Doctors do more than heal

Doctors are great, don't get me wrong. They know stuff. Provide healing drugs. Listen (usually). But they also take a lot out of you! I think about the amount of time I spent heading to the offices, waiting in the office, waiting in the room, waiting to be realized vs. the time I spent with the doctor. Dang... Oh well, its a necessary evil.

I am feeling better, but not quiet enough to try and do a workout, or two. I decided to sleep and rest more today and try to get a good long workout in tomorrow and Sunday.

I hope everyone is staying healthy!! Have a great weekend

Trying to Fight it Off

It's been awhile since I have been sick and there is something going around the office. It's no surprise when it's 55 degrees one day and 30 the next; up to 47 and down to 34 - you get the idea. The temperature change is not good for the immune system and it makes scheduling the workouts - and the outfits to wear, a bit more difficult.

So, I left work early today and took a 2 hour nap. I will make up my swim over the weekend. I might try to sit on Carlos for my 45 minute ride in a bit. Sometimes sweating out the cold works - sometimes it makes it worse. I was going to try and run before work tomorrow, but who knows if that will happen, along with my swim I am scheduled to do after work. Boo to all of this!!

Either way, there is a high of 48 and 52 on Saturday and Sunday. I am hoping to get outside both days for my run and bike. And the weather starts to stay consistent!

UPDATE - I did bike my 45 minutes and feel a little better. I didn't turn on the fan and just sweated it out. Hopefully it helped... tomorrow will tell all.

Time Gets Away From Me So Easily!

Sorry for not posting yesterday. Rest won over turning on my computer. It's only Wednesday and I am already beat. 6 workouts down, 6 to go...

Yesterday was a decent treadmill run and swim. Not too much exciting to report.

This morning was pretty awesome. I had to do a brick (bike immediately followed by a run) this week and this morning was really the only time I could fit it into my schedule. Jess kicks some butt as a friend and offered to come into the city to run the 35 minutes with me before work. How great is that!?!? So, I had get my booty out of bed and onto Carlos so when she showed up at 7:30 am, we could take off on the run. The plan would have gone smoothly if Metro was running on a normal schedule. But, it still worked pretty well. We had a pretty good run (at least I think we did ;-) and I can not thank Jess enough for helping me out.

The rest of the day I was pretty tired - okay utterly exhausted. But, it's all worth it... right?!?!

Holy Hard Week!!

Wow, this is going to be a week...

5 runs, 4 bikes and 3 swims.
It's good and needed, but still. And I found out today from Coach that I won't be switching to distance - I will be staying with time for the bikes and runs. It's going to take me awhile to get used to this. A 45 minute run for me is 3-4 miles while others its 6-7 miles. I trust Coach, I do. He has done really good things with my running and heart rate so far. However, being such a back of the pack person, I need to make sure I put in the miles. Roxanne said it was fine, not a bad direction to go and that helped a lot. I just need to believe and trust.

Today started off with a lunch tempo run. It went pretty well, much better than yesterday. 5 minutes less and pretty much the same distance. Someday the short run progress has got to move into the long.

Tonight was a trainer bike ride. Nothing to exciting, just a steady ride while I watched TV. What did I watch you are wondering... a little show called The Tudors. I mean, Jonathan Rhys Meyers... so pretty.

Blah Run

After I have such a great workout like I did yesterday, I almost expect them all to be so good. When they aren’t, I get a bit disappointed. That is what happened today. I started at Beach Drive with Rose and Jess was already out and about on the trail. I ran with Rose for a bit, where she pushed me for the first 10 minutes or so before I sent her on her speedy way. After that, my HR never really went down. It road starts up hill the first half, so that was my excuse. After I turned around, I kept trying to go faster, but couldn't keep my HR down. I also tried a 6:1, which might have been a bit ambitious for me to try.

I did see a rather strange thing... A girl was running, stopped to stretch, did a cartwheel, and continued to run. I just found someone doing a cartwheel in the middle of a run a bit on the strange side.

So this week has had it's ups and downs, knowing I will be able to do this race and convincing my self I shouldn't even try. My friends have been great, keeping me focused and positive.

This week should be a hard week so hopefully all will go well!

What A Great Class!!

