So, that leaves us here, at square número uno.  It’s January 2012 and I’m ready to rally.  What exactly does that mean you ask? I’m not exactly sure, but I have some really good prospects.

The first one is a program that I was fortunate enough to find on Cystic Life.  The best way I can explain Cystic Life, is that it’s like Facebook for people who have CF in their lives. There are “CFers” (forgive the term), nurses, family members, significant others, and doctors on the site; all of them supporting one another. It’s wonderful. Anyway, one day while I was browsing the site I came across an advertisement for a program called CFit. Basically, the program provides free-that’s right FREE- personal training to a selection of “Cysters” (girls with CF) and “Fibros” (guys with CF) who apply.  What makes this program truly unique is that your “team” consists of at least one member who actually has CF! This is a person who knows exactly what you’re going through physically, emotionally etc. The rest of the team are health professionals (trainers, respiratory people, nutritionists) that have a good knowledge base concerning CF.  The program is supposed to last 3 months (I think) and will consist of phone calls, skype, and email. It should start in a couple of weeks. I’m beyond excited!

The other prospect I’m considering is a beginner’s running program through a local running shop. It’s supposed to get you ready for a 5k in 9 weeks. Experience-wise I’m not a beginning runner, but I think it could be a really good starting point in terms of fitness. Growing up, I always worked out with a group. Whether it was a soccer team, cross country team, or the triathlon class at summer camp, I’ve always done better with people. Call me competitive, but having other people around makes me work harder.  It costs $60 and the information meeting is tonight. In order to make it work, I have to convince my boss to let me leave work for an hour or so on Saturdays, and get the OK from my CFit trainer.  I hope there are still spots left!

Ok, here’s the fun part: goals. I know several people who can just work out to stay fit and never make goals. I don’t get them. I can’t help it! I make goals in my sleep! My mother would tell you this all stems from a conversation about goal making she had with me in the bathtub when I was 4…but that’s another story entirely.  So, here are some goals for 2012.

1) Stay healthy

2) Run the entire 1 mile “Fun Run” at the BALTO 5k (it benefits the CF Foundation!)

3) For each month of the year, be able to run that many miles nonstop. (Jan-1 Feb-2 etc)

4) Complete at least one sprint triathlon

Now, these goals may change, they may not. I’m not sure, for example, how long I’ll be able to keep up the one mile per month thing. That would have me 1 mile short of a half marathon by December!  Since I have a history of jinxing myself (I tend to get sick literally the day after making lofty goals), I’m going to limit my race agenda to a month-to-month basis.  But, if you do the math, my goals would have me running a 5k in March (3-3) so I haven’t completely given up hope for myself. I’m just trying to be a semi-realistic optimist.

That’s all I’ve got for you right now.  I’ll update after I know about the running program.

Make it a good one!

Exactly one week after the Lighthouse Tri, I completed my second triathlon of the season.

I have to admit, my two main reasons for registering for this tri were: 1) it was in Denton (close) and 2) I got a tech shirt instead of a t-shirt. What can I say? I’m easy to please.

The distances for the race were: 300m swim (50 meter pool), 17 mile bike ride and a 5k run.  Going into the race, I made only a few modest goals for myself since I didn’t know how I’d do having done a tri only a week before. My goals were:  1) freestyle the entire swim  2) finish the bike leg in under an hour  and 3) run (not walk) the entire 5k.

Once again, Tim was there to support me. He came down that Friday, and on Sunday he drove with me to Denton. We actually got to the race site before transition opened (that NEVER happens) and I was ready to go about an hour before the race actually started.

The 50m pool was outside so the water was really warm! I wasn’t sure how I’d do with a longer pool since that means less pushing off the wall. As I was waiting to get in, everyone around me was talking about how much harder a 50m pool is to swim in. “Great” I thought, “Just great”.  When it was finally my turn, I jumped into the warm water and took off at an easy pace. To my great surprise, I actually loved it! The lanes were really wide so no one was trying to swim over me, and the longer pool length allowed me to get into a pretty good rhythm.  I ended up freestyling the whole way (yes!) and managed a time of 6:46.

