The Build

i am seriously loving the team training.  i am learning a ton, thank goodness, and having a blast.  i know for sure that i am still not lifting my legs up as much as i should when i run, because i can't see a difference in my time yet, but i will get there.

come hell or high water, i will enjoy running!! :-)

so last weekend we did great run drills... after every half mile, we did plank and balancing drills.. and looped them for 1hr.  surprisingly, it was fun and i definitely did not think i was running at all.  granted my time was still slow, despite my cadence being accurate. it is really frustrating to not be there, yet.  but I know i will ultimately get there.

Sunday was another bike session, roughly 22 miles in 90min.  which again, is frustrating that i am not going faster, especially when i see teammates fly past me.  but i will get there.  plus i think i need to push myself more.  i have been finding that after a bit i am just enjoying the ride, because it is beautiful out.  i have to constantly remind myself, hey Rach, your prepping for a race here, not a cruise around town! :-)

Tuesday was another swim night.  and i love it and for whatever reason, in the pool i am constantly pushing myself.  i know i need to do it more on the bike and run, but i don't even think about it in the pool, i just do it.  maybe its because i am so comfortable in the pool? i dunno.  maybe i can trick myself on the bike and run? :-)  either way, this week is our build and i need to build!

yesterday i missed the bike session because i found myself on work emails, so i ran in my neighborhood and then did cross-fit last night.  i do enjoy that cross-fit.  i think it is helping me with the core strengthening that i need while making my legs stronger, too.

this morning it was back to running with the team with 2min fast pace running then 3min race pace running.. and then for me 1min walk.  i know i know.. but i am working up to running more. :-)  it was good.  i am finding my fast pace run ranges from 8:48 -10:12 - depending, and my normal race pace is about 11:33 give or take, sometimes close to 12min.  which i think people can walk faster than me.  if i can get my race pace up to my fast pace, i will be happy.

Tomorrow i leave for NY.  it is currently snowing and freezing according to friends and family and i think they are expecting a few feet. AWESOME!  so this weekend and all next week will be a challenge to work out.  i am determined. so please send me good vibes!! :-)

below is a picture of some of my teammates.

til next time

xoxo

Rach

Traveling and Training.... Part I

Traveling while training is hard.

I flew into NY this past monday and luckily for me, it was our "rest day."  so that made it a little easier, but it was also extremely busy and extremely cold. therefore it was a little un-motivating. however I did manage to squeeze in some of the training, but unfortunately, not all of it.

so needless to say i am a little bummed.  i managed to do the elliptical on Tuesday instead of the swim and i ran on thursday on the treadmill but i wasnt able to bike on Wednesday or swim this morning.  it is a little frustrating, as i am in it to win it, but man, it is tough.

tomorrow we are starting to build up from our base and we are starting with the run.  ugh.  dreading it.  but ready to rock and then a bike ride on sunday.

i have a week of warm workouts then i am back to NY on Friday for 10 days and i will have a schedule that is twice as hectic which i know will make training that week, that much harder.  but hey, maybe i can convince my work peeps and meetings to donate to LLS right? :-)

here is hoping!

 

Picking Up the Pace

so this week we are all about our Cadence... Cadence Cadence Cadence...  we need to constantly have a high Cadence so we can switch gears on our bike with ease which will transfer into a happy run.  its amazing how all these little macro things translate into the overall performance and efficiency of the entire race.

Ahh the little things...

Saturday we had "Bike 101" which was kinda awesome for a few reasons... #1, i have been doing this on and off for nearly 8 years and i have never had a flat tire, nor have i ever had to change a one.  that is insane, i know.  i guess it is a blessing and a curse.  well thankfully, we had a lesson and "IF" god forbid i had to change a tire for myself or a fellow triathlete, i can!  and shockingly, it wasn't as tough as i imagined it to be. Who Knew!?  #2 it was gorgeous!! Biking around Griffith Park is a amazing.  Living and training in SoCal is fantastic and is probably the only reason why i committed to this madness, because i can train with easy in the "dead of winter." #3 i learned how to use my trainer.  So now, "veg out nights" at home watching TV will take on a whole new meaning. :-)

So last night was another swim session.  man i do love the swimming.  and not to toot my own horn, but i kinda killed it last night. LOL. we had these tricky drills again, this time we were doing "shark fin switches" and my coach actually used me, my form, as an example of "what to do," WHAT??!!?  i was taken back when my teammates in my lane told me, it was really nice and rewarding.  its funny, when I do these drills, it feels super wacky and odd, so i thought i was all over the place.  i couldn't believe i was actually doing it right!! WAHOOOOOOOOOOO!!!

oh.. so.. i almost forgot, as i mentioned before, i was lucky enough to attend the Grammy Awards. it was such an amazing experience to watch and to support  a dear friend.  Any who... luckily, i was able to squeeze in the morning bike session and able to hang through the night without a nap!! i think my energy level is starting to catch up to my training!  fingers crossed it lasts, as the next few weeks are going to be rough with two trips to NY for New York Toy Fair.  Combining training, working and socializing is going to be serious! :-)

below are some pics.

Enjoy and don't forget to donate, please!

http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/VineHIrn14/RachelHGriffin

lots of love,

Rachel

GO TEAM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1uvWPBff8gE&feature=youtu.be

At the end of every session, we remind ourselves that we are a team.

All for one and one for all.

GO TEAM!

