Swimming

My goal was to be able to swim a mile by the end of the year (or so). However I have not been to the gym in almost 2 weeks. So that just isn't going to happen. I am hoping to get back on track with it all in the next few days.
My mom is going back home on Tuesday. So maybe I will go then. I don't think I have been to the gym on a Tuesday evening yet. I don't know what the pool will be like that night. I should probably look it up.
I think there is a small window of opportunity on Wednesday evenings. So that may or may not happen given work loads etc.
And on Thursday I have the day off. Maybe I can make a way over to the gym on Thursday since I have the whole day.
Now on Friday I just dont know what the hours are going to be. I suppose I need to look that up.
Get back on track again etc etc...
Maybe I can get to that mile by February. I would be OK with that.

Ramblin' Road 2010

I signed up for the 2010 Ramblin' Rose Triathlon series today. I decided I would sign up early this year in the effort to avoid paying additional fees for the event. And with the money I saved I signed up for a second race. For 2010 I got to get my act together and my butt in gear sooner than later. Unlike the past 2 years I will be participating in a race in July and September. Wish me luck!

Goal

With the running my original attempt was to do the whole race is a run. What is that 3.1 miles? And if my normal pace was 12minute miles that would be a little over 36 minutes to finish the race. I think that could still be possible. It doesn't seem as daunting. Of course that would mean I would have to run faster when I ran and walk faster as well to get a better average. That may not happen. I will have to see.
I know for sure I want to finish under 45 minutes.
I should go back and look at my splash + dash time.

running

So ever since the triathlon I have been trying to improve my run. I found the Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving day was the perfect time frame to train. And I put together a schedule. I must admit following the schedule has not been all that easy. I can't seem to do better than 4 to 8 minutes of running. Oh and let's throw in there - there is definitely something wrong with my knee. It is very sore and doesn't seem to want to consistently feel better. So that is an issue as well. I may be pushing myself - but I tell myself I would push more if it didn't feel so odd.
So the routine isn't getting me very far.
I was excited last week or so when I actually managed to run for 8 minutes. This week I found it in me to run for 5. Now if I could improve my pace that would be pretty close to running a full mile.
So I will continue to work on that. I have 18 days to continue to work on this. We'll see how it goes.

rest week

I thought I would do some walking with my rest week. So I packed some sneaks with me for the week.
Tonight it just didn't happen.
Tomorrow is dinner with the client so that probably won't lead to anything either.
Maybe I will get around to it on Thursday when I get back to NC
I struggle with this rest week thing

Thanks Scott for taking some pictures

Thanks Kimberle for not forwarding the "sports shutter" shots... I would have felt compelled to post them and make some snarky remark...

Last year the race was a week later. And even though it was raining yesterday morning it no way near felt as cold as it did last year. Well at least at this hour. Here we are inside waiting patiently for our turn in the pool. It was very hot in the pool area. Kind of plays on your nerves a bit watching everyone. As indicated by our times - we probably weren't seeded properly but that's OK.

I cut my transition time down a good bit this year. Heck it wasn't as cold and it was raining, so the concept of drying off before getting on the bike seemed ridiculous. I started before Kimberle in the pool - I think it was more of an alphabetic thing than a timing difference. She passed me not too long after we made it up the first bike hill on the bikes.

I would like to say it has to do with my tires. And thankfully some woman that passed me way on the back side of the bike course agreed with me. Her comment went something like - Keep it up. You're doing great. Remember you're working twice as hard as me because of your tires... Maybe I will change to hybrid tires for next year. I just have to make sure I use th bike some more this year.Kimberele finished about 13 minutes ahead of me (remember it's the numbers game that keeps me interested in this stuff). So I was probably a mile behind her? Does that sound like it could be right? I guess not given that I started before her. These staggered start times are good but can be confusing at times as well.Kimberle apologized for not getting a picture of me crossing the finish line. I am OK with that. Thankfully at least they got a picture of me smiling. I think it was Michelle the other day that said - if you are going to be out there running you may as well be smiling and pretending to be having fun... Somehow I managed to muster that up.

stats

Well they got those times posted pretty darned fast...
The numbers are somewhat deceiving as the number of people participating increased from last year. So I did a little tallying of percentiles and even though some of the numbers are higher; from a percentile perspective they are actually better

Bib 540
Place 656 (see what I mean)

SWIM - 263 (well that's an improvement from 431)
00:05:53 (better than last year's 7:23)
this also includes the run from the pool to the transition area so I need to figure out how to take that into consideration going forward
00:03:37 TRANSITION

BIKE - 671 (this is where I seem to have fallen off)
00:39:53 (but I did improve by about 4 minutes)
00:02:23 TRANSITION

RUN - 670 (yep - taking that time off on the bike made mylegs feel like elastic bands and it came through loud and clear when I tried to run - which I still don't do all that well)
00:27:58

TOTAL 01:19:43

Interestingly my biggest improvements were in the first transition and the bike.
I suppose if you look at the swim and the overall time it takes there was marked improvement there as well.

So on to the next goals.
This winter I am going to try to improve my running. I am going to sign up to do some 5k type races to get into that mind set.
I am also going to try to learn how to build my endurance using an eliptical machine. I don't like them so that's a good challenge.
I want to learn how to swim a mile without stopping. I think I could do that if given enough time and patience.
And I want to be more diligent in taking Terri's spin classes.
And taking yoga classes.

Just a few things to do.

yay us!

First I want to thank everyone for their support and encouragement.
Paige for teaching me some finer points in swim strokes. I haven't mastered the left hand breathing but my nerves were calm when I got in the water. And she explained tpsome finer points of changing lanes. Swimming towards the rope so that when I pushed off the wall I was further down the next lane. It worked out well.
Kimberle for agreeing to do this silly race again this year. We need to remeber and come out here and read ths entry next year when we have nerves and doubts about our ability. We will do this again next year!
The Heckshers and Falks for wanting to come out and cheer us on. Maybe next year you can join us in the competition. You know the anti-social side is glad you decided not to truck yourselves all the way to Huntersville to cheer.
Nathan and Ransom for running that little bit with me at the end - you know Miss Denise it is all about you personal best.
Terri L for explaining that 3rd gear on the left of the bike. It worked well on some of the flat spots and downhills. We'll see if it helped my time.
My mom - what is it you said? I come from good stock?
My dad - I cannot get in the water or on a bike without thinking of him. I promise this year not to put the bike in the shed and forget about it. Heck I got that new bike rack I need to continue to use.
I am sure there are others. I will have to think on this some more

forgot last night

The motivation just wasn't there when I got out of my 2 hour meeting at 5:30 pm... It is a situation where we are killing the dead horse. It can be so exhausting after a while.
So going to the gym for the spin class did not happen. Going to the gym just to ride the bike didn't sound appealing either. So I went to KPs and we had left overs. This evening I am at the mexican restaurant down the road from my house. I have never been here before. I am getting a burrito camarone even though it wasn't on the menu... They are giving away free burritos at moes but I suspect this will be tastier. If only they could serve margaritas. That would be dangerous WHOA!

that cant be right

I ran at the creek today. Ran 1/2 mile in for 5 minutes. Walked. Sprinted. Walked. Sprinted. For next 1/2 mile. Ran for 1/4 mile. That pace was closer to 6 minutes for 1/2 mile. Walked next 1/4 mile. Then ran out the final 1/4 mile and continued back in for 1/4 mile at a run. Walked the last 1/4 mile out for a total of 31 minutes covering 2.5 miles. That just seems way too fast for me.
Maybe I should be happppyyyyy.
Go me!

1450 Yards

That would be 14.5 lengths of the football field. Could I have possibly covered more yards in the pool than the Panthers did in their game today?
Tut tut tut boys...
I did 200 yard warm up
250 fast pace
600 straight even pace
2 sets of 100 as fast as possible
200 cool down
However I suspect if I start thinking about the swims in lengths of football fields I may unnerve myself.

HILL DRILL!

