Just an Average SKIRT

Coming off of 2 hard weeks of build and feeling pretty dang strong - got a week of stabilization ahead.    As I mentioned to my family in an email - right now we’re training, eating and sleeping/working when not training and eating.  Today I got some major catch up time, got a solid 8 last night then took a 2 hour nap today, accomplished a project around the house and spent time with the family.  I’m starting to get very excited about the trip, it’s getting close.  Finished this week strong with 39.5 miles running, 141 miles of cycling and 7500 swimming.  I skipped an 8 mile bike warm up and 1900 yd drill swim.

A week ago I told BJ that I was going to attack the week and I feel as though I did that.  I worked my ass off and put in the time.  This week I shall stabilize and catch up on life which still makes for an unreasonable schedule but at least its a little switch up on focus.

I have a few new best friends that I want to share…..Skins recovery tights (magic), Numetrex heart rate monitor sports bra and strap (limits the suffering) and Foot Rubs (keeping my paws happy).  Good stuff….self care is huge for me, my body does not appreciate it when I ask so much and then don’t give back.  I must be proactive with self care or my body will revolt.

Another good nights rest tonight.

Had to switch some workouts around this week so I did my brick yesterday.  Took forever but it was an incredible day.  Great bike, low wind, legs felt strong and the ride effortless.  Onto the run, legs felt strong as well almost like I hadn’t already been working out for 4 hours.  Similar to Saturday’s 19 mile run and Thursdays brick, I never hit the break down phase.  You see I usually hit a point on the run where my muscles are freaking out, my joints are screaming and my legs don’t want to move anymore.   My legs have felt unseasonably strong, I’m assuming this is all a huge testament to pool running and saving my legs without losing fitness.  Actually I’ve been missing pool running so much that I’m heading over to the pool this morning for a recovery run.  That’s all today just a quick run and seeing clients in my practice.  Tomorrow is Masters….and BJ’s not going with me!  Anyone want to come?  I’m scared to go alone.

Great day to all!

Its official, we are officially ‘in it’.  Time is of the essence more so than ever….I’ve been feeling the inevitable sink into the dark abyss of training for a weeks now.  It really hit me Saturday night when I looked around our TV room and realized that it wasn’t a TV room anymore it was a ‘crack den’ and had been that way for 10 days.  The futon was in bed position covered with sleeping bags, pillows, tubes of arnicare and crumbs.  There were random piles of things around (i.e. a theracane, topped with a game of scrabble, topped with a photo of my father in law = random pile of things), the clothes in the laundry baskets had not made their back to their respective spots for weeks and that in 48 hours I had trained over 12 hours and ran over 30 miles (among other things).   So in those few moments of rest on Saturday night I realized that we are ‘in it’.

Yesterday I spent uncracking the crack den and cleaning the house, catching up a little bit on life before diving back into the work, train, eat, sleep thing for another week.   We have 8 weeks until CDA - I can do this, I can do anything for 8 weeks but I must warn all - my blogging will most definitely be reduced, our social calendar is going to have to be taken off the calendar and if I don’t return calls or emails it’s not because I don’t love you all it’s because I’m  ‘in it’ baby and I won’t be coming out until June 23rd.

Can’t ask for much more today, I worked in my practice today and went for a run.  Just a 4.5 mile ‘junk’ run but I completed what was on my training schedule for the day and for that I’m very grateful.  Feeling so much better today, definitely tense in my upper back and still have trouble laying down on my back but I can deal with all that.  Anything is better then not being able to move.  I turned a big corner today and tomorrow I have a 3950 yd endurance swim - nice and steady.  Nothing too intense, saving that for Friday’s 1000 yd TT.    So glad to be back in the game and looking forward to the rest of the week.

After an active evening of pain, inability to move and many breathless moments I survived to Monday with the help of my son Harry Nightingale who was by my side ready with kisses whenever I needed them. Never fear, Monday turned in my favor soon enough and I’m doing much better, I’m not 100%, I’m closer to 60%. I couldn’t do my long ride today, 77 miles passed me by but the good thing is, I know I can ride 77 miles. I have a full day in my practice tomorrow with clients who don’t need me freaking out in pain during their sessions so based on my state this morning I had to make a decision to lay low for one more day.

So it’s now 8:14 and I’m feeling just ok. Not sure if everything is back in its place but I just didn’t want to f$&# with things anymore today. I think it was a good decision and I was able to function all day today putting in a solid day of work. It’s truly amazing what you can get done when you’re not training for an Ironman. My attitude right now is Ironman, Shmironman - I’m totally gonna do it, I’m totally gonna finish and it will totally be my day. The day of the rat (earth mouse)….the last few days, they were simply pain training, nothing less, nothing more.

We’ll see what tomorrow brings…I’m hoping for good things.

Returned from my trip to Cape Cod Thursday night, it was good to be back home and now it’s great to be back home. My visit was low key,  I visited with family, reconnected with friends, fell in love with my nephew and returned to the ocean. On the last day I took a long walk on Sandy Neck beach with my mom and Dune (my parents 10 yr old yellow lab). I grew up on this beach.

Since I returned, I’ve been dealing with a surprise bout of subluxated ribs, an interesting turn of events. I certainly did not forsee this weekend as being couch bound with my husband waiting on me hand and foot. But with 2 visits to The Joint and one to Bodywork Bistro along with Arnicare, Biofreeze and my trusty ice pack I’m on the mend now. I just can’t get my left spinal muscles to stop locking up, it’s wicked painful and paralyzing when it happens. It’s not helped by laughing and since laughing runs rapid in our house, I’m just screwed for now.

