No More Snot....PLEASE!!!!

So after spending the weekend training and blowing my nose, I feel like my head and sinuses are finally starting to clear up. Which is good because I already ran out of tissues and toilet paper once this week. Last weekend was a heavy training weekend. I got in 3:24 Z1/Z2 ride on the bike and a 30 min Z1 T run on Saturday. Ok well actually I did a 3:24 Z1 ride, having not realized that it was a Z1/Z2 ride until I logged my HR. But the odd thing, and I am not sure if this had to do with my meds or not, I was at the bottom of Z1, the entire time. But this was not by choice. I could not get my HR up and keep it up for the life of me. So I am going to chalk that up to begin sick and move on.

On Sunday I had a 1:00 Tabata Drill set followed by a 1:45 Z1/Z2 run. Now on Sunday the opposite occur ed, I could not stay in Z1 if I tried, I was about 5 beats into Z2almost the entire time. I came in at about 9:43 min/miles, which for me, right now, is kinda slow. Again, this also goes with being sick and only being able to breath through my mouth the entire time.

This week I get to taper, but only a tiiiiiny bit as I gear up for my first Half Marathon of the season. I am running 13.1 in Queens on Saturday, and although I know I am ready, since I ran approx 11 miles this weekend without any trouble, I still feel like I need a solid game plan. This year I am ready to kick my own ass, but I need a well laid out plan to do it. I just don't think I have the best long distance plan other than, go with what you feel. I mean come on, it has to be more scientific than that! So I am turning to Coach P for the answers and I am sure he will come through with something fantastic.

Other than that, I am just happy that I am starting to feel better. Hopefully I will be in tip-top shape for Saturday morning and then I can spend the rest of the day on the couch!

Sinus Infection

And there you go! I knew I was sick, but I still decided to push myself yesterday with 1:15 of hill bounding and another spin class. The hill bounding went well, but I did do it on a treadmill because I wasn't sure how much I would be able to do with how I felt. But once I got started it was smooth sailing. The only problem was that the gym was so hot that my HR was soaring so my Z1 pace for the 2nd half was a bit slow. But in hindsight, that was a good thing, since I wasn't feeling up to snuff.

Then it was off to my last Thursday night spin. Yup, I am giving up one class a week so I can be home a bit more and concentrate on my training. The best part is that Thursdays are usually a hard training day for me, so now I will be able to concentrate on my workouts and not have to worry about saving any energy for class.

Today will be a resistance swim and another spin class, followed by some homemade pizza (It's cheat night!!) and nothing more. We have a full weekend of training, registering, meeting the guy who is going to marry us and finally the food tasting for the wedding. Have a great weekend and happy Friday!

Ah Ha! Now I Get It!

So after a 19 hour day yesterday I came home from dinner and crashed. And when I say crashed, I mean I am lucky I didn't fall asleep in my jacket. I came in, got undressed and got into bed without saying more than 4 words. When the alarm went off this morning at 6:30, I couldn't do it. There was no way I was getting out of bed.

At around 8am, I finally rolled out of bed and that is when I felt it. My throat was on fire. I managed to get in a few phone calls to my clients and then I got on the bike for a 1:30 tempo ride, thinking maybe I just needed to wake up a bit and then my throat would feel better. Nope! So that may help to explain my problem yesterday with my sad attempt at a transition run. And now here I am on the couch trying to finish up my work so I can rest a bit.

Tonight I have a 45 min spin class to teach but the good part is, this should be my last Thursday night class, so I will just suck it up and rally. Then it is back to bed so I can attack my resistance swim tomorrow. Great news though, it is almost the weekend, we are so close!

I Surrender....

Today I woke up at 3am for a French event I had to monitor. After stumbling out of bed with some sore quads, I started my coffee and the event and decided that since I was just monitoring the event and had nothing else to do that I would begin my morning work out after the webcast was over. Now usually I would just go back to bed, but hey, when you are crazy you are crazy. So I just embraced the crazy, made a pot of coffee and got ready for my BST set.

Once my event was over I hopped on the bike for the following set:

15 min ZR/Z1- I should have known right here something was wrong when this was challenging
3 X (10 min interval @ 55-60 RPM, 4 min easy recovery @ 90 rpm)- The first one of these was hard but then I really felt like I was warming up
3 X (1 min @ 105+ RPM, 1 min @ 90 RPM easy recovery for both)- By the 3rd one of these I was cursing and quite unhappy
15 min- ZR- Getting verrry sleeeepy

After my cool down I was supposed to head out for a 20 min T run, and I really wanted to, but my legs did not. Did not, as in would not. I surrendered to the fantasty and made the executive decision to not run, but instead to shower and lay in bed.

