Andi's Movement Towards Change

I met the East Side team this morning at Oakland University. (That's me in the green shirt.) I hadn't trained on that route yet, and didn't realize that I would be riding on some pretty big hills today! The training ended up proving to be a GREAT practice, though there were some killer hills that almost whupped me good. They reminded me of that one big hill that I tried to conquer last month when I was up north. This time, however, I didn't stop and I didn't fall over. I made it up the hill both times, and celebrated by truly enjoying the ride back down on the other side! I also got in a good 3-mile run in (with another big hill). I may not be fast at these hills, but my endurance is improving. I suppose I can work on speed later. At least I am able to get up those hills without stopping! I just wanted to give a special "shout out" to coach Kevin (far left) for helping me with my cadence and cycling technique (yes, it's helping!), our team mentor Jared...

Gary picked up my bike from the shop last night. The speedometer was installed, and the overall bike got a good tuneup. I was excited to ride it and the weather was perfect (60 degrees, no wind, not a cloud in the sky) so I took it out for a quick 11 mile bike ride before work this morning. WOW, this bike is AWESOME now! It's so quiet, and it shifts sooo smooth. I had no idea what I was missing before the tune-up. The one challenge I encountered during my ride was purely because of my negligence in not pumping up the tires. They were a bit low, which made for a more difficult ride. Once my legs warmed up, though, it seemed to get a bit easier and my speed started to increase. (I'm still slow though!) I had about 20 minutes when I got back from the ride before I had to start getting ready for work, so I decided to do a mini-brick and ran 2 miles. To my amazement, my legs didn't feel like jello! Granted, I didn't ride as far as a regular brick, but it was still encouragin...

Today, we had our team swim on the schedule. I was quite excited about this swim today because it took place at the Cranbrook Natatorium, a beautifully designed building with a gorgeous pool inside. Unfortunately, I was still catching up from all of my business in the last week at work that I just didn't feel right about leaving a job half done, especially since I had to meet a deadline. So with regret, I emailed the team at the last minute and told them that I had a change of plan. After all, a deadline is a deadline and I'm not going to miss it, even if it is my training. So I continued to work until I finished that job, which ended up being at around 7:30pm. I decided to grab some sushi to go (spicy salmon rolls and some seaweed salad), and ate it in the car on the way to Ballys in St. Clair Shores. After all, they have a pool. It's nothing to brag about. In fact, it's quite run down. But it's a pool, and I needed to get in my practice. The pool was crowded, and ...

When I went to sleep last night, I was upset because I thought I'd have to go to the chiropracter again. I had tweeked my back earlier in the day, and the same twinge that needed readjustment a couple of weeks ago. This morning, however, my back felt great (what a relief!) so I got up early and went for a run. My running is getting stronger, though it is still by far my least favorite of the three sports in a triathlon. I started strong right out of the gate, trying to remember to not land on my heel and to use smaller strides. I felt like I was going pretty fast (for me), which is what I wanted. My goal is to some day break the 10 minute mile. I was running along, and must not have picked up my foot high enough, because before I knew it, I WIPED OUT and was on the grass! How embarrassing! Fortunate I wasn't hurt, so I got back up and just kept on going. I ended up running my pace at 10:35, the first time I have ever broken an 11 minute mile. Pretty good for starting out at a 1...

Today was spent away from the running shoes, away from the bike, away from the pool. It was spent with fellow team mates Rob and Amelia, and we worked together on our first bucket drive in Royal Oak. Though it was a long day and we were on our feet the whole time, we had a great time and met a lot of wonderful people. Our task was simple -- to educate people why we were invading a small corner of their neighborhood supermarket for the day. "Would you like to help us in our fight against cancer?" we would say to those who entered the store. Some would stare, some would smile, some would just walk away. But then others would pause, contimplate, and ask for more details. Many people donated what they could, be it a few coins, a few dollars, and in many cases, their returnables. One woman, visually moved by our mission, quietly approached us, softly said that her mother had cancer, handed us a $100 bill, and walked away. It was her silence that was the loudest message, it was he...

