Holiday fun

Here is a list of the hightlights/thoughts/comments/questions from the last couple of weeks.

1) Is this the year of mental fortitude for indoor training? :) I about died doing 25 x 1:00 (decided I needed to break that up into groups of 5)on the bike and spent the whole day dreading 24 x 50 swimming (well 2 x 12, but still). Both of which I was very tired at the end. In the swim I did shoot for a 50 that was under :45 and I achieved it most times.

2) Skate skied two Saturdays ago. Had plans to head out in the morning with a friend. He bailed on me so I went alone. It was so nice. It also doesn't hurt my hamstring/hip/back which running was. I was happy and hooked. So I skied Monday night after work too. A little late start and a little scary being alone 5 miles back in the woods known to have mountain lions but also very invigorating. Also skied with my sister on Christmas Eve Day. Those runs got put off.

3) Back/hamstring- It now hurts to flutter kick. Especially on my back and especially with fins. I complained or brought it up with the chiropractor. He didn't seem too alarmed and wanted me to continue with the prescribed course of action. I was told that my recovery would look like the stock market. Ultimately improving but sometimes getting worse. I don't think falling off that curb helped. I also feel much better a week or so later. Have an appointment Tuesday morning to see the PT as well. Ran on Sunday and my hamstring felt pretty good.

4) Finally met Haley Chura. She was swimming at the Swim Center. She is very, very nice. Sincerely really nice. I like her a lot. Her parents live here. She is still based in Atlanta. She will be back this summer to train. She really likes training here. Got a lot of interesting triathlon perspective from her. I hope to swim/ride/run with her this summer.

5) There may be a time in a couple of weeks where I might just need a couple of days off of training and work and really focus on getting the new house finalized,  moved, and our house cleaned and ready to show and rent out. It is sort of stressful for me. I can't wait to get back to normal. In an awesome new house.

6) This past weekend- Decided I really needed to get my butt in gear. I also gained a couple of pounds. Set up trainer for the ride on Saturday. It took a while to settle in. My legs didn't want to go around. I then proceeded to grout the whole shower at the house. It was 7:30 or so when I got home and I don't think I have been that tired in a while. Had a great swim with Masters on Sunday. They pushed me. Haley came and swam in  rockstar lane 5. Did I tell you we have a Canadian Olympian in that lane too. Ran afterwards and felt pretty good. Felt a bit tired. It makes me nervous that I was that tired after running for 50 minutes.

Hmm- Those are all the highlights I can think of.


Schedule- No work this Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. Well actually, I may come in to infect mice but that won't take much time. No swimming available on Thursday. Masters is on for Sunday.

Other- Wish I had some amazing questions to ask you. Unfortunately I don't. Anthony Bourdain- Parts Unknown is a surprisingly good watch while riding the trainer. Just an FYI. Lauren Fleshman is making this her awesome comeback year. She seems so awesome I hope she is successful. It is very inspiring to see  pro athletes have babies and still race. I kind of wish a magazine article would write something about the average mom who also has to work though.

planning

July 4th. http://www.bangtaildivide.com/  I admire that they will have a race on July 4. Nobody does that. I would like to put this on my calendar.

30 minute swim- This was hard and I learned a lot. I swam in a lane with a friend who is a go getter. She played golf for Stanford which I think says a lot about her. Historically she is faster than me and often more driven at practice. (some days I am just tired and hitting those intervals etc is hard) Anyway, we swam neck and neck almost the whole 30 minutes. My own plan was to start out slower and build every 10 minutes. Sort of like what I have done in races. I was fine the first 10 minutes. Felt really good actually. Then when I tried to go faster it lasted about 3 laps and I blew up. I stayed with Audrey for most of it and she pulled ahead the last couple of minutes. But just a couple of yards. Anyway, I had a counter and she said when I blew up I lost my kick and my form went to shit. I started wiggling. So, I am very excited to have done this little test. A- it was a TT and I gave it my all and was super tired the rest of the day B- My form breaks down when I get tired. Especially my kick. I honestly had no idea. Now I have something to work on. We swam 1650. I swear we were on track for 1750 and something got miscounted but that is another story.

Lots of good workouts. Swim on Friday was hard but good.

Note:  Two long workouts on Friday don't work out well. I didn't ride on Friday because I just didn't have time during the day to swim and ride. I wouldn't have gotten any work done. We have lab meeting from 3-5 which doesn't help anything either. Felt bad about not getting out. Also was exhausted.

Other week highlights- Thursday ride (is that when that was?) Good and  hard. I really liked that ride actually. I felt like the high cadence and then the easier intervals really built into the hard intervals. My legs felt better doing those 20k pace intervals than the previous couple of harder rides. 

