Day 18 of training:
Group rides: 3
Solo rides: 3
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 2
Pool Swims: 4
Maintenance Runs: 3
Ocean Swims: 2
Sunday is the only day of the week that I have wholly and completely off-- no obligations, nothing specific I need to do. It's also the only day I have to get all the stuff done around the house that I didn't have time for during the week.
So, naturally, I went for a swim.
It was fifty-nine degrees in the cove today, and it's always colder when you're just getting in. It's not only that you're not warmed up yet, it's colder on the way back in too-- something about the way the water circulates in there. I don't understand it, but when your wet-suit first fills up with the stuff, it's not a whole lot of fun. The first few strokes the muscles in your ribcage tighten and it feels like you're not gonna be able to squeeze any air into your lungs. I swim an extra stroke to each breath at the start so I don't have to think about it as often. As to how the long-timers make this swim with no wet-suit, I've no idea, but I see them out there in their speedos each time, and each time it amazes me.
I've learned to gut through the beginning, when you question the idea of going for a swim in December, even in Southern California. As always, once I get a hundred yards out, my body heat has warmed up the water trapped in the suit and it's only cold when an errant movement forces a new rush of water through a sleeve or down the back of my neck. After a while, I was barely even cold; comfortable, but on the cool side, like I was wearing an air conditioned suit.
I expected the swim to be slow and difficult, and slow it was. I wasn't sure I'd go further than the quarter-mile buoy before turning back, but I got there and it seemed like I hadn't been going all that long, so I kept on at it. I swam to the half-mile buoy, or at least, to where I thought it should be, since they take it out for the winter. I tread water for a minute or so and looked out to the shore and back to the cove. I love doing that.
I considered the shore, which was closer now than the cove, but my feet were getting cold and swim or walk, I'd have to get back to the cove to get my car. I didn't want to do that on frozen feet, so I turned, and put my head back in the water and pointed it towards the high palm trees and setting sun to the west.
I made it back in what seemed like no time at all. Slow, but no time at all.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Day 15 of training:
Group rides: 3
Solo rides: 2
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 2
Pool Swims: 3
Maintenance Runs: 3
Ocean Swims: 1
Swim practice was canceled on Wednesday, so that was my day off. On Thursday I went for an unprecedented second run in one week. It was a group run, meaning that there was one other person there. It a five mile out and back, slower on the return, which is not normally how I like to do things, but it was nice to have a little company.
Being caught up in your own head is not always such a good thing.
Group rides: 3
Solo rides: 2
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 2
Pool Swims: 3
Maintenance Runs: 3
Ocean Swims: 1
Swim practice was canceled on Wednesday, so that was my day off. On Thursday I went for an unprecedented second run in one week. It was a group run, meaning that there was one other person there. It a five mile out and back, slower on the return, which is not normally how I like to do things, but it was nice to have a little company.
Being caught up in your own head is not always such a good thing.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Day 14 of training:
Group rides: 3
Solo rides: 2
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 2
Pool Swims: 3
Maintenance Runs: 2
Ocean Swims: 1
In keeping with my promise to take it easy, yesterday was a ten mile ride about town, with only one major hill and very little effort exerted.
It was nearing dark by the time I went for my ride, so I attached my new headlight and taillights for the first time. I have to assume that they worked pretty well in that I made it home without being run over by a San Diego driver.
So that was nice.
Group rides: 3
Solo rides: 2
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 2
Pool Swims: 3
Maintenance Runs: 2
Ocean Swims: 1
In keeping with my promise to take it easy, yesterday was a ten mile ride about town, with only one major hill and very little effort exerted.
It was nearing dark by the time I went for my ride, so I attached my new headlight and taillights for the first time. I have to assume that they worked pretty well in that I made it home without being run over by a San Diego driver.
So that was nice.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Love Is So Short...
TonightI ran in the rain and the dark. It poured all day and, since I didn't have my swim gear at work with me, it was either a night run, or a bike session on the rollers out in the garage. There was a time when this would have been a no-brainer and I would be happily galumphing out the door in my running shoes without giving it a second thought, but I'm not the runner I used to be. I'm not really a runner at all. I'm fatter and slower and the Indian Buffet dinner I had was still sitting heavy in my stomach at nine PM when I hit the roads in shorts and a dark colored long-sleeve T-shirt, with a white short-sleeve over it for visibility. At least I'd be warm.
It took a while to get going, to start to feel like my own breathing wasn't some alien thing trying to escape from my chest, but then it clicked. I heated up and I was off. Sometimes I remember why I used to love running so much. I let my feet get into the steady pocketa-pocketa rhythm, each step on the wet asphalt a squelch of muted speed. The scenery passed by and I began to drift.
What do you think about when you run? Silly question. What do you think about when you don't run? It's like that, but clearer; more intense. Distractions belong only to the world around you. You're isolated with your thoughts. Mostly I think about running. Sometimes I think about racing. I think about what I could have been if only. I've got this special fantasy, this "going back in time" fantasy where I get to do it all over, only this time around without the bum hip socket. Where I take myself back to on any given day depends on what I'm feeling I need to fix. Relationships? Money? Marketable skills? You name it and I've got the date for the time machine.