Well, it was back to team practice today, after four days of not working out. The practice was WAY overdue, and I was ready to go to work. I enjoyed riding to practice instead of having to drive, but it did make for some burning legs by the time I was done. I had a good practice, biking 36 miles overall today (20 of it in formal practice mode) and running a solid 4 miles with no walking. I am definitely proud of that, this was my first brick where I didn't walk. I am finally getting to the point where my legs don't feel like jello as soon as I get off the bike. Yay! I stopped by American Cycle and Fitness bike shop on the way home. I'm still not happy with how the gears are shifting, so I wanted them to take a look at it. Turns out, that some adjustments need to be made to the bike overall, and if left unaddressed, would have caused damage to the bike. So I'm glad I took it in! It should be interesting how differently it rides when I get it back. Tonight, I went to TNT ...

Well, the PMV Open House is now behind me and the event was a huge success. I now have three days of consecutive down time since the last day I exercised, so I'm itching to get going again. I plan on running tonight just to get my blood puming. Our team training tommorrow will be a good, hard workout for me. Throughout our training season, I have had to travel a ways to get to practice. Usually, the travel time is about an hour each way, whether I go to Ann Arbor, Shelby Township, Livonia, or whatever. It's rare when a team training brings everyone to my neck of the woods, which is the East Side (Grosse Pointe). Tomorrow is one of those rare days. In fact, our bike training starts about 7 miles away from my house, so instead of me driving there, I am going to ride by bike. Tomorrow's schedule calls for a 20 mile bike ride and a 2-3 mile run. So, in essence, I'll have riden 34+ miles tomorrow. Yikes! I think I'll ride slow to and from practice. On a side note, I'...

This week, we are having our annual open house at the company I work for. It's a great company and a great event which many people look forward to year after year. It makes for a very busy time for me, however, and it has given me a road block in the path of exercise. This is the second day in a row that I haven't worked out, and I'm 95% confident that I won't be able to work out tomorrow (nor will I want to). These last couple of days, I'll I've really wanted to do was come home and be with my family. That is nice... As the marketing manager, I'm eager for this event. However, I'm also itching to get back on the road with my exercise. I'm feeling the pounds gain on me as I type, and I fear I may be losing my momentum. I know I will find it though. On a different note, I picked up new shoes today. They were special fitted and should provide me considerable more support than my other shoes (which were a year or two old) did. I'm looking forward to...

Having grown up in East Lansing for most of my life, Ann Arbor was never one of my top choices on visiting. Our Team in Training swim practice brought me there once again, and now that I'm getting to know the area a little better, Ann Arbor isn't all that bad. It's quite a beautiful town, actually. We found ourselves back at Fuller Pool, the same pool as before (see my entry for May 31: Reality Check). The first time I was at that pool, I was unaware that Lucas had been brought in by one of those helicopters when he was critically ill. This time, I had that knowledge, and that fact preoccupied my mind as I'd watch the helicopters fly overhead. (After all, little three year old Lucas did end up dying of Leukemia despite all of the efforts from the many doctors who worked with him.) One person I was training with knew the story about Luc, and she asked me to look at the situation in a different way. Yes, there are people in need of urgent care. Yes, they may have had a lo...

To all the dads out there, especially mine and my daughters', happy Father's Day. Before Father's Day got completely underway in our household, I went for a 4.25 mile run. My body is tired. I am recovering from saddles sores (from my bike training yesterday), my legs are a bit heavy, and I feel a bit of those shin splints coming on again. I am glad I'm not scheduled to run or bike tomorrow. Swimming is on the schedule, though, and it's back to Ann Arbor for a night swim at Fuller Pool. 2400 yards. Good thing that it's mainly an upper body workout! --------- Check out my fundraising progress at: http://www.active.com/donate/tntmi/DunCAN

I joined the East Team this morning at Stoney Creek Metropark. There were only five teammates other than the coaches there, which suprised me a bit. I hear a few people have dropped out in the last couple of weeks, too. The TNT Marathon Team was there that day, though, and they had about 20 people in their group. It was exciting to be together with so many other TNT participants, even if they weren't all there for triathlon training. Our mission today was to bike 18 miles, and then get a good run in immediately afterwards. Once I finished my bike ride, I asked how many miles I was supposed to run (I thought it was 2 or 3). The marathon team coach said that he thought it was 4 miles - whoa! Well, it took me a while to get going and find my legs, but I actually did it. I came back, and there was the whole marathon and tri team, cheering me on as if I was in a race. It was such a cool feeling to get all of that support! My bike coach asked me how far I ran, and I told him. After seein...