Last week we worked on form when running up and down hills. I kept that in mind on Monday when I ran. I did a 3 mile run on that day. Today I was slated to do 30 minutes of running. I decided to do a little hill drill. We had talked about this in trainin and I put it to work.
I chose the hill in/out of the neighborhood. I ran up the hill from the fire hydrant to the corner(about a minute). I walked a bit to get a breather. Then ran down the hill to the gazebo (about 1.5 minutes). Walked back to the fire hydrant and ran back up. I did this 6 times.
I have to admit I waited until after dark to not draw too much attention.
Overall I was out there about 32 minutes.
I'd call it a good workout.
Unfortunately my HRM was picking up the signal. I am going to blame it on the bad bra I was wearing. I would have liked to see what my heart rate did when I was startled by the guy walking his dog. I was so into talking to myself I didn't se them coming.
Tomorrow is a swim day.
I may throw me and my just out of the pool wet body on the bike as well.
We shall see.

It'll take you 5 minutes

Some may know that 5 minutes is the favorite measurement of time that my boss uses on a regular basis. Usually it is longer than 5 minutes. Much longer. I usually acknowledge it with a nod.
So today when the mile marker read 3.25 and my car was parked just past mile marker 4, I thought to myself - not much longer now - I will be done in less than 5 minutes. The time reference made me smile and chuckle. Aaaahhh something that works within that time frame.
So I kept going
Let me tell you thought - todays workout sure did get the best of me.

Well yesterdat I cycled near home in the effort to get in some hills. I ended up swimming about 600 yards as well.

Today I swam 1000 yds - 200yd breat stroke warm up, 600yd straight swim - really a straight swim no stopping,100 left side breathe - I still struggle with that, 100 breast stroke cool down.

Then I went to the park and as mentioned rode for 8 miles.

Now I am just vegging front of the tele.

almost forgot

swam 1300 yards tonight
but the clincher...
i did 750 of those non-stop
what a great feeling!
ESCAPE TO BERMUDA / BERMUDA SHORTS Triathlon here I come.... well for 2010 that is...

The injuries just keep coming

A while back a friend of mine decided to post a picture of his arm after it was clamped onto by a dog. Most people did not take too kindly to the picture. He was fine. The dog was fine. Readers were not. So I will spare you all gruesome pictures of my thumb meets box-cutter experience. Truthfully as it was bleeding - grabbing a camera was not on my mind. And once it got glued together - it looked even worse than the initial bloody cut.
Almost 2 weeks later, would you beleive that glued together gauze thing is still attached? It's like a poor man's version of a Jersey manicure nail tip. The doctor said it will eventually wear off. I sure wish it was sooner than later. But then again I am not too sure I want to bear witness to the damage below.
I went through my fingertip and down and out through the nail. Feeling squeemish?
That nail is going to need some alon attention until it grows out.

As for working it out. It did interfer with my week back in the saddle. I couldn't get it wet for at least a week. I have had it bandaged over the glue and have been wearing disposable gloves on that hand in the shower. Quite a production to get in the shower and wash the hair. This week I swam for the first time. And even more impressive invention than the latex glove is the finger-cot. There is no way to put it politely. It looks like a condom on the finger. But hey it seems to keep the finger dry. Unfortunately the analogy has caused me to reach a similar conclusion towards the swim cap.... kind of like a condom on your head. Nice, I know....

Bu now that I am healing it is full steam ahead.
Tomorrow I am going to try cylcing on the roads around town. To do that I probably need to get to bed soon but it just isn't happening.
I ended up swimming for the first time this Wednesday.

HNT - Micro chip

So with timed races they provide a microchip that tracks your time. In most road races it laces into your shoe and off you go. With a triathlon event - you don't have shoes on for the first leg of the race. So they create a contraption of sorts to wrap it around your ankle. Truth be told, I don't remember how that worked at RR last year. I remember at the end they cut it off of my ankle. But I don't know what the strap was made of.
Well in S&P it was a cloth velcro type thing. And as the woman handed it to me she said - now don't make it too tight because your ankles will swell. Has she seen my ankles? I have Fred Flinstone feet - they are as long as they are wide and the ankles go right along with it. Not a foot that you see and go - oooh sexy. They are just functional. And "not too tight" was not an option. For it to close it needed to be a little snug. And I was OK with it - hmm come to think of it I think I should train the next 4 weeks with something strapped on my ankle when I swim - you definitely notice it in the water. Well I was Ok until it got all wonky and turned around under my sock for the run. Needless to say I got a little microchip burn.
And when I get new batteries for my camera (hopefully tomorrow) I will download the shots and show you all.

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

Garmin Connect - Activity Details for Untitled

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Splash & Dash Pictures

My friends Kerry and Kimberle came to cheer me on last week. KP brought her camera. Errr...

Well with some editing I thought I could in fact post a few. I am not all that fond of the rolled out of bed at 5am, crazy hair, cloudy day look but what can you do about it. You can almost read those exact sentiments on my face in this picture.

My swim time wasn't really updated for my seeding so I scooted ahead of a few people that were vacilatting (sp?) on getting in the water. Actually the temperature of the outside pool was very pleasant on that cloudy morning.

I like this shot best. Sure you can't see my face. But with raised arms it does help them look less bulky.

See how you can barely see my legs here? I was getting tired. You can see the edge of the pool to the left. That means this is the end of 350 yards. Only 50 more to go. I don't know if I took my time in transition or if it was a case of trying to catch my breath. But K&K had enough time to loop around and catch me as I ran up the little hill from thre track to head out on the road towards the road.

And some 50+ minutes later it is over the finish line. I ran the last third of a mile or so. It was a longer distance for me than usual. I was really winded. I wish I could look like some of those others as they cross over the finish line. Oh well. Maybe next year.

Got back on that horse

As planned, Saturday I got back into the training mode. Well frist I sat myself down in an effort to figure out my new bike rack. Then I got a littl workout just trying to get the bloody bike on the rack. From there I went to the little park and did a 8 mile bike ride. My goal is to add 2 miles on the bike each week. I will probably shoot for more on the stationary bike at the gym. That way I can also add some hills without the fear of falling over just yet. By race day I should be up to 16 miles on the bike. I only need 9 (phew)
I also packed up my bag to hit the gym. I got somewhat sidetracked in my efforts - that's mostly from sitting down and figuring out the bluetooth in my car. I ended up swimming with KP. I did 100yd warm up. 50 yd. fast, 50 yd. right breathe, 50 yd. left breathe, 250 yd straight swim, 50 yd. fast, 50 yd. cool down for a total of 650 yds. For the swim I want to continue to improve my speed and add the left breathe. Between now and the race I don't imagine that I will add much distance. I will probably keep it around 700 to 1000. However by year end I would like to shoot for that mile. I suppose that will be Oct/Nov/Dec training.
And the run. Well that didn't happen on Saturday.

Sunday I battled the bike rack again and did another 8 miles. Now I am thinking I need to add that run. I just need to motivate to do it. Sitting here and typing in a bit more enjoyable.

and lets not even talk about what ive eaten!

Tortilla chicken salad
Chic fil a
Mc donalds
Cheese + crackers
Nutter butters
More mc donalds
Lots of coffee
Dinner out sounds healthy but you know that salmon was drenched in butter
Ice cream
And this morning they are talking about a breakfast buffett
Enough already!

week off

So earlier in the week we discussed taking this week off. I had lots of travel on my agenda and working in a workout would have been difficult. Doable maybe but difficult.
Monday I worked late in preparation for the meetings.
Tuesday I got up at 5am and home at 9pm from one days worth of travel.
Wednesday I decided to take monday off, worked a pretty reular schedule with some stresses, and packed.
Thursday I was up at 430am to make a flight, met with clients, took some out to dinner and was asleep before 10.
Now I am lying in bed delaying getting up. It should be a fairly reasonable day. My flight gets home right in time to sit in traffic.
But I did take Monday off so I have 3 days to get back on track. Yay me

transition time

it has been pointed out to me that i really do need to work on my transition time
the guy that came in first had a 0:24 transition time... 2 whole minutes faster than me...
so i truly need to work on that before the ramblin' rose
i ordered a new swim top - i think that should help with the transition as i won't feel the need to throw something on over it...
now i just need to get acclimated to the shoe and short aspect of it all

Woo Hoo!!!

Glad that is over. As much I felt like I could die in the pool... And still not a big fan of running...
I think I am good to sign up for next year again.

