disease! All this worry helped me up the hill and I only needed to stop the once.

The rest of the run was uneventful apart from setting a new best time (for this year) over the course...yay me and my fly!

OOO! OOOO! A mini-brick!

Lorraine:
I guess you'd call a mini-brick a Lego? Duplo? Anyway, Hannah told me about some term called, I think, "brick" [prepare to watch me be laughed off this site when I find out that it's a completely different term] where you cycle and then run after that. I swear until she told me about that it hadn't really occurred to me that I'd have to do all the parts of the triathlon IN ONE DAY. That was a bit of a wake up call.

"Bricks" are coming up in two weeks I think, but I felt inspired this morning. Oliver kindly woke me up before my alarm at 4:50, so I was full of energy. I indoor cycled for 20 minutes (level 10 is easy now - the first time I could only do 7!) and then hopped on the treadmill for 20 minutes. And yes, I did read a trashy magazine while doing both. Why else does one go to the gym?

Oh, and by the way yesterday was a "rest day" for me. I was all excited to sleep in but then the (#*&$)(*# cat woke me by yowling at the top of her lungs at 5:30, so I might as well have gone to work out!

A rest day!

Hannah:
I had a night out last night, so went to bed far too late. I woke up feeling tired, lethargic and completely unmotivated, so I decided on a rest day! I took Sophie to school, then came home and did nothing! I planned to take her swimming after school but the pool was closed for kids...madness! No one else was in the pool, yet we weren't allowed in.

Tomorrow I will resume my training.

Pimp my Ride!

I thought I should give my bike a bit of a clean and a mini service today. It hasn't been ridden in over 3 years so was well overdue a clean and polish! Baby wipes are the best product for cleaning a bike, they strip the grease and muck off so very easily! I pumped up the tyres, checked for holes in the rubber, checked the brakes and the gears and then put it back in the garage!

Training wise I went to the gym and rode on the exercise bike for a bit. I then swam 1km. I have now realised that I can do each section of the triathlon- I can swim 400m, cycle 12miles and run 3 miles. How fast I can do them is another matter...and how will I be trying to run after swimming and cycling. There is still a long way to go!

Quickly...

Lorraine:
Just did a little trip to the gym this morning to do a little weight lifting (arms) and a tiny bit of abs. The entire time I was wondering if it wouldn't be better to grab one of the trashy celebrity magazines and read in the corner. But overall a good start to the day!

A fun run and a bonus swim!

Hannah:
On Sunday I took part in a 3km (1.8mile) fun run. The run was raising money for a childrens' charity. I can't say that I ran fast as I was hampered by a 3 year old and a 62 year old! I ran with Sophie and my mum which was great fun. We made it round the course in 40minutes. Both my mum and Sophie were delighted with their performances!
Today my hamstrings really hurt from running so slowly!

Today Sophie had a swimming lesson so I made the most of half an hour and swam myself. I had to keep stopping so that Sophie's teacher could show me something 'clever' that Sophie was doing...namely, not drowning! In the end I swam for a total of 1km which is 0.6miles or 50 lengths or 25 laps!

Weekend recap

Lorraine:
Another summary of the weekend for me. Saturday I had planned to go swimming, since it had been a while. I had to get up at 4:50am anyway since one must sign up for the swim lessons the kids are in at 5am on a Saturday every 3 months or so. I know, it's a bit absurd, but I consider it worth it to get into the time slot that works best for us. I have it down to a science so I'm usually pressing "send" only about 30 seconds after the registration form opens. ANYWAY, my plan was to go swimming after that. However, Oliver thought that waking up at 4:30am that day would be ideal. I finally got him out of bed at 5:20 or so since I'm sure Amelia was not thrilled. We went off to get coffee and go on a leisurely drive. So no swimming. I instead went for a run during nap time (running two days in a row! Who is this woman??). It wasn't as unpleasant as Friday's run was, but I can't say I was springing like a gazelle.

