Saturday, March 26, 2011

Running on Tired Legs

It has been 4 weeks since I started my official training for the Rev3 Half Ironman and I am tired! On the menu for today's work out was a 50 minute run after having had a 35 mile bike ride yesterday. I woke up this morning and my legs definitely felt very tired but I went for it anyway. I figure my legs will be pretty tired during the Rev3 so I might as well get used to running on tired legs.

The weather was nice there was actually a little bit of sun! I ran in the 8:30s which is nice and ran just under 6 miles. Overall I'm pleased with today's work out. Tomorrow is a well deserved rest day and the rest of the week I will be taking it "easy" as I have the Beaver Freezer Sprint triathlon on Saturday April 2!

Thursday, March 24, 2011

New Danskin Triathlon Suit

A couple of weeks ago I practiced swimming with my triathlon suit in the pool and every time I was turning around I could feel the shorts kind of falling off a little which was quite uncomfortable. I finished that swim session and I set out to look for a one piece suit on the internet which is always a risk as I am not able to try it on. Because the season is just starting though I thought I will risk buying it on the internet and just keep my fingers crossed it will fit.

Over the years I had heard that Danskin was making triathlon suits that fit a little better than other tri suits. I thought I would give it a try. I was also excited about having the zipper in the front as in the past I had the zipper in the back and they were hard to take on and off.

I looked at all the measurements on the Danskin website and ordered the size I thought I would be. The suit arrived a few days ago, I tried it on and it fits great. It is not too tight. The legs are just the right length and I have really long legs. I took it to the pool today and it works great as well. The leg grippers helped keep the shorts in place. Overall I am very pleased with this product. The built in bra actually works! One thing however that I found is not that great about it is that it does hold water a little more than other suits. While swimming its not a problem but when I got out of the pool I was dripping more than usual but I think it is still a great suit.

Danskin has two piece and one piece suits in floral and plain patterns. They come in all sizes and are very true to the size measurements. I have also heard that these suits fit larger girls better than any other brand triathlon suit.


Sunday, March 20, 2011

REV3 Half Ironman training 3 weeks in

I have officially been following the Half Ironman training program for three weeks now and it has been hard. I has been manageable but it has been hard but then again I am training for a half Ironman so what do I expect.

This is what this weeks workouts looked like:
Mon: 40 minute run and 40 minutes of strength training (I did the 8k Shamrock run the day before)
Tues: 1250 yard swim and 20 mile ride
Wed: Track work equivalent of 4 miles (it was a low track work day)
Thurs: 1500 yard swim and 25 mile ride
Fri: 7 mile run
Sat: 30 mile bike ride

So I still have to increase all the distances and the bike riding is really getting to me, its hard to find places to go and ride so many miles. Also with all the rain and wind it makes it a little hard for me to want to ride but I am hoping the weather is going to change soon.

Also this week I swam 500 yards in 7 min 30 seconds so I am hoping that I will be able to do the same at the Beaver Freezer triathlon which is only 2 weeks away!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Bellwether Coldfront Jacket Review

Since I started training for the Rev3 Half Ironman I have noticed that even though I have been biking for years now I still do not have all the gear I need. I had been suffering with the cold and wet weather not having just quite the right jacket for riding in winter conditions so I decided to try and find a jacket I could afford and that looked good and was going to be comfortable that is when I can accross the Bellwether Coldfront Jacket.

I know it is hard sometimes to make decisions about making purchases online as one cannot try things on so this is why I am going to review the Bellwether Coldfront Jacket. This coldfront jacket comes in both women's and men's sizing. I used it yesterday in terrible rain and wind and it worked great. It stretched with me as I leaned forward but also stayed in place at the bottom of my back. It Has two separate back zippers which was nice so I can keep my nutrition organized. It is also lined in a very warm fleece like material. The front is wind resistant and water repellent. It also has zippers in the cuffs to make it easy to take off and put on or to facilitate getting the sleeve over gloves.

All in all I was a little nervous as it was a big investment and I was not going to be able to see it up close but it works great. It also seems to be true to size, I used their sizing chart.




