Muscular Endurance

Gift card from I Heart Kroger

This series at Endeavor is Muscular Endurance, and I think I am getting the most out of it that I've gotten out of any series (though the hill series we did last month comes pretty close). It is hard, and it hurts. But it also leaves me feeling like I've accomplished something. After a very restful weekend (that is, one during which I took a 2-mile walk and did two half workouts total), I was expecting to work hard and not sure how my legs would feel. Surprisingly, I did OK. Last week Thursday we did four 10-minute intervals, and I lasted 10, 5.5, 6, and 8.67 minutes of those intervals (and sprinted to 714W). This week Tuesday we did four 11-minute intervals, and I lasted 11, 8, 8, and 8 minutes of those intervals (and sprinted to 684W). During the third interval, I pushed myself HARD for the final 2 minutes, and I think those were the most rewarding 2 minutes because I really wanted to quit and didn't.

Notes from Tuesday/You know you've had a hard workout (or are going to have a hard workout) when:

• You can wring sweat from your sports bra, even after you've been off the bike for 10 minutes.
• You have to tell the person next to you that you hate to be rude, but there will be no more chatting for the rest of the evening.
• Half the class is trying to encourage you to continue...
• ...and you're wondering how they have enough energy to talk!
• Your W/kg are higher than they've been in the past and you're still alive.
• Your heart rate reaches its max bpm at least a million times during the workout.

Thursday's workout went even better than Tuesday's. I did only the 1st and 3rd intervals, but I did all 11 minutes of both and sprinted to 694W.

Mornings this week I've been on the elliptical or step mill, for 20-45 minutes depending on how much time I've had. I took a walk one day at work, walked on the stairs another day, and rode on the trainer one evening. The rides at T's are taxing, but I've been able to recover from them, so that's encouraging.

Pictures from the Weekend

My nephew Isaiah in his Easter outfit

He's a kicker!

Watching the Brewers' opening-day game...
which they won!

Quick dinner at O'Hare so I could make an earlier
flight, which was perfect because I got texts saying
that my 10:30pm flight was delayed until 2:30am!

Wisconsin humor

Up North for Easter

Snow in Grafton

The Target parking lot was a dumping ground, but there is still snow all over the ground at my sister's house.

My nephew, chillin'

Friday entertainment...handguns and revolvers

My sis is a much better shot than I am

The best cheese curds...
especially when they' squeak

I got in a good 3-mile walk/run and a few pushups this morning and then have been enjoying the stuff in the previous pictures the rest of the day.

Publix Easter Week

Publix Trips (3-23, 3-28)

Item (Quantity)	Regular Price  (multiplied)	Sale Price	Coupons	Final Price
Luna Protein Bars (4)	0.99 (3.96)	--	2 x $1.50/2 Whole Foods Qs	$0.96
Scott paper towels	6.99	4.99	$0.75/1 MQ $1/1 PQ	$3.24
Scott wipes	2.29	--	$0.50/1 MQ (doubled) $0.55/1 PQ	$0.74
Dove chocolate eggs (2)	4.29 (8.58)	1.50 (3.00)	$1/2 MQ	$2.00
Blue Bell pint	2.39	--	--	$2.39
Purity pint	2.29	1.67	--	$1.67
Smithfield turkey	3.89	2.50	--	$2.50
Eat Smart veggies (5)	2.50 (12.50)	1.00 (5.00)	--	$5.00
Totals: 8 items	$42.89	$25.80	$2.75 in MQs, $1.55 in PQs $3.00 WFQs	+$1.49 tax $19.99 total (saved $22.90, or 53%)

I shopped this ad once earlier, too, on March 21 (spend $10.91, saved $28.79/73%). See that trip here.

Super sale on infant formula for my nephew!

Kroger Trips (3-25, 3-27)

Item (Quantity)	Regular Price  (multiplied)	Sale Price	Coupons	Final Price
Gerber formula (2)	24.76 (50.52)	6.19 (12.38)	$3.25/2 Kroger eQ	$9.13
Cookies (2)	1.99 (3.98)	0.99 (1.98)	--	$1.98
Prestone coolant	6.99	4.19	--	$4.19
Planters PB (10)	3.59 (35.90)	1.99 (19.90)	4 x $1/2 MQs 2 x $5/5 KQs (mega deal)	$5.90
Romaine lettuce	3.29	1.09	$0.40/1 KQ	$0.69
Diet Coke	1.79	1.59	free product MQ	$0.00
Totals: 5 items	$102.47	$41.13	$5.59 in MQs $13.65 in KQs	+$2.41 tax $24.30 total (saved $78.17, or 76%)

Monday's workouts were good ones. Tuesday's ride at Endeavor kicked my butt. Todd broke me, and I cried. Twice. Ouch.

