Sunday, OOOHHHHHHH Sunday

Talk about a day of good intentions...

Even though it wasn't as warm as it was on Saturday, I was allowed to ride outside and super excited. I slept in a bit and waited until it warmed up a tad. Blain was cleaned, greased up, and ready to go. Or so I thought.

My Cateye wasn't working so I tried to change the battery. This lead to me breaking off the sensor from the bracket. Fail.
I then tore my apartment apartment looking for my Garmin, which I have yet to find. Fail.
This was followed by trying to flip out my yellow lenses for grey in my Nike sunglasses - which broke. Again, fail.

So, with some serious thought if this ride was meant to be, I posted on Facebook about my issues. To my delight, Alejandro commented that he was on his way for a ride. So, he said he would slow down and I said I would go to Hains Point (and not Beach drive).

I got there and saw Steve, Ron, Courtney, Hillary, Mark, and a few others. It was awesome! We all stood around in our spandex chatting about biking. Once Alejandro got there, those of us just starting our rides took off. It was a bit colder than expected, but not too bad.

Alejandro and I were chatting away. Talked about our weekends. Talked about training. But you know what we didn't talk about OUR ROUTE! Hains Point has a "long loop" the green and red line, or the "small loop" just the green line. Alejandro thought we were doing short loops, I thought we were doing long loops. Yup - Fail.
See, Alejandro was the orange line, and I was the purple line. I went straight, Alejandro turned into me, or more accurately my left foot. We managed to stay on our bikes (thank you very much power balance band!) but Alejandro's bike did not sound right. Sure enough, his wheel was out of true and unrideable. Well, he was able to ride it back to my car so I could drive him to Conte's.
Oh, WHICH WAS CLOSED! Fail.
(But, Alejandro did make it to Conte's later and they were able to fix his wheel. Thank goodness!! Again, Alejandro - I am so sorry!!!)

So I dropped Alejandro off at his place, apologized profusely, and tried to figure out what to do.

I went back to Hains Point to prove to the biking gods that I would get in my ride. As I was getting ready, again, Brian was just finishing his run. I LOVE seeing people at the pool, out biking, our running - it makes me so happy! Anyway, as I was filling him in on the morning, I realized I could not find my right bike glove. I had it earlier, but no more... Once again, FAIL!

But, I still rode. Since I had no bike computer or Garmin, I have no idea how far I went or how fast/slow it was - but it was and with a day like that, it was all that mattered.

Oh, and the knee felt pretty good!!! So that was a super bonus.

A Week in Review

One would think that since I am not doing 2+ hour workouts or doubles, I would have time to blog. Not so much. I am still working on that time management thing.

Wednesday I managed to ride on the trainer after a board meeting. Go me!

Thursday I had to celebrate my heritage - so I didn't make it to the pool. Coach was okay with that so I didn't have to worry.

Friday was a beautiful day so Mr. Shorty Shorts and I took our Capital Bike Shares out for a nice lunch ride. And instead of frantically cleaning my bike to ride outside, I just biked on the trainer again. I had the windows open, so that counts.... right?!?!

Saturday was a trip to the pool for more water jogging and a swim.

Sunday - well, that will get it's own post...

And today back to the pool for water jogging and swimming.

Tomorrow, back to PT. I am hoping for good news and that my exercises have been paying off. I am slightly starting to freak out about not being able to run. Walking 26.2 miles is a long LONG way. And I am under the 6 month mark. BUT, I just need to make smart choices.

Now, I am off to write about yesterday...

A Bit More Like Myself

Today was one of the first days in awhile that I felt more like myself. I am not sure if was the simple fact that I worked out yesterday, AND today or who knows what.

You 9 readers have probably figured out by now I am a planner and I like to be busy. I do enjoy my down time, but only when I schedule down time. I don't do well with people telling me what to do (unless I pay them like Coach). But even when he tells me to not do something, I don't like it. Anyway, between yesterday's water jog, swim, and 5 minute run - and today's 45 minute trainer ride (while watching a great episode of Glee), I am feeling a lot better.

The knee is still a bit stiff, I am still sleeping with the ice pack, but I have more hope today. And that makes me happy. Because it's still 100% worth it.

Starting Somewhere

Monday's Post

I am starting, yet again. And it felt good.

This weekend was a bit up and down. Saturday was filled with major Marcus drama (Marcus is my car, in case you forgot) and spending A LOT of money.
This was followed by renewing my love for Contes - as they saved me $200 by not getting new shoes and just put them in some contraption that made room for my bunion. See how it sticks out on the inside part - AMAZING! And that savings was need after the car...
Anyway, the day got even better when Sandy met me at Conte's and after the shopping, we went to a little cafe to split a bacon, cheddar scone. And each had a glass of Cava. Such a good way to spend a Saturday afternoon.
This was followed by the best news ever that Jersey Sarah is moving from San Francisco to Arlington!! Hi Jersey Sarah! (PS. Jersey Sarah hates that name. I met her in Ireland, and when I moved to DC, she lived in Jersey (hence the name Jersey Sarah) but then moved to Philly, followed by Seattle, then San Fran - but the name stuck).
So, Saturday started off really crappy, but turned out great.

Sunday - well, day light savings time and forgetting to change the clock means late for spin class. Oops. But it turned out okay because I wasn't going to make it the entire 4 hours - yes, they are crazy and did 4 hours. I biked for an hour, did my exercises, and tried water jogging. Then swam 1600. Oh, and of course brunch. Now don't be shocked, because I know you will be, but I skipped the unlimited mimosas. And I switched my potatoes for fruit. Go me!

