Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Hi ho, Hi ho

it's off to camp I go....

I leave for tri-camp Friday morning.  Have I packed?  Um, that would be a resounding "no". I do have a list and I did start a pile for things I need to pack.  But as yet it's a *very* small pile....and no, that doesn't mean I don't need to take a lot of stuff.  In all I'm staying in Illinois for a week so I need quite a bit of stuff.  I'm trying to learn from past trips though and take only the bare essentials.  Somehow that just never seems to work out.  I typically end up with an over-packed suitcase and then come home with a bunch of clothes that were never worn.   But I have quite a few workouts to get thru, and it's going to be toasty, and I'm....well.....okay, a sweater.  Yes, it's true.  When I did weights one day after running, my trainer wondered if I had just gotten out of the shower.  Yeah, I sweat like *that*.  So lots of workout clothes will be required. 

The other days that I'm there, I'll be working from my brother's house and I'm just tossing in shorts and t-shirts.  We don't do video conferencing at work, so technically I could stay in my PJs all day.  But that would probably not set a good example for my nieces.

On the 'injury' front, I had another PT session this morning.  It wasn't with my usual guy, as he is *impossible* to get an appointment with on short notice, but one of his partners.  She's pretty good, but a little less...aggressive.  The look on her face was priceless when she asked when my next event was and I told her I was leaving for a 3 day camp on Friday.  At this point, I'd say it's somewhere between 85 and 90%.  Not 'normal', but not seriously sore like it was.  I have an easy run on my schedule for tomorrow, the first run I'll have done in more than a week.  I'm a little anxious about that.  I did some treadmill hill walking on Monday, and it was a bit tight afterward.   And with camp, topped off by a 5k on Monday, and my first "A" tri of the season a mere two weeks away....yeah, anxious is a good word.  One day at a time.  That's a good motto, eh?

And so, I'm off.....to finish up at work tomorrow (early I hope).....get packed up....and to board an early, early flight on Friday to Chi-town!  Hmm...seems like I was just there.  Oh, that's right, I *was*.  The wedding two weeks ago where I managed to damage myself....guess I'm coming full circle.  Wish me luck.  I hope I survive the weekend.  If I can do this much damage at a wedding, it's hard to say how much I can do at a tri camp.  Happy long weekend!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Pity party

For one?  Right over here.

I haven't had any more bouts of flu/cold-like symptoms since I last posted (ages ago, it seems).  So that's good news.  And I was really starting to feel better.  Not just physically, but I seemed to be getting my positive energy back, despite work being crazy busy. And when I say crazy busy I don't mean *extremely* busy, I mean busy in a crazy, "are you kidding me", do everything three times just for kicks and giggles kind of way.  "Oh, one more data point came in, can we (read: you) rerun all the programs?"  Yeah, super fun.  But I digress.

So, workouts felt like they were starting to come back around and build some momentum.  I even had a swim lesson with (another) new instructor.  I really liked the last one, but evidently she's not teaching at "my" pool anymore.  So I had a 1/2 hour lesson with the new instructor just to see if I was making any progress towards my stroke changes.  Turns out the she has had shoulder problems like mine.  And after watching me swim a bit said she was not surprised that I had problems, but was more surprised that I didn't have problems with *both* shoulders.   A few tweaks to my hand entry and my pull would be required.  Not an easy task when the muscles have been memorizing the current pattern for quite a while.  But I'm working on it. Slowly but surely I'll get it there.

Although I had been frustrated of late with my biking progress (or perceived lack thereof), I think it may have more to do with my mentality than physicality.  Just like building up the biking muscles, I need to work my biking brain too.  When it starts to get *really* tough on the bike my legs say STOP and my brain hasn't figured out how to override them.  I feel like I'm making a little progress here, but it's slow going.

The run.  This is where I feel like I've made some significant progress so far this year.  I had another 5k a little over a week ago.  And despite coming at the end of a 3 week build in training, I *just* missed a PR.  Which gives me the thought that my goal is within reach if I had rested legs and a good day......a flat course couldn't hurt either. 

