My new Motorcycle

I bought it new tonight... now I have to learn how to ride it... it's sweeeeeeeeeet - It's a 2009 Kawasaki KLX 140L Monster Energy

Clipless pedals

I know you think clipless pedals are the "easy" kind of pedals that we all have had on our bikes since we were kids... but Noooooooooooo... they are the kind of pedals that you attach your feet to, then you're stuck to the pedals until you can somehow get out of them... you can learn more about pedals here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_pedal

Well, I got these installed on my bike and actually tried them last night - and I DIDN'T Fall!



Today I joined the Hebrew High Ulpan 1978 group on Facebook... this picture was posted on the group, can you find me?

Starting again

Official Team in Training Olympic Triathlon training started yesterday with a 20 minute run. I did 1.65 miles in the morning - felt strange to be running in the morning, but felt good that I woke up and did it! Today I have 15 minute swim on the schedule. Last time I swam, I did 30 minutes - all 50's with a 30 second break between laps... so today, I'm going to try to swim all 15 minutes with no breaks... I'll probably rotate between free & breast... see how many laps I can complete.

I bought cycling shoes and clipless pedals last night... I haven't gotten them installed yet... we'll see how I do when I try them, I'm thinking I'll fall at least once... hey if I plan on it, maybe it won't happen??? one can hope.

Not much else going on, except I did create some awesome and somewhat attainable 2009 goals (the trick is to make a goal using the number 2009):

Lose 20.09 pounds
bike 2009 kilometers
swim 200.9 kilometers
run 200.9 miles each quarter (Jan-Mar,Apr-Jun,Jul-Sep,Oct-Dec) - total miles = 803.6

Those goals on top of my Level 3 stretches and Star plan... I'll be busy ;)

3 Races last week

Well, here I am in Utah again. Level 3 starts tomorrow morning.

Last week, I ran a 10k race on Saturday - it's the longest distance run post-injury, and I missed a PR by less than 30 seconds - not bad! Then on the day before Thanksgiving, Jerry & I drove up to Ogden, Utah... I ran a 5k race on Thanksgiving morning. The race course was short, and I ended up only running 3 miles. Then on Saturday, I ran the Santa Run for 3 more fast miles... I didn't do any other training all week, and now I'm out of town again... I'll try to get 2 runs in before the Santa 5k on Saturday. Next week I'll resume Tri-Training while working up toward FIRST Half Training.

Seminar Staffing weekend

I'm back at work on a Monday morning, after an incredible weekend in St. George... I went and staffed a Level 1 seminar. The group was AWESOME, and I learned a lot. I couldn't help but comparing the Me now to the Me that walked into those rooms about 2 1/2 years ago... wow have I grown!

I am looking forward to doing level 3 & level 4... although I am not quite sure I "need" them, I want to continue to grow. I only wish that those around me who I love would take the seminar.

I am well into triathlon training... I have been doing at least 1 activity 6 days/week... at times I have 2 activities scheduled and I only do 1, but I am moving forward.

Yesterday, I did a body sculpt class instead of my normal strength training... I'm quite sore this morning. I also swam 600 meters. Today is my scheduled rest day.

Triathlon Training

Yep, I decided to go for it... I have a few to choose from - Rage in the Sage in April, IronGirl in May and then there's one in September... hmmmmmm.... for now, I've got all 3 on my schedule :eek:

WOW, I thought training for a Marathon was hard... I had NO Clue! I have to fit in 3 runs, 3 swims, 2 cycling, 2 weight training sessions in each week... The schedule I put together looks like this:

Monday - off (or bike)
Tuesday - swim & run
Wednesday - bike & weights
Thursday - swim & run
Friday - bike (or off)
Saturday - long run & yoga
Sunday- swim & weights

So far, so good... although last night, I did my run and didn't feel well, so I skipped my swim... I'll be adding it to tonights work-out. At least I allow myself some flexibility!

All of my work-outs are getting recorded on BeginnerTriathlete.com and my runs get recorded on my excel spreadsheet... my Garmin workouts get recorded on the Garmin Software... hmmmmm I'm well documented on this journey...

After the Marathon

I know, I'm lousy at blogging... I just posted my race report... so much for following training... Maybe some day, I'll get some posts for in between the training & the race, but for now... that's what I have.

The day after the Marathon, my right leg swelled up something aweful... it was difficult to walk on it, it was VERY painful... After several trips to Doctors, and several tests & several weeks later, I was diagnosed with having 2 stress fractures on my tibia...

I did 2 weeks on crutches, and took 3 months off of running.

Now to avoid another stress fracture, I'm adding more x-training to my running. I'm training for a triathlon. Why not? I can run a Marathon, I can do ANYTHING I set my mind to!!!

Ogden Marathon Race Report (May 17, 2008)

Sorry this is going on my blog so many months later... but oh well...

Training didn't quite go as planned, maybe some day I will talk about that, but for now, it was enough to get me to the finish line... here's how my race went:

In the morning, I met up with a friend from online to take the bus to the starting line, she forgot her timing chip... so we asked about it, and they said we can get one at the starting line, so we got on the bus together and chatted all the way to the start line. It was nice to have someone to ride with.



