frosty morning

It was super chilly this morning. It took me about 15 min to not feel cold in the water - and then even to rest for a min or so I got cold again. I did about 1600 yrd work out in about 50 min.
300 yrd warm up
100 yrd side kick drill
100 yrd switch drill
100 yrd rotation w/ resistance drill
100 yrd catch ups
100 yrds one arm - 50 each arm
main splits
50 yrds - 100 yrds - 150 yrds (will pull buoy) - 200 yrds - 150 yrds (w/ pull buoy) - 100 yrds - 50 yrds
50 yrd cool down and stretched till I froze and had to get out of the pool. lol
I felt really good esp on my main set I really work on reaching and following my stroke through all the way. It seemed helped me feel smother and faster.

no sleep = no energy

I woke up at about 3am this morning and was never able to go back to sleep. I planned on going for a swim today to loosen up after running yesterday but I never really had any energy. To bad the pool was not open at 5am lol. I feel good though no pain in my foot or any real muscle soreness - just tired.

little green machine

Yesterday was it was the perfect weather for doing my long run - sunny and a little bit cool and crisp. It was wonderful. Colleen rode her mt bike along with me - carrying my water and gu - it was quite the treat :) We started by going around green lake then went down stone way and got on the burk gillman trail went past the UW campus and then back up towards green lake again. It was great route lots of variety of running surfaces and distractions. Colleen also tracked my miles for me :)

mile 1 8:56
mile 2 8:55
mile 3 9:21
mile 4 8:45 (down hill Stone Wy)
mile 5 9:40 includes stop to stretch
mile 6 9:18
mile 7 9:07
mile 8 9:55 (uphill and brief walking)
mile 9 ?????

I felt good, my foot only hurt a little bit. The biggest thing was after the run I forgot to eat anything so later in the day I got a really bad headache and stomach ache which did not go away till I went to bed after taking some Tylenol. But I learned a good lesson - I will eat something with protein in it.
In other news yesterday we got a new car - well new to us - a green 2002 mini cooper with white racing stripes, a rack, fog lights and best of all heated seats hehe.

all about the legs

I had a fun time doing my leg work out tonight. I started with a warm up on the elliptical and some light stretching. Then I got started with 30 squats with 20lbs of weights, 30 jumps squats with the same weights. next I did 30 squats with same wight on for/aft with the balance board, 30 squats on right/left balance with weights. Then to make it harder I did 20 one leg squats on each side with the weight. Since I did not feel done with squats yet I did 50 on the bosu, 3 sets of 12 single leg squats on the bosu. 50 hamstring rolls on the ball. Lunges with the front foot on balance disc thing - 50 for each leg. The clam shell exercise the pt people have me doing - 2 fatigue x 2 on each side (I think 50 each x 2 but I lost count). Monster walk with a blue band around my ankles 25 steps each way. I still felt good so 30 reps x 3 sets of leg presses with a 45lb plates. I finished with calf raises - but i only did 25 or so my foot started hurting. So I stretched out really well and headed out.

still water

This morning I swam about 1800yrds total in a completely empty pool - which I think made it harder to focus and keep swimming strangely enough. I started with 300yrds warm up, 500yrds of drills - 100yrds side kick, 200yrds switch, 100yrds catch-up, 100yrds single arm (50yrds each). Then in an effort to improve how I felt doing 100yrds distances I did 100yrds x 10 with short rests between. I focused on really stretching out and rotating side to side and keeping my breathing relaxed. I felt pretty good, my feet cramped up a tiny bit but I stretched and it went away. To cool down I stretched out my legs and back. My abs and shoulders are sore form yesterday but once I was warm it felt fine, esp my shoulder.
Some bummer news it sounds like Kyle might have a stress fracture in his foot. He saw the doctor yesterday and one his calf muscles is so tight that it might have caused one of the tiny bones on the outside of his foot to fracture. Not totally sure yet they are seeing if massage and ultrasound will help loosen the muscle and thus ease the pain. But if it does not get better they will do a bone scan or something next week to see if there is a fracture. Kyle's says my foot thing must have been contagious. haha He still thinks he might do the California International marathon though - Kyle thinks that if he can run at all he can run forever. Lucky him lol. That with Stephs' cracked ribs my running partners are disappearing. :(

