Positive thoughts

Marco!!!! Polo!!!!! Here I am! Did you miss me? Prolly not 'cause all I ever seem to blog about is my boring training. Which I shall continue to do because it's my blog and I can blog about whatever I want to blog about! If you don't like it you can get your own blog... I'm just kidding. I love that people find it interesting enough to read about.

Wednesday I had lunch with my sister. I don't get to see her enough now. Isn't it funny, when you're kids you can't wait to get away from each other. She used to beat the holy crap out of me, but I did manage to get a few good swings in on her kneecaps. She's about 8 in. taller than me and would put her hand on my head and hold me away from her while I wasted all my energy swinging at the air. Ahhhh, those were the good old days!

Thursday was just kind of came and went. I do remember the workouts though:

Bike:
Warm Up:
15 minutes easy
10 x (20 seconds @ 110+ rpms, 40 seconds @ 90 rpms)
Mainset:
4 x 3 minutes interval (described below), followed by 2 minutes easy spin
Use an easy to moderate gear; increase your cadence every 20 seconds.After 1 minute, drop a gear/add resistance & go back to where you started with cadence & increase back up again
Cool Down:
15 minutes easy

Run:
NOT off the bike; later or earlier in the day. 30 minutes in zone 1 to low 2.

I did both of these inside. I hear the collective gasp of all you who live in central AR. Yes it was in the upper 60's, but windy as all get out. I just kept thinking about that wind gusting up to 25 mph and I just didn't have it in me to battle it. So I hopped on the trainer which is not so bad if you're doing drills. It's really better to do that stuff on the trainer so you can pay attention. I did the run on the treadmill because of time constraints and I needed to stay in Zone 1 and low 2. If you're familiar with where we live than you understand that if I had run outside, I would have ended up in Zone 3 and possibly 4. It is H-I-L-L-Y over here.

Today has been a good day! I was groggy when I woke up, but it was because Chris had gotten home from being out of town and...well....you know... Anyway, I started on my way to work and started what my friend Marianne calls "coffee prayers". A "coffee prayer" is talking to the universe or God or whatever it is that you honor whenever you have a short moment. I do it on my way to work in the car. It's pretty safe seeing that I leave before 6:00 and there is minimal traffic. This morning I prayed for my friend who is battling cancer, was thankful for all the universe has blessed me with and made the decision that I would make an honest conscious effort to stayed positive all day long. If a negative thought entered my head, I would do my best to dismiss it. You know what? I was calm and happy all day. I think when you start your day out looking in the mirror and criticising yourself you are setting the tone for the day. Unfortunately, most of us do this. We honestly think that we are too this or not enough that. In reality we just beat ourselves down with doubt about our abilities and who we are. It is us and us alone that can change that. We don't have control of a lot that goes on in this world, but we do have the control of our view of it and communicating effectively. As John Mayer says, Say What You Need To Say!

Today's training:

Warm Up:
3 x 100 drill 75, swim 25 (R:15)
2 x (3 x 50 done as easy, moderate, fast) (R:15 after each 50)
Mainset:
3 x 600 (rest 1 minute after each 600)
#1 - swim w/good form; maximize time on side, stretch out stroke, drop forearm at elbow to begin pull, keep head low, elbows high, do not overkick
#2 - swim as 6 x 100 (R:05 after each 100) at a fast pace
#3 - 600 negative split, finish strong
Cool Down:
300 pull
TOTAL = 2700

There is this guy who has been swimming at the pool since about the time I started training for the Ironman. When he started swimming, he made a comment that I made it look so easy. I just told him to keep swimming and he would get the hang of it. Well, I've watched him progress and not that I'm the best swimmer, I gave him some advice. He's now at the stage where a little tweeking will not overwhelm him and freak him out. So I just told him how much he's improved, but there was a small adjustment he could make and gave him the name of a website for swimming drill to make him really fast! He just exudes this energy that you know he's taking it all in a positive way. Then another guy in the next lane asked me what I was training for and I just beam when I get to tell people that I'm training for an Ironman. He is getting ready for his first sprint triathlon. It reminded me of how far I've come. Sometimes that's just what you need to help you know that you're good enough, smart enough and, darn it, people like you!!!!