Just prior to that 5k I started to feel some small twinges in my right hip.  Nothing major, just something a little off.  It didn't bother me during the 5k though, and seemed to be loosening up, so I thought no more of it.  Until a little too much dancing, or maybe too much time in heels, or both,  at a wedding last weekend had me waking up Sunday with seriously tight, sore calves and a right hip that smacked me every time I moved.  Or touched it.  Or tried to lay on the right side.  On Monday it was feeling a bit better.  I decided to run and although it felt a little achy, it wasn't too bad.  After the run I spun my legs out on my bike and then plopped myself in a tub full of cold water.  And then dumped in ice.  And sat there until my toes were about frozen.  On Tuesday I woke up and thought, "Wow, I probably shouldn't have run on that hip." 

Luckily I had an appointment already scheduled for today with my PT.  Again with the "ugh" and "eww" as he watched my gait and poked and prodded my sore hip.  An uncomfortable hour later I had some relief, although not total, some homework and 2 instructions.  1) Come back early next week and 2) no running.  I had gone to the appointment dressed in my running gear and had planned to hit a nice trail by work after my appointment.  Sooo, I guess *not* then.  I clarified...."No running today, or ????"  Then I get "the look".  No running until at least after my next appointment.  A small bit of good news is that he thinks he can get me back to 'normal' after the next visit.  But I really need to work on changing my posture and gait.  Again...easier said than done.  Especially when the body alignment he is looking for feels totally unnatural to me.  My head says "that can't possibly be right".  More hard work to change years of ingrained muscle memory.

On the one hand...it could be worse, right?  And if I can get things fixed now, I could hopefully prevent more problems in the future.  On the other hand, my first "A" race of the year is in just over 3 weeks.  And I have camp a week from Saturday.  This is *no* time to be injured.  I will try to maintain some positivity.  There are much worse things that not being able to run for a few days.  *Much* worse.  It's just that as soon as I hear 'You can't' or 'You shouldn't' then I want to do that thing even more.  I even started thinking...I could just go for a short run after work.  I'm feeling a bit better now.  Yeah, I'm just that way.  But I will do my best to be a good patient. And hope that I can be right as rain before next weekend.  Keep your fingers crossed for me, would ya?

Sunday, May 02, 2010

Sick and tired

I haven't posted in a while, because, well, there hasn't been any real news to post about.  I've been a in a bit of a blue zone actually.

I'll try some bullet points on for size this go round.
  • I have been sick once a week for the last 4 weeks.  The latest has been the 'worst', lasting the longest, although at least I didn't have a fever this time.  Symptoms: fever, body ache/fatigue, sniffles, stuffy nose, sore throat.  Now mix and match for anywhere from 36-72 hours a week for four weeks.  Yeah, super fun.  Yes, I *have* been to the doctor.  No, *of course*, he didn't have a solution.  I did have blood work drawn, but my follow up appointment is not for a couple weeks.  Spec.tac.ular.
  • Due to above, most likely, I feel like training has been...well....less than stellar.  There have been some good moments, but there have been more than my fair share of crappy moments.  
  • And as training has felt less than stellar, and energy levels have been somewhat lower than usual, and mood  has been somewhat blue, I've had some long thoughts along the lines of "what's the point of all this training anyway?!?!". Wherein I was reminded by dear husband that our lives are about experiences and for me the training and participating in events make up a large part of my experiences right now.  Something along the lines of going to the grave completely out of gas, but having had a spectacular joy ride.
  • The bike clinic last week was fun, but could have been condensed down into about 2 hours instead of 4.  The two best things I learned.....emergency stops and riding with no hands.  I'm still not about to try and drink or eat while riding with no hands, but I can at least go in a straight line for quite a while.  Or a mostly straight line.  It's a start, but damn, it was about 1000 times easier when I was a kid.
  • 5k this weekend, but coming at the end of a 3 week training build, not to mention (again) the cluster of illnesses, I'm not sure what to expect from my legs.  Run like hell and hope for the best is my plan.
  • Last, but certainly not least, a huge congrats to my family who finished the Illinois 1/2 marathon this weekend!  My aunt ran (her first half!), my sister-in-law walked (first half too!), my brother and cousin both ran, and even my nieces ran the kids race.  Nicely done to one and all.