2008 Totals

OK, well 2008 started out pretty good, and then kinda fizzled out.

Got in a marathon in early summer which burnt me out on running for quite a while. Then came training for 2 half Irons within a month of each other, as well as a couple of other minor events just for fun.

After that came the IMWI hoopla and excitement. Next thing you know, I am just kinda sailing without a training plan and doing whatever I felt like doing, which ended up being a fat lot of nothing much and piddling around.

by the time December had rolled around and I was feeling a bit more into it, my body quit cooperating. I spent most of the month with a cold, then a cough, then what was some sort of freaky ear issue. The Urgent Care doctor that insisted that the reason I couldn't hear and that my ear was feeling like it was going to explode from pain and pressure was a wax impaction (RANT: um, WRONG! I did not get to be almost 40, an experienced nurse and mother, and a reasonably smart person by not recognizing when I need to flush my ears with peroxide instead of spending $200 have a doctor pressure wash my eardrum with his magic potion of, um....peroxide.....to get some wax out of my ears. The problem was a little bigger than that I think and it ended up resolving on it's own in the following 2 weeks).

So anyway, in a year where I was on track to far exceed the numbers form the year before, I fizzled out into a lackluster finish. **SIGH**

Final numbers:

Swim: 64.51 miles (2008: 32.93) .... 41hrs, 13.53 min

Feeling pretty good about that number. I spent a lot of time in the spring working on swimming when I was having ITB issues to rest it from running.

Run: 431.49 miles (2008: 594.88) .... 106 hrs, 15.27 min

I really lost my motivation to run this year. First injury, then I just couldn't seem to gain the ground back that I wanted to and I struggled. Alot.

Bike: 1750.23 miles (2008: 1885.7).......84hrs, 32.22 min

It got colder earlier this year so I got fewer rides outside and haven't spent nearly as much time as I needed to in the trainer as I should have I guess. I am surprised at this number actually.

Also of note here is the time I spent doing alternative cardio (videos etc), stretching, yoga, and pilates in the early Spring. The time spent there was significant as I tried to heal my IT Band, and then moving forward through the year.

Overall, I suspect the time spent (over 232 hours in 2008, and I can't get the report to run for 2007) is probably about the same from 08 to 09 as a much larger volume of time was spent in the pool, but I am still disappointed overall. Rather than kick myself, it's just time to get moving forward int he new year.

What's next:

*Take off the 35 pounds that crept back on this year (WTF!!!! Where did that come from? )

*Train for IMWI in September. I think this will also show an increase in my total mileage for 2009 as the volumes needed to be successful almost require it.

*Find a few races to do in the meantime that are fun and will keep my motivation going.

*Finsh my training plan and work the plan without finding excuses not to follow it.

Oh Yeah, in case I forgot to mention it today......

253 Days to Ironman Wisconsin!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Let's Recap and Look Ahead

Been off the blog train for a few days, enjoying some family time with my family and Mike's.
The Saturday before Christmas, I got up early for a run before we left to pick up Mike's mom and grandparents from the Madison airport. Got in a few miles by myself when I was surprised to find the SWAT team coming up behind me and they twisted my arm to join them for the rest of their run and for breakfast afterwards. Mike and Nick met me at the restaurant and then we took off for the airport after a quick shower. It was foggy out due to the warming temps and all the snow that was quickly melting. When we arrived we were glad to see the planes were still arriving as scheduled. About 10 minutes before they were due to come in from their connecting flight from Detroit as noon, that changed and everything was cancelled and rerouted. The plane was sent back to Detroit. Many phone calls and a long day behind us, they finally arrived at Midway airport in Chicago about 9:30pm only to find their luggage was lost in space and we waited a long while more while they filed their lost luggage claim. Finally arrived at our house after 1:00am.

Christmas Eve Day we drove to Merrillville Indiana to meet Uncle Mike who was taking the grandparents (his parents) to Ft Wayne for Christmas. We picked them up again later in the week at the same place.

(Here's a picture from the Christmas festivities of my nephew Jacob encouraging his sister Izzy to climb the stairs, apparently by channeling Satan...... My mom is the spotter)

Christmas was nice. My parents, my sister and family, Mike's mom, and his brother and family were there and we enjoyed good food, fun, and a cut-throat game of television trivia.

We spent endless hours with Mike's mom and grandparents shopping, laughing, ate every single thing in sight, and as usual it was over way too quick. We really cherish the time we get to spend with Mike's family. They all live in North Carolina now, so the togetherness opportunities are few and far between - I wish they were closer.... we really miss them.