When I think about running though, I go back to the summer of 1992. Late summer-- August actually-- sometime in the morning. I couldn't tell you the exact date, but I can tell you it was one of our first workouts on the track for the year-- just before school started-- and that I could feel the strength of all those summer miles built up.
We had just gotten through the hard part of a Joe special workout and were doing three quick 150s to test our speed. I was coming around the turn of the second repeat, into the straight-away, with Matt O'Gara by my side. We were neck and neck, pushing for the finish line with all we had, but we weren't racing each other. We were happy to be nearly done with the workout and feeling the freedom left in the summer, proud of the strength in our long strides. We were looking forward to what the coming season would bring. We didn't talk about this, but I felt it there between us, unspoken and, while I don't know if Matt would even remember that day if I found him now, I'm as sure of this as I'm sure of anything.
The season would be a good one, though we'd lose to Walpole and narrowly miss an undefeated title. Later that fall, I'd miss cross country league all star by one place-- running down a slew of competitors to lose to a kick in the last 50 meters. I'd find that runner in indoor track and punish him weekly, far surpassing him, making sure he knew he was never in my class. Again, I'd miss all-star status, this time because of the flu. In the spring, I'd finally make league champion, but it would be bitter-sweet. The only competitors who could challenge me would decide to run the mile, instead of the deuce, so halfway through the race I'd take the lead and simply run away from the rest of the pack. I'd run my hardest, puking my guts out after the finish, but still not top my best time from the indoor season.
And then it was essentially over. I ran in college for two years and they were great years. I made the best friends of my life there and I'm forever thankful for the experience, but I was never really a competitor. I was never a match for those who simply ran away from me in the end.
I hate to be one of those washed-up ex jocks, constantly talking about the glory days and, for the most part, I'm not. I've been away from the competitive stuff for far too long, and while I miss parts of it, already most of me is aching to have this race over with so I can stop chasing those who left me in the dust long ago. I'll go back to yoga after this, and rock climbing. I'll take my bike on long, leisurely rides and, if I compete at all, it will be in the ocean, where I'm inexperienced and good and ready to get left in the tide without any second thoughts on the matter...
...and that will be that. and I won't miss it at all.
Day 13 of training:
Group rides: 3
Solo rides: 1
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 2
Pool Swims: 3
Maintenance Runs: 2
Ocean Swims: 1
It took a while to get going, to start to feel like my own breathing wasn't some alien thing trying to escape from my chest, but then it clicked. I heated up and I was off. Sometimes I remember why I used to love running so much. I let my feet get into the steady pocketa-pocketa rhythm, each step on the wet asphalt a squelch of muted speed. The scenery passed by and I began to drift.
What do you think about when you run? Silly question. What do you think about when you don't run? It's like that, but clearer; more intense. Distractions belong only to the world around you. You're isolated with your thoughts. Mostly I think about running. Sometimes I think about racing. I think about what I could have been if only. I've got this special fantasy, this "going back in time" fantasy where I get to do it all over, only this time around without the bum hip socket. Where I take myself back to on any given day depends on what I'm feeling I need to fix. Relationships? Money? Marketable skills? You name it and I've got the date for the time machine.
When I think about running though, I go back to the summer of 1992. Late summer-- August actually-- sometime in the morning. I couldn't tell you the exact date, but I can tell you it was one of our first workouts on the track for the year-- just before school started-- and that I could feel the strength of all those summer miles built up.
We had just gotten through the hard part of a Joe special workout and were doing three quick 150s to test our speed. I was coming around the turn of the second repeat, into the straight-away, with Matt O'Gara by my side. We were neck and neck, pushing for the finish line with all we had, but we weren't racing each other. We were happy to be nearly done with the workout and feeling the freedom left in the summer, proud of the strength in our long strides. We were looking forward to what the coming season would bring. We didn't talk about this, but I felt it there between us, unspoken and, while I don't know if Matt would even remember that day if I found him now, I'm as sure of this as I'm sure of anything.
The season would be a good one, though we'd lose to Walpole and narrowly miss an undefeated title. Later that fall, I'd miss cross country league all star by one place-- running down a slew of competitors to lose to a kick in the last 50 meters. I'd find that runner in indoor track and punish him weekly, far surpassing him, making sure he knew he was never in my class. Again, I'd miss all-star status, this time because of the flu. In the spring, I'd finally make league champion, but it would be bitter-sweet. The only competitors who could challenge me would decide to run the mile, instead of the deuce, so halfway through the race I'd take the lead and simply run away from the rest of the pack. I'd run my hardest, puking my guts out after the finish, but still not top my best time from the indoor season.
And then it was essentially over. I ran in college for two years and they were great years. I made the best friends of my life there and I'm forever thankful for the experience, but I was never really a competitor. I was never a match for those who simply ran away from me in the end.