catch up

In an effort to stay on track with this weeks plan I did the cardio, arm weight, abs/core and stretch work out I should have done yesterday this morning. After work I did a 4 mile run averaging about 8:30 a mile and I just beat the rain. :) I felt really good. I did more of a warm up before I started running which helped a lot. My foot felt good but my calves were a bit tight. I just ran on the trail since it was convenient and it was nice that there were a lot of others out running to.

oops

I did the wrong work out this morning - I guess that is what I get for waking up so early. I was supposed to have done cardio warm-up, arm weights, stretch instead I did 60 min of spinning. Which felt good. I sort of fallowed the class - it was a strength day so lots of hills that sort of thing. I tried to keep my cadence up higher and not put to much stress on my leg. It still feels tight and not as strong as it used to - I made sure to still challenge it so that it will get stronger.. One other thing I need to adjust my right cleat I have the hardest time getting it in, it looks super angled - I think I will just straighten it out a bit.

2 out of 10

This morning I got back out and ran. It felt really good. Kyle and I did 6 miles on the Sammmamish trail. I had a hard time the first 2 miles getting warmed up and into a good ryhtm but once I did I felt pretty good. My leg/knee did not hurt or anything. My right foot was tight and a tiny bit tender - but nothing to bad at all. I have a massage later this afternoon so that should help strech and loosen it up after running on it. Overall I'm very happy with how I felt and am looking forward to adding running back into my training.

upper body weights + pt

This morning for a warm up I ran 1 8:30 min mile on the treadmill - just to test my foot. It still feels tight but no pain so that was good. I then stretched out a bit and moved on to upper body weight training. Started with lat pull downs 45lb x 15 reps x 2 sets, bicep curls 25lb curl bar 20 reps x 3 sets, upward row 25lb curl bar 20 reps x 2 sets. Triceps dips body weight 15 reps x 2 sets. French press 12lb bar bells 15 reps x 2 sets. Shoulder side raises and front raises 8lb bar bell 20 reps x 3 sets. Low row 45lb 25 reps x 3 sets, push ups 10 reps x 3 sets. Then I went to my pt appointment - started with ultrasound, then massage and stretching - she said it still feels really tight - suggested roll a frozen water bottle under my foot after work outs to ice and massage - also suggested rolling a golf ball under my foot to help massage. Then I did the exercises - squeezing my toes together and separating them, clam shells to fatigue x 2 sets, standing hip abductor thing to fatigue x 2, gastroc stretch, and scrunching a towel. Then 5 min ice. Since my pt appointment finished early I went and did 20 min of abs and core stuff.

spinning

I did 60 min of spinning maintaining a cadence between 85-110. I felt really good. I went during a spinning class and used the spin bikes and just did my own thing. It worked out really well. I really tried to focus on my form and keep my back still and a smooth motion. Afterwards I stretched for about 15 min. No pian in my foot or my leg/knee. :)

coaching camp

My legs are definitely not ready for ski season. It did not help that my foot hurt pretty bad and my quad was a little weak. But I survived the first day - I don't know about tomorrow.
Notes: I need to work on keeping upper body down the hill, increasing angles, move hips and body more aggresively down the hill, use the tip of the skis to intiate the turn more. Make sure I push on the front through the intiation. Seperate stages of the turn more.

