Dude, at least SOMETHING will get me to blog

Because the plague that's descended upon mine house, and the resultant non-training and pissed-offed-ness is totally harshing my muse, yo.

Siren tagged me with a very sweet triathlon meme!

1. Describe a memory from your first triathlon ever.
How inspiring it was to be surrounded by rack after rack after rack of fit, energetic women. (That's BIKE rack, like in a transition area, you dirty birdies.)

2. Describe a memory from your most recent triathlon.
The amazing energy that poured out from all of the other runners.

3. What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in a tri?
That other people noticed? Swimming into one of the canoes. That only I noticed? Ass cramps.

4. What's the most thrilling thing that's happened to you in a tri?
In a scary-thrilling way: the SORT sprint swim in Lake Michigan.

In a good-thrilling way: Meeting Iron Pol and having him introduce me to Sarah Reinertsen.

5. What is something you discovered about yourself by doing triathlons?
That working through the difficulties toward the goal is more important than actually achieving the goal itself. That it's actually possible for me to passionately enjoy something, even if I mostly suck at it.

6. What is The Big Goal that you're working towards?
A 2:50 Oly. It's all.about.the.bike.

This Isn't Normal, Right?

Riding on my trainer reminded me of an issue that I had last year, but never really resolved. And it's back again, and it's quite unpleasant, and I know that there's someone out in there in my knowledgeable readership who can help me.

When I ride my bike, my wrists hurt. A lot. Technically, I guess it's the heel of my palm that hurts, but there's kind of a wrap-around thing going on there, too. And seriously. Lots of pain.

I've read lots about being saddle-sore, and know that the prescription for that is more time riding. I got bike gloves last year, which alleviated the problem a little bit, but it still happened. And it actually seems worse now than it was back then.

I noticed it more now, because I'd been riding the spin bikes at the gym with no issues, but within 10 minutes on the trainer, PING! Wrist pain.

So. . . has anyone else experienced this? Or have any clue what could be done to fix it? Is it simply a bike-fit issue? Obviously, if I got myself some aerobars, I'd be in better shape. But that's probably not in the near future. If it's normal and I just need to tough through it, I certainly can. But if I don't have to. . . well, that'd definitely be better.

Help me out here, Bike Geeks!

Crafty As I Wanna Be

My Friends Inside The Innernets are having a Valentine's Day craft exchange. It's sort of like a Secret Santa, but with a Valentine-y theme and a crafty Martha-ness quotient thrown in. And, y'all -- I am not just an aspiring tri-diva. I am ALSO an aspiring crafty chick. But, in craft as in tri, I am a mid-packer at best.

However, THIS time, in a feat of amazing having-my-shit-togetherness, I have actually COMPLETED my project. Like, a whole week and a half before it needs to be sent!

Because many of the women involved in this exchange read my blog (being Inside The Innernets and all), I won't post a photo of the finished product yet. But, I WILL post a photographic teaser.

A virtual cookie bouquet to anyone who can correctly identify what this is!

(Also, another virtual cookie bouquet to anyone who can tell me WTF is up with my psychotic capitalization in this post. Why am I yelling?)

MUAH-HAHAHA!

Blogger has bent to my will!

I got my ass of out bed and swam this morning! AND I'm going to take a late lunch and go run!

I will be eating carne asada, freshly-made guacamole, and fajita salad for dinner tonight, and STILL be well within my nutritional guidelines for the day!

My skinny jeans once again are fitting without doing that weird fold-y thing at the waist!

You SO wish you were me right now.

Finding the Ahhhhh.

I just got off of my poor, neglected Grey Lady, after my first-ever trainer ride. Which I turned down an invitation for cocktailing with a very good friend to do. Then, I did core work.

And now, I'm going to go write a client proposal. And get up in the morning and swim.

Okay. I think I'm starting to find the "habit memory" again.

I like it.

Grrr. Argh.

How much do I hate the "WYSI(N!)WYG" Blogger interface?

So. Stinkin'. Much.

My Try-Before-You-Buy PSA

Maybe you're curious about the NUUN active hydration stuff that keeps popping up on all of the raceAthlete-affiliated sites. Maybe you're someone who's experienced. . . um. . . gastro-intestinal distress whenever you use Gatorade during longer workouts or races. Maybe you're someone who would be considered a "salty" athlete -- that is, someone who perspires a.lot.

And maaaaybe you're someone who is very curious about something that promises electrolyte-replenishment without associated sugary-gut-rot issues, but you're kind of gun-shy about ordering a whole metric assload of something over da innernets, just in case you hate it.

