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.

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….

I’m rocking some runs and some tri’s this year- yea, that’s right, I’m a pretty serious athlete! This is my race calendar but I’m up for doing more. FYI, I don’t love 5k’s (I have my reasons) – so, 3.1 miles aside, I’m open to suggestions.

Who else is in?

April 26 – GW Classic – 10 miler
May 17 – Columbia Triathlon (MD) – Olympic Distance
June 13 – MS Ride (Chicago) – 75 miles
June 20 – American Red Cross (Alexandria) – 10k
July 26 – Princeton Triathlon (NJ) – Olympic Distance
August 15 – Luray Triathlon (VA) – Olympic Distance
September 13 – The Nation’s Triathlon (DC) – Olympic Distance
September 20 – SavageMan Triathlon (MD) – Olympic Distance
October 4 – Army 10 Miler – 10 miler
October 25 – Marine Corp Marathon – 10k