I hate to be one of those washed-up ex jocks, constantly talking about the glory days and, for the most part, I'm not. I've been away from the competitive stuff for far too long, and while I miss parts of it, already most of me is aching to have this race over with so I can stop chasing those who left me in the dust long ago. I'll go back to yoga after this, and rock climbing. I'll take my bike on long, leisurely rides and, if I compete at all, it will be in the ocean, where I'm inexperienced and good and ready to get left in the tide without any second thoughts on the matter...
...and that will be that. and I won't miss it at all.
Day 13 of training:
Group rides: 3
Solo rides: 1
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 2
Pool Swims: 3
Maintenance Runs: 2
Ocean Swims: 1
Sunday, December 14, 2008
A Second Day of Rest
I took Sunday off too, which was needed after TPB. I couldn't sleep in, because I had the kids and they're a good bit of a drive away, but I got to bed plenty early the day before.
The day was cool and crisp with clear sunny skies and some clouds, much like a fall day back home. I brought the kids to the park to play Frisbee and noticed the grass had been marked out for a cross country race. Not just any cross country race, but the Foot Locker National High School Championships. Now if that's not cause for nostalgia, I don't know what is.
I've been thinking more about the then vs the now and, yes, motivations got a lot to do with it, but that's not the only thing. I was younger and more resilient then too, but that's not exactly it either. I just don't have a base. I've jumped into this thing all intensity and no base mileage. I've got no long slow distance in the bank.
So tomorrow I hit the reset button and we'll see how it goes.
The day was cool and crisp with clear sunny skies and some clouds, much like a fall day back home. I brought the kids to the park to play Frisbee and noticed the grass had been marked out for a cross country race. Not just any cross country race, but the Foot Locker National High School Championships. Now if that's not cause for nostalgia, I don't know what is.
I've been thinking more about the then vs the now and, yes, motivations got a lot to do with it, but that's not the only thing. I was younger and more resilient then too, but that's not exactly it either. I just don't have a base. I've jumped into this thing all intensity and no base mileage. I've got no long slow distance in the bank.
So tomorrow I hit the reset button and we'll see how it goes.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Total. Physical. Breakdown.
Day 12 of training:
Group rides: 3
Solo rides: 1
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 2
Pool Swims: 3
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
...and then Saturday came and with it the dreaded TPB.
We did "rolling hills" out in Poway, which turned out to mean a 15 mile out and back course with two very big hills-- one of them probably about a mile and a half climb. I did the course twice, because the guy I was riding with wanted to and, had I not, I would have had to ride again later to fill in the mileage. Then I went home, showered, puttered around the house for a few minutes while making phone calls to find someone to have brunch with me and, unsuccessful, headed out on my own to The Mission Cafe for some french toast and bacon. I really wanted pancakes, but The Mission's pancakes kind of suck.
By the time I got my food my stomach was in knots and I had to force down as much as I could, fighting nausea the whole time. I finished my cheerless mess and trudged home under a grey, equally cheerless sky, where I went promptly to bed to sleep for 3 hours, interrupted only by a phone call and visit from my girlfriend. I was quite grumpy with her.
When I finally hoisted my ass out of bed, it was after five o'clock and I had shopping, errands and clean-up to get done, not to mention dinner, before going to a holiday party. Luckily another shower and some sugar in my system got me going a bit. Later I bought a soda and the bubbles got rid of the cramped feeling in my tummy with a few good burps. Ah... sweet medicine.
We hit the party, but were home by 10:30 and in bed asleep promptly after, huddled against the coldest night San Diego has seen so far, myself cozy in the decision that I would be taking yet another day off training tomorrow.
---
I need your help now more than ever:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
Group rides: 3
Solo rides: 1
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 2
Pool Swims: 3
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
...and then Saturday came and with it the dreaded TPB.
We did "rolling hills" out in Poway, which turned out to mean a 15 mile out and back course with two very big hills-- one of them probably about a mile and a half climb. I did the course twice, because the guy I was riding with wanted to and, had I not, I would have had to ride again later to fill in the mileage. Then I went home, showered, puttered around the house for a few minutes while making phone calls to find someone to have brunch with me and, unsuccessful, headed out on my own to The Mission Cafe for some french toast and bacon. I really wanted pancakes, but The Mission's pancakes kind of suck.
By the time I got my food my stomach was in knots and I had to force down as much as I could, fighting nausea the whole time. I finished my cheerless mess and trudged home under a grey, equally cheerless sky, where I went promptly to bed to sleep for 3 hours, interrupted only by a phone call and visit from my girlfriend. I was quite grumpy with her.
When I finally hoisted my ass out of bed, it was after five o'clock and I had shopping, errands and clean-up to get done, not to mention dinner, before going to a holiday party. Luckily another shower and some sugar in my system got me going a bit. Later I bought a soda and the bubbles got rid of the cramped feeling in my tummy with a few good burps. Ah... sweet medicine.
We hit the party, but were home by 10:30 and in bed asleep promptly after, huddled against the coldest night San Diego has seen so far, myself cozy in the decision that I would be taking yet another day off training tomorrow.
---
I need your help now more than ever:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
This Time Around...
...He rested on the 5th day.
