Altitude sickness. Blech!

I've returned from Salt Lake City! And Park City, and the Sundance Film Festival. it was glorious. But it is time to get back to work, and this week is going to be a busy one. On that note, this is going to be short and sweet:

Running: 25 - 20 miles (I know what you are thinking. But I am going to try, anyway!)

Swimming: 4 times. Ish.

Cycling: 3 times. (We shall see how this goes, too. My legs might not be too happy with me come Sunday).

I found some other fascinating triathlon blogs that had neat tricks and tools. I am super-excited to incorporate those into my humble, little page! Also, I entertained a brief thought to do a FULL Ironman this fall. But then remembered how miserable that full marathon was. That is a goal that shall wait.

Oh, and not that this has anything to do with ironman-anything, but I just realized that I need a haircut. Again!

Argh.

I am frustrated. I have been at this for three weeks (OK, admittedly that's not that long) but I feel like I am just getting bigger. And eating more. A lot more. Maybe I should look into nutrition plans. I feel like I am just getting larger and larger...and it's making me really sad. I know there is a slender me in there somewhere!

This morning it was up and at 'em early for spin class, abs class, and lifting weights. I like getting back into the weights things, but I just need to control this eating-thing.

I'm leaving for SLC tomorrow morning and my body is very, very tired. So, I am not going to get up early to go swim. I think I am going to take tomorrow off. As well as the next few days. I come back on Sunday evening, so I can take a break until Monday morning at least. I started an online food diary and food journal, so we shall see how that goes. And I found a lot of other fun triathlon and ironman blogs....I got distracted while looking for half-ironman plans.

Before I leave tomorrow, here is a recap from the week:

Swimming: 2 times

Spin class: 2 times + 2 ab classes + 2 weightlifting sessions

Running: 1 time; 3 miles; around the park with Pat and Miguel.

WHat is really funny is that I just got an email today from the Austin half marathon. I DID indeed sign up for it. And I completely forgot about it. My chances of canceling are quite high. I might go; I don't know....

Lifting

If Marilyn could do it, then so can I!

After spin class this morning, I lifted for the first time...in a long time. Truthfully, my goal is to keep up with my mother. The woman is so strong. I want to be able to go lift with her and hold my own. The times I tried to keep up with her over the holidays, I failed miserably at this feat.

It felt pretty good to lift some weights again! I remember Trainer Ken telling us that of any and all sports and hobbies, lifting weights are an extremely important complement to your training to both increase and maintain your strength. That is my plan. I figure lifting just twice a week will be plenty of strength training.

Another gorgeous day in Houston, Texas. And, a perspective client, J.D. came to see us from California! It was a treat that she came all this way for due diligence purposes. I hope it works out, and it was wonderful to be there for Dad. Although, I DID somewhat feel like I was starring as Sonny (well, preferably Michael) in a scene straight from the Godfather: the Don, consigliere, understudy, and all. And, indeed, this was all at lunch.

Recovery

Today was a glorious day! It is January 24 and I wore a sundress and sandals all day today. This is why Houston is the greatest city in the world.

First of all, as promised, here is a count of last week's practices:

1.) Swimming - 4 times

2.) Cycling - 1 time + core conditioning + (mini) lifting. Which I promise to do more of this week.

3.) Running - 2 times = ~13 miles (5 on Tuesday and 8-9 on Saturday).

About 80% of the set goal was achieved. Yes! It feels so good to be getting back to my normal self! Today was a recovery day. My body was so happy to sleep in a little bit this morning. I went to church and helped with the kids, which was so fun. We all went to lunch...which I really should do more often because I am acting anti-church-social. No! We have such a cute, loving little church family. I had lunch with Laura and Dan before running off to the apartment to pack up.

Dad volunteered his services, so I recruited him to come on over and help me move the stuff back to the house. The reason I am mentioning all of this is because technically, this is a workout. A lifting of weights, of sorts. we moved about 20 trips worth of stuff into the car, and home, and upstairs to my room, which I will heretofore refer as "my suite." Because it is huge. I did not realize how enormous it is. My arms are pretty beat from listing furniture and kids all day today! But it was wonderful. Tomorrow it is back to the grind and back to work/school. Here are the goals (although I am leaving on Thursday):

1.) Swimming - 4 times

2.) Cycling - 2 times + 2 core classes + 2 lifting sessions

3.) Running - 2 times (5-10 miles)

Check it

Quick status; because I know we have all been waiting with bated breath:

Swimming: 4 times (Yes!)

Cycling: Once

Running: Once; but am planning on running tomorrow a.m. Stay tuned on that one.

Speaking of swimming, Pappas Burgers is the greatest place on earth. I forgot how exercising makes one hungry ALL of the time. I came so close to eating the napkin I was so hungry (check facebook status for rundown of the day. My poor strategic cost team).