We get off the bus, and ask about the chips, they don't have them... so we go to the Port-a-John... warm-up a bit by the fire...Port-a-john again... then it's time to line-up... she still has no chip...I put my jacket in my bag.... throw it in the truck, take 2 Advil as my ankle/shin is still hurting (been hurting all week) I go line up toward the back, and she stays in front... she FINALLY got a chip and found me in line. And in a matter of minutes, we're off! I think worrying about her chip was a GREAT distraction for me.


I didn't want to go out fast... in fact ALL advice says go out slow... so I did... Where are they all going? Don't THEY know they have to run 26.2 miles?




I still went out a bit faster than planned... first mile: 12:20 and I'm in DEAD LAST PLACE already The sheriff was right behind me... I felt like MickeyD (winner of the Flying Pig Marathon) in reverse... I had my own pace car Slowly, I did catch up with others... I ran with a couple for a while, and they were nice enough to listen to the LONG version of how I got started running.

It was a beautiful run... I stopped to walk and take a picture...



Miles 2-7, I took it slow - TOO SLOW - What's wrong with me? I can't seem to move.. Somewhere, the Sheriff escort passed us and said he was going up to "The Pack" we were on our own... "Stay to the Right and listen for cars" - I'm barely started, and I'm behind the barricade - sheesh


Finally around mile 8-10, I felt like I found my legs, I left the couple, and caught up and passed a couple of people... where did this hill come from? There's only 1 Hill, and it's not til mile 14 I push on...




Around mile 11, my ankle does something strange... OH NO... can I even finish? Whew... pain is over fast... I get to the Half way point at 2:53... a bit behind my 13mm ave... I can still hit near 5:40 if I keep this pace... But, I go to port-a-john, double back for more water and take 2 Advil... 2:57 when I start running again - There goes my 5:40... now to shoot for 6:00.



Around mile 16, I see a guy who stopped to stretch... I catch up to him, and ask if he's cramping... I happened to have 2 packs of electrolyte tabs with me, so I give him one... I hope it helped him! My plan was to take Gu & water only, and if I cramped to pop the electrolyte... I felt GREAT so far, so giving one pack away was OK.


At mile 17, I MADE IT TO THE CUT-OFF... I can finish! I start the REAL downhill part now... It's a beautiful run through the canyon. At mile 18, someone asked how I was, and I said "surprising still good"


At around mile 20, I feel a bit of cramping... so, I break out the other electrolyte tabs, and I can't get it open.. I ask a volunteer to open it, and he can't get it open either, good thing they had bananas, so I had a banana and pushed on...


Mile 22, I got the sense that I was gonna make it...I still felt pretty good, and I only have a bit over 4 to go! I'm running along a river, and I'm thinking of TN Tim (one of my online buds) ... wanting to jump off a bridge at this point... I didn't want to die, but the water looked nice and cool. I come out of the aid station, and look up, and there's the water-fall...



At mile 24, I catch up to a man, we walk together for a few... He says, If I have ANY legs left, I can still make 6... so I start chasing 6... I didn't have much legs left


FINALLY mile 25.9ish...I can see the finish line... Then I see Jerry and his brother and his Nephew! I run up and get HUGS!! They run the last .2 with me - Yes, I ran the last .2 I hear the announcer say, "It's 6 hours and we still have people coming in, They didn't leave us, and we're not gonna leave them" The next thing I hear, "Now finishing, Diane Altschuler from Las Vegas"

I DID IT! 06:02:51.33...



Got my medal, and they took my chip... Lady from the medical tent looked at me and asked if I was alright... through my tears, I said, "Yes, just emotional, this was my first marathon!"I get to the finishers area... and take a couple of pics...

Then, I see Debbie (the girl from the bus) she finished in 5 hours and waited for me




I eat a bit, pick up my bag, stretch a bit, got a leg massage, took more pictures

We're about to leave, and I felt like a black-out, got dizzy and nauseous... I told the guys I didn't feel well, and made my way to the Medical Tent... they laid me down with my feet up...took my BP... it was 88/50, they gave me Powerade... have you ever tried to drink Powerade while laying upside down? It took a while, but my BP came up to 98/60 and they let me go... hey, better to be safe than sorry.


We drove to Jerry's Moms house, I logged on, gave my "I DID IT" posts to the Penguins and the First Time Marathoner's thread... and took a nap


I still can't believe it... I ran a fricken Marathon! I didn't make my 1st or 2nd goal (Goals: 5:40, 6:00, finish), but I FINISHED! And I'm Proud of myself ... and for the first time in my life (45 years) I'm an Athlete! (Athletes run Marathons)

Results:
1534 finishers -
last persons time 06:47:41.74.
17 DNF (Did Not Finish )
22 people finished behind me...including 1 from my AG


Therefore, I passed 42 people during the race - 3 people passed me back right at the end.