I am not sure what happened to make the run impossible, but I can only think of two things that might have caused this:
1) Getting up so early and doing the workout while extremely tired
2) The after effects of my 7pm spin class

It really could be either to be honest. I am glad that I have nothing to do tonight. Well nothing in terms of excercise. I do have a work dinner I have to attend, but I plan on that being a quick event for me considering the early wake up. Then tomorrow I will be back at hill bounding bright and early for day #4 of my early workout week.

Playing a Game of Catch-up

My weekend in Chicago seemed to just fly by. I had a fantastic time with my friends and loved meeting all the babies, that I haven't had the chance to meet in the past year. Yes, there are quite a few! I had intended on going for my 1:30 Z1 run on Sunday but we woke up to some nasty thunderstorms. Considering my planned route was Lakeshore Drive, I decided to go to brunch in lieu of being struck by lightening. After my fun filled stress free weekend, I headed back to NJ on Sunday night and arrived home and ready for bed around 11pm.

Monday morning, much like every Monday started with my spin class. And to my surprise it was packed. For the first time, maybe ever, I had a class of around 14 people. I deduced that with the start of Spring people may be realizing that we are nearing the time that we will have to start taking layers of clothes off and that there won't be much to hide behind in the next few months. Either way, it was a great class. But due to my travel schedule, after class, I went right back to the apartment, showered and crashed until my first call of the morning. Not something I usually do, but in this case I had to.

I then headed into the city to work for a few hours and then back home, fully knowing I had to make up the 1:30 run. Seeing as the rain had finally reached NJ I headed to the gym to run on the treadmill. Surprisingly stayed in Zone 1 and held onto 9:27 pace the entire time. The last half hour I held between a 9:31 and 9:41, with my heart rate hovering at the top or slightly over Z1. But there was one issue I didn't fully consider before my run. I decided to eat a banana nut bran muffin and small coffee prior to my run for some energy. FAIL! FAIL! FAIL! I got off the treadmill and my stomach made me pay for every step. Ooooofa!

After dealing with an angry belly I then still had to hop in the pool for a quick 30 min Zone R swim. So there I went, and man was I tired. But I made myself do it, just so I didn't have to move it to today and try to catch up again! After that it was home, dinner and bed so I could get up today for my 50 min ZR ride followed by Descending 100s in the pool.

This morning's workout went smoothly and I am trying for a successful 5 day early workout week. I am trying to get myself into the habit so let's see how this goes!

Chi Town Bound

Yup, that's right, the weekend is here and I am off to Chicago for a fun filled weekend with my Midwest friends, and man am I ready! This morning started early again with yet another spin class. (I look forward to the point in my life where I don't feel the need to teach anymore and I will never have to see that side of 5am again unless racing.) I was able to switch with a friend for my evening class since I will be on a plane during that one. Well I got up to teach, and after the run, bike and spin class yesterday, my legs were shot! I got there and it actually hurt to lift my leg to get on the bike, let alone participate in the class. But after about 15 minutes, I was back in the game.

Because I will be out of town this weekend, and I will never fly with my bike after my last American Airlines experience, I will not be able to do my long ride. I emailed Coach P this morning and we decided that I could make up the bike time next week and just run this weekend. And I can't lie, I am really excited to run there. I figure I will just have my friend drop me off at the lake and I will run Lakeshore until I am ready to drop.

Other than that, this weekend will be filled with bridesmaid dress shopping, catching up with some amazing friends and just relaxing and enjoying life. Nick is sticking home for this one, but he will be missed. On that note, I am off to pack. Chicago here I come!!

Underestimating My Fig Newton Intake By Around 10 Newtons

I know after reading the title you are probably a bit confused, so first let me fill you in on a little diet technique I was given by my dietitian. When going out for a work out in the morning (now this depends on the length of the workout) a good way to fuel is by eating two Fig Newtons. Now I have always been a fan of the Newton, so when I heard this I was pretty excited.

So today I got up at 5:45am for my 1:15 hill bounding session. I figured I could get in my run, then do my ride and be set and ready to go. Well first things first, with Daylight Savings the sun rises later now. Ok, ok, I know I should have been able to figure this one out on my own, but as I sat in my living room at 6am fully dressed and totally baffled, I needed Nick's help on this amazing scientific discovery. (Sometimes I wonder what he thinks when these little episodes occur. I am thinking he just thinks I am too cute, or at least that is what I keep telling myself!)