The buildup is getting to me and I need a day to recover, lest I hit TPB. I'll do my swim on Sunday...
I will, however, spend some time tonight on my fundraising.
The buildup is getting to me and I need a day to recover, lest I hit TPB. I'll do my swim on Sunday...
I will, however, spend some time tonight on my fundraising.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
F*@$%, I Hate Spin Class...
Day 11 of training:
Group rides: 2
Solo rides: 1
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 2
Pool Swims: 3
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
I honestly do. There's this music--terrible music-- and this person with a static-y microphone yelling at me and I'm working myself nearly to death, but when I look around the room everyone else seems just as cool as a cucumber. Are they all in devastatingly better shape than I am? Are they cheating? Sandbagging? How does their machine's resistance compare to mine? Let's get off the bikes and test right now. RIGHT @#$%! NOW DAMMIT!
OK. I'm better now.
There were other things I wanted to talk about, but I'm too tired. I went to this spin class, you see.
It sucked.
Take pity on me please.
Group rides: 2
Solo rides: 1
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 2
Pool Swims: 3
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
I honestly do. There's this music--terrible music-- and this person with a static-y microphone yelling at me and I'm working myself nearly to death, but when I look around the room everyone else seems just as cool as a cucumber. Are they all in devastatingly better shape than I am? Are they cheating? Sandbagging? How does their machine's resistance compare to mine? Let's get off the bikes and test right now. RIGHT @#$%! NOW DAMMIT!
OK. I'm better now.
There were other things I wanted to talk about, but I'm too tired. I went to this spin class, you see.
It sucked.
Take pity on me please.
About Last Night
Day 10 of training:
Group rides: 2
Solo rides: 1
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 1
Pool Swims: 3
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
Another pool swim yesterday, and I jumped right in with the fast guy again. I'd say he got about 300 yards ahead of me during an hour swim. Maybe more.
Let's talk about goggles though, shall we? Yes. You see, I've got this face that goggles just don't want to have anything to so with. My eyes are set deep and I've got a big nose with a prominent bridge. If I get goggles with gaskets that fit my eyes right, then the bridge inevitably cuts into my nose. If I get a pair with an elastic bridge, the gaskets don't seal. I'd finally come up with a workable option by bastardizing a pair with good eye fit. I took off the regular bridge and tied them together with an elastic band. It took my a while to get the length of the band correct, but once I did, they worked great-- for two swims. At the end of the second, a big honking wave came and bowled me over, knocking them somewhere down the bottom of the cove. I hope the fishies are enjoying them.
In other news, I'm still quite sore today, or rather, I'm quite sore again. I'm banking on the fact that I'll get used to the training in a few weeks. I've eased up when I've absolutely needed to in order to prevent TPB, but otherwise it's been a slow, steady accumulation of fatigue.
Day 10 and I need a nap.
On the fundraising front, if you haven't yet, please donate:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
(or even if you have and are feeling generous, for that matter):
The pace has been good so far, but it's fallen off after my initial few emails and I'm only about an eight of the way there. Have I mentioned yet that I'm nervous about not being able to do this? I am. Please help.
Group rides: 2
Solo rides: 1
Resistance training: 4
Spin classes: 1
Pool Swims: 3
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
Another pool swim yesterday, and I jumped right in with the fast guy again. I'd say he got about 300 yards ahead of me during an hour swim. Maybe more.
Let's talk about goggles though, shall we? Yes. You see, I've got this face that goggles just don't want to have anything to so with. My eyes are set deep and I've got a big nose with a prominent bridge. If I get goggles with gaskets that fit my eyes right, then the bridge inevitably cuts into my nose. If I get a pair with an elastic bridge, the gaskets don't seal. I'd finally come up with a workable option by bastardizing a pair with good eye fit. I took off the regular bridge and tied them together with an elastic band. It took my a while to get the length of the band correct, but once I did, they worked great-- for two swims. At the end of the second, a big honking wave came and bowled me over, knocking them somewhere down the bottom of the cove. I hope the fishies are enjoying them.
In other news, I'm still quite sore today, or rather, I'm quite sore again. I'm banking on the fact that I'll get used to the training in a few weeks. I've eased up when I've absolutely needed to in order to prevent TPB, but otherwise it's been a slow, steady accumulation of fatigue.
Day 10 and I need a nap.
On the fundraising front, if you haven't yet, please donate:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
(or even if you have and are feeling generous, for that matter):
The pace has been good so far, but it's fallen off after my initial few emails and I'm only about an eight of the way there. Have I mentioned yet that I'm nervous about not being able to do this? I am. Please help.
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Wisely
Day 9 of training:
Group rides: 2
Solo rides: 1
Resistance training: 3
Spin classes: 1
Pool Swims: 2
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
I took it a little easier these past couple of days, skipping my weight room sessions and sleeping in this morning, in favor of a light noon-time ride along the hilly loops inside the park near my house. I had planned to hit the gym after work for some lifting, but by end of day a fatigue had descended on me like you wouldn't believe. I feared the looming TPB, so I went home and had dinner instead.