Feeling Invigorated... and tired at the same time. Is that possible?

so i am well into my second week of training and i am not going to lie, i have been dragging all week.  it is not necessarily the workouts themselves that are that strenuous, but i think the fact that i have not done anything remotely active since July, it's killing me.

swimming on tuesday was actually amazing, we learned some new drills, which were a little wonky at first.  it was almost like trying to pat your head and rub your belly at the same time.  it was quite funny.  but cool at the end.  Stan, one of my teammates,  and i were pretty close in time and leading our lane in our drills when we decided to race at the end.  He beat me, but i think my form was better. :-)

today was awesome.  although i missed my morning run with the team due to any early meeting, i was able to have a great Crossfit session concentrating on kettle bell swings, goblet squats and dumb bell thrusters.   and then, i did the a 30 min running session complete with drills and all.  it was awesome.

of course it is 10:15 and i am beyond ready for bed.   i will sleep like a baby tonight, which will be good.  i have a big weekend ahead -- swimming tomorrow and bike sessions on both saturday and sunday and then the GRAMMY Awards on Sunday night!  i cannot wait.  it is going to be a lot of fun.  lets just hope i can stay awake!

Rach

Training... Week 1

Week One... SUCCESS and not Scary! :-)

ok, so i have had my first week. Da Ta... and i am still here.  just kidding.

it has been great.  the coaches are starting everyone off very basic, which is awesome because they are making it fun and not scary.

we technically had "off" last Monday, but i did Crossfit (don't tell anyone), Tuesday was our first swim practice with tons of drills and i am not going to lie, they are definitely not the funnest thing in the world.  if you get the chance, swim (1) length of a pool (25m or 50m) on just your left side, both arms at your side, kick from your hips and face down to the bottom of the pool, only turning up to breath... let me know how much fun you are having and keep in mind my first swim was that plus a few others for 1hr straight.  i am not complaining, because the technique will make me a better swimmer, but man, not that fun. :-)  but there was a little icing on the cake... when i finish, i looked up to see one of my oldest friends, Jeremy Glazer, at the edge of the pool.  Randomly, he was there to check out TNT, but deep down, i know it was to see me. :-)

Wed was another off day and Thursday we had our first morning run. Now that was a challenging start for me, but ended up not to bad.  I had warned my coach that i am terrible runner, so she started me off on 1:1 (run a min/walk a min)... that was awesome!  especially, since our "warm up run" nearly wiped me out.  And No, i am not kidding.  this running part is going to be awful, but each week i should build up, so this thursday run i will be 2:1 and then 3:1 and so on.  so in time, i am going to kill the running part or die trying!

i also did Crossfit Thursday night.

Friday we had a homework pool assignment to do all those drills... so bright an early i headed down to the Culver City pool and knocked em out.  it was a "thrilling" way to start my weekend.  hee hee.

Saturday was running 101.. which i clearly need.  we did a 45min running session and we learned some new drills and running technique in regards to foot placement and cadence and of course breathing. We even had running experts come to tell us about sneakers and so forth... and little ole me got fitted properly and you are looking at the owner of a brand new pair of Brooks baby!  my first official running sneakers - after treadmill and street tests!! Wahooo!! i think i am going to have some happy feet...

and then finally, sunday, we had a breezy 7mi ride.

it was great.  but ya know what is really great, is having this team through TNT.  every other race i have trained for, i have done on my own or through group rides or swims, but nothing official and definitely not my own "team." it is nice to accountable them and to learn the proper techniques to be more efficient in each area.  i can truly say, that i think this entire experience is going to be great.  going into it, i was exited about the finish line at Cozumel and of course training, but now i am more looking forward to the journey that i am going to go through, mentally and physically to get there.  i think it is going to be amazing.

anyway... i know this was a very tactical post about the training week.  just so you know, they won't all be like this.

anyway... i am attaching a few pictures from the swim and my morning runs.

i hope to update twice a week.

thanks again for your support.

Love,
Rach

   

Glazer and Griffin

Behind an Ironman

Hello my dear friends and family,

By now you are aware that I have embarked on the journey to become an Ironman... or IronWOMAN I should say.

My entire life I have been an athlete and too be honest, I'm not the best athlete, but I'm not the worst either. I enjoy the thrill of the game and races, and if you ask anyone they will tell you I am "slightly" competitive, but that being said, I also know that I am not going to place on the podium and I am OK with that. As long as I am having fun, that is all that really matters to me.

I have been doing triathlons on and off since 2006 and have always had the sneaky desire to do an Ironman, but didn't think it would be something that "I" could do. After all, I HATE running and who really wants to run a marathon AFTER swimming 2.4 miles in the ocean and biking 112miles?? ... but then I got to thinking. Why Not? I can do that, right? Maybe? And the answer was YES! Like my mom and dad always said: "You can do anything if your put my mind to it."

So, here we are... I am committed to doing the 2014 Cozumel Ironman on November 30th. Crazy, right!?!?! The next 10 months are going to be extremely challenging, exhausting and of course, FUN! I am super excited of what lies ahead and did I mention -- scared out of my mind? :-)

To help me train properly, I have joined Team in Training. it is an excellent organization that helps athletes train for endurance events all while raising money for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society -- please donate to in support of me and this amazing cause. http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/VineHIrn14/RachelHGriffin

I will be updating this blog regularly to share with you all my progress as well as what I would assume to be amazing and hysterical stories of my trials and tribulations along the way. So please check back from time to time as I am sure you will have a good laugh... whether with me or at me! :-)

Thanks for you love and support...

Love always,

Rachel