Days 1 & 2, Week 2: It's like I don't even run anymore.

I'm a little concerned with the Runner's World My Run Plan app.  Mainly my concern is about how much running it's having me do right now, which is not much.  Case in point - I was all up in the bike riding and weight work for cross-training over the past few days:


Just a little 25 miler that I did in the time I wish it took me to run that same mileage.

And just some casual upper-body strength training..no big deal.

That do-rag does AWESOME well.

The longest run I had last week was 4 miles.  Four.  Measly.  Miles.  You can tell I'm worried about running a marathon with such low mileage...and by "worried" I mean "completely freaked out and it's only week 2."

OK.  Take a breath.  It will be alright.  Even if other training plans have you running 14 miles at this point on the weekends.

Good air in....bad air out.....*gasp*

There.  I feel better.  Not really.

Anyway, here's how I'm going to get through the rest of this training cycle without feeling like I'm not really training:

1) Remember that the marathon isn't until October, for crying out loud and that there's time.
2) Convince myself that this will be a low-mileage training experiment and view this whole thing scientifically
3) Download the entire training plan from the app (which I just figured out how to do) and search frantically for longer runs than 4 miles on the "Long Run" days
4) Shake my phone every now and then when the app is running and say to no one in particular, "IS THIS THING ON?"
5) Remember that I'm also training for a half duathlon (10K/56 mi/10K) so I can freak out about that for a while to get my mind off the whole "I don't think I'm running enough" thing.

So the coping mechanisms are in place.  All that's left are some learnings:

• I have learned that bike riding in the morning when the sun comes up is pretty awesome.
• I have also learned that bike riding in the morning when the sun comes up leaves me covered in gnats.
• I've learned that recovery cat shows up most when I'm in a hurry to get ready and get out the door in the morning.
• I have also learned I better start biking and strength training on the same day to get those bike miles in.
• And lastly, I've learned that it takes more than 4 freaking miles to run a marathon people. 

Tomorrow's workout: Speed makes a comeback!  Some 300s...interesting.

Days 6 & 7, Week 1: My legs have a workout hangover.

Yesterday I did some of my beloved Cathe; specifically, I did her PHA Training workout.  This morning I did the 17 mile bike ride I was supposed to do yesterday before I did the 3 miler actually on the schedule for today.  And this pretty much sums up how I feel right now:

True story.

I think this is partly because I'm coming back from a few weeks of recovery, and partly because I am dumb and have to re-learn some workout lessons over and over again (just like eating lessons).  What lessons would those be?  Well...

Lesson #1: It's hard to train for both a duathlon and a marathon at the same time.

When you start adding bike rides to your cross-training days, you tend to get way more tired.  And then you tend to skip them because you're tired.  It's one of those horrible negative feedback loops that culminate in "whoops maybe I should have ridden my bike more" during the bike portion of the actual race.

I may have to start taking my bike to work and getting those rides done after work and before I go home and pass out for the night. However, I predict this will still make my legs tired.

Lesson #2: Cathe's Strong & Sweaty Series' lower body exercises make your glutes beg for mercy.

There's a lot of squatting using one or more legs during those workouts, oftentimes with a heavy weight in your hand.  This is what happened during the PHA TRaining workout yesterday, and my glutes (which are not used to doing these workouts anymore on the regular) were crying this morning.  So of course they enjoyed the 17 miles of bike this morning.  Not really.

I need to remember not to hit the glutes so hard before another hard workout.

Lesson #3: Every workout is not a race.

Let me show you the average mph for the bike ride.

I don't know what got into me this morning, but I was all in race mode for some reason, taking the hills like there was no tomorrow and just never slowing down.  As you can imagine, this did nothing to help my crying glutes.

Any time I do this I pay for it...and I will on my 25 mile ride tomorrow, I'm sure.

Lesson #4: Don't try and make up missed workouts.

I was actually supposed to do that ride yesterday, but I farted around and it got too late to do it.  So of course I thought I would slap it on the front of the run for today and ended up slapping all the energy out of my legs.  And now visiting the bathroom is an adventure all its own if you catch my delayed-onset-muscle-soreness drift.  Skipping the ride today would have been the better option but, you know, I'm a moron.  That's pretty well-established.

