So it’s been two months since I’ve written a serious post on here – the one a few weeks ago didn’t count. That’s because there’s been a lot of things going on personally, and something had to give – and it was the blog. I’ve still been working, cooking, living, and most importantly – training – but blogging just had to happen. And the main reason I stopped blogging is…because I found a new job!! And now that I’ve found a new job, I can happily exchange cover letter writing, resume updating, and job applying for training, blogging, and most importantly, free time!
Since this is an update, here’s some numbers on the biking, running, and most importantly, the swimming – since this blog is supposed to be about swimming 2 million yards by the time I’m 30. Remember, I started keeping track almost a year ago now!
Biking mileage (total for 2013): 604.53 miles
Running mileage (total for 2013): 142.17 miles
Swimming mileage (total for 2013): 195,200 yards (110.9 miles)
Total swimming mileage (towards the 2,000,000): 307,400 yards (174.7 miles)
However, the past few months have been really hard. My training has taken a significant hit, and I’m not where I wanted to be when I signed up for the triathlon way back when. I wanted my biking mileage to be up (I wanted to be up to 30-40 mile rides where I’m still hovering around 20-25 on long rides), I wanted my running mileage to be up (I wanted to be at 6.5-7 where I’m still at 5.5 on long runs), and I’ve wanted to have had a few open-water swims in by now (number of lake swims = 0). I also wanted to have more than one brick day, and I’ve only done one brick – an awful bike/run brick over a month ago. I wish I would have committed some time to blogging about it – it hurt physically, I wasn’t mentally prepared for it, but I learned a lot from it. But again – I just couldn’t commit the time to consistent blogging. I’ve skipped a lot of days of training, I’ve been extra lazy on the weekends. But now that things are squared away, I feel like I can finally get back in the swing of things, and that was going to start today!
My plan had been to “sleep in” until about 8, wake up, get a long morning bike ride in and a long evening run in when Dylan was out doing man things. I hadn’t done a brick in awhile, but my training has been consistent enough I felt ready enough to at least split up the two workouts and do long workouts for both. Since Dylan sleeps in so late, I figured I’d have more than enough time to get a ride in so we could spend the afternoon together. Well, we both ended up waking up at 7:30, so we had a lazy morning together, and he came out on a bike ride with me. It wasn’t the ride I had planned – I was going to shoot for 25-30 miles at a moderate-hard pace. What it was was a leisurely ride – I mean, it wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t HARD – and we did make some stops along the way. However, I love that Dylan has been coming out biking with me – he’s making a commitment to get healthy and to finding something we can do together, which is really the most important thing to me.
One of our stops – along the West River Parkway, right across from the East Bank of the University of the Minnesota. We really are an attractive couple. This is the first time I’ve worn that headband – and it makes my ears stick out like woah. Found that out today.
Since I’ve been struggling to get past the 5.5 mile mark, I decided to switch up where I run and visit one of the county parks – Hyland Lake Park Reserve. I also decided to buy a fuel belt. I really didn’t want to because I was afraid of looking like a dork. But I’m not a fast runner and going for a 5-6 mile run does take me an hour; with the temperatures being as hot as they’ve had been, I needed to be able to get water. If I stick around the lakes, I don’t need to – there’s enough water fountains I can stop at. But I was getting super bored of the lakes and I knew my mileage based on the trails around the lakes, and I think that’s why I couldn’t get past 5.5 miles. Plus, I really wanted to do the unpaved trails, and pretend like I was back in high school, running cross country. Running and racing on wooded trails was the best part about cross country.
45 minutes into my 60 minute run – quick stop for a photo opp.
Hyland Lake Park Reserve is a BEAUTIFUL park (see picture above). What ended up happening was:
1. Fuel belt was a success. It was heavy, but it really wasn’t that bad. I was able to carry my phone, my fuel, and my water without having to hold on to it (I’ve tried carrying a water bottle, and it SUCKS).
2. The Map My Run app works really well. I wish I would have downloaded it and started it when I FIRST started this running, but I didn’t think about it until about 15 minutes into my run. And why did I think about it 15 minutes into my run?
3. Because I got extremely twisted around on the unpaved (and paved) trails. They go everywhere! There was no way I was going to be able to keep track of where I was…especially when I somehow ended up in the downhill skiing area where there are no running trails. So I quickly downloaded the app, and started it…just to see what happened. And was pleasantly surprised! But also stayed on the paved trails – those unpaved trails were a little sketchy. I think I need to check for ticks…
All in all, I learned a lot today. I learned that I can run for an hour, I learned that I can do it after a long bike ride (we’ll forget the five hours in between in the two workouts), and I learned that the parks and trails are awesome to run in – and I can totally rely on the Map My Run app to keep track of my mileage for me.
Tomorrow is an easy, off day – but I”m hoping I can convince Dylan to bike over to St. Paul for brunch at a new place I’ve been meaning to try. Best way to end a post? With an awesome picture of my cat.
2by30 