We're officially four days out from my very first triathlon!! I cannot believe it's almost here. I've somehow managed to keep the stressing to a minimum so far this week and the anxiety nightmares have stayed away. I'm hoping that pattern continues for the rest of the week, so I'm well rested come Saturday morning.

This Week's Numbers:


Monday: 60 minute swim

I struggled with motivation on Monday. I originally had plans to meet a friend for a run in the afternoon, but he got sick and cancelled an hour before our planned run. I had been really looking forward to the run since we were going to explore some new-to-us trails. I moped around for a while debating whether to run by myself, but then decided to get in the pool to prove to myself that I am actually a pretty solid swimmer. My swimming confidence was a bit shaken after that first open water swim, but I felt much better after a good pool workout.

Tuesday: Brick - 60 minute bike, 30 minute run

I made a fun little video about this workout for the Under Armour What's Beautiful competition and I thought I'd share.



Basically, I kept it steady on the bike and tried to hold on through the run.

Wednesday: 3 mile run

I've been finding the runs on the days right after my brick workouts have kind of sucked lately. I think it has something to do with fueling so I either need to eat more the night after my brick or eat more the morning before my run.

Thursday: Strength


Mainly upper body and core.

Rocked my bran new Terps Under Armour workout shirt. I am totally obsessed with it.

Friday: Rest

Saturday: Unintentional rest

I ended up missing my brick workout on Saturday because I was out late Friday night with friends and then had plans all day Saturday starting at noon. I didn't have the time to squeeze in a three-hour workout before that. My original plan was to move the brick to Sunday, but that just didn't happen.

Sunday: Open Water Swim clinic


I swam 1,000 yards/meters (I'm not really sure) in a murky river in Virginia. I did a little better with my sighting this week, but I always find myself super out of breath during open water swims. I need to work on keeping my heart rate lower and my breathing more calm and consistent. The water in the river was much warmer than the water in the bay and I'm hoping that means that water I'll be swimming in for the tri will be warmer too!

Yesterday Zach and I headed out to Lorton, VA for an open water swim and transitions clinic. The weather was less than desirable (it was rainy, overcast and cold) and I was cranky because we were awake so early, but I was still hoping I'd learn something valuable for my tri this weekend.


But I won't lie, I was a little bit let down.

I paid $43 to attend the clinic and I was expecting learn some tips for open water swimming, maybe get advice on how to sight, how to deal with swimming in a crowd, etc.

Instead, the people running the clinic inflated some buoys, and just sent everyone into the water to swim. You had an hour to be in the water and in that time you could swim as much as you wanted. The loop they set up was 500 meters and I did it twice.

But I learned nothing about having a good swim, and that was disappointing.


The transitions portion of the clinic wasn't much better.


The organizers talked us through a successful transition and demonstrated how to set everything up so it would be neat and organized.

Then they had us practice a T1 and T2 transition.

The only valuable tip I learned was that if you cuff the legs of your wetsuit before you take it off, it comes off more quickly.

But I could have practiced the transitions on my own anywhere and learned just as much as I did at the clinic.

Overall, I was definitely disappointed that I paid a decent amount of money to learn almost nothing. I kind of wish I would have run the Frederick half with my friends instead.

Happy Friday friends! We've just about made it through another week! I have a fun-filled weekend planned and I can't wait to kick it off!

1. The weather is going to be amazing! I don't know about where you live, but we're getting a taste of hot summer weather this weekend, and after some dreary gloomy days I'm planning to do everything I can to take advantage of it by spending as much time outside as possible.

2. The Around the World Embassy Tour is tomorrow in DC. This is one of those events I've wanted to do just about every year since I've lived here, but never had a chance. Basically 40+ embassies open their doors to the public and put on a great showcase of the culture of their country. I'm excited to eat yummy food and learn something new about a ton of countries. I will also have to remember to wear my patience hat. Most of the embassies will probably be packed with people.

3. Cinco de Mayo and Derby Day all in one? Need I say more.

4. My open water and transitions clinic is bright and early Sunday morning. After last week's open water swimming adventure, I'm looking forward to picking up some tips and practicing techniques that will help me have a successful swim. I'm also really excited to learn more about how to set up a transition area because right now, that's all still a mystery to me.

5. Downtime on Sunday afternoon. Next week is jammed packed with training, work meetings, a day trip to NYC and of course my triathlon. I actually don't know how I'm going to make it to next Friday, so I'm looking forward to spending Sunday afternoon relaxing on my back porch doing a whole lot of nothing, but soaking up the sun and relaxing.

And of course, I couldn't end this post without announcing the winner of the Technogel pillow giveaway.

Congrats to Faith from For the Health of It! Shoot me an email (jess@jessruns.com) and we'll get you set up with your new pillow!

I also want to wish a friend of mine from college lots of luck as she enters her first figure competition this weekend. She's busted her butt for months now and I think she's going to kick butt! She's chronicled her progress on her blog, so check it out if you're curious!

And of course good luck to everyone I know running the Frederick half this weekend or just racing in general! Hope the warm temperatures don't get to you too much!

Here's to the weekend! Do you have anything fun planned?