Rank - 91 out of 97

6 out 7 in my age group and I was the oldest in that whatever to 39 category
I met the girl that was last in my age group. I cut in the line ahead of her to swim. Now that I see her swim time, I am glad that I did. I was about 2 minutes faster than her.

SWIM - 84 9:33
Transition - 2:24
RUN - 92 44:17
TOTAL 56:12

YAY ME!

phew...

the let's get anxious over something irrelevant side almost kicked in...

Place - 548
Bib - 587

rank - SWIM - 431
SWIM - 00:07:23
Transition - 00:06:24 - see this is what I need to work on... I dilly dallies alot with this last year

rank - BIKE - 544
BIKE - 00:43:59
Transition - 00:02:58 - this one was better but I think that is because I had already dried off etc..

rank - RUN - 539
RUN - 00:29:35

TOTAL time - 01:30:17

what did i do with my times???

I know I kept them. I am anal like that. But for some reason I cannot track them down in my blog... So where are they. UGH! Maybe I can find something historic on the web.

Tomorrow is the Splash & Dash

I feel good about the training I have done so far. I haven't commented much about it but I do have a spreadsheet I share with my trainer and calendar on the wall behind me to document all that has occurred over the past few weeks. Has it really been about 6 week? It has flown by.

I was really all gung ho for a while there. This week has been rather slow with it. Hard to keep up the pace and all. Plus those little voices of doubt have been creeping in. Go figure.

So we clocked my swim time at 10:05. I sent it into the girl to re-seed my swim. But it doesn't look like she switched me up much. There are about 4 people ahead of me with swim times slower than what I clocked. But then again maybe she didn't swithc their times either and we are all in sync. My bib is #87 and I suspect I will start 7:51:45am.

If I do the swim in the 10 minute time frame (although I swear I have been swimming even faster these past few pool times) I will be out of the water by 8:02 let's say. Now I have not been all that keen with my transitions. I should go check last year's blog for trnasition time and try to improve that. I will have to come back to this thought...
Then the run is 3 miles. So let's say that will be close to 50 minutes. So I suspect I will be done around 9am.

Not too shabby for a morning out. I have contemplated treating myself to a massage when it is all done. We shall see. Perhaps I should just treat myself with a drive around the block or so in my new car. (HUH?) well I will have to address that later.

what have i been up to

Well I tried to get close to swimming a mile. I ended up doing 1400 yards last week. That work out felt good. I didn't attempt it this week. I have been trying to focus on the run instead.
So I did some more treadmill work last week as well. 4 miles with a walk run combo. I have to say those first few minutes on the treadmill I swear I have to go to the bathroom. I guess it is some sort of race anxiety. But I did the 4 miles and some stretches. I need to remember to stretch my arms out. They are getting tight with the swimming.
Friday I did NOTHING
I went out with friends after work
Saturday I got my hair cut and test drove a Jetta
Sunday I ot back to the running. I did 4 miles at the park. Even managed to run 2 quarter miles in the mix. It felt good.
Monday I swam. We timed my 400 to submit to the race people. That will get me a start time for the Splash + Dash.
Then she gave me some running to do. 30 minutes of stuff. Tuesday I think is still my day of rest. The problem being Friday and Saturday I did nothing. So I decided I needed to do something. So I did a 22 minute walk run loop around the neighborhood. It was brutally hot out there. And it even 9:30 at night. But brutal all the same
Finally today I did 700 yards of swimming and 17 minutes of walk run. 1 min walk. 1 min run
It felt good
I am sure in this time I have had humourous observations. I just haven't gotten to the keyboard to share them. Now those are pretty much forgotten.
On to the next set.

don't fall off the treadmill

So thursday I had a laye client meeting. It was during their lunch break and so I was starving by the time I got back to the office. Here is where one needs to remember to watch whatvou eat before working out. I had a Kashi black bean mango dish. It is one of my favorites from them. However it is very fiberous. So later that evening when I found myself on the treadmill I was miserable.
I did 1 mile is 16 minutes - good for me. And stopped to use the loo. That didn't help. My stomache was just feeling off from the food. So I went back on the treadmill and started running again. But my form was all wrong. Somehow I unknowingly hit the belt off. Gawd my cadence is awful tonight - and then I realise oh it is just the belt stopping below me.
I eeked out all 3.3 miles in good time but yuck!

So I did another mile on the treadmill Friday. I did much better with it then.I also rode the stationary bike for a bit.

1760 yards in a mile

I am always forgetting this and always going back to see this.
So I wasn't too far from completing a mile this evening
OK - I needed another 500 yards to go but that's not too bad
I think I want to work up to that sooner than later

glub glub glub

Took Tuesday off. I was so tired. So I watched a movie and chilled instead.
This evening I went to the gym. I thought I would have some input from PH as to what to do but did not. It was a toss up - swim or run
So I swam
150 breast warm up
5 minute constant - ended up at 4:30 for 200
50 drills x 50 fast times 4
400 straight swim
100 cool down
For a total of 1250
Oh look that is longer than I thought
Tomorrow I guess I need to work in a run

what's the workout

I haven't been posting much out this way. I have been filling out a spreadsheet for my trainer instead. It has been pretty neat. Not as detailed in some respects as I can be.
So that was last week.
This week had been a little different. I have been a little slow on the training. Well I took Sunday off. I was going to take a slow leisurely walk around Freedom Park. But that didn't happen. I was just too tired.
Monday I met with the trainer and I was still tired. And she decided we should swim. UGH!
150 breast stroke warm up
50 kick board
Drills - but not too sure how many yards I did. Maybe 400 yards of drills? I guess I could rethink them but I truly am drawing a blank.
And then I did 5 minutes of straight swimming. I was impressed with myself I did just short of 300 yards in that time.
I came home to get a good nights sleep. But some crazy 4 hour thunder storm kept me from that.
Yuck for Tuesday
So tired

Where did I leave off?

Oh yeah, my day of rest.. Well the Christening was wonderful. It was very personable and family oriented. Everyone at the church seemed so excited for Corbin.
The food at the brunch - GREAT! So when I saw the email from PH asking me to let her know if I got a ride in... I felt a little obligated to get my butt out there.
So I did 9 miles in 54 minutes at the park.
Tonight we met for 30 minutes and did strength training. I think I will feel it in the morning...
2 reps each.....
Balance ball squats
Balance ball push ups
Downward facing balance ball planks
Upward facing balance ball planks
Single arm rows with the body bar - wow that baby was heavier than I realised
Triceps presses with body bar while in the upward plank position on the balance bar... I am not too sure what will hurt from that tomorrow.
Biceps curls with the body bar off balance. Left arm, both arms, right arm, both arms
And then we tossed a 2 lbs ball around for a bit.
And went over some arm stretches. FUN STUFF!!!
I shook my legs out on the treadmill for a mile afterwards...
TOMORROW IS MY DAY OF REST!!!

Day of rest

I am supposed to cycle today. But my rest days have been a bit buggered up. So I am toying with resting, cycling at the park or swimming some drills... But first Corbin's Christening.
So we shall see how I feel after all those festivities...

Expresso Fitness Bike

I wrote about this bike last year. This is my favourite stationary bike. And I have only seen it at the little Y. And one of them is broken. So I wonder what the odds of it sticking around are. I like it because you choose a course. And each course has a length and different hill grades. And then through the wonders of technology they add graphics to keep you entertained. And steering bars to follow the course. I did 1 round of some ruins maybe. It was 2.9miles and quite hilly. I figured, may as well get used to the hills here when I can't fall over and lose my balance than outside. Then I did 3 miles of a coastal ride. It is predominantly flat. I use this one to get some time and distance in. And to play with the various gears. Oh did I forget to mention you can shift through gears and tensions as well. And then I did the redwood forest ride of 3.3 miles. In 49 minutes I did 9.2 miles on various courses. It was a good trip.