The first transition took FOR EV ER. During the Lighthouse tri, I biked and ran without socks because I didn’t want to mess with putting on my socks after the swim. But, this gave me a blister on my foot because my shoes are not fancy and have seams on the inside.  :(  So, for this tri, I decided to try the socks. Well, apparently I am not the sharpest tool in the shed because for some reason, without drying my feet at all, I forced my feet into socks immediately after the swim. Needless to say my T1 was ridiculously long.

The bike leg was a 17 mile out-and-back course with moderate hills along some of Denton’s back roads. The out leg was a lot of fun. It was mostly downhill with the wind at my back. I think I averaged about 20 mph (ya ya I know I’m slow) the entire leg!  The back portion however, was another story. It was more uphill and the wind was unfortunately at my face instead of my back. I also have issues remembering to drink while I’m on my bike so by that time I was hot and my butt was cramping.  So, after a few hills of pain, and several butt cramps, I finished the bike in 1:02:15.

By the time I set off on my run, I was starting to get that cold-not sweating feeling so I decided I probably should drink water at every station in order to finish in one piece and without a heat stroke.  So I took off at my slow 11 minute mile pace determined to keep it until the finish line. Aside from the run feeling longer than it was, I did it without much trouble at all! I passed a few people who had to walk, and got passed by a few. I finished the run in 36:42 which was faster than the last week but still really slow.  Tim was at the finish line to greet and congratulate me, and although I was happy to see him, I went straight over to the refreshment tent and chugged a power aid before giving him a hug.  :)

So basically I met 2 of my 3 goals. I freestyled the entire swim, and I ran the whole 5k but I didn’t manage the bike in less than an hour.  All things considered (read: my inability to consume liquids and butt cramps) I’m pleased with how the race went. It’s a another step in the right direction, and right now, that’s all I’m asking for.

Tim was kind enough to drive us back to my apartment so that I could sit in the passenger seat and chug muscle milk, water and power aid. I didn’t realize that I was going to get a finisher medal, so I made him take a picture of me with it when we got home.  :) Makes me feel special.

My next race is the Old College Tri in Denton on September 5th. I haven’t quite figured out what goals I’m going to have for that race just yet, but I’ll be sure to include them when I do. Until then…

Carpe Diem!

Ok, so I hope you all read the above line with the correct announcer’s voice in your head.  I was going for something between circus ring-leader and football announcer.

Anyways, as you’ve probably already guessed, I finished a tri! I’ve been training for it all summer, but I’ve been too scared to post about it since I didn’t have any idea whether I’d stay healthy or finish the thing. But, now that I have, I can bring you up to speed.

I decided I wanted to try and do the Lighthouse Sprint Triathlon in May. I took training pretty slowly/cautiously.  I didn’t train nearly as much as I could have, but I did manage to make each distance in training (500m, 13 mi, 5k).  I could feel myself getting stronger bit by bit.

By the time the week of the tri came around, I was a nervous wreck. It was like a flashback to high school cross country season!  :0  Just thinking about the race put me in this really weird, quiet mood.  I got to the race site the morning of the race pretty pumped, which is weird for me since I normally dread races with my entire being. I think it was because I’ve had to sit out of so many tris in the past year.  I was excited that it was finally my turn.

Tim and Jessica came out to support me.  I was really happy to have them there to keep me calm and cheer me on. I’m so lucky to have such great friends (and boyfriend) !

The swim was in a pool “snake style” which basically meant you went up and back in each lane before you went on to the next. They put us in by swim time so I was pretty close to the back of the pack (fine by me!).  I felt pretty good for about the first half of the swim. I was swimming freestyle, which if you know me, is a pretty big deal, and I wasn’t feeling short of breath. Then, at about the halfway point, this guy that had been swimming in front of me touched the wall and decided that instead of going around me, he should dunk me under the water and go over me.  :( *Jerk*  That little maneuver caused me to inhale a bit of water and got me a little flustered. It was pretty much breath stroke from that point on.  I finished the swim in 12:43.  Not too shabby, all things considered.

