Thankful on Thanksgiving

I had a couple of glasses of wine on Thanksgiving which I think was helping me to feel incredibly grateful to everybody in my life. I held back though and didn't start sending out random emails and texts. Still feeling so grateful for the incredible life I have gotten to have so far and all the people in it. Elliot, you are still my rock. Thank you very much.

The highlight of the whole week! I raced(really went after) the Huffing for Stuffing. Did the 10k in 45 minutes flat! The race was actually 6.63 miles or something so my final time was more like 47 minutes. 11th overall and AG 5th. I have never run a 10k that fast and I don't even think a 5k at that pace. Super stoked on the possibilities. It hurt very badly, but I was sort of in the mindset of cyclocross. It was supposed to hurt very badly. Otherwise I wasn't really racing. The girl that got 2nd overall and another one that beat me are the girls I run with at lunch sometimes. Good running partners I would say!

Second highlight of the week. I swam those 200s in 3:00. The first was 3:02 and the 2nd was 2:57. In the past I don't think I have been able to swim a 200 in 3 minutes. It would have been 3:10. Super stoked on the possibilities here too! After talking to you I focused on taking the pain out of my shoulder. It did stop hurting so hopefully I am actually using my lats not jut doing something wrong. Will have Larry watch me on Sunday.

So, about Friday. I was wasted on Friday. Back and shoulders were tired from swimming and legs shot. Erik made plans to meet his friend at Chico. I was going to stay home and ride outside but decided I don't often have a good chance to go and soak. Art also went (independently of us) and did a nice road ride before soaking. I could have been into that, but oh well.  So Friday was a pretty lazy day. Got the skis waxed for West on Saturday though!

Heading to West! Got in around 10 miles. Not epic on skis but fun. We were out for around 2.5 hours. Lots going on with the ski festival. Headed over with Art. Haven't spent that much one on one time with him which was nice to get to know each other better.

Sunday
Swimming was Sunday Fun day. Have you ever tried doing a backwards butterfly. Doesn't really work but makes you laugh. Lots of relays. One 50 doing the doggie paddle.  Not a super productive swim but a lot of fun.
Easy run. Felt pretty good. Legs sore from skiing and racing but hip and even hamstring felt okay.
Good PT session post run.

Monday
OMG those DPS were killing me. Some days in the pool are good, others are not. Just not feeling it this day.

Tuesday
The run was killing me. Some days running feels good this day it did not. It was also late. 7pm and I hard just gotten done working. I don't think my body wanted to cooperate. Did force upon it a good PT/core/hamstring session.

Schedule-
Sunday- 30 minute swim and masters holiday party in the evening. Prizes for ugly suit and sweater!

Work is not very exciting next week. Probably just lots of analyzing and maybe setting up one experiment.

This week is supposed to be cold. Good week for lots of swimming!?

Got an enticing email for Calgary 70.3. Should decide this week. 199.00. Plus a pretty limited race in size, a lot of Mont Tremblant slots, and a raffle for a new bike. Have a friend who will do it with me. Thinking that I may do this and not Saskatoon. Saskatoon is the same weekend as the Bozeman race and like you pointed out staying home is much cheaper. Race date is July 27, I think. Haven't signed up yet. Waiting until tomorrow when my firmed does. I don't want to sign up then close before she does. Don't really want to fly solo to Canada.

Had Larry look at my swim again. My elbow is doing much better. Now I need to think about rotation.

Ready to get after it after a pretty mellow and more "fun" oriented holiday.

Other: Since the Tritons are not holding the 1/2 distance race, I have been thinking about how although I didn't really like the race, there were a few people who did it every year and some triathletes who would like to do it because it was the only one nearby.  So, what if I put it on.  Maybe though a little ( actually completely unofficial). We could do it the Saturday before the real race. Change up the run course. Stash aid on the bike and run course. A bunch of triathletes meet for a competitive training day.

