Getting Cut

Some good news and some bad news.

The good news is that with all of the workouts I've been doing, I'm getting some well-defined lines on my torso.
The bad news is that they're blisters from my heartrate monitor.

This year, our tri-team has really been making an effort to "train smarter, not harder". This is perfect for me because I know I am very inefficient with my training: I go out, I run, if I get tired I slow down. Simple. But not good for making improvements.

Now we're doing drills to work on our form and build strength. Ouch. And soon I'll be doing that freaky VOmax thingie. Last week, Tri team Leah (our run leader) gave us an introduction to the heartrate monitor. I've had one for over a year and just never got around to learning how to train with it. We basically did a 10k with a big hill in the middle, and the pupose was mostly just to get used to the idea of checking your heartrate.

After about 4 miles I started feeling like I was being electructed; there was a stinging sensation right under my chest. Of course, the pain wasn't related to any kind of electrical current: I didn't put the strap on tight enough and didn't use any body glide, and it was rubbing my skin raw. Sure enough, the next day I had a 3-inch horizontal blister, right below my chest. (I'll spare you my shirtless photos. This time.)

I figure if I reposition the strap, after 2 more runs I'll have a 6-pack.