Sunday I went to the spinning class (45 mins) at the gym. I must mention that the class they offer on Monday is WAY better...unfortunately I work on Mondays. This guy was quite annoying. He was playing a video of mountain biking stunts the entire time, which was interesting to watch (and I did) but I felt like I got much less immersed in the workout. Plus, there were 9 women and 1 man and he spent the entire time talking only to the man. Not that I wanted him to talk to me - he was waaaay too annoying. So I'll probably keep going to that on Sundays only because it forces me to work harder on the bike, but I will feel free to dislike him.

This morning it was up at 4:50am and off to the pool! I did my new "usual" of 15 laps (600m) to practice the length of the race. I tried to swim it a bit more steady this time and did it in a minute less than last time. Then I leisurely swan for another 10 minutes and then I used the kickboard for the last 10 minutes. I was quite impressed by the woman in the next lane over, who according to her sign in time swam from 3:45am to 5:45am. I mean, really.

Relegated to 'jogger' status

Hannah:
This morning I set off for a half hour run. I started off at a good pace and felt very good. Once out into the fields I met two little yappy dogs. I stood still as I didn't want to risk being chased or eaten. The dogs' owner approached and announced "Oh don't worry about the dogs, they love to bark at all the walkers and joggers". "Jogger" I thought, "Jogger!". I tried very hard to think of something to say but my lungs and body failed me, proving that I still must be a very slow, unfit jogger. Onwards I plodded.

Brrrr.

Lorraine:
I slithered out of bed at 5:03am this morning and was running around the lake by 5:20. I have to say it started out much harder than last Saturday. I spent the first 15 minutes wondering why it felt so much more unpleasant. After I'd concluded that it was a mixture of 1) being pretty darn cold outside, 2) still being a bit too tired from this week, and 3) maybe that I didn't do much cardio this week - nothing since the spinning class on Monday, I realized that I suddenly felt fine again. So it was just the first 15-20 that was really unpleasant. Of course at that point I only had 10 minutes left.

I was remembering while running (when it got better and I was able to focus on something other than how much I was not enjoying myself) when I used to run much longer distances in college. The first 20-30 minutes would be the toughest for cardio, then everything would smooth out and the next 30-50 minutes would be lovely - everything would feel great. After that, I would start to have structural problems (toes going numb, knee feeling stiff, hip bothering me). So I was thinking this morning that I'm doing a little mini version of that. I don't have the "problem" of running 10 miles to deal with these days!

And so it starts....

Lorraine:

Both yesterday and today I managed to not get up early as I'm "supposed to." To be fair, I got maybe 3 hours of sleep the night before for various reasons, and then stayed up until midnight last night, so I just couldn't face the 5am alarm after two nights of little sleep. I did drag myself to the gym last night and did arms (weight lifting) and abs stuff enough to be a bit sore today, but no cardio. There's a slim chance I'll make it to the gym tonight and either bike or run, in which case I'll be somewhat caught up. It has horrified me to have missed two mornings though...of course I'm scared it's all downhill from here.

Now I'm feeling a touch better. I just looked at my Official Training Program courtesy my Personal Coach Hannah :) and saw that I'm pretty much on track despite having started a week late. I just have to make sure to do 40 mins on the bike this week and then next week moves up to 45, then I'll need the next installment of the training program! Ahem.

Who moved the cows?

Hannah:
No gym this week as Sophie is off school so training has been hampered a little. The weather in the UK has been rain, rain, rain and a lot more rain!

I did manage a 25minute run on Saturday which didn't feel too bad. On Monday John was competing in a local triathlon so Sophie and I went to watch him. The weather was dreadful so I didn't feel the need to be competing in the race with him!

Tonight (Wednesday) I ran after Sophie was in bed. I managed to leave the house in between rain showers so that was a great start. I felt really good running, possibly the best I have felt in months so I ran on. Unfortunately a herd of cows had been moved to a field that I wanted to run through and they were blocking both the entrance and exit gates to 'my' field. I backtracked and took a different route...just as the skies opened! I was drenched so speeded up to get home. I ran through soggy, puddle filled fields and paths until I reached our village. It was a good, but wet run.

