I am very excited about my new favorite socks (NFS), especially since I have a hard time finding socks that I like. My drawer is filled with a smorgasbord of different brands: Adidas, Ironman, Asics, Bolega… but they are all only okay compared to my NFS.

So, without further ado, my NFS are: Feetures! light (thin and breathable, specifically designed for running and cycling)

After I posted my blog on Friday, I was motivated to start tracking all of my workouts, from now until October, when my “race season” is over. I have a few goals over the next couple of months including: lose 3-5 pounds, tone my arms/legs and incorporate different workouts into my mix. I think that tracking my workouts will keep me honest and motivated.

Friday (May 22): I lied! I ran when I got home from work. I didn’t mean to but BJ ended up having a last minute client meeting – and I never ride my bike without him. Call me crazy but I’m not 100% comfortable biking in DC by myself. So, that pretty much leaves me with running (my fave). I did a 25 minute loop and my legs were burning the whole time. Okay, so my legs are tired and I’ve pretty much been ignoring them (sorry legs!).

I promise not to run the entire weekend.

Saturday: I had an awesome morning swim – only a few people were at the pool and I had a lane to myself! It was GLORIOUS!

800m (32 laps): all out sprint
100m: recovery
4x100m: all out sprint (30 second rest)
250m: swim

In the afternoon BJ and I went on a 20 mile bike ride. The weather was perfect and the trail was less crowded than usual (thanks Memorial Day weekend!), so we had a really good ride.

Sunday: 35 mile bike ride in Poolesville, MD – very hilly and extremely hot workout. I was glad when it was over!

Monday: 62 lap swim at a moderate to fast pace. My arms felt a little tired but other than that, the conditions were pretty good.

I *love* 3-day weekends! I got in some great training – and still had a fun weekend without feeling like all of my time was consumed by running, biking or swimming. I wish we had every Monday off.

I always give my body one day of rest after a big race. I don’t really like doing that, I just know that my body likes it.

That being said, and since I had such a terrible race, I took Monday off – then, I kicked my own ass with some insane runs. If I’m ever going to achieve my triathlon goal – complete an Olympic distance triathlon in [less than] 2hours 50minutes – I need to start getting serious!

Tuesday: I woke up early and did a plyometric workout at the gym, totaling about 25 minutes of intense cardio, with no breaks. After work, I ran hard for 15minutes, just enough time to strategically place me at the foot of a pretty big hill. I proceeded to sprint up the mountain, I mean hill, 10 times; my recovery was the jog back down. After the hill sprints, I ran home (the long way) – right at 25 minutes.

Total time: morning – 25 minute plyometric workout
afternoon – 45 minute run with 10 (all out) hill sprints

Wednesday: I had plans immediately following work, so I [peer] pressured myself into running before work. I’m glad I did – it was such a beautiful morning and the temperature was perfect. I did a 5 mile loop – which runs through some very nice Arlington neighborhoods and has a decent amount of hills.

Total time: 37 minute run (7:30/mile pace)

Thursday: Track workout – I always do a variation of the same [sick] workout at the track – it never gets old to me – and I love it.

It was hot when I got home from work, so I looked like a legit runner when I left the house: Nike visor, Oakley sunglasses, Camel Back and my hot pink iPod. I ran to the high school track, 1 mile away. Workout: I ran the stairs of the stadium, its about 12 sets and the equivalent of 100m –> completed the stairs, lengthwise, and ran to the track –> ran the remaining 300m at a brisk pace –> repeat 4 times = 1 mile with stairs. Then, I ran 6 – 75m sprints, with a 25m recovery. To “cool-down” I did 200 sit-ups, lunges for 100m, 50 squats and 10 squat jumps. And, because I’m hard-core, I ran home.

Total time: 45 minute track workout
- 1 mile to track
- 1 mile with stairs
- 6 – 75m sprints
- abs, lunges, squats
- 1 mile home

Friday: No more running this week – I’m definitely biking when I get home!

My first triathlon of the season is this Sunday, May 17. I will be joined by BJ (my boyfriend) and his sister, JJ. We are an unlikely crew: JJ has a (healing) torn ligament in her ankle; BJ travels too much to workout on a regular basis and I, well, I really only like to run.

But I digress – that’s not at all the point of this post.

The point is: We did a brick (bike/run) workout last night and I felt great!* (see note below)

I work with a fellow triathlete who has done the Columbia Triathlon for the past six years – and she informed me that the bike course is very hilly. Good – I have just the solution for hills! Conte’s, a local Arlington bike shop, does a group ride every Tuesday night starting at 6:30pm (through September 8, 2009). The primary focus of the ride: HILLS. It’s only an hour long but the ride kicks my butt – and I’m a strong hill-climber.

As soon as the ride was over, I was feeling two things:
a) hopefully this ride will prepare me for the tri
b) I really don’t want to run when I get home (the run is my favorite part of the tri – but that doesn’t mean it’s easy – it simply means that I love to run)

But, I knew I had to… So, BJ and I walked in the door and quickly changed – back out the door in less than 5 minutes. We did a 2.5 mile loop and I felt really strong – better than I thought I would. Columbia Triathlon – here I/we come!

Moral of the story: brick workouts make you feel like a bad-ass athlete!

I feel prepared for my tri. And, I burned a lot of calories. You better believe that I had vanilla ice cream with strawberries for dessert!
(Y-U-M)

*Reasons why I should not have felt great: I don’t really like swimming at Washington and Lee high school (it’s a gross pool); I just got my bike 10 days ago; and I love running too much. I have created a little equation that might offer some clarity: hate swimming + brand new bike + obsessed with running = I’m not ready for a tri.