Lesson #5: I have got to get better at workout selfies.

While this is something I usually remember to do, I need to get better at the action shots like all those pretty ones the pretty fitness people post on Instagram.  I think I would get better if a) I remembered to take them during the workout and b) I wasn't afraid of dying on the bike if I tried to use my phone.  So this is as good as it gets for now:

ZOMG there's a camera on the ground.

My face: "Did it take the picture? Did it?  I can't tell."

Enough major learnings; time for the minor ones:

• I also learned that an Instant Pot can get you some chicken salsa verde in 10 minutes, people, so you can top off your baked potato and have some major yums:

• I also learned that my sunscreen breaks down after an hour and hey sunburn hurts.
• I also learned that I have to slow down at intersections out in the country now because of that darn corn everywhere around here.
• And finally I learned I need to organize my transition area just a tad better than I do now.

Tomorrow's workout: 25 miles on the bike...not in race mode.

Days 3 & 4, & 5, Week 1: Guess who learned to make neat little videos of pics?

Guess who learned how to make neat videos out of all of her stupid workout pics?

OK, I won't make you guess.  It was me.

I also learned how to embed them in a blog post, so everyone is the recipient of my recent learning curve...whether that be good or bad.  Anyway, let's do a quick rundown of the workouts for the past three days:

Workout #1: Strength training with weights and obstacle training with animals at the same time.  Boy, can I multi-task.

Workout #2: A little 2-miler outside that large dog treated like an ultra.





Workout #3: A little 2-miler where the cats acted like the treadmill was moving catnip.





Overall, this week is still a recovery week with the My Run Plan app making me do some small runs so I can remember what running is.  And here are some learnings so you can remember what they look like:

• This week has been exhausting.  I kept falling asleep before I could finish a blog post.
• It's faster to make one of those videos than it is to write a "quick" blog post.  The magic of modern social media technology.
• The trick to making those videos is to remember to take pictures.  Oh, and get the Ripl app.
• The trick to not falling asleep during a blog post is to go to bed when you should like a real adult.
• The trick to ending a post is just to stop typing.

Tomorrow's workout: Weights and a bike ride in the wind UGH

Day 2, Week 1: Just a little Q&A

And on the blog today - a quick little Q&A:

Q: Why a Q&A today?

Because I'm not into writing paragraphs today.

Q: What's up with the title of the post?  Are you officially marathon training again?

Yep.  I'm officially training for Twin Cities this year, and away we go!

Q: The title of your blog says "Day 2."  Where the heck is Day 1?

Day 1s are so lame, I decided to skip it this time.  Not really.  Obviously, Day 1 was yesterday.  Also obviously, I completely forgot about putting it in the title.

Q: So, on this Day #2...what did you do?

Ran 2 miles on a very hot and humid 5:30 AM morning with large dog.  And stopped to take selfies.

ZOMG HEAT....and corn.

derp derp....DERP

Q: Only 2 miles?  Are you a wimp or something?

I am a total wimp about spiders and the sight of my own blood.  But I am not a running wimp - the My Run Plan app made me do it.  And I do what the app tells me to do.  Maybe the app is wimpy.  You'd really have to ask the app about that.

Q: Maybe I will.  Anyway, how's the eating today?  Still healthy?

Yep.  And DELICIOUS.

nom nom nom nom

Q: Any news on the weight loss-front?  Is the eating working?

Well, I haven't weighed myself in a while because I keep forgetting in the rush to get my workout in and getting ready for work.  But I was at the doctor today and after they weighed me I used the following equation to calculate my weight loss:

Weight on scale - Estimated pounds of clothes I'm wearing - Hey I ate food today so of course I weigh more - Normally I weigh myself in the morning so of course I weight more - Oh wait I forgot I was wearing my shoes when I got on the scale = Hey I think I lost a few pounds.

Feel free to use that math equation for your weight whenever you'd like.

Q: Anything else interesting happen at the doctor?

