November Round Up

 Another month down. Not much else to say there. Let's see how it went, shall we?

Swimming: 12100m (7.52 mi)
Cycling: 50.27 mi
Running: 59.54 mi
Strength: 30 sessions (5:29)
Other: two hikes (2:14)

I started getting back in the pool regularly again (ending out the month with a few three swim weeks) and it's becoming noticeable. I'm starting to focus on form a bit more and, what do you know, it actually works. I've seen some faster times (for me) again so I guess that's paying off and I guess that's something I'm going to continue working on.

The bike continues to be a disappointment. My swim went back to decent once I started giving myself specific workouts again so I'm going to do the same thing with the bike (or at least parameters of how much I should ride that day). My mini goal is to ride at least 100 miles in December. 

Running is continuing to go pretty well. The race we're in theory training for might not happen (registration still isn't open yet they have a date for it ...), but we're hoping that if it doesn't, there will be something local-ish we can substitute in its place. Hopefully.

The other disappointment this month (besides the bike) was the lack of other. Hoping that changes despite the weather and cold!

Also obviously sticking with the daily since it seems to be working. Consistency over time, man.

October Round Up

In theory, this month should have started off with a 70.3

In actuality, this month ended up having a few virtual races (the BU Alumni 5K and the ZOOMA Amelia Island Challenge (5K and 12K)).

We've also in theory started training for RnR AZ in January - the website still has the dates but no sign up yet. We're just training as if. Everything else except for running? Welllllll ...

Swimming: 4300m (2.67 mi)
Cycling: 55.38 mi
Running: 56.15 mi
Strength: 31 sessions (5:28)
Other: two hikes (2:23:57), two sessions hockey (2:00), one walk (:20), one session yoga (:15)

I hit a swim rut and I hit a swim rut badly this month. Part of it is finding the time to go now that I don't have to set a reservation. Noon is generally an okay time (the time it was usually okay to go swim at that gym pre-COVID), but actually remembering to get out the door and go around then (and schedule food around it) is a bit tricky. I also stopped planning swim workouts and just decided to swim as much as I felt like. That? Was a bad idea. I'm attempting to add in structured swims in again for November.

Cycling is also a bit of a struggle. And it doesn't help that when I do get on the bike, I can tell I've lost a lot of the fitness there. I've ridden over 1000 miles this year but let me tell you, it sure doesn't feel like it. I've gotten out a bit already this month - warm days help - and I'm hoping to ride more than I run.

Running is the main good thing. I don't think I've missed a run yet and have only cut one or two short. I'm proud of that. I've now been running essentially every other day for about two years now and I think it's FINALLY paying off. 

Still sticking with the daily and am trying my best to not half-ass it like I like to do.

I am proud of the other random stuff this month though. Got out for a few hikes - we're still really trying - and played hockey again. One hour was a stick/puck session and the other was an actual drop-in. Despite not remembering how to deal with my annoying feet in hockey skates and developing horrible, horrible blisters, it was actually pretty fun.

November the goal is just to keep keepin' on with half training and to try not to completely neglect the cross-training. I also have a goal to not gain weight during the holidays, so here's hoping.

September Round Up

Another month down in this year. Woo! I'm still doing a few virtual races (Skirt Sports is now part of ZOOMA so I'm doing the virtual Cape to Coast challenge which means the Cape Cod Challenge and the Amelia Island Challenge. Did the Cape Cod; Amelia Island is later this month. Also BU is doing a 5K as part of their virtual Alumni Weekend ... so that's Sunday) and in person racing is slowly resuming around here, so I may have one of those in my future. Maybe.

Anyway, onward to numbers!

