small improvement

My leg is improving. Wrapping it yesterday definitely helped it, and it feels much better today. I'm not foolish enough to go exercise on it — today is swimming only — but I'm glad that it feels better.

I also emailed my mentor today and am hoping to meet up with her some time in the next week. I missed the introductory meeting last week when I was in NJ, which was a bummer, but it's OK.

Yesterday, I did upper body and abs. It always feels good to lift hard, even on days when I run out of attention span.

How can I stop that from happening? I don't know how to get mentally stronger...

Also, I'm aware of a product called "Skins" for both compression and sunscreen. Are there other products that are similar by other companies?

stupid leg

My right hamstring is hurting again. It was feeling better. I was nice to it. I was careful. I trained on Tuesday, including some squats. Wednesday, it was hurting. Still it. I have it wrapped today, which feels pretty good. I need it to heal. I haven't run or biked in a long time :(

I'm back!

Exercise was present but light in NJ. I was able to do some cardio on Thursday upon arrival and on Saturday I swam. Yesterday, after I got home, I lifted.

My hamstring is feeling better, so I think I'm good to go with the lower body (finally!).

I had a meeting today and have jazz band tonight. I might go for a short swim after jazz band, or I might come home and sleep.

Either way, I am training for half an hour on core tomorrow, which I am looking forward to!

This week will not be as workout-heavy as I'd like (rehearsal tonight, dress rehearsal tomorrow night for Wednesday night's concert, school concert Thursday night but that should end pretty early...), but I figure, even when it's crazy busy like this, as long as I can do something (as opposed to nothing), I'm OK. I don't have too many weeks that are like this...

gone for a few...

Early tomorrow morning, I am heading to NJ to present a workshop at a professional conference. I'll be exercising there but not blogging, so you'll have to live without me for a few days...

exceeding expectations :)

I trained this morning, and B. had me do "Crazy Eights." We take two exercises of opposing muscles (for example, biceps and triceps), do eight reps on one, eight on the other, back and forth, to failure. OK.

My first pair was row and chest press. It was hard, but I plugged along. Before long (kinda), I was on my 10th set! He stopped me then (thank goodness!) and said we'd come back to it if we had time ... but that he didn't think I'd be able to do that many. (I ended up doing all four pairs of exercises to 10 sets — 640 reps, plus my warm ups!)

ROCK ON! I (often) love exceeding expectations.

That said, I am not always pleased to be underestimated, but he has a pretty good idea of what I can do and when I'm not going to be able to do any more — we've done a lot of exercises to failure — so it was kinda cool :)

I will be in NJ later this week, just for a few days. There is a new location of my gym there. B. talked to the nice people at that location, and even though their gym is one level nicer than mine (which means my membership wouldn't get me in there), they're going to let me work out there without issue, since I'm going to be there for only three days. I'm glad about that.

My right hamstring is still a little tighter than the left, but it's working OK. I'm guessing that another day or three should be enough.

Also, according to what I told her I'm doing, my tri mentor said that my training regiment sounds fine as long as I get some biking in. I'm glad about that — it means I don't need to add extra stuff on top of what I'm doing, which is super-good. I don't have time for extra stuff right now.

today's swim

I did it.

By now, I knew I could do it, and that it was just a matter of deciding, and today, I decided.

I swam 750 meters. That is the distance I need to swim for my triathlon. Today is the first time I swam that far at all, let alone without stopping to rest.

The tri is in open water, and this was in the pool, so it's not the same — I don't get to push off the wall every 25 meters in Tempe Town Lake. But when I was done, I could have kept going (physically) if I had wanted to. But for today, that was enough.

I'm gonna kick this tri's ass :) (As if it has an ass to kick...)

Feb 11

I did a solid abs workout today, then tested out the ol' hamstring.

I was able to do the elliptical for 15 minutes without issue (not pushing too hard, but enough to get the heart pumping). I did about 5 minutes on the treadmill, then stretched (to see how it felt), and it was starting to get tight, so I stopped.

Went to the pool and did 10 laps. It's hard to swim the day after an upper-body training with B. — everything is sore. I worked on breathing to the left, as I have some trouble with that and thought today would be a good day to do it. It's getting better.

Feb 10 and mentoring!

