kapachino

Category: exercise

  • #7. Do A Bike Race: Tour de Pink Recap!

    tourdepink

    This morning I rode in my first ever biking event. It was a lot of fun and I definitely want to do more like it.

    Whenever I thought about it yesterday, I got nervous. Mainly just because I had never done this type of race before so I was afraid of not being prepared and not knowing where to go or what to do. It wasn’t timed or competitive, so I wasn’t worried about doing well. And since this was my first time, I chose to go the shortest distance, 12 miles, which is less than I routinely ride so I knew it would be easy.

    My wonderful husband came with me because I didn’t know anyone else, but he was NOT happy when I told him that we needed to leave the house by 5:30 a.m. He grumbled and grumbled, but when it was actually time for me to wake him up he didn’t complain at all and was very sweet.

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    A little nervous!

    So we drove the 45 minutes to the race site and parked. It was still dark, and I had no idea where to pick up my registration packet. Fortunately it wasn’t hard to find; we just followed the music. The packet contained a t-shirt, water bottle, magnet, pen, and information about breast cancer and other racing events. I put my biking shoes on, visited the bathroom one last time, then got into place. David was able to hang out with me at the starting line right up until the end!

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    Waiting around for the race to start.

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    Bye David, see you when I get back!

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    Off into the crowd…

    As for the course itself, we first had to navigate out of the college campus that we started on. After that we were on a rough road, going fairly slowly. I was getting a little frustrated until someone passed me and I realized that it was OK for me to pass the people in front of me whenever I wanted to, as long as I was safe. After that I started passing a bunch of people. Most of the course was flat, smooth highway with very little traffic. The back half had some rolling hills but they were still fairly easy. I saw one pit stop where a lot of people pulled off the road, but I kept going. If I had been riding a longer distance I probably would have stopped, but I didn’t think it was necessary.

    Toward the end I had the road pretty much to myself. When I made the turn for the last mile there wasn’t another biker in sight. When I coasted through the finish line the volunteers were all just sitting around, but when they saw me they all started cheering. It was kind of embarrassing and cool at the same time. I immediately saw David and rode up to him. He said, “You’re the first one finished! You won the Tour de Pink!” I kept telling him that it wasn’t a race, that all the serious cyclists were probably going much longer distances, but he kept saying, “You won!” It was so cute. :)

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    Me and my man after the race!

    We didn’t stick around for the after-race festivities because I realized that if we left right away we could make it to church on time. And we did, although we were both so tired that I don’t think the sermon really sunk in for either of us. I would definitely do this event again, and next time I think I’ll go a longer distance.

    Having participated in this also made my wish list grow. Here are some things that I definitely want to acquire soon:

    bikeseat

    1. A women’s specific seat. Riding on mine makes my bum and my female area go numb ever so quickly. I constantly have to stand up just to relieve the pressure.

    saddlebag

    2. A saddle bag. I need a place to put my phone and my keys when I ride. Right now I just shove my phone in my pants, but it’s not too comfortable.

    repairkit

    3. A flat tire repair kit. I haven’t had one yet, but I want to be prepared when it happens.

    Next up on the race agenda is the Galveston Seawall Crawl 5k on November 7. Gotta start focusing on running again!

  • Upcoming Races: My New Plan

    Last week when I went to register for the perfect triathlon I had found, I got a sad surprise: it was FULL! I thought that signing up 2 1/2 months beforehand would be plenty of time, but apparently 800 other people had the same ideas I did! So because of this unexpected obstacle, I’ve had to rethink my training plan. You’re probably thinking that I’ll NEVER do a triathlon, that I’m just talking the talk and not walking the walk. And I admit, I’m kind of disappointed in myself that I haven’t secured myself a spot yet. But I promise you, I WILL do this!

    As soon as I saw that the race was full, I scoured the Internet for other options. My situation is made more difficult because I work every other weekend, and my October weekends are half taken up already by our anniversary and my school’s homecoming. But I was determined. Finally, I found two options that I thought might work. They looked like decent races, but the downside was that they are both a 4-5 hour drive from Houston and they were both on September 12, a full month earlier than what I had been preparing for.

