One Week

It's been one week since I broke my arm. The pain has definitely subsided some and I am able to do more with my fingers than I was a week ago. However, there are still particular ways one is supposed to be able to move their arms or wrists that I am unable to do with my right arm. I'm eager to go back to the doctor a week from tomorrow to see how the healing is coming along and to see if there is any idea how long the healing process will take.

I miss my workouts. I truly want to be biking and running and swimming. I can't decide what I miss most. I think I miss swimming the most because I am a fish, but I am most eager to get back to running. There are three 10Ks I really want to do in September, but have to focus on upping my mileage if I am going to accomplish those. And right now, I just feel like I am losing ground.

It's broken

I have a fracture in my right arm just below the elbow. Fortunately, this is a kind of break they don't cast. So, I'm just in a sling. I go back in two weeks for more x-rays. Until further notice there is no more exercising and I am definitely out of triathlon season for the year.

Injured

This will be a short post.

At a WIN for KC tri clinic I attended this morning I fell down and injured myself. My left knee has a pretty deep scratch in it, but the main pain is in my right arm.

We were practicing the transition from swimming to biking using a baby pool to get our feet wet. As I got out of the pool my toe clipped the edge of it and I fell - hard - onto a paved parking lot. Most of my body weight was caught with my right arm. Everything from my fingers to my shoulder hurt. My fourth and fifth fingers can't even move the strap on my purse and I can barely twist my arm at the wrist to the right and left.

A nurse looked at it and I agree with her that it's just going to take some ice, ibuprofen and time to heal it. However, I will go to the doctor in a couple of days if it isn't getting better.

For now, my Sunday afternoon plans have changed and instead of doing chores I am resting on the couch.

Super-ish Run

I've had a busy week and have not done all the workouts I'd hoped to do, but that's okay. Life gets busy sometimes.

Today was a 30 minute run and a 350 yard swim.

I had a really great run - at least the first half of it. The second half was still good, but I had to walk more of it than I would have liked to. I hit a new record for my mile time and ran the first mile in 14:42! I am very excited by that. However, it also probably means I went out too fast. Not only could I not keep up the pace for the second mile, but I ended up walking about half of it. So, I had a negative split. I turned around at the 15 minute mark and it took me about 17 minutes to make it back to the start of the trail. No big deal, though. My average minute per mile was still a little more than 16:00 and that cut about 4 minutes off my current running/walking speed. So, I'm super excited about that little feat.

The swim went pretty well, too. I ended up swimming 500 yards. My time is still about 2:25 per 100 yards. So, my time isn't getting faster, but my distance is getting longer. The WIN for KC triathlon distance is 500 meters. So, I'm just one lap away from hitting that. I'll want to increase my yardage to probably about 800 yards to compensate for it being a free for all open water swim, but once I reach that I can begin focusing on increasing my speed. I'd like to race in the 12 minute wave. I'd be really thrilled if I feel like I can even move up from there.

A weird things happened to me, today. I bruised the ball of my right foot...and I think I did it while swimming. I know my foot wasn't hurting while I was running and it wasn't hurting while I walked to the gym or from the dressing room to the pool. However, as soon as I started walking after getting out of the pool I had a little bit of a limp. The only thing I can think of is that I somehow launched off the pool wall in a weird way that bruised my foot. It's still sore six hours later, but I hope it's feeling much better in the morning.

Sick No More and Four Miles Later

I had to take a week off from working out because I got a really bad cold. At first I thought I could work through it, but last Tuesday's run quickly turned into a walk and as the next few days went on my cold just got worse. Finally, today. I am back and feeling like my regular, healthy self!

I was intimidated by today's workout. It was a four mile bike ride. I hadn't ridden this far since last July. Plus, the bike still scares me. So the thought of being back on the bike after more than a week off AND going four miles AND all the horrible things that could happen to me I tried to find any excuse not to workout. I didn't find one - at least one that was legitimate. So, it was off to get my bike and helmet out of the garage.

I'm happy to report my tires were still nicely inflated after getting that issue fixed last week. The ride started off smoothly...and continued to go that way...for four miles! I actually found a two-mile loop through my neighborhood. So, that will be good for calculating my distance better than just deciding to take a turn down another street until I get my miles in.

Biking felt really great today. I could tell I was going faster and the hills are getting easier. I'm more comfortable with the speed on the downhills - although I do still slow down quite a bit since I'm in a neighborhood and I have cars and people and dogs and squirrels and stop signs to contend with.

It was just an overall good ride and overall I feel really terrific!

Working out with a Cold

This morning I woke up with a little, teeny, tiny cold. It's just my nose. I'm not coughing. I don't feel sick or achy. I just have a very stuffed up nose. I didn't think it was a big deal. Then, I started my 25 minute run. I couldn't do it - I couldn't run. I could walk, but not very fast without losing my breath. So, my run turned into a 20mph walk. I still completed the 25 minutes and went 1.2 miles, but it didn't feel very good. Hopefully, after a good night's sleep I'll be in better shape for tomorrow's bike ride and swim.

What a Difference PSI Makes

Today was a biking day. Three miles. It's still a bit of a challenge for me, but my next ride I go up to four miles. So, it's time to suck it up and make things happen. It is so true that a lot of endurance sports is a mind game. Your body is yelling (sometimes screaming) at you to stop and you mind has to take control and tell your body to be quiet and keep going. That you have more in yourself. But, that's a post of another day.

I've been having an issue with getting the PSI in my front tire high enough. For days I haven't been able to get it to inflate all the way. I wasn't riding on a flat tire, but I was definitely riding on a very low tire. Before each ride I check my tires and today I was determined to figure out what was going on with my front tire. After trying several things I used a little attachment that goes on the tire valve. After screwing it on I used the secondary line on my pump and after several pushes I finally got my tire inflated to somewhere between 100-120 PSI. I was giddy with happiness.

Wow! What a HUGE difference in my ride now that my tires were inflated properly. I didn't feel like I was working as hard even though I believe I had more hills and I shaved off a crazy amount of time. With the deflated tire I was averaging a little over 7 mph. Today, for 3.1 miles I averaged 9.4 mph. Today was a very good reminder of how important it is to have my tires inflated properly.

Then, for some "cross training" I mowed the yard.

Major Rest Day

Sunday's plan was to do about a five-mile bike loop on Cliff Dr. with Trish. I was really excited about it because I want to peek at her bike and suck up some of her brain smarts on biking. However, I woke up tired and my body was just exhausted all morning long. My muscles just felt bone-tired and I knew I needed a rest day.

It was a test. Was I going to listen to my body over my training plan? I passed!

I sang with the Worship Band Sunday morning. So, I was busy with that from about 8am-12:30pm. Even standing was making me tired. Steve and I got a quick lunch and then he headed to his next event and I went home. I was asleep slightly after 2pm and besides waking once to move from the couch to the bed and another time to have dinner and watch a little TV with Steve I was asleep from 2pm yesterday until 7am this morning. It was probably about 15 hours of sleep. Ridiculous, but I feel totally revived, today.

Are you listening to your body?

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.