So there I was with an extra 45 min on my hands. So I decided to make some muffins so I would have something to eat when I got back before my ride. Then it was out for some hill bounding. Now, as I have mentioned before hill bounding can look a little strange so it is best done at a time when the least amount of people are out and about! This morning was perfect. I actually do the bounding on the Steven's campus and lord knows, no college kid is up and moving at 7am, so bounding I went in total secrecy. After a 25 Z1 warm up I hit the hill for 5 sets of bounding, split up with 1set of sprints. Then it was back home for the remaining 25 min Z1 cool down. By the cool down, I was shot. I mean tripping over the sidewalk, shuffling instead of running shot.

Not only was I tired, but those two Newtons, just weren't cutting it. Two sets of bounding in I was hungry. I mean the bounding has a nice effect of making me want to vomit, but even if I could have nothing would have come up! I think I used up my newtons in the first 25 minutes just to get to the hill. So now I know, hill bounding needs more than 2 Newtons.

I finally made it home and joyfully ate my muffin and pounded some gatorade. Then it was onto the bike for a tempo ride. It was 20 min in Z1 then 2 x (10 min Z2, 5 min Z1/ZR) followed by another 20 min Z1/ZR cool down. And now I am tired! But not too tired because I still have to teach a spin class tonight! Oh well, onward and upward!!

A Pinch of Swimming, a Dash of Biking, Add Back in a Tiny Bit of Running.....

And I am back to regular training!! I got the go ahead to start running again. After a week of just biking and swimming, I am allowed to start pounding the pavement again and I couldn't be happier. I mean if last week had been in anyway a break I might be sad, but since we just took the running hours and tacked them onto my bike for the week and I worked just as hard, I am happy to add some variety back in. We are starting small of course, but my foot is feeling great, and I am ready to go. I was getting a little nervous since my first half marathon is in 2 weeks. And man, do I have some lofty goals for that one!

But I digress, this week so far has been filled with swimming, spinnning classes and biking so far. Yesterday I had a crazy work day with events in Europe starting at 3am, so I had to move my bike/run combo to today, because I really just didn't have the energy when 2pm came and I was only running on 4 hours of sleep. So today after work, I will bike and run then hit the pool for the "Big Set" (insert intimidating music here.

What I am really looking forward to is this weekend. On Friday I leave for a weekend in Chicago with two of my best friends and their families. Having gone to school in the Midwest, I need to get a good dosage of it at least twice a year and as a result of my accident was unable to get out there when my best friend had her baby. So I will be spending the weekend at my friends house bonding with baby and getting in some much needed girl time. The great part is, one of my friends is also a runner so I am going to revisit some of the Chicago Triathlon course and get in some running time.

But for now it is off to the office to deal with all things work, only to return here for all things work-out. Happy Hump Day!

Me Stubborn? Really?

As the foot is getting better, I feel the need to push myself more, so I do. Today I had a 2:00 Z1/Z2 ride and was to ride based on how I felt. Well I felt like I needed to kick my own ass, so I did. I managed to work into Z2 in the first 30 minutes and then hold it for the last 1:30. I ranged from mid to low Zone 2 but the goal was just to keep in it. Usually, since I am riding on a trainer, I take my time and divide it by 1.2 and then ride that amount of time, since my resistance is steady on the trainer. Again, I took the hard road and kept on pedaling for the full 2:00 hours. I figured since I am not running I had to do something.

Well, I got off the bike completely drenched and hopped in the shower, but not before doing my weekly weigh in. And I came in 2.5 pounds lighter than last week! So I stepped off the scale, reset it and got back on. Still 2.5 pounds lighter, so I did it again and there it is, 2.5 pounds gone. But me being me, I decided I am not going to record this weight quite yet. I am going to check it again tomorrow morning just to make sure my scale isn't being mean and toying with my emotions! Stubborn much? Nah!!

My Love/Hate Relationship

This morning, I got up nice and early to head to the pool. I had a Catch Drill Set to complete and it required me dealing with my nemesis, the paddles. (insert intense music here). I got there and got in the pool for my 50 fist, 50 free warm up set and my brain started going. I was in the middle of two people swimming. On my right was a nice old lady swimming in one of those vintage bathing caps with the chin strap and large rubber flowers, also wearing some nice big sunglasses. And on my left was a guy in what looked like tri-shorts doing what seemed to be drills, which will be later referenced as tidal wave drills. I wondered what they were thinking watching me while I punched the water for a bit and thought about what I would think if I saw this. Then I realized I really didn't care, and I got down to business.

Next I had 6 x 100 paddle (no buoy) sets with 5 seconds of rest in between each. Each 100 I cursed my paddles more and more. I mean, I know they are good for me, but man do I hate them when I am using them. It is kinda like taking vitamins to me. I hate the gross taste, but the outcome is positive. Right? Well not really, because vitamins don't make is so it is a challenge to lift my arms throughout the day. So maybe a bad comparison? I tried!