Was it always this difficult? I remember days in high school when I was tired from all-nighters or tough track practices. I remember barely being able to walk up and down stairs my freshman year of college, my calves were so sore, but it seemed easier then.
"Is it that we are busier now with work, older, or simply less motivated?" I recently asked a high school friend. "Did we really do so much more back then, or does it just seem like we did looking back."
"We did more." He assured me. "We kicked butt back then. We were motivated."
His theory is that we had goals at that time-- concrete goals-- and I'm inclined to agree. Now, I'm not saying that we don't have hopes and dreams and goals now, but do they compare with the simple parental directive to get into a good college? Do we have anything as drilled into our heads today as the message back then that we must excel in school, that we must do all we can because the rest of our lives depend on it?
Look, if we work our asses off until we're burnt our bosses will probably notice and appreciate it. We'll probably get a good performance review and maybe even a raise or promotion. These are all good things, but as it's been pointed out to me by my boss-- why burn yourself out? You do what you need to do to meet the company goals and you live you're life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I slack. I'm not even saying that I don't try to go above and beyond, I'm just saying that I don't do it to the ridiculous levels that I did when I was 16. Five hours of homework a night? Can you imagine? Someone get me a beer.
Hey, I work hard, but it's not like we're curing cancer over here. Say, speaking of, you know who is? The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Please donate now:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
Group rides: 2
Solo rides: 1
Resistance training: 3
Spin classes: 1
Pool Swims: 2
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
I took it a little easier these past couple of days, skipping my weight room sessions and sleeping in this morning, in favor of a light noon-time ride along the hilly loops inside the park near my house. I had planned to hit the gym after work for some lifting, but by end of day a fatigue had descended on me like you wouldn't believe. I feared the looming TPB, so I went home and had dinner instead.
Was it always this difficult? I remember days in high school when I was tired from all-nighters or tough track practices. I remember barely being able to walk up and down stairs my freshman year of college, my calves were so sore, but it seemed easier then.
"Is it that we are busier now with work, older, or simply less motivated?" I recently asked a high school friend. "Did we really do so much more back then, or does it just seem like we did looking back."
"We did more." He assured me. "We kicked butt back then. We were motivated."
His theory is that we had goals at that time-- concrete goals-- and I'm inclined to agree. Now, I'm not saying that we don't have hopes and dreams and goals now, but do they compare with the simple parental directive to get into a good college? Do we have anything as drilled into our heads today as the message back then that we must excel in school, that we must do all we can because the rest of our lives depend on it?
Look, if we work our asses off until we're burnt our bosses will probably notice and appreciate it. We'll probably get a good performance review and maybe even a raise or promotion. These are all good things, but as it's been pointed out to me by my boss-- why burn yourself out? You do what you need to do to meet the company goals and you live you're life. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying I slack. I'm not even saying that I don't try to go above and beyond, I'm just saying that I don't do it to the ridiculous levels that I did when I was 16. Five hours of homework a night? Can you imagine? Someone get me a beer.
Hey, I work hard, but it's not like we're curing cancer over here. Say, speaking of, you know who is? The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. Please donate now:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
And of Course
I didn't get up early enough to ride into work. This means I'm going to have to try to go home at lunch and ride then. This will certainly be inconvenient, but the extra hours of sleep were well worth it.
My girlfriend got up at 5:30 am to go to work and I, as usual, watched her get ready out of one open eye, no doubt moaning softly the whole time at the cruel fate that caused me to be awake at such an hour. I stayed in bed and flitted in an out of sleep until 8:15, later than I normally wake up, before I got out of bed and got ready for work.
I tend to be a bit grumpy in the morning. It's probably for the best.
My girlfriend got up at 5:30 am to go to work and I, as usual, watched her get ready out of one open eye, no doubt moaning softly the whole time at the cruel fate that caused me to be awake at such an hour. I stayed in bed and flitted in an out of sleep until 8:15, later than I normally wake up, before I got out of bed and got ready for work.
I tend to be a bit grumpy in the morning. It's probably for the best.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Chlorine-y
Day 8 of training:
Group rides: 2
Resistance training: 3
Spin classes: 1
Pool Swims: 2
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
I'm not a fan of the pool. Oh, it's nice sometimes. It's more relaxing than battling the waves, I suppose, but while I come out of the ocean feeling beachy and refreshed, I come out of the pool feeling crispy and covered in chemicals. It takes three showers to get the chlorine smell out of my skin and hair, unless I use lime juice (and I get tired of squeezing all those limes) and it dries me out somethin' awful. Like I said though, there was no way I was going into the ocean on a day that felt as cold as today.
I swam about a mile in the pool and then took a few well deserved minutes in the hot tub. As always after I swim, I got hungry quick-- hungrier than I get after running or biking. I've no idea why. This swimming thing's still a bit of a mystery to me.
Tomorrow, I'm going to try to get up early and ride my bike into work. Yeah. I've said that before. We'll see what actually happens.
