The slow lane

I'm back at it. This whole week I woke up early to do an hour of core work, and I'm happy to report that I haven't lost everything. In fact, when it comes to yoga/pilates/core work, my strength is there, it not a little shaky at first.

And then there's the endurance part. Yesterday I got in the pool for the first time in almost two months, and in one sense, it went much better than I expected. Freestyle was good; breathing in on my side followed by several strokes breathing out allowed me to take shallow, quick breaths -- as I usually do -- and swim fairly easily. Backstroke, in which my breathing isn't as controlled and uses my full lung capacity, wasn't so good.  My lungs burned and I had to stop to let them calm down.

That was all in the first 10 min., and slowly I made it through just over 40 min. of swimming. Granted, I wasn't going hard or fast, and I had to stop to rest frequently (if only for a few seconds), but I kept it up. Swimming slowly really allowed me to focus on my storke, so that's a plus

The weird thing is that the burning I'm describing had nothing to do with my asthma -- which has been really bad lately -- or anything cardiovascular. My muscles weren't tired and my energy level was good. I just couldn't fill my lungs up with air as much as I wanted -- or needed.

The plan was to try to go to spin tomorrow just to get back on the bike -- I wouldn't expect to keep up. Knowing what I know about cycling and its requiring my lung capacity, I don't think it's a good idea.

I'll get there. I guess it's just going to take a while.

***

I've been scouting what my sprint triathlon would be -- the one I want to have early in the season, June. I'm not so sure it's a good idea at this point. Provided I'm able to go decently hard beginning in April, I'll only have two and a half months. I'd technically be able to complete it, but my time will suck, and I'll get mad about it. Not sure how this'll play out.

Another bullet-list roundup: First week of January

So, blog, it's been a while. Since I wrote last, a few things have happened: 

• I battled my sinus infection and recovered just in time to show my friend Saul from Australia around Chicago. His culinary tour -- he's a foodie, so it was my dream tour guide responsiblities -- including Gino's East pizza, Mixteco Grill, Park Grill for hamurgers, Feast for brunch and, rounding out one of the best night's I've had a in a long time, Blackbird for dinner followed by Violet Hour for cocktails, if only b/c we sorta had a hookup (10 min. wait rather than 2 hours, which we just don't do). Every place we visited was a home run. Clearly there are a lot of topics I can write about here, and maybe I will at some point. I don't feel like detailing the food though at the moment, except to say that Blackbird continues to be an all-around amazing dinner and Violet Hour is just too cool. 
• I loved catching up with my Aussie friend. Brian did, too. Saul's a sociologist and, like me, very interested and fascinated in the normal stuff about a culture, so we spent a day visiting very American things like Jewel food stores, Dunkin Donuts and Target. Yes, I'll definitely have to write about that experience, particularly my trying to shield him from seeing an Oscar-Myer cooked bacon product and answering his puzzled question, "Sara, what are pork chitlins?" Ah, good times.
  
• I'm too lazy to plug in links for this post at the moment. Maybe I'll come back to that.
  
• I stopped doing my flip turns in the pool. They just aren't as smooth and fast as the pseudo-turns I have perfected, and I'm not willing to give that up. 
• My calves and core have really strengthened, and I credit that to my gym: there are a lot more hard core people that I can watch and copy  moves from, and the spin classes are more challenging. I've been more sore, but it's a good sore. 
• I can barely get my heart rate up while I'm swimming these days. I mean, it'll elevate, for sure, but nowhere near what it used to be. Is it because of the longer pool distance making it more difficult for me to hold a sprint? Just being too comfortable at a slower-than-normal pace? I noticed I can't really sprint anymore -- it's like my muscles just don't work that way. Maybe it's because when I do sprint, my arms tense up, and my body hates it. I don't know. I have to work it out. 
• I've had a really good streak at work lately.
• I'm on the fourth book of Twilight, "Breaking Dawn." I almost broke up with "Eclipse" in the last book, when Edward basically tries to hold Bella hostage to protect her. Then he apologize, and I came back. It's like an abusive relationship, I wrote on my Facebook status update, but at least I know the difference between a book and reality -- and do not mirror Bella's behavior. 
• I would totally hook up with Edward. I mean, ya know, if he were in real life and I didn't have Brian. :) 
  