Also, I haven't given up on the Bobcat. It dawned on me the other day though that I have to get the MSU tri  club on board otherwise I probably won't get university support. Keep trying to meet with them but response time is very, very slow. I guess they are going to put on a race in April too, but not sure how good they are at planning. Also, I am not yet sure if I want that much commitment. I don't want to do it unless I am committed to many years and if this year goes as I would like it might take a couple of years to get that commitment. Sometimes I wish I had a trust fund and could just be a volunteer.

cats

This is the funniest most true cat owner description I have seen. If you have never owned a cat you might want to skip it or you might just think we are crazy.

http://distractify.com/people/personal/agonizing-struggles-that-prove-cat-owners-are-the-best-people-ever/

Schedule-
Tuesday (12/2) Big  mouse (24) experiment. This will take me at least 9 hours with not a lot of big chunks of time for breaks. Big day.

Thursday (12-4) I am planning on doing another experiment. Not huge, but a 4 hour incubation time. This will probably keep me at work pretty late and timing for Masters on this day will be pretty hard. (I have tried to think it through, but think it will just stress me out) I think I could get over to the MSU pool at some point for the 3-6pm time period though.

Think I am going to drive to West one day over the weekend and go skiing. Not sure which day yet though. Art and Lawrence wanted to go.

The week
Thursday- Masters swim. Got in around 3000. Did a ladder 100, 200, 300, 400, 300, 200,100. Was really working on keeping the elbow on my left arm high. I think I figured out what I have been doing. I have been entering the water with my elbow pointed down. Sounds weird, doesn't it? But, it is hard to keep it pointing up. I don't think the muscles in my back and arms want to go that direction. Someday. Do you think it would help to try using some light weight (like this cables) to get my arms used to the proper position?

Friday- Another big swim. I was pretty tired after this day and definitely woke up Saturday morning with my back and shoulders feeling like a have been swimming a lot.

Saturday- Mellow day. Erik's brother, family, and friend were all down for the Cat/Griz game. Hectic in the household. Makes me not want a bunch of kids. I like my quiet time. After they all left for the game and tailgate I went on a nice run. It was a beautiful day and I even got sunburned.  The run was really good too. Hard and consistent. Rode the rollers and did some PT.

Sunday- Master's swim. I tried to work hard and keep up with my lane. Still can't stay on toes doing backstroke, but was okay for the free. We did some fun stuff. A lot of one arms swim drills, which I think helped. We also did a bunch of focus on flip turns, which helped a lot. In the 50m pool I have a tendency to slack on the flip. We did a bunch of 100's starting in the middle forcing us to flip 2x.
Was so tired in the afternoon for some reason. Having Erik's family around always makes me a little anxioys. Like I said, I like my quite. Rode the rollers for 70 minutes. Did my PT and some core and then sat by the fire and read for a while. I even read work stuff so I was feeling super comfy but productive. For being so tired though, I couldn't sleep at all this night.

Monday- Swim and PT and core.

Another November week

Still super excited about my swim stroke. We can talk more about this if you want.

Schedule-Pool closed on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. There is also no Masters Thursday, Friday or Saturday. Masters and MSU are open for business on Sunday (December 1st). 

December 8th is the Masters 30 minute swim followed by (in the evening) the holiday party. There is also talk of laser tag. Imagine that, all those competitive swimmers chasing each other around with guns. I love laser tag. Super stealthy. 

Think I signed up for the 10k Huffing for Stuffing! Didn't get a confirmation email so will look into that. They have a list. I guess if I don't get on it in a couple of days I will know I didn't sign up. Haven't just run a 10k in a long time. It will be fun to see how it goes. Then be fun to be tired for eating a lot of food.

Have next Thursday and Friday off from work. 

Not much else to report on. Kind of a boring blog. 

Thursday- Ran at lunch and did PT. I think I did a bunch of core work this day because I was so motivated about it after talking to you. Masters swim after work. Nice to go to Masters. Group is so much fun. 

Friday- Swim and PT

Saturday- Had to go into work to run flow for my experiment on Friday. Got called to go to lunch with my sister and mom for my birthday. Met Lawrence at my house and we rode trainers (I rode rollers) and watched the Kona movie that NBC makes. We rode for something like two hours. Just kept chatting. I didn't get in the 60 minute trail run but Lawrence and I did run for 30 minutes post ride. Erik's Dad and brother and various nephew and friends stayed at our house on Sat. night so spent time hanging out with them. Am glad that the last Bobcat game is Saturday so don't have to entertain them all the time. Bad on PT this day. The whole day was really hectic. 

