Nice Weather and Working Out

Today was a beautiful day. It was a workout day for me, but my body is pretty tired. So, I was glad I could make it into a light workout day. My assignments - a 25 minute walk and 250 yard swim.

The Brookside Art Fair is taking place this weekend and it's about a 15 minute walk from my house. So, I decided to take advantage of the great weather and divided my walk into to and from the fair. My neighborhood is beautiful, if I may say so. I love walking the streets and looking at the old houses and the big trees. It was a pleasant walk.

While at the art fair I scored the piece pictured to the left. It's a drawing of the conservatory my mother-in-law taught at for the last 20 years of her career and also where Steve and I spent a lot of time while we were falling in love during our college years. Today happens to be the 7th anniversary of when Steve's mom had brain surgery. She passed away a couple of weeks later. So, this was a special piece to find today.

The walk home went well, too. But I am pretty sure it truly is uphill both ways from my house to anywhere in Brookside.

The pool was gorgeous this afternoon. When I arrived the big side doors (that kind of make the place look like a greenhouse) were slid open and sunlight was beaming into the area. It sort of took my breath away.
There was only one other person in the pool. So, I got to choose the outside lane with all the sun streaming into it. I love swimming in the sunshine. After I swam my 400 yards I sat outside on a lounge chair for about 30 minutes to dry off and enjoy the sun.

All in all, it was a good day. Tomorrow, I'm thinking, might be a different story. So, I'll enjoy this while it lasts.

Oh, my crotch!

I did a three mile bike ride today. I'm still proud of myself for not crashing, yet...or getting a flat tire.

I'm at the uncomfortable in between time when I've been biking long enough that my crotch is sore, but I haven't biked enough to get my crotch used to time in the saddle and build up a little toughness. The actual words that came out of my mouth when I pulled up at the house and "hopped" off my bike were, "Oh, my crotch." Not said with an exclamation point, but with a hint of self-pity.

If I had a better saddle that might help. I'm sure there are some other upgrades I could do to my bike, too, that would make riding easier. In my ideal world I'd have a tri-bike, but they are $2000 on the low end.

Sunday, I'm going biking with my friend, Trish, and I'm hoping I can pick up some tips from her. If I could invest in two things I think they would be a better saddle and clips for my pedals. It will be interesting to see what Trish's bike is like and how it rides.

I'm open to tips and opinions from other bikers out there.

I also learned that purple Powerade Zero does not taste good after a chocolate coconut milk protein shake.

Oh, Snap!

I did a triple workout, today. It started with a 25 minute (1.5 miles) run on the Trolley Trail. I almost had the whole trail to myself - perhaps because it's a little cool and things are still wet from the rain we've gotten. Then, I headed to the gym to bike. I'm not ready to ride my road bike on wet streets. Since stationary bikes are so much easier than a road bike I added one mile to the two that were on my schedule. Then, it was off to the pool!

My plan for today's workout was to swim 400 yards (the official plan says 250 yards). It's what I swam yesterday and that felt really good. So. I was ready for a repeat. The pool wasn't very crowded. Nice. Not only do I get my own lane, but I actually have lanes to choose from. I go to my lane, jump in, dunk my head to get my hair and face wet and put on my goggles...SNAP! The strap on my goggles breaks. Great. I tie the ends together with hopes that I can at least get them to work for my short swim, but they immediately come apart. So, I had no choice but to swim without them.

Here is what I discovered. Swimming with your head above water is really hard and works the muscles in your arms in a very different way. My body wasn't parallel to the water; I was at a diagonal - with my head out of the water and my feet about a foot below the water. I really felt the fatigue in the muscles on the outside of my upper arm. I ended up only swimming the 250 yards that is part of the official training plan and even getting in 250 was challenging.

Fortunately, I have spare goggles. This was a great reminder that for the triathlon, I have to be prepared for anything to happen and that preparation includes carrying an extra set of goggles with me (tucked into the strap of my tri kit) during the race.

Wine Before Workout

It was a very long day. I started work at 6am and was probably on the phone for eight of the 11 hours I worked. When I logged off at 5pm I went into the kitchen to get dinner started and happily poured myself a glass of wine to shake off a little bit of the day's stress. I wasn't thinking about the fact I still had to workout.

So, after dinner and a glass of wine I headed to the gym for a pool workout. On the walk from my car to the gym I was a little stuffed and a little woozy. I was trying to remember if I'd ever worked out tipsy before. I don't think I have and don't plan to, again.

