Yanti & Lynn: Manatee Madness Mentor Group CLOSED (Page 42)

Good job!  I went to masters this am where we did some speed work (which I hate, but really need).  Saturday I'll run about 12 miles and then hit the pool for about 45 minutes.  After that I will eat a lot!

Ann-Marie

Wow, everyone is doing such a great job with their workouts and races! 

I am just finishing my off season training and start my "official" training for my sprint in June.  I'm getting aero bars on my roadbike today and a fitting to put me more in the tri position.  Can't wait to try it out on my long bike tomorrow. 

Happy training!

Fits, starts, speed, bricks, and hot dogs!

Busee Manatees as usual!

I have slept for the vast majority of the last 72 hours back in Bali, with any breaks dedicated to stuffing as much food as I can in my mouth. I am RAVENOUS. Oh, and I squeezed in an hour on the trainer.

Other than massive stress, family problems, and just barely having recovered from the last bout of serious illness, oh, and IM training ... I really underestimated how strained I was mentally from trying to care for and work with my mom all day on my own ... I think I mentioned she has Alzheimer's and is deaf. I did get her new hearing aids while I was there (which was a big series of trials in itself, not to mention her getting used to hearing somewhat clearly for the first time in years), which ultimately did make things a lot easier.

This may be the wrong place to vent/muse, but this is an especially attuned and experienced set of Manatees ...

Trying to get someone like my mom used to an awful lot of big changes at once takes every ounce of intelligence, creativity, planning, manipulation, and technical execution that a girl's got. Hers, and mine! Alzheimer's will throw its victim AND everyone around them for a different loop every day. (Every minute, sometimes, it seems!) In the little things, and the big things. One day, rice is fine. The next day, only potatoes. The third day, WHERE'S MY RICE and how dare you suggest I won't eat it? It's like dealing with a two-year-old with the intelligence of a 78-year-old but no learning capacity. Trying to decide what's truly negotiable and non-negotiable, then trying to enforce what's non-negotiable in a respectful yet effective way ... nobody gave me the handbook on this! (Is there a handbook? I should write one. Or at least a book. Because even in all the madness, there's a lot of humanity and hilarity. There has to be, or none of us will make it).

Also, I'm having a hard time letting go and trusting that my mom is going to be okay (probably) and her new nurse will be okay with her (probably) and that the household and the rest of the staff will keep a bare minimum of safety and cleanliness in the house (probably not, but at least the new nurse will keep my mom's immediate environment and person decent).

Anyway, as for me, for once (maybe at least I'm still capable of learning), I'm pretty much going to sleep and eat until I'm done. I've never done that before, and I have the luxury of doing so now, so I'm going to, and it's probably the best thing for me.

So, today was my day of rest.  Instead I went snowboarding with my son.  I finally graduated from being the klutz on the bunny hills knocking over little kids to being the idiot on the chairlifts cutting everyone off!  Very proud of myself!!!  One bruised shoulder and one sore hip, and a cut across the bridge of my nose (don't remember how I got that one).  This sport is draining but I do sense a benefit toward working on core strength and balance.  Or it may be that I'm just delusional from hitting my head one too many times.  If this is the case please just skip over this post and move on.

Run planned for tomorrow, and possible a swim if I can get to the pool.

Congrats on the snowboarding improvement!  ---not so much on the head bumps!  

I got my swim on tonight--much needed after a stressful day at work. Tonight's swim brought about another new first too--I used hand paddles (I think thats what they're called?)--definitely takes some getting used to. Question--do you all think that using hand paddles is helpful for improving swim technique or speed? Just curious--I'm considering adding them to my practice bag.

Okay, here's my offering on the paddles. Of course there's a story....when I first started swimming and being "coached" he waited until he thought I had my stroke "dialed-in" before recommending paddles.  Then he recommended starting with the smallest ones because apparently you can really hurt your shoulders if technique isn't there or the paddles are too large or both. I also started doing just 100-200 with them, them built up and now swim quite a ways with them. I do think they build strength, especially in the lats if used correctly. They also help your hand to enter the water at the right angle. You might want to have someone watch you to make sure all that's happening and you're not setting yourself up for injury. I also use a pull buoy when using paddles. It also allows me to practice breath contrtol and breathing patterns.

That totally makes sense--when I started swimming (under instruction) last year, I ended up hurting my shoulder and it was due to bad angles. We did use them with a pull buoy last night--and I am feeling a definite bit of tightness in my lats today--we did a few hundred meters with them, and after my first fifty, the coach had me change the angle of my hands/wrists, which helped a lot. 

Nothing like the feeling of ACCOMPLISHMENT!!  Way to go!

Yup.

A neat form trick to do with them is don't use the wrist strap.

Well, it may always be a circus around here at the Funny Farm too, but at least it's my circus!

Everybody has fleas, ticks, and worms. WOOHOO!