Swim drills

Thursday we worked on some drills to help with the left side breathing. My trainer told me I should give myself more credit. That I am a good swimmer. I have a good stroke, a good flutter kick (I accredit that to snorkeling and SCUBA), and my breathing isn't bad. So what we worked on was the positioning of the body. I had read this in the tri book I bought. I was shocked to realise that my whole body is supposed to turn as I stroke and take a breath. So I worked with the kickboard under my arm and swam the length of the pool on my side. An interesting approach. But it did help to put the twist into perspective.
The next drill was to take a few strokes and then stay on my side with my head/mouth.nose above water and stay there. That was neat and awkward.
Then the last one for the day was the thumb drag. It is an accentuated stroke where you drag your thumb up your side as you are stroking forward. It is to force you to think about creating less drag in the water as that back arm comes around. That the stroke isn't some Don Quixote windmill. There is a little more form to it than that. It felt odd. But she reminded me that it is exaggerated to get you to think about more now and less during racng.
I swam a total of 800 yards that day.

Wednesday

1/2 price martini night... and sushi...
does that count as a workout of any sort?
nah, i didn't think so...

Now onto that steam room story...

I took Monday off from the workout. I was feeling the effects of my efforts from the weekend and decided that was a good break day. So Tuesday it was suggested that I swim. Good deal. I can do that. But I also had this inkling to get a run in as well. The Y has a track outside that I wanted to check out. I hadn't run there before and thought that may be a neat way to check out my stamina for this run walk thing. Well luck should have it that my co-worker was planning on running outside that evening as well. She ran 2 laps (1 mile) for every one walk/run of mine. But it was great to get out there and give it a try.
From there I went into the lap pool. I was hoping to swim outside and do laps there. The Splash & Dash will take place in that pool so I thought it would be worth while. But the multipurpose pool was closed due to bodily fluids and the indoor water class looked like it was happening outside. So to the lap pool I went. I ended up swimming 700 yards.
The thing I like best about swimming - well I really like the swimming. The pace of the stroke. The calmness of breathing. I find it very peaceful and almost therapeutic. Perhaps I don't swim fast enough but it is a good time. I also give myself some extra water time between the showers after the swim... I think it should be rinsing off the chlorine but in reality I don't think that's the case. And then I head into the steam room. I usually stretch some in the water in the pool. And then stretch some more in the steam room. Usually there is NO ONE in there. So this time imagine my surprise when I walk in and this woman instantly starts talking to me. I was flustered at first and then kind of shocked as I swear she was sitting there with the top of her bathing suit pulled down. WHY!? It's not like the steam isn't hot and thick enough in there. It will get through almost anything. And she continues to talk to me. I lie down on one of the benches to stare up at the ceiling. I don't want to have to look at this woman in the eye to converse with her. And why is she talking to me...??? Hello !!!! Anti-social introvert here!!! I just swam for 30 minutes because that's 30 additional minutes besides when I am asleep that I am pretty sure I won't need to talk to anybody.... And on she goes.... Finally she asks me the time and realises she needs to go. Her kids are in the Women's Family Locker and she needs to go find them. HAH!!! The Women's Family Locker - well we all know how that went for me last year... She's probably the mom of that naked boy that was running around there last year.
Of course Thursday I had the honor of listening to 2 women chat in an aisle down from mine. The one was hoping to be set up by a friend of a friend and the guy never called. So she called the friend of a friend and he pretty much told her it was a no go. And on she went about it. How wonderful and fun and easy going she was and outdoorsy and fun to be around and a good time and active and had a good job and..... I thought - thou doth protect oo much... I could see why it was a no go...
I shouldn't really venture out all that often.

Back to the bike ride...

So Sunday I decided I would take the bike out for its maiden voyage of 2009. I went into the shed, yucked out the rack and the bike and the tire pump... First test - how the heck does this rack go on the car again? The general structure makes sense - the short bars go down the back of the trunk, the longer curved portion along the top, and the racks themselves stick out the back. But there are three sets of straps... where the heck do they go again? Nope, not that way. Oh, maybe that way. Hmm, is that supposed to be loose like that? And then a neighbor and her dog come by.... Always good for a chat and Bacchus likes the company... But where was I with these darned straps? I swear it took me an hour - but I am probably exaggerating - to figure it out.
Second test - the bike... First the tires... The pump works a little different than the one I had for most years of my life. Sure I could tell that what I thought was the locked position was not the case. Everytime I thought I had it right you could easily HEAR the air escaping. That didn't take too long to figure out. Just added to the frustration.
Then getting her on the rack. Now this was a struggle last year even when I had full recall of how to get it to work. Lifting the bike and shimmying it up and over the pads to position it takes some skill. And there are certain pieces that fit just perfectly if I could just remember what they were....
Well I got the bike on there. Ultimately it was not the way I wanted it but it stayed put.
I was headed to the 12 mile round trip trail. Last year it wasn't completely open so I just did 8 miles round trip. I was kind of excited and a little nervous as to the full 12 miles. And then it started to drizzle. I try to push myself but let's be honest I am pretty good at giving myself an out every now and again as well.
So I stopped at the shorted trail - 2 miles round trip. It is flat and very little creek water near by. So I figured if it started to rain real hard it wouldn't be difficult to get back to my car. And there wasn't a fear of flash floods. Oh you laugh, but they do happen around here.
The rain never amounted to much so I did 8 miles on the trail.

Bike ride

I somewhat repeated Saturday's workout this evening after work. I am TIRED. And I'd like to share more about it but not tonight. I mean if not the workout the half naked lady in the steam room deserves honorable mention.
As does my battle with the bike rack. So maybe tomorrow I will work in a recap of Sunday and Tuesday.

Crazy Y Day

So of course I had to do something with my Saturday to try out the Garmin. So what if it was Fourth of July. The Y was open and I was there. OK - laugh now - I went to 2 Ys on Saturday. The little Y that is in my comfort zone and the other large one that is NOT in my comfort zone. My instructions were to walk/run 5min/1min for 30 minutes. And to try to work in a swim over the weekend.
So the little Y is the most comfortable from a treadmill standpoint. There are lots of them and they don't really hold you to the 30 minute max deal. Plus it is close to home in case I whimp out. So I did the run.
5 minute warm up from 3mph to 3.8 mph
1 minute (sometimes a little over) run at 5mph 4 minute walk...
I was kind of fixated on 5 goes into 30 6 times. I hadn't put 2 and 2 together that 6 goes into 30 5 times. I know I do math for a good part of my day. But that's not what I was focused on.
So I ended up running 6 times instead of 5.
I did some squats and pushups.
Got in my car and rode to the other Y.
This is where the pool was. I had never been in this pool before. It was virtually empty. Thankfully not completely empty or else I would not have gone in. You do know the shrk story right? If not you may have to go through last year's history to find it. It's a whole James Bond shark tank over-active imagination thing. It sure gets the heart rate up that's for sure.
I ended up swimming 600 yards in 25 to 30 minutes.
As you can imagine I was BEAT by the time I got home.
I did make it our for some Fourth celebrating but not for too long.

Friday afternoon - GARMIN

After washing all the toxins off of me I contemplated heading to the Y to swim. I had it in my head that I just wanted to go swimming. I printed out the calendars and everything to convince myself to go. Instead I headed to the mall to get some replacement batteries for the Nike HRM I borrowed from a friend. Well it turns out it wasn't just the batteries that were not working properly. So I headed over to REI. One of my favourite stores. I really wished I could have justified purchasing some fun warm weather clothes while I was there. BUT that was not my purpose. My purpose was to check out the Timex heart rate monitors the web-site claimed they carried. Well I did not see any when I got there. They did have some Polars but somehow the non-techy that I am walked out of there with a Garmin. NO, not the $300+ version. I think it should do the workout for you at that cost. This does have a wireless upload feature that enables you to store workouts on-line. It's the FR60.
Of course I was nervous to do anything with it. So I spent the remainder of Friday tinkering with it, reading the quick start guide, and the on-line manual. It is now officially up and running.

Brattonsville Trail

So we went back to Brattonsville on Friday to try out the 4 mile trail. The brochure called it a moderate to strenuous trail and at an even pace would take 3 or 4 hours to complete. I was really curious as to how strenuous it really was as that even pace was about a mile an hour. I was very curious. Well it turned out to take us 95 minutes to complete the course. So I'd say the brochure was a little off. It was a good trail. It was the BLUE trail.A real trail. Not this multiple people wide thing. It was pretty close to single file most of the way. There were some hills but nothing too crazy. Sure you felt them but that had more to do with the distance than the grade of the hill. It wasn't too hot, which was nice. And the 98% deet left over from Belize did a good job of keeping the bugs off. They did swarm/hover/gather around my head. I only noticed as we walked through rays of sun - they got caught in the angle of the light. And at one poine - eewww - I could hear them buzzing my ears. But in comparison to Belize it was nothing! Probably the worst part of it were the unsuspecting spider webs we disturbed as we walked through them. The initial shock is one thing. The lingering webs that you can't seem to get off were worse. So next time - bug spray again, hat and my long sleeve Columbia sun shirt... And maybe wait for cooler weather. I did get some pics. The green and blue were pleasant changes from the day to day blue green strip mall view of my every day. Eventually you came out into this clearing. I haven't seen this much open land and open sky in a really long time. I just take a picture.

