NovemberTraining Log

I am going to attempt to put up some training updates each month rather than a week by week update - mostly because I find training updates boring to write about (and I don't have fun pictures to go with it) - however, I do need to be accountable for what I am doing.

I am a bit nervous about the upcoming triathlon, mostly because it is a bit out of my realm of reality at this point. I have been massively focusing on the biking aspect. If I am truly honest I am a bit nervous about the entire next season, I feel sooooo out of shape at this point. Uggggg.

• Running
• I am averaging about 3 runs a week
• I am no where near the distance that I would like to be at, but slowly but surely I am building my mileage back up - while I have been able to log lots of miles outside - I am fearing these days are numbered and the treadmill and I are about to become bffs
• I REFUSE to run on ice. I hate running on ice, I hate the fear of slipping and getting hurt, I hate how nervous I am when running on ice and don't enjoy my runs when on ice - so I just don't do it
• I currently go the the local YMCA to run on the treadmill - Marc and I have discussed using some money we have been saving up to buy a treadmill and think we will probably bite the bullet and get one so that we can have one in our basement.
• The YMCA isn't bad currently, however, at some point they start to become strict about the half hour per machine rule and that drives me nuts
• Biking
• I have been putting in a TON of time on the bike
• my legs are feeling it too
• I have been attending one or two cycling classes a week
• my first few classes I am fairly certain I was about to die several times throughout class - that is a ridiculously good workout
• We also have a bike trainer in our basement
• we are able to hook our road bikes up to here and bike in the basement - it has been fun to be able to go downstairs while Lucy is napping and ride for an hour or so and get a good sweat happening
• I think this will be super handy in the winter months
• Swimming
• Honestly, I haven't been focusing much on swimming - why, because it probably is the one aspect that comes most naturally to me, thanks mom and dad for putting me in swimming lessons before I could even walk, and the distance required is not that far for this triathlon - 600 meters
• I also feel like this is not where I will gain that much time, yes, I have ways in which I can improve upon my swimming (I am no Michael Phelps), however, in terms of gaining time my best option for cutting time on race day really is on the bike. Yes, I can swim faster and run faster but due to their short natures, the amount of time I will cut is not at the same level as in the biking
• Not to forget I am now back to teaching swimming lessons (this is bitter sweet and I have a love hate relationship with it) - which means that I am hauling around the pool 30 to 70 pound children for an hour and a half every Tuesday night and this is a RIDICULOUSLY good workout - if you doubt it you go tread water and semi swim while lugging around a child, particularly one who is afraid of the water.
• Nutrition
• I have been logging what I eat in the myfitnesspal app in hopes of getting a better look at what I am eating and where my calories are coming and that has been helpful to point to where my needs are
• In the app I also have been able to log my water intake (which had been severely lacking) and I am finally coming back around to decent water intake (at least 100 ounces a day)

Getting back in shape is hard work, and results always seem so slow when at this point, however, I know the perseverance will pay off. I find myself jealous of my husband at times, he trains for a couple days and starts to see results and loses weight and what not. Ugggg boys. But slowly but surely I will get back at it.

Will bike for ice cream

I fear our summer days are numbered - while this week is suppose to be ridiculously hot I don't think we have many more of them. Fall and eventually winter will be here (here is to hoping for a good long fall) will be upon us. Sunday, when the weather was gorgeous, (a bit windy but I can tolerate that) too windy to kayak, and to nice to stay inside and be productive, my husband and I made the trek up and back on the Paul Bunyan trail - it is a 110 mile trail - we rode 15 miles up and 15 miles back. We rode up to Nisswa and had waffle cones at The Chocolate Ox - I LOVE ice cream! It was a beautiful day to ride and we had a WONDERFUL trip!

What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?             I seriously think my new favorite flavor of ice cream is "pirate's booty" - I initially had it on our trip up to the Apostle Islands just after our wedding and I just discovered that the Chocolate Ox also had it! It is a chocolate ice cream with m&ms and oreos in it! DELICIOUS!

Wine and Dine Training

We are now under the 100 day mark for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon and I suppose it is time that I get serious about training (I was serious before, semi-serious). I have one trip left at the end of August to throw a wrench into my plans, but I think I can still make it work. Anyways...my training update

August 2: Hauled a lot of gear into our backpacking camping site (we were about 2 miles in) - I had a pack fully loaded with a lot of gear - I should have weighed my pack before we went
August 3: Hike, Hike, Hike, and Hike some more
August 4: Hike the morning away & then haul above noted backpack back out 2 miles or so
August 5: REST - my legs were exhausted from the previous weekend
August 6: 45 minute run &30 minute bike ride
August 7: 60 minute lap swim
August 8: 60 minute run


Here. We. Go.
I will improve my time from Tinkerbell - I am determined to be better trained and to not have the flu (although I am not certain how much I can control that)

Biking Lessons

So I am several days into my new bike now. It is a little crazy, I sort of feel like a baby giraffe learning how to walk, I am not so good at certain parts of it.

