Today is Not That Day

Geeking on the numbers

Molly inspired me to add up my total training miles and time for 2010. It's great to set a benchmark and see progress year over year. What's really interesting is to see that I spent almost half of my total training time in the pool! I really sucked at swimming for the first half of the year :-)

• Bike: 971 miles - 64%
• Run: 484 miles - 32%
• Swim: 58.2 miles - 4%
• Total miles: 1513

And my time breakdown:

• Bike: 75 hrs - 26%
• Run: 77 hrs - 27%
• Swim: 136 hrs - 47%
• Total hours: 288

I didn't spend much time on the bike because I was learning how to swim and run. So, no surprise, I was just in maintenance mode and never saw any improvements on the bike. And improvements were (and still are) sorely needed; compared to the flatlands of Dallas where I used to ride, the hills of northern California were a rude awakening! But at least I got my run and swim up to "not great but doesn't suck" status. So for 2011 I'm starting out in a mediocre yet fairly balanced position in all three sports... I don't stand out in any one of them, but I feel like I have a lot of upward potential in all three.

I guess the question is, is it better to focus on excelling at one of them this year (like the bike), or focus on improving all three of them equally? I suppose it's more of a theoretical question at this point since I can't run, but an interesting question nonetheless. That's what makes triathlon such an intriguing sport; it requires a lot of thought, planning, weighing pros/cons. It's like a puzzle, and I'm such the typical INTJ that loves puzzles. No wonder I love this sport.

Oh, and more numbers fun: I discovered today during 1-legged drills on the trainer that I can push cadence significantly faster on my injured leg versus my non-injured leg. Which may be the cause (at least one of them, anyway) of this chronic hamstring issue. Interesting!!! I've done these drills on a spin bike but never noticed the difference because I didn't have the data. Numbers rock.

Hard core and non-bendy toes

Today was a swim/core day. I'm finally feeling like my swim fitness is coming back, slowly but surely. Focusing more on my pull and keeping my core strong (I think it's been sagging, which has been slowing me down!).

After swim I usually go upstairs to the gym and do some weights, but today I noticed there was a Hard Core class that was just about to start. I've only done this class once before and it really kicked my ass abs. So I'm in there, crunching away on the Bosu, absolutely DYING and pretty embarrassed that I'm the only girl who's wearing a triathlon t-shirt and am also the only one who can't keep up with the class. I'm sure it looks like I borrowed that shirt, like some kind of fitness poser.

Thankfully the instructor walks over and tells me I should scoot down on the ball. Like, WAY down from where I was. Ahhh. Still hard, but now it's manageable and I can actually follow along without stopping every 30 seconds. Tomorrow I will be SORE as I actually did everything in 3x harder position for the first 10 minutes. But it's all good. Since I can't run I have time to work on the important stuff like core strength!

And yes, running is officially a no-no for me. It's been 2 months since I started having hamstring problems and A.R.T. hasn't helped. Of course it also didn't help that I insisted on running once or twice a week because I didn't want to lose my run fitness. This morning I called a chiropractor who's on staff at the Oakland A's on referral from a friend of mine, and I can't get in to see him until Jan 14. He pretty much diagnosed me over the phone, saying it's likely a foot issue that's throwing off my gait. And coincidentally, my big toe on that side doesn't bend (accident about 15 years ago.) Funny how something like a non-bendy toe can wreak havoc with your entire body.

So... instructions are to do nothing that will cause any pain, which thankfully only includes running at the moment. So I will focus on becoming a rock star swimmer and cyclist, and will cross my fingers that this guy can be my very own Magic Man! Michelle suggested water running... can't say I've ever tried it, but if it helps, I'm game. But that means joining the 75 year old guy who kept grinning at me today in the pool. He was water-running in the next lane and I kept thinking... no freakin' way.

It's all about the bike

So it's been two months since my hamstring and piraformis started giving me problems, and after 4 ART sessions it's not really getting any better. I'm now thinking it must be something skeletal... something that's pulling my muscles out of whack. All my muscles are tight -- hips, lower back, psoas -- so something's off. Friend of mine recommended the chiropractor for the Oakland A's and said he was a miracle worker, so I'm hoping he can squeeze me in sometime soon.

In the meantime, I had a decent trainer ride this morning -- I have found my new favorite exercise! I actually like the trainer more than being on the road, with all the stoplights and crazy drivers. It's fun to track all the numbers -- I'm such a data geek. Love seeing whether I can push cadence and speed while staying under the HR target. And I really like the trainer I bought... a Kurt Kinetic fluid trainer. I had to splurge because my apartment walls and floors are made out of spit and Kleenex, and I didn't want the neighbors upset at the noise. It's very quiet and smooth, and only starts vibrating slightly in the big gears. I'm wanting to stick with lower gears, higher cadence for now... my fast twitch muscles are practically non-existent after riding all the steep hills around San Francisco. I'm apparently a "masher" so the trainer is a great time to focus on form and turnover.

So if the miracle worker can't work miracles, it will be all about the bike (and swim!) when I start ramping up in January. If I can get solid on the first two sports, I'm sure I'll be able to muddle my way through the run.  Frustrating, but gotta focus on the positives.

Starting Kona 70.3 training and coach questions

Today was the first day back in the pool... wow, I really lost a lot of swim fitness in only 2 months! Not sure how people entirely stop during the off-season. My next few weeks will consist of ramping back up on swimming so I can start Master's swim in January, plus a LOT of core, strength and stretching to get healthy hamstrings for "unofficial" track in December. And the weather has been unbelievably nice for cycling... I'll head out to Tiburon in the morning.

I'm also searching for a coach to start in January. I've been fumbling through on my own (and it's working fine for Olympic distance) but I want to go a lot farther, faster next year. Hence signing up for the Kona half. I'm happy that I've recruited about 5 friends to do the race with me, and I can't wait to do a nice race/vacation combo. So between my friends pushing me, plus a coach, I'm looking forward to making a ton of progress.

So if you have coach recommendations, please send them my way! My internal debate mainly centers on whether I need a local coach vs. one of the great (but remote) blogger coaches I follow. Pros/cons?