Wednesday's PB deal

Wednesday I got in a good long walk outside, spent some time on the elliptical, and had a good workout. I finally hit the pool on Thursday, the first time since February 14, and got in 1,000 yards. They all felt pretty good, so I'm glad I braved all the spring break kids having fun int he pool. Thursday's class at T's was just as hard as Tuesday's, but I'm getting stronger and faster, so it's all good.

Skills: Staying Upright

I read this blog from pro triathlete Jordan Rapp (aka Rappstar) this week. He has a great story (almost died on a training ride and has come back a champion), and he is a good athlete and competitor. He is also a true professional (similar to Hillary Biscay, whose "no walk" and "no DNF" rules I admire), and I appreciate that. What I like the most from the blog is this:

Rough water swimming is a skill. And at the professional level, I don't think we should mitigate the impact of a lack of skill.

In my sport, there are many things I forget are skills; some I take for granted, so I don't work on, some I just don't think about. One of those is staying upright and staying on the bike, regardless of what happens around you (such as crashes). That's a skill I needed for at least two important-to-me races last season (State Crit, Cookeville; Village VW Crit, Chattanooga), but I didn't appreciate or really even think about it until I was reminded. It definitely made me consider focusing on such a skill when training!

Obviously there are macro skills like being able to ride and sprinting and climbing and cornering, but there are also micro skills like clipping in at the start line and reading the competition and communicating with your teammates. I will be working on all of these and more this season.

Hell of the South Race Report

I'm growing strawberries and tomatoes on my piano

The first outdoor TBRA race of the season was today, and it was a cold one! It never reached 50*, but we tried to turn up the heat with our racing :-)

The women were the first group to start, at 7:30 am. It was dry, and we had the roads to ourselves, so that part was nice. There were 25 of us, which is a fair number for this race (2012 we had 26; 2011 we had 17). There are more female riders in TN now, but if anyone would skip one race, this would be the one to skip.

Catherine, Amanda, Anna, Shelly, Kiki, Shannon, and I started together, and we were happy with the numbers we had in the group. The first 9 miles were fairly uneventful after a mistake by our lead car caused us to half make a wrong turn...we knew he was turning wrong, but we followed him anyway. Although we quickly turned around, those of us at the front were shuffled around and we had to do a little more work to get a good position again. Plus it caused Shelly to crash, and that was no good. Thankfully she immediately got back up and on the bike, and she finished with only a few scrapes, so it wasn't terrible.

Around mile 9 is a 1-mile gravel section that caused at least 3 flats and forced Shannon and Kiki out of the race. Although they didn't get to finish, they got to watch most of the rest of it from Todd's sag vehicle. Anna, Cath, AJ, and I made it into the lead group that also contained Emma and Jess (I AM Racing), Jes (SVMIC), Shannon and Catherine (HUB), Martha (not sure of her team). We tried to organize a few times (not too successfully) and attacked more (these never caused a break, but they did wear out the other teams), but we all came to the finish line together. Plus one, Katie, who'd caught on to our group after time-trialing back to us after her flat on the gravel section. I really wanted her to not be able to catch us, but we just couldn't keep the pace fast enough and organize.

We weren't exactly organized, either, and I was not in the best position coming into the finish. Basically I let myself get moved to the back and on the inside. As I saw it at that point, my only option was to get out to the front and hopefully take Catherine or AJ with me. Cath came along, and then she and AJ both were able to get free and sprint for the line.

Finishing sprint...go Team Belladium!

In hindsight, I should have 1) been in a better position earlier; 2) been behind Amanda. We have a little to work on with our finish-line communication (my fault today!), but it was so great to have a 1-2 finish with Catherine-Amanda!

Katie, Catherine, and Amanda

Katie made a valiant effort the whole day and finished 3rd. She's strong! I finished at the back of my group and loved watching my girls sprint it out for the win.