Time for some furry Funny Farm family pics. This is DogBait, my, um, "special" cat. Don't even know where to start with that one. Let's just say it's a miracle we ever got him to stop living, and peeing, in the roof. It's okay that he nurses on Phoebe (who is totally dry). With him is poor little Gollum, who hasn't shown up yet. I still look for Suicide every single time I am outdoors in my neighborhood, on foot or by car, and she disappeared last year March 17th.

This is Lisa Labradog (who runs the house, along with the Hobbit Maid) and Phoebe (who ruins the house, which the Hobbit Maid restores). So much sweeter asleep!

This is Biscuits, who has insisted on being physically attached to me ever since I got back from Jakarta. I think she thinks if she's glued and keeps staring at me, I won't be able to sneak away?

Yanti-  I hope everything continues to workout for you and your mom and as far as I'm concerned this is a perfect place to let out/voice some frustrations/issues, always helps to share. 

Love my paddles to the point they became a crutch for me, but definitely worth while...

My knees are feeling the last week for sure today, supposed to have a swim andf a run but might just do the swim and let the knees take a break and do the run tomorrow and drop a bike workout

Awww thank you {{MELON PRESS}}

Be good to your knees--they gotta hold you up for the rest of your life! But do whatever feels right.

Well...  so much for that one, the pool is still closed hopefully on monday they say...  It's a sign to get to masters, looking at shuffling a few workouts around for today and tomorrow now

That's quite the menagerie - I especially like the Biscuit picture.  What a riot! 

Ann-Marie

X2 good to see my house isn't the only one where the animals rule the roost...  Biscuit is definitely saying "Youse not going anywhere no mores!!"

In the winter I ride my bike trainer in the garage where the temp can be as low as 20 degrees starting out.  I have a space heater that works well within about a 3 foot radius (despite what it said on the box ).  Once I warm up, I turn off the space heater and I can break a sweat.  The next challenge that arises is when I get hot and turn on the fan.  It cools me well, but ends up blowing ice cold air on me.  I plan on buying a "real" space heater this week but before I do, does anyone have any other suggestions?  Is there something else I'm missing? 

90 min run today.  Did not get to the pool.  Late night movie (Mission Impossible) with my 2 boys and their friends.  Long bike on tap for tomorrow.  Wish me luck!!!

Yanti, I love your menagerie photos.  I am such an animal lover.  My daughter is home from Lansing right now for wisdom teeth removal so we have bonus kitty, Ms. Charlotte.  Still praying to the big 3 for Gollum (and Suicide).   Hoping kitty returns home well and was just out on a bender or something. 

On a training note, I am exhausted.  I feel like I could nap for 2 hours after every workout.  Just close my eyes and go to sleep.  This happens every time I train for a marathon.  Does anyone else find that they need naps?   Am I just totally abbie-normal that I want a midday nap after a long workout?  

I take naps every weekend.  I think the early mornings (and therefore lack of sleep) and training catches up with me, so when I stop moving for 10 minutes I fall to sleep!  Of course, I've been a lover of naps my entire life

Ann-Marie

Yanti, hope kitty returns soon.  I've had a dog run away before and it's never fun wondering when they'll make it back.

Ran a 5k this weekend with a time of 29:35.  I'm pretty pleased with my efforts even though it was much slower than my last 5K.  We convinced some friends to come out to run their first ever race.  I stayed with them for about the first 1.5miles where we averaged about an 11min/mile pace.  It was comfortable and fun to chat while enjoying each others company during the race.  But at the turn around I was starting to get antsy.  They were okay with me going ahead so I did.  It is fun to pass people instead of being passed!  I pushed pretty hard and was happy with the sub 30 time given the slower first half.  All that while pushing the double stroller!  Best comment as I pushed my two kiddos was "Holy Cr@p!!" as I was passing some guy. 

Makes me want to keep working on my running!  Hard to imagine that just a year ago I was struggling to do 2miles at over an 11min mile pace.  I just need my knees to cooperate now.

Phhhheew! Survived a weekend of hockey. We made it to the championship and won the tournament! 

I played defense all weekend (I am usually a center) and while I missed taking face-offs, it was a nice change. I got 8 goals over the weekend, including a hat trick on Saturday and 17 assists! 

While running and triathlon helps overall fitness, nothing can get you ready to play hockey but hockey and I hadn't played in a few years. Consequently I feel like I have been run over by a car today. 

I am entering a volume phase in my run training and will be getting up into the 65-75 MPW range, so which me luck  Also, I have a few races planned. A 5K in 2 weeks, a 5K in March, a 12K in April. I am actually really nervous to race again. 

Nice job on the 5K...and with a jogger stroller. Congrats!!

You're a hockey goddess! Are there such things? Well, there is now!!  Rest up. Looks like you've got a few things on your plate soon. Woo-hoo!!