I almost backed out of today's spin class. I let my insecurities get the best of me to often when it comes to training with others. But, I sucked it up and went anyway. What a great decision! This is one of the best experiences I have had with the DC Tri club, and a bike shop in general.

There as one other girl there (I didn't ask if I could use her name so we will just call her B) and the instructor - that was it. There was no where to hide. But it was so worth it. We started pedaling and immediately my seat and form was corrected. How great is that!?! Free help from a great coach! We did about 75 minutes of spinning, high intervals, recovery, standing, and 'time trial pace'. And, I learned the proper way to stand up and sit down! Something I don't do, because I couldn't do it well - and often fall. Now I know how!!

B is awesome and she is doing the Cherry blossom 10 miler, Columbia, and a half about a week after my half. B says she is a back of the pack racer too and lives pretty close to my apartment. YAY, a new friend to train and talk tri with!

Also, The Bike Rack was so great! They opened the shop early for the spin class and adjusted my seat and cleats. But the best part, NO JUDGEMENT!! They were super nice, friendly, helpful - so great!!

AND - I wore my new shorts. NO PAIN! Woo-Hoo! I came home and bought another pair. Rox told me that as soon as I find something I like, I will buy it no matter the price. So true.

Anyway, it was a great class, good day and one of those really positive experiences.

I Did My Good Duty of the Day!

Today I did something I haven't done in awhile. I gave blood. They have blood drives in my office and I thought I could use some good karma, so I decided to donate. I went down with 2 co-workers, both who were turned down for different reasons.

My experience has gone better in the past. Let's just say I wound up lying back with my feet up, sipping a Coke (which by the way I have no idea the last time I had a soda, let along a Coke) and a wet towel around my neck. But, I am glad I did it and hopefully I will be able to do it again, without close to passing out.

It was my day off so I figured it was a good chance to do something a little different, and for others. Hopefully it won't affect my workout tomorrow morning. I signed up for a 90 minute spin class. This one is a bit different - I bring Carlos and my trainer and get my butt kicked by an instructor. Hopefully all goes well!!

Sprit of the Marathon movie vs. The Spice Girls

It's an odd comparison, I know but that is the way DC was yesterday.

They had a second showing of this independent film and I was really excited because I missed the first one. So, Rose, Merissa, Jess and I got tickets (Thanks Rox!!) and were excited to be inspired by the movie.

We go to dinner at Potbelly, and something seems different. There are packs of similar looking girls, wearing North Face jackets and sparkly tops and/or headbands, with a mom. Okay, that screams concert. We brainstormed for a bit and then it hit us; The Spice Girls were in town.

Heading into the movie, I see packs of really fit people, who all look a bit similar. Maybe these two groups of people have more in common than they think.
1. Each group looks like the people around them
2. There was squealing in both groups
3. People dressed the part (Girls in pig tales, guys in short shorts and running shoes)

The best comment came from a woman in the theater 3 rows back after she heard there was a Spice Girls concert going on "Ohhhh, that's why those girls were dressed like that!".

Anyway, the movie was great. I highly recommend seeing it, and bring a tissue.

I feel like I should be doing more

It's a base week and I do appreciate the down time, but overall, it's a bit hard on the mind. I plan my week and get a day off. I get my workout in during lunch, and I am back within an hour. I do doubles but it doesn't really feel like it because they are shorter swims and 30 minutes on the bike/run. I know that in a few weeks/months... I will look at this post and wish for this feeling again.

And, thanks to Kristin, I ran outside to see something I have never seen before. A lunar eclipse. For me, one of my favorite things is staring up into the night sky. It calms me. It is one of the main reasons I LOVED having Audrey (my convertible). There is something about the twinkling of the stars, infinite space, being so small but not feeling small. I can't really explain it, but I do enjoy it enough to run outside, a few times, with a 30 degree outside temperature that feels like 18 degrees.

Getting Tired Again

Not too bad of a day today, but I don't think I really every fully woke up. I just felt tired all day. I did make it to the pool, where I ran into my brother Arin. We chatted for a few minutes and I hopped in as he hopped out. It was a decent, 2500M straight swim, not great, not bad. I will take it.

Not much else is going on. In a bit of sad news, and I use the term lightly, but The Awakening has moved. It was the only thing to look at while running/biking around Hains Point. The bus loads of tourists did get annoying, but that happens everywhere around here.

I may actually leave the District to see it in his new home.