• Have read the thousands of pages in the Twilight series, it's becoming clearer to me why I feel so obsessed with it. Some of it I cannot write here. Some of it is as simple as wanting to indulge in a passionate story about two intoxicating characters (or rather, an intoxicating character and his insecure love).
• Barring random circumstances, I will be in Vegas a week from tomorrow for work. I need to find some dining buddies; my coworker friends who I like to catch up with won't be going. Not that I don't like my coworkers that are going, but I see them all the time and like to use this annual trip as a time to try some good restaurants and see coworkers I don't worth with as closely.
  

I promise to get back into topical blogs rather than this mish mash I'm trying to pass off, guiltily typing away so I don't have a month's worth of news to write in one post.

The Big Olympic Distance Tri Debate

Guess what:
1) I can now do flip turns in the pool!
2) I'm now running twice a week, albeit briefly (up to a mile and a half after a swim).
3) If I want to shave about $40 off the price of the Chicago Triathlon, I have until Dec. 31 to do so -- and thus decide on Olympic distance racing versus another sprint.

The flip turns just came to me one day. I'd technially learned how to do them in college but could never get my breathing down well enough that I felt comfortable turning my body entirely upside down and breathing out. Then this weekend  -- a good 8 years after I'd been taught flip turns -- I said to myself, Sara, you're going to do a flip turn. And I practiced, and it came easily, and I kept practicing. And then I got into a rhytym where I kept 'em up. If I botched one, I'd swim back and try it again. I'm still not as efficient as my pseudo turn I'd adapted over the years, but I'll get there.

The running thing is a big step for me. I figure if I ran twice a week and added a half mile every two weeks I can def. work my way up to six miles. And if I don't have time for all that in the morning -- it would eat into my core training time -- I could do a short run during the week and a longer run on a weekend. This is all a big hope, but we'll see.

And as for the Olympic distance event, I'm nearly there and ready to commit. It's scary. There's a big jump from sprints to Olympic, and I could be finishing the race in a lot of pain. But I just keep the Bangs Lake Aquabike in my head: I did the Olympic distance swim followed by a hilly-and-windy-as-fuck 25-mile bike and felt I could still run. So throw in some training and BOOM, I'm there.

The plan: a sprint in June or July; the Aquabike in July or August (whenver it is); and the Olympic distance at Chicago.

Now I just have to hit register and we're all good.

A 5k Should Be Easier Without the Swim and Bike, Right?

Before the heat of the moment passes, I wanted to tell you about this Sunday's Run for Chocolate, which is by far one of the best races I've done in a while because of the location, organization, route, and perfect amount of chocolate. It was my first 5k since October 2006 because of the strain running has put on my knees and having to essentially ditch running. I stopped signing up for 5ks to instead "conserve" my knees for the 5ks in triathlons.

So I wasn't sure what to expect from Sunday's run. I went in realizing I didn't care about time. As we lined up, I loved not having the pressure to gut it out. I was calm and relaxed.

Of course, I spoke too soon. Brian and I took off, and I felt my adrenaline and the energy from the crowd of 12,000 people all moving down the same path propel me. I decided to push myself and not hold back -- I always have to hold back b/c of my knees, and did I really know how far I could take it? Besides, I figured, wouldn't it be a helluva lot easier to push the limits not having swam and biked first?

The good news is that I have a new personal best time for myself, 3.1 miles in 27:27, which is I think an 8:51 pace. I really pushed it toward the end, too! And it felt great. Bonus: amazing hot chocolate and the perfect portion of chocolate fondue (pictured) post-race. [Update: Not everyone had it so lucky -- especially if you ran the 15k. Read Flour Girl's account here.]

