Just like last month, we will be spending the next 4 months training before I have anything solid to report in regards to racing. Though I typically only post when I have an event to show progress (or a lack there of :-P), it's about time to post to show we're still living.
Training - We're not even up to a large volume of hours yet - just 11hrs a week thus far. I had a week (that felt like a LOT longer) in January where I really struggled with energy. Though I consider myself to be a big eater, I had to step up my game a bit. As much as I started to feel better, my Tanita Body Composition Scale also says I started to pack on the bad type of lbs. What gets hard about needing to eat more volume of food is assuring all of that is good for you food. Higher intensity workouts also tax me in ways I need to get used to as well. I kept wanting to turn to pizza post-workout; a habit I have NEVER had in my life, but has all of a sudden been difficult to fight off. That said, last week was a good week and last weekend I felt v.v.strong.
Last week we also had our first swim lesson - my first official lesson on my life since I learned how to forward crawl off youtube a couple of years ago. Everything I was told to work on is probably extremely basic for people who swam in high school or collage…yet it really rocked my world. Changing anything about the way I've learned to stay afloat introduces a bit of panic while I'm swimming. Panic was my largest hurdle to overcome when I first started swimming 2-yrs ago. As much as I'm not looking forward to fighting (relaxing?) it off again, it is a game I know well and I am certain I will conquer. Swimming is the event I look forward to improving in the most. I can't imagine ever finding the grace in the pool I see w/some of my teammates, yet it's the sport I see all I have to learn and am confident I can make progress.
Cycling, on the other hand, I'm starting to worry will be my weakest event. This is bad news considering it's the longest leg in a tri. It took me several weeks to get my slow legs used to the higher cadences called out in my training plan. That said, I can now work at the higher cadences and stay in my called out HR zones, but I see how much harder of a gear JC is often working in right next to me…and I worry about getting out on the road in the spring. I'm pretty sure I'm going to face a rude awakening to being a super slow poke on a bike that out-classes me. I am a pretty bad a$$ hill climber (strong w/a really quick recovery rate), so maybe I wont be as horrible as I think in the end. That said, I look forward to working on my skillz…
As for my old friend, running, I'm still in love with the sport. I've noticed a greatly improved leg turnover rate as a carry over from cycling…. And for the first time in my life, I was LUVIN my last hill workout. The biggest struggle I've had with running is that I try to find my peaceful place, rather than challenging myself to improve. The speedsters on our team runs are a class above me (JC can keep up w/some of them), but I've yet to identify who would be in the middle ground for me to follow. Typically, I place myself in the back only to find I'm quickly frustrated w/the lack of speed…and then I end out awkwardly on my own. I mean, there may have been some one going my pace, but I didn't pair up w/them in the beginning…so now they're gone… I'm sure it's something I'll figure out in the end, but I'm just not sure where I belong on these runs yet.
That’s all for now.
Love,
Your Little Engineer
Monday, February 13, 2012
Friday, February 3, 2012
Photography Time-Lapse Project
Recently, I was inspired by two photography projects:
1) P52, which is a photography challenge to take new photos every single week to meet the photography theme listed for that week.
2) This clever time lapse of a bike left on the streets of New York.
That said, I'm a touch time-strapped this year w/IM training (it's not too bad now, but our weekly workout hours are going to climb much higher in the next few months). Though I decided I wanted to do my own time-lapse style project that I had to be contentious of all year long, I knew it had to be simple for me to succeed. That's when I decided to roll one of my other 2012 goals into this concept. Soooo, as dorky and random as it may be, I'm taking pics of my progress as I attempt to be able to do the splits by age 30.
This is week 1:
At the end of the year, I plan on creating a video similar to inspiration (2). Get excited! This is only the start of my 2012 randomness :)
Love,
This little engineer.
1) P52, which is a photography challenge to take new photos every single week to meet the photography theme listed for that week.
2) This clever time lapse of a bike left on the streets of New York.
That said, I'm a touch time-strapped this year w/IM training (it's not too bad now, but our weekly workout hours are going to climb much higher in the next few months). Though I decided I wanted to do my own time-lapse style project that I had to be contentious of all year long, I knew it had to be simple for me to succeed. That's when I decided to roll one of my other 2012 goals into this concept. Soooo, as dorky and random as it may be, I'm taking pics of my progress as I attempt to be able to do the splits by age 30.
This is week 1:
At the end of the year, I plan on creating a video similar to inspiration (2). Get excited! This is only the start of my 2012 randomness :)
Love,
This little engineer.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Christmas 2011 Thank You
This year I decided to spice our Christmas Thank Yous up a bit. We took video of our Christmas morning and I edited together this little puppy last night.