Tick Tock Team

I am sitting at my parent's house watching the clock (hence, one of the reasons for the title of this post) and waiting for my Mom to get ready so I can take her to the airport. The latest bonding activity for Mom and me is watching Bones. It is such an awesome show. Bones called the tac team the tick tock team, and Mom and I just about fell of of our chairs from laughing so hard. Poor Bones! So clueless...so funny! But then, that is the point.

My legs are quite sore. Yesterday I went to a spin class in the morning, then the core conditioning class (which was beyond difficult), and lifted weights. I am in pain!

I was going to swim last night, too, but (a) it was raining...not enough to cancel practice, but enough to give me an excuse to flake out, (b) I wanted to take Dad to the airport (yes, I am running an airport shuttle service of late), and (c) Sharmin, Carin, and myself went to the Brazos Bookstore

last night for Robyn O'Brien's book signing event since she is a keynote speaker at the NAWMBA conference in a few weeks. We wanted to formally welcome her, hear what she had to say, and make a plug for the conference.

Why am I sitting here at my parent's house at 6:40 a.m., you ask? Well, I have actually been up for two hours. I promised Merry that I would run with her this morning. So, at 4:30, up and at 'em I was, sore thighs and all, and out the door. Little did I know that Pat went swimming and Merry overslept. So no one showed up. I was actually relieved when Merry sent that text because I thought I was late and they all left me! I told Merry it was no problem, I needed to be up to get Mom anyways. But, wait! The plot thickens: I thought I would go swimming instead. I drove back to the apartment and packed up a bag full of books since I am moving back to the 'rents' house. I thought I could take this shift of books over this morning. It was only 5:35 a.m. at this point. I drove around Rice, not once but twice, to debate about swimming this morning. I thought 'well, I'm here, I might as well go," but then thought 'I don't want to blow out my body and be wiped out all day when I really want to swim this afternoon more than this morning.' The deciding factor was....my hair!

I had my hair cut and highlighted two days ago at roughly 1:30 p.m. So, it has not quite been 48 hours yet. Not enough time for the color to set. And THAT was the straw that broke the camel's back: I did not want to tarnish my hair. I figured I would let it set for at least 48 hours and then swim this afternoon. How I am looking forward to getting back in the water!

The core class yesterday kicked me on many levels. I will no longer puff myself up by thinking I have a strong core. Perhaps that was true at one point in my life, but definitely not now.

Also, Robyn O'Brien's event was fascinating: I had no idea our food supply was so chemicalized. I am afraid to eat ever again! I borrowed her book from Sharmin and can't wait to read it. I hope to have it read by the conference and will buy it in paperback or on kindle. Did you know that Tartezine (Yellow 5) is linked to kids' hyper-activity and manufacturing companies to not utilize the chemical in foods in countries outside of the United States?

http://www.robynobrien.com/

And back to the main topic: An update for the week:

Swimming: 1 done (well, this was Monday's practice before the game, so really it was/felt like 2)

Running: 1 done (Tuesday morning; 5 miles)

Cycling: 1 done + core class + lifting (yesterday morning)

Plan for remainder of the week: At least 3 swimming (maybe 4: Sunday. Depends on how tired I am.) 1 running (Saturday morning; 10 miler); unfortunately no more spinning classes until next week. I'll give another update on either Saturday or Sunday for accountability's sake.

Rockets - 101: Bucks - 98

Swimming: 1 down; 4 to go. We made it! Barely. I think my body is still adjusting. And I forgot how I am hungry all of the time when getting into shape. This has to stop!

On my way over to the pool, Doug called to invite me to the Rockets game today. I now I am an alternate, but that's OK! He does a season ticket share deal. The seats were awesome! Courtside; I think Battier almost sweated on me. I like the new rookie chap - Chase Budinger? Thumbs up; he did great.

101 to 98 in one overtime. It was an awesome game! I might have to start becoming a basketball fan! It was just the thing to wrap up a holiday afternoon before coming home to finish homework and getting ready to run tomorrow. Ugh. I am SO nervous about getting back out on the road!

Wipeout

I swam yesterday (Saturday) morning in a noble attempt. But my muscles were not going to have any of that nonsense. I had over-done it this week for the first week back and my arms and legs gave out. On top of all of this I was in the worst pain imaginable from the monthly bills. Ugh.

To make things even funnier, my body was demanding protein. I started craving a tuna sandwich at about 7:30 a.m. I cleaned up, got some work together, and drove out to the 'rents' house, and had lunch. Then promptly had a long one-on-one with the toilette. No fun. But the protein was worth all of that pain! I was struggling like you cannot imagine!