I awoke early this morning to get in four miles of running before work. I usually have my route thought out in my head beforehand, but this morning, I spontaneously decided to run to the track and then get some laps under my belt instead. I'm not sure why, of all days, I decided to do this. But I followed my instinct anyways, and justified my subconscious urge to the fact that the surface is probably better for my joints. Around and around I ran, feeling good, feeling relaxed. I looked at my watch, and figured it was time to head back (I live just under a mile away from the track) so I started running for home. As soon as I exited the track, I saw a bunny laying in the tall grass, almost lifeless. At first, I thought it was dead. But as I came closer, I saw that it was still alive, though in a bit of a struggle to breath. His leg was straight out, almost as if it was broken. At first, I thought that is all that it was, but upon further examination, I saw that this poor bunny had be...

Gary has been out of town since Saturday. My girls and I have been having a wonderful time together, but my workout routine has definitely suffered. I decided that today I would take a day off. The girls would be in school, which would free up some time for me to clean the house, get a work out in, and run some errands. At the last minute, though, I found myself squeezing in a round of golf. I played at Oakland Hills with two dear friends of mine (the grandparents of Luc, the young boy who lost his life to leukemia and one of the reasons why I committed to do this triathlon). As luck would have it, I made my first hole in one ever! It was such a wonderful, surreal experience, and emotional for sure. (For the golfers out there, it was the 110 yard #3 on the south course.) I decided after the round to set aside one of my errands and enjoy a celebratory glass of beer with my friends. It tasted GREAT! A half hour passed, though, and I was off to pick up my girls from school and get them to...

It's hard to believe a week has slipped by since my last entry. It's probably because I haven't had much new to report, though there have been a couple highlights. Highlight #1: Wednesday, after a long and frustrating day at work, I went to the pool and ended up swimming. And swimming. And swimming. I had forgotten my "assignment" on what do to, given to me by my coach, so I just figured I'd swim until I got tired. I ended up swimming 100 laps in the pool (far surpassing my personal best of 84), which equated to a mile and a half. (Did I say I had a frustrating day at work??) A few of my friends have wondered how I could even swim that far. Well, I owe that one (again) to my TNT coach, Ann, and my online mentor, Rich. They have worked with me on my technique, and it's amazing how the right technique makes the task of long-distance swimming so much easier. I was able to get all 100 laps (including 6 using the kickboard and an occasional 30 second rest here ...

Today, I hopped back on my bike and rode 17.5 miles. It was the first time that I have ever gone biking in the rain, and it was pouring down at times. I rather enjoyed it, though. The temperature was around 73 degrees, which made for a very pleasant ride. It was much more refreshing than if I would have biked yesterday, where it made it to over 90 degrees. The only think I don't like about biking in the rain is that the pot holes get filled up with water, and it is very difficult to see them. Of course, the one pot hole that I was trying to avoid, I hit. I thought I bent my rim but it seems to be okay. When I got back, I figured I'd get another brick under my belt (a run immediately after a ride). WOW, I just couldn't do it! I got just over 2 miles in, but I had to walk 4 times!!! It took me over a mile to even find my legs! Now I know why they call them bricks -- my feet felt like bricks and I couldn't run! THESE are the transitions that I am worried about, and I know ...

In addition to all of the awesome support I get from Team in Training, I'm also a member of an online mentoring program for beginner triathletes. My mentor, Rich, said that as we progress in our training, we will really get in tune with our bodies and what our bodies tell us. Yesterday after work, I went running my scheduled 3 miles. It was a huge breakthrough for me. Not for the distance, but for the speed. You see, I am a SLOW runner. I can get in 4 to 4.5 miles in an hour. This time, though, I ran 3 miles in 35 minutes. That is FAST for me, and I was really excied. However, as I was running, I felt my shins cramping up. It was a very mild, dull pain that I had experienced a little within the last week. I grew concerned last night, though, because it was worse than before. I did some research on the internet, and found that if I don't take care of this, it could result in a stress fracture in time, which would result in me going down for the count. That would be devistating t...