Monday, March 14, 2011

2011 Shamrock Run 8k Done

This year was the first year I did the Shamrock Run. I participated in the 8k race there were over 30,000 people there and it was a lot of fun. I really did not care about the time and I just ran for fun with a costume. More than a costume it was a mask that towards the end of the race was making me really hot! I ended up running 8k in 42 minutes. Like I said lots of fun and I hope to do it again next year. Maybe next year I will do the 15k run I hear it is a really challenging course.

Saturday, March 12, 2011

2011 Shamrock Run

For the past several years I have wanted to do the Shamrock run but I have always been to busy or at work to do it so this year I made it happen, a few weeks ago I signed up for the run. It seems to be a very large run they say 30,000 participants and at the end they give you some chowder! So I'm really looking forward to that.

I will be doing the 8k race a distance I have never raced in before so I am happy about that. I am just going to have fun I even have a costume lined up for the run I hope I am able to breath though the mask!

Packet pick up today, race to9morrow as well as daylight savings. Race update will be posted tomorrow.

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Training Day 9

Day 9 of training for the Rev3 half Ironman is today. What the schedule says to do is a 25 mile bike ride followed by a 1000 yard swim. I woke up this morning to 25mph winds and gusts up to 40mph so I have decided, even though I feel guilty not to do the ride portion of todays workout.

Even though I feel guilty I think this might be the right decision. I also have the Shamrock 5k run and Sunday and I was not planning on taking any days off or altering my workouts but maybe its better to give my legs a rest for one day especially since yesterday I did ten 400 meter intervals the winds were also strong yesterday but not 25mph.

So there is is, tomorrow 30 mile ride the wind is predicted to be "only" 12mph!

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Ravx Speedmax Road Bicycle Saddle Review



The Selle Italia saddle I have been using for years has finally gotten too worn out. I loved that saddle but I had to get a new one so after doing some price comparison and quality comparison I decided to buy the Ravx Speedmax Road Bicycle Saddle.

I had never heard of this brand but when I saw the saddle it looked great and it was a womens saddle so I decided to give it a try. It has titanium rails and is really slim and light great looking. I rode with it for the first time today I was a little worried as it is so slim but it was really comfortable up until now I feel like this is a good quality saddle for a good price. I just wish it came in yellow in adition to black!

Friday, March 4, 2011

Training Day 5

Yesterday was training day 4 for the Rev3 half Ironman and it did not go very well I only rode 17 out of 20 scheduled miles and my swim time for 500 yards was 15 seconds slower than I wanted it to be. I put all that behind me today in day 5 of training on the menu, 25 mile ride.

The wind was really strong today, it was shifting me from side to side at times which was quite scary I kept hoping I would not get pushed off the bike. I kept on going though knowing that at some point the headwind would become the tail wind. After about an hour of riding against the wind I finally turned around! When I was going against the wind I was going about 10mph when I turned around I was going 23mph! After about 1 hour 50 minutes I had finally completed a very hard winter ride. I was exhausted! Tomorrow, 50 minute run.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Day 3 training Half Ironman Done

When I woke up this morning for day3 of my half ironman training my legs felt tired. On todays workout menu was a ten minute warm up followed by 400 meter sprints with a two minute recovery in between I had to do 8 of them. The rain has subsided and it is warmer than it has been but there is some wind. It went well I wish I was a few seconds faster but hat will come with more work. Overall I'm satisfied with today's workout I just feel extremely hungry now.

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Day 2 Half Ironman Training

Today was day two of my half ironman rev3 training. Yesterday it poured rain but it wasn't a big problem because I had to run and I don't mind running in the rain but it poured rain again today and I had to ride my bike 20 miles in it. I was soaked literally within minutes there is only so much rain gear one can wear and I wore it but I still got wet. I rode at an ok speed 15mph when I got home I was completely drenched and freezing, I think it rained almost 2 inches there have even been landslides in the area.

After the bike ride time to go swimming I swam 1000 yards and mostly focused on my 500 yard swim time for the Beaver Freezer which is coming up in about 4 weeks. Right now I am swimming it in about 7:40 I was hoping for a 7:30 but 7:40 is good too. Ok now time for some dinner.

Workout for tomorrow 400 yard intervals.