I’m gonna tri

Yes I am! I finally signed up for my FIRST triathlon…which isn’t really a ‘real’ triathlon, but it’s a start. The second annual ‘Tri at the Y’ is happening Nov 13, and I’ll be there!

I decided–especially since I’ve never done a triathlon before–I should probably do a little practicing before the big event. Not so much the individual events (a 10-minute swim, 30-minute bike, 20-minute run), but the transitions between each one. (Not that we’ll be racing down the hallways; we have 10-minute blocks of time between each event per heat.)

Anyway, today I decided I’d give it a go. Here I am, before my swim:

In 10 minutes, I did 625 yds in the pool, and would have had plenty of time to change into dry clothes, if I’d brought them with me. (I wanted to practice in my wet swimsuit in case I wouldn’t have time to change.)

After the bike:

As an instructor, I can use the cycle room solo (which is right next to the pool), so I jumped in there and hopped on the bike. I started listening to my current audiobook, In Cold Blood, by Truman Capote, but quickly got bored (not because of the book, because I was biking at a steady pace without good music). So I called a friend, and before I knew it, my thirty minutes had passed. Sixteen miles with the bike at approximately gear 11.

After the run:

I was a sweaty, sopping mess by the end! Approx 2.6 miles in 20 minutes, with my average pace 7:40. I know I can go faster, but how much faster? I think the run will be the most difficult for me, since it’s hard to know how fast to start out on a treadmill.

I had a great time, although it seemed a bit disjointed as I kept running into people I knew and chatting. I liked that no one event was very long, so it keeps it from getting tedious. For the LONGEST time I’ve been saying I should do a triathlon, so perhaps this will be just the first of many such races.

donuts and coffee, fall-style

Between our busy schedules and Andrew spending every free moment working on our patio (almost finished!), we haven’t really gotten out for a proper ‘date’ in awhile. Sure, we go grab lunch or dinner pretty frequently, but there have been no leisurely walks around the neighborhood, no care-free drives to see the colors of fall. We don’t park ourselves in front of the television on weekends to watch college football, nor do we have people over to enjoy the Bills games, or even rake leaves together on mild afternoons. Nope, for the past two or three fall seasons, Andrew (with or without me) has been toiling away on whatever project we had going on, or injured (let’s not forget those Achilles’ injuries).

So, this Saturday, we took the day off. (Or, I intended us to, but somehow Andrew managed to talk me into letting him work outside for a couple hours…so I busied myself inside with food prep for the week ahead.)

After my morning run and a quick pancake breakfast together, we did our usual ‘separate-but-home-at-the-same-time’ thing for a few hours, and then headed out to Mayer Brothers Cider Mill, a local apple cider producer. They have a small store and the line on beautiful fall days starts at the door and weaves throughout the store, from donut pick-up in the beginning to apple cider slushies and check-out at the end.

Donuts. Yes, I said donuts. While you inevitably pick up a gallon of cider to bring home, you actually go to the cider mill for their fresh cinnamon donuts. It was Andrew’s idea and I was 100% on board. Not sure what’s gotten into me lately…I’m on a donut-kick of some sort. (Promptly taking myself OFF the donut train as of this morning, thankyouverymuch.)

We grabbed a gallon of cider, a small jar of apple butter, a bag of cinnamon apple chips (a favorite of mine), an apple cider slushie (better than it sounds, I promise) and headed to a nearby Starbucks to enjoy our treats. We got a mix of the traditional cinnamon-sugar-dusted and a couple for me to try (cream cheese frosted, caramel frosted), and I think a whopping SIX may have been consumed in total. (I may not have felt guilty about enjoying those delicious donuts, but I certainly didn’t feel great afterward, either.)

While our fall date was no walk in the park (literally) or pumpkin patch, it was a few hours in which we forgot about the to-do lists, spent time together and enjoyed a fall tradition. Perhaps we’ll make it back to Pumpkinville next year.

epic workout in a pinch

What do you do when you get to the gym late and miss your beloved BODYPUMP class??

You improvise!

The other day, I was babysitting for a friend and had every intention to leave in time to get to BODYPUMP to make sure I got a full-body strength session before I taught my cycle class. But, life doesn’t always work out the way you want it to, and moms sometimes don’t get home on time. And then the girls and I had to show her all the puzzles we put together in her absence.

By the time I walked into the gym, I could already hear the warm-up song playing and didn’t feel like walking in late. So, I headed upstairs to hit the weights. *While I do enjoy lifting weights, I find I gravitate to group classes instead of solo lifting sessions…if only I had a partner who wanted to lift with the same schedule as me!

I started on the leg machines, but knew I wanted to do a full-body workout. I don’t know if I intended to do so many ‘combo’ moves, but I find upping the intensity by working upper- and lower-body parts at the same time makes my workouts more interesting (and challenging!) to me. I was tempted to listen to my current audiobook (Where’d You Go, Bernadette, by Maria Semple), but figured I wouldn’t be able to count my reps very well.

Here’s what I did:

Seated Calf (3 x 10-12 reps @130 lbs, both regular and inner calf)

Glute Extension (3 x 10 reps @ 90 lb)

Leg Extension (4 x 8-10 reps @ 75-85 lbs)

Leg Curl (3 x 8-10 reps @ 85-90 lbs)

Shoulder Press/Plie Squat (3 x 10 w/ 15 lb dumbbells)

Skull Crushers (3 x 10 @ 30 lb barbell)

Bicep & Hammer Curls/Static Lunges (3 x 10 w/ 15 lb dumbbells ON EACH SIDE)

Single-Leg Deadlift/Row (3 x 10 w/ 30 lb barbell)

Incline Flies (3 x 10 w/15 lb dumbbells)

Tricep Kick-Backs (3 x 10 w/ 15 lb dumbbells)

Single Dumbbell Bicep Curl/Static Lunges (3 x 10 w/ 15 lb dumbbell ON EACH SIDE)

Seated Reverse Flies (3 x 10 w/ 15 lb dumbbells)

Standing Obliques (3 x 10 w/ 30 lb dumbbell ON EACH SIDE)

Standing Front Raises (3 x 10 w/ 10 lb dumbbells)

Push Ups/Plank w/ Side Leg Lift (3 sets, 1 push-up and 1 leg lift)

Abs (4 sets of 25, bicycles and crunches)

…and then I taught cycle. Needless to say, my legs were TIRED on that bike!