I got out of the pool and trotted over to my transition area, sucked down a gel and was off for the bike. The first quarter or so of the bike was actually pretty miserable. I had a huge headache. There were times I thought my head might explode. I’m not sure why that happened exactly (I’m sure it had something to do with the dreaded pool!).  Once my head quit pounding, I loved the bike leg. It was a flat course around a lake with a nice breeze. At the time, I had no idea how I was doing. I passed a few people and got passed by a few. My only comparison was last April when I got passed by a TON of people and only passed one.  Overall the 13 mile ride went by without a hitch for me, although I did hear as I was coming in that someone got hit by a car.  :(  Bike time: 47:33

As I set out for my run, my legs were complete jello. All I could think was “Oh my God I have to run 3 miles now”.  It was also starting to get a bit hot by that time. I took the run slow (read: snail’s pace), stopping at every water station to get a drink and pour water over my neck. The course was actually pretty nice. It was an out and back course which I think is both a blessing and a curse (b/c you have to watch people on the back leg when you’re going out).  It went through a neighborhood with shaded areas and some small hills. It was really nice not to have to worry about traffic.  I felt like the out leg lasted so much longer than the back leg. It was probably just a mental thing knowing that all I had to do was run back the way I had already come, and knowing that I was actually going to finish the race.  I started my kick about 150 yards from the finish line. It was a decent kick (I was always  taught to finish strong) but it wasn’t a full sprint. I think I actually ended up passing some guy at the very end. Woo!

For about 5 minutes after I finished, it was all I could do to hold myself upright. I think I actually ended up leaning on one of the temporary fences the race people had set up to mark the racer area from the spectator area. Tim and Jessica were there immediately to congratulate and encourage me. I was so happy to see them. Tim (of course) immediately pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of me as I was leaning on the fence.  I attempted to smile (really!) but it didn’t come out quite as enthusiastic as I had hoped. Overall, I really enjoyed the race. It was challenging, and hot, but I accomplished something I didn’t know if I’d ever be able to do again and that, for me, is a huge victory.

My total time ended up being 1:41:45 which is actually about 10 minutes faster than the tri I did last April! I guess I’m back and stronger than before? Hahaha I’m not sure yet, but I like the sound of it!  I was second-to-last in my age group, but only 2 minutes too slow to place in my age group. I guess we were a pretty close bunch.  All things considered, I’m happy with how I raced. It’s a good stepping stone. Who knows? Maybe I’ll join my boyfriend in age group placers sometime soon!

That’s all I have for now. Until next time….

Carpe diem!

Anyhoo… training has been going well, if a bit sporadically.  I was pretty confident in the days leading up to the Cowtown 5k that I’d be able to run the distance comfortably.  Tim was supposed to run the half marathon, but he hurt his leg a few weeks beforehand and decided to run the 5k with me.

We took it at a comfortable pace (read: slow) and ran the whole thing together. It felt good, and it was fun to finally get to run with Tim. We couldn’t help ourselves and sprinted at the end. There was a fairly narrow gap between the people and I got through it first. Here is a pic that sums it up: 

Please note that I’m laughing. I think my mother would call it my devious laugh.  Tim’s been calling me a “dirty cheat” all week because I got through the opening before he did, but in the end we had identical times. All in good fun, all in good fun. He’s also informed me that he won’t be running slow with me next time. Gotta love competitive relationships.  All in all, I think the day was a huge success.

In other news, I tried to run today without having done my nebs. It was a big, fat, FAIL.  Ok, not completely. I was able to run 1.5 miles at a 10:30-10:45 min/mile pace which is about 30 secs faster than I normally do…but I could NOT get my breathing under control. It was sporadic and frantic the whole time. I ended up only going 2 miles. I just could not get it together.  I called my mom pretty upset afterwards and she told me 2 things: 1) at least we know the medicine works (not too encouraging but true nonetheless) and 2) “you’re still pretty soon post hospital” – again, true but I have an aversion to using excuses…especially cf ones.  So, I’ll be doing my nebs tomorrow morning and giving 4 miles another go.   Until then…

Carpe diem!

Last week, when my sugars dropped to 34, I didn’t just have skittles on me, nor were they the only thing that “saved my life”.  My good friend KATIE was kind enough to give me some peanut butter (she keeps a jar at school) for the banana I had and my other good friend ELIZABETH (who I don’t think reads this but hit me for not giving her credit anyways) had previously given me some skittles and starbursts for my birthday which were still in my backpack. Both girls are lifesavers! What would I ever do with out them?!

