April Stats / May Goals + Clif Giveaway WINNER

OK - I will get to the fun stuff first.  The Clif Bar Giveaway Winner!

There were 36 comments on the Clif Bar giveaway post.  Random.org picked comment #9.

Congratulations to fellow triathlete Stefanie Frank of On the Edge who is currently training for a 70.3!!   I think it is cool that On the Edge is a new blog for me to follow.

Stefanie please send me an email at andreawilson70 (at) gmail (dot) com with the address you would like me to ship your prize to.

Now on to stats & goals.....

Despite being sick with a sinus infection this month & not getting as many rides on the road as I had hoped I am still happy with how the training is going.  I am most happy with how the running is progressing.

April Stats

• Swim (Goal/Actual) - 12 miles / 10.8 miles - I did get in the pool 12 times this month but was still short on yards.  
• Pilates Reformer (Goal/Actual) - 4 / 3
• Yoga (Goal/Actual) - 4 / 3 
• Spin / Road (Goal/Actual) - 8 / 6 (100 miles)
• Run (C25K) (Goal/Actual) - 12 / 12 (29 miles) - Ended the month on W7D1.
• BarreAmped (Goal/Actual) - 1 / 1
• April N2U CT Challenge was Kickboxing at the Y
• Rest Days (Goal/Actual) - 4 / 6 - I needed a couple extra due to sinus infection

Total Miles = 141

Total Time = 32 hours

2012 Nike Go the Distance Challenge (Goal / Actual) - 200 miles / 49.25 miles - ooof, I am getting way off on this one.  

Injury status - I would say I am about 90% recovered.  I have had 3 gloriously pain free runs  in the last week.  I do still feel a little discomfort during spinning or road riding.  Afterwards there is no pain.  I am trying to be religious about the cross training & stretching.

May Goals

My first race of the year is the Atlanta Iron Girl. Last year my goal was to finish under 2 hours & I just made it in 1h59m47s.  This year I am not setting an overall time goal.  I don't think my bike & run fitness are where they were last year.  


My goal for this race is to race the swim & have a solid bike & run leg.  Usually, I don't swim hard at all.  I swim at a comfortable pace to keep myself from any panic situations.  Since I have spent so much time in the pool this past winter I want to see if it has paid off. 


My swim time last year was 18m45s.  My goal is to be under 15 minutes this year in the swim.  Honestly, I am not sure if that will happen since I haven't done any timed swims over 100 yards or any open water swims this year.  The last time I did 100 yard repeats they were consistently at 2m20s.  So, a sub 15 is theoretically doable.


I am contemplating doing the Horsey Hundred over Memorial Day weekend.  I plan to volunteer with either TNT or BTC on Saturday & I am hoping to do the 30 miler on Sunday.  I will make the final decision after Iron Girl.


The other fun thing that happens on Memorial Day is the BTC practice Tri.  This really signifies the kickoff to Summer since it is the day that the Tates Creek pool (50m) opens in Lexington.  So can't wait to swim long course again!


Now on to my May workout goals:

• Swim - 12 miles - including 1 open water swim
• Pilates Reformer - 4
• Yoga - 4
• Spin / Road - 8 (130 miles)
• Run - 12 (32 miles)
• May N2U CT Challenge - TBD
• Rest Days - 4

I did keep most of my Saturdays in April as rest days which I loved but honestly I did zero home improvement projects.  We spent one Saturday at a UK baseball game, one was spent recovering from sinus infection, one was spent as a rainy day at home cleaning & doing other boring house chores (does that count as home improvement?) & one was spent at a joint Kentuckiana / Bluegrass SWE event in Shelbyville.  


I plan to keep most of my Saturday's in May as rest days.  I like having one day of the weekend just to chill & do whatever we feel like doing which probably won't be home improvement projects. 


Happy Training!!

Week 3 Iron Girl Training + 1st Blogiversary

This week was recovery week on the training plan.  All workouts were to be at low intensities.  I am slightly concerned that I haven't had too many road miles on the bike.  I am hoping the weather starts cooperating a little more in the upcoming weeks.

I did have my best run on Tuesday in many, many months.  I felt good, I felt strong & best of all I felt no pain.  Fingers crossed that this is the new reality.

Here is how week 3 went:

Sunday:  Run (C25K W6D1), 1 hour Spin
Monday: Swim 1400 yards, Pilates Reformer
Tuesday: Run (C25K W6D2), Yoga
Wednesday: Swim 1950 yards
Thursday: Un-Scheduled Rest day - Made it to the gym to spin but forgot my shoes - doh!
Friday: Run (C25K W6D3)
Saturday: 75 minute Spin (was Scheduled Rest day)

This past Wednesday was Bluegrass Tri Chick's 1 year blogiversary.  I want to say a big THANK YOU to all my readers.  Thanks for reading & all the kind words over the past year.  It still amazes me that people (other than my mom) are interested in what I have to say!

