What a week! Things are slowing down just a teeny bit at work, stress level is decreasing, went for my first swim in about 8 years and met ultramarathoner, Scott Jurek!
Warning: long post ahead
I finally ordered a swimsuit to use for tri training and just had to wait for it to arrive so I could test it out in the water! I made the decision to try and get in a few swims during the week, along with at least one bike ride and some running. Mission: Accomplished.
Monday morning my calves were really sore so I decided to walk that day just to keep loose.
Tuesday was a group run with the VAVi AFC training group. Remember, I registered for America's Finest City Half Marathon in August so I need to get back to training. It's funny, because I sure complained about wanting a break from running and here I am. It's so addicting!!! I was hesitant to sign up again for a training group because of $$ but am glad I did, I need the motivation! We met down near the bay and had the option of running 4-6 miles. My good friend Megan also signed up so we ran 5 miles together! She lives a little farther away so I am excited that this will be our time to catch up on each other's lives.
Wednesday I got stuck at work late and hoped my new swimsuit was waiting on the doorstep. It wasn't. So I cleaned house, watched my favorite show (So You Think You Can Dance) and went to bed.
Thursday.... the swimsuit arrived!!! I got home from a meeting and the pool was closed 5-6pm for lane changes & cleaning. I hopped on my bike for a ride around my neighborhood. I worked on stopping at intersections and going up and down some small inclines. Then I got home, changed into the NEW and fabulously comfy swimsuit and excitedly nervously headed off to the pool. I got there not even sure what to expect. I had a swim cap, some goggles and myself. Here I gooooooooo... I tiptoed out the pool and to my relief, there was no one else swimming laps! But then I was proud afraid to show off my dusty swimming moves to the lifeguard. (Note: I have not been in a lap pool for about 8 years and even then, I didn't really swim laps) With a stop for breathing almost every lap, I ended up swimming 30 laps. I was stoked when I finished because I knew the pool was that a lap was 22 yards, what I didn't know was that a lap is only one way across!!! Another clue that I don't know much about lap swimming. I told myself I wanted to get to 300 yards and stopped when I thought I reached 15 "laps." Then I found out the truth and that I had swam 30 laps and 660 yards. Woohoo, I was starving a made a big ol' pizza when I got home.
Proscuitto, asparagus, spinach & some goat cheese hiding under there too... mmmmm
Friday was a mini workout and a happy hour turned dinner & lots of catching up with my best bud after work. She & I have been wanting to check out Starlite, down in Little Italy, and Friday was the perfect time to do it. The mules are to die for and the food was incredible (I had two meals...yikes!)
I was really excited about Saturday's run because I found out that Scott Jurek, ultramarathoner, was coming to San Diego to promote his new book
Eat and Run. The plan was that he was going to lead a run from a running store in PB, give a talk about his journey ultramarathoning and then have a book signing. When I decided to come to this event, I did not realize we were running a 10 k straight up and down Mt. Soledad. If you don't know Mt. Soledad, well it's a hill. Hills are not my strength, especially when we turn out of a parking lot and immediately begin to climb. Two minutes into the run, I wanted to saw off my calves. I sucked it up and ran
with behind Scott as he moved from group to group, chatting with different runners. He was all about hearing people's stories and not necessarily talking about himsefl. We reached the summit of Mt. Soledad, took a few pictures and headed back down. His book is a mesh of his running journey and about being vegan. All in all, super nice guy & completely inspirational!
Getting my book signed & chatting for a few minutes
At one point, I didn't think I'd make it to the top... I did.
Looking out toward La Jolla from Mt. Soledad
After the run, I went to meet my friend Ashley to test out my new borrowed wetsuit & do my first open water swim (OWS) in the bay. She showed me how to put the wetsuit on, where to apply body glide to avoid chafing and gave me a little pep talk about the bay water. But, I didn't test the zipper out and it was stuck from some salt that had dried on there. The wetsuit is soaking as we speak, I know that salt will come off!! I ended up back at the pool and swam 880 yards/ 40 laps and came home wanting to pass out. I got a little too much sun during my swim, but worked on my goal of at least 2 laps without stopping for lots of breathing.
Sunday, I took off for a relaxing two days in Palm Springs and that was that. Swimming, cocktails, a lot of water, some gym time and fun with my best bud.
After all that blabbering on, here's the wrap-up.
Week of 6/11-6/17
Monday: 4 mile power walk
Tuesday: 5 mile run
Wednesday: rest
Thursday: 10 mile bike, 660 yard swim
Friday: rest
Saturday: 6 mile hill run, 880 yard swim
Sunday: relax on vacation
I am already in love with swimming. Goals for the week: 3 runs, 2 swims, 2 bike.