The bad news is my right knee is killing me. It's two days later, and in the pool this morning -- the three laps I did -- my knee hurt while I was swimming. It's as if all I built up -- being able to run sporadically -- has crumbled and my workout routines now affected, all because of my stupid knees. I think I do better at triathlon 5ks because my joints and muscles are completely warmed up by the time I get to the run and, at that point, I don't have it in me to go all-out, which is bad for me knees. I do the light jogs my joints will allow, and it seems to work well.

I need to rest and lay off the workout for another day, which does NOT make me happy but at least allows me the opportunity to work on all the other stuff (resume, homework, my own Web site, getting enough sleep, etc.) I need to accomplish. But it sucks to do so well and then get taken right back to injury.

I did schedule that appointment with Coach Leach I mentioned earlier, btw, and meet with him in two weeks. I wonder where I'll be then?

My New Favorite Stroke

Hear ye, hear ye: I have a new favorite stroke. For the past four swims I've incorporated about 10 min. of backstroke, and it's fun and also very efficient. I'm good at it, too (unlike writing ads, but that's a different blog).

The best part is my heart rate stays up. I was hesitate to do backstroke because the people I generally see doing it are lazying around. They're usually overweight and not committed to their workout at the time I'm watching them. That's fine, but the image doesn't make me want to jump into it. I've also been afraid -- for the past two years -- to not do freestyle, which is what 99 percent or so of triathletes do in the water. Why wouldn't I try to perfect it?

I've had it all wrong. I did learn proper backstroke technique in college but only jumped back into it when I read a sentence in a swim column in Triathlete magazine: Doing the backstroke makes you stand taller, and you develop leaner muscles. Here's to the power of the written word, because that image of a tall, thin swimmer stuck with me. (Note how much images influence me? Or is it ignorance?) The article dove into detail (no pun intended) about  all the benefits. I was convinced. And I appreciate the variety to my workout, too.

That's actually what the off-season is about: variety. Trying new things without the pressure of going hard each time. Going slow so you can focus on technique. What will next week bring?

Swimming As It Should Be

Good news! I had to tear myself away from the pool this morning. This is huge, because although I enjoy swimming, I ended the season tired of it. Tired of the sore muscles, tired of trying to go faster, tired of my inefficienty stroke.

I mentioned how when I jumped back into my routine I first swam super slow so I could concentrate on my stroke. Today I got in the pool (perfect temperature for me!) and began slow, making sure I could feel efficient in the water. Then, when I got the rhythm going, I picked up a little speed. The result: a perfectly elevated heart rate (about 80 percent), more calories than I'm used to burning (453 in 40 min.) and swimming as fast or faster than the "fast swimmers" in the pool (I'm sure I'll detail character sketches at some point). It was awesome.

I know I'm swimming efficiently when I can actually feel the glide of the water, as opposed to just feeling the slap of the water and burn in my chest. When my stroke is solid, I can tell the water's slipping past quite strongly; I'm rotating my hip in line with my stroke (but not overreaching) and finishing the stroke underwater, as opposed to pulling my arm out too quick. I can feel myself being propelled by a kick that's in sync with my hip and arm; usually, even though it's fun, I tire more easily without elevating my heart rate and am uncomfortable.

That's it: I was comfortable in the water today, even while I got a solid cardio workout in. I'm a strong swimmer when I race, performing slightly above average to better than most, depending on the race. But I'm not always enjoying it, and I'm sure as hell not always efficient. I hope I can keep this up!

Btw, I also mixed in some backstroke and found that to be a lot more efficient -- while providing a good cardio workout -- too. I've been keen on working the backstroke in after reading an article in Triathlete magazine about how swimmers who incorporate backstroke balance out their muscle development and stand taller.Sounds like a plan to me.

***

I just got off the phone with Cynthia, my good friend. She's in the UP of Michigan right now, but she's mentally in Chicago, here hometown. We were on the phone for almost 3 hours! Hey, it's what you gotta do when you can't meet in person.

Work was kinda crappy today, but the day started on a good note and ended on a good note. What more could I want?