For all pictures, please visit: http://picasaweb.google.com/Cardholic/OgdenMarathon#

I wrote this post on discussions on RW, so I copied it here. I like the RW discussion, but I would like to keep my blog as well. So, now I post to the blog, post to RW, post to my excel log, and track my Garmin miles on their log. Like Jerry says, I spend more time planning my runs than actually doing them.



I'm in the middle of week 3 of my First Marathon training. I Scoured the internet looking for schedules, bought 2 books their schedules look totally different! So... what I ended up doing is taking the one from RW and tweaking it to my liking. I'm still tweaking it! LOL. I only wanted to run 4 days/week because of my knee issue. Then I put in swimming lessons and weight training and whalla, I don't have enough days in the week to do it all!

My schedule is now like this:

M - easy run & weight training

T - swimming lessons

W - Speed or Tempo workout (every 4th week easy)

Th - alternate Weight Training & swimming lessons

F - easy run

Sat - OFF

Sun - Long Run (building miles to 22)



Swim class last night was hard after weight training on monday, but I survived. Tonight I will run 5 miles on Treadmill. 1st mile slow, then 3 miles at 12:00/mile... last time I did 2 miles at 12:00/mile and thought I would die! Then last mile recovery slow. Funny how one pace is killer for one, and easy for others. I am and will always be a penguin!!

Swim Class

I finished the full swim class last night. Now I know that when I work on my Arms... I should not be kicking... because my kicking form goes away when I'm thinking about my arms. Is that good news? At least I have some kicking form to go away?

Anyway, no running yesterday or today. Poker Run tomorrow :-)

First week of training

Well, I have really decided to do it! And it WILL happen this time! I have already signed up and paid the money for the Ogden Marathon on May 17. So, I started my training schedule to start on December 31.

The first week of training went like this: I did my 3 mile easy run on Monday on the treadmill. On Wednesday I did my first ever tempo run. I had scheduled myself to do 3 miles tempo after a 1 mile warm-up and a 1 mile warm-down (is that what they call it?). Anyway, after re-doing my schedule several times, I ended up only doing 2 miles tempo at 12 min miles. It was HARD! The speed was based on my 5k performance, and not my Half Marathon performance. I think from now on, I will base my tempo training on my Half Marathon performance. This comes to a 12:30 mile. I'll be trying 3 miles at that pace for my next tempo run.

Then on Thursday, I worked out with a personal trainer. Turns out he worked at giving me a weight training program, and I only did 1/3 of it. I got through it GREAT! I liked him!

On Sunday, I had my first long run with the Roadrunners Winter Group. Woohoo!! I did 6 easy miles... it felt good to be outside! My Garmin was still set for indoor running, but I didn't figure that out until half way through my run. So, it was telling me 0 miles and 0 mph. hmmmmm. I couldn't rely on the watch for pace, etc. When I figured out why it wasn't working, I turned it on at mile 3... Ended up, I ran a bit too fast (According to the charts my pace should be 13:40 - 14:00/mile) I ran it at 12:29/mile. Ended up taking 1 hour 16 minutes! and I still felt good! :-)

So, After a great run on Sunday, I ended up taking an nap Sunday Afternoon... probably because I woke up sooooo early on Sunday Morning to do the run, and didn't get enough sleep. So, once again, I went to bed too late on Sunday Night and had to wake up VERY early on Monday to get Jerry to the airport. I started my 9 day isagenix cleanse on Monday with 2 pre-cleanse days planned. So, after a full day of work, with little food, and even less sleep, I did the full weight training program that Eddie outlined... it was challenging to say the least! Then I did an "Easy" 2 mile run on the track at LVAC. Then I went to do my abs work... did not go well.

My 2nd pre-cleanse day went well on Tuesday, and so did work. Then, I decided to take an "Easy" Swim 101 class at LVAC. It was HARD!! I guess a combination of being sore from my weight training, being tired (I got about 6 hours sleep), and not very much food during the day. I left the class half way through, and I had trouble lifting my arms up to wash my hair!

So, you would think I slept well on Tuesday Night??? Guess Again... I could not put down my book, and I ended up not going to sleep until about 2 am... then woke up early on Wednesday...

First cleanse day... Tired, worn out... work went lousy... hardly got anything done! Wednesday I had my first speed workout (Yasso 800) scheduled. The theory is that if I can do 10 repeats of an 800 at 5 minutes and 30 seconds, I should be able to complete the Marathon at 5 hours and 30 minutes. So, to build up to this, I started at 3 repeats. After some deliberation, I decided to do them on the track instead of a treadmill. I warmed up with a half mile (Of course my schedule calls for a full mile warm up) then I did my first 800. I was amazed that I got right to the correct pace quickly, and I was truly amazed that I kept the pace for the full 800 Meters (1/2 mile). cool... one down... the 2nd repeat went well too... the 3rd one was BAD... I felt like I was gonna puke! I quit after 400 M (1/4 mile). I cooled down for a half mile, and called it a day. 2.6 miles out of the 4 that were on my schedule. Oh well... there will be better days.

I slept like a rock last night... Day 2 of the cleanse... Tonght I will try another swim class. Oy...