Flint Hills

Well, I did it. I registered for an Olympic Distance race. I figure it is about time seeing as how this is my fourth season of triathlon. I just finished reading Iron Wil's post about registering for IM Wisconsin and although I can't imagine committing to something like that, this felt similar. Would I really be able to complete a 1500 m open water swim? What about that 10K at the end of the race? I know that I physically am capable of achieving those distances but for some reason, my brain is questioning my body's ability.

This is going to be my "A" race for the season. I have 3 or 4 other races on the schedule but this is "the one".

The Flint Hills Triathlon is in Manhattan, Kansas on June 3rd, 2007. The long course happens to be a qualifier for the Age Group National Championship race in Portland, OR at the end of June. According to the website... "Any athlete that finishes in the top 33% or is one of the top five finishers (whichever is greater) in each age group on the long course will qualify for the National Age Group Championship in Portland, Oregon on June 30, 2007." I am truly not planning on even being close to qualifying, although I think that I may be disappointed about that after it happens. I am excited to see where I come out in the end.

So, the training continues. I think for this race, the biggest difference will be nutrition and hydration. It really isn't that much longer than some I have done. I just know if I follow the same nutrition plan, or lack thereof, I will bonk during the run. So, I have been trying some things during workouts and am determined to some up with something that will work for me and my touchy stomach.

Until then, keep on keeping on.

Cross Training

I must preface this by saying that I am not a dancer, nor have I ever been a dancer.

My husband on the other hand...

He works as the Youth Director at our church. He does a fantastic job and the kids seem to love him. He is patient, he is goofy, he pushes the envelope with them but only up to a point. He knows exactly where to draw the line and he is creative. Seriously, he even ate a dragonfly last year on the mission trip because the kids dared him to.

He is taking 25 kids and 5 adults with him this summer on a mission trip to Alaska. They are going to work at a family camp and immerse themselves in the culture. I am SO jealous but someone has to stay home to watch the dogs and make some money! =0) Anywho, two weekends ago the youth department put on a variety show to make money to send the kids to Alaska. Most of the acts were high school kids singing, playing instruments, one group put on a game show skit. They did a super job. And then there was my husband. He talked me into helping him with a dance skit that he had seen on YouTube called Evolution of Dance. He made quite of few of his own additions and took out some of the dances that were either inappropriate for church or that the senior high kids wouldn't recognize. It took him two weeks to put together the music and we spent 6 hours the Saturday before practicing. (That totally counted as my workout for the day. That and the 45 minutes of XC skiing that morning.) So without further ado, I thought I would pass along a great form of cross training that you can do at home in your living room with all the furniture pushed to the walls. Working out is about having fun and being healthy. So, go have fun!

Swim, then swim again

As I was swimming with Masters this evening I was thinking about counting laps. When I am seeing out-patients in the clinic, I usually have them count their reps. If I ask them how many they have done and they say, "oh 5 or 6", I make them go with the lower of the two. The patients learn quickly that they should keep track. This is the same way that I swim. And you know what? It really makes me want to keep track more closely. In a way, I feel like if you swim enough yards each practice, 50 here or there shouldn't make that much difference but then the triathlete/PT in me kicks in and I think, every single yard, every single minute counts. So I came up with a solution.
One day my coach had me swimming the following as part of my workout...

1x250 (hard)
1x500 (medium hard)
1x750 (medium)
1x1000 (race pace)
1x750 (medium)
1x500 (medium hard)
1x250 (hard)

I did okay keeping track of the 250s and the 500s. That 1000 is where I start to lose count. I began to use the alphabet. 1A, 2B, 3C, 4D, etc. As I swim my first lap I think of all the words I can that start with the letter A; muscles, names, places, things, etc. Lap 2 is the letter B and so on. And if in fact I do get confused I always go with the lower of the two yardages I am wavering between. A good way to review anatomy, practice for Scategories, and keep track of laps.

A quick update: Kona is doing well. I mentioned two entries ago that she cut her foot open. After 4 trips to the vet we finally got the OK to change the bandage ourselves. She still has to wear her satellite dish collar and the stitches don't come out for at least another week but we've got it down to a science. She even has a little boot that she has to wear outside in the snow so things don't get wet. The vet jokingly told us that he would totally expect that a PT would have a boot like that for their dog. Ha ha.