Day 127: Look Up!

Calli- Jose was feeling bad so he had to take it easy today. I, however, really pushed it in the pool! I wanted to
make sure that there was no water sliding through my fingers. I pulled
everything as strong as I could. I have never been weaker in my arms. I am glad
that I worked so hard because I know that I need to continue to push it like
that. Just because I have good form doesn’t mean I am a great racer. I need to
continue to reach for the next step in becoming elite, and then means reaching
with everything I have. Push it people!

“Don’t fear moving slowly forward…fear standing still.” -Kathleen Harris at KUTS 2003

Day 126: Clip On…Clip Off

Calli: It was easier to clip on and off from the pedals today. I still have some work to do with it though. The work out was good, and I am feeling a lot stronger on the spinning bikes. However, I am a bit worried that we don’t have a lot of experience on road bikes. I wish that there was a place here where we could rent bikes. Let me know if you know of any. It’s so important that we practice with road bikes. Have a good day!

Jose: The biking was good today. I’m getting the hang of it again. For a few weeks I was having trouble liking the bike, but maybe it was because I was very tired. Having the opportunity to practice with the biking shoes also motivates me a whole lot. For today I made sure that the clips were very tight and it was completely different and easier to clip off the bike. We biked for an hour alternating movements every 15 minutes. No more bike until next weekend. So let’s focus on running and swimming a lot.

I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it.  ~Pablo Picasso

Day 125: Practicing Transition

Calli: This day was a very productive one. After the gym this morning we ran all sorts of errands. I feel happy that we made the best of our day, and it feels even better that we are getting more accustomed to the bike. The shoes were awesome with the bike today. However, we realized quick that the clips need to be tighter, and it’s going to take us time to get used to getting in and out of the pedals. It’s harder than it looks, and I am glad we are getting started now.  Think about what you need to do to prepare for the triathlon in your future!

Jose: Today we got to use our brand new Pearl Izumi Tri Fly III bike shoes. We actually bought them a few days ago, but we were looking for the clips that would fit the spinning pedals at the gym. I can say I’m very glad that we are starting to use the pedals with a stationary bike, because I’m sure I would have fallen on my face if I would have tried on a regular bike. Releasing the shoes is an art by itself! After that, we quickly moved to the treadmill. I’m getting used to putting my running shoes on quickly with my race laces, and then run comfortably. Since I had the chance to use the treadmill I went all the way up to a speed of 16.1 km/hr. I managed to keep that speed on 2 minute intervals until the 20 running minutes were gone. It’s good, but I need that speed continually for the whole 20 minutes.

“An ounce of practice is worth more than tons of preaching.” – Mahatma Gandhi

Day 124: What the Fish See

Calli- Today was Jose’s rest day, and I went to the pool for a very nice swim. Just as before I was focusing on the same techniques. A steady 3 beat kick with a strong pull that allows for a long glide time. I will start timing myself to see where I am with stroke per distance. I am not a sprinter, so I am not trying to move as fast as can, but instead I am trying to focus my energy into a long, elegant, and strong form. This weekend we are going to bike for the first time with our new shoes! I am so eager to try them out! Have fun out there everyone!

“Experience is what allows us to repeat our mistakes, only with more finesse.” -Derwood Fincher

Day 123: Get Up and Move!

Calli- Hello fellow triathletes! I hope you had a successful day training just like me. I went on my 30 min run this morning before work, and it felt great. This time around my knee wasn’t tweaking and I got to run the whole time. I focused a lot on the placement and push off of my feet, and how they were angled. I realize now that I was probably landing too much on the right side of my foot. I let my foot naturally fall the other way and I felt much better. If you have any advice or similar stories then feel free to leave a comment.

Jose- The last two running days have been kind of bad for me. I don’t know why, but I’m running out of air too easily. My legs are all right though. Not like perfectly new, but I feel like I can go farther. I thought it could be hydration like I said on Monday, but today I was a more hydrated and I went through the same feeling of tiredness. I’m thinking 200 days in the future and the fact that I still need to reduce my time by at least one minute per km. I think I have to start including a little bit of treadmill at least to get the “feeling” of that pace, and then go practice outside.

“Everyone had a ‘risk muscle.’ You keep it in shape by trying new things. If you don’t, it atrophies. Make a point of using it at least once a day.” -Roger Von Oech