I trained with B. tonight. Since my hamstring is still not 100% (though it's much closer than it has been), we did upper body only. It was killer. I will definitely stretch again before bed, and probably periodically all day tomorrow. But have I mentioned how much I love these killer sessions? Doesn't matter which part of the body we're working (top, bottom, middle, all), I LOVE being pushed as far as I go with a trainer. If I had the money, I'd train once a week year round.

Anyway, I have taken off tomorrow (from work) and am planning, if I feel well, to go to do some cardio (and maybe also abs). B. said that I could try out some light treadmill action and see how it feels. So the plan is to go in sweats and take my bathing suit so I can swim if walking/running doesn't work out. We'll see.

Also today, I got an e-mail from my triathlon mentor person! I'm excited! This whole triathlon thing is exciting :) Anyway, T. wrote me, told me about herself, let me know how she'd be available. I wrote back, probably too much, telling her where I'm coming from, asking a couple of questions, telling her my goals.

Goals:
-finish the race
-without doggie paddling or walking
-without getting hurt (whether by injury or crashing)
-without throwing up

Too much to ask? I think probably not. I think that if the race was next weekend, I'd be able to finish it, though I'd need to walk and maybe doggie paddle, and I might throw up at the end. But I have time, and in that time, I can get better. I will get better. I'm already getting better. So those are my goals :)

hurt and sick

Well, I didn't work out at all on Saturday. My hamstring was sore, even when I wasn't stretching it, and I was tired and cranky. Not the best reasons, perhaps, but reasons none-the-less.

Sunday I went and did upper body and abs, and then went for a swim. A self-proclaimed health nut stopped me when I was done lifting and offered 20-minutes-worth of health advice which, while interesting, would have been better another time.

Today I had a meeting after school 4:30-6:30, then was supposed to go to jazz band 7:30-8:30, but I woke up this morning with a head full of snot, so I'm skipping jazz band and going to bed.

Tomorrow I'm scheduled to train, which will be good.

If I'm not feeling fabulous (or maybe even if I am), I'm thinking about taking off on Wednesday. I don't have many classes, made fewer by an assembly, and the afternoon meeting is not one relevant to what I teach. So, while typically a rest day, I might go in and get in a swim on Wednesday.

My hamstring is feeling much better today (although still not normal). I'm hoping to be running/biking/etc. by Thursday.

I got an email saying to look out for a message from my tri mentor. I'm looking forward to it! Hooray! I was also notified of some group workouts on the course a little farther down the line. I'm glad that those will be available to us.

I also looked at the workout schedule offered. The swimming workouts include all kinds of gear that I don't have. I plan to ask how important all of that stuff is. We're making some small sacrifices so that I can buy a wetsuit and pay the entrance fees to this event, and I'm not wanting to buy more stuff. If I really like doing this, I might invest in more toys over time, but not right now...

Feb 6

I saw B. when I went to the gym this afternoon and we talked about my tight hammy a bit.

Consensus is that I shouldn't do any land-based cardio or lower body training until the tightness is gone and the hamstring feels normal.

So today I did a rockin' abs/lower back workout for half an hour or so, and then swam. I did 22 laps tonight, before I had to get out because I was getting picked up. (I would have had more time, but all of the lanes were full when I arrived.) Knowing now that I can go longer, adding extra laps isn't as exciting as it was a week ago, but that's OK. I think I'll still be pretty jazzed when I hit the 750-meter-mark.

Plan for the weekend has changed. Tomorrow: upper body and some swimming (I don't anticipate that swim being as fruitful, especially if my lifting is rigorous). Sunday: abs and some swimming. If my leg feels better tomorrow, I might throw in some light legwork on Sunday. That'll be a go-with-the-gut decision.

Feb 4, 5

Well, Wednesdays during the school year are almost always rest days, as I have meetings at work until 5 or so, 45-60-minute drive home, eat some dinner, and be out the door at 6:30 or so for a 7:00 rehearsal. If there is no rehearsal or no meetings, I can get in a workout.

Anyway, yesterday was a rest day.

