End of another week

Let's see - how did it go this week? Today I biked on the rail trail with eldest daughter - first time either of us did the (almost) whole trail from Amenia to Millerton. We went north, the uphill route. EldDaught's bike is tiny - made for a six-year old. Now that she's so confident on the bike she's really ready for a bigger one, which I think would also go faster more easily (bigger wheels - stands to reason). So I had to go extra slow which I think made it harder. I really want to get out there and do it on my own - it took us 90 minutes to go just over 8 miles. Obviously I need to go twice that, and half again as long, AND on hills. I tried to jog a bit afterwards (holding my bag, so it didn't count) - I was winded and exhausted almost instantly. But I don't count that as a "brick" as I was just trying to get back to the car!

What else, this week. Skipped the swim yesterday. Spinning class Thursday. Jogged in the evening Wednesday. Nothing Monday and Tuesday (had to get to work early both days, no chance in the evening either.) Tomorrow I'm going to run, and this coming week, a REAL training schedule, bricks and all. Swim Monday, Spin Tuesday, etc. etc. Yes, don't worry, I'll rest too! But I have NINE WEEKS TO GO - I need to really step it up! I really want to run in the Sharon Classic on May 5, too - a five mile race. I am almost certain I'll never in my life actually run that distance nonstop, but there's no reason I can't cover it faster than I did last year, i.e. not come in, not only dead last, but at least 10 minutes behind the next-slowest person (and a 73 year old, to boot)! It's got some serious hills, though the Active.com website describes it as "gently rolling." Hah!

I wasn't an official entrant as I was a walker, not a runner - the last runner finished in a 12:43 pace. I wonder if I could make that! I can run at 12 minute miles, on the flat track, for maybe a mile - but on hills, for 5? Hmmmm.

Long time gone!

I haven't been posting but I have made progress. I didn't work out every day while I was on vacation, but it almost felt like every other day was even better - I had more energy to work out harder and longer. I went running twice, took a very hard 6o minute spin class, and when I got home I went for my longest run yet - 45 minutes (with a few walking rests in the middle at the tops of hills). I have to drive the route in my car to see how far it was, but I'm guessing around 3 miles. I swam (paddled, really) once while away, playing with the kids in the pool, and had a 20 minute swim yesterday. Now I feel like it's the home stretch - less than 2 1/2 months to go, time to really, really get serious! What exactly does that entail? Well, I'm not exactly sure, but longer harder workouts, double workouts and more outdoors - I have to get out on my bike now that the snow is melting!

Overcommitted!

No I have not kept up with my six days, six workouts plan. I thought I might have time after I got home from NYC (having taken the 6am train down and arrived back at 4pm) but worked for three hours straight til the start of my evening meeting. Tomorrow I have to be at work at 9 sharp, and given that it's 11 and I"m still here (having just finished baking 4 batches of cookies for a bake sale Saturday), I don't think I'll be swimming in the morning. But I could run in the afternoon and then work past dark if I need to finish things before I leave on my trip Thursday. If the weather tomorrow is anything like today, it will be lovely but perhaps flooded anywhere I try to go! I've gained about 4 pounds, don't know how, but feel quite blue about it. My confidence that I'll be able to complete this triathlon is at low ebb right now! What made me think that I'm an athlete?

On track

I did stick to day two of my six day plan today - I ran, though only for 30 minutes (walks included.) I did hills - the first mile or so out and back of the course I hope to run in May for the Sharon Classic Five Mile race. At the moment the possiblity that I will be able to run five miles in two months seems remote indeed! I plugged up the hills til my heart was about to burst, then took some walking rests. Tomorrow I MUST get up in time to go swimming! Which will only happen if I get offline, write the thing I have to write, and get myself to bed!

Six day, six workouts

That's my plan, anyway. Fred and the kids left last night for Colorado, and I won't see them til Thursday night (in Detroit.) So I have six days to myself, six days to do what I want. That's a lot of time (and a lot of pressure) to accomplish things! I started out this morning with Pilates and about 30 minutes on the spinning bike. It's going to warm up this weekend, so I'm going to run tomorrow, outside. Monday I will swim (and I WILL go to bed early Sunday night, and I WILL get up early and go Monday, so I can be at my 9:30 meeting at work.) Tuesday... a difficult question, as I have to take a 6am train to NYC. I might call walking around my workout, or I could try ot come back early enough that I could do ... something. Wednesday and Thursday will be swim/run/spin/"IBB class" - or some combination thereof. Once in Michigan I should be able to keep up the momentum - my dad is a member of a very fancy gym where I can do just about anything for the five days I'm there while he plays with the kids.

What happened to me?

After weeks of hard work and discipline, I've completely reverted to a lazy, excuse-making slug. I had an excuse over the weekend: an unexpected funeral and travel to it, which onsumed all of Saturday and Sunday. Yesterday I thought I had a 9am meeting - I could have gone to the gym for a short time and still gotten there by 9 but didn't - and then the meeting was cancelled. Today, same: I mooched around at home all morning and still got to work late. No excuse at all. Tomorrow - VERy early meeting, not time for morning exercise (but could go in the evening, and I'd better, since Thursday and Friday, with no school for the kids, the chances of a morning workout are even slimmer.) Can't give up now! (Especially since, the whole weekend, all my cousins were clapping me on the back congratulating me for the triathlon which I haven't done yet!)