    I still thought I could do it though, so I asked David what he thought. That’s when he told me that he and his dad have a planned fishing trip for September 12. I definitely want my husband to be there for my first triathlon, so my dream is being postponed. I will have to wait until early next year.

    In the meantime, there are other types of races that I can do. It’s important for me to do these, because having a race to look forward to really motivates me. They are lots of fun and will keep me from getting bored. Here are the ones I’m considering as of now.

    September 13 – Tour de Pink

    This is a cycling event in Houston that offers a variety of distances. Since I’m new at this I’ll be taking on the shortest length, 12 miles. As an oncology nurse I love to support races that promote cancer awareness and research, and this one benefits the Pink Ribbon Project. One of the requirements is that all participants MUST raise a minimum of $100 in addition to the entry fee. I wish I was already registered and could send you over to my donation page, but I’m experiencing difficulties with the website at this time. I’ll let you know when I work it out! I’m a little nervous since I’ve never done a bike race before, and I hate asking people for money, but it’s completely worth it and I’m excited!

    September 12 – Race For Our Daddies 5k

    This is the day before the Tour de Pink which might not be the best idea, but I only have a couple of free weekends in the next few months and I want to take advantage of them. This race promotes charities dedicated to prostate cancer research, it’s free, and it’s in Memorial Park. All great things, and it might just be too good to pass up!

    October 18 – Run2Restore 5k

    This event takes place in my hometown of Katy, and apparently it is promoting “family restoration.” Although I’m not quite sure what that means, it looks like they are raising money to help fund the building of a Christian retreat center. So that’s fine.

    Those are the highlights. I do have a few other options, but these are my favorites. Anyone out there want to participate with me? Care to share your own exercise plans? What motivates you? Let me know!

  • Triathlon: Delayed, A Little

    I’ve had to make the difficult decision to postpone my triathlon aspirations for a little bit. There are a few reasons that have built up to lead me to this, and here they are:

    First, my training buddy cracked a rib and won’t be able to do much exercising for awhile. We haven’t actually been working out together, but we have been encouraging and motivating each other, checking in often, keeping each other accountable, and of course it was a huge help to know that someone would be doing the race with me, considering it will be both of our first triathlon. I had pepped myself up and was prepared to brave the race myself though…

    Then on Saturday, during my soccer game, I hurt my toe. If you follow my Twitter or Facebook updates you might have seen the picture, but if not then click here. I’m not going to post it because I don’t feel like having a picture of my nasty toenail up here. What happened is that my toenails are apparently naturally prone to bruising, my cleats are quite old and don’t provide any support, and I forgot to trim the nails before the game. Something happened, some kind of pivot or something, where my toes got mashed in the end of my shoes and right then searing pain went up through my leg. I had to stop and limp for a bit. I don’t know how, but I played until the next break at which point I asked to come out because I really felt like I had torn the toenail right off.

    When I took my socks off, my toenail was still there and because it was painted I couldn’t see how bad it was. So I taped it up and played the rest of the game. Then all weekend I was walking around in flip-flops, and although it hurt somewhat I thought it would be OK. That is, until I decided to take the polish off. Not only is it completely black, it is swollen and separated from the rest of my toe underneath. I can move it around. So actually, I DID rip it off during the game.

    I had to put my closed-toed shoes back on for work, and let me tell you, it throbs to walk in them. I was going to try to run tonight to see how it goes, but it’s just too painful. I know by the time the triathlon rolls around the pain probably will be dealt with, but in the meantime I can’t train effectively. Which I’m really bummed about, because I had finally gotten into the groove of running regularly and feeling good.

    So even after all of that, I was STILL going to sign up for the race (the Austin Triathlon on Labor Day). But then I realized that I hadn’t filled out my schedule for next month at work, and when I went to do so I noticed that another nurse from my shift has already requested those days off, and we’re not supposed to double like that. If I were to request off also, that would only leave my unit with 3 nurses, not enough to staff the floor.

    Because of all this, I’ve decided to skip the Austin Triathlon. I’m still really excited about doing one, so I’ve already started researching what races I can do in the future. I’m hoping that only a couple of months is all I’ll need to be really ready.