Seriously, while Marc makes getting in and out of the pedals super ridiculously easy, he snaps in and out in a half of a heartbeat, here is how it goes for me. I get my first foot clipped into the pedal, I get up on the bike and then I begin to bike, and for what feels like an eternity I sit and flip the pedal and eventually get my foot in the darn pedal, about at this same time I notice an upcoming intersection and I slowly but surely work my foot back out of the pedal so that at the ridiculously busy intersection I can stop and not get smoked by a car. This is how I progress until we finally make our way out of town or to an unpopulated part of town so that I can actually ride and get some miles under my belt.

The tire feels to me to be able 99% thinner than the tire on my old bike, which isn't bad, it just takes me a little while to get used to the thin tires. With such thin tires it makes the broken up road quite pleasant to ride. It took me a few rides to feel confident on anything other than perfect pavement. I am learning.

Seriously, I feel like a six year old learning to ride for the first time without training wheels. I want my dad running behind my bike holding it up. I know once I get the hang of it I will have it mastered.

A couple of things that I have learned for sure:

• don't assume motorists see you - they probably aren't looking for you - when they do see you chances are they will flip you off (as proven by two guys who were upset that they had to move over slightly on the road as they drove by)
• ignore people's ridiculous comments
• one gentleman driving an older pick up with a "confederate will rise again" sticker on the window pulled up next to me at a stop light, rolled down his passenger side window and yelled out to me "get a job, then you can get a can buy car and get around town and stop being in my way and stop being a drain on federal dollars"
• I chose to say nothing and believe he just got up on the wrong side of the bed - instead I smiled, waved, and crossed the street
• it is much better to bike in capris or shorts 
• pants get caught on the chain part thingy (yes I am that technical) of my bike and that isn't so wonderful
• I do enjoy biking minus the getting my foot in and out of the pedals
• I think once I master that skill set I will be golden
• I am not going to be happen when the snow starts to fall again next winter 
• I AM LOVING the ability to be active outside!

How have you been enjoying the outdoors?

What is your favorite spring/summer activity?

New bike

I FINALLY DID IT! I got my new bike. Here are some pictures from last night's ride. It is a Trek road bike, she is a serious improvement from my bike circa 8th grade, semi cracked from the ridiculous old lady who hit me last year.

Marc & I
He is actually a serious bike rider and knows what he is doing
I am just learning the ropes

My view of my bike

The snow is FINALLY melting away

I love that we rode our bikes out to the middle of no where and were running into gravel roads

It was a wonderful ride, I need to learn how to ride with my feet clipped into my pedals, it should be fine once I get the hang of it, I am still a little slow getting in and out of them but I am catching on. My butt was a little sore after last night's ride - I actually think we only went 15 or so miles but it is a different set of muscles than I am accustom to using. I am excited about it and am up early so I can ride my bike to work today.


Do you enjoy biking?
Do you cross train in any way?
What is your favorite non running workout?

Dreaming of Summer

While sitting in room looking out at my April snow drifts (never in my wildest imagination would I have guessed that I would have April snowdrifts to stare at) I am thinking/dreaming of summer days and my summer to do list.


Sarah's Summer To-Do List:

• Get Married
• Paddle in ten new locations around my area
• thrive through a middle school mission trip
• thrive through a high school mission trip
• run copious amounts of miles outside - enough that I can forget how much I hate the treadmill and when winter comes again I will be able to talk myself back onto the treadmill
• swim in the lake
• learn to wake board
• Go camping at least four times
• Learn how to use pedals (the ones that you snap your feet into that scare the poop out of me right now) on my bike
• take thousands of pictures
• watch the sunset and the loons fish
• grill most nights of the week
• bike to work as often as possible
• enjoy summer stretch - a Thursday ministry with 6-8th graders
• lay in my hammock at least weekly
• Rollerblade the Paul Bunyan trail
• eat my weight in ice cream - seriously I LOVE ice cream
• have a bonfire at least weekly
• roast a s'more from time to time
• finish the retaining wall around my bush in my yard
• master some new marinades for meat and veggies on the grill
• spend more time outside than inside
• visit Itasca State Park - headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River

What's on your summer to do list?

Bike

I LOVE being outside, my goal for this spring (if it ever comes), summer, and fall is to ride my bike as much as I possibly can and to avoid driving as much as I can. I know I am limited: I can't haul Dakota on my bike and I can't get to the west side of town easily or with any form of time efficiency on my bike. But I can get to work, to the grocery store (if I don't need to pick up a ton), to many of the meetings I attend, to the hospital, to the gym, and to the coffee shop. So here's to you good ol' Trek mountain bike (circa seventh or eight grade of course) - you and I will be making good friends this spring, summer, and fall.