If you're that kind of person, may I suggest purchasing a tube of any of the generic substitutes for Airborne (Wal-borne, Target's "immunity supplement," I'm sure Wal-Mart has some knock-off of this under their Equate label). The composition of the electrolyte balance varies slightly between the supplements and Nuun, but the overall percentage of electrolyte-to-fluid balance is very similar. I wouldn't advise using the supplements for a super-long workout, since they contain zinc, which can caust its own tummy issues when taken in large doses. But just to try out and see what flavor family you prefer, and whether it's something you'd like to use, you can get instant purchase-gratification for around $5.

Where to begin?

So, training got derailed a little bit last week.

Because I idolize Bold with every fiber of my being, I even went so far as to kill off a grandparent to be more like him. Probably, it would've been MORE effective to, y'know, get my ass in the pool, but whaddayagonnado?

My Grandma Charlie passed away at the age of 83, from the effects of surgery to remove a spinal blood clot. She was an amazing, strong, and elegant woman who was dealt a difficult family situation, and coped with it the best she could. The fact that all of her children are absolutely amazing people and parents is a testament to her strength and love. But there are always scars, and part of the catharsis of the funeral weekend was a lot of sharing of very painful memories by my mom and her brothers and sister. Very emotionally exhausting.

And because heart-wrenching sadness isn't quite enough, my whole family was hit with the stomach flu. Nothing beats spending a sleepless night with a retching toddler in your arms while your poor spouse pukes his guts out down the hall. I was lucky enough to be able to wait until we were back in our own house before giving in.

So, yeah. Got a really good, energizing, pretty, and peaceful run in with the Weez on Friday morning, prior to all the urkiness. It's amazing how sharing the difficult parts with him (like turning the corner into knife-sharp wind) made it suck very much less.

Partners are good for that.

Reinforcement

Lest you think to yourself: "Self, Veeg SAYS she's a dork. And sure, she's got all that spreadsheet stuff going on over there. But. . . any REAL dork would have graphy stuff all up in their posts!"

I say unto thee: "Behold, the power of technology!"

New Dorky Stuff

I've added a nutrition sheet to my tracking spreadsheet over to the right. I'm just tracking total calories and macronutrients at the moment. I may consider getting fancy in the future.

Right now, it's really just for tracking purposes -- I'll start with the tweaking in a few weeks.

Wha-Wha-WHAAAAT?

Hey, lookee here. Actual entries in the blog! Tracking my nutrition! Putting together multiple consecutive days of training!

It is AMAZING how very thoroughly any plan beats no plan.

With Apologies to Thomas Hood

I remember, I remember
The water cool yet warm
The little window into peace
The calm inside the storm;
The end can never come too soon
I’m wishing it away
But oftentimes when I am done
I find it’s made my day.

I remember, I remember
The flags of red and white
I see as I choke out the water
And bite back words of spite!
The blue and peaceful planes below
The line of inky tile
I chase along the limpid floor
Raw cursing all the while!

I remember, I remember
When I was used to swim
And nothing thought of hours spent
Submersed inside the gym;
The pleasant burn of muscle
As through the blue I slipped
Helped me to remember why
My triceps once looked ripped.

I remember, I remember
I never achieved ease
But glimpsed so rare the form success
Lo like a passing breeze;
It was a childish ignorance,
But now ‘tis looking grim
I’ve got a lot of work to do
To have a decent swim.

(Heh. Guess what I did for the first time in. . . oh, let's just say WAAAAAAAY too long?)

Epiphanies: Not Just for Magi!

Um, so this is going to sound kind of dumb. Probably.

But, I had a training epiphany today. Courtesy of Big Joe Friel.

I was thinking about periodization and it suddenly occurred to me. . . I've been trying to do too much all at once!

While anyone who knows me in real life wouldn't find that surprising, the fact that I SHOULDN'T be doing that with my training came both as a shock, and as a welcome relief.

You see, up until now, I've been trying to go longer AND get stronger AND get more efficient AND get faster. All at the same time.

And while it sounds absolutely idiotic in retrospect, since I was starting from a state of post-partum, sort-of-blubber-liness. . . it was actually kind of possible. Since I'm staring 2007 in a state that's more sort-of-trained, and rather-less-blubber-ly, it makes sense that the kind of gains I saw last year are not going to come easy.

But, thinking about working MORE and LONGER and HARDER than I did last year? Well, that was just a wee bit paralyzing.

I think I get it now. While I do need to work MORE and LONGER and HARDER. . . I most certainly DO NOT need to do all of those things at once. In fact, it's much, much better to do focus on each one in its turn.

And there you have it, folks. Remedial Enlightenment with Veeg.

Toys! Whee!

I *heart* GoogleDocs.

2007 Training Schedule.