Carpe diem

I woke up early like I always do and hopped on the bike trainer. I went 30 mins and then went to the pool. Due to my less than stellar swimming skills,  I decided the best thing to do was to see how far I could swim comfortably without having to rest. After I got out of the hospital last summer for example, I could barely swim a 25m length so I wasn’t expecting much.  Well…life is full of surprises, and sometimes, they’re even pleasant ones!  I was able to swim 100m without pushing myself too hard.  That’s 4x better than I was after my hospital stint last summer when my lung function was in the 90s!  YAY!  :D I ended up doing 3 x 100m. Again, I probably could’ve done more, but I had to go to class. Also, since it was my first brick workout, I didn’t want to kill myself completely.

On the health side of things, learning to balance school (and all the craziness that goes with it) and training has been somewhat interesting. On the day that I did the double workout, I neglected to reduce the amount of insulin I gave myself for breakfast afterward (I gave myself the amount I do after 1 exercise activity). Consequently my blood sugars dropped to 34 (they should be 80-120).  OOPS! Luckily I had some skittles on me so it wasn’t too big of a catastrophe.   Another issue I’m dealing with is exhaustion. In lamens terms, I’m freaking tired! All the time! Part of me doesn’t really get it.  I mean, I’m eating a ton of good food, I’m taking my vitamins, doing my meds, and my weight is steady. I called my mom about it (ie my at home doc) and she thinks I should add a multivitamin to the cf vitamins I already take. *Sigh* Fine.  It’s only one more pill to add to the handful I take every morning. :/   I’ve also started a TOBI cycle. That’s normal though. It’s time, and I can feel that I need it.

So this week should be a bit less hectic than last week (even though I’ve got 2 tests) and hopefully the multivitamin will help with the energy issue. I’m looking to get up to running 3 miles this week since my 5k is Feb. 27th.  I also want to get in the pool a couple more times and up my trainer time. We’ll have to see though. I’d much rather have to train slow than train too hard and make myself sick again. If the energy issue doesn’t get resolved this week I’m thinking of finding a nutritionist or a trainer that might be able to give me some pointers.  Bye bye money!  Any thoughts from anyone out there on the issue?

That’s all for now!

Carpe diem!

Then today, Tim and I went down to the river trails to go running. It’s a long day for both of us…except my “long” at this point is 2 miles whereas Tim had 6 miles planned. So we started together, but ran in different directions ( I think we’re both a little self-conscious/ competitive) and at different speeds.  I’ll admit, the run was pretty tough for me. It was much colder (I’m a cold wimp) than I’m used to, the wind was in my face, and my legs were completely shot. All excuses aside, I managed to run a full 2 miles, walking a bit for a total of about 2.2 miles.

All in all, I’m happy with the weekend. My pace on the run was faster (most of the time) than the pace I ran last week. Also, I was able to push myself hard on the bike, and complete a “long” run the next day.

Tomorrow, I add swimming. Let’s just say “interesting” will probably not suffice as an appropriate adjective for my swimming skills. I’ll post sometime this week and let you know alllll about it.

Carpe diem!

1. I carry a TON of stuff to school everyday
2. I don’t want to ride in the dark
3. On the days I have clinic, I actually have to look nice, and I travel around the city
4. Traffic scares me.

As it is, I don’t think I can manage commuting to  clinic on Mondays and Wednesdays because I have to carry even more things and I have to go to different Headstarts across town. However, since I don’t have to be at H.S. until 10, I could probably use my bike to commute to and from the pool for a workout.  I guess at this point, school commuting on Tuesdays/Thursday is really a logistics issue. Maybe I could get a basket and hybrid tires for my mountain bike? Thoughts?

Also, here are my weekly totals:

Sunday: 1.24 miles…already reported

Monday: 20 minute trainer ride- felt good, wasn’t a push this time like it was last week but my legs were sore from the day before

Tuesday: .86 mile run- legs still stiff, the plan said .5 miles but I’m bad at judging distances. Took it slow

Wednesday: 25 minute trainer ride- I freaking love my trainer.

Thursday: 30 minute trainer ride- I decided to switch up the end of the week schedule to accommodate my budding social life

Friday: Off. My social life has officially thrown off my routine.

