Another day, another year

Health- Got on antibiotics and felt better within 12 hours. I still have a bit of nose drainage which gets worse when it is cold (annoying when trying to tile, can't just farmer blow in the house anymore) and I think this is aggravating my throat a little. I think I am susceptible to sinus infections and I guess they are hard to get rid of unless you have antibiotics. I also think swimming a lot keeps me from getting sick. Flushing my sinuses with chlorine water all the time. So, let's just keep swimming.

PT- I have to say that these PT sessions are kind of kicking my butt. I am definitely very sore the next day from them but... I think I am getting something out of them. I am able to hold planks for longer. This is kind of cool because I don't know if I have ever done the same exercises consistently enough to say that I think I am getting stronger. Now that I got some doable hamstring exercises I think I will start to see some gains on that as well. Also, I have been doing some runs on the treadmill and really, really focusing on cadence and form while running pretty slow. However, I am excited to have the time and chance to think about form. If I can get my hamstring to heal up before training really starts I am really excited about racing next year. That last 15% that I couldn't quite get last year might make for  running improvement.

Hamstring- My achilles and my plantar are feeling good, but I feel like my hamstring is taking a while to get better. Rolled out on a foam roller a few times this week which seems to help. Bought some new shoes too, so that bad shoes shouldn't lead to any more injury. But, just wanted to let you know, it isn't great, yet....

Am signed up for the Huffing for Stuffing. Am excited. It feels good to race before celebrating/eating.

Schedule- Next Monday (Dec 1), I have a pretty big experiment. A full day. Tuesday, the morning will be
                 pretty busy with the same experiment.
               -Weekend- Home for Thanksgiving. Would like to get the showers tiled so would like to dedicate
                at least 4 hours each day to doing that, if not more. Probably not on Thursday.

The weekend went good.
Friday- Missed the run. Sorry didn't read the plan very well and only had bike in my head. Got a haircut though, which was very much needed.

Saturday-  I followed the plan mostly. Got in a good swim on Saturday, except the pool was 14-16 inches too low when I got there. Too scared to do a flip turn in the shallow end. Then they started to fill it and the pool got really cold in the middle. A little distracting. Kept losing count of what I was doing. Kind of nice when that happens. Had a good PT session after. Did a lot of hamstring and strength. PT is actually kind of hard. Have been pretty sore the next day.

Sunday- Good Masters swim. Lots of bilateral breathing with paddles, fins, and both. A good form workout. I was pretty tired after. A little in a calorie hole too. Worked on tiling the showers in the house all day. Not super gratifying. 4+ hours gets me one wall. Went home and did the rollers workout. Am feeling more comfortable with a higher cadence both biking and running this year. Kind of excited about it.

Monday- Running after work. It looks cold out and I need to stay at work a little late, so might just go run on the hamster wheel.

Questions- Did you think training with power last winter was good for me? Should I arrange to use Lawrence's computrainer again, or I think the Curry's have power. I could do that on the trainer, correct? It would be nice to get a set up at home. Especially once we move and I have the bike shop to set up in.

cold snap blues

This is probably the most uneventful blog ever.

I haven't done much. I layed around on Thursday night, layed around on Friday night, worked on the house on Saturday, went to Masters Sunday (only got in 1000 before I decided I was tired) and did PT Sunday, and am still feeling crappy on Monday. Cold is progressing to my sinuses and to a small cough. Am thinking tonight is a good night for rollers. I really am trying to stay rested up and hydrated because I really want this cold to go away.

It has given me some time to tackle a few house projects. I need to really deep clean the house we are currently living in to prove to my parents that I am not a disgusting person and horrible housekeeper. Don't ever stand on a stool in your kitchen if you aren't in the mood to open a can of worms.

Also, our house is getting painted, the mechanical (radiant heat) put in, and the flooring will start going down. So suddenly we are making progress again.

Followed some Bozeman folks at IMAZ on Sunday. Was a bit jealous and made me motivated.

Schedule- Not much going on at work. Hopefully meet with the boss today to discuss a plan.

Weekend and Thanksgiving- We are here for this weekend and will be here for Thanksgiving. A few days off for us to work on the house is what I am thinking that probably means.

So glad the cold snap is over. That was way too much of a shocker. I don't mind the snow, just not the bone chilling cold. Took my yearly allotment of baths last week.

winter overnight

Schedule- Not much going on with work. Don't have any big days planned. Nothing until at least mid next week.
            - Home this weekend. Mule Party at 4pm on Saturday. Masters meeting after swimming on Sunday.


Warning- Never throw a cat on an exercise ball. I finally got an exercise ball at the PT. Jason blew it up and everything. I was pretty excited to add to my home PT abilities. That very evening Erik decided it would be funny to throw the cat on the ball. Immediately flat with a giant claw mark. Cat just sort of sauntered off. Not even phased.

Things and stuff...
Took advantage of the off season and the nice weather last week. Ran outside with a couple of girls I work with and rode with Lisa on Friday. Just took off during the day. It was so nice and one of the last days.