The beautiful, light weight carbon
construction to your right is: MY NEW BIKE!

Last weekend, BJ surprised me with it.

Here’s how the situation went down: It was Saturday afternoon and we were running some errands around town – Whole Foods, Pacers, Hurt Cleaners and Hudson Trail Outfitters. Nothing about that list is out of the ordinary: we need food, have dry cleaning to pick up and BJ’s best friend works for HTO. We go to HTO about 2 times/month because BJ ‘always’ needs a new pair of shorts or a new shirt or a new pair of flip flops, etc. Our first stop: the bike shop. I love the bikes at HTO – and, at any given time, there are about 10 different ones that I want! I wish I could buy a beach cruiser for every day of the week. Anyway, I started looking around and pointed to a bike that I liked – it was a white/green/black Scott bike. [Side note: I should point out that the "bike pictured above" is the bike that I thought I was getting, however 14 days before my first tri, I still didn’t have it. As a serious athlete I started to get nervous. I was looking for a back-up; I was looking for an alternative.] So, back to the bike that I pointed to – I showed BJ, he seemed to like it too, and then I asked Jon, the bike shop manager, if he had the Scott bike in the back. He said, “Let me check.” Well, he had a bike in the back but it was NOT the white/green/black Scott – it was MY NEW BIKE (!!!!) – a beautiful black/silver/purple Fuji. I was so excited, I couldn’t stop smiling (or screaming: “That’s my new bike!!”).

That afternoon we rode 25 miles – and it fit perfectly. I don’t know what I was so worried about – I’ll be ready for my tri in no time!

P.S. A special shout out to Andrew – for getting me an awesome bike; and to BJ – for an awesome surprise!

I’ve mentioned before that I’m not a doctor, but this pain is just too obvious to miss. Last night, I broke my toe. I was about 15 minutes into watching Bolt, the Disney movie that I’ve been *dying* to see since its release on November 21, 2008, when I decided I needed some lip-gloss. I was moving fast (practically running) because I didn’t want to miss an important scene (as if I couldn’t rewind) and quickly grabbed the gloss. I went to turn off the bedroom lights when my toe drove, head first, into the wall. I literally dropped to my knees. This wasn’t just a little stub of the toe; this was deep, intense, drop-to-my-knees-and-cry pain. I could barely walk, let alone finish watching Bolt (I’m still mad about that today). So, I took a couple of Motrin, complained a little to BJ and went to bed, hoping that it would feel better in the morning. Wrong. I’m still in throbbing pain and I’m limping when I walk – great! I have a broken toe.

Like any ‘real’ American would, I did a little research on the internet – and found this one tip particularly interesting: “Try to stand for a minute or so. If your toe is broken, it won’t be able to support your weight. A broken toe will tend to buckle underneath you when you stand on it.” Really?! My pinky toe is going to cause me, a grown woman, to buckle? That’s the worst tip I’ve ever heard in my life! According to this (stupid) source, I don’t have a broken toe. But, thanks to more reputable internet sites, here’s how I know its broken (“Check” means that I’m experiencing this type of pain):

· After the injury, pain, swelling, or stiffness will occur. Bruising of the skin around the toe may also be noticeable. It may be difficult to walk due to pain, especially if the big toe is fractured. Check
· Shoes may be painful to wear or feel tight. Check
· Swelling and bruising. Check
· Pain is worse when the toe is moved or touched. Check

Here’s the worst part: You can’t do anything about a broken toe! I mean, what’s a doctor going to do? Put a cast on my baby toe? I don’t think so…

I’m just going to have to suck it up – and “buddy-tape” my broken toe to the [uninjured] toe next to it.

Diagnosis: broken toe (I should be a doctor)!
Workout for today: 6 mile run – in your face, pinky toe!

BJ and I have decided that we really need to amp up our triathlon training. I got an email today from the Columbia Triathlon Association – just a “little” reminder that our tri is in 12 days. Yes, that is correct. 12 days, as in less than 2 weeks. I just got my bike 2 days ago. I probably need to start training!

Here’s the problem: BJ travels a lot during the week so we rarely have time to workout and/or train together. However, last night, he (surprisingly) said: “Let’s wake up early on Monday and run before I have to catch my train to Philly.” Yea, okay, I like that idea. Monday morning = a different story. Last night, running sounded like a great idea – this morning, the alarm clock sounded my worst nightmare. We stayed in bed 15 minutes after the alarm went off, debating back and forth. Should we or shouldn’t we? We decided we should (after all, we are hard-core athletes).

I wore a jacket and ear warmers to run. Did I mention that it’s May?! Okay, no more complaining, it was just hard to wake up early and run in the cold. Oh yea, it started to rain about 5 minutes into the run. Dagger.

But, 10 minutes in, I was really, really happy that we were running. Together. In the rain. In the cold. It was nice – something that we have never done in the entirety of our relationship – and I liked it! I liked waking up early. Complaining together. And then, running 5 miles before work. It was an invigorating start to my day.

My advice: Wake up a little early and take run. I felt great (and skinny) all day. I’m not a doctor, but I’m guessing you’ll feel fabulous from 9-5, too.

Author’s note: I won’t tell you what time we woke because my mother would laugh in my face (it wasn’t that early) – but either way (4:30am or 8:30am), I highly suggest a morning run! It’s a great way to start the day, you don’t have to worry about running after work and can take full advantage of Happy Hour specials! Even better….