Again, thank you to all of our friends and family who thought of us over the holidays! Maybe one year we'll get our act together and send out a beautiful picture card/letter. Until then, we'll keep learning from yours ;-)
Much love,
This little engineer!
Again, thank you to all of our friends and family who thought of us over the holidays! Maybe one year we'll get our act together and send out a beautiful picture card/letter. Until then, we'll keep learning from yours ;-)
Much love,
This little engineer!
Postal Swim 2012
Today our triathlon team participated in something pretty awesome called the Postal Swim. I guess it's kinda a big deal since you can be ranked nationally (for a little extra money). The idea is that you get your own side of a lane and an hour to see how far you can swim. Pretty simple, right?
Whelp, this was the pool...and I can't say that I was in love with it. The bottom was a bit gross (def noticed a bandaid floating in the shallow section of my lane). In the summer though, they remove the dome and it has a view of Lake Washington. Amazing!
Whelp, this was the pool...and I can't say that I was in love with it. The bottom was a bit gross (def noticed a bandaid floating in the shallow section of my lane). In the summer though, they remove the dome and it has a view of Lake Washington. Amazing!
Anywho, I don't have much more to say other than, "I did it!" In one hour, I swam 3,040 meters. That's the furthest I've ever swam in one continuous go, so I don't much care that the distance probably still puts me in the lower half of the team. Whatevs.
At least I know there's a rockstar just waiting to find her way out of this little engineer's shell ;-)
Edit: Looking at my numbers, my avg. lap time was 59s per 50m. That calcs out to ~38mins/1.2 miles or 1hr16mins/2.4 miles. Considering I did my first half iron swim in 36 mins (w/out really kicking (had some crazy idea of 'saving my legs' for the bike/run)), I'm still quite a ways off from where I was 2yrs ago. Sooo, def means I need to keep hitting...er-swimming it ;-)
Sunday, January 22, 2012
2012 Goal Edit
Since I've already knocked off my 2012 goal of editing together at least one video, I've decided to step up this department and list the other short films I have in mind.
Videos to create in 2012
a) Splits Progress
b) X-Mas Thankyou 2011 (complete :)
c) Snow Day Jan 18th (complete :)
d) Something Ironman Training Related
Aaand, this little engineer is out!
Snow Day - January 18th, 2012
Starting on the 17th of January, 2012, the greater Seattle area got an unprecedented amount of snow. We decided not risk the journey to work that day. Instead, we had as many adventures as possible to enjoy the adverse weather. For my first ever video creation, I edited together some of my GoPro footage from the day. Enjoy.
PS Love,
This Little Engineer
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
2012 Goals!
Writing my goals for the things I want to DO is easy! Bam, I already made a mini-post about this nearly 2-months ago. Here's the recap of what I AM going to do in 2012 ;-)
Fitness
(1) Run Ironman Canada!
- I have some time goals in mind, but I would like to wait to roll them out till I have some training to back them up.
(2) Run Boise and Lake Stevens 70.3's in prep for IM Canada!
(3) Train for an end of the year marathon. Squash my current 4:32 time.
(4) Train to be able to do the splits b4 I'm 30.
Photography
(1) Edit together my first video!
(2) Find a Photography class to take (minimum goal).
(3) Develop my photography style further - learn more about PS CS5, create storage/workflow system, find best practice local printer.
(4) Create a photography pseudonym.
Travel
(1) Learn Spanish in preparation for Peru 2013.
Other Skills
(1) Research and decide if Lasik (to be done over Turkey Day or X-Mas) is a good decision for me.
(2) Create at least one rug on my new rug loom :)
Whew. Better stop while I'm ahead. In the end, my #1 goal is IM Canada. If nothing else on that list happens (I'll be a touch disappointed w/myself, but), I will know it was because I tried to put my #1 goal first.
Things I would love to sneak in, but probably wont happen:
Attempt to Summit Rainier (again).
Schedule and follow through w/testing for my PE License.
Complete a task list for town home upgrades for each room.
Create a budget to save for our home upgrades, Peru 2013, Lasik, and our forever home.
Um, stick to the budget?
Make roman style blinds for ALL windows in the house.
What I struggle with a touch more is the goals that are, perhaps, more important in life.