In honor of the first blogiversary I thought I would share a few stats from the past year.

• Most popular post - Vila Mat Guest Review - Thanks Rian!!
• Highest Pageview from non-US country - Sweden
• Followers & RSS Subscribers - 136
• Blog Posts - 97
• Pageviews - 12,746
• Number of races - 9
• Number of injuries - 1 - I hurt my heiny & it took forever to heal!
• Swim, Bike, Run Miles - 1,469

Steve showed me a cool website the other day called Wordle.  You enter in your URL & it creates an image like this.

I find it interesting how Clif is so prominent.  I imagine it has to do with all the hits I had on my last post thanks to the Clif Giveaway.

Speaking of which...have you entered?  You still have until midnight Sunday (4/29/12) to enter.

CHEERS!

Let the Clif Bar Season Begin and a GIVEAWAY!!!

This year I was selected to be a Clif Ambassador.  What does that mean?  In exchange for being fueled by great Clif products I agree to spread the word about Clif & hand out samples at various trainings & races over the next 7 months.

Having Clif as a 2012 sponsor is very exciting for me.  I have been a HUGE fan of Clif products for years!  I started eating Clif bars about 8 years ago when my husband & I were out hiking & kayaking.  Clif bars have sustained me on numerous trips to China for work.  I could rely on these bars to give me the vitamins & minerals I needed while working long hours at the factory.  Later in 2009 when I started endurance events I would buy Clif bars by the carton.  Love these bars!!!


About Clif Bars & Clif Builder's bar:


CLIF Bars are 70% organic and come loaded with 23 vitamins and minerals, which makes them the ideal nutrition for athletes. Whether you’re riding your bike or exploring a new trail, CLIF bar is crafted to sustain energy for your next adventure.


CLIF Builder’s bar is the protein bar that works as hard as you do. We only use ingredients that help to build and repair muscle – so you can get the most out of your workout. Builder’s is crafted with the best carbohydrates and protein, and no hydrogenated oils, trans fats, artificial sweeteners, sugar alcohols or GMO’s. 

The bars are not the only thing I dig about Clif.  Reading through their website you will find that they not only make great nutrition products but they are  a socially responsible company too.  I love their 5 Aspirations - Sustaining our Planet, Community, People, Business & Brands.  It is more than just the bottom line for them.

On Friday I received my first Clif shipment.  It included 400 mini Blueberry Crisp bars & 300 mini Chocolate Mint Builders bars.  YUM!  Also included was a black short sleeve Tech Shirt, 6 pairs of Clif Bar socks, 5 Clif Bar water bottles & a 4 foot Clif Bar banner.

This was only a 1/4 of the samples I have received in this shipment!

Keep an eye out for me.  I will be out & about at various local training events & races.  I also plan to be at the Atlanta Iron Girl in May.

Now it is GIVEAWAY time!!  For one lucky winner, I will send you (within contiguous 48 states) 5 mini Clif Blueberry Crisp bars, 5 mini Clif Chocolate Mint bars, 1 Clif Water bottle & 1 pair of Clif Bar socks.

You have 3 ways to enter - Leave a separate comment for each:

Like Clif Bar on Facebook (mandatory)
Follow Clif Bar on Twitter
Tell me what your favorite Clif Bar flavor is

Entries will be taken through midnight EST April 29.  Winner will be selected & announced April 30th.

Good Luck!

Week 2 Atlanta Iron Girl Training & A Pet Peeve

Week 2 of 6 went marginally better than last week.  Monday morning I had a 6 month follow up with my allergist & found out I had a bad sinus infection.  I was sent home with 10 days of anti-biotics & 5 days of steroids.   Overall, I felt better this week but had lots of sinus congestion & a little bit of fatigue.

Here is how week 2 went:

Sunday:  Run (C25K W5D1), 1 hour Spin
Monday: Swim 2000 yards, (skipped Pilates Reformer)
Tuesday: Run (C25K W5D2), Yoga
Wednesday: Run (C25K W5D3), Bike 15.5 miles on Legacy Trail
Thursday: Swim 1500 yards
Friday: Swim 2100 yards
Saturday: Scheduled Rest day

The drama of the week came during our ride on the Legacy Trail Wednesday when I almost ran over a dog.   Big, big pet peeve of mine - People walking their dogs off leash while wearing headphones on the trail.  Seriously?!  The dog was a terror terrier of some sort, maybe a jack russell.  As I started to pass on the left the dog (which I didn't realize was off leash) bolted out at my front tire.  The dog was behind the 2 owners who were blissfully ignorant.   I yelled something like 'GET YOUR DOG' & when they didn't immediately turn around I then yelled 'WHOSE DOG IS THIS?' as I was passing them.  That is when I noticed they both had headphones on.   They heard/saw me then & when I looked back they were wrestling their dog to the ground.  Again, seriously?!  Put a leash on that thing!!!  Nina saw it all from behind & as she went by she reminded them of the Lexington Leash law.