And this? Well this just reminded me of my dad.

New I'd Forget Something...

I jumped in the pool and swam 200 yards - I know only 8 lengths but... before I met up with the trainer. I had some time so I figured... why not...
It felt good to get back in the water.
It has been some time since I jumped on in at the Y pool.

Before I forget...

First day with the personal trainer. So I was hoping to have a bit more understanding as to what we were going to do this evening. Oh well. I knew we weren't htting the pool as she did not make mention of it. Plus I knew she would want to focus on the run as that is where I am weakest. So we did a combo of cardio and strength work this evening.
5 minutes walking on the treadmill at 3.6mph
Squats with a balance ball against the wall. I don't know how many I did. I just know my legs were feeling the burn.
Push-ups with the balance ball. Again - count unknown.
More squats with the balance ball and some odd extra piece to confuse me? I think it wasto force additional balance. I am not sure.
More push ups.
5 minutes back on the treadmill - 1 minute at 3.5; 1 minute at 5mph, 1 minute at 3.5; 1 minute at 5mph; 1minute at 3.5
Oh let me tell you getting that one minute run in is just brutal. I suppose I need to do that some more. I just don't keep good track when I run myself.
Next up.
Wall push ups. These were with my shoulders closer to my sides to work my triceps. I felt the muscle pull in more of a bicep area. She said it had more to do with there the muscles connect than the lower part of the tricep.
Then some lunges. I was supposed to curl 5lb weights with the lunges but I struggled with the lunges. FYI - lunges take a different technique than the thought of balancing on a balance beam. I couldn't get my balance because my legs were just too close together. We truly needed to work through some visuals to get my legs in a position that I was comfortable.
So I did the 5lb curls on their own.
Then back to the treadmill...
Same as before.
And then my cool down was a few more minutes than anticipated.
I feel good. Ask me again tomorrow.
I am on a crazy long road trip with JS tomorrow so I am not sure that I will see the inside of the gym. She suggested I at least get a walk in. I think I can do that.

Briar Creek MPHS

So when I was at Six Mile Creek I picked up a brochure on Greenway system. I have picked one up before. I probably do once a year. But I haven't ventured to try other trails in quite some time. Six Mile was a new one. And I noted another one near my office. So today when I brought the rental car back I decided to give this one a try. I clocked the distance from my office - a little over 2 miles round trip. The trail itself is close to 2 miles round trip as well. So it would make for a good 4 mile walk/run right from the office. Unfortunately I wasn't that impressed with it. So I am not sure that I will try it again. However I did note when you got far enough into the trail, the creek running through there was beautiful. And the sound of the running water was very peaceful. It just felt like a lot of work that got cut short.

Six Mile Creek

I wrote briefly on this park the weekend I walk/ran it. I did in fact take some pictures of it while I was there. I am just getting around to posting them. It is about a mile in, so 2 miles round trip. One of the neat things about most of the park system around here, they are centered around streams. And since we have had some good rain this spring the streams have water in them. Some summers they have been dry - which only tends to accentuate the heat. So this was a nice little jaunt in the woods. Even if it was only 2 miles.

Tonight counts as a run

I had this bizarre notion that I would run/walk around the neighborhood. OH btw I am in ATL. I have spent so much time here over the past 5 years I am pretty familiar with the area. I know there is a loop around the hospitals. I have driven it. Why not run/walk it. So I checked in at the hotel, went and grabbed an un-healthy attempt at dinner, and came back to give the loop a try. Well I ended up going further than anticipated. When I got to the top of this crazy steep hill I realised that if I went a block further there was another road that turns around and comes back this way. So I gave it a try. And there I was 30 minutes and 1.45 miles later back in front of my hotel. I know that doesn't sound like the right pace for me. My pace calcs seem to be off recently. Between wanting a digital watch with stop watch, heart rate montior and a pedometer that doesn't work... I am just unsure as to my distance and pace. And MMR is driving me crazy. It is so revamped and upgraded I am not as much of a fan as I was last year.
But tonight does count.
If you are counting sleep too. Last night was a bad night of sleeping. So I left it at a run/walk (oh I did run 4 times in the mix) again making it seem like the pace was off. So now I am tucked into the hotel room for the night and will shortly find something on the tele to watch.
I forgot to bring my new book.
I am kinda proud of myself for going out there. Such an achievement outside of my comfort zone. I need that more often.
Also made me think of an old friend that has gotten lost when running from his hotel. It made me chuckle a little bit.

Personal Trainer

Perhaps I should bring everyone up to speed on the personal trainer bit. So let's go back to last year at this time. I was swimming at SH's pool and with KP by now. But hadn't worked up the nerve to swim at the Y. Not a big fam of crowds and such. I even did a good bit of ocean swimming when I was in Bermuda. But knew I needed to get in the pool. So I signed up for siwm lessons. I signed up for a series of 6 or so. But after the first 30 minute lesson she told me I was a good enough swimmer I would be OK. She didn't say - hey get a trainer or anything like that. All I wanted was some confidence to get in the water. Which it did for me.
That's when I saw the race - Splash & Dash. But I just wasn't comfortable yet with the concept or that I could finish. So I ultimately gave up on the idea and never registered.
This year I was looking for another race to do. At first it was to be the Bermuda race. But that fell by the wayside. Then I thought I'd do another Rmablin'Rose but the distance and cost just wasn't what I wanted it to be. And then I remember the Spalsh and Dash. So I signed up and they sent me a training course. Of course it is during the day. HUH? Who is their target market.
Well it worked out to their benefit of course. I am now signed up for 10 30 minute sessions with a personal trainer than specialises in triathlons.
We met earlier this week and ran through some basics. My goals and current stats. And we meet for our first workout next Monday.
She just advised that between now and then and my travels that I try to get on a bike, swim and run over the next week.

walking

i have yet to work the run back into my walk
i was doing well with it on the treadmill this winter
recently i just haven't had the desire to mix it in with my outside walks
probably the heat is the deterent
today i did a little over 3.5 miles in 65 minutes
not the best time but with the 92d heat i won't complain

now for a nap on the couch
thought id go sit by the pool but just want to veg and not deal with the heat

personal training

Starts Monday. Wish me well.

swim

Got it the pool with kp for the first time in two weeks. I felt worse today than that first week out. We did 500 yards in a little over 20 minutes. I guess that's not bad.

20 minute swim

I decided to walk on up the street and tread some water for a little bit. I was going for 30 minute of constant swimming. Ended up at 20 minutes and not constant. But good none the less. I am finding my stroke is carrying me further. And I get to the other end of the pool (it is a smaller pool) faster. I suppose this means I really need to make more of an effort to get in the water at the Y.
I will see how that works this week.
The following week I will be in ATL. I think I am going to clock a loop around the client's campus to get in a walk/run. There is a pool too. I will surely bring a suit to get some laps in.
But I have to get through this week first.

Six Mile Creek Greenway is only 1 mile?