Racing- I am pretty sure I found the Xterra that excites me. http://www.qxict.com/. It is in South Dakota. I have been thinking it would be a fun trip to go to South Dakota. See Mt Rushmore and spend another day to see Devils Tower. Erik could come and we could do some other mt bike riding. Plus, it is only a 6.25 hour drive. It is likely on the same weekend as Polson, but my excitement for South Dakota trumps my excitement for Polson.

This week so far....

Spent the weekend laying sod. It did not just mean putting down sod, that part was actually very gratifying, insta grass. It was the back breaking, wheel barrel rolling and shoveling that went into the sod laying down job. I woke up on Sunday night massaging my arms because they are so sore. Got most of it layed on Saturday and spent Sunday watering. Then it snowed. Awesome. Now next spring we won't have to deal with landscaping and we will have a nice solid lawn of green.

Missed Masters on Sunday to have breakfast with Erik's family. I have the strangest mother in law. Sigh...

Started chipping away at my new list on Sunday evening. Started by riding the rollers. Also, while watering tended to a lot of PT. Finished off evening with hamstring strength exercises.

Ran on the treadmill on Monday and followed it up with PT. I fully intended on going outside but was so cold at work that it didn't happen. Spent the 30 minutes on the treadmill really concentrating on my form. Timed my cadence a whole bunch of times. Did all of it at a really easy pace.

Camp
Working on sending you a brainstorming camp sheet. I am curious what you would want to do? What does a hands on camp with coach Elliot mean? What do you envision as your job? Also, I was thinking of asking Jason if he would be interested in doing an evening talk, or some sort of a bike fit clinic. What do you think of that? I wanted to ask you before I talked to him about it.

Off season

I have an idea which I need to ask you about. If I organized a Bozeman training camp would you come and coach it? My initial thoughts are that it would be in the spring, maybe April or May. It would be 3 days or so. Maybe Thursday evening through Sunday. I can't take off a whole week of work. I would probably try and get the triathletes from Bozeman that I think could use it and appreciate it. It would be a combination of hands on training with you and talking. Since it would be Bozeman people I would figure out a way to feed people some meals, but everybody would be able to sleep in their own beds. We have amazing riding, amazing running, and access to lots of various hours at two pools. Why not try to get the tri community together and do this. I would say it would be for the serious triathlete who has some sort of level of basic fitness.

What do you think? Is it possible? Are you available? How much would it cost me to hire you for a few days? Does my plan seem beneficial or would it be better if it was longer or shorter?



To the week...
Friday and Saturday- Had a work meeting at 9am and another at 2pm. Painted between and after the meetings. Don't like running around like that. To work, to paint, find some food, back to work, back to paint. It was exhausting. Then had Art and Lawrence over for dinner and may have drank too much. Finished (almost) painting on Saturday morning. I was so exhausted. Went home and cleaned house. Scrubbed the bathroom like never before. I don't take naps well. My shoulder was sooo tired from painting.

Sunday at Masters was really fun. In addition to the Luma Lines I was telling you about, we were on it. 5x200s Odd IM on 2:00 and even free on 1:55. Couldn't make the IM in that interval but raced the free to get a few seconds before the IM. Honestly I could only get about a 25 fly on those but nonetheless we didn't let up. 2nd. I was able to pace a 1:40 in the 50m pool and I wasn't absolutely dying. Had a good practice.  Went to work right after  the BOD meeting and was there until around 6:30 or 7pm.

Monday- Am vowing to get back into a routine. I can already feel the fat settling around my belly and side ass region. Followed directions exactly.

Tuesday- Day off work! Went to PT. Good session. He said hamstrings are really hard to recover that last 15%. Need to be diligent about strength exercises for hamstrings. We refined things and I shouldn't have to go back for at least a month. Am now equipped with an exercise ball, foam roller, and yoga mat at home.  Need to stick to easy running and riding for a month to let it heal. I then went and voted. I love voting.  Went on a hike on a trail I have never been on. Most people ride it. It is steep but smooth. Excited to ride it. Took a huge garbage bag of stuff and a box of books to Goodwill.

Schedule- Nothing huge for the week. My experiments aren't showing much. Need to have a talk with the boss about where I am going. New lab dynamics are making work kind of sucky. It is like a roller coaster at that place. Just need to hang on for a while.
               - I would like to go visit my Grandma. I was thinking maybe this weekend. Just drive down for the day on Saturday and maybe take her to lunch. Or I have next Tuesday off. Maybe then. I need to find out when I can be more useful on the house.

Races- I found a few Xterra races that look promising. One in Portland and in Canmore. There was was in McCall but the website wasn't great and I don't want to drive all that way for a crappy race. Problem is that I would like to race Polson and the Portland and Canmore races are the same weekend or one before. What is the point of driving all that way when I have Polson? So I guess I should find something more near the end of August or the first weekend of September. (Sorry for all that rambling, writing my chain of thoughts)
Other races I can and would like to do: Tritons Olympic, Spring Meadow, Lake Como, Polson.

That seems to be all for now. Lots of rambling....