Group rides: 2
Resistance training: 3
Spin classes: 1
Pool Swims: 2
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
I'm not a fan of the pool. Oh, it's nice sometimes. It's more relaxing than battling the waves, I suppose, but while I come out of the ocean feeling beachy and refreshed, I come out of the pool feeling crispy and covered in chemicals. It takes three showers to get the chlorine smell out of my skin and hair, unless I use lime juice (and I get tired of squeezing all those limes) and it dries me out somethin' awful. Like I said though, there was no way I was going into the ocean on a day that felt as cold as today.
I swam about a mile in the pool and then took a few well deserved minutes in the hot tub. As always after I swim, I got hungry quick-- hungrier than I get after running or biking. I've no idea why. This swimming thing's still a bit of a mystery to me.
Tomorrow, I'm going to try to get up early and ride my bike into work. Yeah. I've said that before. We'll see what actually happens.
Cold, Cold Air
I know what you're thinking. I live in San Diego. What do I know from cold? Still, it's grey and dreary today and the office is over air-conditioned. I'm sitting at my desk with a jacket on all day, staring out the window at a cloudy sky.
There's just no way I'm getting into the cove this afternoon. Besides, I really can't leave work early for a swim and it will be well dark by five o'clock.
I would have considered skipping out on the workout today, but I got a few more donations to my fundraising page:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
So I feel like I owe it to all of you to keep on at it. I'll hit the pool instead and get done that which needs doing.
I feel much better today, after just one day off. I wouldn't say that I'm fully rested, but my body is a lot less sore and my joints less achy. I think a six-day a week schedule is probably best, for now anyway. No need to drive myself into the ground before I even get started.
I'll let you know how it goes tonight.
There's just no way I'm getting into the cove this afternoon. Besides, I really can't leave work early for a swim and it will be well dark by five o'clock.
I would have considered skipping out on the workout today, but I got a few more donations to my fundraising page:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
So I feel like I owe it to all of you to keep on at it. I'll hit the pool instead and get done that which needs doing.
I feel much better today, after just one day off. I wouldn't say that I'm fully rested, but my body is a lot less sore and my joints less achy. I think a six-day a week schedule is probably best, for now anyway. No need to drive myself into the ground before I even get started.
I'll let you know how it goes tonight.
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Interlude
I'm taking today totally, wholly and completely off.
What? You've got something to say about that? Well, here's a blog about penguins.
There. I think I've showed you what's what.
What? You've got something to say about that? Well, here's a blog about penguins.
There. I think I've showed you what's what.
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Vomit at 35 MPH
I've never been a very good cyclist. I did it competitively in college for a couple years, but mostly for yucks, so I could be on a team and travel and stay in hotels and get up early in the morning to race in the beginners category with a bunch of skittish newbies in a pack. It was good fun, but I never really got it down. I just didn't have the leg muscles, or the motivation, or the money to spend on a fancy bike.
Well, now I have a fancy bike, as you can see. It's pretty and light and very, very fast and when I pedal on it it actually goes, which is a whole new thing for me. Sorry Snuggles, you were a good bike for nearly 15 years, but I've given you up for a lighter model. A lighter model that was custom built for me. Can you blame me?
All this to say that I've found hill climbing-- the one part of biking that I was actually pretty decent at-- all the easier, and now seem to have made myself the reputation as being fast on the uphill. Now, this isn't that big a deal. When guys get together for athletic type endeavors, we like to engage in this sort of bizarre exchange of trash talk and complements. You tell someone they're fast, then you make fun of his jersey. You complement his fancy new bike and then tell him he'll need all the help he can get to keep up. It's all in good fun. Problem is, as lighthearted as it may be, this hill climbing rep is something that my over-competitive ass feels it needs to maintain now that it's been thrust upon me. This, of course, meant that I had to be first up every time in our Saturday hill repeat session and I was, at the near cost of vomiting my granola bar and the half cup of eggnog I so unwisely consumed before the workout.
I'm getting old. Why can't I just let it go?
Because I'm not old yet.
Day 7 of training:
Group rides: 2
Resistance training: 3
Spin classes: 1
Pool Swims: 1
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
OH yeah. I still need your help.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Cold, Cold Water.
Day 7 of training:
Group rides: 1
Resistance training: 3
Spin classes: 1
Pool Swims: 1
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
Four years ago I sat in the shower, broken emotionally and physically, and let the water run over my head while I tried to figure out for the umpteenth time, exactly what had become of me, and what I was going to do to fix my situation. That's when it came over me with utter clarity, like the water from the shower head (and what is it about being near running water that makes us all think clearer?). The body can only handle so many stresses. I couldn't fix what was physically wrong with me-- I was sitting in the shower that day, because I couldn't stand. I couldn't afford to quit my stressful job, so there was only one stress left to be eliminated. There were things I couldn't figure out or fix and those things I was just going to have to let go.
So I did.
I took care of what I could that evening and from the moment I woke up the next morning until today I've been going through the long, slow process of fixing up and moving on. It's worked out pretty good so far. In a few weeks I had my sanity back. In a couple months I had my legs and four months later I had a new apartment, a new phone number and email address and a new job. I rebuilt and I vowed that I would make my next life in San Diego a better one. I would go to the beach more. I would spend more time outdoors and with friends. I would save money and live simply and wisely and, for the most part, except for that "wisely" bit, I have.