True Story: I am starting to look at replacing my bike to get something that would allow me to keep up with Marc, he has a road bike and rides way more miles than I do but my bike is old and a mountain bike, not necessarily built for long bike rides, so we'll see. I will keep you all posted - I am waiting to go try bikes at a local bike shop before I commit to buying a bike because I am a taller female I am either at the top of one size of bike or at the bottom of another size bike, and both would work, but I need to decide what feels best and riding the ten feet across the store just wasn't cutting it.

Totally unrelated side note: I have found an entertainment center that I like (I feel like I have looked at about 12,000 of them, literally, not certain why this was such a hard decision for me but apparently it really was) and I ordered it. I have been saving for an entertainment center for a long time (almost a couple years) and I finally found one and ordered it - now to play the waiting game of testing my patience for it to come because I wasn't willing to pay for it to be speedily ordered and delivered and blah blah blah

2013 Goals - Check In

Here are my goals for 2013 in no particular order - below in blue is the updates with how I am doing on my goals:

• Earn my Walt Disney Coast to Coast Medal
• This will require me to complete two races, one in Disneyland and one in Disney World in the same calendar year. I will be running the Tinkerbell Half Marathon in Disneyland and the Wine and Dine Half Marathon in Disney World
• I have finished the Tinkerbell Half Marathon at Disneyland in California and I have registered for the Wine and Dine Half Marathon at Walt Disney World in Florida this coming November - I dare to say this is going to happen! Super excited
• Learn how to fold fitted sheets
• Seriously, I have tried, but haven't been committed to it- my fitted sheets always just look like crap when they are folded - more like balled up sheets even if I have tried to fold them nicely - youtube here I come
• totally spaced this one out.... Time to get on it.
• Get Married 
• June 8, 2013 at Bethlehem Lutheran Church I will be getting married and couldn't be more excited about the whole thing - minus the dress wearing crap - seriously my least excited piece
• All the details seem to be coming together. Whoop Whoop.
• Make a fruit pie from scratch
• No real reason for this one other than I just want to do it
• I am waiting for yummy fresh fruit season to embark on this challenge, however I have practiced making a pie crust and made a pie crust with pie filling and that was pretty good so I am jazzed to try this with real fruit filling
• Paint one of the bedrooms upstairs
• I have the colors picked out and I know what design I want to do it - I am currently waiting until a little further into spring so I can open my windows and not get high off of paint fumes!
• Run 5 half marathons [I am tempted to say six because I think it would be sweet to say I averaged one every other month but that maybe too lofty of a goal]
• I have Tinkerbell Half Marathon, Fargo Half Marathon, Fargo Mini Marathon, and Wine and Dine Half Marathon on the docket already - I'd like to add one in Minnesota to my list
• One down four to go
• Finish going through all of my boxes 
• I haven't gone through all the boxes since I moved to Brainerd in June 2011, it's time to do some serious giving away
• This is seriously one of the best projects I have come across, I am LOVING IT - I am going through nearly everything I own - it has been super fun to be able to give away a ton of stuff I just don't need any more
• Organize my craft space in the loft
• Yeah haven't started this one! Looks like a tornado went through it right now
• Read 12 books for fun [I love reading but sometimes I get in a rut and do all my reading for work, which I don't totally mind, but I want to read for fun too] so far I am on track with reading one book per month for fun
• Emma - Jane Austen
• LOVED IT! 
• Red - Ted Dekker
• Found this to be a marvelous book and it kept me a bit on the edge of my seat
• Plain Truth - Jodi Piccoult
• I love all of her books and this one did not let me down
• 7 - Jen Hatmaker (in progress)
• Make my bed 90% of the time
• I am not horrible at this one - I am probably currently at a solid 50% but would like to increase this goal - I don't want to go to 100% because seriously some days I really don't care - however I LOVE to crawl into a made bed
• I would bet I am getting close to 90% maybe only at about 85% but getting MUCH better than I was before, I am reminded how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE to crawl into a bed that has been made - I don't really care what it looks like I just love crawling into it at night
• Learn to to tunisian crochet
• My friend Lindy has inspired me to do this - thanks Lindy
• We are actually working a blanket with this style of crocheting in 2013 which will demand I learn 9 new stitches, I am jazzed and praying I can figure it out
• so far I am totally on track with this project - although my squares are looking a ton like burritos!
• Run 500 miles this year
• bike to work 30 times
• swim 100 miles
• yes I know these are loft goals - but why set low goals
• My miles have come to a hault as the treadmill and I are so annoyed with each other that we are not even on speaking terms - I have gotten in a ton of miles swimming in turn due to the serious lack of running these past couple weeks
• I haven't yet biked to work - the roads are still an icy mess
• Finish the stacks of projects that I have begun and have never gotten to for whatever reason - and if I decide I am not going to ever finish them then I need to disassemble what can be disassembled and move on - no reason to have all these half finished projects
• slowly but surely this is happening believe it or not - although I suppose I could use a kick in the butt to get this goal done a little quicker
• Settle into married life
• or begin to... really this goal is all about making the transition to married life intentional
• obviously not started since we haven't gotten married yet
• Make a quilt
• it has been way too long since I have made one
• I have picked out a design and am beginning to pick fabrics
• Finish the three clergy stoles I have started
• one done two to go
• Shoot over 250 pictures a month on my Nikon D60
• I LOVE this camera but I get lazy and don't take it out to take the photos I should, I really do want to improve as a photographer, so I must practice
• TOTALLY have done this so far! Some months have been better than others - while I was in California I took thousands for January - February I shot probably just over 300 pictures with my D60 - March is lacking a ton so far but I did get some at the lock in last weekend
• Catch up on photobooks
• yeah, I am way behind, finish 2011, 2012, Summer 2012 Mission Trips book
• 2011 - DONE
• Summer 2012 Mission Trip book - DONE
• 2012 - DONE
• update 2013 photobook monthly
• I actually have found that I am best off to update this book every couple of weeks - so far so good
• Create and Finish Summer 2013 Ministry book (finish before the end of the year)
• overachiever moment here: I actually have picked out the style and size and have set it up with different sections so with each activity I only have to fill in the pages - Summer Stretch, Middle School Mission Trip, High School Mission Trip, and VBS
• Create and finish a wedding photobook (finish before the end of the year)
• I haven't done anything on this one yet
• Order 366 in 2012 photo book
• DONE and it is soooooooooooo much fun! I LOVE IT! Seriously. I hope to do another photo a day book sometime
• When books are finished order: 2011, 2012, Summer 2012 Mission Trip book
• 2011 - Ordered and on my shelves
• Summer 2012 Mission Trip Book - Ordered and on my shelves
• 2012 - Waiting for a good sale to order

