ARE YOU READY??

Time to

FIRE IT UP!
DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT!
JUMP START 2010!


Don't you agree??

Wanna hear what I'm planning?? Keeping reading......


In between stuffing my face with left over Christmas cookies and such,

January 1st, I'm doing an 11 mile run ( ok slog)
January 2nd I'm doing a pool swim but NOT JUST ANY POOL SWIM! NO SIRREE.

100 x 100

This is an event/organized swim that I am paying for because no way
in my sensible mind would I EVER do this on my own or even with a couple of
other unstable swimming latemate. The fact I had to PAY for this makes everything
justifiable. Besides the fact I will be consuming beer and nachos post swim with my friend/MIT lanemate Bob makes it all the more worth while. Yipppppeeeee!!!


I'm not done yet.



January 12th I start a 10 week spin class at The Training Room in Somerville MA. A sleek top of the line training facility in which the class will be instructed by Roz Puelo, a total kick ass cyclocross chicka and cycling guru. After the spin class we will also be doing a session of core strengthening.
I needed something different than the winter Computrainer classes I've been taking year after year and quite honestly, I'm looking forward to a fresh approach to getting my cycling mojo back in gear and NOT having to drag my bike around in the cold sometimes snowy conditions to set it up on a Computrainer. I have one at home and that's all I need. It's sitting there being VERY useful collecting dust at the moment.

So......
What are YOU doing?????

Holiday Count down!

Good thing it's the off season for triathlon because inevitably it gets replaced with shopping, shipping, baking, and imbibing.

This past week we had our morning masters MIT Lane 3 holiday party. Do we invite the other 5 lanes to join us? Hell no. What a bunch of clicky water snobs, huh? As if the water in OUR lane is BETTER than the other lanes and our lane lines are GOLD PLATED or something.
Pffffffffff..

Anyway, here's a few pictures of people you could care less about. See if you can pick me out, duh...



mmmmmm beer


In other news, I'm still on my 6 day a week running plan. Do I feel fast and antelope like? No, I do not. I've come to the conclusion that my body is trying to get used to this frequency and if I'm lucky one of these days, I'll be gifted with snappy legs perhaps.

Back to Christmas: I've decided this is really all I'm asking Santa for

You've seen it... putting on make-up, text messaging, driving with one knee while eating. Everyone loves a good multi-tasker. But WTF!?, NOT while driving! What about the jerk who steals your parking spot or the idiot who won't stop tailgating?

Sometimes, you just need to say what’s on your mind.

But who's gonna hear you?

Save your breath and say it with Shticks®!


I'm almost certain the CALL ME and YOU'RE CUTE! will not be taken out of the box. The Green
JACKASS and GET OFF THE ROAD signs will be dogeared before January 31.

MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!

Let's review: (see last post if you are dazed and confused)

I got myself in a good warm up and then quickly changed into my stealthy speed suit and stayed warm.

The water wasn't as cold as I had wished but not too bad.

I didn't false start.

My goggles stayed on! (phew)

I paced myself accordingly and tried to stay RELAXED and as EFFICIENT in the water
as possible.

My feet or legs did not cramp up in my sausage encased speed suit.

In summery, I had a great swim! It won't go with out criticism in that I REALLY REALLY, need to be more efficient with flip turning and when things heat up, i can barely make it to the flags to get some air. Not sure how to fix that.

I had a seed time of 11:40. I started in Heat 3 for the women in Lane 7. The heats went fast to slow and alternated with men and women's heats. After a good clean dive, I noticed during the first 150, everyone near me that I could see were out ahead of me and I just kept telling myself FOCUS ON YOU AND WHAT YOU ARE DOING. It was hard. I thought, "shit.. am I starting out too slow here??? " FOCUS YOU DUMMY, GET THOSE BLINDERS ON.

So I mentally*whacked* myself in the head and proceeded to pay attention to what was going on
in Lane 7,( the pink Diva capped girl sporting freshly painted Christmas toes)

Right after the 500 mark, I had to really work on staying relaxed. I told myself to get through this next 100 and then CRANK out the remaining 200 AS HARD AS YOU CAN.

My friend Katie was my card turner and at the last 50 I heard the bell ringing as I hit the wall!!
I was leading our heat??????? No way.......

Yes way! I cranked out my last 50 looking for that red card knowing I had just 25 meters to go.
I was ready to pop an eyeball.

FINALLY the wall! I hung on the gutter for what seemed like 10 minutes, looked up to see my time

Lane 7/ 1/ 11:15

PR in the 800 for me. Yay.

Thanks for all of your very nice messages! They got me PSYCHED to go out and
just GET IT DONE!!!!!

Swimmers Take your Mark!

Tomorrow starts the 2009 New England LMSC Short Course Meters Championship at Boston University. Friday night is exclusively the 800 meter free and it's the only event I've signed up for. There are 89 women signed up just for the 800 this year. We're talkin' meters here not yards so I will have to adjust my brain matter if and when I sneak a peek at the pace clock tomorrow night.

Wanna see the BU pool?


Here's MIT where I swim. I think we have BU beat. We have ANOTHER 25 yard teaching pool ( 3 degrees warmer) right next to this 50 meter pool. You can just make it out over to the far RIGHT in this picture. AND we have towel service! SPOILED!! :-)



Our pool is usually set up for 25 yards and a few weeks in January and the entire summer, the pool is set up for long course. I much prefer that. LESS FLIP TURNING, which I'm not so great at. Anyway, back to the meet...

Here's what I'm hoping for in no particular order:

1. The water at BU is not too warm.

2. I get there on time to get in a solid warm up.

3. BIG ONE HERE: I don't false start on the blocks.

4. My goggles don't end up around my chest after diving in.

5. My legs won't cramp after being sausaged in my speed suit.

6. I don't go out so fast that I crack at the 500 with a potentially
PAINFUL 300 still to go.



WISH ME LUCK!!!

I was bored at work today.....

A$$ Kicker

How 'bout one- water style???

Here ya go!!

I'm preparing for the 800 meter free Friday, Dec 18th at Boston University.
Too many of us swim THE SAME SPEED, especially if you tend to swim workouts on your own. This is a perfect set to get you to really focus in on changing that nasty habit.

TIME TO GET OUTTA THAT SAME SPEED RUT!!!

Note that you get some good rest after the toughest interval so MAKE IT CHALLENGING.
If done correctly, you will easily be able to distinguish between the FAST,CRUISE and your EZ recovery sections. Throw in a 1700 warm up and an ez 300 cool down (about 3600 total) and you will deserve that extra breakfast or lunch today. :-)

Main set
100 (50 fast - 50 cruise) on 1:45
100 (25 cruise - 75 fast) on 1:35
100 (50 cruise - 50 fast) on 1:45
100 all cruise on 1:55
100 all fast on 1:15
2 x 25 ez on :40
100 (75 fast - 25 cruise) on 1:35
100 (25 cruise - 75 fast) on 1:35
100 cruise on 1:55
100 all fast on 1:15
100 fastest one so far on 1:10 (ouch..I only held a 1:20 on this one)
2 x 25 ez
100 cruise on 1:55
100 fast on 1:20
100 all cruise on 1:55
100 fast on 1:15
100 cruise on 1:55