Saturday: Tim is coming into town and wants to run together. I can’t decide whether to make this my “long” run or not. It’ll be 1-2 miles regardless.

I’m starting a swim routine next week which will change my schedule a bit. The pool doesn’t open until 7 am making early morning swims somewhat impossible. Since Mondays and Wednesdays are my latest starting days, I’m going to make those my swim/ run or bike days. Mondays will be swim/soccer (run) days and Wednesdays I’ll swim and bike. That’ll make Tuesdays bike days, Thursdays run days, and Fridays swim/bike day.  Saturday will remain an off day while I’ll keep my long runs on Sunday.

Finally, without disclosing too many specifics yet, I have a list of potential races for 2010.

February: Cow Town 5k

March: Duathlon

April: Bike Tour, Half marathon

May: Sprint Tri

June: Sprint Tri

July: Duathlon

September/October: Olympic tri

I haven’t planned anything beyond October yet. Just a couple comments: Yes I know the schedule is ambitious, no you probably can’t talk me out of the half marathon, yes I know I’ll be broke.  That’s all for now!

Carpe diem

Let me back up a bit. Yesterday, my friend Melissa and I went shopping for new running shoes.  When we got there, we found out the store was having a sale. I’ll be honest, I don’t normally like shopping, but I went on a small spree.  I got new asics fitted to stabilize my stride (I pronate apparently), a couple pairs of running shorts, workout capris, socks, and some hammer gels.  I spent most of my Christmas money, but I maintain it will be worth it.

I woke up this morning, did my nebs, and set off on my run. I have an application on my iphone called runkeeper that uses gps and audio cues to let you know how you’re doing. So, I took off and ran until the nice lady in my ear told me I had run .41 miles, ran a bit farther and turned around to go home.  I ended up running 1.24 miles. Not far, but farther than I expected to go and I felt great!

Tomorrow, I’m supposed to bike and swim.  I doubt I’ll be able to swim very far.  At any rate, I can’t find my suit so I’ll probably go get a new one sometime today (the other one was old anyways).

I’m still working on my race schedule.  In my heart I want to be ambitious with my goals, but to be honest I’m a little scared. When I figure it out, I’ll post it. That’s it for now!

Carpe diem!

Monday: 10 minutes on the trainer- I hadn’t done very much of anything aerobic in forever.  It was hard.

Tuesday: rest- Had to be at school at 8:30 for a meeting

Wednesday: 13 minutes on the trainer- I felt stronger, breathing more under control

Thursday: 15 minutes on trainer- I felt like I could’ve gone longer, but I woke up late and I’m trying to take this slowish.

Friday: 20 minutes on trainer-  I felt/feel like a million bucks! This time frame was enough of a jump from yesterday that I had to push, but not enough that I’m totally exhausted now. In fact, I feel energized and refreshed!

First of all, I know that at the beginning of this week I started at rock bottom. I mean, 10 minutes on the bike is nothing to be proud of.  What I’m really excited about is how quickly my body is responding to working out. On Monday, it was a struggle to get to 10 minutes, and today 20 mins. was completely enjoyable. I doubled my time (and I guess distance since my pace is steady?) in less than a week! I realize this trend can’t and probably shouldn’t continue for much longer (doubling distances every week may not  be smart) but it’s an encouraging start.

I’ve settled into a routine that has been working. Basically I wake up, take my pills w/some juice, do my nebs, work out then go to school.  I really like having already worked out while at school. It makes me feel productive and oddly relaxed. On a slightly nerdy note: I have discovered the amazingness that is Greek Yogurt. It’s richer, thicker, creamier, and has more protein/less sugar than American yogurt. I eat it with fruit and granola mixed in. So tasty!

Since I’d really like to run the Cow Town 5k on Feb. 27th, on Monday I’m going to start one of those “Couch to 5K” six week plans. That means I get to buy new running shoes this weekend (get excited!!).  I can’t decide whether I should take an off-day this weekend before I start double workouts on Monday (the plan starts w/walking mostly so I figured I could still ride).  If I should take an off-day, which day; Saturday or Sunday?  What do you think?

P.S. I joined the rec. league soccer team I was on last Fall for the Spring season.  Should be fun!

Carpe diem