Swimming: 11100m (6.9 mi)
Cycling: 66.68 mi
Running: 35.21 mi
Strength: 30 sessions (5:02)
Other: four hikes (2:57:11), one walk (1:02:38)

I got back into my 10K a month for swimming habit, so that's good. The pool is, or I should say was getting to be really annoying - I would have to show up at least 20 minutes before my reservation time to make sure I could get a lane because the pool is starting to get REALLY crowded. However, I just tried to make a reservation and apparently the gym is back to "hey we're open 5a-9p so come on in whenever and work out for as long as you'd like now" so now I have to figure out when is good to actually go swim at the gym. Since I had that figured out at my old (now closed) gym. UGH.

But hey, at least this means I can get back to super long swims again, right? 

The bike ... is a struggle. And I'm not sure why. The trainer is just highly unmotivating and I think I'm just sick of the standard boring rides from the house. Yet the thought of driving to ride somewhere also doesn't help. Let's not kid ourselves - I'm in a huge bike slump. I'll get out of it eventually - I always do. And since I don't have a tri until at least oh, next August* ... I suppose it's fine.

Running has been surprisingly decent. The ZOOMA Cape Cod Challenge had a one mile race (that I didn't go as hard as I probably should have, but was still sub-10 so YAY for that) and a 10K/half-marathon. I am not in half shape so I did the 10K and it went a lot better than expected, so I'm happy for that, too. My Garmin had it faster than the Feisty Games 10K and the app I had to track it with had me faster than the SMASH 10K, so who knows there.

We also decided to gamble that RnR AZ (same race I did in January) will go on and have decided to train for that to give us some motivation.

Strength has been fine and we're still trying to keep hiking. Been exploring some new parts of the state and it's been great.

For October ... the goal is just to keep on moving and keep with the training plan. Keep surviving, for that's all any of us can do.

August Round Up

Oh hey, another month down and another month of me not really hitting my goals. I did manage to finish the CO Trail challenge, though, and "race" two tris as part of the Feisty Team's Feisty Games (... over the course of several days. I regret nothing).

This year, man.

Anyway, on to the numbers, shall we?

Swimming: 14050m (8.7 mi)
Cycling: 112.51 mi
Running: 35.66 mi
Strength: 31 sessions (5:29)
Other: three hikes (2:24:26), two walks (1:20:51)

Swimming was the only thing I met (and exceeded) my goal on this month. I'm trying to get back to my bare minimum 10K a month again and right now, it's working. The process of getting to the gym so I can guarantee a lane is kind of a pain in the ass, but I'm still grateful that I even can swim, so there's that. Hopefully that gratitude keeps continuing.

Cycling ... just ugh. I really need to get out on my bike more and I REALLY need to get back doing hills. The 40K ride I did as part of the Feisty Oly tri was NOT fun. Ugh.

Running has weirdly been coming around. I had a speedy run in Vegas before we left (went for B's birthday) and then the 10K I did for the Feisty games was only a minute slower than the SMASH virtual Mother's Day run (which I went hard at). I'll take it.

Not as much extraneous stuff (hiking and the like) and with the weather changing, I'm not so sure that will change either. But maybe. We'll see.

I don't know. 2020 is weird. Planning is hard. All I try to keep doing right now is to move my body and maintain some semblance of fitness.

July Round Up

Can you guess how July went? Can you? 

I'll tell you - not as well as I was hoping. Oh wait! That's how it always goes!

... I'm over this year. I really am.

Swimming: 8372m (5.2 mi)
Cycling: 106.96 mi
Running: 28.53 mi
Lifting: 28 sessions (5:56)
Other: six hikes (9:42:32), three walks (2:31:28)

Swimming was down again. Partly due to the birthday trip (no swimming there) and partly due to the fabulous pool of fabulousness changing its hours. However, even though my good 24 closed for good (*cries*), the crappy, closer one is back open, so swimming there has started to happen again. I have to get there like 15 minutes before my reservation time to make sure I snag a lane (and go dressed in my swimsuit), but hey. It's been working.

I don't know what happened with the bike. It's been rough. I'll just say that.

Same thing with running. A few of those walks were actually supposed to be runs. Ugh.

