I've been doing some speed work via Trainer Road's power output programs. I've really been enjoying it. It's definitely working my legs harder than I'm used to so I'm hoping it will produce some results. I've also been enjoying half a pop tart as my pre workout bite in the mornings. It's been a delicious treat!
It's been a while since I've updated you on goings on around here so I thought I'd recap what I've been up to over the past couple months. I've been doing some speed work via Trainer Road's power output programs. I've really been enjoying it. It's definitely working my legs harder than I'm used to so I'm hoping it will produce some results. I've also been enjoying half a pop tart as my pre workout bite in the mornings. It's been a delicious treat! And, due to a harder cycling and working back up to my running efforts pre 70.3 I've been wearing my compression sleeves a lot more lately. I'm starting to like them a lot. (I didn't use them much during 70.3 training). I've also continued to brew and enjoy my own kombucha! (don't mind the store bought bottle, just reusing it with my home brew) Also, going into the category of enjoyment, I've found an awesome combo for my protein shakes that includes espresso shots! Check out the recipe on my recipes page! With my new TrainerRoad workouts, Matthew and I's training schedule is matching up more, so I've been enjoying trainer time together. I turned 30 and got to celebrate with some great friends and lots of family! I've been working back up to 2+ hour runs and have been contemplating doing a full marathon in December. Here are I am on a run on Memorial Day. I love how our neighborhood decorates for our holidays. It's been so rainy here! But it does lend itself to some nice (gloomy) views on my runs. So, I didn't swim for a couple of weeks after 70.3 and I was shocked by how much my arms lost strength! So I've been regularly getting out to the pool at least one day a week :)
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One of my closest friends has decided to participate in her first triathlon!! I could not be more excited! When she told me she was going to sign up, I had to stop myself from spewing all of the the race day tips that I could think of. So instead, I've decided to organize my thoughts and share them here. Because, at the end of the day, I'd love for this blog to motivate other badass women to swimbikerun! 1. Make sure you eat breakfast! Something substantial that will keep full but nothing that might cause stomach issues. 2. Get to the race with plenty of time to park, get body marked and get your gear set up. Usually, transitions opens 1.5-2 hours before the race start. I think it's best to plan to drive up to the race site with at least 1 hour before the start. (We did this in New Orleans and the traffic to get to the race site was so bad we had to abandon our car and ride our bikes in with all our gear on our backs just to make it on time! So the more time you give yourself, the better) 3. Set up your transition area with bike gear in the front, and running gear behind it. Make sure to roll your socks off of your feet so you can quickly roll them on when transitioning from swim to bike. 4. Make sure your number is on your bike, helmet and fuel belt (if no fuel belt, then set up with pins ready to quickly pin on). 5. If it's a wave start, make sure you surround yourself with others in your wave so you know you won't miss it. Go ahead and check out the swim course, make sure you know which side of the buoy you're supposed to swim on. 6. Swim buoy to buoy. Don't worry about the entire length of the swim, just focus on getting to the next buoy. Also, go ahead and swim close to others, you can get into their draft zone and save some effort! 7. Take your time in transition. If this is your first race, you're probably not shooting for a podium spot so take some of the pressure off and take your time. Make sure you've got all your gear on. I like to put my gear on bottom to top to ensure that I've remembered everything. (ie. socks, shoes, nutrition in pockets, sunglasses, helmet) 8. Ride comfortably on the bike. Again, being your first race, this should be all about having fun. Get in a comfortable pace/cadence and don't worry about if people are passing you or if you're passing a lot of people. 9. Drafting on the bike is illegal so make sure you pass people quickly or ease up when being passed by others to get out of their draft zone. (This is the cliff notes version of this rule, best for you to go to here to read all about it)
