Decisions, Decisions

I hate making decisions. Especially ones where all things are equal. I never want to miss an opportunity and right now I have a horrible decision to make. At this time of year most adult athletes have wound down and are starting to plan what events they are going to do next season.

For the past several years I have done either the 4.4 Great Chesapeake Bay Swim or the 1 mile Bay Challenge. Last year we did the 4.4 and decided this year we would do the 1 mile. Last time I did the 1 mile I got third in my age group!! It was very exciting and the first time I had won anything in any of these events we do. The first place person was even one of my former Towson teammates which made things even better! That particular day my swim was a great time even considering that my wetsuit came open mid swim. Grrrrrrr I really don't like my wetsuit but haven't found a better one yet. I want a sleeveless, easy to get on and off, and LOW ON THE NECK SO I CAN STOP CHOKING! As you can see I have very few requests for a new wetsuit. So anywho before I age up I wanted to do that race one last time and try and podium again (not that you actually stand on a podium here.) So that is CHOICE #1

One of my other favorite events the past two years has been the Diamond Girl Delaware put on by Piranha Sports the first Sunday in June. This has been a really small race. My first year there were 120 women and last year 160 women. I loved how small the race was! There were only two heats and I was usually in heat one so when I got out of water I was 5th then 4th each year respectively. I got all the wow-you-are-good cheers and claps. That never happens to me and it felt great even though I knew I wouldn't finish that way. The swim was 400 or 500 meters I believe. I would be out on my bike early on but that of course is my weakest leg. It is only a 10 mile bike ride! Another plus for this particular event and it is flat. This was another inspiration for all of the indoor cycling work. I knew if I could just continue the lead I get on the swim by biking better I could put myself in contention for an award at this small race. I have had my fastest run splits in my entire life here! Last year I split 8.15 for the 2 mile run. Oh yea and its a 2 mile run! Well apparently the small field of women wasn't enough for them to continue putting on this event :( Honestly this was my favorite triathlon! This is my favorite course, I find it fun and it makes me feels successful when most other triathlons don't and this year I was really hoping to do well. Well not all is lost. They are keeping the course, moving the event one weekend, and making it co-ed. Whew! I can still do the race EXCEPT that it is the same day as the Bay Swim, my other favorite event! UGH! WHICH ONE DO I DO??????

Any thoughts, advice, etc would be greatly appreciated. I am horrible with decisions where all things are basically equal....

So blog fans, we'll see how many of you there actually are out there, which one should I do??

Winter Training

Welcome to Winter! Well I guess technically that welcome should come on Tuesday but close enough. It is cold out there! Winter has come early to the Baltimore - Washington corridor and well yuck. Its one thing if it just cold but we have the wind too! Usually the wind doesn't come into play until about February or March but this year it has made an early appearance. What does that mean to an outdoor athlete who likes to stay warm? It means indoor training. Well that isn't too much of an issue for swimming as the majority of my swimming has been inside anyway. For cycling and running that's a bit different. We will continue to go to spin class but nothing beats riding your own bike so today we set up the trainers.

After some previous races I decided I needed to practice my cycling more and get some aerobars. Most would think the aerobars are to go faster.

Mine...are for reading.

I did find at a previous race I needed my hands to open my gels and really wanted some bars then to free up my hands. Other than that I don't quite think I have the balace for this aero thing but we'll see.

So my bike when on our old magnetic trainer and Jeff's bike went on the fancy new fluid trainer we bought today. My hope is that since they are easily accessible to us we will ride often. By easily accessible I mean they are in our main tv watching, dinner eating, room. Without finishing our basement (and we hope to move in the next year or two) it's our only place to bike and watch tv.

Our first indoor ride was an hour long and it did feel long. It was a very different riding experience. With outdoor riding you can coast not indoors. The tension is very uneven which was unsettling at first and was a bit rough on the knee and shins but once they warmed up it was ok.

So how's your marathon training going you ask...yea about that....basically all the people we were going to run with have decided not to do the race. Since the primary reason to do the race was to support our friends to do their first marathon. Since that is no longer happening we didn't have much motivation to run long each weekend in the cold and wind. Additionally cycling is where we needed to focus our attention as that is weak for each of us. That is what brings us to today. So our indoor gym is set up, hopefully this proves to be the right decision for us. I don't like that I don't know how many miles I went since my bike computer is attached to the front tire and only the back tire turns on the trainer. Oh well!

Happy Holidays and Happy Training!