I fell asleep in the waiting room (I had to wait for half an hour) and then when they took my blood pressure it was on the low side...which sparked a LOT of concern and ended with me saying loudly I JUST WOKE UP FROM A NAP IN YOUR WAITING ROOM GEEEEEZ I'M ALRIGHT

Q: I think we're at the end of the post now.  Do you have a logical ending for once?

Nope.  Instead I have a gratuitous and nonsensical animal picture for you.  Enjoy.

Go away.  Post is over.

Q: Are you going to do that stupid "learnings" thing you normally do at the end?

Oh yes - most definitely.

• This week is actually kind of a recovery week..the app won't let me run more than two miles at a time.  I hope that changes before the marathon.
• That meal was freaking awesome.  BBQ pulled chicken over a baked potato with butter and sour cream.  UH-MAY-ZING
• I was at the doctor for a check-up.  No freakouts, please.
• Why doctors gotta weigh you all the time?  They should just trust you and take your word for whatever weight you write down.
• It was super hot at 5:30 AM.  Like it has  every right to be hot because it's summer or something.

Tomorrow's workout: Weights!  Probably upper body of some kind with some abs thrown in for fun.

Advantages and disadvantages of actually eating like you should normally eat because you're an adult.

This morning I got the joy of doing a little brick workout in the humidity and heat of what was going to be a freaking hot day.  For all that heat out there in my way, the bike and the run turned out pretty good.  Although I have to say I could see the heat waves coming off my body whenever the wind was at my back.

This looks all artsy-fartsy but I'm really trying not to hurl.

You just know it's going to be a scorcher when sweat is dripping from the front of your helmet by mile 5 and you feel a touch queasy at the end of the run.  Here's a close-up of how drippy I was after all that brick-ing and after I stopped thinking I might be throwing up so I better stay outside just in case.

I'm glad the nausea subsided, because I've been eating pretty well these days and I was looking forward to lunch, which consisted of salad, strawberries, and no-bread turkey wraps with cheese, mayo, and bacon (I finally succeeded in getting them to actually wrap and stay wrapped today...the answer is toothpicks, for all you wrap-challenged people out there like me).

While I have enjoyed eating like I should eat because I'm a grown adult for crying out loud and should be eating this way anyway, I've noticed that there are distinct advantages and disadvantages of eating real or close-to-real food.  Allow me to list them out for you because, you know, I have nothing better to blog about tonight:

Advantage: You get, like, nutrients your body needs and stuff.  Food is fuel, especially when you're training.  This seems a little crazy, but every time I eat a real food item I didn't used to eat on the regular, I remind myself of the specific nutrients I'm taking in and how this will help me run and bike faster (even if it's not true, because I'm good at lying to myself).  

Disadvantage: You hit the grocery store more often.  To get fresh fruits and veggies, I find myself at the store 3-4 times a week.  Well, I tell myself it's for fruits and veggies, but somehow an iced coffee from Dunkin always makes it into my hands before I leave the store somehow.

Advantage: You feel way better during your workouts.  It might be all in my head, but the workouts haven't been feeling so hard these days...even while running in some hot heat.  And 

Disadvantage: I feel like my life revolves around food prep.  Just when I think I can relax, I remember that I have to cook some food--either for immediate consumption or so I can have good food during the week.  While the effort is worth it not to eat crappily all the time, I feel like my kitchen and I have developed an enormously co-dependent and very weird relationship.  

Advantage: Guilt-free eating.  Gone are the "oh I can eat this crappy stuff because I'm training" excuses and, along with them, the guilt I felt afterwards about eating that junk.  

Disadvantage: Hubbs keeps eating your food.  This is one of the main reasons why I have to go to the store 3-4 times a week.  Who said he could eat healthy too?!?

Advantage: Hubbs keeps eating your food.  This is my unintentionally sneaky way of getting him to eat better, too.  Because I need him to keep on living so he can watch the dogs while I'm away at races.

Disadvantage: The cats could care less about any of this.

Hyooman.  Go away.

Aaaaand one last advantage: Desserts look like this:

And learnings look like this:

• Eating real food is really, really filling.  I get fuller much faster.
• Eating real food is hard.  I've never spent this much time searching for recipes.
• Biking and running in the heat is hard.  But not as hard as not being prepared for your half duathlon.
• Ending blog posts sometimes is hard.  So this is the end of the post now.  Scram.