Stuff and training

Just a quick post because I need to catch-up. I feel like I'm just chasing my tail with all these unfinished projects and paper work. I absolutely cannot stand paper work. It goes against my nature. I become cranky when I just sit. Maybe I should just start doing this shit on the treadmill or the trainer. Hey! I think I'm onto something. Here are the last few days workouts:

Sunday:
Warm Up:
30 minutes including 5 x 1 minute at a harder pace, 3 minutes easy pace
Mainset:
Find a rolling course; would like you to spend 10 minutes in zone 2, 5 minutes in zone 3 then 15 minutes in zone 1. REPEAT this 3x (90 minutes total)
Cool Down:
Last 30 minutes ride easy


I actually met the group at Two Rivers and got to see lots of friends (Jo, JBar, Patrick, JMar, Holly, Ian) that I haven't seen in a while and met some new faces as well! I knew that wouldn't last long. I did my 30 minute warm-up before everyone got there so I would just be ready to start my mainset. The first two were a little messy, but the third one I rocked. I felt good and steady. Chris stayed with me for the most part :-)! It felt good to be outside!

Monday:

Swim
400 easy free
400 done as 75 drill, 25 free
400 done as pull w/paddles
400 done as 25 high elbows, 25 easy swim
400 as 25 right arm only, 25 left arm only, 50 easy swim
400 alternate 75 easy, 25 pick it up
Rest 30s after each 400

Strength training

Ahhhh! An easy swim day! How lovely.

Tuesday:

Run
Warm up 15 minutes @ easy pace.
Insert 4 x 4 minutes of 10 seconds faster/50 seconds slower. "Faster" is not overdoing it - just get moving a little faster!
Run 2 minutes @ easy pace after each set.
Remainder of run is cool down at easy pace.

Ride
Ride the duration in zone 1 at a higher cadence. The key is maintaining a low intensity. This ride will get your circulation going and promote recovery. Do not push the pace.

Great run!!!! I know I'm going to kick arse at the 1/2 marathon.

Well I've got a little work to do and shut-eye to catch!

Productivity

It was a pretty productive day - YAY! Got up at 5:30 to eat and get swimming by 7:00:

30 - 40 minutes today worth of drills - YAY!
Do them as 4 x 75 (50 drill, 25 swim ) resting as needed after each.
Choose FOUR drills to focus on the entire time.
You can also add in a few steady 300s after working on a particular drill.

It actually was about 7:20 when I got in the water. Got my swim done and I had brought my cold weather running gear with me so I could just run from the gym:

Run 45 - 50 minutes today. Along the way throw in a few of these drills:
1 - skipping where you push off your forefoot & drive knee forward
2 - sideways 'gallop' to work on strengthening the lateral plane
3 - butt kicks working on contracting the hamstrings towards the glutes.
Do 20 seconds of each drill, throw them in throughout the run & don't overdo it.

So I was going to suck it up and run in the 30 something feeling temp. I just sort of rinsed the chlorine off and put some lotion on. I was already psyched up and when I walked outside it was misting. I promptly talked myself out of running from the gym. What if it really started raining? I decided that if it had stopped any sort of precipitation when I got home, I would run outside for 30 minutes. Heck, I was already dressed for it. I get home and I'm just about to go do my run and it starts raining for real. Treadmill intervals it is, then! 30 minutes worth on a treadmill is about all I can stand, maybe 45 if I really have to, but at 1 hour I just want to slit my wrists! It's hard doing treadmill training. It kind of gives me shin splints because the belt is forcing you to keep up with it. If you don't you will suffer the consequence of belt burn on your face accompanied by a goose egg on the ol' noggin. Believe me, people will ask what it is on your face; you can't just wear a ninja mask all the time to cover that up. Anyway... WOW! Was I ever schwetty when I dismounted. I felt pretty good. Unfortunately my "runner's high" only lasts for about 30 minutes.

