Sparrows Experiment

Went out riding with some pals 30 miles. We did intervals: 3 min sprint followed by 2 min recovery for a half hour and moderate the rest of the time. Had a significant headwind and some majorly bumpy road, but very fun time! felt very strong and was the leader for the pack of 6 riders.
 
Skipped the gym this morning (working out part) but I went to coach the tri class and then had an interview for a head coach position for a new masters swim team my club is forming. I've wanted it because I want to continue to work with the tri class and allow them to have more days to improve on their swimming. Plus I've been volunteer coaching for almost 2 months now, it would be nice to get paid! anyway, I got it on the spot but it did take an hour to sell my personal vision for it :) I'm really excited about it because there is SO much potential for the program. so that coaching is in the morning 3 days a week and I still coach at the other club in the evenings. My baby turned 4 yesterday. I can't believe it. Her party is tomorrow but I hope to get some sort of exercise in somewhere.
 
stingo said:
Wow you just about started training for a triathlon and here you are coaching a master's swim team. Go you :)
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ah thanks. Well I've coached masters before as part of other teams, but I feel more credible or whatever this time around. I feel like I've already earned a lot of trust and respect just by coaching the tri class each Friday, so I'm excited about that. It won't quite feel like I"m coming into it brand new since my buddies in the tri class will make up the bulk of the swimmers for a little while, and they're very cool :cool:
 
Last day of March. The year is already flying.

I've been low on the radar cause not much has changed. Some ol'. I'll take April a little more seriously (especially nutritionally) since I'm planning on a sprint triathlon May 12. It'll be a good intro into the season. One of my friends is doing a half ironman tomorrow in San Diego. I'm contemplating doing one in August. We'll see how the injuries are by then. I get my orthotics on Monday. I've run once a week for a few weeks only a mile at a time. Any more than that and I feel like I'm risky. Once I have the inserts maybe I can finally start building up again. Its my knee that bugs the most. finally got my bike adjusted and tuned up so I hope to ride later on tomorrow. Mostly been spinning but have thrown some more swimming in too. Did a mile swim for time today, 24:11. thats not too good. I feel like the lack of strength training has really affected my pool time. I'll be trying to make more room for it. the weather here is beautiful I had a great turnout with the tri group for swim class today.
 
Had a nice day. I had an opportunity to go ride alone today so I could go my own pace and not worry about anyone or anything. I did 65 miles on the river trail with a 19mph average. 100 oz of water and 3 packs of "gu" later I feel like a train wreck!
 
1 hour spin
back, bi and tri weights

I expected to be sore and tired today for spin after such a long ride over the weekend. I woke up yesterday feeling like I hadn't even done that ride. nothing hurt! Today the only thing that felt sore was my booty. I really need bike shorts. My workout today wasn't too hard. Today my orthotics come in. that means I can finally start running again tomorrow. Five weeks until the sprint tri.
 
Just be careful with the orthotics and bring yourself up to speed - no sense injuring yourself and having to recover from that.
 
stingo said:
Just be careful with the orthotics and bring yourself up to speed - no sense injuring yourself and having to recover from that.
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Yeah, I know, but thanks for the reminder. I've been told its going to take as long to build up as it did to recover, which was like 6 weeks. Any running at this point is going to be fabulous. My knee is still tender so I'll need to get a knee brace to stabilize it. The little band below the knee doesn't work at all. I'm going to start with 1.5-2 miles for the first week and build about half a mile to a mile each week on top of that. For the sprint tri I only have to run 4 miles and at the end of a race my legs will be plenty warmed up, which is frequently the problem. The olympic distance tri in June is a 10K at the end. By that point I should be OK if I'm not stupid with building up.
 
Things are going well. I ran a mile yesterday after spin class, and while it was still tender, it was manageable. I'll ease into it. I'm still afraid to do ANY running, but I know I need to get over it.
Today I went on the bike trail by the river and did hill after hill to get used to my gears. Up till now I haven't used all of them cause I wasn't sure how or when to use them. I went with a friend who showed me and we did a 10 mile stretch of hills 3 times. it was totally exhausting but I was speeding up those hills like they were nothing, all cause I finally know the gears. I am so pleased at how strong my legs are. I really cannot believe the power in them because I've never had "strong" legs before in my life. I guess I'm surprised cause I'm not running, but I have been doing LOADS of cycling and stairs. My strong point has become my bike and my weak point, my run. how funny.
 