It’s all just part of the process and my body is following its natural course of defense. But, in the meantime, I’m overwhelmed with energy and eagerness to return to training. I had a bit of a breakdown yesterday morning as I realized the severity of pain I was in and the understanding that I would need to lay low yet again. Hard to accept at first but once I allowed my emotions to roll my attitude returned to strength and optimism.

I’m planning on returning to training and life tomorrow.

Friday was the 2nd of many time trials in the pool between now and CDA. This one was 800 yds, I used the tempo trainer set on 84. I have mixed feelings about using the tempo trainer for time trials – meaning I was very comfortable for much of the TT so could I have pushed it harder? The last 25 felt like the last 25 of my life that’s for sure but I’m wondering if I held back early on because I was following the tempo. I’m not sure I’ll have to talk with Craig about it.

Ended with a 12:32 (1:34/100 yds) – I’m starting to embrace this result but I was shooting for 12min – 12:30 so I was 2 seconds off my slowest goal. I don’t like not making my goal, in fact this is the first time I didn’t hit my number. It was bound to happen and probably because I’m pushing myself harder. As BJ says, it makes me realize how much I want it. Yes, I want it, I really do. I may not always feel like doing it, I may not always embrace the training, I may not always want to juggle a 15 hour day but in the end, I want this more than anything.

I’m off to Cape Cod today to hang with my east coast posse and to meet my nephew Vincent…..Vinny Louis Costello, who’s gonna mess with this kid? Not me!

Great swim Wednesday, 3600 yards with 23 minutes in the middle of Z3 for my main set. Goal was to record how much mileage I could get in during that time and if it was under 1600 then to finish up with drills. I used the tempo trainer set on 96 and ended up with 1300 yds averaging 1:46 100s. At this pace, I felt like I could have gone forever, I was not out of breath in the least and suppose that means I was in the right zone. I think the tempo trainer helped to keep me steady and consistent. Without the tempo trainer I would have become more competitive and pushed it to get the most yardage in which really isn’t the point of measuring your Z3 pace. I definitely could have gone faster and the tempo trainer held me back to get an accurate reading. I’m ok with the 1:46, of course I like to see faster times but it wasn’t a time trial. I suppose a big piece of this main set was that I felt calm, consistent, strong and confident. I got into my glide and felt like I was riding on top of the water. That’s a good feeling and one that I am working hard on taking into CDA.

On another note, my back is feeling much better, I’ve returned to a nightly regime of self-care and maybe this experience was to remind me that I need alot of extra to keep healthy. So here I am in my ‘brideys’ as we call them (my donut back ups) , there is a little t-shirt with a bride on it that goes wtih the pants, very cute! At any rate, I’ve got my favorites in hand Arnicare for my foot, Biofreeze for my back, calves, arms….ah, everything, Foot Rubz ball for my, you guessed it my feet (great at working our trigger points in my paws) and the motha of all self care products my Theracane. This baby is hard core and I think I’ve definitely risked tissue damage a few times becuase this puppy let’s you ‘get in there’ like nothing else. I use it for my gluts, IT bands but mostly for my neck and back. It’s unbelievable for working out those nasty nuggers with little to no effort due to its leverage friendly design. I’ve had for about 4 years now and I’m not quite sure what I’d do without it.

What’s missing in this photo is another essential piece of my night self care regime….healthy glass of organic cabernet. I didn’t want to risk a spill so I had to set it down but never fear it’s right on the bar next to me.

So anyway good morning….it’s 4:53 and I gots to get on the bike now. I’ve got 3 hours of back to back O.C. episodes

….it’s always another with me. Finally back to running and had a solid brick on Saturday. Ran a few times last week but struggled alot, felt pressure in my foot in the wrong places and had a gut feeling that something was still not right. After an hour and a half in Fleet Feet on Saturday I walked out with yet a new pair of shoes and super feet insoles. What we found out which is what I had suspected all along is that I’m a supinator. So wearing shoes for correcting pronation has not been a great idea for me. So now I’m in Asics Nimbus and more neutral shoe with a pair of blue super feet. My feet feel great, haven’t felt his great ever in fact but my back, that’s another story. I suspect because I’m running with my feet in a completely different position that my pelvis is also held in a different position and my back is taking a beating. For the better in the long run I know but I had to blow off power class last night and my run this morning. I got 50 in on the bike yesterday morning and then spent the day with ice, biofreeze and arnica. It’s much better this morning but I’m pretty bummed I missed my run. It was only a 50 minute run but still I’ve been waiting to run for a long time and now that my foot is recovered I’m ready to get back out there.

I have a big day in my practice today and couldn’t sacrifice getting worse and not be able to treat my clients. They deserve 110% of me and frankly they have to be the priority over my training. These are peoples’ bodies that they rely on me to fix, help, assist, loosen and care for. I can’t be selfish over their needs, it’s a commitment I made when I decided to become a therapist and a commitment that I am very comfortable with. I love what I do and I’m so lucky to be able to pursue what fulfills me.

So tomorrow is a new day and I will hit the pool for my endurance swim then Thursday I will be up at 4am determined to nail my brick. I know I’m doing the right thing by taking care of my back, it’s just hard when you think you are out of the woods and you’re not.