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June 23, 2005
Sans Shirt
Lessons learned from swimming last night:
-forgetting goggles will lead to bruised arms as I swim too close to the lane divider in an extreme effort to stay clear of oncoming swimmers that I can barely see
-I swim faster without them. 6:12 for the 300 m
As I was in bed last night I KNEW I should go biking today. I really need to go biking in an effort to adequately prepare for the triathlon. (I drive somewhere almost every day in DC and hardly ever bike, while in Boston I never used my car and was biking daily.) The problem, however, is that I can’t really run and bike the same day, especially too close to this week’s race, b/c my knee will cry out to me. AND, I really wanted to run. In bed last night, my internal dialogue went almost verbatim like this:
Voice 1: You need to bike. You are going to bonk in the triathlon.
Voice 2: I want to run.
1: Right now you are preparing for a triathlon. Don’t be weak. Suck it up and bike.
2: It’s JUST exercise. It’s supposed to be fun. I can go running if I want to.
1: That is so not disciplined of you.
The result-I am weak. I went running. YEAH RUNNING!!! 40 easy minutes. It was fabulous. I loved it. It helped the soreness from the race go away. I have one month and one day to train for my triathlon. I hope that is enough time to build some bike endurance. Tomorrow I PROMISE I will bike (and swim).
About my run: All the various leg parts felt good. My Achilles is a bit sore at the moment for some unknown reason-but my knee and calf feel fine. I am a bundle of niggles (eliteblogger word) I guess, and I can deal with that.
Also, this was my very first sports bra run-as in no shirt. Basically, I know female runners go sans shirts all the time, but I never had. I wanted to try it-but also didn’t. I mean, I am all about being comfortable temperature and chafing wise, but I didn’t want to worry about what I looked like or be stared at while I was running (do people look at girl runners in sports bras?). I just didn’t want one more thing to worry about while I was running and I was really uncomfortable doing it before which is why I have never done it. I had NO interest in it. I guess I just decided I couldn’t have a real opinion on the practice without trying it-and what if it was a huge running improvement? Anyway, I figured I was going appropriately early in the morning (6 AM) that that would be a good time to ease into the practice.
Truth be told, it feels really cool. It’s less hot. (But I did need SOOO much sun screen since there was so much skin exposed). A few guys were staring (I think? Or maybe I was just self-conscious) but I decided I don’t care. I would look at a guy without his shirt on who was running so I guess it’s not that weird. Anyway, I kind of liked running sans shirt and I think I would do it again if the circumstances were right (not running to or from work or with a big group of people I didn’t know). So I am glad I tried it after all these years-especially b/c I am going even further south later this summer and it will be HOT-though then I might wear a shirt for additional sun protection…tradeoffs…anyway, I new running novelty for me.
Posted by Audrey at June 23, 2005 08:11 PM
Comments
I'm glad you liked the no shirt option! It took me a while to get used to that when I first started college (and my teammates thought I was absolutely insane for even wearing a shirt!) but now I can't even imagine wearing a shirt when it's so hot. Just think of all the laundry you'll save on! :)
Posted by: Beth at June 23, 2005 10:08 PM
you mentioned that you would look at a guy that was running sans shirt...i would agree that as a guy, i would look at a girl sans shirt. i don't stare though (i try not to hehe), just kind of give a glance and then go about my business. plenty of girls run w/the sports bra so it is normal but its still very easy on the eyes! (hey i'm just being honest!!) :)
Posted by: brent hopkins at June 24, 2005 11:42 AM
OMG, this is the funniest entry ever. You never cease to be completely entertaining and honest in your blog writing. That's great. And I'm also glad you found the sports-bra-wearing good.
Posted by: MandM at June 24, 2005 12:50 PM
I love your blog so much. What a funny entry. I have that kind of internal dialogue all the time and usually take it to mean that I'm insane!
You will be fine for your tri in my opinion, biking is much easier and quicker to get in shape for than running. And way to brave the no-shirt thing. I really hardly ever wear a shirt when it's over 60 degrees, it is awesome! I think once you get used to it you will never want to go back.
Posted by: Barb at June 24, 2005 01:07 PM
When I see a woman running in just the running bra I think it looks like she's a "serious runner". Someone not self conscious about wearing just the bra, is focused on her pace and form and has tuned out the rest of the world.
Posted by: Jon in Michigan at June 24, 2005 01:49 PM
Audrey, your entries are so funny! I loved the dialogue, and so cool you got to run for 40 min!!! yey! And awesome on the bra thing. I have to say I have still to make the change. I've done it sometimes but a bit too self conscious still, but I think you very well be the one who inspires me to try! ;)
Posted by: Nanda at June 24, 2005 02:08 PM
We must all have that internal dialogue thing. I think that I am lazy when I take a day off, but my other side reminds me that rest is what makes you better and too many of us ignore that rest. Personally, I can't just go easy, it ends up too hard, so a complete zero is better for me.
Running in just a sports bra took me quite a while too. I can't say that I like to do it, pretty much because I don't like my stomach. I'm much more comfortable in a long sports bra, but when it is really hot I go in just the bra. My comfort is so much more important, I don't care if I'm in a big group or not!
Blondie
Posted by: Blondie at June 24, 2005 06:08 PM