Alicia, sorry to hear about the health problems... Do you want me to make the list of events we're preparing for? (since I'm the one who suggested it)

A new week begins! Huge congrats for all the races this weekend. I haven't caught up the RRs yet but look forward to reading them.

Chris - Given the possible water temps and the fact that I don't own a wetsuit and have been too lazy to measure myself, call up and order one, I think I'll just do the whole thing in my tri-suit. It's also incentive to work on the swim more! Hearing about how flattering wetsuits are, that might be a good decision!

Sparty - Sorry to hear about the thyroid thing. I was on thyroid boosters (I guess that means I had hypothyroidism?) for a year or so. One pill a day. Not really that pricey. It took a while to get the dosage right. Then once I didn't get my refills renewed and went about a month before seeing the doc. Things seems to have self-corrected though and I don't need them anymore - haven't for maybe 10 years now.

My brilliant idea to run in Charlottesville yesterday was a bit of a bust. The trail was very overgrown with lots of potential poison ivy (the bane of my existance!) so I hoofed it out of there and ran on some hilly roads for about 4 miles before bagging it. I had been up since 5am and was tired anyway.

Today was gorgeous day. Low 70's, breezy, leafy green forest to run though. My first three miles were at a steady 10 minute pace and my HR hardly hit 70% (usually it's higher if I go that fast). Things just felt great. I decided to push the potential 5 mile run into a 6, then 7, then 8 mile run. I think it ended up at 8.25 at the end, at straight 10's too with an average HR of 72%! (I sped up the last quarter mile to get a 9:59 average just for grins). May you all have amazing runs like that. It just felt great. (I then proceeded to sit in an HOUR of traffic for my normal 15 min ride due to some accident that no longer existed. While I sat there in sweaty running clothes I half considered pulling over and running home. I could have probably done it a the same time! What's another 8 miles? )

Oh, and in sad news, Clif Bars has discontinued Lemon Poppy Seed Clid Bars. DW called them up after our local supplier made the claim, and Clif confirmed Apparently they were a slow mover -- which isn't a big surprise given that we had to go 300 miles to buy them because no local store could order them (we asked!).

Big breakthrough tonight! Just swam 1500y for the first time! Thanks to the drills you guys recommended, it was easier to go through lap after lap... So now I've done the Oly distance for swimming... The biking one I've done several times (40k should be almost 25 miles, right?),a s for the run, 10k is still the only distance in which I got any hardware, and even twice. You see... my first Tri is coming up, but I'm already preparing for the Oly I wanna do in July.

Tomorrow I'm off to the Poconos for 30 minutes of business meeting and 3 hours of biking and running, on the actual Tri course. The business could've waited, but I scheduled it now because I really wanted to go to the course and bike it. Hope the hills are not gonna scare me and add any extra nervousness. I'll go slow, I'm going with a friend who has a mountain bike (but he's pretty good and fast on it).

Question for the veterans: before an Oly, would you do a brick with the full length, 25mi bike and 6mi run?

Good morning everyone! Again, congrats to all those who had events this weekend-I enjoyed reading the RR.
Alicia-hope you're feeling better soon.
Janine-how did your 5K go?
Julie-it's hard to get the wetsuit on and off isn't it? I feel so silly when I have to put mine on-DH has to help me!
Chili-how exciting--a new bike! I'm envious

Last night I did a brick workout with the group I've been training with (5 middle aged women!). The coach had us do a 14 mile bike (which I was able to maintain between 14-20 mph) then a 2.5 mile run. I felt great on the bike, the run however was a little more challenging. It makes me realize that I need to incorporate more bricks. Rest day for me today since the brick was last night & the coach has us on a recovery schedule this week-I have a feeling I'm going to be antsy.
First tri less than 5 weeks away! Jen-glad you decided to Naperville! You, I and Janine will have to try and get together beforehand.

Have a great day everyone! Dinner tonight-pork tenderloin and roasted asparagus.

Rest day for me! I don't quite know what to do with myself... Oh, yeah- grocery shopping...been meaning to go buy food for days!

Nice workouts, everyone!

Chris- You should feel a lot more confident after that swim! You absolutely don't NEED to do a full-length brick. Brick workouts just train your legs to "come back" after the run. I usually do anywhere from 10-30 minutes, tops. Unless you need to know you can do it (which of course you can).