As most people know running is not my thing. I work it into a workout every once in a while but I never head out with the intention to run. I also get bored with looking at the same old stuff on my route and I must admit I dread the distraction of having to talk to neighbors when I walk around AV. So I am always looking for other options. And that's what I did today. I stopped at the very southern part of the greenway. I pass it all the time. I have even pulled in the lot once to check it out. And it is a 2miles out and back. I figured this was in line with what I wanted to do with my day. So I headed out - stopped at Target first I needed dog food and some $50 of other stuff - wish I could pin point how that happened - oh yeah it's Target. Then I wento Earth Fare. Not a normal occurence for me but they seem to be the only place to carry aloe vera juice these days. It's a digestive aid if you must know. I usually drink it in shot form with my breakfast. I've been trying to figure more out about all its good properties but most googling leads to web-sites trying to sell it to you. And from there I went to Six Mile Crek Greenway. I am not even sure where Six Mile Creek runs. It was a nice course. It was predominantly paved with some boards. And there was a little sign of the creek here and there. It was pretty shaded and flat. So it was an easy outing. I thought this might be worth while as a regular occurrence. Keep reading to see if that actually becomes the case. From there I went to HT and bought lots of fruits. I made some home-made orange strawberry banana juice for the week. And a fruit salad with cucumber. I figure if Bath & Bodyworks can combine cucumber & melon why can't I. I also bought spaghetti squash for a fruits pretending to be veggies mix for lunch. And a pineapple and other things for grilling for dinner. Of course evenything else under the sun looked so appetizing but I did good and steered away from them. Let's see if I can make it to Wednesday. Which is actually an issue --- client meeting and said client LOVES this southern cooking restaurant for lunch EVERY time we are there. And to tell you the truth - I don't know that they have anything remotely healthy. Thursday is another client meeting - I think I will be able to get away with not so healthy salmon that day.
Well I am trying to motivate to hit the water. So I best go do that.

Fruit

Onto the fruit conversation... My mom sent me an email a month or so ago about fruit and proper place to eat fruit in a meal. I find it interesting that all the food groups have a theory as to where they should be consumed. Protein first. Dairy with certain foods that promote the absorption of calcium. And now fruit. The fruit people say you should eat the fruit WAY before anything else. This will allow the vitamins to enter your system and the fiber and waters to clean out the system. Who knows for sure if this is the case but I started looking into it - which really just means googling fruit on a rainy day and seeing what they have to say. I came up with a whole variety of information.
I love the fruit diets I found which were really just an attempt to get people to introduce fruit into their diet. It had approaches like - have some fruit with your breakfast, have an apple with your lunch.
Oh and the ones promoting their own products.... eat your normal diet with these fruits and our blah blah blah diet powder shake stuff. Yeah that sounds healthy. I mean these weren't even promoting protein shakes. They were just random mystery shakes.
And then I found a yoga blogger and he did a 3 day fruit fast. All fruit all the time. THIS is what I was looking for. He followed a fruit fast for 3 days and cataloged his experience. (I did find fruit fasts that went longer - I don't know how their bodies handled that - that sounds more like a disorder)
I have to say - I have gotten more fruit in my dy but have yet to get a full 3 days of nothing but fruit. I started yesterday and then buggered it up with chicken, beer, peanuts and a cheese puff or 10. The chicken seemed to be calling my name... it wa surely a protein thing. The peanuts - salt - they were the type in a shell that are so fun to eat. The beer and cheese puffs - well if I had stayed in the comfort of my home I probably could have avoided that.
So today I will try again. And I am doing additional research on what classifies as a fruit. You know a whole lot more classifies as fruit than we think. So I will be adding squash to the mix of it all.

Mardi Gras salad

This has more to do with the colors than the festivities. I have been trying to be creative with fruits these days. I will delve into that a little later. And somewhere along the line I got this hankering for red cabbage. I must have had a small piece of it in a salad or something. So I decided to try to make something with the cabbage. And this is what I came up with...
Chopped red cabbage mixed with all the rest:
red onion (only about half)
green apple
carrots (shredded - 3)
mango
sesame seeds
and Olde Cape Cod Wasabi Soy and Ginger dressing

It was pretty good. I marinated some thin sliced chicken breast in the dressing as well and grilled it. It made for a rather nice lunch.

dancing in the living room...

well i have fallen out of the habit of packing my bag for the gym
and i was on a mission on the way home to go to target to find a heart rate monitor and digital watch blah blah blah... this is the second time this month i have walked out of target without purchasing a single item - i know, how dare i do that to the economy...
i had a notion to head back out to the gym after dinner but some reason the desire didn't hit me after dinner
so i decided to pull out an aerobic video... they surely get the heart rate up
maybe not the exact training for a triathlon but movement none the less
this was a newer one - not that i have ever really commented on the older one - it was good
it definitely is one of those things that you need to do a few times to figure out what the steps are
and oh how i wish i had a mirror (target may get my money yet)
i have an extra tv up in this room and an extra vcr... i may switch in a new dvd player as well to set the aerobic video area up here
there is definitely more room and i don't have to worry about the dog wanting to play fetch every time an aerobic video comes on - somehow he has decided- yoga videas are for leaning and licking (in other words leaning on me with his toys and chewing and licking them), aerobics videos are for fetch (this too involves leaning, with toy in mouth so that i can pick it up and toss it)
the little bit of additional exercise was surely needed
i should set that other tv up now before motivation wanes...

Splash & Dash

Last year after we had signed up for the Ramblin' Rose I came across this little race through the Y. I thought about doing it. Except having not doen a race before I didn't want to get scared by this one and then throw in the towel for RR. So I didn't do it.
As of this afternoon I am officially signed up to participate in the Splash and Dash as well.
It is a 400 yard swim - snaking through the outdoor pool at the Y.
Then a 5k. Now we all know I do not run. But I suck it up anyways.
They were offering a training course as well. Unfortunately it is during the day. UM - who is their target market?
So I may sign on with a personal trainer for a few weeks. It will be something different and hopefully give me a better perspective on all this stuff.
We shall see...

It was a MMR kind of day...

So today originally was planned to include a walk with Maddi and swimming with KP. She called early to say she surely has come down with something and swimming was not an option.
So Maddi and I did the mile neighborhood loop. I suppose it was 20 minutes the same as yesterday. We got a little sidetracked before checking the clock. The garden looked so good.
So swimming was still an option - I do have that Y membership and SH's pool. But I really wanted to get another long walk in. It seemed necessary given the stiffness in my legs. Luckily SH was up for a walk. And off we went into town. We decided to meander some back roads. We ended up with the route that loops the main road. We were gone for a little over an hour. I decided I should log in to MapMyRun to see what we did. Turns out to be 3.24 miles. A pretty good hike I must say. And in the heat of the day no less. It was good outing. I also spent some time in the pool. Probably not more than 20 minutes swimming MAX. But it was nice to get it in the mix.
So another good weekend overall.
Maddi went home a little while ago. I fed her and Bacchus early and then brought her home. I was going to bring her home tomorrow morning on my way to work. But I know hpw I feel on Monday mornings. It was better to take her home this evening. She seemed excited to be home. And she som was hoping to convince her other sitter that she hadn't eaten dinner yet. Silly pups...
Tomorrow is a lovely regulatory element test. I think it blocked 4 hours off my calendar! UGH!!! I will try to work out after that. My brain will probably need it. Just not sure I will beleive that come tomorrow evening when it is complete.

What I've Been Eating

Not that it has anything to do with triathlon training... I have just come across some fun foods recently and wanted to share.

The first being the stuffed pork chops. This was just a result of being up early and watching tv with the dogs yesterday morning.
I substituted the goat cheese with about 2 ounces of low fat mozzarella and some Kraft sprinkle parmesan - It was a calorie and cost decision. I also used only ONE garlic clove and a quarter of a small red onion and I chopped/purred them in the little chopper I have with the sun dried tomatoes. I didn't have reconstituted sun-dried tomatoes so this was the best approach to getting them cut. It turned out very good!
I have some stuffing left over so I think I will grill some think pork chops and put them and some of the stuffing over a spinach salad with a dijon vinagarette for dinner later this week.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/pork-chops-stuffed-with-sun-dried-tomatoes-and-spinach-recipe/index.html

In other foods - I did make a tomatoe salad the past few weeks. I used a can of the fire raosted diced tomatoes (not drained) along with 2 fresh tomatoes, 1 cucumber, 1 green pepper, some red onion, garlic, black pepper and olive oil. It has gone rather well with cold grilled chicken for lunch.

