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.

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....