Using Garmin Forerunner 310xt during a triathlon

One of the main reasons I wanted to get the Garmin Forerunner 310xt was so I would be able to track my time during a triathlon. Wearing a watch would do that but with the Garmin Forerunner 310xt I would be able to look at my pace and separate my transitions. Also the big plus of the Forerunner 310xt was that it was waterproof so it was the perfect tool for a triathlon.

Last Saturday I was able to use the Forerunner 310xt in a race situation for the first time. I know I know try nothing new during a race but I did. Before the race I figured out what buttons to press and when. When it was time to swim I was ready to go. I started the Forerunner, when I jumped out of the pool all I did was press lap and with no problem I was tracking transition one. Then press lap again and I was tracking my bike. It was really easy to use the Garmin Forerunner 310xt during a triathlon. It easily switched from transition to sport by the press of one button without a hitch.

Once the triathlon was done I downloaded my information to Garmin connect and it was interesting to see all the data and maps. I am really happy with the performance of the Garmin Forerunner 310xt a great tool for triathlon training and race day!

10 mile training run

Now that the 2010 Beaver Freezer triathlon has come and gone it is time to start focusing on the Hippie Chick half marathon. The Hippie Chick is about a month away and on today's training menu was a 95 minute run. I usually take the same route it is kind of flat and I am very familiar with it but today I decided to be wild and try out a different route that I knew would be a lot harder.

The wind is high today, I just did a triathlon a few days ago so it probably was not the best idea to go on a 10 mile run today on a harder route than I usually go on but I did anyway. The first mile is a steady uphill. Then a little flat/downhill and then back uphill for about 3 miles. Then it evens out with the occasional uphill and downhill. I worked hard my legs felt a little tired and heavy but all in all it went well. I am glad I went out of my comfort zone and tried out a new more challenging route. Hippie Chick half marathon, here I come!

2010 Beaver Freezer Video and Review

I have had some time to think about the 2010 Beaver Freezer triathlon what I can do better what I liked and disliked about the race and here it is.

Heat waves for the pool are assigned based on a time that you give the race organizers for a 500 yard swim. Unfortunately the other two women in the pool had said that they were faster than they actually were I caught up with them after one lap and we all lost precious seconds because of it. This is not the first time this has happened and I just wish that people would be more accurate when they give their time.

My transitions were a little long because I put on socks, a jacket, and gloves but I am glad I did that it was just so cold.

About the race itself it was well organized and the volunteers were all in the right spots. This years race had a different course, all the women started in a pool that was double the distance away from transition as the men. This was a little annoying although I understand it was because they doubled the race capacity.. Also the race results took about an hour to get posted I felt like this was too long. In the past this has happened a lot sooner.

All in all a great year and will continue to participate in it here is a very home made video of the day. Enjoy!

Beaver Freezer 2010 Video

2010 Beaver Freezer Triathlon Done!

Today was the Beaver Freezer Triathlon in Corvallis, Oregon. It is the first race of the season for me and this race lived up to its name. It was very cold 39 degrees, very windy, and rainy. I had not been in the pool for three weeks because of shoulder problems and my shoulder still hurts but I had a decent swim. All in all the race went well. The course was different than it has been in the past. I am happy with the results.

Here is what the results for the Beaver Freezer Triathlon looked like:

overall place:	182 out of 398
division place:	4 out of 16
gender place:	50/180
time:	1:23:47
pace:	0:
swim:	7:59
t1:	3:34
bike:	44:41
t2:	2:04
run:	25:27 1:23:47 Total Time.

The day before the triathlon

Today is the day before the 2010 Beaver Freezer. This is one of the most important races to me. I have a bad shoulder, there is a strong storm coming in and I have blisters on my feet. The forecast for Saturday is rain and wind so we will see what happens.

Also now that I have a coach she had me do some training for tomorrows triathlon today. I usually don't do any workouts at all to keep my legs fresh but she had me spin on my bike for 45 minutes and then transition to a 20 minute jog. I have never done this before so I hope it helps.

