Sunday, March 21, 2010

rants and raves, but mostly raves

this weeks workout numbers:

ran:

total time: 3:35:31
total distance: 26.0 mi.

biked:
total time: 11:15:15
total distance: 212.6 mi.

swam (not even worth posting):
total time: 1:00:00
total distance: 2500 m.

weights x 2
abs x 2

let me get the rant part out of the way early here:

the YMCA sucks lately! there i said it. i completely understand wind, rain, lightning, as valid reasons for not opening the pool on time but now,  lifeguards oversleeping? i've been hitting the pool an average of 2 times per week and the last 3 weeks, at least one time per week, i've either had to wait, because they are still rolling the pool covers off or the pool covers are still on and no lifeguard in sight. swim buddy and i even decided that maybe it would be a good idea to give the lifeguards more time and not get there right as 6am, which is the time the pool is supposed to open. so friday morning, i get to the pool at 6:15ish, and nobody around, pool covers still on. by the way, it takes a good 30 minutes to get the covers off the pool. some people have suggested, why don't i take my workout gear with me and just workout inside with weights and cardio. my answer to that is, that's not why i'm there. i'm there to use the pool, period. i can hear some people saying, "well, the lifeguards don't get paid very much and it's early and they're young." to that i say, i was young at one time too and i had a job that paid crap but i showed up on time, every time, no matter what. anyway, friday morning was just frustrating, as i have to once again, turn the car around to come back home, which is now getting old and then just get ready for work instead of swimming like i really, really need to be doing. sure, i could have gone later but i was feeling stubborn and said, 'the hell with it, i'll get back on track with the swimming next week." plus, i really needed a nap. i did redeem myself somewhat by doing a brick (21 miles on bike and 9 mile run). later this evening i need to sit down and write out an alternate swimming schedule that works with my cycling and running schedule and with the love of my life's cycling schedule. can't imagine having any kids to add to that tricky mix! you triathlon moms and dads out there rock! ok, done with that rant and moving on. new swim schedule in the works for next week.

one of my main goals within the next 4 weeks is to get in an open water swimor two or three (you hear me Lynie?). now that i have this lovely xterra vortex3 wetsuit, i can brave the water without suffering from hypothermia. i have a few tri races in mind over the next few months but will save that for a later post. need to get in the water first, then i can plan ahead.


overall, i had a great week of running, cycling, and weights. i'm very much looking forward to Jeff's hundred pushup challenge starting tomorrow. if you want to get in on it, visit jeff's blog here for more info and you'll need to do the initial fit test asap(no later than today), which is basically to do as many pushups in perfect form until failure, then let him know what your number of pushups was. he is keeping a list on his blog so we can check in and see how everyone else is doing. should be lots of fun and in the process, we'll be getting ripped!
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a quick note on our rides this weekend. did a strong 72 mile ride in the hills yesterday. even got sunburned! started off with arm warmers but forgot to apply sunscreen. i think the arm warmers came off at about mile 25 so pure sunlight the rest of the way on my poor arms. it is so easy to forget when you haven't needed to use any sunscreen in months. today we were supposed to ride the hills again but early rain was being called for and sure enough, it was an accurate forecast. we opted to stay close to home and ended up with 35 miles. got a little wet for the last 10 and thought about doing more but i could feel the temp dropping and i was starting to get uncomfortably cold. and it's pouring now! glad to be inside all warm and cozy.
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a few bloggers that i follow and who also follow me are getting ready for the Boston Marathon coming up April 19th. i think a few of you thought that i am running boston this year and it may appear that way based on my main blog banner with the 4 Boston medals, but i'm not. although i am qualified, i decided last year after running the nike womens marathon that i wanted to shift gears a bit and start swimming and ultimately focus all of my training for an IM distance race. believe me, i will be following all of you who are running come patriot's day and probably wish i were there. i plan on being there in 2011 though!
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reader appreciation giveaway #2 coming up tomorrow...3 RoadID's up for grabs. by the way, i'm just loving mine. kinda has a LIVESTRONG look to it, huh?

much love and peace out!

20 comments:

  1. Congrats on the sunburn -- I say that b/c the tri club cancelled our OWS today because the river got creamed with 2 inches of rain yesterday and it was 34 degrees with high winds this morning -- thinking of taking the wetsuit to the indoor pool???

    I am with you on the YMCA pool thing. If it was me, I'd go find the manager of the place and voice your displeasure. They may be unaware of the situation. I'd also have a talk with the teenage lifeguards, sometimes they need expectations set for them and maybe the manager is not doing that. If it didn't get better after that I would run it up the YMCA corporate flagpole as high as I could get.
    And then once it got resolved I would go join another pool out of spite - but being that I'm an a-hole this advice might not be very sound!

