Classic Me

about 40 minutes into yoga class my mind started to wander and i was struck with the thought that i needed to be somewhere else...that somewhere else being the TNT Kick-Off at the oakland convention center. for some weird reason i had 2 dates rolling around in my head 5/25 and 5/30. considering how yesterday was neither one of those dates you may wonder what my deal was?

i've been away from bikram for a while now and all i can attribute my lack of orientation to was feeling dizzy and under hydrated. i tried to push the thought out of my head not entirely convinced that i was forgetting something as important as Kick-Off but clearly i was distracted and as my mind wandered so did my sense of balance and when the instructor (who totally rocked) said "if you find yourself not focusing, think about what your thinking about." i took that as my cue to cut yoga short and see if i could at least show up for the end of Kick-Off. of course i went home to check my dates and saw that Kick-Off wasn't until next Saturday. classic me. i then decided to watch my total immersion video and go swimming.

As i stepped onto the pool deck my cell phone rang and it was my TNT mentor Peter. we chatted for a bit as it was our first contact. we talked mostly about the swim, mentioning of course that i just getting ready to workout. i admitted my concerns about open water and i liked what he had to say about getting into a groove and swimming uninterrupted. i added pool vs open water as compared to treadmill vs trail. i think his call was well timed because i pushed myself and swam 1000 yards, my longest swim so far.

i rode out to the berkeley marina this morning then ran 4 miles along the BART trail. my right calf started to stiffen up again about 1.5 miles but i was able to keep going with out pain, it's just tight.

after my run i grabbed Brandy and walked around the neighborhood during which i noticed the beginnings of a hot spot on the ball of my right foot, i looked down and realized that i threw on the wrong running shoes and just ran 4 miles in a long retired pair of asics!

don't i just oooze coolness!

Wordy Wednesday

"Be tenacious, keep your vision even when your injured"
-coach emery


i've been working on my swim and i completed 700 yards today, woohoo! not without short rests every 75 yds. or so, which by the way is AWESOME for me. i felt pretty good about my left side breathing something clicked the other day and though i still have to sneak up on it by finding my rhythm on the right first things are started to get bilateral.

i noticed pain in my right calve after my 6 mile run a little over a week ago. it had me limping a bit after wards and i took a few days off of running. when i ran on Sunday, because it was so hot and i was shuffling more than running i hadn't noticed anything wrong but when i ran yesterday about a 1.5 miles into it i had to pull over stretch for a good while before i could resume running and it was not pleasant i assure you.

in a rush at home to get to work i foolishly secured an ice pack directly onto my calve with an ace wrap, not taking time to wrap the ice pack in something first and i ended up giving my self an ice burn...brilliant! working in the rehab industry i have access to helpful modalities and did a little ultrasound on my leg at lunch. i need to find my foam roller.

coach emery isn't my coach per se he's a lifeguard at the my pool and has a just a very good vibe about him. i never mentioned my leg injury, nor was i limping on deck when i walked up to him to chat a little after my workout today. he just has a knack for saying the right thing because truthfully i was feeling a bit down about my leg.

i had my teeth cleaned this morning and my hygienist while not an athlete herself is very active with the oakland tech high school runners and is going to LA this weekend with the team for the LA marathon, she was very excited for me and had positive energy about my event. both hers and emery's comments were very appreciated as some peoples reactions have been a bit mixed. true it's going to hard and scary but that's kinda the point, no?

i rode my bike to the pool and after the workout i rode the longer hilly way home, my leg feels a little stiff but i can fully weight bear and i'm feeling much better about everything.

ah yes, it's coming back to me....

that wobbly feeling you get from trying to run after a ride, even though i'm not sure i'd call it an actual brick i rode for about an hour came home changed at a leisurely pace and than ran 3 miles. the ride was cool, the run not so much and i use the term "run" liberally as it was more of a shuffle...mind over matter my legs wanted to stop but i kept going. we bay area folks are currently experiencing a mild heat wave and i'm dripping and panting as i write this post. swimming 3 days a week at el cerritto pool, i'm almost feeling good enough to hang with the masters 6am group soon.

Pacific Grove Olympic Triathalon

well, it appears that i've finally gone an registered for a race...my first olympic distance triathalon with the team in training....though, i don't think my head has actually registered with it just yet.....between the .93 mile open water swim or the fund raising commitment i can confidently say i've got some challenges ahead of me this year.

a good cause

while i've been running purely for pleasure and thoroughly enjoying myself it's been haphazard and i've had a hard time tapping into "race mode". when kate mentioned she was going to a Team In Training information meeting conveniently located in my city i was intrigued. when katrina got interested my curiosity grew. so i'm going just to check it out. the thing i'm most worried about is the fundraising as i have very little experience with it. we're all interested in doing the half-marathon but i'm not ruling out another triathalon. so we'll see....

sisters

happy feet

there ain't nothing like a good running shoe. the fine folks at TRANSPORT on solano turned me onto to a new brand. normally loyal to asics, i tried on saucony's progrid omni 7 ultimate. we've been running together a couple of months now and during today's 5 miler when fatigue started to creep up i'd check in with my feet and they felt damn good. the weather today is GORGEOUS just perfect for a run....i know we need the rain....but nobody was happier than me to be outside in the sun today. not even the ipod batteries pooping out after the first mile could alter my good mood......and things just got better when i called in for jury duty and didn't have to serve. woohoo!