 Sunday- Masters swim. Lots of 50s 100s and 200s. Good swim. Had Jamie watch my stroke. Had a very lazy day after that. The weather wasn't bad but I just wasn't super motivated. Went grocery shopping and did some stuff around the house and then rode the trainer for an hour. Had a good PT and core session on this day after the bike. I now remember why it was such a mellow day. I have two friends from Bozeman who did IM Arizona. I spent a lot of time that day tracking them. Art had a really solid race and got a PR. Am happy for him. I am sure he is happy. Watching them race was giving me a little race envy. I am glad to have that back. It was missing for a while there. Maybe I will try IM Arizona some day. The course seems kind of boring, but the sun in November looked nice. 

Monday- Finished up the timecourse experiment. Ran flow at 5 so that I didn't have to do it Tuesday morning. Did the swim, which was short, because I didn't read the instructions very well. Did not do PT this day because of work and the swim. 

Tuesday- Birthday- Went to work in the morning. The boss called a meeting telling us that he is interviewing in Vermont. He already interviewed at Penn State but this feels a little more like he is really going to leave. So it looks like I need to find another job. Hate the job insecurity about this position. That will probably be some stress and take some time in the next few months. Left work around noon and went on a run and then did all of my PT and core work. Went home and made some lunch and went on a nice ride on the cross bike. Climbed some big hills and rode some trails. Very glad I did because it was a beautiful day and today (Wed) is yucky. 

Wednesday- Swim

Swimming

Haven't shown you picture of the new speakers or amps lately. Or Mrs. Man or handsome Mr. Man.

Anyway, this stupid thing is on centered justified and cant get it to change. Except I lost the picture of Mr. Man and the amps. Plus the picture got cut off. 

PT

Core, core, and more core.

The exercises I have been doing to help align my SI joint seem to work but not be helping in the long term. The PT is concerned this could be the beginning of a chronic back pain. So now I really need to do core work. 3x a week forever. No slacking in the summer when training is intense. This work is actually going to take some work too. I realized today that maybe with strength and stretching I may be just going through the motions (a little bit anyway). He wants me to be able to hold plank for 2 minutes. I am dying after1 minute. 

Here are core exercises adapted from what I have been doing.

Plank

Side plank (both sides)

Lay on stomach on exercise ball and hold a 7lb weight. move up and down holding weight to chest. Move down in 3 seconds hold at top for two. The lowering motion is what will build strength. (3 sets of 15, add weight when that gets easy)

Lay on back and do bicycle, except go slow and reach right hand for right knee and Left hand for right ankle. Dont grab knee or ankle, just touch. It is a pilates thing. Get up to being able to do 50 on each side. I only did 20 and was tired.

Schedule

My birthday is Tuesday. Have something fun in store? I was thinking of taking off the afternoon. I have an experiment to do on Monday and will probably stay late to finish it, so that I don't have to work so much on Tuesday (so something in the evening on Monday would be best).  Will probably go out to lunch with my sister and mom.An adventure bike ride in the afternoon would be fun?  Then I hope Erik makes me Pho. 

Other 

We are going to be here for Thanksgiving. Can I do the Huffing for Stuffing? Can I? Can I? What do you think 5 or 10k? 

I think I mention this somewhere else, but I think a Thursday Master's swim would be good. 

Thursday

Swam wwith my friend Katie. She swam in high school and college and is really fast. She showed me a really cool drill where you start in fetal position floating in water, you extend your arms and legs, start to kick, and then put in the arms. If gives me a really good feel for the water and being balanced. Further she said that I need to push out my chest more. I am rounding my back a lot. When I did this I felt so much better. My shoulders opened up for a cleaner rotation. Her tip for the day was to think plank. I lose the plank when I breath. 

Friday

Arms are getting a bit tired and I am starting to have a taste of being in the water often. The MSU pool is cold and I don't much like the first 100, especially if I'm cold to begin with. Maybe as this continues 2x a week with Masters might be better. The Swim Center is also much warmer. 

Saturday

Had a very late morning. This weeks time change was killing me. Super tired. Did a whole bunch of stuff around the house. Cleaning and getting organized. Rode the recycling on the trailer to be dropped off. I thought it was fun. Then did a ride around town. Probably 1:30 or so. 