Moral of the story - if you are going to walk your dog (or child for that matter) on a mixed use trail STAY ALERT to your surroundings.   These trails are awesome for everyone (walkers/runners/bladers/cyclists) but we all have to be considerate of each other.  I really, really, really don't want to run over your dog!

In other news this week, Steve & I received our new Road ID's this week.  Our old ones were the velcro style & we had worn them so much that they didn't stay on very well anymore.  This time we both got the Wrist ID Slim that slide on over your wrist.  This style allows you to interchange the bands which I was all over.  I got 4 different colored bands to match my different race kits.  Steve stuck with the traditional black.  These come in very handy for the first responders especially if crash when you run over someone's dog on the trail.  On both of ours we have our names, city, 2 ICE contacts & general medical info.

Train safely y'all!

Week 1 Atlanta Iron Girl Training + Iron Chef

Week 1 of 6 of the Atlanta Iron Girl training could have gone better.  Monday started off with little sniffle that I tried to blame on allergies.  I denied that I was sick for a couple more days but by Wednesday night it hit me hard.  It was a bummer not just because my training suffered but I was in an intense 4 day training class at work & didn't have time to be sick.   I hung tough though Friday afternoon.  After class let out I went home & promptly took a nap.  I spent Friday night on the couch catching up on some DVR'd shows.  Real exciting.

Here is how this week went training wise.

Sunday:  Run (C25K W5D2) + 16 Mile Bike
Monday: Swim 1500 yards + Pilates Reformer
Tuesday: Run (C25K W5D3)
Wednesday: Swim 1400 yards
Thursday: Sick (was Run + Bike)
Friday: Sick (was Swim)
Saturday: Scheduled Rest day

I contemplated trying to make up a couple workouts on Saturday but decided against it.  I will pick up training again on Sunday.

Wednesday night we did an Iron Chef team building competition.  There were 23 of us in the training.  We were split up into 2 teams.  One cooking vegetarian & one cooking meat.   Each team was split into 3 smaller teams.  One made the appetizer, one the main dish & one dessert.  I was on the dessert team.  

The appetizer our team made was a seared skirt steak with asparagus.  The main dish was pork with pear & almond rice.  The dessert was cheese cake in phyllo cups with the choice of chocolate sauce, berry sauce, whipped cream and/or graham cracker.

The other team made carrot pancakes with a salad for the appetizer, Thai noodles for the main dish & ginger chocolate chip cookie sandwiches for dessert.

Our team won 2 of 3 of the courses.  Only our dessert lost because we plated it with with all the options and the judges said it just had too much going on.  Oh well, 2 out of 3 isn't too shabby.

Appetizer - Seared Skirt Steak

Main Dish - Pork, Pear & Broccoli over Almond Rice

Dessert as Plated for Judges

Dessert - Mini Cheesecakes with Toppings

I must say this was the best forced fun team building experience I have ever had with co-workers.  The food was all so yummy & it really was a great way to build new relationships.

Here's to a better Week 2!

Weekend Rewind

With the days getting longer I haven't been blogging so much.  I think my posts will turn more random since they will be fewer & farer between until DST ends.

I have made a few changes to the blog layout this weekend.   I think it looks a little cleaner & reads easier.  Whad'ya think?  The new main picture was taken today during my first road ride of the season.

This morning I did Week 5 Day 2 of the Couch to 5K program (C25K).   Previously I had never done the C25K program but I am really digging it for my return to running after my piriformis injury.  I am using the C25K app on my iPod touch.   It gradually takes you from non-running to running 30 minutes in 8 weeks.  For me, it also is keeping me from doing too much too soon.  So far so good.  The past 2 runs have been pain free.  Yay!

Today was also Day 1 of the 6 week training block for the Atlanta Iron Girl.  After doing the run this morning I met Nina to ride the Markey Race for Women's Cancer bike course this afternoon.  It was a nice easy ride for my first ride on the road this season.  We took a quick bike tour of the horse park at the end along with an easy walk on the Legacy Trail.

Horsies on Mt. Horeb

Have you ever wondered what 'fun' smells like?  No?  Me either before today.  As I was putting on sunscreen before the ride I told Steve how much I love the smell of sunscreen. About the only time I ever apply the Coppertone is when I am about to do something fun.  Go to the beach, go ride, hiking, kayaking, etc.  It just smells 'fun'.  It reminds me of being on vacation & carefree.