Alicia- I hope you figure out what's going on soon!

Pich- Yeah- I was thinking maybe we could meet up at packet pickup and go out for a short ride on the course? Maybe even dinner if anyone wants to?

Have a great day!
Jen

Hobey- O.K. What exactly is the difference between a road bike and a tri bike? Also, what is LBS? I'm still new to the abbreviations, sorry! I'm definitely going to a good bike shop and getting fitted. I've read you should definitely get a good frame, then you can always upgrade the components later. Should I get a ?women's? bike? I am only 5'3?, 125 lbs., so I'm fairly small. Any recommendations on brands? What should I expect to spend on a mid-level bike? I want something that will be good for a while, but I don't plan to do any really long distances. I don't want to have to get a new bike in a few years. Upgrading components is o.k., though. I know I need a good seat. The seat I have right now totally sucks! It hurts you know where soooo much! Sorry so many questions.

Kymber- You go girl! It has rained here a bit lately too. I ran pushing my jogger stroller yesterday. It took me 1:08 to run 6 miles, so don't feel embarrassed. We won't make fun of you. I am impressed you are keeping at it. It doesn't matter how fast you are. You bike faster than me! My favorite is swimming and least favorite is biking, but I think everyone knows that. I'm starting to like the biking more, though.

Julie- O.K. I think I'll go for a road bike, then. I don't plan to do anything longer than an oly, and I'm certainly not going on any long bike rides just for fun! LOL I'm sure the wet suit doesn't look THAT bad. I'm glad I don't have to deal with one.

Tamster- Go photobucket.com or imageshack.us to convert your photos, then you can post them here by using the HTML link (I think) I need to post a photo of me.

Mobius- I wondered about the Lemon Clif bars. They all of a sudden disappeared. Darn! I still like the Cranberry and the Cherry ones.

Alicia- Sorry about the thyroid. I hope you get that resolved. My allergies have been horrible the past week!

Chris- You sound like me! I want to do an Oly in Sept. I can do the swim and the run, but I've only biked 20 miles. I know I can do 26, though. I'm definitely doing the full brick before the Oly. Putting them together is another story! That is awesome that you did 1500m. See, it isn't all that hard when you mix it up some. Makes it go by sooo much faster too!

Jen- It's grocery day for me too. I better go shower, then!

Janine- Fingers crossed on the job!

We had pork last night with sweet potatoes and pineapple. It was a Pampered Chef recipe (our first time to cook it) that needed to be tweaked. I really don't like their stuff that much. It was still o.k.

Yesterday, I did a 6M run with the jogger. I don't think I've ever done that, and I haven't run with the jogger in months! I was fine during the run, but later my legs hurt so bad. Today, I did 45 mins. on the stationary at the gym. I went 13.2 miles on level 8 hill. I went back and looked at the last time I did that, and it was May 1. That time, I rode 3:49/mile (sorry, that's how coolrunning puts it), and this time I rode 3:24/mile. That's a great improvement ? about 1+ mph, and my HR was the same on both rides! I'm definitely improving! DH and I are going on a LR on Saturday. I'm looking forward to that.

This week is so busy, I'm not sure what's going on! I really want to do a swim/bike brick even though it's not on the schedule until next week. My swims will switch to early in the morning next week, and I don't want to do it then. So, I may try one tomorrow if I can squeeze it in. The next 2 weeks are taper weeks before the race. I'm starting to get excited!

Great workouts everyone!!

Kelli

Good Tuesday morning all!

Last night- swimming, swimming and more swimming. Boy was I tired. Everyone else must have just stayed home. there was only 5 of us. Tonight I'll be a moderate run and weights afterwards. I was going to bike but my schedule tonight is not going to afford me the time away.

I too am thinking about doing an Oly in September. I read through the course- I've actually biked much of it on training rides already. My only concern... open water. I do just fine in a pool, but out there it's just different. I just need to get out and do more open water training. Other than the water, I think I'd like the longer distance.

This weekend is my two year anniversary. We leave on Saturday for three days. My little vacation even starts out with a relaxation massage.

Dinner tonight- don't laugh... pancakes. Ya gotta love breakfast for dinner... at least we all think so!