10. Be aware of other riders when mounting and dismounting the bike. This can be a chaotic space with volunteers yelling instructions on when you can mount/dismount so just be mindful of those around you to avoid a pile up. 11. Run with whatever pace feels right. You've already completed two of the sports so just put out as much energy and you feel comfortable with, because when you're done running, your finished! 12. Drink at the aid stations if you want (for a sprint only). I tend to take my last swallow of water before I get off the bike and don't really need water for a 3 mile run. However, if you do drink during 3 mile practice runs, you should go ahead and partake in the aid station. 13. Enjoy yourself!! This is all about having fun not piling on the pain factor (that can come later). When I decided to do my New Orleans 70.3, I knew that I would need a tri kit that was incredibly comfortable (and cute, let's be honest). I did a lot of research and actually tried other female specific tri brands before deciding to try Coeur. I was struggling because many of the kits I had found previously, either didn't fit quite right or the shorts were not comfortable (if you know what I mean). I follow some other lady tri bloggers and some of them are ambassadors for Coeur so I heard them raving over the brand which peaked my interest. When I finally decided to order a kit, I got the cutest emails as my confirmation! I knew that I had picked an interesting company. Not only did they project this personal approach, but they also boast, no hassle returns, free shipping (in the US), and a unique design to the chamois pad in the tri shorts that is seam free! (Check out a pic of the seam free chamois here) I found them on instagram and started reading some of the blog posts by the company and I was really impressed. They are a female owned business who truly wants to spread the joy of triathlon to women while also taking some feminist (? in my eyes, merely human) stances on women's roles in the sport of triathlon. They had officially earned my respect. Soon, I received their kit in the mail and it came in the cutest packaging! I quickly tried it on! The first time I rode in the shorts, I could immediately tell the difference of the seam free chamois! It was love at first ride! Ladies, you must own a pair of these shorts! Needless to say, I competed in New Orleans with this kit and couldn't have been happier. Not only was I comfortable, I was proud knowing that I support a company that I really believe in. Oh and Coeur just released their new swimsuit line and I'm a happy owner of the cutest one piece in all of tri land!
Triathlon, and really any endurance sport is primary mental. I thought about writing on this topic after I was at the near end of five 10 minute high intensity interval training on Trainer Road and I teasingly looked over at Matthew and faked being over it and wanting to just be done already. I was shocked at how quickly, my mentality changed to just what I was saying! Even though I hadn't felt negative before stating this, just merely saying the words and allowing that little seed of negativity in made it real. Luckily, I was able to shake it off within a couple of seconds but there have been times that I wasn't so lucky. You practice everything else, why not practice being positive?! If you're viewing my blog on your computer (not on your phone), welcome to the new and improved Determined to Tri blog! I've had some major changes recently, what with completing my first 70.3 and turning 30, so I made some updates to this space on the web that is all mine :)
This blog really did start out as a place for me to document/process all things that had to do with completing Ironman 70.3 New Orleans so, when that goal was accomplished, I was left feeling a bit lost and without direction. And I mean this in relation to the blog and my life to a certain extent. I was surprised by how many of my choices throughout my day revolved around training and my deep desire to accomplish my goal. I'll admit, there was part of me that felt really sad not to have that carrot hanging in front of me. That focus and determination was gone. And I really missed it. Now, that's not to say that I haven't enjoyed the time off and some of the freedoms that have come from not training for a specific race, because I have. I've also done a lot of thinking about what's next for me. So I'm just going to put it out there in the universe because then it makes it real, right? I WILL be completing a full 140.3 someday. Now, when is kind of up in the air. I know that it won't be this season (that would be crazy) and I don't even know that it would fit into life next season but a big part of me is hoping that 2017 will be my year. I know how hilarious that sounds, we're nearly 2 years away from that, but when you think about it, I would begin training next year so it's not all that crazy to think that far ahead. But, who knows, a lot could change in 2 years (although I can't imagine this desire going away for good). In the mean time, I do have some local races that I will be participating in. I plan to do the following: Disco Triathlon (Olympic) June 28th Mayor's Triathlon (Sprint) July 12th or Tri Rock (Sprint) August 2nd TriFecta (Olympic) September 20th Keller Monster Tri (Sprint) October 18th Best of the Best (Sprint) November 8th I also have some plans for this blog. I really want to share more of the lessens that I have learned over the past 2 years of partaking in this crazy sport. So I hope you'll enjoy my lessens, continued thoughts, and random workout updates :) |
Welcome!I'm Sadaf, a 30 year old wife, foodie, greyhound/cat owner, cyclist turned triathlete. Follow me on my journey of life and triathlon. Archives
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