Yesterday Steve & I went to our first UK Baseball game thanks to a buddy at work for the tickets.  It was a perfect day for a game.  Unfortunately, they lost to Ole Miss.  They lost big.  Such a bummer since they were the #1 ranked team in the nation.  Regardless, it was fun.  

Oh & the other thing that kicked off this weekend?  Funky tan line season.  Bike shorts, cycling jerseys, helmets & gloves.  Bring on the funky tan!

Happy training y'all!

April N2U CT Challenge - Kickboxing

Kim over at (Just) Trying is for Little Girls is the host of the '2012 New to You' Cross Training Challenge.  


Normally Monday nights are reserved for my Pilates Reformer class.   Since this week is Spring Break they cancelled most of the Beaumont Y classes.  Looking at the High Street Y schedule I saw kickboxing & thought it would be perfect for this months challenge. 


As I pulled into the Y parking lot I saw this:

I have seen this van there a couple of other times so I think/hope they were there just to work out.  Regardless, seeing this van gives me the heebie jeebies.  


Back to the challenge - I have taken Kickboxing before - way, way back in college.  It seems like a million years ago but it was probably more like 15 years.  


The class was pretty small, thanks to the beautiful weather, spring break & some basketball game people keep talking about.   The instructor was high energy.  After taking so many yoga & pilates classes it was a nice change.  


The instructor planned to do class a little different today.  She mixed kickboxing with individual station work.  The class started out with a traditional aerobic warm up, side steps, knee lifts, grapevines, etc.  followed by some stretching.  We then got to business.  Jabs, uppercuts, duck & jabs & lots of kicks.  


About 15 minutes in we moved to the stations.  Lat pull backs, one legged squats, planks & ring presses.  Once we finished round 1 we were back to kickboxing.   More jabs, kicks & these jump/spin/squat moves which were pretty intense.


Round 2 of the stations were followed by some Burpees.  WOW. Did not know those belonged in kickboxing.   We also did a bunch of jumping jacks & a lot of other moves that I can't seem to remember now.  


After Round 3 of the stations we did a few sit-ups & stretches then we were done.  


Honestly, I LOVED this class.  It has been a long time since I have taken any kind of aerobic class.  I think it reminds me of being a kid & all the aerobics classes I took with my parents back in the '80s.   Once this session of the reformer is over I will definitely add this into my rotation.  


Thank you Kim for this year long challenge!  I am not sure I would be trying all of these classes otherwise.  Love it!


One my way home from the gym I drove through campus & saw several instances of this:

In case you aren't following college basketball, the University of Kentucky is playing in the championship game tonight.  You may have seen some news footage of the crazy fans flipping cars & setting couches on fire after they beat Louisville Saturday night.   Just remember the news likes to sensationalize things.   The entire city wasn't like this.  Just a couple streets near campus.  We aren't all nuts!


I didn't go to UK but I am rooting for them and not just because I picked them to win in my bracket!


GO CATS!

March Stats / April Goals

Spring is definitely here.  The grass is growing like crazy.  The leaves are on the trees & the allergies are in full force!

Our dogwood in full bloom

This month was a bit crazy with all the Karma drama so I took a few extra unplanned rest days this month.  Fortunately, she has settled out & is doing really well considering.

March Stats:

• Pilates Reformer (Goal / Actual) = 4 / 4
• Pilates Ball  (Goal / Actual) = 4 / 2
• Swim (Goal / Actual) = 12 / 12 miles - 13 hours spent in the pool.  Another month of over 50% of the time spent working on drills.  
• Yoga (Goal / Actual) = 3 / 3
• P90X (Goal / Actual) = 2 / 0 - Bleh, I just can't motivate myself to do home video workouts.  
• Spin (Goal / Actual) = 4 / 3  (40 miles)
• Run (Goal / Actual) = 10 / 11 (24 miles) - Yay!  
• BarreAmped (Goal / Actual) - 3 / 2 - This was my March N2U CT Challenge
• Rest Days (Goal / Acual) - 3 / 7

Total Miles = 76 miles
Total Time = 33 Hours

March 2012 Nike Go the Distance Total / Annual Goal = 39 miles / 200 miles

Injury status - I would estimate I am about 80% recovered.  My biggest concern is to not get re-injured.

April Exercise Goals

I start the Atlanta Iron Girl training block on April 8th.  Most weeks I will swim 3x, Bike 2x & Run 3x while keeping up the Pilates reformer & Yoga.

• Swim - 12 miles
• Pilates Reformer - 4
• Yoga - 4
• Spin / Road - 8
• Run (C25K) - 12
• BarreAmped - 1
• I think my April N2U CT Challenge will be Kickboxing at the Y.  

My plan is to take Saturdays off in April & focus on some home improvement projects.  Gah.  Not a fan but it needs to be done.

Here is a fun pic taken at the Run the Bluegrass yesterday.

We usually see lots of horses in the Bluegrass not giant cows :-)