How are your goals for 2013 coming along? 
                 It is ridiculously crazy to think we are already mid-way through March!
Have you altered your goals for the year at all?

Ironman

I should not be allowed to watch things like the Ironman: Kona on tv. I just shouldn't. I see these phenominal athletes on tv and I want to be one of them. I long to be one of them. I want to cross the finish line, have the medal put around my neck (seriously I love race medals, they even hang in my living room because I am this vain) and share in the high that these folks have, the feeling of complete exhaustion and the feeling of knowing you just did something huge in combination with 10 billion endorphins running surging through your body. I want to know that I just did something that I once thought was impossible.

Growing up I was a good athlete, I went to college on a basketball scholarship, but I never was great, I never was the top athlete (nor do I ever think I will be) however, since then I have always wanted to push a little harder to do that which I thought impossible. To prove myself wrong. To do that which many can't and don't do. It is an honor to run. It is an honor to have the time to train, to push my body to do more than it could the day before. I remember my first 5k (I seriously despised running all through high school and college and was upset with my coaches when we had to run a mile or two for practice) I was sooooo nervous, 3.1 miles was sooooo far. Now I run that several times a week. It is funny the way training works and you become accustom to this or that and what you long for changes.

I have to admit that I think I am beginning to love the half marathon distance because:

• it is a challenge
• I have to train
• I don't feel like death when it is finished
• I get a sweet medal at the end of the race
• I have friends who also run half marathons
• there are plenty of them around that it makes it possible to find lots of races

The triathlon has recently sparked my interest and I think I need to try one (a short one, not an ironman). I want to try one because:

• I do love swimming (I still teach swimming lessons at the local YMCA here in town) - I have always loved swimming and swim to workout at least once a week
• I do love running
• I enjoy biking (although leisurely - this would seriously be my weakness in the three sport event) - I think I could learn to bike competitively

I don't think I'll ever be an ironman, however there is a piece of me that now dreams of it and since watching the Ironman: Kona (which I realize is the elite of the elite) I sort of want to be an Ironman.

• 2.4 mile swim (I could probably swim this today if I needed to, although I would be EXHAUSTED when I finished)
• 112 mile bike (this could be the death of me, I have ridden 25 or so with Marc on a few Saturdays, but the idea of 112 scares the living daylights out of me)
• 26.2 mile run (no way! Seriously 13.1 is plenty in any given day and to double this would be frightening) - I have sworn never to run a full marathon particularly in combination with the other two events.

Truth be told currently I am daydreaming about maybe the Ironman 70.3 - it is half the distances of the full Ironman. Dreaming for sure. We'll see what comes of this crazy idea, I don't think I really have time to train for a triathalon but we'll see, I have done crazier.