I will post my results on Saturday April 3 after the Beaver Freezer. Wish me luck!

Triathlon Racing Problems

My first race of the season the Beaver Freezer is this Saturday and my shoulder is still bothering me. I have not been able to swim for two weeks three days now and it is very frustrating. I am also in talks with my coach Larissa because she feels that if I am have some pain in my shoulder I should not be racing.

I am insisting in participating in the Beaver Freezer and this is not making my triathlon coach happy. I understand that it is probably best to not race in what is considered to be a small race but this race is a big deal for me and for people in this area (it sells out in under 2 hours!) So I am going against what my coach says and racing. I don't think my swim will be great but I will be able to do it and I will be able to finish the triathlon.

I also will not have another triathlon until July so I figure this gives me plenty of time to recover. I will let you guys not how I do on Saturday. Wish me luck!

Running Water Bottle Review

For the past few years I have slowly been uping my millage when I run. I started off thinking that 2 laps around the track were the end of the world. Now I look forward to going for 9 mile runs, I have completed a half marathon and am training for 2 half marathons and a marathon. As the miles have increased I have had to find a way to hydrate myself while running.

I really did not want to carry a water bottle with me. The few water bottles I had tried were not comfortable and felt heavy. Camel backs seemed expensive and when I ran they moved around too much. About a year ago I wondered into a local running store and came across a whole line of running water bottles called Ultimate Direction. I noticed that they looked different like they were made with more thought. I then saw the Ultimate Direction Fast Draw 10 oz bottle I decided to give it a try. One year later I still have it and love it. The Ultimate Direction Fast Draw is by far the best water bottle I have used for running. For me the 10oz size is perfect I think I will run with two of them once my mileage gets a little higher.

So if you are like me and want the most comfortable accessories and water bottle while running I highly recommend you check Ultimate Direction out!

Distance Runner?

The weirdest thing is happening to me, it started about a month ago when I had the best 8 mile run of my life, longer runs are becoming "easier". Now don't get me wrong it is still hard work everything is hard work and determination and motivation but I just seem to be enjoying and getting more out of runs that are 50 minutes or longer.

Today I ran for 1 hour 30 minutes. It was POURING rain and there were gusts of wind up to 40 miles per hour. I ended up going a distance of 9.7 miles jumping over puddles and tree limbs that the wind had brought down. It was hard work but it was enjoyable and I feel I great sense of accomplishment. I have about 1 month and one week before the Hippie Chick half marathon I hope I do well!

Vibram FiveFingers

As I mentioned before I am reading the book Born to Run and I am very very interested in the information it has been giving me. Yesterday in the book I read a lot about bare foot running and how it is so much better for you than running with some nice cushioned shoes. I also learned about the whole barefoot running movement and how there are more people who run around barefoot than one would expect.

They say that running without those super cushioned shoes improve your technique, help you get faster, help you get stronger, and prevent injury. It makes sense, if you look at history many tribes ran around and still do either in bare feet or sandals and they seem to be fine.

So I have been thinking that maybe I should give this barefoot running a try. But then I realized how will I run barefoot in the city without getting really nasty feet or cut them up with glass. A few pages later the book gave me the answer Vibram FiveFingers. Apparently these are kind of like shoes in that they protect your feet but still maintain the integrity of what your foot should be doing when running, landing and pushing off. Vibram FiveFingers also come in many models and for men and women. Some are for running others for hiking it is worth checking out what they have. I am going to do a little more research on this and ok it with my coach Larissa but it all sounds very interesting to me. Anyone have any thoughts?

Shoulder Update

The Beaver Freezer Sprint triathlon is one week one day away and I am still unable to swim because of my shoulder injury. This as you can imagine is really starting to stress me out. I am doing everything I should be doing to take care of it like not moving it very much icing it, aplying heat after the ice then ice again.