We dropped them at the Madison airport New Years Eve day, and then we got ready for a quiet night at home watching movies and tearing down the holiday decorations. I am always so relieved when I can put that stuff away and get back to normal. By New Year's I feel like Christmas threw up in my living room.

Today, my parents left for their winter in Costa Rica, so we won't see them again til spring when the snowbirds return.

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Top 5 Funny Phrases from the Week:

1) "How does it feel to work for a company that sucks balls?" (Overheard being asked by the guy in front of us waiting to make a lost luggage claim at the airport)

2) "If someone put a gun to your head and said Poop or Die could you do it?" (I don't know why this came up......)

3) "I'm calling the police" ..."Well, I'm calling Wapner."

4) Dookie

5) Asked by Mike at Blockbuster: "Does this movie have humping in it? I can't watch a movie with humping with my grandparents..." (The movie was Georgia Rule....... the guy was technically right - no humping - but they say "Boner" and Lindsay Lohan took off her underpants and gave some guy a blow job........... I blame the Blockbuster clerk for that embarrassing moment)

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Status of My Goals for 2007:
*Complete my first Duathlon and my first triathlon, then continue to do as many as physically and financially feasible: DONE!
*Complete a 10K race or more: DONE, Several times! Also did my first half marathon
*Compete in at least 1 bike race: didn't do, not because there were not opportunities but because my focus changed from working on my strength - the bike -to focusing on my weakness - running.
*Learn to Mountain Bike: Done, but not well. Had a really hard time conquering my fear of falling down. Crashing....... not so much fun.
*Graduate from Ball State with a BS in Nursing, thereby making me qualified for the job I have done for the past 10 years...................... : DONE!!!!!! (Finally)
*Continue to gradually lose weight into the 150 range or better, and maintain without significant gain: Didn't do this. I held most of the year in the 170-175 range, and after a low point of 160-ish this summer, I found that I was not able to properly fuel my training as I increased my volume. I gave myself permission to focus more on maintaining my weight and on increasing my fitness and endurance. Still a long range goal, but lower on the priority scale (no pun intended).
*Learn to run with my nutjob dog without injuring either of us ;-) : Well, I found a good tool to run with her manageably (the Gentle Leader Walk Harness). Problem is it abrades her across the chest so we can't run often or it leaves her with a mark. We'll keep working on this at least on short runs this spring.

I also updated my mileage spreadsheet .

Here is the upshot:
Running miles: 594.88

Biking Miles: 1885.7

Swimming yards: 57,950 (or 32.93 miles)

My unofficial goal for the year, never having set an annual mileage goal before was a stab in the dark at 2007 total miles for the year, so I guess GOAL MET and exceeded at 2513.51 miles. Now I have a benchmark for 2008 and can set a more aggressive goal.

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My 2008 Dashboard:

I know some of you all don't believe in New Years Resolutions, but I think it is important to have goals to work towards to focus attention in the right direction. The concept for goal setting we use at work is something that they call Dashboards. I think of these goals like the dashboard of the car, something that is always in front of your vision as you move forward.

So that's what I am putting out there this year - my personal dashboard, my vision for the year 2008.

* Complete 2 Half Iron Distance (70.3 mile) Triathlons. We are officially registered for the Spirit of Racine and Iowa Pigman. If all goes well with them, we will get registered for IMWI for 2009.

* Complete my first marathon. The plan is for the Madison Marathon in May. Maybe there will be more than one, but let's just say one for now.

* Do the Danskin Sprint Tri with my sisters. (No pressure girls - it's just for fun!)

* Maintain my weight in the 160-170 range (after taking off the Christmas 10 of course). Maybe even dip into the sub-Athena arena as long as I can manage my endurance nutrition at the same time.
* Run a sub-30 5K. (borrowed that one from Misty, good goal)

* Get my spring cleaning done before December for a change. (Thought I should throw in a person non-exercise goal)

Mileage goals:

Run: 1,000 miles

Bike: 2,008 miles

Swim: 100,000 yards

The Great Evansville Duathlon: Not DNF, not DFL

First things first, thanks big bunches to my sons Nick and Lucas who came and took pictures of us and cheered us on. Even though they took pictures of my butt bent over tying my shoe in transition. Even though they refused to give me a cowbell fix. Especially because they got their cracks out the sack at 5:30 and didn't whine about it much. Also big thanks to my sister and nephew for cheering me on and taking some pictures that I hope are of something besides my butt.