As I paddled my way through the 600 the tidal waves began. I could sense the guy in the tri-shorts coming from a mile away, I mean how do you even make waves that big in such a small pool. But really all I could do was laugh because it turned out just like a simulated race swim, with me trying to not swallow all the water in the pool each time I turned to breathe. So thank you tidal wave tri-short man!

After I completed my paddle set, I moved onto 8 x 25 all out, and surprisingly I didn't mind, I only think that is because I got rid of the paddles. I finished up with 3 x 100 kick and then 200 Freestyle and I was off the steam room.

Tonight I will also get in a quick 1:30 ZR ride before heading to Madison Square Garden to watch some college basketball.

Is this week over yet? I want to get back to running!

The Room Has Stopped Spinning

I decided to take the day off my meds only because I wanted to go into my office and dizzy Jess doesn't travel well. I am not sure if this week is an actual recovery week or if the workouts are light due to my foot, but man do I have ants in my pants. As I mentioned yesterday no running this week and I am starting to miss it. It was my stress "go-to" and I need it this week. I am hoping swimming can take its place until next week. No need for the stress rash to return. Man I am a walking calamity at this point!

Today is a rest day, but I have to teach a spin class tonight. So at least I have that. And tomorrow is a busy day of work swimming and biking. Let's see how the foot feels tonight after a day of no meds and some time on the bike!

Injured Reserve...and Fake St. Patty's Day

First, my Friday swim was fantastic! Until now, my best 800 in the pool was 15:36, Friday I busted out a 15:15 800 and felt great when I was done. I then taught my Friday night class and headed home for a nice dinner of Italian accompanied by a glass of red wine. I promptly passed out on the couch around 9pm with a 7am wake up in my future.

Saturday was Hoboken, St. Patty's Day. Now for those who have never heard of this phenomenon, plain and simple, it is a total shit-show. I mean this is amateur hour at its best. The town comes alive at around 10am with bars opening a few hours early, only to end with thousands of people roaming the streets drunk and wearing green until the wee hours of the morning. This year, those who were unable to control themselves got an extra souvenir in the form of a $2000 ticket and some community service. And they wonder why the city doesn't ban the event? It is their biggest money maker of the year!

Well when I got up at 7am, instead of putting on my drinking shoes, I put on my riding shoes and hit the bike for a few hours. Apparently that is going to be the theme of the next week or so with me while we deal with my current foot problem. After finishing up, I headed to a neighbor's house for boozy brunch and was happy to return early with a nice sun burn and the desire to bypass the masses and watch TV for the rest of the night.

Sunday we had an early meeting at our apartment, so we were up and at em' again nice and early and then it was back on the bike for 2 hours of Zone R riding split up with come tabata drills. Another successful ride, but this one pushed me back a few days in terms of my recovery.

So I finally bit the bullet and took the anti-inflammatory I was prescribed today after spin class. And man they are kicking my ass. They say it may make you dizzy and that is the understatement of the year. I actually had to pass on my swim today and move it to tomorrow because I need to find my sea legs!

Tomorrow will call for a nice swim and yet another spin class. But for now, I need to just publish this and close my eyes; the type is making my stomach do loops!

Cha...cha..cha..Changes

Sorry I have been a bit MIA, I spent the weekend working out and then on Sunday night noticed a very odd meeting invite from my CEO to our entire US team and I knew something was up. On Monday I got up nice and early to teach and then had two events to keep me busy all day. Then it was time for the call and I was right, something was up, my company had been sold to another larger company.

Now, at first I thought, "I finally found the job I love and now it is all going to change!" Then I learned more about the situation. Tuesday morning came and we were planning on meeting our new colleagues at 3pm and then we were to head out to drinks with them. And you know what, they were great! Tons of fun and an all around good time. They are all about the same age as me and it sounds like this could be a move in the right direction. The only big change for me will be that my office will be moving across town. Not ideal, but hey, I can deal with it. And, another added bonus, three of the guys I met, they also bike so I may have found a new group to cycle with on the weekends. So all in all, not too shabby!

The rest of the week has been playing a game of catch up to make up for the workouts I missed due to the social outings we had. Today I woke early for a 35 min ZR run which I maintained the top of Zone R at a 10:15 mile, not so bad. And then came back home for a 2 hour Zone 1 ride. Was a bit tired by the middle but I had a good book to read and that helped. Tonight I have to teach spin at 7, another new change in my life, the addition of more classes to my teaching schedule. After teaching I plan on hitting the couch for some R&R!

Tomorrow is my first 800 TT in the pool. I am very interested to see how it turns out. I mean really I didn't swim that much from August- January so it could be interesting to see how I do.

But for now, off to eat some pretzels and get ready for class. Will report back on my swim tomorrow.