Training Update from April
Just received another donation from Mark’s mom, Elizabeth Forrest. Thank you!!!
With the exception of an odd little bout of vertigo (April) and the recent snow here in Seattle (today, Sunday 12/14), our training is going well. Mark is the competitor, I am the completer. He wants to win, I want to survive! He seems to derive an inordinate amount of pleasure from wearing his cycling/running tights, too, and nearly breaks out in song when he dashes out the door for his workouts. He is making great progress in all three sports.
I am really surprised and amazed at how easy it’s been to get back into the swing of things. I took the summer off after having completed the Olympic distance triathlon at the end of June, but taking the summer off just meant that I didn’t stick to a training regimen. I did, however, ride bikes with the boys, swim laps during their lessons and took a couple of runs on my old route. It wasn’t completely sedentary! I was under the assumption that I’d be starting at Square One at the start of this training, but it’s not been too bad yet.
We train for each sport twice a week, with three days spent with the team itself and the other three on our own. We’ve worked out a schedule of sorts, with the help of our great and kind friends here in Seattle, where we do the “big” training day together (and drop the kids off at said friends’ homes for the morning) on Saturdays. Typically we do the longer and usually more rigorous team workout on that day. We split the swim practices so that Mark goes one night and I attend another (we have two nights to choose from), and we take the boys along on the run night – it’s at an outdoor track – and they high-five all our TNT teammates as they pass with a “GO TEAM!!!”. Oz also prides himself in passing every teammate while running around the track.
Mark and I split the OYO (on your own) workouts with Mark doing the a.m. slot and my inhabiting the evening gig. We make the most of our membership at the YMCA, which is a couple of miles away, allowing us to either bike ride or jog there, if the weather and our desires permit. It’s dark early, these days, so I tend to drive, but come Spring I’ll jog there. We ride stationary bikes, do our strength training, and swim laps. Mark opts for the spinning classes, but after I he told me that the instructor yells at participants to get moving, I just do my own thing. I know things will become increasingly more time consuming and rigorous, but for now it’s all good. We have seven more months to go and by the end of it we’ll be running 15-20 miles, swimming a couple of miles and biking 60+ on any given workout. Crazy. What a weird thing to take up as a 47 year-old!
That’s it for now – thanks for stopping by! April
You are both doing a great thing! I admire your dedication and motivation. I am just sitting here eating pumpkin pie and you are exercising! Good job! Its wonderful you are helping people!
Johnete
January 14, 2009
You guys are amazing! I’m having a hard enough time with the training schedule, and I only have to take care of myself. The people doing this with kids (esp. with both of you doing it at the same time) are awesome!
Laura B.
February 8, 2009