Andi's Movement Towards Change

Today we had a group swim practice at Cranbrook Natatorium. Though it was scheduled to start at 6:15, I got there a few minutes early and started warming up at around 6:05. It was wonderful, because I had the entire pool to myself for almost a half hour! (The other team mates were apparently outside of the building, talking and waiting for others to come.) I knew what I had to do, though, and I wanted to get started. So after my warmup, I began my mile-distance time trial. During that distance, the rest of the crew showed up and began their workout. I was far ahead at that point, and felt good about that. I finished my mile swim in 31 minutes. I think that's an improvement from the last time trial, I'll have to check. As the rest of the team was doing their time trial, I kept plugging away with the rest of the drills, and going a couple extra laps here and there. I wanted to see how far I could go before the time came where we had to get out of the pool. By the time 7:45 hit, I...

Today was the day, the day of the Island Lake Triathlon in Brighton, Michigan. I started my day bright and early, waking up at 4:30am. After enjoying a bowl of cereal and a large bottle of Accelerade, I drove 1 hour to Island Lake State Park. I arrived there just as the sun was rising; it was a beautiful start to the day. I am happy I arrived early. I was able walk around, get my bearings, and check in. Upon check in, I had to subject my body to some graffiti, a norm in the triathlon world. A volunteer carefully drew my race number with permanent ink on my shoulders and one of my legs. The other leg was saved for my age (why people need to know that, I'm not sure...). I was also issued a RFD race chip, which I wrapped around my ankle. After that ritual, I headed over to the transition area, where I set up my bike, my gear, my water and my nutrition. It's important to get the transition area set up properly so that time isn't wasted when going from one sport to the next. Sho...

It's Saturday again, which meant that once again the team met up for our weekly muscle burn. The East and West team coaches elected to bring the two teams together today, so it was nice to have a bit bigger crowd than normal to train with. The weather, though warm, was overcast and hinted the threat of rain. As long as there was no lightning, though, no amount of rain could stop this group, so we started out on our venture...a 30 mile bike ride and then a 4 mile run. I knew that I wouldn't be going the distance today, not because I couldn't, but because I needed to preserve my energy for my very first triathlon (a sprint distance) tomorrow. Instead, I elected to go around 15 miles and take a short cut back, only to run 2 miles at most. The bike ride took us through Island Lake (where my race would be the next day). I was biking with Coach Brian (pictured up top on the right, and that's Coach Kevin to my left, by the way) and fellow teammate Elysia. (You can also see her...

Today was the team swim practice. There were a couple of reasons as to why I really wanted to go today. One was that our coach was back in town. She had been gone for two weeks, and though we had attempted an "organized" swim, it just wasn't the same without her there holding us accountable (though I still enjoyed the practices). The other reason was that I had just received my wet suit this week. Though it seemed to fit really well when I put it on at home, I wanted to try it on in the water just to be sure. After all, I have my first traithlon ever, a sprint distance, coming up this Sunday. That probably wouldn't be a good day to experiment with new gear. There was one challenge I faced today, however. My husband is out of town, shooting a variety of photographs in Northern Michigan for a client, which leaves me without anyone watching the kids. I had told my coach I wouldn't make it, but she graciously offered to keep an eye on the kids while I do a few laps in...

Today was the day of the long-awaited fundraiser at Dragonmead Microbrewery. After a month of planning, it was nice to see it all come together. Initially, the event was going to just be me hosting bar to some friends in hopes to raise a few bucks. As the word spread, I realized that I may need some help. So I brought some fellow Team in Training teammates on board to help me out. In the end, my friends Pete and Elysia (pictured with me here) and Ron, Rob and Carly all joined me to help out. Together, we ended up raising $618 in four hours! This really was a collaborative effort and there are many people that need to be thanked. Thanks to my TNT team for their help. Each team mate is a source of inspiration and motivation for me, either when we train or when we talk. Thanks to Kim (pictured), the manager of Dragonmead, for having an open mind. She took my crazy idea and ran with it, and ultimately opened up the bar on a day that it would ultimately be closed. She posted flyers and spre...

No, I'm not injured again. I just forgot the Body Glide during my team workout this morning. I never realize how much I depend on that stuff until I forget to use it! We trained this morning at Stoney Creek Metropark. I decided to not follow the rest of the team (which happened to be Rob, the one other person who showed up to join Coach Kevin and Mentor Jared). They were to do a rather flat ride consisting of four loops around the park. I, however, am eager to increase my strength, so I opted to stray from the group and take a side road to the golf course, which consisted of some good inclines. I decreased the distance to three loops, since the detour would almost compensate for the lost distance of four. I'm glad I decided to take this route. I worked hard and kept my heart rate up at around 158-160. After I completed my run, I went for my usual run of what now is four miles. I could barely feel my shin, which amazed me! This therapy was actually be helping, and this run was p...

I found myself back at PTS during a late lunch hour, ready for my next session. Today we did some endurance work, strength work, stretching, and the ever-appreciated ultrasound therapy. Though I was told to wear my gym clothes, I wasn't expecting to work up a sweat. I started with the ultrasound, and enjoyed my conversation with Candis the assistant. I was happy knowing she was now contemplating a Team in Training event after talking with me, and told her I'd bring her more information on that later. After the ultrasound, I found myself in the fitness room. My first exercise was to simply ride 10 minutes on a stationary bike. I had pushed, and it seemed to fight back at me. I kept thinking of my bike coach, yelling at me to keep my cadence up. So I did. My rotations per minute hovered between 78 and 82. The older man next to me said, after two minutes of me biking, that if I were to keep that pace up I'll never make it to the 10 minute mark. To me, that comment sparked an i...