Of all the changes I made, the best was ocean swimming.
My first swim was three years ago this past summer when my friend's husband took me out to the 1/4 mile buoy at La Jolla Cove. It was with no goggles and regular swim trunks. I was slow and scared, uncomfortable and cold. He let me put on his goggles for the swim back, which may have been worse. I started at every piece of seaweed and every fish. Towards the end, I swam over the swaying sea grass and hit solid ground water logged and dizzy from the rhythms of the waves. I loved it. I was very proud.
I pestered him time and again to go out with me, but he was often busy. Towards the end of the summer I finally got the guts to go out on my own a few times, then that was it for the year. The next season I started again, working my way up to a one mile swim, dragging friends along when I could, still nervous about doing it alone. A couple times I went at night, and watched the red-tide water spark and glow as I splashed my way back in-- eerie and beautiful-- but it didn't do anything to help my fear.
This past year I got a wetsuit and started early in the spring. I swam both solo and with some more serious swimmers several times a week, mostly a mile, sometimes more. I even jumped in a couple of competitions, if only to prove how slow I am.
Mostly my fear has been replaced by a sort of deep uneasiness, though I still feel my guts squirm whenever I drive down to La Jolla to jump in. The ocean is so far out of my element. Swimming has never been my strong suit. So many things could go wrong. Sometimes though, when I slip in and the calming waters surround me, or when I tread water from halfway across to the shore, looking back west as the sun sets, there's a sense of extreme calm and I know I'm exactly where I should be, exactly then.
Today was not like that.
Today was cold and the waves were high and when the water flooded my wetsuit my heart began to race. My goggles leaked and I spent too much time fixing them rather than warming myself up. I slogged to the 1/4 mile buoy only and slogged back, stopping often on the way. It wasn't the best swim ever, but it also wasn't unpleasant. The sun was warm and the skies were clear. The water was less kelpy than normal and I stopped at the buoy for a while and looked around and felt OK with everything and that's really more than anyone can ask for at any time.
---
1/4 Mile Ocean Swim
Water temperature 61.1 degrees
waves: head + height
PM Weight Training
Please support the good work of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by making a secure, tax-deductible, online donation to my fundraising page:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
Share this link and this blog with your friends and encourage them to donate to this worthy cause as well. It's your support that keeps me going.
Group rides: 1
Resistance training: 3
Spin classes: 1
Pool Swims: 1
Maintenance Runs: 1
Ocean Swims: 1
Four years ago I sat in the shower, broken emotionally and physically, and let the water run over my head while I tried to figure out for the umpteenth time, exactly what had become of me, and what I was going to do to fix my situation. That's when it came over me with utter clarity, like the water from the shower head (and what is it about being near running water that makes us all think clearer?). The body can only handle so many stresses. I couldn't fix what was physically wrong with me-- I was sitting in the shower that day, because I couldn't stand. I couldn't afford to quit my stressful job, so there was only one stress left to be eliminated. There were things I couldn't figure out or fix and those things I was just going to have to let go.
So I did.
I took care of what I could that evening and from the moment I woke up the next morning until today I've been going through the long, slow process of fixing up and moving on. It's worked out pretty good so far. In a few weeks I had my sanity back. In a couple months I had my legs and four months later I had a new apartment, a new phone number and email address and a new job. I rebuilt and I vowed that I would make my next life in San Diego a better one. I would go to the beach more. I would spend more time outdoors and with friends. I would save money and live simply and wisely and, for the most part, except for that "wisely" bit, I have.
Of all the changes I made, the best was ocean swimming.
My first swim was three years ago this past summer when my friend's husband took me out to the 1/4 mile buoy at La Jolla Cove. It was with no goggles and regular swim trunks. I was slow and scared, uncomfortable and cold. He let me put on his goggles for the swim back, which may have been worse. I started at every piece of seaweed and every fish. Towards the end, I swam over the swaying sea grass and hit solid ground water logged and dizzy from the rhythms of the waves. I loved it. I was very proud.
I pestered him time and again to go out with me, but he was often busy. Towards the end of the summer I finally got the guts to go out on my own a few times, then that was it for the year. The next season I started again, working my way up to a one mile swim, dragging friends along when I could, still nervous about doing it alone. A couple times I went at night, and watched the red-tide water spark and glow as I splashed my way back in-- eerie and beautiful-- but it didn't do anything to help my fear.
This past year I got a wetsuit and started early in the spring. I swam both solo and with some more serious swimmers several times a week, mostly a mile, sometimes more. I even jumped in a couple of competitions, if only to prove how slow I am.
Mostly my fear has been replaced by a sort of deep uneasiness, though I still feel my guts squirm whenever I drive down to La Jolla to jump in. The ocean is so far out of my element. Swimming has never been my strong suit. So many things could go wrong. Sometimes though, when I slip in and the calming waters surround me, or when I tread water from halfway across to the shore, looking back west as the sun sets, there's a sense of extreme calm and I know I'm exactly where I should be, exactly then.