Health- Had a great appointment with the Chiropractor on Tuesday. I sat me down to talk to me about everything we went over and outlined the plan for getting me better. Let me ask a lot of questions. Basically, I have 8-10 visits with him and then he sends me to a PT who works in his office. He breaks me down and gets me adjusted correctly. She helps me build the form to keep it that way. Come to find out at my next appointment that we graduated in the same High School class at Bozeman High School. It was weird. Changed the dynamic for a few minutes. I am feeling pretty good running. Better than I have in a long time. Think I should stick with his plan. 

Schedule- Not a lot going on with work. At least until next week which is Christmas. We are here this weekend. Working on the house. Hopefully finishing off tiling. I am going to grout and finish the house bathroom today. Hopefully my arms don't fall off. That is a hard job.( Very sore when finished BTW)

MSU- pool closed on weekends until the middle of January. Also, gym not open much on weekends and closes at 7pm during the weekday. 

Masters- I think that will be as normal except Christmas and New Year's day which are on Thursdays. 

Okay, not a lot. Been super busy with trying to get tiling done this week. 

What's that a chiropractor?

This week was kind of off and maybe in a little bit of transition. After going to the chiropractor and being told not to ski or run much I was feeling a little at a loss. Also, felt like a lot of the PT I had been doing was pointless. I guess only the hamstring, but that took a lot of time. Also, Masters swimming on Sunday is so grounding that when that is cancelled I feel pretty off.  First I stopped doing the runs and then Sunday I did kind of a big effort. Friday I skipped altogether and left work early to go to Erik's Christmas party. I was also feeling very tired and worked from the week. Also, it has been very warm here and I think I jumped the gun on giving you the go ahead to write in ski workouts.We don't have any snow. I am seeing green grass from my window at work.  

Chiropractor- I already sent you an email explaining a lot and I do have a bunch of questions for him at my appointment tomorrow. He went so fast that a lot got lost on me. For instance. I have this tape on my leg that is aligning it differently. It feels great, but how in the long term am I going to lose the tape. Also, not sure how my big toe is connected to all of this. I think it is my walking motion but need to clarify. Also, he says one leg is longer than the other but couldn't this be from muscular imbalance not just the bones. How does this get fixed? However, I ran and maybe overdid it on Sunday and I haven't felt so good in a very, very long time. No pain. I am very, very excited about this prospect and am going to keep giving the Chiropractor my business for a while longer. However, I do think like I was about, that things are changing. Less running for a while? Different PT? It might take a couple of weeks to get in a new groove. 

Workouts

Now that I gave you all my negative things here are a couple of positive and your workouts/ideas/suggestions were not all for no reason. 

Wednesday- Bike- Went really well. Was feeling a bit rusty for the first couple and like my legs didn't want to hurt but they warmed up and it was a fairly hard workout. Note: I feel that way in swimming too, you say go fast without any builds and it takes a few 50's to really get my arms to go around. 

Thursday- Masters swim. Got in a good workout. I don't remember much of it. Only that 3000 was done before I knew it. 

Saturday- Substituted running for riding. Only rode over to the house and back but figured that was better than nothing. Did the roller ride and followed it by a really good core session. 

Sunday- I got up and tiled in the morning (well midmorning). My friend had a tile saw I could use and I could pick it up at 2pm. The pool is only open on Sunday from 1-4. My original plan was to get the saw, do the swim, and walk on the treadmill. It was such a beautiful day and the glue smell from the house was getting to me. I decided to take the treadmill thing one step further and go hike the M, straight up. Of course I couldn't just go to the M, so I made it to the overlook, then first hump, and then 2nd. I was feeling so good and getting in a really good workout. I ran/shuffled/slid down. Lots of snow on top. It was a really, really nice hike and fully worth missing the workout. 

Schedule- Not much at work for the next week. Just the day to day assays to wrap up my mouse takedown last week. 

Masters- Sunday is the 30 minute swim and the 500 fly. I would definitely like to do the 30 minute swim. The fly, not so much. 

House- Still lots of tiling to do. The weekend should again be focused on tiling. I am going to try to get over there this week too. Lots to do with the house and very little time. 

Camp-

I read over your email and am stewing. My biggest concern at this point is pool time. There is usually a meet at the Swim Center that weekend and MSU is only open for regular hours on Sunday. I sent out an inquiry today about renting/using MSU for a couple of hours on Saturday and the cost. I am having Bobcat flashbacks though, because it takes forever, if ever, to hear back from them. Anyway, I will send you an email at some point in the next few days with my critique. Really it just made for questions about logistics. I think the content is really good. 

Okay, that's it. Not a lot this week. I feel like I need to ask the Chiropractor lots of questions so I can get back to a groove on. 

Camp and such...

I put together an outline for Camp. Hopefully you can work with me to iron it out.

