Enjoying life

First off I would like to say RIP John Wooden. Throughout my education I have read his books and have been inspired as a sport psychology consultant and as a coach through his philosophy of the game and development of his athletes as people as well as basketball players. His legacy lives on in a number of coaches, which is inspiring and honorable.

I took the day off Monday after my 50 mile bike ride and played tennis, which is always great. Tuesday swam 2000 yards. Minimal working out due to the time I am spending at the Country Club working on swimming registration and updating databases etc. Wednesday swam 2200 and ran 1 mile within my walk. Knee started to hurt so walked home. Wednesday I had therapy therefore had to run a mile on the treadmill, which felt pretty good and then swam 1000 yards. When I run my pelvic stability is very weak therefore dropping and adding more strain on my knee. Therefore my exercises all center around hip strengthening and of course hamstring stretching. Friday I went on a walk in Tanner park with a good friend Ashley and her pup Pirate. Awesome area with a creek and trails right by the Country Club! Have to be careful not to go too high on the ridges due to the possibility of rattlesnakes. Saturday I rode up emigration canyon which is 10 miles of climbing from my front door. I made it in one hour with a smile! Last time I did that ride was earlier in the season with Melinda and she ate it up with me struggling so it was great to dominant the hills. It was sunny and no wind. Looking over the valley was invigorating almost to the point I wanted to ride it again haha! Going to ride emigration at least 2 times every week now, I love it. I rode some flats afterward and put in a total of 30 miles and saw over 100 cyclists out exercising. Tomorrow is our first swim meet at home therefore I go to work at 6:30 AM and am off at 9-10PM therefore Monday's are now my 'day off'. Headed to swim long course this morning and time a 800 meter and do some tanning. On my 50 mile bike ride last week I didn't get my sunscreen on my back and got burnt and have ugly tan lines and I am wearing a halter dress next week at my cousins wedding in Boise. But now I am excited to watch the men's tennis finals of the French Open! Yesterday the women played and it was inspiring and awesome! The mental game of tennis is unbelievable. Swimming is an individual sport, but tennis defines perseverance and the need to be mentally mature.

Last week goals:
Bike 80 miles: 80 miles completed
Run 5 miles: 4 miles completed
Swim 5000: 5200 completed

Goals for this week:
Bike: 50 miles
Interval Day, Climbing 2 days, and flats 2 days
Run: 8 miles
Swim: 6000

Recovery and Gearing Up

Last week was my recovery week after my sprint tri. I know, I needed a recovery week :) Good news on the knee. It's "just" Patella Femoral Syndrome (PFS) due to muscular imbalance and partly due to lack of hamstring flexibility. I am headed to PT on Thursday to obtain a home program as I was only able to run 1 mile this morning without extreme pain. Julie was right all along, just took me awhile to do something about it. Julie's degree is already paying off, woop woop!

I rode legacy parkway on Sunday. It is a flat trail out by the airport and about 13 miles one way. Being the ambitious athlete I decided out and back wasn't enough as I have done that a number of times and also do my interval training out there as well. So, I decided to do a 50 miler. Success!! I averaged 18.5 mph and completed 50 miles in an 2:40. This was a HUGE confidence booster, as the pace was faster than my sprint tri bike split and the upcoming tri has a flat ride as well as the relay tri Anna, Amy and I are doing in July. My goal is to complete a century prior to departing Utah.

As for last week, swam a little, walked a little and rode a little. However, Amy and I have taken up a new sport: Tennis. I absolutely love it and it's a great workout without the feeling of exercising. At first it was kind of spastic, but now we are moving more and hitting some harder and more strategic shots. I am excited to see how we progress!

Lastly, I have spent a number of hours working on my business logo and have posted below. Next, working on getting the website going!

Total goals for this week:Bike: 80 miles (50 completed)Run: 5 miles (1 completed)
Swim: 5,000 yards (yikes)

Bring It!

Thank you to Lisa and Julie for the push to track my progress and sparking my motivation to become serious about triathlon training as well as Melinda for teaching me about training for the sport and being an inspiration. As a sport psychology consultant I believe in training in the mind and body for success. I recently won my age group at a sprint triathlon, but not without a mental breakdown. This was a critical reminder of how important it is to train your mind for success. Race day was cloudy and raining. Being from Seattle and spending a number of 5:30 AM practices in the rain and cold at UC Davis swim practices, the weather did not phase me one bit. However, as I am walking up to the transition area with a great friend and supporter (Amy) they announced we would not be swimming and instead doing a 1 mile run prior to the bike. I was a mess since my best sport/leg of the race was just taken away from me and this race was my first triathlon I was actually going to RACE. Besides reassurance after reassurance I was still about ready to cry from being so upset. When in doubt, roll with the punches, I pulled it together and told myself (well actually Amy told me) it was out of my control and to pretty much get over it. Couple of deep breaths before the run and I ended up running my fastest mile (under 9:00). I attribute this to channeling my anger to the race. Overall, my bike was awesome and I managed through the run with my knee pain and called it a mental and physical success.

I am now gearing up for the Provo sprint triathlon in 4 weeks and have made a doctors appointment for my knee pain that has been going on for 13 months and has survived triathlons and a half-marathon. I will be tracking my training and weight here. Any advice is appreciated!!

30 minute bike inside (snow outside!)
Chest & Back Resistance Training
Abs