But what is important is that I have committed to coaching at least 4 days a month so either a weekend or two or coaching Wednesday night training (doesn't start till January-March). I think this should be ok, I need to figure out now when I definitely want to be off - for training/events or whatever.

recess

I took a wonderful break from work today and met Colleen for a ride around Lake Samm for lunch. It was the perfect weather, I could have left my arm warmers at home. My leg/knee felt great - a little tight and tired but no pain, even up the hills. My foot felt ok, no sharp pain just alittle nagging sort of thing, but way better with the superfeet.

swim + pt

Started the morning off with a good swim workout. I did 300yrds warm up, 150yrds each arm out for side kick drill (300yrds total), 300yrds of side swimming switches, 200yrds of catch ups, 200yrds of using kick board as pull bouy for resistance, 100yrds single arm (50yrds each). Then did a set of 400yrds and 150yrds cool down. I felt great and had fun working on the drills. I still have a hard time not running out of air...
I had the physical therapy appointment - it went well she did ultrasound heat, then massaged and stretched, and I think it was electrical stimulation and ice. It feels ok I'm wearing my running shoes because I could not figure out another pair that was not a flip flop or a high heel. lol

back on the bike

I missed spinning class but I did 45 min on the trainer and it felt great. I took it easy and just tried to be consistent and smooth. My left leg/knee felt great no pain what so ever :) The only thing was that my right foot did hurt a little bit, but I did run this morning so I think that had more to do with that. Maybe I should have put a superfeet footbed in my bike shoes too.
On another note I put my ski boots on for the first time since spring, mostly to see if my foot would hurt.. and it did a bit when I put the boot on the inside edge, the other thing was that my calf seems smaller or bonier and it kind of hurts when I press down on the front of the boot. So all this is a bit iffy considering I have a coaching camp this weekend where I need to be on top of things.

4 mile run & distal plantar fascitis

I started the morning with a 4 mile run on the treadmill with 5 x 1 min sprints sprints in 35:35 min.I felt great, my quad felt great, my foot hurt only a little while I was running (it hurts more now). Then I stretched out and did upper body weights and core exercise.
I had a appointment with a podiatrist at the pro club - Dr. Adad after my run.. And he diagnosed my foot pain as plantar fascists. He said that it was not to bad and that with 2 weeks of rest and pt I should be fine. (Hopefully) The hardest thing is that he said no running for 2 weeks and then Colleen added no flip flops (which is probably harder on me than no running lol).
So I'm staying optimistic and I am very aware that this is the time to deal with these issues and not later. Which is really important since one of my main goals is to stay healthy..

mile high altitude training

The run was very disappointing. I had every intention of doing 8... but I felt really tired and had a hard time. Kyle went with me and noticed I was heal striking and suggested I run more on the ball of my foot. We worked on form for about a mile or so but I was really dragging and my legs felt really heavy. Also the ball of my right foot really hurt. This has been a pain that has come and gone over the last 6 months or so.. It seems to be related to how tight my leg and foot muscles are.. So we walked most of the way. I'm totally bummed at how I felt and that I did not run my goal distance. The good thing was that Kyle's suggested changes in my form felt better and more smooth, so that was useful and I think I'm extra tired due to the altitude since I slept really well last night. I think when I get back in town I will make an appointment with a podiatrist about my foot... Get everything in order now so that I can push harder later.

asleep in a pool

I was barely awake this morning for my swim. I only got about 5 hrs of sleep or so.. Even though yesterday was my rest day all I want to do is go back to bed. I got to the pool around 6:15a started with 300yrds warm up. Still was half asleep it felt. I did about 500yrds of drills - more than I probably needed but I felt like working on my form. So I did the drills from my swim lesson and single arm drill. I started on my main set doing 100yrds with 15 sec rest between. I never felt like I woke up or got in a rhythm so in an effort not to drown I only did 5 of these then stretched. Even now all i want to do is go back to sleep.

stairs

I started out with 40 min of the stair mill - something like 172 floors. Then I stretched out my legs. Once I stopped sweating I starting a with 50 sit ups, 30 leg raises, 40 bicycles, 1 min plank, 1 min on each side plank, 50 superman's, 15 push ups. I did 3 sets of these. Then did 40 crunches on the ball, 15 push ups with my feet on the ball, and 25 things were my feet were on the ball hands on the floor and I rolled the ball towards my hands with my feet. I streched out again and headed home. My knee felt great the entore time. The only thing is that right now - as I write this my right foot keeps cramping.