Tomorrow's workout:  My Run Plan app says it's 2 miles.  So that's what it must be.

Tips for running in the heat. Not really.

If you're in the northern hemisphere, it's summer (if you didn't know that, SPOILER ALERT).  That means we crazy runners have to get used to running outside in what's known as "heat."  To help you through summer running, below are some of my best tips for running.  And by "tips" I mean "things I just thought of off the top of my head that are useless."

Tip #1: Get out of bed early on a Saturday morning so you can get out the door before the heat gets too bad.  I don't care what you did Friday night - get up and get out there.

Tip #2: Always be sure to run with a large dog so he can share in your suffering. (Just be sure to bring water with you and run where there's shade.)

We were ready to run...but not in the heat at 7 AM.

Tip #3: Be sure to take pre-run selfies; this will cool you off before you even start running.  Oh, and always be sure to dress appropriately for the temperature and the humidity of the run, too.  That will also keep you cooler.

Jazz hands cool you off EVEN MORE.

Tip #4: Make sure your large dog mega-derps throughout the run so he can stay cool, too.  And make sure he drinks the water you put out for him.

Tip #5: You know large dog is sufficiently cooled off when even his shadow mega-derps.

shadow derpity-derp

Tip #6: Finish the run and enjoy your air-conditioned house.  And put ice cubes in large dog's water.

And from these tips we have learned...

...large dog derps a lot

...I hate running in the heat

...I couldn't think of anything interesting to blog about

...not much.

Tomrrow's workout: A small bike-to-run brick in a tri suit without holes in it.

Here are the facts. And some pics.

Fact #1: I did Cathe's Total Body Giant Sets today and I was reunited with my precious barbell.

Large dog just doesn't understand our
relationship.

Fact #2: I totally threw out a bicep shot for no reason at all other than I had nothing better to do.

Please note animals overrunning my
workout area.

Fact #3: I worked out while dinner was in the slow cooker and it was kind of torture smelling the goodness that was my pulled barbecue chicken while suffering through oh so many one-legged squats.

Pulled BBQ Chicken and Mashed Cauliflower FTW

Fact #4: Small dog is not a fan of post-workout selfies.  In case you wanted to take one with him.  Just an FYI.

No more facts - just stupid learnings:

• I missed all these Cathe workouts while training for that duathlon.  And I'm sure my barbell missed me.
• I have never eaten mashed cauliflower before...and it was good.  Probably because there was bacon in it.
• Animals in my workout area.  The struggle is real.
• Small dog can sure throw that eyeball attitude around.
• I need more barbell in my life.

Tomorrow's workout: 4 easy miles that the app is calling a "long run."  Pfffft.

My recovery run-down and what's next

So I've been recovering this week because my Runner's World app said that I had to until Saturday. Well, I call it "recovery;" the app calls it "cross-training."

Although I don't know why it didn't check off my cross-training for today.  The app must have figured out my little trick of selecting "Other" as a workout to get it to register as cross-training in the app and changed the rules on me behind my back.  The jerk.

But don't just take my jerky app's word for it that I did all sorts of cross training this week - also check out these stupid pictures:

ZOMG how did I get on my spin bike?!?

This was the last time I could lift my arm that far above my head
because BOOT CAMP

Just causally biking to nowhere.

I only have a few things to say about my cross-training this week:

• Hubbs is very tolerant of my picture-taking requests....and tolerant of the fact that he has to walk around me and my bike in front of the TV whilst getting ready in the morning.
• I haven't done that Cathe Boot Camp workout in around 2 months and my thighs are now sore to the touch.
• The animals have NO IDEA what to do after I move the bike into the living room, which generates reactions from slightly frightened indifference to "I better be ready to flee if that thing comes at me" from the cats.

Fascinated...but can't be bothered.

Ready to OMG FLEE FOR YOUR LIFE

So, after this week of pseudo-recovery and sore thighs, what's next? Well, I plan on using that Runner's World app to train for the Twin Cities Marathon in October.  Along the way, I plan on doing some duathlons because, as every marathoner knows, duathlons are a vital part of marathon training (not really).