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  2. Jeff, I'm usually an a-hole too when it comes to stupid stuff like this...but I've been working hard not to be. I recently emailed the head honcho who forwarded the message to the aquatics director. with the most recent incident, my swim buddy posted her frustration on facebook and one of her fb friends is the head of the aerobics program and she saw it. she brought it to their attention on Friday so we'll see if that helps at all. believe me, Friday morning I was pissed off! I really think they owe me at least a free month. next stop, LA Fitness indoor pool, no weather issues, no lifeguard needed.

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  3. Sorry about the YMCA swim problem. That REALLY must be frustrating! What a pain to get all ready for a swim only to have to turn around and go back home. I hope it gets better and whoever is in charge gets it worked out.

    Nice job on your bike and run miles! Woohoo!

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  4. The YMCA thing in a bummer - 6 is LATE and people need to get to work. I would complain.

    Nice work getting everything in!! I may have to join the pushup challenge.

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  5. Hey!
    Missed you at San Antonio today. Yah.... I know... it rained... So what... ya gotta suck it up because no guarantees what Iron day will bring. (Actually felt pretty good, nice radiator affect)
    Arnie is skiing next Sunday so I was going to hit the hills solo. You up for 80 to 90?

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  6. I agree with you a ton! Today kids live in a world of entitlement! When I was a kid(still am) I got to work for crap money at the insane hour that I was supposed to or I lost my job! Kids today feel it is a rigth to be able to be lazy idiots, 'because I am young and tired' BULL &&^%%! Great ride this weekend! send me some sun up here! Cheers

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  7. Oh man. I would be PISSED if I got to the pool and it was not open. But it sounds like you got in a killer ride!! Congrats on the sun burn! Bring on those awesome biking tan lines!!

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  8. I envy your bike volume! Nice job!

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  9. I've had gym staff members show up really late too - pet peeve for sure.
    You did a great job this week - you got in a few solid workouts. Thanks for the positive encouragement about boston. I am really excited, and yesterday's race really helped boost my confidence. My bib number is 16552, so if you go to the boston website, I think you can set up the tracking thing. Let me know if you need any more of my info!

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  10. You need to get the lifeguards' numbers and give them wake up calls! Totally stinks. But you had great workouts otherwise, so that's definitely worth raving about.

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  11. I like misszippy's idea of getting the lifeguards phone numbers and waking them up. There is no excuse for that. I can see it happening once on accident. But repeatedly?

    Hopefully they get their act together this week :)

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  12. Amen on the rant. I swear, I'm gonna open a pool for triathletes only. That means: lots of lanes, great hours, no bikinis, lap counters, and bike and treadmill stations near by so people can do all sorts of bricks and transitions outta the water. Plus, none of those leisurely-on-their-back-doing-the-breast-stroke-people, they just get in the way.

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  13. Oh I hear you on the frustration of lifeguards not showing up on time! Morning swimmers typically are there in the morning because WE HAVE OTHER STUFF TO DO during the day so we need to get our workout done by a certain time, so late lifeguards just cut into our workout time GRRRR.

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  14. Sometimes a little sunburn feels great.

    PS:I'd complain about the pool too. Bad job YMCA mgmt.

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  15. I would complain, you pay to use the pool, they should let you be able to use during the posted times.

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  16. That has happened to me before at the Y - and I drive 75 minutes to get there! I always call the day before to double check the hours, and they were supposed to open at 5:30am - I got there @6:30 - not open. I can't wait until the ice is out and I can get to the open water and my own, convenient hours! :)

    Awesome miles this week! Great job!

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  17. I am totally on board with your rant. The lifeguards should be there on time! That is their job and there is no excuse for being late!!!!

    I also understand the sunburn problem. I totally forgot to put on sunscreen for my 3 hour ride this weekend and I have a red face to show for it! Whoops! That is one thing I have to remember to do!

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  18. sweet road ID band...LOVE the color. And I feel you on the yonug and their jobs as lifeguards business....get your &^% to work ontime and do it with a smile on your face!

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  19. good news - the pool was open this morning. i did get there about 20 minutes later than opening time just in case.

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  20. Man, that lifeguard oversleeping thing would really tick me off too. That's the main reason I joined my Y too. But soon at least the covers won't be needed much longer.

    Good luck getting in your open water swim. The water was actually warmer than I expected, high 60's, in Sarasota last weekend. But folks swimming in the Gulf said it was still low 60's which is pretty cold.

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