90% Decided on the Olympic Distance Tri

It's been a week since I resumed my workout routine, and I'm already sore. I'm also almost done convincing myself to commit to an Olympic-distance triathlon, which is double the distance I usually race.  Considering my bad knees, it would be a huge accomplishment for me.

Here's my reasoning: I've already done an aquabike (Olympic distance swim and bike) and just need to nail down the 6-mile run. That's it! I can do a 5k (3.1 miles) now, but here's the catch: I have great days and really sucky days. Some days I'm flying and feel great afterward; other days, I have to stop 10 min. into it b/c of the pain. And if I do get solid run in, the recovery is iffy, too: sometimes I'm totally fine and can do a heavy lower-body workout again after a day of rest without problems. Other times, I might be able to continue to work out but will have significant knee pain for several days -- or a week -- after.

That's where I'm at after this past weekend. Because of my Olympic distance dreams, I jumped back into working out by incorporating a run into my week, so I can see how it feels to regularly jog (the past two seasons I basically winged it on race days). I've figured out that I'm much more successful and pain-free if I run when my legs are well-warmed up, either after biking or swimming or at the end of the day, so that's what I did on Sunday. (Icing, taking Aleve and massaging/stretching my muscles well is a given.) But lo and behold, pain. I squeaked out 3.2 miles in 32 min., which I'm really appreciative of being able to do, but I was in pain and basically kept going until the adrenaline covered up the pain. That's how I got to where I'm at now, so it's not a practice I want to keep up. (For the concerned friends out there, just know that if the pain doesn't go away, I do stop. It ain't worth ruining my knees entirely).

So that's where I'm at: the test-phase. Perhaps I should see a running or tri coach...

***

By the way, being back at the gym is great. I really like seeing the people I've come to look forward to in the mornings, and it feels good to slowly build up to where I was at the end of August. That said, I'm not breaking any records. I swam much more slowly today, barely getting up to 70 percent of my heart rate, and really tried to focus on my stroke. I did a few laps of the breast stroke and backstroke -- I stick to freestyle normally -- to shake things up and didn't worry about my calories (300 burned during the same time I'd normally do 400). I'll kick it into higher gear in November or maybe the coming weeks, but for now, this is good.

Another Season Down, Almost Injury-Free

I found out today that I have ulnar neuritis. The name sounds a lot worse than it is, but basically the nerve that runs on the outside of my arm from my elbow to wrist has been aggravated, and I need to rest it. It's a common sport injury from tennis, cycling and swimming. I do two of the three.

The good news is that it isn't painful, per se, but it does make the top of my wrist, fingers and forearm tingle and ache. When you're a writer like me or finishing up a triathlon season, like I was when the problem started, it's hard to rest it.

The timing is good, b/c I go easy in September, but it's bad b/c I'd really like to be able to get outside more for fun rather than just quit altogether. I don't have to go cold turkey, but if I want to jump back into a routine in October, I need to lay off. I need exercise to keep me happy, so this'll be a challenge.

Most athletes get injuries of some sort much worse than mine, and I'm amazed that they're able to push as hard as they do until something does pop up. I don't consider myself a die-hard athelete. I do work out regularly and push myself, but I'm not going hard-core distances. I'm above the casual athelete but not much more serious.

I feel like as soon as I get into something and push myself, my body reminds me that it's just not cut out for going hard. When I got into running faster and farther -- up to 5 miles regularly -- that's when my knees freaked out. Even physical therapy and strengthening my muscles didn't cure me enough. I basically can run 3 miles with minimal pain.

When I cycle, I'm cardiovascularly able to go farther than I do. But then my knees kick in and remind it's time to take it easy.

If I swim too much, no matter how much or what variety of stretching I do, I start to get muscle damage.

So I feel stuck in this range, with improvement in going harder but for shorter periods, or going longer but not as hard. Can't do both. I'd love to be able to train for an Olympic Distance triathlon, but considering the small increments I'm able to push myself, it seems like it would be more painful than fun. And it's always supposed to be fun, right?

But I'll try! I'll keep at it. And in the meantime, I'll rest up. Gotta listen to my body to stay injury-free.