Weekend recap

Lorraine:

Here goes a recap of the long weekend! We had visitors in town and did lots of lovely touristy things, but I managed to work in some exercise.

Saturday - it was an absolutely gorgeous day and I went for a run outside! It was my third run (second outside) since "training" started and I was pleasantly surprised that it really seemed easier. I didn't feel like I was dying like I had the previous Saturday - for the first 2/3 I actually felt like I was exercising....as opposed to just surviving. It helped that it was a gorgeous day and everyone in Seattle was out around this lake, so there was tons to look at. I ran the path around the lake a full 5 minutes faster than the previous Saturday. I definitely will not continue to improve by 5 minutes each time.

Sunday - nothing! We went to a festival and just generally hung out. I did take the kids on a long walk Sunday evening (including some huge hills) but I believe it's impossible to actually get any form of exercise at the speed at which Amelia walks. Not to mention she was wearing tiny shorts and snow boots. She's an odd duck.

Monday - Yesterday I did a one-hour spinning class at the gym. It was pretty intense and I almost fell down the stairs on my way to the shower. It was a lot of fun though - I haven't done a spinning class in years and I really loved it. I may try to do one every Sunday as I think they hold one in the mornings at the gym. My rear is even more sore now. Ouch.

Tuesday - Today I got up at 4:50am (yes, that's ten minutes BEFORE 5am) and headed to the other gym to do laps. Since I sometimes have to wait for a lane (no sharing) it seems better to get there as soon after 5am as possible. No waiting today. I counted for 15 laps, which I believe is 600 meters (the race distance). That took about 11 minutes at my very leisurely pace, then I swam for another 9 minutes, then I kicked with a kickboard for the last 10 minutes. As before, that last 10 minutes is the toughest part as I apparently swim without kicking.

A sight for sore eyes

Hannah:
No training for me today though the intention was there (swim kit in the car). I had an optician appointment. I had an eye examination a few weeks ago and was declared short sighted, well...more short sighted than several years ago. Today I had to pick my new specs up! By the time I was finished being seen it was too late to get to the pool. I went to Starbucks instead and contemplated the fact that my eyes are on a down hill slope!!

This weekend we are off to watch John take part in a local triathlon. He is doing a sprint distance race (400m swim, 20km/12m bike, 5km/3m run). It should be quite fun to watch. Having not raced in the UK for 3 years it will be good to see some familiar faces and catch up with old team mates.

Next week, as I said in an earlier post, is mid term break so training will be limited. I will try and run once or twice if time permits. I am going to make a conscious effort to get my bike out and clean it up. It hasn't been ridden in 3 years so is probably full of rust. It has also been shipped backwards and forwards between the UK and Finland so I dread to think what sort of state it will be in.

Tired little legs

Lorraine:
Another swim day today. This time I took a page from Hannah's book and swam crawl stroke for 20 minutes and then used a kick board for the last 10. I think it's a great approach, because my legs suddenly felt VERY tired as soon as I started. I don't think I really kick much when swimming!

The pool I go to has a 30 minute cap if people are waiting for lanes, so I doubt I'll ever go more than 30 minutes total.

That last 5 minutes

Lorraine:
Today was bike day - I realized with horror (to perhaps exaggerate a touch) that I am already behind in that I cycled for 30 minutes on Sunday, NOT 35 as specified in my training plan from my personal coach, Hannah. Today was the day to rectify this mistake. So....I cycled (indoor stationary cycle) for thirty-FIVE minutes today. I refuse to admit what level (out of 20) I had to set it on to manage the full 35. And let's just say that my "cycling seat" is not in triathlon shape yet.

The out of sync runners!