Fortunately, once I got in the water I felt fine. I put in a good 400 yards. Then, I headed to the Trolley Trail and ran/walked for 25 minutes (1.4 miles).

I need to figure out this dinner/workout schedule. I prefer to eat after I workout, but I also prefer to workout in the evening - which means my prime workout time is also the prime dinner time. It should really only matter on days I have to go to the gym (swim days or bad weather days). Parking is hard to find before 6:30pm. However, on my non-gym days if I really go straight from work to working out I can still have dinner around 6:30pm. This way I'm getting my workout in before dinner AND I'm not eating super late.

Still trying to figure the timing out for everything. It takes some flexibility, but I'm getting there.

P.S. My left knee still hurt a tad, today, but not too badly and it did not prevent me from doing anything.

Knee Pain

Due to my dad being in town I missed a workout last week. So, today, I was planning to bike two miles, run for 20 minutes and swim 300 yards. The weather has been cold and rainy. I expected to have to do all three workouts at the gym. However, by the time I was ready to workout this evening things had warmed up and dried out.

I started with the bike ride. Still intimidating, but I could tell I did a little bit better today. I even hit a couple of ruts and recovered from them before falling to the ground. No walking today, either. Granted, I didn't take the long hill I took a few days ago, but still had some pretty good inclines. I felt good about the ride.

After biking I went straight into my "run" - which was a full on walk I was so out of breath and my legs were pretty wobbly. I chose to walk around my neighborhood instead of going down to the trail. I won't do that, again. The sidewalks are too broken up and uneven. I will definitely stick with the trail going forward.

Unfortunately, about seven minutes into my walk my left knee began popping every few steps. It was a painful pop and the more I walked the more it was happening. So, I decided it best to head home. The walk ended up only being 15 minutes. I got home, drank my protein shake and iced my knee.

I'm pretty sure the injury is actually from the Barre3 class I took a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully, if I baby it a little bit it will be fine in no time.

Tomorrow, I may stick to the pool.

Worry Wart

Well, today wasn't as good as yesterday, but that's going to happen. It was a bike day.

I just started biking around the neighborhood earlier this week. It's hilly - which is good and bad. Half the time I feel like I'm cheating because I'm coasting downhill and the other half of the time I think I'm going to pass out from pushing myself uphill. I have to make little goals for myself...make it to the next parked car...make it to the next tree...make it to the next corner...

In the midst of that I worry. I worry I'm going to fall off; I worry I'm going to get a flat tire; I'm worried I'm going to hit a pothole or get stuck in a rut in the street and seriously crash. I can't take my hands off the handle bars. I have no idea how people grab a water bottle and take a long drink of water without having an accident. Maybe, someday, I'll get there.

I ended up having to walk about 4/10ths of a mile out of my 2.12 mile ride. I was going up a hill that lasted two blocks and could only make it about 3/4 of the first block. So, I walked to the corner of the big hill. Then, I was near a little shopping district and wasn't going to attempt getting on my bike in front of all those people. Then, I made it to the next corner and a man was with his daughter walking their two dogs. So, I had to let them pass before I was willing to brave getting back on my bike.

The last half mile didn't seem to be that hard - probably because most of it was downhill.

I just have to keep telling myself it will get easier and then I'll be able to go further and make it harder, again. Then, easier, harder, easier, harder, easier...Race Day!

Super Psyched!

I had an amazing workout, today.

According to my training plan I was supposed to swim 150 yards and do a 20 minute walk.

I went to the pool first. I knew I was going to do more than 150 yards. I was planning on 250. However, I was feeling so good I threw the extra 50 yards in there. I could have kept going, but I reminded myself not to push too hard.

Then, I went to the Trolley Trail for my walk. It's a cool day here for April  - overcast and about 50 damp degrees. However, I decided to run in capris and a short sleeved shirt because I knew I'd get too warm if I worn something long-sleeved. When I got to the trail I decided to start off running and go as long as I could...WHICH WAS THE ENTIRE 20 MINUTES! Granted, it was a slow first mile - 16:46, but still...I ran the whole time. Also, according to my Garmin that's the fastest mile I've run since having the watch a little less than a year ago. Yay, me!

I'm loving being active and getting out there and doing stuff for myself. Steve encouraged me a couple of weeks ago to actually put working out on my calendar and not just on my list of things to do. It definitely helps me make it a priority. I'll write about that on another day.