    The race that I am shooting for now is one called Try Andy’s Tri on October 18 in Sugar Land, TX. That’s just southwest of Houston, which is a bonus because it’s so close. Also, the land should be pretty flat, which is what I’m used to, as opposed to Austin which is quite hilly. I can do hills with running, but not so sure about biking. The distances are swim 300 m, bike 10 miles, run 3 miles. This is perfect for me because it’s a super short swim, which is what I have the least experience in, so it’d be a good introduction. I’m also excited to do a small race for my first one, so hopefully I won’t be so overwhelmed.

    In the meantime, while my toe heals, I’m going to try to keep swimming, and maybe attempt to cycle on the indoor bike. As soon as I can run I’ll be back out there. I hope it doesn’t take too long; I don’t want to lose all the stamina I’ve built up so far!

  • Just Some Stuff

    Lately I feel like there are so many things going on in my life, little and big, that it’s hard to keep straight. I just want some time to relax and read my books, but it’s hard to let myself have that time. Anyway, before I head to bed I want to share with you a few of those random things that are happening, or that I’m thinking about.

    >The triathlon that I’ve been training for is about a month and a half away. I’m pleased to report that running is going very well. As long as I don’t attempt it in the heat of the day, I have no trouble running the 5k. Swimming is another matter. After I successfully completed the entire 750m, the next couple of swims were extremely tough. I feel like I’ve backslid in that area. And as for biking, I don’t go that often because it takes so long, but I am confident that I can complete the 14 miles. I’m quite slow at all three events, but my goal is just to finish. Unfortunately, my training buddy cracked a rib this past weekend and can no longer race. I’m left to do this one on my own, which is no fun. It’s hard to stay motivated, but I’m really going to try to tough it out.

    >I’ve been enjoying listening to podcasts while I run, and also while I drive. A few of my favorites that I’ve found so far are: The Dinner Party Download, Stuff You Should Know, Filmspotting, and Radiolab.

    >We only have 8 beds (out of 28) open on my floor at work now, so there are only 2 nurses needed per shift. It’s very strange; the rest of the unit looks like it’s under some weird kind of quarantine. We will be floating to other units a lot now, and on Sunday I actually have to work the 3-11 p.m. shift. I’m kind of nervous about it, mostly because I don’t stay up that late hardly ever.

    >Yesterday I registered to be a bone marrow donor. This was one of my 101 goals. Methodist made it pretty easy, because they had a table set up right in the lobby. It only took a few minutes to fill out a form, swab my cheek, and done. I didn’t realize it, but 70% of bone marrow donations are done by pheresis, which is just like giving blood.

    >Ellen, a good college friend of mine and one of my bridesmaids, had a baby today. It blows my mind.

    Off to bed now, one of my favorite times of day!

  • Why I Am Training For A Triathlon

    I’ve been an athlete my whole life, mostly playing soccer but there was a stint a couple years ago where I fancied myself a runner. Unfortunately, when I started my job almost a year ago, I had to quit playing soccer because of my crazy schedule, and I haven’t really kept up much of a serious exercise routine since then.

    I thought it would be enough to eat fairly healthy (which I do), have a physically demanding job (which I do), and occasionally supplement with yoga and bike riding (which I do). But despite all this, my weight continues to creep up ever so slowly. In talking to David about this last week, he told me, “Things change as you get older. You have to fight it.”

    Those words stuck with me. It would be so easy to just let my body go, but I don’t want to. I want to be in great shape before I have a child so that it’s not impossible for me to slim down again afterwards. I want to really take care of myself.

    I decided that training for a triathlon is how I am going to accomplish this. I’ve been interested in doing one for awhile now, and why put it off? I have running experience, so it shouldn’t be too hard to work up to 5k distance again. I already own a nice bike that I want to ride more anyway. I know how to swim, and will appreciate the variety it brings to my workouts. (Although I went to the pool for the first time yesterday and it was HARD.)

    After only a few days of training, I know that I will probably be in the best shape of my life when this is all over with. I love having a goal to aim for: The Austin Triathlon on Labor Day. It makes me excited to exercise. It also gets me outside, which I don’t do enough of. I’m nervous because there are a lot of technical things I don’t know about, and it will mean doing some kind of training almost every day, but I know it’ll be worth it.

    Anyone want to join me, even if it’s long-distance?