The cool part of the Runner's World app is that you can designate which race is your goal race and then it will automagically give you little mini-tapers to all of your other races too.  Or, at least that's what the instructions say.  We'll see, won't we?  We will also see if I hit that projected finish time of 4:14, which would definitely be a PR for me on that course.  Here's some other things I'm going to do in addition to what's in the training plan:

On the weekends, do my runs early in the morning.  I tend to fart around on the weekends doing things like "cleaning" and "working" and that type of farting needs to stop.  

Hill repeats will be done - on the bike and whilst running.  That MuncieMan Half duathlon is on the same hilly course as my most recent duathlon - and the key to success is hill training.  Which is also known as "masochism."

Do all the workouts.  I did pretty well with this during my last training cycle; this is just a reminder.

Lose 10 more pounds.  Get lighter, get faster.  The most healthy reason to lose weight, right?  (no)

Remember where I've been - and remember that at 43 years old I'm doing OK health, fitness, and body size-wise.

28 vs. 43.  I think I'm doing fine.

And also remember that it's time for the dumb learnings now:

• I have high hopes for the Runner's World app.  High hopes that I also hope won't be crushed by a crappy marathon performance.
• I also have high hopes for losing those 10 pounds.
• I hope my thighs stop being sore soon and I can touch them without wincing.
• I hope everyone realizes now after looking at that wedding picture that hubbs hasn't always looked like Santa.
• "Fascinated but can't be bothered" is my new motto.

Tomorrow's workout: A workout DVD of some kind...I'm still up in the air as to which one.  The suspense is killing you, I can tell.

Olympic Duathlon Recap: I came in last and still got a trophy.

So.  I had this duathlon thing going on this past Saturday.  I figured it was about time I blogged about it.

How did it go?  Well, obviously I got a big honking plaque.  I also met all my duathlon goals, despite the fact that my legs tried not to.  I even met those goals after my husband's pants tore a few holes in my black tri suit because those pants contained a sharp screw that viciously put holes not only in my tri suit but also in my duathlon hopes and dreams.

Wood screw = DREAM CRUSHER

Seriously, people - I was on the verge of tears until I googled "triathlon gear store" and found one (Urban Tri Gear in Westmont, IL) on the way to Muncie, IN, where the duathlon was being held.  I was lucky to find a suit kind of in my size and in a color I knew no one else would have because that's how I roll with tri suits.

That smile didn't last much longer.

Anyway, enough about my gear - what about those goals?  Well, remember that I wanted to run the first run in around 9 minutes, do the bike somewhere in the 17s for an average mph, and do whatever I wanted for the 10K run at the end.  Like I said, I did meet all the goals, but this wouldn't be a race recap post if I didn't give you all of the boring, minute details about each part of the race, not would it?  So sit back, relax, and prepare to be bored:

Run #1: Who's in my race???

Now, this race is primarily for triathletes, seeing as there's a big body of water at the race site.

Oooo water

We duathletes got to start way the heck away from that water, which also happens to be way the heck away from the bathrooms.  That's where I was right before the start and then ran up to the start line, getting there with a minute to spare.  And in that minute, I realized two things: 1) I was sweating pretty heavily after a light jog to the start...and that meant it was going to be a hot one, kids, and 2) there were, like. very few duathletes in this race.  And since they have three distances of duathlons (a sprint, an Olympic, and a half), that meant I didn't have a lot of competition for a fancy schamncy award...but I didn't know who that competition was. (And it's usually considered bad form to start quizzing people about this at the start line.) Well, I didn't know before we started, but I soon would know after we hit the sprint and Olympic turn-arounds for this first run.  And when we did hit the Olympic turn around, I was the only one that broke away from the pack and headed back towards the start line.

And that's when I realized I was free. 

I could do whatever I wanted to do for the rest of this race and it would be good enough for first place.  I floated my way back over the hilly hills to the transition area, where I was taking my sweet ol' time transitioning to the bike when another runner came into transition and ran up to a bike racked near mine and said, "I can't believe I didn't turn around!  I just kept following the pack and forgot to turn around at the Olympic turn around!"

And that's when I realized I was coming in second.