(1) Be kind to myself and others - more as a byproduct of tact rather than fakeness. I'm v.much a realist in life. I often think and act quickly - hells, I'm really frickin spontaneous and impulsive (thankfully it's tempered w/my engineering logic). I don't consider it a fault per say, but this year I hope to mix in a touch more tact. Basically I want to be more responsible for the energy I bring into a space. The ladies I'm most fond of in life aren't necessarily overly (gag-me) sweet, they simply have poise and awareness. I AM going to be more aware of my energy.
(2) Put myself out there and try (again) to make friends. It wasn't entirely my fault that our mountaineering class was a complete strikeout in the friend department for me. Our team was all male…except for me…the married girl. That combo didn't exactly get me far in regards to getting to know peeps. Also, everyone in our team was younger than me. I'm cool w/that, but I'm def in a different place in life than a lot of the people who are just leaving college. I mean, I have some serious responsibility to keep in mind w/my wonder pups!
(3) Absorb, absorb, absorb knowledge! This year I want to learn SO many new things in life! It's time to open the flood gates, let it in, and consciously try to absorb as much as possible… IM training, spanish, photography, technology, green-ness! Hold on brain, you're gonna get wrinkled!
(4) "There is a beauty, an aesthetic and philosophy of the less." ~Philippe s+arck
As I strive to improve my life, I hope I can keep bailing out my life boat to declutter along the way. This means no more holding onto the inanimate objects others could use! No more saving my best cloths for those rare days out! I'm going to wear my favorite lulu to the gym (even if it will smell of chlorine when I get home)! Aaaand, no more shopping to gear up the perfect adventure! I need to start saving for all of those adventures!?!!
Love always,
This little engineer.
Fitness
(1) Run Ironman Canada!
- I have some time goals in mind, but I would like to wait to roll them out till I have some training to back them up.
(2) Run Boise and Lake Stevens 70.3's in prep for IM Canada!
(3) Train for an end of the year marathon. Squash my current 4:32 time.
(4) Train to be able to do the splits b4 I'm 30.
Photography
(1) Edit together my first video!
(2) Find a Photography class to take (minimum goal).
(3) Develop my photography style further - learn more about PS CS5, create storage/workflow system, find best practice local printer.
(4) Create a photography pseudonym.
Travel
(1) Learn Spanish in preparation for Peru 2013.
Other Skills
(1) Research and decide if Lasik (to be done over Turkey Day or X-Mas) is a good decision for me.
(2) Create at least one rug on my new rug loom :)
Whew. Better stop while I'm ahead. In the end, my #1 goal is IM Canada. If nothing else on that list happens (I'll be a touch disappointed w/myself, but), I will know it was because I tried to put my #1 goal first.
Things I would love to sneak in, but probably wont happen:
Attempt to Summit Rainier (again).
Schedule and follow through w/testing for my PE License.
Complete a task list for town home upgrades for each room.
Create a budget to save for our home upgrades, Peru 2013, Lasik, and our forever home.
Um, stick to the budget?
Make roman style blinds for ALL windows in the house.
What I struggle with a touch more is the goals that are, perhaps, more important in life.
(1) Be kind to myself and others - more as a byproduct of tact rather than fakeness. I'm v.much a realist in life. I often think and act quickly - hells, I'm really frickin spontaneous and impulsive (thankfully it's tempered w/my engineering logic). I don't consider it a fault per say, but this year I hope to mix in a touch more tact. Basically I want to be more responsible for the energy I bring into a space. The ladies I'm most fond of in life aren't necessarily overly (gag-me) sweet, they simply have poise and awareness. I AM going to be more aware of my energy.
(2) Put myself out there and try (again) to make friends. It wasn't entirely my fault that our mountaineering class was a complete strikeout in the friend department for me. Our team was all male…except for me…the married girl. That combo didn't exactly get me far in regards to getting to know peeps. Also, everyone in our team was younger than me. I'm cool w/that, but I'm def in a different place in life than a lot of the people who are just leaving college. I mean, I have some serious responsibility to keep in mind w/my wonder pups!
(3) Absorb, absorb, absorb knowledge! This year I want to learn SO many new things in life! It's time to open the flood gates, let it in, and consciously try to absorb as much as possible… IM training, spanish, photography, technology, green-ness! Hold on brain, you're gonna get wrinkled!
(4) "There is a beauty, an aesthetic and philosophy of the less." ~Philippe s+arck
As I strive to improve my life, I hope I can keep bailing out my life boat to declutter along the way. This means no more holding onto the inanimate objects others could use! No more saving my best cloths for those rare days out! I'm going to wear my favorite lulu to the gym (even if it will smell of chlorine when I get home)! Aaaand, no more shopping to gear up the perfect adventure! I need to start saving for all of those adventures!?!!
Love always,
This little engineer.
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