First Full Week of 2013 Training!

Where do I begin….this week ROCKED! It felt soooo good to be back into structured training and to have a coach. Beth rocks. I love her coaching style.

Here’s what I learned this week:

I LOVE master’s at the Ecke Y in Encinitas. The first session I learned:

1. Being placed in the 2nd to slowest lane is humbling
2. I’m SLOW…but the good news is…I can only move up
3. I’m big time out of swim shape…maybe due to the fact that I pretty much only swam when I raced last year. (I guess 1-3 are pretty much the same thing;)
4. Coach Hux rocks
5. Everyone was super friendly, and even though I’m “not fast”, no one made me feel like I sucked…:)
6. My competitive side is now in full effect

Then the second session: I moved up a lane, into the 1:40 “base” lane. And held my own. Was super stoked, and even had 3 100′s under 1:25, which I’ve never done before. Sometimes all it takes for me to go above and beyond is to be in a competitive/social environment where I’m challenged to push myself outside my comfort zone. Thank you for all my new lane mate friends!

Then I hit my first ride outside for 2013 on the 56 bike path, for a solo ride. It felt sooo good to cruise, and just enjoy being active outside, and on my bike. I got to see this as I was finishing up….

These are the moments, where I feel so thankful, and free. I just want to take it all in, and be right in that moment, and never let go.

For my long ride on Saturday, I was determined to join the 8am Del Mar crew, so I woke up at 7am, got all bundled up, and headed out the door around 7:30am, to peddle south to meet up with them at the Starbucks on the 101. 5min after I left my house, my fingers were already cold, and so were my toes. I had gloves on, and I had ski socks and booties. My core was warm, my legs were warm, my arms were warm, but I knew that I was going to struggle keeping my toes and fingers warm. Mind you it was 38 degrees outside when I woke up/left. Am I from Wisconsin? YES. But, let me tell you, when it’s cold in Wisconsin, I did not ride my bike outside. Nor did I when I lived in Chicago. Also, when it is cold, I’m practically bundled in head to toe snow gear, and I’m just not sure that that is riding appropriate or very functional. Anyway, I told myself to suck it up, but 10min in, and I couldn’t even shift gears because my fingers were numb. Okay, fine turn around, I said to myself, feeling totally lame. But, there was no way I was going to make it through a 3hr ride, if 10min in, I couldn’t feel my fingers. So, I turned around, rode home, and hopped on my trainer to warm up, I started to warm up and started peeling layers, and I decided to just do this ride on the trainer.

So today, on my ride, with Beth (coach/athlete catch up ride on life and training), I showed up with these…

Seriously! So glad, I got these on my trip last weekend, they were a savior. NO PROBLEMS, whatsoever on the bike today. It was cold and windy, but I was happy and toasty Who knew ski mittens were also great for winter riding? I’m obsessed with these, and I HIGHLY recommend, to make your rides more enjoyable when it’s cold, to wear your ski mittens. I might have looked silly, but I was snuggly, and happy.

Night Rider was super pumped to finally get some attention…

As for running, well I had some easy sessions, some strength sessions with hills, and overall enjoyed running outside. I ran around the San Elijo lagoon, ran around the trails at work, and along the ocean.

Gosh I’ve missed this. I guess that’s what the off season is for

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