Putting my workouts to work

I've been wanting to do this for sometime and today I finally got around to figuring it all out. I've never talked about where I exactly work on my blog because I've never felt the need to share that much and if I talk about it, it'll show up in everyone's Google alerts at work and then my blog will not be my little secret anymore, but that is about to change.

I work for Tableau Software and ever since I started, I've been wanting to use our free software, Tableau Public to visualize my training data from BeginnerTriathlete.com. As athletes, we all love our data and numbers and Tableau is an easy way to make cool charts and graphs and quickly analyze your data. Has my run pace decreased over the past year? What are my biggest mileage months? What is my average heart rate on the bike? These are all questions you can answer if one, you have the data and two, you use Tableau.

So I figured out how to pull all my training history out of BeginnerTriathlete.com since I began using it in March of 2010. Then I connected Tableau Public to my data and started to play around. I'm not a super-star when it comes to using the software yet, but it doesn't mean my simple line charts don't mean anything to me.

Here is a dashboard I made that shows my run pace over the past year or so and also swim/bike/run mileage over that same time period. I added in trend lines and it looks like I need to get my running on a little more to get that trending up! You can click on various points to see the exact mileage.

So I think it would be fun to revisit these every few months to see how my training numbers are looking. If you'd like to play around with your training data for free - check out www.tableausoftware.com/public and download the software. 

Powered by Tableau

5 day weekend

I've had a 5 day weekend this weekend and I have to say, they're a hell of a lot better than 3 day ones. :) Just when I feel like I have to get ready for a work day, I remind myself that I have one more day off!

I was able to get in some great workouts this weekend due to the extra time on my hands.

Friday: I tested the IT band and ran 4 slow miles and I'm happy to note NO IT band pain. Yipee!
Saturday: I ran the run course of the Padden Triathlon, which is 2 x 2.6 mile loop and felt great. I even had my friend Kirsten running with me, which was a treat. We hammered that run out in 48 minutes.
Sunday: Kirsten and I ran another 4 miles together before Ski to Sea festivities started then rode our bikes down to Fairhaven, which ended up being about 8 miles round trip, plus a lot of walking.
Monday: 20 mile ride followed by a 1.75 mile brick run.
And I still have Tuesday off too!

I'm glad I had the motivation to keep active over the weekend - I definitely had my share of beers. I knew there was going to be plenty of beers and yummy food, so I made sure I did three things: one, make time to work out. Two, drink plenty of H20. Three, get plenty of sleep. So even if I did have some fun, I don't feel guilty about it and my body doesn't feel like I trashed it due to those preventative measures.

While spending time with my friend Kirsten this weekend, we decided that we are going to join forces and do the Bellingham Traverse in September. It is a multi-sport race consisting of 5 legs: run, mountain bike, road bike, run and paddle. We're going to divide and conquer - I'll do the first run and the road bike and Kirsten will take the mountain bike, 2nd run and paddle. This is going to be a TON of fun - can't wait!

What did you do this long weekend? Was your weekend as long as mine?

PS. I'm on the Daily Mile - wanna be my friend? http://www.dailymile.com/people/MeganF15

ITBS - What's the root of the problem?

I've been having some IT band issues as of late and I'm trying to figure out what caused it to flare up. The first time I had ITBS, it was because I ran on the left side of the road during my first half marathon which meant I was left hip was lower than my right for 13.1 miles. Thinking about that now makes me cringe.

That is where it hurts

So since then, I try to avoid pavement that has that slight slope to one side in hopes that I can steer IT band pain away from me. I haven't increased my running miles lately,which can be a cause of ITBS, but have increased my biking miles. I do notice a slight discomfort when I ride, but not as much as when I run. Can biking also cause ITBS?

This week I took things down a notch to work on getting my legs back into working order. I've shortened my runs and I'm making sure I stretch and foam roll after, which makes things feel a lot better. I also had my chiropractor work on it and had a massage, so I'm hoping all this TLC will put me back in the game this weekend. I'd really like to be a-ok for a trail run I have on June 1st - *fingers crossed!*

Love this stretch for IT bands, especially when you  pop the hip of the back leg

Make it hurt so good with a Stick or Foam Roller

Ice, Ice, Baby

I still want to know what ultimately caused this...I'm at a loss right now and would really like to know what to avoid in the future. I am already feeling the effects of taking care of my leg versus trying to run though the pain. I just got back from a 4 mile, pain-free run at 9:11 pace. Awesome!