And the oddity of them all - a fruit soup - I have pureed 3 peeled oranges (seeds removed) (I eleimiated the grapefruit the second try - it was too bitter) and 1 cantaloupe (I left a few chunks on the side to add texture). I added a package of frozen raspberries, cinamon and vanilla to the mixture. I have been eating as my mid-morning snack. Quite tasty. This week I am going to try a more berry oriented mixture without the cantaloupe. We shall see.

walk

i may have mentioned i am dog-sitting
and in the dog-sitting i did some walking and realised i have a few other muscles that are being ignored
since it wasn't a good swim day we opted to walk instead
we went for 40 minutes and i would say just short of 3 miles
i followed it up with some little yoga and stretching oh and a hot long shower
it was a nice was to start the day
followed by the drudging task of going to the grocery store
thankfully i had some down time in there and caught some giada on the food network
ended up making some stuffed port chops for dinner - mmmm tasty!
tomorrow may be a walk and swim - we shall see

new blog

I did find myself sucked into my friend's sister's new blog this morning as well...
Some of the topics did make me stop to wonder...
http://mmmkoolaid.blogspot.com/

The sneaker thing... there is something to be said for walking around barefoot.
The sleep thing... I must admit that once I started paying attention to a consistent to a bedtime closer to 10pm than later I have slept better.
And food... I don't think I could give up the dairy products as she talks about - come on now - ME give up ice cream? But the processed bit - totally agree... And the more fruit and veggie bit - there is so much you can do with a bunch of veggies and meat or fish in moderation...

It was a good 30+ minutes of reading.

pause to relax

after the little bout of losing consciousness and the subsequent nausea i took a little break the past day...
i did however feel the effects of the yoga yesterday morning.. not a good feeling. still feeling a little off from the night before. not 100% sure on bending over to pick up my bathrobe, only to find - WOW those hamstrings sure did get a workout on Wednesday...
so yesterday i decided to just lay low
the highlight of my workouts - i walked with KP and Russ.e.ll to the Counter for lunch. MMM burger in a bowl! and then Maddi came for a visit and she and I took a walk around the little block.
this morning it is gloomy and a little chilly... swimming is not making its way into the mix just yet
Maddi and I did take a walk around the neighborhood - justt 20 minutes of walking. I must say that those muscles need some attention. So if the weather stays like this over the next few hours it will be a 3 to 4 mile walk I work into the mix today instead of a long swim...

yours truly passed out at the blood drive

It seems I do take a little bit after my mom after all...

blood

I got a random call the other night about donating blood. It seems enough time has passed for me to donate again. I wasn't going to act on it right away. But on my way to work I noticed a blood drive was going on at the library. So here I sit tonight blogging on my blackberry watching the crowds go by as I wait to be called to donate. I am pleased there is a crowd. I am not sure maybe they don't have a bunch of chairs in the room. We shall see when iget in there.
Not sure there will be any workout tonight.

yo yo yo YOGA

So on wednesday night we were going to try to swim again. I knew with the feedback from the chiropractor person at the health fair that my back was tight. So I thought maybe I would need to stretch some more. Somehow it all fell apart or came together that we didn't swim. And instead I did an hour of yoga. I worked through the flexibility video. It is a Living Arts video I have had for years. The warm up worked its way to back bends. OUCH - more to my ego than my back to come to terms with how inflexible I was. And some odd fear about bending backwards. Where did that come from. So I defibitely have some work cut out for me there. Ironically I can get some better back stretches when I am in the pool. Supported back bends. Then I moved into a vinyasa that was quite enjoyable although I am not sure I had much grace. And into front bends. Those went better. Although I have some thoughts on the front bends.... What to do when the fat of your thighs comes in contact with your chest long before you get your nose to your knee? Oh and let's not forget the pup that thinks your body stretching out on the flor is a perfect prop for resting his toys as he chews on them. It was fun. I look forward to doing it again.

But I ended up in the pool instead

KP called later in the afternoon and suggested we swim some more. So I went over there after work.
I tried to explain the drills to her but had left the book at home. We struggled through some of them.
And then swam another 500 yards the same as Saturday.
I must say I felt less sore after that third swim than the other 2 days.
The humour of the day - because you know I always come across in my ventures - the back stroke and I do not work well together. I swam right into the wall. Oh not the wall at the far end of the pool. I somehow made a sharp left hand turn and hit the side wall.
Today is more tame. I was up early and will probably be in bed soon as well.
But I WILL get some stretching in. I promise!

Sunday drills

So I bought this book on triathlons and training. Last year it was more of a let me get to the gym and try to finish this thing. This year I want to learn a little bit more... Maybe improve my time, my stroke, my stride... all that type of stuff...
It's one of those idiot guide books and it is a pretty good read...
On Sunday I decided to try some of the drills suggested for improved swimming... The big point they try to stress is streamlining your body while you swim. If you think about it it does make sense - if your legs hang down you have drag and go slower... So most of the drills focus on keeping your chest down and butt up. Let me tell you that is so much easier to accomplish with a mask and snorkel versus just swim goggles. I am thankful to have realised not too far into those drills that I do for the most part achieve that on the water.
The next set of drills have to do with twisting your body. HUH!? yes, that was my approach. I have always pretty much turned my neck to breathe. Never really thought about it more than that. Even the lesson I took last year she never mentioned twisitng. She just told me I lifted my head out too far. Well these drills focused on twisting your body as well. And it seems to be working some.
So I drilled for 30 minutes and then swam for 10 at my friend's pool on Sunday.
That was going to be the extent of things.
Monday I was going focus on some relaxing yoga and stretching.

and so it begins

Kp and I hit the pool today for the first time. 20 lengths at 25 yards per length for a total of 500 yards in 30 minutes.
PHEW!

Bojangles

Does walking back from the garage - yes my car is there again today - eating a cajun filet biscuit and bo'rounds negate the potential benefit of that walk? I am leaning towards yes.
That was the first fast food I have had in weeks. It was good. It was salty. It was fatty. And it was enough for now.
Back to healthy eating. And let's hope the drives to the garage will be less frequent.

ZUMBA - Monday...

I went to yet another Zumba class on Monday night. It was fun. I will try to go again this week. And this week's plus - I will be at a client all day and their office is THAT much closer to the Y. Seriously - they are about a quarter of a mile from the Y instead of 3/4 of a mile. I will take the motivation wherever I can get it.

So the class was fun. I enjoyed it. I enjoyed the music. I enjoyed how not all people are good dancers. That would be sarcasm there. I so want to stop the class and say - OK let's take it from the top - swing the hip this way, the arm that way and point a toe for goodness sake. But that's not really the approach for the class.

The rest of the week I did NOTHING.
Tuesday to bed early to see a client the next day. Didn't really sleep. So to bed early Wednesday night to make up for the day. Thursday crazy meeting for work. Friday chips and salsa.

Saw my bike today

No, I didn't ride it. I just saw it. I got my exercise today the same way I did last Sunday.... gardening... Today I ventured to the store and purchased a new hoe to try to turn over the weeds and moss in my back yard. I also bought some patch repair seed etc for the lawn.
When I came home I yucked everything out of the shed to see what else I had stored up in there for the lawn. Gosh I have a mish mash of stuff in there. It's a shame I never got my Dad to put shelves in there. I don't think I wanted any at the onset of the home purchase.
So I turned the lawn, weeds, grass as best I could. I threw down some lime and fertilizer in the various shady, mossy, sunny areas. It is supposed to rain overnight into tomorrow. Let's hope so or I will be getting the sprinkler out tomorrow.
Anyways in the process.... I did see the bike sitting there in the midst of the garden and lawn stuff.
I would call today's workout an upper body workout and leave it at that.
They are supposed to come and power wash and paint stuff over the course of the week.
So I won't be putting any seed down just yet. However I do need to figure out how to protect my plants out front from the power wash chemicals.

I think I am going to be sore

I went to the little Y in B'tyne this morning/afternoon. I wanted to check out a new environment. I think it may be my new Saturday destination. Not too large. Not too crowded. Not too intimidating. Good mix of ages and sexes. Not too bad. And if you get on the right cardio equipment you can see town from where you are.
I did 9 miles on the stationary bike in 50 minutes. Not my best time. But given the fact I haven't really been on a bike since October - I'd say not too shabby. I would like to get faster than my average of 5 to 6 minute miles. That's where I was by last year's race.
I did a mile on the treadmill. Like a mini-brick. It took my about 18 minutes. Not my best time there either. I just wanted to work on the transition some.
And I am doing really well with the stretching. It is scary how my flexibility has vanished over the years. But it is coming back a little.
Overall 70 minutes of workout is pretty good for me.
Now I am off to soak in the tub while my roast cooks in the oven. I do need to run out and get some mixers for drinks. I will squeeze that in right before company arrives.