The Bike: Mostly 2nd place, with 6 miles of 1st place-ness.

I spent most of the bike in 2nd place, but still crushing my goal - I ended up doing an 18.4 mph average on that very hilly course.   Even though I was out of transition right after my competition finished telling me about her forgotten turn-around (and promptly slipped and fell trying to mount my bike), she passed me in the 4th mile of the bike and stayed ahead of me for the entire first loop and most of the second loop.  I did manage to pass her and stay ahead of her as she faded on the hills for the last 6 miles...so I was in 1st place for a little over 17 minutes.  If only this were like NASCAR where you get points for leading even a little bit. 

But it's not.

Run #2: Hot heat and trashed legs.

It was in the 80+ degrees when I got off the bike, and after I watched my competition blow by me in the first mile I realized that I had pushed way too hard on the bike - my legs were kind of toast.  I started run/walking in conjunction with wishing for shade like crazy for the rest of the run, just focusing on making it to the finish and not crying at all the hilly hills.  And, obviously, I did finish (in about an hour and 6...yikes!) and then collected my finisher medal and my 2nd place huge honking trophy-thing.

This trophy and medal goes nicely with the bling I got in September.

Now my 1st place trophy won't be lonely.

The magic of magnetism, kids.

Even though the bling is what's really important (not really), this race did serve as a useful baseline for the half duathlon (10k/56mi/10K) I'll be doing in September. 

It also gives me some good peace of mind in terms of the bike--I'm starting at a nice, solid 25 mile base rather than all the way at zero.

And this race even gave me a good, kick-ass photo of myself--and it's rare that I really like a serious race photo of myself, kids.

I just want the hot heat to go away.

But it's not rare to end a post with some facetious learnings:

• Even though I wilted in the last run, I still had a really good time at this race.  The course is just challenging enough to be interesting rather than brutal.
• The tri suit that I had never trained in and wore for the first time on race day was AMAZING.  It better be for as much as it freaking cost.
• I have never pushed myself on a bike ride as hard as I did that day.  I don't normally breathe hard at all on the bike, but I sounded like a seething lesser demon frothing at the mouth on the second bike loop.
• The woman who beat me was 53 years old and kicking my ass.  I want to be her when I'm 53.
• I love the course and I love the atmosphere of this race.  But I especially love the indoor bathrooms and the showers.
• I came in last but still got a trophy.  Boom.

Tomorrow's workout: More cross-training, this time some easy biking.  I'll catch you up on all of my recovery cross-training fun this week tomorrow I swears.

Duathlon transitions: You should probably practice them more than once.

So yesterday I decided to do a small practice duathlon because that's always a good thing to do (not really) during the week of your race.

I wanted to do more than just 1.11 miles on the second run, but, again, work likes it when I show up on time so I had to cut it short (even though that didn't go as planned since a nice police officer stopped me on my way to work for going just a tad bit over the speed limit...ugh).  But the point of this little practice race wasn't to see if I could do the distances--it was to practice the transitions (T1 and T2).  You see, I am horribly slow during both transitions, and I am also horrible at practicing them to get better.  But I am glad I did get to practice them yesterday, because here are some things I learned:

• If you forget to put on your sunglasses in T1, lots of bugs (and maybe rocks) will become one with your eyeballs.  True story.  
• Untie your shoes in T1 so you don't have to fumble with laces in T2.  Especially if it's super cold on your bike ride and your fingers are pretty much useless in T2.  Like yesterday morning.
• Lay out your stuff in the order you need it.  Because then you won't have to think things like, "Wait...what was I going to do first?" or "Where the BLEEP did I put that?"

I don't need much...I just need to put it on really fast.

• If you carry your phone in the back pocket of your tri-suit and then try to run with it there on the second run it will fall to the ground causing you to freak out at the sound it makes when it hits the ground. Yep.  Leaving my phone in my race belt during the bike fer sure now during T1 and then picking it back up during T2.
• If you carry your headphones in the back pocket of your tri suit during the bike and then attempt to yank them out while running the 2nd run you will lose one of those plastic ear things on them in that pocket and then have to stop and fish it out, looking like you have suddenly developed a serious medical condition as you try to do this and continue to run at the same time.  Some lady going to her car who saw me asked me if I was OK when she saw me attempting to do my running + fishing out small plastic piece out of a pocket you can't see multitasking.  Fabulous.
• No matter what transition it is, I'm always tri-suit sexy.