Any other ideas of what might have caused my ITBS?

I keep finding myself on the bike

Yesterday was supposed to be my "get excited about triathlon" day. Diana and I had planned to do the swim and bike course, but like she said, we got rained out. So I'm still in that slump. But you all had great suggestions about getting out of this "not stoked about racing triathlon" slump:

• I just need to race
• Maybe I used triathlon to find what sport I'm best at and I'm ready to just concentrate on it
• Don't force triathlon, do what is fun
• Don't race, but volunteer at one
• Just focus on shorter races that require less training

Thanks everyone - Great ideas! I love blogland.

Although my mind is leaning more toward running, my body has found it on the bike quite a bit the past two weeks. I've commuted to work a couple of times, gone on a couple of solo ride and even got lucky with weather and rode with Rebecca twice. Over the past two weeks, I've ridden 160 miles which makes me think my body really does want to ride. :)

I actually just got back from a 20 miler around Bellingham and South Whatcom county. I was pleasantly surprised that it wasn't raining and even more surprised that I was choosing the hillier route over the flat. I conquered a couple of the hills that are part of the Lake Padden triathlon course and overall felt really good. Gave me a confidence boost knowing that I still have it in me to climb those hills.

The most interesting part of the ride was a random guy that was about to pass me slowing down to strike up a conversation. We actually talked for a good 10 minutes before our paths split. We were both riding solo, so I think we both welcomed the friendly conversation. We chatted about the Lake Padden triathlon, STP, bike problems and my Masi.  Don't you love the random conversations you can have while on a bike?

I may go for a run later, but need to roll out my bugger IT band. Hope you are having a great weekend!

Is my heart in triathlon?

The past couple weeks I've been struggling. Not with my training, but my lack of will to race triathlon. I do love swimming, biking and running, but when I think about actually racing, there are no excited feelings like there were last year. The only racing I really have the urge for is running!

I could never stop doing any of the sports - they all contribute in a special way to keep me in shape. I just simply think I've lost the desire to put 'em all together and race.

I've been training as if I'm motivated to race - I do have a triathlon on June 26th. And I'll continue to train like this until I need to taper...I will still give this race my all even though my heart might not be there. It's no fun to half-ass something.

But this totally could be a physiological slump that only lasts a couple weeks and I could get re-stoked to race. This is probably the case and I'm probably making too much of a deal out of this. I do have a blog date with Diana on Saturday to do the full swim and bike of the Lake Padden Triathlon, so I'm hoping this will pump me up.


Do you ever want to focus on just one of the triathlon sports and use the others for cross training?

Still sweating

The last time I blogged was Easter. Do I feel guilty? Nope. Well, maybe a little, but I needed the break. But don't you worry, I've still been sweating.

April brought a few new things I'm welcoming into my life with open arms. I learned to love swimming again, started to feel the pay off of track workouts and have started to appreciate yoga. Here is April is numbers:

Swim: 21,200 yards
Bike: 197 miles
Run: 77 miles

I would have liked to see better run miles, but I had a pretty big March with half marathon training, so I spent more time swimming.

What else has been going on in the world of the Daily Sweat?

• I'm starting to incorporate massage and chiropractic work into life and wellness. I want to be proactive at injury prevention instead of reactive. My insurance covers it for the most part, so I'm taking advantage.
• Work has been nuts. So. Freaking. Busy. Trying to not work too late and keep somewhat of a social life and still get in all my workouts.
• I'm biking to work 1-2 days a week. It's 24 miles round trip and it feels great to get a ride in at 6am.
• I'm re-visiting my 2011 race schedule. There's just too much going on. I need a couple of races to put my all into instead of doing a lot of so-so events. 

Hope everyone is fantastic! Tell me, what has been your best workout in the past two weeks?