So, after allowing one day for recovery and getting things done, the deal for this coming week for half-ironman beginning training will be:

1.) Swimming: 5 times

2.) Spin Class: 2 times

3.) Running: 2 times (hopefully around 12-15 miles)

I am sure I will keep you posted throughout this week, but I will give you a full report next Sunday.

5-for-5

To answer my self-addressed question in Wednesday's post, I swam! Before even getting in the water, I was ready to get out after about 2,000...but I finished! And I have swam every day this week. Even amidst pain of a distinctively feminine kind. You know what I'm talking about. It stinks. Guys have no idea how good they've got it. AND they can pee while standing. What?

Have I yet to download, or even look for a half-ironman training plan? No. Am I worried about this whole half-ironman thing and stressed already from all of these problems at school that just keep coming? Yes. It is a mess and a half. Makes me even more proud of myself that I am determined to take the bare minimum of classes this term. Thank goodness.

I really would like to run tomorrow morning. Reminder: I have been swimming to shed some excess pounds to get back on the road. But it is going to be raining nonstop every hour on the hour and during the hour until Sunday. Just in time for the Houston marathon! It should be gorgeous on Sunday, the city is excited.

So, we shall see about running tomorrow morning. If that does not happen, I will definitely swim and might perhaps piddle around on the treadmill. But as a bon voyage momento: His Majesty, King Al sent a t-shirt voting request to Lane 13. The mottos were awesome. I have my favorites narrowed down to 18. Among them:

Shall this be the new Lane 13 M.O.? Stay tuned to find out.....Good Night!

To swim or to nap? I don't care what Hamlet said, THIS is the real question.

This train is moving....spin class this morning with Andrew and company and we were flyin', and my thighs are fryin'! Now, after 4 hours of class today, the question is whether or not to go to swim practice? No, I am not brave enough to run yet. There is still excess weight to be shed before making the sneakers hit the pavement en force.

I hasten to add that during the 4 hours of class I almost fell asleep multiple times from muscle exhaustion. But it has been so long since I have felt that way that it was absolutely wonderful!

Running 9 miles with MPRC: T-2.5 days. Yikes.

I still am concerned that this blog is just not that interesting. I will repeat what was said in the first post: HOW interesting can it be listening to anyone, especially me, talk about exercising for days on end? One wonders. Yet, we have all already had so much fun. I am lucky to be around such a crazy group of people. Between King Al and the Royal Court of Lane 13, Andrew and The Spinsters, and Merry and the Thoroughbred Gazelles, we are beside ourselves to train for whatever the next event may be!

2500

2500 yards. That was our swimming workout today. Did I lift weights? Ummm, no. That will just have to wait for another day. Like Thursday. Or maybe tomorrow if I am feeling brave. (Didn't I say this yesterday?). Jami and I cut a deal today: we are BOTH going to make an[other] effort to come every day. Consistently. We've both got to step it up and get in faster lanes. Closer to the thoroughbreds.

Stress-ing.....10 months and 2 days to go!

Will I ever get back into shape?

We just got back from South America yesterday, and I fully realized how much weight I have gained and how out of shape I have gotten over the past 4 months. Admittedly, this was due to mono; but it is still depressing no matter how one looks at it. Ugh. Will running/cycling/swimming ever come back?

I went to a spin class this morning and swim practice this afternoon. Delightful exhaustion. It has been a while since my muscles felt like this. Of course, I am terrified that I won't get back into shape in time. There is so much to do and still one semester left of school....and the projects never seem to end. And running! All of sudden I am scared to run. It's probably because I feel heavier, and am weaker, and everything is so much more difficult than I remember. I am going to swim and bike this week, then definitely get back out and run next week with the weekday group. If I am feeling exceptionally brave then I will join the group on Saturday morning for a long run. The Houston marath

on is this weekend; thank God I am not in it!

In other news, South America was totally worth falling off the get-back-in-shape regimen. It was so wonderful and Buenos Aires is my new favorite global city. It is fascinating; and the history! Ah....so beautiful. I tried to run with some classmates there, but my legs were having none of that nonsense.

And to fully i

mmerse myself in the must-get-in-shape mode, I am chopping off all of my hair. South America was so hot, and my hair has gotten so long. I refuse to put up with it any longer. Pooh on what others think. They do not have to put up with thick, wavy dark locks that weigh more than one's head! I am thinking: hair that will allow easy use when working out constantly: pixie hair cut. Like Ashley Judd (convenient picture).

Now, I am not claiming to pull this off as cute as Ashley....but enough is enough! It's time to hunker down and work, and this 20-minutes-of-blow-drying is not going to cut it by any stretch.

Tomorrow is swimming...and weights. Yes, it is time. My muscles are totally gone and my body has inflated itself. This must stop. Next week the goal is to download half-ironman training plans. And hop to it.