HoS Results

2013 race: 1:19:46, 26.57 miles, 20.0 mph (35.0 max), 162 bpm (192 max), 10/25 overall, 5/5 Cat 1/2
2012 race: 2:28:06, 48.78 miles, 19.8 mph (36.3 max), 138 bpm (189 max); 7/26 overall, 4/10 Cat 3
2011 race: 2:45:15, 50.03 miles, 18.2 mph (34.8 max), 173 bpm (196 max); 9/17 overall, 5/9 Cat 1/2/3

Post-race treats

I am super happy with how the race went for me. I would have liked to have finished better, but I worked hard and watched my teammates tear of the finishing sprint.

Quick Publix Run--paid for the paper towels,
got the Luna bars, chocolates, and wipes for free!

Weekly Recap

After a few long rides this weekend, Monday was a rest day so I ran all my errands: PO, emissions, grocery store, etc., and I made some treats for my coworkers.

Tuesday's magnet

Tuesday morning I spent a little time on the elliptical at the Y and swept the stairwell in my office building at lunch. I'd have rather been outside, but it was on my list of things to do and it needed to be done (no, I do not normally clean the building; however, that stairwell has not been swept in at least a year, probably longer, and it was grossly dusty and really bothering me). After work was a ride at T's. Same workout as the last couple weeks, and same hard effort. I can tell how hard it is by how low I'm sprinting at the end. This day was 616. After other workouts I can usually hit or exceed 700.

Wednesday I met Anna for a nice brisk, chilly walk before dinner. I did a short extreme slow workout in the morning and tried to work hard since I knew it would be the only one of the day. I took a quick trip to Kroger at lunch and got the following:

Kroger Trip (3-20-13)

Item (Quantity)	Regular Price  (multiplied)	Sale Price	Coupons	Final Price
Meat/Cheese platter (1)	14.99	7.19	--	$7.19
Coke 20oz (2)	1.69 (3.38)	1.25 (2.50)	$0.50/2 MQ (doubled)	$1.50
Clif Shot Blocks (2)	2.19 (4.38)	1.00 (2.00)	--	$2.00
3 Musketeers (2)	0.79 (1.58)	0.50 (1.00)	$0.50/2 MQ (doubled)	$0.00
Twix (2)	0.79 (1.58)	0.50 (1.00)	$0.50/1 MQ (doubled)	$0.00
Larabar Uber Bar (2)	1.79 (3.58)	1.00 (2.00)	$0.75/2 MQ	$1.25
Cookie	1.99	--	--	$1.99
Simple face wash	7.49	3.00	$1/1 Kroger eQ	$2.00
Simple Truth bar	1.00	0.89	free Kroger Q	$0.00
Totals: 14 items	$38.39	$21.57	$3.75 in MQs, $2.00 Kroger Q	+$1.63 tax $18.06 total (saved $20.33, or 53%)

I saved quite a bit in this trip, and I have lunch for a week! For some reason, my math never adds up. My receipt says I paid $18.06 and saved $11.25, but it doesn't take into account manager's specials (platter, face wash), so I always have to do it by hand. I don't know where I went wrong, but I know what I paid!

Thursday morning I ran a friend to the airport, and then I played a game with my coworkers at lunch, so riding on the trainer in the afternoon was my only workout. It was a good one though. As Shannon and I talked about weeks ago, specificity is key, and on the trainer I can really focus and be specific. Then, of course, I had to see what was on sale at Publix.

Publix Trip (3-21-13)

Item (Quantity)	Regular Price  (multiplied)	Sale Price	Coupons	Final Price
Maybelline Eye Shadow (2)	2.99 (5.98)	--	2 x $1.50/1 MQ 2 x $2/1 PQ	-$1.02
Duncan Hines Frosting Creation	0.99	--	Free MQ	$0.00
Del Monte Green Beans (4)	1.39 (5.56)	BOGO (2.78)	$0.50/4 MQ (doubled)	$1.78
Pam Spray	3.27	BOGO (1.64)	--	$1.64
Dole Pineapple (2)	1.41 (2.82)	BOGO (1.41)	$0.50/2 MQ (doubled)	$0.41
Dove Dark Chocolates (2)	4.29 (8.58)	1.50 (3.00)	$1/2 MQ $0.50/2 bagged candy Kroger Q	$1.50
Eat Smart Veggies (5)	2.50 (12.50)	1.00 (5.00)	--	$5.00
Totals: 17 items	$39.70	$20.80	$6.99 in MQs $4.00 in PQs $0.50 in KQs	+$1.60 tax $10.91 total (saved $28.79, or 73%)

This was a good trip. Basically I paid for most of the vegetables and got everything else free. Woot!

Free chocolate (taking to work), fruit, makeup, etc.