Secondly, for my mother who will ask (and anyone else who was wondering):

DNF: did not finish

DFL: Dead Flipping Last (or insert your F word of choice)

We were up early today (5 bells) getting ready for a 7 am race. the sky was iffy and Mike watched the Weather Channel for like an hour, wringing his hands about the rain. I said nothing but apparently he thought I gave him "a look." He then says "Well, I know you would have no problem running in a tornado, but that's not fun for me." After that, I WAS good and ready to run in the rain even though I hadn't been really feeling it yet.
Got in the car and arrived at the park by 6:20. There was lightning to our north and we basically drove into the darkest area in sight. We got unpacked and set up in transition and waited under the pavilion while it started raining. By the way, all the racers and spectators fit under the pavilion awning, all 52 or so of us. It was a small group. Pretty much everyone but us looked like hardcore elite triathlon folks. I prepared myself to be dead last and race against myself. The transition area was kind of funny - there was maybe 10 bike racks and was roughly the size of my master bedroom, especially compared to my only other experience in Appleton.

We took off as a group in a light rain. I opted to keep my water resistant high-vis jacket on to keep as dry as possible. Before long everyone was out in front of me. And by everyone, I mean EVERY ONE . ..... . DFL. Not too far ahead of me was a girl about my size, running a little faster than me. I decided she was my goal pace to beat. I followed her pretty close for a while, then she was out of sight. The run was flat and pretty easy and the rain stopped about midway through. I got to transition and changed out quickly. I was the only bike left. Bummer.

Taking off on the bike, there was a girl who came back because she forgot her helmet. Sweet - I was ahead of her, one down. The ride was as I expected from the pre-ride. The road was wet so I was extra cautious, especially because I had never ridden on the new tires so was unsure if handling would change. The downhills were all very technical with hairpin turns at the bottom of downhills, so I didn't make up a lot of time on them. I was able to pass 6 people, surprisingly most of them on the uphills. I had been able to plan for my hills wisely, unlike a few people apparently.

The only unexpected part of the ride was when we got to Magnolia Bluff Park. We had only ridden in and turned around in the first parking lot. The route went farther in, or rather up. And up. And around. And up some more. It was tougher than the other two big hills combined. Super bummer but I lived through it.

The ride back was smooth sailing. I got back to transition and changed out quickly. I was no longer the only person there and there were people behind me. One guy was in the process of turning in his chip - he quit before running the last leg, not sure why.

I saw my sister and her kids as I ran out of the park and yelled "I'm not last!!!" in case she didn't know it. I took off on my last run ahead of my goal pace girl. About 1 1/2 miles in she came up beside me, said hi, and got ahead of me. CRAP! I passed her at the water stop and she passed me right back. I stayed on her heels until the last half mile. Not sure why, but she slowed down to a power walk and I was able to gain a pretty significant amount of distance on her. As I neared the park and the ultimate finish, I kept looking over my shoulder for her - not sure why because I had no gas left in the tank to race her if she was there.

As I got to the finish, Lucas came over and ran me in the last 50 yards or so. That was cool, but sadly there was no cowbell. Oh well. Michele and the gang were there for the last run and everyone was waiting at the finish. Jeff was bruised and bloody. He had a wipeout at a corner and has a mean road rash on his arm and leg and he hit his head so hard it broke his helmet - OUCH! He put a hole in his Balegas too, big bummer there. Still, he beat me to the finish by 34 minutes despite being a battered bloody mess. Now that's tough - mental and physical. I am super impressed with that. Mike did a great job too. I know this was not his favorite race adn he stuck it out and did really, really great. I'll let him tell his own story.

I got an awards certificate for 3rd in my age group. It's more impressive if you don't know that there were only 3 people IN my age group, but it's not like anybody was really buying my "I'm a ball of racing fire" stories anyhow. They did not list us as Athenas or Clydes, but since there were no registered Athenas, I will also credit myself with a first place Athena award. Hey, if I keep rationalizing this thing, I may ending up winning the whole darn race................ :-)

I had fun, it stopped raining for most of the race, and my kids got to see me work hard at something. Good day for me overall. And yes I did beat my pace goal girl. Yeah me.

My Garmin data can be seen here.