Time enough to shower and get to Saturn for the oil change appointment. Chris met me there so I wouldn't have to sit and listen to this really obnoxious women discuss her plethora of health issues with a poor lad that I'm sure she didn't even know. It was a constant flow - I don't know if she even took a breath. She shot me a look of "how dare you interrupt me" when I got notice of a text message on my cell phone. So when her phone rang I looked at her like "how dare you stop your riveting one-sided conversation". I don't think she even saw it!

Got back to Little Rock and went to the grocery store to get stuff for my dad's birthday. We had everyone over and I think we all had a good time! Although we had to lock the cats away from my younger nephew. We call him Reidzilla. He's like a little linebacker and will physically move you out of his way! My little niece Avery, on the other hand, was glad that the cats were locked up. Graham my older nephew doesn't really care one way or the other, just DO NOT touch his chicken nuggets or you will never hear the end of it. We did get a pretty snow this afternoon and evening. Just sort of dusted the yards. Hopefully this will be it for that silly winter weather. I'm supposed to do a 2 hr. and 30 min. ride tomorrow and I ain't doin' it on the trainer! I may look like a circus bear with my 15 layers, but it will be done outside. I only hope I will have some other fools out there to keep me company!

See you tomorrow!

Bottle it up!

Today was a much better day! Thank ya, Jesus! Yesterday just felt icky and today felt clean and new.

When Chris got home last night and walked through the door he took one look at my puppy dog face and asked if everything was alright. I just told him that I had a very draining day - that it was nothing that happened to me directly. I just let it affect me. I know it sounds sappy, but all I wanted yesterday was my Luvbug! Sometimes you just want your woobie and you know that everything will be alright. Unfortunately some days you can't have your woobie and you just have to suck it up! Yesterday was one of those days.

I woke up this morning and felt rested; very unusual for me. I trained my 6:00 am client and headed off to the pool for my swim:

Warm Up:
300 swim
6 x 50 drill (R:15)
Mainset:
500 hard (R:1:00)
200 pull (paddles optional) (R:30)  this is an easy pull effort
REPEAT 3x
Cool Down:
100 backstroke
TOTAL = ~2800

I have not been enjoying my swims as of late and felt like I was just struggling to get through them. I didn't feel like I was making ANY progress...until today. I got in the pool and immediately knew it was going to be a good swim. I started my warm-up and felt really relaxed and calm. I just enjoyed the water running over my body - I would say it might have felt
womb-like. I was comfortable the entire time and never felt like I was out of breath. I also finished about 5 minutes faster than I did previously on this distance. For once I got out of the pool and had energy. I also think I'm swallowing less water because I usually have to piss like a Russian race horse. Not today! I just want to capture that feeling and put it in a jar so I can eat it on race morning. But alas, I cannot bottle up good feelings. Isn't it funny how you can bottle up anger and sadness, but not happiness?

My second workout of the day was some strength training. I almost always enjoy that, though. I know that most women don't really have an appreciation for this type of training. Women usually want to be on the move. I like both. Does that make me weird? I'd like to think not. They work so well together - cardio and strength training. You just can't go wrong. I do need to work on flexibility, although I am better about stretching than I used to be. An injury can make you do things like that. My hip? 99.9 % betta! So I feel I'm ready for the 1/2 marathon and I'm not dreading it and that feels great!

Yes, Geo! Life is good - especially when things are going your way!

The pleasure of pain

Today started out great! I had my class and it went smoothly. Chris even came back! I felt good and had good energy. My 6:30 appt. showed up and it just went downhill. She has a friend who is battling cancer that I blogged about just recently...well, she is really having a tough time trying to hold it together. She is also having a rough go of it at work. She came in this morning all glassy and red-eyed. Definitely not her norm! She doesn't usually take medication, but last night she needed it. She was not her usual perky, smiling self and it made me very sad.