very late night

I had to go into the office at about 12am to fix a small bug on an ad for the homepage so since I did not get to bed till about 1:45a I'm going to do my stair workout this evening after work :)

forgot the headlamp

Went for a run with Colleen, Bryan and Kyle ran with us as well. I have no idea where we exactly went but we started out around greed lake and then ran in the dark for a while and then back near the lake again.. Some parts were super dark. But we all did well not tripping or anything. I just fallowed Colleen. So in all Col said we did about 4.5 miles averaging about 8:30 miles. I felt pretty good, only had one little side ache as we went up hill at one point - I think around the end of mile 2... But it pretty much went a away later. My legs actually felt good even though they were a little bit sore from yesterdays workout.

morning swim

On a whim last night I set up a swim lesson with the same instructor I had worked with before Lake Samm tri in the spring (I hope this is ok). This morning at 6 I met with him for 30 min of drills to improve my form and it was a great refresher of what he worked with me on before. I started at 5:30 and warmed up with 100 yrds freestyle, 100 yrds kick, 100 yrds pull buoy. I ten started some of my main set as planned - I got 2 x 150yrds, 2 x 100yrds in before 6am.
He started me with focusing on head position - so I kicked on my side with my head straight down and one arm out at about 45 degrees down in front, rolling on my back to breath. I did this for about 100yrds each arm. Next I did this but after a couple kicks brought my hand up to my face and switched sides and repeat - 200yrds of this. I had a hard time at first just because of the coordination involved and keeping my breath under control but by the second 100yrds I got it pretty good. Then keeping in mind head position, arm at 45 degrees down, rotate side to side I swam 100yrds freestyle. felt way better esp on my shoulder and neck. Then did a rotation drill using a kick board like pull buoy/fin as I rotated it gave resistance and really forced me to focus on my abs and hips. It was really cool i could definitely feel when I was rotating and when I was not - 150yrds. Last focusing on my breathing - I keep my left arm out and patient while I breath (rather than pushing down) and then slowing getting rid of the pause between strokes when I breath after 150yrds of practicing this and trying to make it more smooth I started to get it.
After the lesson I continues my main set 3 X 100 - 6 X 50 - cool down 150 easy. I felt way smoother, faster and it seemed to lake less effort then even in my warm up.
I'll probably do a couple more lessons this winter as mini refreshers and reminders in addition to the rest of my training :)

starting the week off

I slept in this morning till 7:30a which was just lovely. So I went to the gym after work instead. I did about 20 min warm up on a stationary bike. Now I remember why I never use them - the seats are huge and sooo uncomfortable. My knee felt ok though I had a horrible time trying to find the right position on the seat , on the pedals (since no clips), seat height.. At 20 min I gave up. I then stretched out my legs and back, then did abs - 2 sets of 50 sit ups, 2 sets of 25 bicycles, 2 sets of 25 leg raises, 2 sets of 30 toe touches with 5lb ball. Then on to some weights - 2 sets of 15 bicep curls with 25lb bar, triceps pull down 3 sets of 15 with 30lbs, shoulder raises 3 sets 15 with 8lb barbels, bench press on ball 2 sets 15 with 10lb barbels, lunges 4 sets of 25, squats on bosu 2 sets of 25, 1 leg squats on bosu 2 sets of 15 each leg. That about covers it. I finished up with some stretching.

Sunday hot yoga

I survived hot yoga today though during class I was very aware that I was not re-hydrated and my legs were a bit fatigued after last nights run. This made yoga more difficult than usual though I think it was still very beneficial in helping me stretch out all my muscles. I also stayed a little longer and really stretched out my IT band and quads while I was warm.
I took the rest of today off and even took a bit of a nap around 5ish. lol I'll go to bed early and depending on how I feel in the morning I'll go do some easy cardio and weights in the morning :)