Final results from onlineresults.com:

date: Jun 2nd, 2007
location: Evansville, WI
Summary
number of finishers:52
number of females:14
number of males:38
average time:02:07:47

Jenny Wimmer
bib number: 30
age: 37
gender: F
location: Janesville, WI
overall place: 47 out of 52
division place: 3 out of 3
gender place: 10 out of 14
time: 2:32:07
run 1: 35:35
trans 1: 1:32
bike: 1:15:16
trans 2: 1:28
run 2: 38:17

Yes I am still here, people

Mike has instructed me that I need to post more. He is right, but since the addition of the hot tub, something had to give and that water just feels so good.......... :-) There are only so many hours in the day you know!
So here is what's been happening lately. I biked a couple times in the wind, and I have been running a lot lately. 5-6 mile runs have become my standard instead of my long run. I've done that several times this last couple weeks. My parents have returned from Costa Rica. I bought matching pink camo capri pants for my niece Izzy and I, plus some other stuff.
Friday I sent in our application join the SWAT Team (Southern Wisconsin Area Triathletes - "We Tri for Fun"). Mike went to see a Sports Med Doc this week who is in the club and hooked us up. Apparently they do group training and I hope they can help us with our form, especially in the swimming. I so want Mike to learn to love swimming like I do and get good at it. With his past knee surgery I worry that he needs to be kinder to his knees long term and swimming would be a good cardio workout that is non-weightbearing for cross training. Anyhow, we filled out the applications and are excited to begin some group activities, like we get from the Velo Club already.
Tomorrow we set sail for Appleton to do our first duathlon of the year, the Paper Discovery Dualthlon. It is 5K run - 22 mile bike - 5K run. I think it will be an absolute blast. Lucas ("DUB") is coming with us and bringing a friend and they are in charge of taking pictures of us so we should have lots of pictures of hot girls in tight spandex and other random people and funny signs. If all goes well we should get one or two shots of us in there somewhere that don't have to buy from the event photographer.
I have found a new favorite treat. Sugar free Mentos - I love them. One caveat for those of you that are suggestible enough to consider running out right now to get a box - there is a phrase written in teensy, tiny letters on the packaging that states "excessive consumption may have a laxative effect." Just in case you are wondering, an entire package of roughly 20 Mentos pieces apparently qualifies as excessive consumption........... So should you choose to buy them next time you are in the supermarket checkout line, remember that less is more and stick to just a couple at a time.
What's up next for the Wimmers? Well, on Thursday we will celebrate National Nurses Day with our first 10K race - The Meriter Nurses Run in Madison. Next weekend is the Beloit YMCA Biathlon (which is a mere 15 minute drive for us) 2mi run - 11 mi bike - 2mi run. This should be a piece of cake after the Paper Discovery this weekend. After that is the Rock 50/50 bike ride. We will take Memorial weekend off, the we will be doing the Evansville Duathlon the following weekend(another one close to home). Beyond that- who knows? We have lots of choices, so we shall see.

Happy New Year Y'all!

I last reported buying a bike trainer and I have already logged many, many miles on it. (I thought I would give you all the action shot to match Mike's - sorry we are dorks sometimes) What a cool piece of equipment! It has a totally different feel than our recumbent stationary bike and I get to use my own bike - can't really get any better than that. Awesome workouts that really make you sweat and gives you the rubber legs feel when you are done, so you know you really worked it. One thing we did learn was that the Forerunners were pretty much useless on the trainer since you don't move, you log no miles, just heart rate.

So, we were off on NY Eve afternoon in search of a Cat Eye Astrale 8 Cyclocomputer, which is basically an odometer with a rear wheel reader for cadence so it can log miles on the trainer. We do love our gadgets and I personally crave the data so I can see on paper (puter actually) where I am having gains or setbacks. The bike shop here in town was closed, so we ended up at Erik's Bike Shop in Madison, a nice place to visit and a decent price, but still the bulk of my business will continue to go to Michael's Cycles here in town - they are great to work with.

Today, being the first day of the new year, it was important to me to get off to a great start. Even though I haven't run in a few days, I took a run by myself around the neighborhood, my medium sized loop of a 5K and some change. It wasn't fast but I did it even though I didn't feel much like running today. Tonight, i also got on the trainer for a half hour (32 minutes), just to get a good bike start going too. It helped that The Biggest Loser was showing as a marathon today and after watching bits and pieces all day, I was motivated to do a little more work. It felt good and I am glad I did it.

As the year closes and the new one starts, it is a good time to reflect on the past and set new goals for the future.