Sunday

Swim was great! I went for it and stayed on the toes of people in my lane. Didn't think to much about form. Just swam. Kind of a good break from all the thinking. Went on a steep hike/run with Lawrence. Then met with Matt Parks about triathlon in Bozeman. He is on the same page. More than would have thought. Good things for Bozeman/Montana triathlon and races

Monday

Rode around at lunch. It was such a beautiful day. Got so overheated in the clothes I had on. 

Swam after work. Good swim. Still stop doing catch up and breathing on my left side. Katie said it looked like I wasn't getting in a very good rotation when I went to breath. 

Tuesday

I love running. Enough said. 

Wednesday

I will get the swim in, the bike however, might be a bit of a bust. I haven't put together the TT bike after Madison yet. Isn't that sad? Then yesterday I was thinking about this and can't for the life of me remember where the pedals are. I have a one set for the TT bike and the road bike that I have to change over and neither are containing pedals.  I might have to spend the 30-45 minutes tonight looking. 

Woop

This ended up being a pretty good week as far as sticking to the plan.

Have been doing the PT. It seems to be helping, but it is sort of funny the places where it will hurt again. Doing breast stroke kick gets it to flare up. I have another appointment next week with David, but in the meantime might email Jason. I feel like David is treating me like a Chiropractor. Just keep coming back in. I really want to get a more holistic sense of what is going on. Lawrence suggested getting a second opinion. I know these exercises are helping, but should I be doing something to prevent this problem in the long term? Strength work, etc? I guess I will ask David these questions next week. Okay, sorry about that. Thinking while typing.

I committed to helping my sister, which wasn't super productive on my part, but Erik did a lot of work so I suppose that counts. However, on Friday night I made up for the missed ride on Saturday. We did an Alley Cat. Basically a scavenger hunt on bikes. It was really fun. Erik, Bender, Mike and I stayed together. Being a Bozemanite, I knew where everything was and they rode fast dragging me along from place to place. Not that this ride was about winning, but we were so close to being the first ones in. I got first female and I think Bender and Mike were 3rd and 4th male. Better cost to benefit ratio than most cyclocross races. We rode like crazy for a couple of hours, drank a couple of beers with everybody after the event and got home at 11pm. Woop, what a day. Alley Cat's are the best excuse to be total hooligans on bikes. Road rules forgotten. Oh, I also did the swim workout that day. The sculling was really interesting. I played around with it a lot. Slicing my hands through the water, scooping the water. After eight 25s I definitely had enough, but also the right amount to really get a good feel.

Sunday was also another really fun day. Swam with Masters in the am. The workout consisted of lots of 50's some fast, some slow, some IM, some diving off blocks. I think for where I am fitness wise with swimming this was an awesome workout. I tried with all my might to stay on Lawrence's toes during the fast parts and I was pretty happy for doing it. The harder efforts aren't killing me like they do the first time back in the pool after a while. After swimming we got coffee and lunch with the Masters and listened to Flora tell us all about the horror movies she owns and has seen. (she has Down's Syndrome, I think). Then Lawrence and I hiked to Second Hump above the M. It is probably 2/3's of the way to Baldy. We went straight up. It was a really good hike and great company. You are my rock and Lawrence is my anchor.

Swimming-
I would like to mention a few things that I notice while swimming and a few "epiphanies" that I have had.

1) When I do catch up drill, which I think is really good because it is helping my reach, I try and breath every three. When I breath on my left side, which is the side I like to breath on, I loose my balance and stop dead in the water. I can fix this while concentrating and I think it is because my right arm is crossing over to the left or that I turn my head too much not my body. What do you think?

2) Swimming with paddles the other day I got my roll to be more accentuated. I felt like it was much smoother and with a lot of thought maybe gave me a better catch. I felt like I was really pulling myself with my back all the way over to the other side. I try and emulate this without the paddles but it doesn't always work. Should I have somebody watch me with the paddles and without and see how it looks? Any other suggestions?

3) Kicking on side- What is the point of this? Head up or head down? I was putting my head in the water and just trying to take breaths when I needed them. I have a tendency to arch my lower back doing these. Should I concentrate on keeping my core tighter?