DNF: February Challenge

I didn't finish my February Challenge. The goal was to swim 30,000 yards and to bike 200 miles. The swim was a bit of a stretch, but the bike should have been an easy A to achieve, yet I didn't make it.

Final numbers
Swim: 28,300 yards
Bike: 145 miles (all on trainer)

I'm pretty dang proud of that amount of yardage in the pool. With that number, this month has been my biggest swim month EVER by 7,100 yards. I'll take it. And to add to that, I'm getting faster and who doesn't like to get faster? Just for me keeping tabs and being able to look back later this year and see where I was at, my average pace per 100 is around 1:50 and my sprint 100 pace is around 1:38. How fast can I get before my first triathlon in June?

As for the bike, the only thing I can say is that I can't wait for Spring and temperatures higher than the upper 40s on the weekends. Seattle winters are dreary and when it isn't raining, it's cold. Perhaps I should just buck up and buy some warmer clothes. What a genius idea!

Running wasn't in my goals this month due to my knee injury. It's been about a month since this started to bother me and over the course of that month, I've ran a whopping 23.5 miles. It is what it is, and I'm learning that strength training is a must to stay injury free. Things are slowly but surely getting better - I ran 5 miles yesterday and only felt pain after my run. Baby steps.

So what's in store for March? More goals! This is my last month of base building before I start training with my coach April 1st. I want to be ready for whatever she throws at me, so here's what I'd like to do:

Run: Run more than 23.5 miles.Slowly build mileage again. Be smart, don't push it.
Bike: Get outside and quit being a sissy when it comes to the cold. Get at least 200 miles in.
Swim: Swim 3 days per week and go to a masters swim class at UW.
Other: buy a triathlon bike, continue to strength train 2-3 days/week, make time to be social.

That's it for me. Any specific goals you have for March?

5 item update

1. Still nursing the knee injury, but I do have progress to report. I've been to the chiropractor 5 times and each time I leave his office I feel better. My glutes are slowly getting stronger, my hips are evening out with pelvic adjustments and my knee is hurting less and less on runs. Progress! I can't fully jump into running again though, there still is some pain. I keep reminding myself that slow and steady wins the race. The race against injury, that is.

2. Today is day 27 that I have not eaten any kind of sweet. No candy, cookies, brownies, baked good, granola bar with chocolate, etc. I'm participating in a Fitness Challenge at work for 7 weeks and we get points if we don't eat sweets, soda or fried food. Not only have I not had sweets, but I've also not drank a soda (I don't usually anyway) and I've only had fried food twice. I like this challenge... can we just do this forever?

3. My February Challenge is on track. I've swam 18,600 yards - 11,400 to go. And I've biked 106 - 94 to go. I have to say that I have been LOVING the pool. I've been pushing myself and it's paying off with faster paces. My "easy" 100 pace is now 1:50, which is a hell of a lot better than this time last year! Plus, I feel like my stroke technique is also getting loads better thanks to drills.

4. My eating has improved so much this year and the fitness challenge is helping me eat more veggies and less processed foods. My body feels great because of it too!

Oatmeal, chia seeds, pumpkin

Salad with shredded carrots and baby beets

Using my bread maker to bake fresh bread rather than buying it at the store

Brown rice, tofu, orange bell pepper, shredded carrots, zuchinni, Trader Joes curry simmer sauce

5. Have you gals out there seen Oiselle's spring line? So awesome. I have this problem that I hate spending money on regular "street" clothes, but I won't hesitate on buying workout clothes, especially if they're cute, which is exactly what Oiselle's spring line is. Check it out: www.oiselle.com

Love Sports T, Easy Run Cap T (stripey), Simplicity Tank (fresh green)

42 year running streak

This recently aired on a local program called Evening Magazine. It is about a man from Bellingham who has run every day for the past 42 years and how it has helped save his son's life. Talk about a streak! Very impressive!

Weak butt and hips

Hey, what do you know, I'm another runner with a weak butt and hips. I totally knew that's what I was going to hear when I went to the chiropractor on Friday - I wish I would learn! Must keep up on hip/butt strengthening! Easier said than done.

So my knee injury happened because my weak glutes/hips/core aren't firing the way they should be, so the rest of my leg is having to support the lack of muscle ending up in pain in the outside of my knee. Luckly, I found a chiropractor that knows triathlon very well (he's completed multiple Ironmans), so I feel I'm in great hands.

The chiropractor specializes in Active Release and Graston, which I've had done before on an IT band injury. I believe in the effectiveness of these methods and believe that they'll get me back running quickly. They do hurt, but it's a "hurt so good" feeling. I have minor bruising from the Graston, but a bruise is better than running in pain.

Kinesio tape for support. You can kind of see my bruise...

I have a visit with him on Monday to do some more work and I may get the green light to run on Tuesday *fingers crossed.* Until then, I'm biking, swimming, ellipticizing, walking - ANYTHING to get a bit of a workout in. He also prescribed some stretches and one glute strengthening exercise. He said I'll get more exercises next week.

If I want to continue running, it is imperative that I focus more attention on my butt and hips and not blow it off like I've done in the past. My new goal is simply to get buns of steel.