Gave blood today

Today I got there...

I decided I would stop at the little Y on the way home. I also had to get a computer from a co-worker so I thought it would all fall together rather easily. Not so much - my workout didn't last as long as her car ride back to town. So I was home maybe 5 minutes when she called to meet up with me. No big deal really.
As for the workout 52 minutes on the treadmill a total 3.05 miles. Not a stellar pace but at least I was there. And I wore my new sneaks too! I'd say there was about 5 minutes of stretching.
I feel good for it. But need some hydration at this point.
Going to see a client tomorrow - would like to squeeze in a visit to the gym or blood bank tomorrow on my ride home.

Will not engage...

Yep, that's kind of the response from my engine yesterday as I was driving down the road on my way to work. You know in a split second you realise that is very quiet all of a sudden. And then the odometer has dropped. And nothing happens when you hit the accelerator. And in that split second you think - hmmm I guess I best pull over and quickly. And that's what I did and just in time before I lost all forward motion and rolled to a stop.
30 minutes later the tow truck arrived and back down the road we went.
$$$$ later and I have my car back. BUT we have another appointment at the car doctor on Friday. Some new spark plugs are needed and the inspection.
Needless to say I did not make it to the gym yesterday.

MMM - grunge

Time did not allow for me to muse on the re-release of 10 a few weeks back.
I went through my stacks of cds. Found my copy and listened to some good ol' Pearl Jam for the better part of a week. Good stuff. Matter of fact I had forgotten what good stuff it is.

In the same vain - and to make us all feel really old - yesterday marked 15 years since Kurt Cobain's suicide. Now I like some Nirvana. Oddly I never purchased any of their albums. I am not too sure why. Just never got around to it I suppose.

To continue down this train of thought - dead grunge stars - I did purchase an Alice in Chains cd back in the day. That's a Layne Staley reference for those of you scratching your heads. He died too. Drug overdose. Ahhh - such stellar role models.

Bike Tonight...

I brought my things to work today. Didn't really suspect I would get to the gym.
But I did. Bummer was the bikes I like at that gym were out of order.
I settled for a different type. It was OK. I did 6 miles in 32 minutes.
10 minutes of stretching - pulled something in my side.
An indicator that I need to stretch more.

It is getting windy and chilly out here. I am not all that happy about it. Had to go back out to the front garden this evening and recover the plants. It is supposed to be chilly in the overnight the next two nights.

Good timing

Well I ventured out to the store for the new sneaks... In a moment of weakness bought some new top-siders as well. They will go great with a new outfit I got for Spring.
Ventured to the mall for a watch battery and then over to the boat store.
Of all irony it is going out of business. I got teak oil for my table at reduced sales prices. I didn't do anything with it when I got home.
Just made some dinner and watched the tele.
Trying to get my head around packing the gym bag for tomorrow.
Another short work week...
Trying to also see who I can round up to fly some kites with me on Friday.... Learned it is also a tradition in Barbados. Go figure...

Let's try to make it a repeat for Sunday.

So far - it isn't noon yet - it looks like that could be the case.
I have managed to find the inside of my closet. For some that may not be a task but for me it is a struggle. It never takes that long to put the clothes away but I just drag it out to an unbearable task..
I hit the back yard this morning. The sun is out and it is not that warm yet but in the direct sun it was pleasant. My biggest task - what the heck to do with the grass that won't grow?! This has been my nemesis since I moved into the house. Sure they put so down on crappy soil when they finished the house. But that didn't work out too well - long story I am sure I complain about every Spring. Last year I yucked most of the grass and weeds (it was mostly weeds) and started to re-seed. That didn't take. So now my redneck yard (and it is a tiny one at that) need something. I am thinking - increase the size of the patio and forget the grass. Let's face it I have much better luck with plants than I do with grass. And it's not like Bacchus is lying about in the lush grass - there is NONE. So I think I will head back out there and get some measurements for a new patio. In the interim - the weeding of it all sure was a great workout for the arms.
From there I continued with some tinkering
Me and the mmighty putty went to work on the car. My passenger side view mirror has been broken for some time now. As I drive down the highway it loses its footings and drops. I kind of get a view of the sky going by. Really not handy when it comes to highway driving. So we shall see if the mighty putty really works.
While on the epoxy kick I decided to sure-up my teak table. I was thinking maybe I would replace it - it is old yadda yadda yadda... And then I had that conversation with myself - the teak is old and weathered?!?!!! hello??? Teak? The wood they make boats out of? Looking old and weathered? Duh - isn't that the point? Well the other point is the fixtures on the under side of the table AREN'T teak.... and they are splitting and pulling apart. So I flipped the table over and took some wood glue to it. Now I need to head to the marine supply store - I know 4 hours inland and we have a marine supply store? It is for the lakes I suppose. Anyways I need to get some teak cleaner and teak oil and then I will be happy with the table once again.
Lastly I installed some new solar lights along the edge of the driveway - see previous Target reference.
Oh and I started dinner - stewed chick peas, tomatoes and raisins (I threw in some dried mango in for the heck of it as well) with grilled chicken thighs marinated in cinamon, cayenne and curry. I have some yogurt and cucumber as well to round it all out.
And maybe I will find that gym again today.

Holiday = Productivity

Well at least I feel productive don't know that I really am.
Saturday got lots done - OK if you consider cleaning the tops of the kitchen cabinets and then lemon oiling the wood productive. It's always so nice when I am done. The cabnets look great. Definitely a highlight of the kitchen, maybe even the whole house. From there I cleaned the rest of the downstairs - well I haven't vacuumed yet - we have an extra pup in the house at the moment. Vacuuming would be an exercise in futility.
When the sun went around the front of the house we went to the front yard. Uncovered some of the plants that were thankfully NOT traumatized by the landscapers dumping pounds of mulch on them. I have a few variations of monkey grass coming back - no real surprise there. The Easter lilies are popping up strong. I am always amazed at how soon they pop through but then take forever to bloom. And thankfully there is new growth on the lantana. I think it will be some time for the calla lilies. I am hopeful they will show their pink blooms again this year. Struggling are the oleander. It got too cold too quickly this year. They definitely got hit by some frost. I am torn between planting them in the ground or repotting them to pots that I can bring inside next winter. Two very different scenarios.
From there I went to the gym - 3.75 miles on the treadmill in an hour. That is the longest I have stayed on the treadmill in quite some time. My legs feel it today. I had a really great stretching session afterwards as well.
And lastly, I deposited my tax return and promptly helped the economy by stopping off at Target.
Overall a good day.

A little re-cap

I mean little since I haven't really been up to that much...
I did do some walking around at the beach. Nothing with too much determination, however.
I did check out the indoor lap pool and treadmill at the resort but not much else.
Wait wait a minute.... that's almost a lie.
I did wlk about 30 minutes on the beach Monday and another 60 Tuesday. I am still cropping the pics and stuff. It will probably generate another blog site...
Tonight I went back to the gym. And hey - it is back to regular hours. I am glad I checked on-line. I was all dressed and ready to go. And was about to talk myself out of it - not enough time blah blah blah. And there it was on-line - back to normal hours.
So down the road I went.
I did 2.7 miles in 45.09 minutes. Not a record pace to say the least but a good workout none the less.
Now to keep it up. And yes- I do need to get in that pool sooner than later.

just the treadmill

2.13miles in 32.03 minutes
i was kind of rushing needing to get to the salon and all
it has been a busy day of nothing
i need to be downthe road but am burning a cd and can't leave just yet

i have some observations from the gym
i need to find the jimmy kimmel sesame street madoff video - it looked funny from what i could see of it
and i had no idea that SCUBA had such a sexy spin to it - I read a dive magazine while on the treadmill... every other page wa some chick unzipping her tight wetsuit... not that the breathing under water and fear of sharks is bad enough but now i have to contemplate land sharks as well the next time i don a shorty... makes me think twice about adding a dive trip to the agenda

well then again if i ever get under way on another tri i guess i won't feel as self-conscious in a wet suit... decisions decisions...