Today was the first day of my physical therapy. I decided to take a new approach with the ongoing issues I'm having with my right shoulder and my left shin. I definitely feel much better than when those strains were at their worst. However, I can still feel them on a daily basis, and they serve as a constant reminder to me that they could flair up at any time and put me out of training for this triathlon completely. I arrived at Physical Therapy Specialists, located just under a mile from where I work in Troy. I know them well, though I have never been a patient there. I used to be their freelance art director long ago, when I would design their updated business cards and newspaper ads. There is one person there, Al, from those days long ago. He's a sweet man not much different in age than me, so when I arrived it was wonderful to see him again after all of these years. After extensive strength testing with my physical therapist Mark, I was shown how to execute my home exercise...

I probably should have predicted that I'd get my daughter's cold. I'm sniffling and sneezing, and just don't feel that great. On top of all that, I haven't been drinking as much water as I know I should, which is never a good choice. All that being said, I reluctantly got out of bed and forced myself to go to practice today. After a stiff cup of joe and some extra strong Accelerade to get me going, I felt a little better. Our task today was a shorter bike ride on a flat course, and then some sprint work in our run, getting between four and six miles in. The bike only took us 12.7 miles. I was hoping to get more in today, since this is really the only day that I can dedicate a good amount of time for the bike. But then the little voice in my head said to be thankful...after all, I'm not feeling up to par. In fact, there was a time during my ride that I literally wanted to close my eyes and fall asleep! Good thing I took my vitamins this morning or else I'd re...

Did you know such a day existed? I hope that you didn't celebrate it by sitting on the sofa all day! As for me, I wish I could tell you that I swam two miles and ran six today, but no such luck. Today my daughter Mallory was sick with a cold, so I kept her home from school. We spent half the day at my work so I could get some work done, but the rest of the day was just mommy and Mallory time. Even though she was sick, it was fun spending time with her. I don't get many chances to spend one-on-one time with either of my girls, and after today, I realize how much I cherish it. -------- Join me on August 19th at Dragonmead and help me raise money towards my goal! For details, go to http://www.active.com/donate/tntmi/DunCAN

I have read on more than one occasion that triathletes are constantly fighting one ache or pain in their body, and that it becomes kind of expected. I think I'm getting to that point. I could say that this is because of my workout yesterday, but I know that's not it because I felt this way yesterday morning. And the morning before. I ache in more than one place, and each ache comes and goes. My shoulder hurts. Or my hip is out. Or my back is tight. Or my neck crackles. Or all of the above, like this morinng. But things could be soooo much worse, right? I could be fighting cancer. Trust me, I thank God every day for my health and for the health of my family, that's not something that I take for granted. There is a benefit of triathlon training that I never would have known until actually experiencing it. When I run, my shoulder doesn't hurt. When I swim, my shin splints are forgotten. When I bike, my back feels better than ever. Maybe variety in sports training is the wa...

Though my TNT coach is on vacation, we still had an organized team swim practice this week. Our practice took place at Cranbrook. I decided to go early to try and get a run in, though I wasn't even going to touch the trails since that is what brought on those dreaded shin splints in the first place. I'm not sure if I mentioned this before, but Cranbrook's track is so wierd. It's gravel, and it looks like it was taken right out of the Greco Roman times. The gallery seating is all made of stone. It's quite a beautiful setting, though strange nonetheless. I can't find the actual distance anywhere, but I think that the length of the track isn't a full quarter mile length, like most competitive tracks. Michigan has endured a pretty hot summer, and today was no different. The temperature was around 90, and it was extremely muggy. I ended up running 12 laps (3 of those being sprints), and I was drenched by the end. Good thing I had swim practice immediately afterwa...

As with all other Saturdays, this was a team practice day. Our East side coach was out of town, so I had decided earlier this week to join the West side over at Gallup Park in Livonia for the weekly brick workout of biking and running. However, on the homefront, we have been preparing for a much needed garage sale so that we could reclaim our attic. Preparing for this sale was pretty difficult for me, since I wanted to make sure that nothing that I was emotionally attached to was sold (specifically important childrens' clothing that belonged to me or my girls). All night last night, I was unsettled with the fact that I would be leaving Gary to do this sale today, all while at the same time taking care of our two girls Lindsey and Mallory (who are 3 and 5 years of age). That is a handful! So at the last minute this morning, I decided to do my workout here in the neighborhood so that I could be there to help Gary throughout the day. I'm happy I made this call. I ended up taking a...

Thursday nights, I'm on a golf league. I look forward to this every week, simply because of the wonderful friends that I get to see and the fact that I get to go and swing the club a bit. I've tried to work out in the morning and then do the golf thing at night, but I'm pretty whipped at that point and find myself playing below my standards. (If you don't know me, I am pretty competitive against myself on the golf course and do my best to keep my score low.) After we are done, we all go out and grab a bite to eat and usually enjoy a cold beverage. So early on in the trainig season, I decided that Thursdays, I wouldn't train. Well, last night, I got a much-needed comment from one of my golfing buddies. Instead of going out afterwards, he said, why not go home and go for that run that I've been so eager to do? Hmmmm...guilt sets in, he's right. But I was STARVING so I blew it off. But I didn't forget about what he said all night. I decided to wake up earli...