My proudest achievements of the past year:

- Losing more than 50% of my body weight. This was last year's NY goal, and was absolutely achieved. Nuff said on that.

- Achieving my highest level of fitness since at least my teens, and probably more like ever.

- Having my second consecutive deficiency free annual State survey (third in my career) and a deficiency free JCAHO survey (second in my career) at work. For those not in the health industry, this is a HUGE statement of the quality of care we provide and a speaks volumes about the ability and training of my nursing staff and my leadership skills.

There are many moments that I am proud of in the past year, but these stick out in my mind as the top 3.

My Goals for the Coming year:

• Complete my first Duathlon and my first triathlon, then continue to do as many as physically and financially feasible
• Complete a 10K race or more
• Compete in at least 1 bike race
• Learn to Mountain Bike
• Graduate from Ball State with a BS in Nursing, thereby making me qualified for the job I have done for the past 10 years......................
• Continue to gradually lose weight into the 150 range or better, and maintain without significant gain
• Learn to run with my nutjob dog without injuring either of us ;-)
  

I will leave you with a couple pictures of my favorite baby, Isabel in the baby scrubs that were a shower gift from me. Michele brought her over Saturday and we played dress up with her for while.

Trip to the Fitness Center

This morning, I had a follow up visit with my exercise physiologist, Stephanie. I love going to see her - she is so positive and supportive, just a genuinely nice person. I got to show off a little bit today too, which was kind of fun. we started by measuring body composition. My body fat percentage is now down to 26% (normal for my age is 21-33%) - so I am smack dab in the middle of NORMAL! It's been a long time since I was able to say that, it sure feels good! I can't seem to stop smiling today. I have converted from 109 pounds of lean mass to 126.5 pounds of lean mass since January, also a significant improvement. We did measurements too which are all way down. I am also down into what I call "exercise vitals" - those that are on the low end of normal due to cardiovascular fitness. We then moved onto the 12 minute treadmill test. This is a walk/incline test and it was hard for us to get my heart rate and perceived exertion up to the range we were shooting for (a good thing). Overall since January, my METS have improved from 5 (Poor for my age) to 11.6 (well above average, almost in the excellent range). I don't remember all the numbers, but when I get the written report next week, I will post more specific highlights.
I just love my visits with Stephanie. I think of all the people supervising my program, she is my favorite. It was so much fun to show her where I am and what I can do now - she just seems to be as genuinely excited and proud of my accomplishments as I am.
I worked out extra hard last night, with a 30 minute run on the elliptical and a 30 minute bike on the stationary. I cranked up my intensity as much as I could and really worked hard. I need to step up the weight training too, I have been slacking in that area the past few weeks. My sister loaned me "The Firm" video set and I think I will give that a try this weekend- that would be a nice change of pace for something to do.
I have a lot of people I owe thanks to for my success. First and foremost, my husband has been my biggest cheerleader and motivator. Not only does he tell me I am beautiful every day, but he pushes me to push myself. We are competitive and I am always striving to catch up to him so I can "win" - I think he knows that and always raises the bar to give me something to strive for. My kids have taken on the responsibility of cooking for themselves often and helping with watching my dogs or whatever needs to be done so we can get our exercise in. They had some pretty major changes in their lives too when we gave our 2-week notice to Dunkin Donuts and Taco Bell, and they have rolled with it pretty easily and without complaint. My family and friends have been tremendously supportive too, always with a kind word or trying to do what they can to be supportive. Recently I have also expanded my circle to include some wonderfully supportive folks I have met online through chat rooms and discussion boards. Not only have I been able to draw on their successes to motivate myself, but they have offered support to me as well and for that I am very thankful.
One of the things Stephanie asked me today was if a year ago I would have seen myself reaching the place I am in right now. I can honestly say I did not ever imagine myself being as successful as I have been. I think the biggest change has been in my approach to life. I used to spend a lot of time rationalizing why I couldn't do things - I couldn't exercise or take a hike because I was afraid I would fall. (I had fallen down some stairs in 2003 and broke my ankle - it became my excuse for why I couldn't do things. ) My attitude has evolved over the past year from "I can't do that because...." to "wouldn't it be fun if we tried......" It's funny how many opportunities are opened up just by changing your approach. I would never have envisioned the things I am considering today: trying Ride to Cure Diabetes, doing triathlons, taking on a 10K or half marathon. Getting off the couch was my catalyst and I hope I can inspire that spirit in others.