While I didn't technically lift every day (still with the TIU daily), I didn't skip a daily - screen-shotted them and doubled up. I did actually have another off day, too, thanks to feeling like crap after our road trip.

Hiking, though, hiking has been great. That's been the main upside to things.

We just got word (literally as I was writing this) that Memphis has been cancelled (big surprise), so we'll see if I race again this year. I'll have a fake tri as part of the Feisty team and a few running races are starting to happen around the metro, but I'm still not sure on whether I actually want to do any of them. We'll see.

June Round Up

June was a bit disappointing for both of us. But also really, really nice in other ways. Read on ...

Swimming: 13684.91m (8.5 mi)
Cycling: 137.38 mi
Running: 36 mi
Lifting: 30 sessions (6:34)
Other: one hike (3:00), four walks (4:13:16)

The biggest and best part of this month is that swimming number. LOOOOOK AT IT! So while 24 just opened, their pool still isn't. And they closed the nice one anyway. However, the outdoor pool near my parents' house is open and for $7 (non-resident), you can swim for 70 minutes. I am all about that and have been going on average twice a week. CCSP also finally opened for open water, so we got in one of those, too.

I'm also learning that I have probably been swimming in yard pools (as opposed to meter pools), so there's that. Whatever, I'm swimming again in a gorgeous pool and it is GLORIOUS.

Everything else though ... ugh. Cycling has been a struggle again. Have gotten up to Boulder to climb hills a tiny bit, but not nearly as much as I would like. It doesn't help that Tucson is on fire and the Catalina Highway (that is, Mt. Lemmon) is closed so I will not be able to do the original birthday goal. I will still ride; it just won't be an epic ride up a mountain.

Running I have no idea what's going on there. Half those walks (or more) were supposed to be runs. 

Boulder 70.3 was officially cancelled, so the only race still on the schedule is Memphis and we'll see if that actually stays a thing. There have still been virtual races (SMASH has another one coming up on the 4th), but eh. I'm doing a bit better with the Colorado Trail challenge, and my main goal for July is to actually finish that (a month early). We'll see if I do.

I'm also hoping to hike more, so fingers crossed that happens!

May Round Up

Working out ever since the pandemic hit as been weird. Obviously I haven't been able to swim as the pools have been closed (hopefully that changes sooooooooon) AND all the normal places for open water have also been shut down (argh), but running and biking? That can happen.

March went terrible because our brains were in shock of what was actually happening. That makes sense. April, we were settled in for the long haul and it made it easy to move. May, stuff has been kind of opening up but in weird ways and the odd frustration and impotence from March came back.

As a result, my May was crap.

But I DID GET TO SWIM AGAIN SO YAY.

Swimming: 2194.56m (1.36mi)(2400yd)
Cycling: 91.34 mi
Running: 42.95 mi
Lifting: 30 sessions (6:28)
Other: four hikes (4:15), four walks (3:22:14)

We disappeared down to Tucson for a few days and the hotel we booked had a lap pool we could use, so I finally got to swim again. Given the layoff and my usual bodily reaction to it, my final swim was the only one where I kinda felt "normal" again (I usually get nauseous my first few swims back after long layoffs and this was my longest layoff in a while). I didn't get to swim as much as I wanted, but it was still so nice to be able to swim.

Cycling was a huge disaster (got sick of dealing with people on the trails and also just sick of the same old routes) and running ... kind of the same.

I also had my first off day since August of last year when my neck freaked out on the first ... thanks to being super hungover when I finally cracked.

I'm not even saying any goals for June ... but trying to find some water might be nice as 70.3 Boulder, as of today, is still on ...

Oh wait. I have one goal - ride hills. Birthday Lemmon extravaganza is still on as scheduled, so the husband and I need to get some vert on in our lives.

Plus we did sign up for the virtual Colorado Trail challenge, so in general, miles would be good.