Then while I was training her I heard my 7:30 leaving a message, but I was unable to understand what she had said. I finished up with my first client and listened to the message. She had gotten a call from a relative on her way to the gym that her cousin had died in a car accident the night before. She would not be working out. Again, this made me sad.

Then it seems like everyone has the intestinal yuckies or the snotty head. I just couldn't get out of the funk today.

Until I went for my run. This was my last "big" run before the 1/2 marathon on March 15th. It started out a little sluggish, but I soon hit my groove and I forgot my day and previous mood. Having that physical outlet...well, there's nothing quite like it. Just to feel the rush of endorphins and your heart just beating all to hell. The pain reminds you that your alive and you start to crave that pain. Just to be out there and doing something and feeling every bit of it. I wouldn't have it any other way. How did I ever survive without it?

Today's run:

Warm up 30 minutes building to mid zone 2.
Then do 20 minutes in high zone 2.
Then do 20 minutes building to zone 3.
Last 5 minutes cool down.

Word for the day...Insanity

Today was a recovery day and my body was ready for it. I used to resent recovery days, but now I look forward to them. I'll be ready to get going again tomorrow!

I had a former client send me an email telling me that she is really feeling frustrated about not experiencing any change in her body no matter what she does. After 3 months and not reaching her goal, she backs off of the intensity. In the email she mentioned the word repeat and cycle in the same sentence. So this is what I had to "say" to her:

You are not alone in your frustration. A lot of people are lost on what to do when what they are doing isn't working. So they repeat the same pattern over and over. It's completely normal and we've ALL been there. It can make you completely insane. Do you know what the definition of insanity is? It's doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result or outcome. We continue on the same path when we know in our heart of hearts we are going to end up in the same situation. In my opinion a lot of people are subconsciously afraid to truly succeed because the risk of failure is greater. So to avoid failure we never quite reach success. We often think, "What's the point? I'm going to fall flat on my face anyway!". Yup, you might, but you probably won't! If you do, it isn't a failure - it's experience and a lesson learned. No one likes being in a rut, but we are constantly doing it to ourselves because it is just easier that way.

A lot of people will choose the easy way. I think that's what sets athletes apart from the rest of society. We are constantly looking for the next challenging situation to prove ourselves to, well...ourselves - for the most part. Sometimes we are elbowed and nudged into doing things by a buddy for some friendly competition. But usually we are in it to push ourselves and see if we can get to the next level past our current limits. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose! No matter what the outcome, you know you had to do it. You had to try. You know you can NEVER stop trying and pushing because you may as well stop breathing if that happens!

So the next time you doubt yourself, just get over it and try harder!

Just training

Fat Tuesday, hmmmmmm.....I went to get acupuncture and the receptionist asked me if I was going out to celebrate Fat Tuesday. Heck, I didn't even know - so I guess not! Well, just a quick blog about my training:

Monday:

Swim:
600 warm up done as 50 high elbows (or fingertip drag), 25 swim
500 pull as 25 right arm only, 25 left arm only, 50 swim (this will overload the single arm but is great for building arm strength)
400 done as 25 head out of water swim (increase arm turnover, increase kick, this is an aggressive drill), 75 easy swim
300 no touching the wall, turn around the "T" lilke you would a buoy
200 easy your choice of nonfree stroke, kick, etc.
TOTAL = ~2000


Strength Training:
Choose 30 minutes of exercises & do them 10 - 15 reps each.

Tuesday:

Bike:
10 minutes easy warm up
5 minutes @ 80 rpms5 minutes @ 90 rpms5 minutes @ 100 rpmsEffort builds with each change in cadence (low zone 2, mid zone 2, high zone 2). REPEAT this set 2x through (total 30 minutes)
10 minutes easy spin

Run:
25 - 30 minutes off the bike OR 30 - 35 minutes later in the day. In either case; easy for 10 minutes then do 20 minutes steady in zone 2. Cool down with any remaining time.

Just a rundown! Be back tomorrow!