Hannah:
Today, for the first time in 4 years, John (my DH) and I went for a run together! The last time we ran together was just after we'd completed the Paris Marathon and just before I got pregnant with Sophie. Sophie was at school this morning so we took the opportunity to go for a run.

Previously we were of very similar abilities, we could pace each other well and run stride for stride. Today we were the out of sync runners! I was so much slower than John, my speed was lacking, my stamina was low and my strength for running up hills was non-existent. We ran his usual 'long lap' which included 3 big hill and one smaller one. I am quite happy to admit that I walked up each and every hill!

It was a nice run, though we both got stung very badly by the stinging nettles. I think it will be a while before we go running together again.

Next week is half (mid) term break for Sophie so there wont be much training going on. I will try and get a few runs in but the gym and pool is out.

Drizzle

Lorraine:
I didn't manage to get out of bed until 5:07am this morning. Already I'm slipping! I put on my long pants and long sleeve shirt as it had been cold overnight and I figured that it would be chilly running around the lake. Imagine my surprise when I stepped outside to find it raining. Again. I need some sort of rain gauge inside the house. So I decided to go to the gym instead, where I managed to run for the full 30 minutes on a treadmill while watching what appeared to be a 7-minute repeating loop of the same traffic, weather, and news (shooting, brain cancer, high gas prices: repeat).

Rain, rain, go away

Lorraine:
I managed to slither out of bed at 5am again this morning, to find a steady rain a-fallin'. Concerned that I might melt if I went running outside, I instead took a 'break day' and went to the gym where I weight lifted arm stuff and then did a tiny bit of abs work, except my tshirt was a bit too short and I didn't want everyone to have to admire my ab rolls so I gave up after a while. I did discover that on Memorial Day (next Mon) there is an hour long spinning (indoor cycling) class and I'm off work. I'm going to try to make it - they're usually quite intense!

I have a "water park injury" in that I begged and pleaded with Mary until she went on this crazy drop off ride thing with me (last Monday 5/12). My neck has been quite sore ever since and has only got marginally better - it was actually quite tough to do situps. Here's hoping this goes away soon!

The plan for tomorrow is another outdoor run. I have a feeling it won't be any better than Saturday's experience.

Oh, Hannah, I have two issues. 1. You are clearly doing WAY more than you recommend I do (you're doing lots of back to back things, like running then swimming). WHY MUST YOU BE SO SUPERIOR? And the other one, 2. you didn't say anything about dieting. Is that necessary in training for a triathlon? HMM? I had a lovely snack sized Snickers bar yesterday.

Who filled the pool with treacle?

Hannah:
The pool finally re-opened so I thought I should pay it a little visit. After 30mins on the treadmill and a few sit ups, I ventured down to the pool.
The pool was empty so I got in feeling happy that no one else was going to witness a beached whale beaching! The first length was great but, oh my...who had replaced the water with treacle...the second length was hard hard work! My 'technique' went to pot and my lungs exploded.

In the end I swam sets of 10 lengths- I don't have the concentration span to count more than 10 lengths in one go! I swam 10 lengths free, then 10 with a pull buoy (float between legs), 10 with a kick board, then repeated it. I added a few extra lengths onto the end to round my total up to a nice number.

Now that I have got into quite a nice routine of going to the gym, pool and out for a run I need to tackle the diet! Arghhhhh! I need to think more about this before embarking on anything drastic like eating salad!

Speaking of retail therapy...

Lorraine:
After my countless laps today I've decided I need to go get a good training swimsuit. Or paddling kit or whatever Hannah would call it. It turns out a two-piece tank suit that is great for vacation in Hawaii is not so fantastic for extensive lap swimming. On particularly vigorous flip turn exits, I had real moments of concern that the back of the lower half of the suit was billowing out like a parachute and 1) shocking the person in the next lane and 2) reducing my speed. So off to the serious swim store I need to be at some point.