Especially sexy next to the cat bed.  Mmmm.

And now even more learnings:

• The weather is supposed to be sucky on Saturday in Muncie.  Bummer.  
• How sucky?  Like 90 degrees and thunderstorms sucky.  AWESOME
• Good thing this is a practice race.
• At least my toes won't be frozen chunks of flesh at the end of the bike ride.  You gotta look on the bright side, people.

Tomorrow's workout: Easy run and then off to Muncie!

I'm writing my duathlon goals instead of working out right now.

Listen.  I know the duathlon isn't as sexy as the triathlon.  It's already a psychologically "less than" race than the triathlon because, you know, ONLY two sports instead of THREE because MORE is BETTER (and so is randomly capitalizing words).  But since what I do in the water cannot legally be called "swimming," I'm stuck with the duathlon until they change the first sport to something other than swimming.  Like rollerblading. Or discus.  Or pickleball.

Anyway, my duathlon is on Saturday (looks like rain...boo) so it's probably a little early to be setting any race goals.  But I'm going to throw caution to the wind and list them out below because that's how I roll, people.

• Goal for Run #1 (5K run): Around a 9 minute mile.  Or faster or slower, maybe.
• Goal for the Bike (26 miles): Average somewhere in the 17 mph range because I've ridden this course before and holy hills, batman.
• Goal for Run #2 (10K run): Whatever gets me to the finish line still running.

Overall goal for the race: Survival.

My ulterior motive for this race is to use it as a baseline race for the half duathlon I will be doing in September, so really this is kind of like a practice race.  (Or, at least, that's what I'm going to tell myself when I am suffering on the second loop of the bike course to self-soothe.)  In fact, I was going to do a shortened practice race this morning but that whole "have to be at work on time" thing got in the way.  So I planned to do it after work...and we all know how well that always works out for me.

Yeah.  I took selfies in real clothes instead because that burns calories too, right?

Low calorie burn selfie - it was just a warm up.

You can see the calories sizzling right off me.  What a workout.

Right.  And these are real "learnings," too:

• Survival is always a good goal for a race.  Especially your first race of any distance or type.
• Not only did I ditch my workout today because I lied to myself about doing it after work, but the whole "no wind" thing going on tomorrow morning made me persuade myself to do it tomorrow morning.
• I want my muscles to look all crazy amazing when my arms are at my sides so I don't have to walk around all day flexing my arms.
• That's my favorite type of dress - the "I paid almost $30 for what is essentially a large bag with pockets and armholes" type.  Very comfy.

Tomorrow's workout: A small practice duathlon.  I mean it this time.

Where have you been, young lady?

Where have I been lately?  Oh...just doing a few things.

Some running with large dog out in the country...and taking bad selfies with him.  Or trying to, anyway.

So much country nothingness.

He must think the camera is in the ground.

Either this run is blessed by the heavens or an alien
spaceship is about to land.

Large dog goes DERP

I also did some outdoor biking...

FYI: that's me.

At least my bike knows how to look at the
camera...unlike large dog.

...and some indoor biking because 20 mph winds and I'm a wimp.

NOW we know how female cat maintains her girlish figure.

Never bike indoors without proper supervision.

This is just so you know I actually was on the bike.  At least
for this picture.

I even attended some graduations.  None of them mine.

Look, Ma, no workout clothes!

But mostly I have been pondering why workout clothing manufacturers insist on finding ways to make you look naked...even if it's behind your back.

Not naked on the front...

Kinda naked on the back.

Less pictures, more learnings:

• I've been pretty darn busy with work this week.  I promise my stupid posts will be back up on the regular soon.
• While I wish I could have ridden my bike outside today, it was way better being able to watch TV instead of internally whining about the wind for 21 miles.
• I'm just not understanding all this nakedness.  I'm glad only the farm fields have to see mine.

Tomorrow's workout:  Easy run, kids, because it's race week!