Introducing Another Ironmom for IMAZ 2012! Melinda!



Kate and Melinda before IMAZ 2010 practice swim


Hey ladies - I wanted to introduce you to another Ironmom.  This is Melinda!  Like all of the other Ironmom's, I tower over her too!  She and I randomly found eachother during Ironman 2010.  We were both first timers and we were both SCARED!  I first happened upon Melinda on the Beginner triathlete website.  I found her posts interesting b/c she sounded as nervous as I was.  Then, I had another friend come to AZ from the same website to do a practice ride and we ran into her.  We introduced ourselves and I asked her if she was the person I read on the website.  It was her!  We became instant IMAZ buddies.  Both of us were scared to we would not finish the swim so we met up the day before the race for the practice swim.  It was so nice to have another friendly face at the event.  We also met up on the race morning to keep eachother company.  She didn't have any friends doing the race so we just hung out and made our way to swim start together.  We lost eachother in the water but by then it didn't matter as much.  we just had to do it!  I made it out of the water and saw her husband and he let me know she made it out too.  I didn't see her again until the last loop of the bike.  She was doing great!  We both finished.  She did VERY well!  We have been in contact and she will be coming out to volunteer and then register for Ironman 2012.  It will be so nice to have a large group of friendly faces to train with!  I am linking to Melinda's blog too so you can see how her training is going.  Go Mom's Go!!  http://trigranny.blogspot.com/

Cross Training and Strength Training

While I enjoy the 3 sports that make up the triathlon (ok, so I don't enjoy all 3, but I tolerate them), I like to mix things up and cross train. My favorite workout zumba, but some days I can't make it to the gym when it's offered. So, I've picked up a couple of workout DVDs that I really like. The first is Bob Harper's Inside Out Method kettle bell strength training (I also like his Inside Out Method workout). It's adds some variety to the regular routine and works my hips, quads, and hamstrings 'til I'm good and sore.

The other DVD I like is Jillian Michaels's Yoga Meltdown. It's part yoga and part torture, but you definitely feel it working! (Btw, can you tell I love the Biggest Loser's trainers!)

The other thing I'm trying to do is work in more strength training workouts. I find that I get the best all over workout if I go to a class. Again, this requires schedule coordination, so many times I wander aimlessly from machine to machine trying to make sure I work all the different muscle groups. Any good suggestions on how to maximize strength training workouts?