Lorraine sloowwwly and painfully starts training

So I started a week behind as I was luxuriating on a lovely vacation in Hawaii. To be fair, I strenuously trained for one portion of the triathlon - the part where you run into water. I'm an expert at that.

Lovely Hannah (extremely experienced triathlete!) sent me (never raced before!) a training schedule which has given me a great idea of what I need to do. I'll do a short summary of where I have started so far.

Saturday
Up at 6am, off to the nearby lake for a run. Terrified, seeing as how I haven't really run since before I was pregnant with my first child in 2003. I managed to run for 30 straight minutes and made it around the lake, but it can be called "running" only because my knees stayed bent throughout. I'm pretty sure I saw an octagenarian walking club pass me. At times I was concerned I was actually going backwards. But I made it and was very proud of myself. Upward from here....right?

Sunday
Fed, dressed, and bundled the kids off to the gym daycare while I did 30 minutes on the stationary bike. A lovely bike ride- no big deal, one would think. Except for how I was drenched in sweat afterwards. It was definitely a good workout, plus I got to read some political analysis of the neverending presidential nomination process. Thank goodness for showers.

Step 2 on Sunday was during the kids' nap/quiet times, when I headed off to sign up for a second gym. This gym has 24-hour pool access and I couldn't find anywhere else with lap swim before 6am. I consider 6am practically halfway through the day. I'll just have a month-to-month membership until the triathlon.

Monday
Up at 5am this morning, in the water at 5:30! I swam for 30 minutes, again terribly proud of myself as I haven't swum laps in 12+ years. I kept my flip turns going the entire time (although certainly couldn't maintain 4 strokes between breaths for very long!) and felt pretty good...until I climbed out and almost fell back into the pool. I realized as I emerged that my face was fluorescent red, I was panting, and I could barely walk. Apparently the nice cool water masks symptoms of impending cardiac arrest.

So - I've started! Tomorrow I will probably attempt to run again, although almost every single muscle is now sore.

96 days to go

Hannah:

I decided that some retail therapy might help give me some more motivation, so off I set to the sports shop. Sophie 'helped' pick me some lovely purple and silver Asics trainers which look a lot better than they sound!

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With new trainers, it seems fitting to take them for a test run so I set off on Monday morning for a trot through the fields. Oh my! The blood was flowing to parts of my body that hadn't had blood flow in ages...namely all my flabby bits. Ouch! There is nothing worse than the return of blood to the fat areas! My legs and stomach were itching like crazy within 5minutes of running. I am so unfit and out of shape.

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In the end I ran steadily for 25minutes through the fields, which despite the itching, was a very pleasant run!

8th May - 101 days to go

Hannah:
I thought I should reacquaint myself with the gym this week. I haven't been to the gym since we went to Seattle (2 months ago). It was a little bit of a cultural and physical shock! The whole gym had been repainted in my absence, the changing area had been refurbished and the swimming pool is currently having new tiles laid so is shut!

I decided that after being away from exercise for so long, I would just sit on a bike for 40minutes. I plugged my headphones into a trashy chat show and pedalled away for 40minutes. I felt OK!

Today I thought I should have an easy run on the treadmill. I found the same trashy chat show, plugged in and ran very easily for 20minutes. At the end of 20mins I was intrigued to find out the conclusion of 'I love my ex, but is he the father of my child' show, so I sat and pedalled on a bike for a further 20mins. I did a bit of stretching and called it a day.... and yes, the ex was the father of the child.

Hello!

Hello and welcome to our blog!

On the 17th August Lorraine will be competing in the Danskin Seattle Triathlon and I will be taking part in the Reading Concorde Triathlon.

It will be Lorraine's first triathlon. I am an unfit veteran of triathlon having competed on and off for 15yrs!

Lorraine has 2 children, Amelia (4yrs) and Oliver (18ms). I have one daughter, Sophie (3yrs). Lorraine works full time and I do the school run and pretend to be a housewife!

I live in the south of England and Lorraine lives in NW America. We have met!