Today, due to many discipline issues that needed to be dealt with, I didn't get home from work until 6. My turn to cook dinner, and tonight's planned meal takes 45 minutes or so to make. After preparing and eating, I made the "fatal" mistake of sitting down :)

I'm really tired, and my hamstring is still tight (it's a little bit looser than it was yesterday, but I still need to adjust to tie my shoes), so I think I'm going to put some heat on the leg, give it a gentle stretch, and go to sleep. Sleep will be good :)

My upper body isn't quite as sore as I expected it to be, after Tuesday's workout. Tomorrow I'm definitely spending some good time in the pool. I'm not sure about working out legs if my hamstring is still tight. Can I work other muscles, or are they too inter-connected? I don't want to hurt myself, so if I can't get an answer from my (or another) trainer, I'll just lay off the lower body until the hamstring feels better. So if the leg is in good shape, I'll do lower/abs and swim. If the leg isn't in good shape, I think I'll still do abs and swim.

Feb 3

Yesterday was a cardio day. I did 15 minutes on each of the elliptical (level 6, "random"), the rower (average over 60 watts, 2600 meters), the stairmaster (level 5) and the treadmill (various speeds including a cool-down, most time on 5 mph, highest was 6.5).

I went to stretch and noticed that my right hamstring was super-tight. It still is. I can walk, jog, take stairs with no problem, but I can't tie my shoes without bending a little extra in other places. I'm taking care to make sure that it doesn't go from tight to injured.

Tonight, I trained with B., upper body. It was a long hour, with arms very gummy at the end. A good workout. Really hard. I like working out hard, though I sometimes have trouble pushing myself. That's why I like having a good trainer. (I've had many bad trainers.)

I don't have a tri plan yet, but the current lifting plan is upper and lower/abs twice a week each (one of those typically with B.). On days that I do lower, or days that I don't lift, I can swim. I need to log a lot of time in the pool. Wednesdays are typically rest days because of my schedule. One day over the weekend (depending on how the lift schedule falls), I need to get to a spin class. At some point, I'll start to brick a spin class with a run on the treadmill and see how that feels.

This week: rest tomorrow, lower body Thursday if the hamstring is feeling better. If not, just cardio, including pool time. Friday, upper body. I think I need to sit down with a calendar and figure all of this out...

my history of swimming

I started swimming laps within the last 6 or 8 months. In that time, I have not been very good at, and while I wanted to do a tri (it was a New Year's goal), I wanted to be sure I'd be able to swim far enough first.

My typical swim before a month or so ago was two laps with a kickboard (one way = one lap; 25 meters), two laps freestyle, back and forth, repeat for a total of 10 or 12 laps, exhausted.

Dec 30: "for the first time ever, the first lap was easy" and a few days prior, I had been able to do 75 meters for the first time

Jan 11: after working with B. on going more slowly and kicking less, I was able to do 6 continuous laps ("continuous" isn't actually non-stop, as I can't flip-turn — it really means "touch the wall, turn around erect, and start swimming again right away")

Jan 21: ecstatic that I could do 8 continuous laps

Today, I got in the pool with only about 20 minutes to swim, so I set this goal: keep swimming the whole time, even if that meant going to a doggie paddle or something. Well, I am pleased to announce that I was able to swim freestyle the entire time! 20 laps, about 19 minutes. That's 500 meters! That's 2/3 of the race swim (though I'll need to adjust for pushing off the wall, of course). I'm very VERY happy about my progress in this aspect. I have lots of good news for B. when I see him this week!

the last couple of days

On Friday, I did end up going to the gym and swimming some laps. It wasn't my greatest effort ever in the pool, but it wasn't my worst, either, and I was glad that I went.

Yesterday, I did upper body and a 20-minute run on the treadmill.

Plan for today is lower body and time in the pool.

Plan for tomorrow is pool only. Mondays are tight on time for the next few months.

Once I have a more concrete, long-term plan, I think I'll feel a little better. Right now, I'm kind of floundering a bit...

Also, I'll be in NJ for a few days at the end of this month. I just learned the other day that my gym recently opened a location about 10 minutes from where I'll be staying :) But my membership doesn't cover entrance to that facility (it's somehow more upgraded than mine). I need to find out from B. tomorrow or Tuesday what the rules are about me getting in there. It would be nice to be able to go and not have to pay a lot (or any) to get in. The weather will be too cold for me to do any work outside. I can do enough body weight exercises at my friend's house (where I'm staying) to keep up with strength training, but cardio will pose a challenge...