Monday - Coach and I chatted (via email) and I could run 5 minutes, water jog 25, and swim 4x400. So that is what I did, and it was great. To be perfectly honest, 2 minutes into the run, I did feel the knee pain, but it was gone by minute 3 and felt no discomfort for the last 2. Woot!

So, I am feeling better. I have a lot of support and really good advise from everyone. Lots of people understanding my frustration, and letting me be frustrated. Thanks to you all!

6 Months

It's March 11, 2011. When I saw that this morning on the Today Show, I thought "Wow, 3.11.11 - That's a cool looking date". But it also looked very familiar....

And thanks to Sandy I realized why. 6 months until Ironman Wisconsin. SIX MONTHS!?!?! Wow, that is coming up fast. And not great when I already have a semi-bum knee. However, 6 months this time around is a lot more managable than 6 months the last time.

Things will work out, they always do. Right???

It Could Be A LOT Worse

That is what I am taking from my PT session today. I think by going in when I did, I potentially avoided a meniscus tear. I do have a damaged/swollen/bruised meniscus, but my PT does not think it is torn. That is good. Very good.

I have lots of fun strength training exercises to do twice a day for the next two weeks when I go back. I can also do 5 minutes of running, 3 days a week. But I can also do some water jogging. And do my cardio on my bike to make up for what I am missing for the run. Oh, and of course I can swim. I just need to fill Coach in on all of this and see what he has to say.

Given this info, I should be happy, right? I should be happy it’s not worse. My coach is doing a great job reminding me to be positive. How attitude is a huge factor in recovery. He is even using smiley face emoticons! (I know right, Coach has used :) in multiple emails!!). So why am not happy? I wish I knew...

I can’t help but wonder if this is a warning of what is to come. I can’t help but wonder that this might not have happened if I just lost some (a lot of) weight. I can’t help but wonder why the right side of my body won’t just do what I want it to do.

Trying to stay positive is really hard when I am always feeling inadequate. Like I am not supposed to be doing all of this and someone is going to pop out with a camera and say “Surprise! It’s all a lie! You suck and your first Ironman was a joke! You can’t do another one as you weren’t supposed to do the first one!!” Staying positive when these thoughts keep creeping in - tough.

NOTE - I wrote this immediately when I got back to the office from the appointment. I debated on if I should post this or not, but I decided to. I am feeling better about things, it's just that I am a very emotional person. My goal was to always keep this blog 'as real as possible' and not just talk about the good and funny things that happen on this journey. There can be a very dark side to Ironman training and I am just in one of those moments. But deep down, I do know I will come out of this, better, and hopefully stronger. And not just my right knee.

Guess Where I Am NOT

Tuesday's Post. I guess I never hit the "Publish Post" button...

I am not at Yoga Steve. Why? Because I am still benched. Humph!

This weekend I was able to swim, which went fine. I was able to bike 30 minutes, easy, which again, was fine. My knee did feel a bit stiff and tight after, but overall it was fine. Monday, off.

Today, I chose not to go to Yoga Steve. I figured I should get my knee figured out first before I start trying to work on my poses. And I get to swim tonight, so that's something.

Thursday can't come soon enough for my PT appointment!!!

I'm Benched

For 2 days.

When I woke up with knee pain, I knew this wasn't a good situation. So I e-mailed Coach for advise on what to do.

Ice, anti-inflammatories, and stay off it for at least 2 days. Then I can swim. If it still hurts, or starts to hurt more when I walk, off to PT I go.

So I am sitting at my desk. Not sure what to do with myself as it is lunch - and I had planned on sitting on a stationary bike for 40 minutes.

Woe is me.

Oh, and Coach ended the e-mail with "Stay off it as best you can during the day. No dancing at night :)" It made me laugh, instead of cry out of frustration that this happening.

Stupid

I got my schedule from Coach. It's a so so week, some hard stuff - but lots. I am really working on my time management.

I went for my 60 minute run today. It wasn't great, again. I had that feeling going into it so I took it easy and concentrated on keeping my heart rate down and tried to work on form. Here is the deal - around 40 minutes, I felt something strange. And not in the good way. It kind of went away and I made it back to the office. My first thought was, this isn't happening. This is stupid.

Kristin and Jess convinced me to go for my swim, even though I was tired and something still wasn't right. I headed up to Wilson instead of CUA, because it was free and closer to home. I got there and the pool was empty. Not meaning 1 or 2 people per lane - but no one. Apparently the heater wasn't working so no one was allowed to swim. BOO!! Yet again Wilson pool disappointed me. I am just a sucker for a 50 meter pool. Stupid.

So I came home, made dinner, did some laundry, played my new game obsession on my iPhone, and tried to avoid what I was feeling.

Okay, want to know what I am talking about?>? My knee hurts. I mean, really hurts. And it has been getting worse throughout the day. I have been icing it, trying to stay off it, and just not freak out. Trying not to blame the fact that my diet isn't where it should be and therefore my weight is too high for the level of activity I am doing. Trying not to blame the fact that I waited too long to work on my running. Trying not just feel stupid about the fact my knee hurts. But I am worried and am really hoping it will all be better tomorrow.

Back From Vaca, Back To Work

(Tuesday's Post)

That is what the past few days have been.

• Run
• Swim
• Yoga
• Bike

I haven't heard from my Coach about my schedule, but that's because I just sent him what I did last week for my week off. I was just guessing, but I had a pretty decent idea. Except for doing 3 x 1000 straight for my swim. Not sure why I did that...

I miss vacation. I miss relaxing. I miss not working. If one of you 9 readers wins the lottery, don't forget the person who provides you blog entertainment a few times a week!

Not going to happen. Oh well, I am just glad to get back on a schedule.