Wednesday, March 24, 2010

Proceed with caution....

This is how I am handling my foray back into training. Very cautiously. After doing pretty much nothing for the past week, I got back in the pool yesterday. Ahh....how quickly one loses any semblance of swimming shape. So sad. I felt slow, and as if my arms were slipping the entire time. In other words, I felt like I had no feel or catch in the water. But it was a gorgeous day, I was outside, the sun was shining, and I didn't need narcotics for pain, so in all a good work out.

The only thing that was a little bothersome was the lovely, mouth-watering BBQ scent wafting over the pool. It was lunchtime when I swam and the pool is right behind Armadillo Willy's, a burger/ribs/BBQ type place. Oh that smelled nice. Such a tease while you're swimming. I held strong though and drove home for my recovery cliff bar and glass of milk!

Molly has bought a TRX and offered to let me borrow it from time to time. So last night was my first training session. It went pretty well. I like it. It didn't hurt my healing bits, which was a big bonus. I only did one set of everything. Just to get the hang of things. I am happy to report I did not fall flat on my face or hang myself up in the straps. This, I am to understand, is quite an accomplishment! Of course, there is always next time...

I am quite sore today. I like being sore in places you forgot you had muscles. It's nice. I am not so sore that I can't function or am reaching for the advil, but just some tenderness. And yes, those atomic crunches are evil. Wow.

I am certainly not 100% on the healing front. This week is swimming and running, I cannot get back on my bike for another week at least. This gives me a chance to get my bike serviced, the new Adamo saddle installed, and what ever else I choose to have done to it. So that's good. Spa day for the bike.

I had to skip the 10K last Sunday, which was fine, I was bummed, but I really don't think it would have been a good idea to race. Then I heard it was really quite hilly, and I was secretly glad I didn't race =). My next race is the Vineman Showdown on April 17th, I am excited for this race, I went last year as a spectator, and I rode the bike course. So I am looking forward to actually racing. Gotta rent a wetsuit though...

I wanted to thank everyone for the kind words regarding my Grandmother. She is currently in rehab and apparently doing better everyday. The plan is to have her come home the first week of April. Her speech and language are both intact, and she continues to gain more strength on her left side. They will have a hoyer lift in the house to help her get in and out of bed, which is fabulous for my 89year old Grandfather's back. So far my brother and parents have both visited (my grandparents live in Colorado) and my brother will go out to help again after she gets home. It sounds like she's getting pretty decent care in rehab, so that is always a bonus.

Well, that's all from around here. The sun continues to shine, and it truly feels like Spring has sprung. Sure hope it stays that way!

Happy Training!!


Thursday, March 18, 2010

Bed Rest

No, I am not pregnant. That would make this bed rest thing a little bit easier to swallow. That's right, I am out of commission for a little while. Without going into TMI territory, let's just say I am suffering from a condition which prevents me from sitting on a bike (or sitting on much of anything for that matter), running, swimming, or (according to my doctor) working for a few days.

The bed rest just began yesterday, and should be over tomorrow. I hope anyway. The resting though has to go on a bit longer. So training peaks and I won't be sharing any information for a few more days at least. I am pretty bummed as I was looking forward to nailing my second 10K this weekend. But alas, that is not going to happen.

Training has been going well. I was having a bit of a blah period, but I got through it and just did the workouts. That's the great part about having a coach, they do the thinking for you when it comes to creating workouts, and all I have to do is work hard and follow the plan. I like that.

Of course, now that I can't workout, I miss it immensely. It doesn't help that Spring has decided to visit the Bay Area. The sun is smiling, the wind seems quiet, and it is a nice 70ish outside. Hopefully, when I can get back into things, the weather will still be nice!

In other news, I met with an ENT (Ear, Nose and Throat) doctor and we decided that Sinus Surgery would be a good idea. So May 18th is the fateful day for my recalcitrant nasal passageways. Hopefully this will mean no more Augmentin for a long, long time.

Well that's all I got. Luckily there are many shows for me to watch through the miracle that is Comcast OnDemand. So I guess that's where I will be for a while longer.....

Happy Spring and Happy Training!

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

"Laundry day tomorrow, nothing clean right?"

This is a quote from one of my favorite moves, Terminator. That about sums up my day for today...I am home today, cleaning and doing laundry. Between working at the hospital and triathlon training, I have noticed my laundry needs have shot up quite a bit. It's worth it though, as I like having all my clothes to chose from before work/work out.

Last week wasn't especially the best, from a personal stand point. My grandmother turned 90 on 2/22 and then had a stroke that night. The initial information I received had me looking into arrangements to fly out for a very sad event. It turned out, after speaking to her nurse, that things weren't quite as bleak as they had made things out to be. She's still able to talk, but suffers from weakness on her left side and some swallowing issues. She had had a wonderful birthday up to the stroke, lots of dinners with friends and general things to make her feel loved. So I guess, whatever happens, she knows how much she means to people. After a week in the hospital, she was moved to a Skilled Nursing Facility, where they will work on her rehab. Hopefully she will regain some use again of her left side, but she wasn't extremely healthy to begin with, so it's very hard to tell. She continues to have her sense of humor and is joking with the nurses, so as long as she's happy, there's not much more I can ask for.

Last week was a rest week as well, and I took full advantage of it. Having a rest week the same week I work 4 days in a row is fabulous. I made it to yoga, twice. This meant I cried, twice, due to some very angry hip adductors. Oh well, I guess I really needed it!

I got back into the pool for the first time in 2 weeks and it wasn't too horrible. I swam in a faster lane and made some decent intervals. Now if I can stave off the sinus infections for a while, I should be golden.

Speaking of golden, I woke up after 4 hours of sleep on Sunday so I could watch the US v. Canada hockey game live. There was no way I was going to watch it on our DVR and potentially get spoiled. It was a wonderful, exciting game. I wasn't too sad that the United States lost, I felt they played exceptionally and had nothing to hang their heads for. I thought it was pretty special that the Canadian fans gave goalie Ryan Miller his due when he received his medal. The only thing I wished could have been different (besides US winning) would have been for somebody else, anybody else (like someone with the last name of Thornton, Marleau, Boyle or Heatley) scoring the final goal for Canada instead of Sydney Crosby.

Thanks to Molly, I was priveldged enough to go to the first home game post Olympic break for the Sharks last night. Lo and behold, they had their medals on display for the fans:


Please ignore the cell phone in the way of Boyle's jersey. There were lots of people pushing and I wanted to get my picture as quickly as possible.

Anyway, after the game, I still had a tough bike trainer work out to do as well as eat, get a nap in, and go back to work! I got it all done, even with a two hour nap. I was fine at work, but boy, did I pay for that on Monday. I woke up to swim at noon and my body told me in no uncertain terms, that we would be staying in bed. I didn't argue. Just meant I got to swim and run some fun Z4 intervals yesterday =).

Finally, I just have to say, I am really enjoying running right now. Hard to believe really. But I just like the simplicity of it. What I mean is this: very simple to get dressed, put your running shoes on and go. I am sure I will start enjoying swimming and biking more when the sun returns, but for right now, I look forward to my runs no matter what the weather is like outside. Weird...

This week I have two big bricks. I decided to do one of them tomorrow because the forecast is calling for sun instead of today's torrential rains and thunder (no sniggering from anyone west of Nevada =>). It is safer to ride in the sun instead of the rain. May I remind you that California drivers = crazy.

At any rate I am looking forward to both of them! Whee!

Happy Training!