Forced recovery

Well that pesky issue with my ITB/periformis is still bothering me and I've been hitting it with all of my guns. I think that it's gotten a bit angry with me. First I started more intense yoga and rolling it with the roller, then it was the cortisone injection, then ART (Active release therapy), then a deep tissue massage from my bomb massage therapist Dani. I just love her!! And well things are just so so with it. I've cut back on the running and jumped up on the bike and swim. Though when I get off the bike it's a bit sore to walk. It doesn't bother me when I'm on the bike just when I get off to walk. So, this trip to Alaska is much needed recovery. One week of hiking, kayaking, ice climbing and camping. It will be a much needed rest and recovery. I hope this will help.

Alaska will be sooooo much fun. I'm taking my son who is 18 and just graduated high school and received his Eagle Scout rank. So this will be a double celebration for us. It's just the two of us and we haven't gone away in a long time. I really enjoy camping and hiking with my son. He is such a great helper and loves outdoors just like me. I hope the weather holds out and I can get used to the many hours of daylight. Sunset around midnight and sunrise up at 3am. Tylenol PM will be on tap for this trip just for insurance. I will miss my bike but we will be hiking soooo much that hopefully it will make up for it and not aggravate my ITB. I'll be bringing a tennis ball my roller so that I can get some more relief as well.

When I get back it will be off to SF for the marathon (well half marathon now) Stupid ITB. But that's OK. It's just for fun anyways and it will be a workout instead.

Sydney will have day care 3 days when I'm gone so she will be very happy. I know she's gonna miss her morning walk/runs but hopefully she will have a great 3 days of play with her friends. She will be one year old on July 16th when I'm gone so I'm gonna miss her birthday. I better bring some treats home for her.

I've got plenty of GB for the camera and my candy charger so lots of photo's to follow. The nice thing about this trip is NO CELL PHONES OR COMPUTERS!!!!! I'll be totally in nature and will have to wait until I get home to be on Crackbook and blog. Hey, that's perfectly fine with me.

See you in a week. =))

Blogs

I really enjoy reading blogs. It's nice to read about a race or and idea on nutrition or just some experience that a person has had. It can make for some interesting reading to say the least. Happy days and keep on blogging!! =))

So much to say so little time.....

It seems that I've wanted to blog a bunch and then when I have time I get distracted. Even thought I don't have any followers on my blog it's still nice to write thoughts down and maybe share a little of what is going on in my head. Not that you might find it interesting.

Workouts have slowed a bit because I have this pesky pain in my crest of my pelvis that I've been dealing with for the past 3 weeks. I've tried rolling yoga and message and it has only gotten just a bit better. Even Arnica or Motrin has not helped. I had a cortisone injection last night and hope that it will ease it up a bit so I can back into my running mode. The bike however is looking good and I seem to be riding more lately and really enjoying it. I seem to be getting stronger and stronger and I really like to see that improvement.
I'm supposed to run the SF marathon July 25th but with this injury I have been set back a bit and I'm trying to get into the half instead. Which is a major disappointment!!!!!
I'm focusing on my swimming as well and I really want to crush my next IM distance race next year. I don't think I will ever be a 10 or 11 hr IM'er but maybe 12??? I seem to think that it is all about the bike and the run. And if I can just get those things dialed in and make my swim strong I may have just that chance.

As for races this year I really look forward to Soma 1/2 in the fall and I hope I get into IMAZ if not back up plan is full Vineman in July. Seeing the improvement in the past 6 months really shows me that I can do this and I can become faster. Sometimes the brain takes over and lets be slack off and I really need to stop. For example..... This morning I was going to ride to work now keep in mind that I had a shot last night in my proximal IT band and it was a bit sore. So I blew the ride off and decided to swim instead. Once again changing my mind. I look at it as..... I'm not really training for anything other than the marathon and well you know how that's coming along. So, Lots of riding and swimming this week and maybe a run on Friday I hope. I feel that I've taken so many steps back in my running that it's a bit frustrating!!!

I hope I haven't bored anyone and thanks for letting me ramble on about my frustration and stuff. I hope to get out of this funk and maybe I just need a good slap to snap me out of it!!

Fourth of July Recipes for Runners at Runner's World

Fourth of July Recipes for Runners at Runner's World

Track not!!

Well lets just say that yesterdays workouts were non workouts. My calves were still tight after the Sunday run in the compression socks. (Never again) They will only be used for recovery. So, I was supposed to meet up with 3 others which will remain nameless because they all flaked out on me dammit!! But hey that's OK I was still meeting a big group with TCSD at UC high school and that's perfect. Well it took me an hour and fifteen minutes to get there with a fuel stop in there as well. So much for getting there for a warm up and starting on time with the group. So track started at 6:10 and by 6:20 I showed up (great, just perfect) I thought. So I got all my stuff together and made my way to the track (realizing I forgot my Garmin. But I had on my H/R monitor... perfect). So, I'm off to a fabulous start. I start warming up thinking that I could catch some of the interval work later on in the session. However my calves had another plan all together. They were not going to play nice. After 3 miles of warming up and stretching in between I was done. Calves done! I was not gong to risk injury to calves that were already angry. So I went home and called everyone who cares and cried on their shoulders.

All I can say is YOGA, YOGA, YOGA!! That's what I've been doing. I was going to hop on the spin bike this morning but I did Yoga instead and that was a great move because as the day goes by I feel better and better. Tonight I'll hop on the bike and see just how things are. It's amazing how one bad run can ruin your workouts for 2 days later. This sucks!!

Swim class

Yes....... I'm in swim class - Beginner swim class to be spacific. I feel lame but I have a method to my madness and hopefully I'll be able to explain it well enough so that you can understand. You see, I have an issue with water mainly swimming in it and mailny in open water. Even though I have done many races in open water and 2 Ironman lake swims it seems that each time I step into the water at the cove or the beach I start to panic and become distressed and think I'm going to be a nice meal for the sharky's out there. I freak out on every swim and every race I have in the open water. Sometimes I freak out in a lake or even in Mission Bay. I start to hyperventilate and feel like I'm running out of air. I feel pretty comfortable in my wet suit and I've had good swims in the open water and bad swims in the open water. I never know how I'm going to feel until the gun goes off and I'm struggling with this every race. I thought that if I take a beginner swim course I could get back to the basics and work on my mental game in the water. Make sense???? Maybe not yet.

So, my theory on this is if I can feel comfortable with my stroke, breathing and flip turns, I should feel comfortable anytime. I really hope this works because my last resort is a sports psychologist. The flip turn thing is another issue. I think that is because of rolling upside down and holding my breath at the same time. and the feeling of panic that I'm underwater and I can't get up for air. Kind of the same if your in open water and you get caught in a wave and are under water upside down. My mind set plays a big roll in this I know so let's see how the next class goes.

Organic Gardening, When to Plant Crops: Grow It! blog

This is a great site for organic gardening and resources!!!

Organic Gardening, When to Plant Crops: Grow It! blog