Today was not like that.
Today was cold and the waves were high and when the water flooded my wetsuit my heart began to race. My goggles leaked and I spent too much time fixing them rather than warming myself up. I slogged to the 1/4 mile buoy only and slogged back, stopping often on the way. It wasn't the best swim ever, but it also wasn't unpleasant. The sun was warm and the skies were clear. The water was less kelpy than normal and I stopped at the buoy for a while and looked around and felt OK with everything and that's really more than anyone can ask for at any time.
---
1/4 Mile Ocean Swim
Water temperature 61.1 degrees
waves: head + height
PM Weight Training
Please support the good work of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society by making a secure, tax-deductible, online donation to my fundraising page:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
Share this link and this blog with your friends and encourage them to donate to this worthy cause as well. It's your support that keeps me going.
Interspace
I woke this morning into a world where everything was made of sleep. I struggled through and finally surfaced enough to realize that my body felt like I'd been hit by a truck.
This is going to be harder than I thought.
Hope you can help:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
This is going to be harder than I thought.
Hope you can help:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Run Run Run Run...
Day 6 of training:
Group rides: 1
Resistance training: 2
Spin classes: 1
Pool Swims: 1
Maintenance Runs: 1
Today I ran. I was going to wait until later in training to start adding runs in order to save my joints, but it was too dark to ride when I got out of work, I had lifted yesterday and a swim or spin class was out of the question.
I spent the day at my desk, hunched over and sore from my first workout in the pool yesterday. All that pulling did a number on my shoulders and the kicking left a deep ache in my thighs. I'm sure that lifting yesterday afternoon didn't help much either. Though I'd packed clothes for spin class in my gym bag, I'd decided that today would best be an easy day. If I'm going to make it through three months of training, I have to not blow it all in week one. Do too much and I'm liable to spend next week in bed with a bad cold.
It's hell getting old.
I used to be a runner. I used to glide easily for endless miles along road, trail and track at blistering speeds while my mind floated and dreamt. It was easy then. It's not so easy now. Now my joints ache and my limbs flail out at odd angles at inconvenient times. My breathing is harsh and when I think I'm hitting a pretty hot pace, I come to find I'm running slower than I've ever run before. I'd laugh at myself if I had the breath. Mostly, it's a struggle, but sometimes still-- for briefer and briefer moments-- I find that place and I drift off in my head while my body ticks off the miles. Today was like that. I wrote in my head while I ran and so, when I got home, I started this blog.
I'll post updates here as often as I can for those who care to follow (and even for those that don't). Please come back and check on my progress. If I don't write for a few days in a row, maybe drive around San Diego and see if you can find me-- lost, tired and scared-- wheezing by the side of the road.
In other news, fundraising started yesterday in full swing with the creation of my donation page:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
Please visit and support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's mission to fight cancer. I really need your support. This triathlon isn't going to run itself you know (or swim itself, or bike itself, for that matter). The support of people like you will be the fuel that keeps me going. Please share this link, and this blog, with your friends and encourage them to donate as well.
Group rides: 1
Resistance training: 2
Spin classes: 1
Pool Swims: 1
Maintenance Runs: 1
Today I ran. I was going to wait until later in training to start adding runs in order to save my joints, but it was too dark to ride when I got out of work, I had lifted yesterday and a swim or spin class was out of the question.
I spent the day at my desk, hunched over and sore from my first workout in the pool yesterday. All that pulling did a number on my shoulders and the kicking left a deep ache in my thighs. I'm sure that lifting yesterday afternoon didn't help much either. Though I'd packed clothes for spin class in my gym bag, I'd decided that today would best be an easy day. If I'm going to make it through three months of training, I have to not blow it all in week one. Do too much and I'm liable to spend next week in bed with a bad cold.
It's hell getting old.
I used to be a runner. I used to glide easily for endless miles along road, trail and track at blistering speeds while my mind floated and dreamt. It was easy then. It's not so easy now. Now my joints ache and my limbs flail out at odd angles at inconvenient times. My breathing is harsh and when I think I'm hitting a pretty hot pace, I come to find I'm running slower than I've ever run before. I'd laugh at myself if I had the breath. Mostly, it's a struggle, but sometimes still-- for briefer and briefer moments-- I find that place and I drift off in my head while my body ticks off the miles. Today was like that. I wrote in my head while I ran and so, when I got home, I started this blog.
I'll post updates here as often as I can for those who care to follow (and even for those that don't). Please come back and check on my progress. If I don't write for a few days in a row, maybe drive around San Diego and see if you can find me-- lost, tired and scared-- wheezing by the side of the road.
In other news, fundraising started yesterday in full swing with the creation of my donation page:
http://pages.teamintraining.org/sd/lavatri09/dtuffy
Please visit and support the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's mission to fight cancer. I really need your support. This triathlon isn't going to run itself you know (or swim itself, or bike itself, for that matter). The support of people like you will be the fuel that keeps me going. Please share this link, and this blog, with your friends and encourage them to donate as well.
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