ho hum. its getting tiring talking to myself. lol. I must be very uninteresting.
Swam 2500 today and amazed at how tired my arms were from the ride yesterday. I guess I never think of my arms as working much when I ride but I probably do use them a lot to stabilize, especially on hills. I was racing a guy next to me in a lane today. I think its funny when that happens and its an unspoken thing. Then you just kinda half smile and do that "good job" nod when you're ready to get out of the pool. ha.
Coaching the tri group went great. Had 15 people and it was crowded in our 6lane pool. I worked them hard. I am just having a blast with that group. My eating has been ok. I haven't been deathly strict like I was for a while, and enjoy liberties every single day, but its all in balance for sure, and none of it is really garbage. My all time favorite is natty butter right now. I just love that stuff. Anyway, I haven't really been calorie counting but I know generally I still hover around 1300, and its still fairly lower carb which of course, is poor, but whatever, its working for me. My weight is around 134 right now but I have lost more inches in my waist and thighs. that I can tell just in my clothes and my size 4's are fitting. I've added "acellerade" to my workouts and that stuff is GOLD. I love it and now I don't have to add protein to my gatorade, which was kinda nasty. Acellerade also isn't as sweet, which I like cause I can down it easier.
I started using a supplement called "osteo bi-flex" which has glucosamine and chondroitin as its main ingredients and then some other fun stuff. It helps with restoring and maintaining joint health. I've used it as my last resort for my knees and ok, I know that it can't work this fast, but I've been taking it 4 days and I have been feeling SOOOO awesome in my joints. My shoulder wasn't clicking and "catching" today as a swam (its done that for years), and my knees have been feeling very good and cushioned. I even ran a little as part of dry land yesterday with the little kids I coach and had no pain at all. Anyway, I have a lot of other stuff going on like I did get orthotics on Monday, I've been stretching, icing etc. but still, things just feel different. And heck, even if I'm just making this up in my head. I think the power of the mind is HUGE! I'm going to try running a little more tomorrow.
OK so there is my novel for a little while. We are taking the kids on vacation April 20th for 10 days to the Washington Coast. I'm looking forward to the breather. I'll, of course, bring my bike :) That will be right before my sprint tri so I'll need to keep at it somewhat. I may bring a wetsuit too and swim in the ocean.
I hope everyone has a great Easter!
 
Yup the diary area does seem a bit quiet these days - guess people are actually outside doing stuff, not sitting in front of a pc.

I know what you mean about the arms after a ride (even if it is spinning) - when I do my strength training the next day I do notice that my upper body did get a bit of workout the previous night - like you said, stabilizing and such.

I notice your mentioning about supplements - it might be an unreasonable bias of mine, but I can't help but think that if processed foods are bad for you, supplements must be also since they're processed as well - and that more efficient alternatives could be had from whole natural foods. However, I'd be the first to admit ignorance in this area too. :)

Your vacation sounds good (though I'm kind of surprised you're not biking it up and back ;) ) Have a great Easter yourself. :)
 
I'm just lurking around but I'm still here. Congrats on everything you have accomplished and good luck on what you want to accomplish.
 
Well, I do agree Stingo, that for most things supplementation is not needed and should be found, when possible, in whole foods first and foremost. But that being said, I do believe our produce and whole food selection these days is limited in the quality that the typical grocery store provides and thus supplements are a wise idea even if the diet seems "ideal". What I've learned is that glucosamine is a natural sugar made from the shells of shellfish and is a key component of cartilage. It is found naturally in the body but when its lacking due to degeneration of the carilage it may need to be supplemented. I'm not about to knaw on shells outright :) Chondroitin is made from cow and shark cartilage (kinda nasty), also something hard to consume from whole foods. SO in this case I believe in the product and don't believe I could get the same benefits from food. Espeically cause I do feel like my diet is one that "seems" good and I'm still having these problems.
Anyway, thats not to belittle your comment. I totally agree with your thoughts on processed foods and supplements
 
Woot woot! I did 5 mile run yesterday pain free! It was so great and I held 8 min pace the whole time, no issues. I'm now convinced the bike helps preserve running legs. Plan is to run 2 times a week and get to the point where I can spin and run 4-5 miles comfortably at a good clip. I'll try that tomorow.
Happy Easter!
 
Disappointing week. I have not run again since that one day, but the shin splints are back regardless. I coached yesterday for 4.5 hours in flip flops and maybe I didn't realize what a strain that would put on my legs. Sucks. I'm going back to my dr tomorrow and he'll probably order a bone scan or MRI. Its really ridiculous. Its been 2 months of rehabilitation and prevention with no running. Whats funny is that my knee is totally fine, after hurting like crazy for 2 months. Its like they switch off. If the shins hurt, the knee is fine, if the shins are ok, the knee hurts. Well, I'm going to choose to think positively. It'll all work out, I just need to keep doing what I should. Tomorrow I'm doing hills with a friend on my bike. That'll be a lot of fun.
 
Keep your chin up - you'll get it figured out and treat the problem. It's discouraging when your body isn't performing like it should, but like you said, keeping a positive attitude will minimize the impact. Plus you have a lot of other stuff to train in/with - swimming, biking, bosu etc - concentrate on them while you're figuring out your running.
 
Went on a 2 hour ride of ALLL hills today. I'm wiped and really pushed it. Wind gusts of 20 mph too. whew. I feel very strong on the hills though, they're fun to me. Went to the Podiatrist again today who took x-rays and ordered an MRI for my shin issue. seems extreme, but whatever, I'll take anything at this point.
 
Spinning today and bi/tri/back weights. Back on the wagon eating. I actually dropped weight when I ate more loose. ha. I know its not healthy though. I have an MRI for my shins and knee tomorrow. Plan on swimming before that and then tri group after that.
 
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