Now don't get me wrong it is much much better I am not able to put a sweater on with relatively no pain and when I take the sweater off it just hurts a little but I need to be able to swim in my full capacity at the Beaver Freezer. Please please time help my shoulder and let me be able to swim by next Saturday.

Born to Run: Christopher McDougall

One of my Christmas gifts this year was the book Born to Run by Christopher McDougall. It looked interesting enough but I had a couple of other books I wanted to read first so it took me a while to get started on this one. I don't really consider myself to be a good runner although I wish I were a better runner especially since I run between 15 to 20 miles a week. I was hoping that by reading Born to Run I would get some answers to why I feel like I can't run!

I read the first chapter of Born to Run in record time it took me in right away. So far I am about two thirds into the book and I can't wait to finish writing this so I can keep reading! It is a very inspirational story that in my mind explains what is wrong with my attitude towards running and a better way to deal with it.

If you do not know about Born to Run or have not heard about it I highly recommend it! So far it is a great book!

Eugene Women's Half Marathon

I have never competed in a Marathon but I signed up for the Portland Marathon which takes place on October 10, 2010. I am really stressing out about running that distance so what I have done to reduce my stress levels is sign up for two half marathons before the marathon. Does this make sense? I am not sure.

First I signed up for the all women's Hippie Chick half marathon which will take place on May 8th, 2010. I did this race last year and I liked it a lot so I figured why not do it again this year to help me get fit for the Portland Marathon. Then I started thinking well thats months away! Now what! Like a sign in the mail I received a pamphlet for the Eugene Women's Half marathon. Should I sign up I thought?

I decided to look at my training plan for the marathon and the weekend on September 5th it wanted me to run 13 miles! It was a sign for sure so I signed up! So now this year I will be participating in 4 triathlons, 2 half marathons, 1 marathon, and the Tour de Cure ride for Diabetes! Crazy!

Nuun Electrolytes

Almost two weeks ago I had the best 8 mile run of my life and part of the reason I think was because of my use of electrolytes. As I mentioned before over the years I have not been able to find an electrolyte that does not make me feel sick until I came across Nuun.

The reasons I like Nuun are that they do not have sugar and the flavor is not too strong. I almost feel like I am just drinking water with a little hint of flavor. For me this is great because I am able to get the minerals I need without forcing myself to drink something that does not taste good to me. Nuun picked up on how much I love this product and that I want to share it with everyone so they sent me a few canisters! This is great! I am already handing Nuun out and have a few converts! Thanks again Nuun for such a great product!

My first triathlon of the season is in two weeks and I will be sure to have my Nuun with me!

Still can't swim!

I have not been able to swim since Sunday when I fell and injured my shoulder I have been resting and my shoulder still hurts but I thought I would try and swim today. It was a nice day so I decided to ride the 4 mile ride to the pool and as I was riding I could feel that my shoulder was getting a little tight. Great I though to myself, if it is bothering me know it will be worse in the pool.

I got to the pool thought positive thoughts jumped in the pool tried to swim 25 yards and there was pain. I kept trying thinking it would loosen up but no luck. I ended up swimming a total of 200 yards and getting my money back as I could not really swim. My first triathlon is 2 weeks away, please please should stop hurting!

My shoulder!

Being a clumsy person I took a tumble and landed on my shoulder a couple of days ago. What this resulted in was that I feel like somebody picked me up and threw me into the ground. My shoulder is in a lot of pain the first day I could barely lift it, today it has more movement. My neck hurt and whole body hurt. I am still a little sore but I am getting better.

I am really concerned though because my first race is on April 3 the 2010 Beaver Freezer and as of now it hurts my shoulder to run and bike but I can do it. The real problem is that I currently am unable to swim..... I am getting better and can move it but it is still very painfull if I move to fast or put it in certain positions. I am really really hoping that this will get better before my first triathlon of the season.