The pre-training prep month

So I down loaded this 13 week sprint triathlon training plan. It's supposed to be the final 13 weeks before the race. I counted back each day in my calendar, training day starts Monday, March 5 with a 15 minute swim and a 20 minute run. Yesterday I was thinking, "that's going to be such cake, I can totally run 20 minutes. How hard can swimming 15 minutes be?"

Well, the little trainer guy who wrote up the 13 week plan wrote this little introduction. "To start the final 13 week program leading up to a sprint tri, you will need to be able to consistently sustain the following: 20min swim, 30min bike, 20min run."

Okay, 20 minute run: check
30 minute bike: uh...I'm not sure but I'll try it this weekend
20 minute swim: Really? You really mean 20 minutes? Without stopping? Well, I tested it out this afternoon. I took a brief break at 5 minutes, then again around 11 minutes, then again at 20. My arms hurt and I felt kinda dizzy when I got out of the pool. I think I found my weak link.
Apparently every triathlete (and yes I'm going to start calling myself a triathlete because I believe in the power of positive thinking) has a weak discipline. Apparently swimming is a pretty common one. It think it has something to do with the fact that most of us spend nearly all of our time on dry land. But, I remain committed, I will just work up to getting my 20minute swim going before I start the real training.

I'll let y'all know how the bike part goes. I think I'll be taking you up on the long weekend ride offer, Sam.

I'm gonna do it

I've been thinking about doing it for nearly five years. I've been saying I'll do it almost every January. Well, this January I really mean it. I'm doing the Danskin Women's Triathlon! It's in June and I've got time to train. True, it's no Ironman, but it will be the first combo sport event I've ever done. Maybe I'll do the Ironman next yeah (ha!).

So, anyone out there living in Austin want to train with me? I'll need y'all's support. Anyone want to go running/swimming/biking with me?

Ice Storm 2007 = INSANITY!!!!

What happens to Mimi when she's shut in her apartment all alone under ice imposed house arrest for two days? It's not pretty. First there's joy followed up by creative putzing (craftiness, collage making, house painting. This is followed by long bouts of day-time TV watching. This can go on for some time. The third stage is rereational eating. After a pint of icecream and a pound of pasta there is excessive pain.

Then there is extreme grumpiness. So grumpy she calls her mother just to pick a fight. Then she's lonely. So lonely....so ver very lonely.

By day three she says "screw it!" heads out into the frozen tundra in search of people and fresh air.

Another New Year

So it's so long to 2006, hello 2007. For some reason I'm less enthused about the new year than usual. Our calendars are fairly artificial, and one day doesn't really seem terribly different than the one that came before or the one that will follow. So this new year seems to already be a little less shiney than the years before it. I'll turn 27 this year, my 20s are fading away and my 30s are creeping in. I just signed a second year lease on my apartment and I'm in my second year at my job. I keep becoming more and more like a grown-up every day and it's a little creepy.

I should be making of resolutions for the New Year, but I think for once I'm going to break with tradition. There will be no resolutions for 2007. It's not that I'm perfect and there's nothing to change. It's more that resolutions are a waste of time. Choices to change behaviors, health, and habbit have to be made on a daily basis and sometimes recommitted to hourly. So while I could stand to loose some weight, save money, drink less, be more productive at work and so on, writing that all out today, will not actually bring me any closer to acheiving these things.

So my resolutions for today:
Go to the gym and workout for 45 minutes
Eat lunch at home
Make a to-do list at work and complete 75% of the items on the list


As an early victory on the battle of the bulge and the ever shrinking pants, I have lost 9 pounds since Thanksgiving. That's nine pounds in five weeks, and I'm down a pants size. It's all about the baby steps, realistic expectations, and daily recommitment.