Objective- Promote triathlon by providing a high quality and valuable triathlon training experience for Bozeman/Montana's working class.
                      sub objectives: accommodate peoples busy lives
                                             -utilize Bozeman's great roads and trails
                                             - Provide triathletes with a wealth of knowledge.
                                   

My job- Organization by scheduling things such as pool times, caterers, support. Ultimately though, I think it boils down to keeping people fed. (I used to wonder why the cycling house always promoted their healthy food so much. Now, I realize with a bunch of triathletes you are also going to have a bunch of crabby people without meals all lined out)

Your job- Schedule swims, bikes, runs etc. and lead them. Provide our amazing insights to everybody there!

Schedule

Thursday- Packet pickup and social hour. My house 7-9pm. Snacks and drinks. Keep this early and fairly short.

Friday- So here I was wondering if maybe we could have a couple of options. People who come from out of town and get here Thursday night are taking the day off work anyway. Maybe we could have a day for them. Then have a Friday evening session for the Bozeman people who don't want to take off work. If you need to work I could potentially just lead this. Nothing super intense maybe more fun and do some exploring. Show those Helena people some good trails.
Catered dinner and either you or Excel talk and/or QA session.

Saturday
Breakfast on own.
You plan the sessions.
Catered dinner and either you or Excel talk and/or QA
Lunch? On your own? Coop? What do you think. People get some time away from each other for an hour or two or we all stay together?

Sunday
Breakfast on own
You plan session/s
Lunch together or go

Other:
Weekend training nutrition- Try and get Hammer to sponsor- Hammer products will be provided. Otherwise bring your own if you have a preference.
SAG- Will have a SAG vehicle for a long ride. Have nutrition and supplies such as tubes and a pump for mechanicals.
Other support- Water and snacks for after runs etc.
Pro-rate- I will pro- rate the weekend if people can't  make it to everything. I won't advertise this. Just if people ask. I don't want to create room for people to make their own schedules.

Questions: Would you be interested/think it is a good idea to have Jason from Excel give a talk one evening. Or work with you to talk about something? I don't want to ask Jason until I have a confirmed yes with you.

Julie to do:
Figure out pool times. That weekend of May is potentially a swim meet at the Swim Center. Making swim times tights.
Get a flier together- Can you send me a blurb about yourself and maybe a photo?
Hammer sponsor
Caterer
Budget

The other unknown right now is scheduling and how people will get places. Once we have a schedule we can figure that out.

The end for now....



Okay, now on to me. Because I am awesome and love just chatting it up about me.

First of all, I am getting out of shape and I don't like this. Swimming is hard, running is hard, all I can do is spin on the bike. When does the season begin again? Second, when is the season to begin? Our house is so time consuming. I am glad to not be so structured. Can't wait to get moved in and settled again.

Hamstring- I am getting worried about my hamstring. It doesn't seem to be getting better. I kind of wonder if it is just sore from the strength stuff, except that it hurts all the way down. Starting at my lower back to the back of my knee. This makes me wonder if I am doing some of those exercises wrong and targeting stretching not strengthening. I am going to send Jason an email and ask him his thoughts. I also wonder if it is my bike fit from my road bike. I put together my TT bike over the weekend so that I know that it is fitting correctly.

Huffing for Stuffing- Started out at a 7:25 or so pace. This was kind of hard. The beginning is uphill, has lots of people and it was icy and slippery. So right off the bat I started too fast. The race was hard and I ran as fast as I could. Told myself to give it my all. Then at mile 5 my legs stopped working. Wouldn't turn over anymore. Probably ran the last mile 2-3 minutes slower. My hamstring (uggh) was a major contributor. It wasn't happy moving.

Schedule- No Masters this weekend. Swim meet. Next weekend is the 1/2 hour swim and the butterfly challenge and a Masters holiday party.
               Noting scheduled for work.

Missed a few workouts. Friday was annoying and PT didn't happen and bike was 30 minutes. Got up Saturday and rode and did PT before working on tiling. However, it got really, really cold at about 2pm. I was not about to go out running in that weather. Rode the trainer for 35 minutes, to break a sweat, and hopefully make up for my inability to run in the cold.

Sunday- Swim was okay. Felt very, very tired and out of shape. Worked on house and rode rollers in the evening. Did legs for PT since Cory Hardy was there and they wanted to eat.
Sidenote: I am sick of being on everybody else's schedule. My training and my time for myself is not important for anybody else. Except they can leave me hanging and it doesn't matter. I feel like this whole triathlon thing is something everybody is waiting for me to get over so that I can get on with life. Maybe this is all in my head.

Monday- Run felt terrible. Ran on treadmill. (cold problem again) Had to really bargain to stay on. Form was bad, hamstring hurt. Had a long day at work and was tired. That may have contributed. 

Tuesday- PT- Full on session!

Sorry, about a lot of this blog. I am feeling very crabby and negative today.