07 September 2005

I don't think I could have a chronic health condition,

I'd be too big a baby about it. My ankles have been feeling really good for the past couple of days and today on the schedule was a 3 mile run. Now I haven't actually "run" any real distance in a while because of my ankles, I've been walking/running. So, feeling particularly good, I decided my goal was to run the entire 3 miles, speed be damned!! I recently subscribed to a podcast by Steve Runner so I qued that up on my iPod and set off. The podcast I listened to was his Falmouth race and it was perfect. As I ran I felt like I too was running in a race. I could hear the crowd and all the noises of a race, it was awesome. Also, Steve is a great narrator. After a slow start I was feeling pretty strong and halfway through decided to crank it up just a little; and that worked well too. Bottom line: 3.25 miles in 38 minutes. Not record breaking but great for me.

This run may not do much in the overall scheme of my training but it has given me confidence. Every walk or run is laced with fear of reinjuring myself. I can't walk the dogs without thinking about how not to twist my ankle. I watch every single step I take I am so incredibly paranoid. Just thinking of running makes me break out in a cold sweat and my stomach roil. So this run was more about battling fear than battling the clock. So this morning was a HUGE success and I'm stoked.

06 September 2005

People who live in glass houses.....

This is a link to Louisana's Emergency Operation Plans for the area affected by Katrina.
http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/plans/EOPSupplement1a.pdf This outlines what each parish was supposed to do; what the governor was supposed to do; what everyone was supposed to do. Seems to me like noone has read this. Just one item:

5. The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles.
School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles
provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation
for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in
evacuating.

Seems to me like any finger pointing needs to be pointed right back at state officials.

In the department of "I'd never thought I''d live to say these words", the head of the NAACP and I agree; help people first, there'll be time for finger placing blame later..

05 September 2005

Sometimes winging it is the only way to go!!

I was feeling kind of down this weekend because I had to miss two races due to my stinking ankles. That and the fact that my tri is in 2 weeks was wigging me out. A couple of weeks ago I had decided it would be a good idea to haul my bike to Waikiki and ride the tri course before the race. Where I live is pretty flat with only some minor hills and the bike course of the tri is up over Diamond Head; whew, think I need to practice that. So I got up fairly early this morning and decided to go and ride the course. I arrived in Waikiki around 8:00 am, hunted down a legal parking space, got my gear all situated and was ready to go.

The first 100m or so is pretty flat but then there is a consistent uphill for a good mile or so. Also, the tradewinds were really gusting today so sometimes I'm going uphill and into a strong headwind, oh what fun!! Got through that and then it's the 18th Ave. hill, luckily going down. Fly down that to Kilauea Ave. That's pretty flat with a slight up grade towards the end. Turn on Makaiwa then Moho then Kealaolu. Follow this along the Waialae Country Club to Kahala Ave. Follow Kahala up to Paikau St. There is a significant uphill near the end of Kahala that was somewhat unexpected. Turn on Paikau along Diamond Head road to 18th Ave and do another loop. After the 2nd loop it's up over Diamond Head, which I was fearing but turned out to be not so bad, down through Kapiolani Park to the finish line (in my head anyway:). This turned out to be a pretty good ride. There were moments when I was pedaling into some major headwinds but hey, this is Hawaii, it happens....

As I was nearing the end of the ride I thought maybe I'd make this a brick and go for a run. When I got back to the car I realized it was still early so I took off running. Until I had these ankle issues, running was my favorite part and I was really good at it. Since these injuries though I am absolutely scared of running. I ended up doing more walking than running and not doing the entire run course, but still a brick nonetheless.

Towards the end of the walk/run I thought, why don't I do the swim too. I'm right here and I've never swam in this part of Waikiki, why don't I just do it?? So I did. Changed my shoes for slippers, grabbed my towel and goggles, and headed off for the beach. Turns out swimming there is very similar to swimming at my house so that's good to know. Since there were no buoys I had to guesstimate the distances. On the course map it looks like the swim doesn't go as far as the Aquarium so I figured if I swam from the lifeguard tower to the Aquarium and back that should be more then the distance. So off I went and had a pretty good swim.

After I was done I was very pleased with myself. I accomplished more than I planned on and now I know the tri course intimately. Next Sunday I'm going to go over again and do the whole thing in the proper order. I think that will really give me the confidence I need to pull off an age group win in this thing.

So my times were as follows:

Bike 12 miles: 53:23
Walk/Run 3K: 27:12
Swim 1000m: 21:11

Okay, if I can pull off a 10 minute swim, a 45 min bike ride and a 25 minute run I'll be very, very happy. Now I'm off to rest and eat - god I'm hungry!!!

04 September 2005

Do you have any idea what it feels like to walk

around on sore ankles?? It is by far one of the strangest feelings I've ever had in my life. I ran this morning (on the treadmill) and the ankles have been a little achy all day. I can't accurately describe how they feel. Not weak, not shaky, not painful, not really sore, just achy. I keep waiting for them to give out or something but they haven't. I don't know; I took some ibuprofen so hopefully that will help.

Today was good. As I said, I ran. My real training schedule called for a LSD run but because of my ankles I was going to swap out something else. Yesterday and last night the ankles felt pretty good so I decided to go for it. It was good. I ran for a total of 40 minutes and walked for 20 in increments. It was good.

Tomorrow I have a bike ride on the program and I think I'm going to pack up the bike and head over to Waikiki and bike the tri course. I've never ridden over there and think this might be a good time to do it, before the race. I don't have anything but my bike ride planned tomorrow and Charlie is working so that sounds like a plan. I'll have to print a map of the course so I don't get lost :)

That's it for me. I'm off to chill for a while then head to bed.

Conversation with Hubby

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