Sink or SWIM! with WittyCityGirl - CLOSED (Page 62)

Feel free to stick around a little longer Mike!  It's been fun reading about your swim/bike/run adventures.  I'm still trying to figure out who will design the tri tattoo with the lizard (I think that's what Kate wears). =)  I think Suzanne is pretty darn lucky that she has summer to look forward to.  I cringe to think that we'll be getting frost in a few weeks. Ugh!

I'm happy to report that I am getting back into the swing of things! YAY!  Last March I pulled something in my groin and limped my way through Ironman training, the race, a HIM and a marathon before I caved and had it surgically repaired with mesh in December.  It's been an aggravating injury because so few athletes develop hernias and even fewer females develop them, especially the type I had (mine didn't involve organs protruding though muscle, rather nerves protruding through microscopic muscle tears in my way lower abs).  My surgeon said I'd be back to my old self and training with the intensity I wanted back in March... here it is the last day of August and I finally had a completely pain-free run (side stitches aside).

So, today I did a 45 minute aquajog and a 30 minute run on land.  This training felt different because my body craved the exercise and I was physically/mentally ready to put in a run-all other training and races since my surgery just didn't feel right.  This is a great accomplishment (back in January I walked 1 mile in over 45 minutes, it was baaaaaaaad) and now I'm feeling motivated to train for sign a short race this fall.

I'm hoping to get some strength training in tomorrow.  I "should" bike, but I'd rather swim. =)  I work for the local Office for Aging and we're hosting our first 5k walk/run.  We have over 100 participants (some are even under 55 years old, woohoo).

Sara, 

Are you moving to NZ for the masters program you've talked about? Is it 2 years? What is Jon going to do? It's such a big adventure! Will you be able to bring your dog? What a great experience all around. Plus moving there during their summer, perfect!

Sara - Doesn't look like you'll have to put up with the frost for too long. NZ in Jan should definitely be frost free. Congrats on getting back on track with the running. As for the "I should bike but I'd rather swim" conundrum why not do a short brick session? That way you get what you should do and what you want to do in.

Woo hoo!!!  Congrats on the accomplishment AND having the patience/strength to wait until the time was right to start ramping back up the efforts.  So hard to let the body heal.

It's a PhD in Public Health program.  I had tried for 5 years to get into a PhD program in the States, but it's just craaaazy competitive.  I was applying to psychology programs and I was wait-listed a few times, but never made it to the top 4-15 students (out of hundreds) that were admitted.  So, now I'll use my background in psychology from my BS degree and my background in nutrition from my MS degree to research weight gain prevention in middle-aged women. =)  It's 3 years and Jon and join me for one year (the last one).  Halligan will be left at home.  I'd hate for the poor pup to have to be knocked out for the 30 hour trip. Plus, he'd have to be quarantined for a while.  I just hope the weather in New York in January doesn't delay my flights! 

Ironman New Zealand 2014 if anyone is interested!!!!  We have about 6 folks from our local tri club committed to joining me.

It's a PhD in Public Health program.  I had tried for 5 years to get into a PhD program in the States, but it's just craaaazy competitive.  I was applying to psychology programs and I was wait-listed a few times, but never made it to the top 4-15 students (out of hundreds) that were admitted.  So, now I'll use my background in psychology from my BS degree and my background in nutrition from my MS degree to research weight gain prevention in middle-aged women. =)  It's 3 years and Jon and join me for one year (the last one).  Halligan will be left at home.  I'd hate for the poor pup to have to be knocked out for the 30 hour trip. Plus, he'd have to be quarantined for a while.  I just hope the weather in New York in January doesn't delay my flights! 

Ironman New Zealand 2014 if anyone is interested!!!!  We have about 6 folks from our local tri club committed to joining me.

Sara, if you come up with a good lizard tri tattoo, let me know--I don't have any yet, but I keep trying to think of a good design for one!

Did a second set of biking to/from college yesterday--45 minutes there, and if I hadn't managed to get a stupid flat (GRRR!) it prob'ly would have been the same or better for the route back--if I subtract the time spent fixing the tire, it would have been about 45 minutes!--The thing was, not only did I get the flat, but then, after I put my spare tube in (proud of myself the whole time for having it...),I found out that IT had a hole!!! No big deal, except filling THAT tube used up the last air in my compressed air thingie! --And I still had 8 miles to go... Thankfully, the American River Bike Trail--where I ride here, is full of some wonderfully nice people, cyclists and joggers alike! At least 30 people asked if I had what I needed, and when I did need supplies, two gentlemen stopped and gave me a new tube AND had a pump that worked AND they stayed til I was on my way again! How amazingly nice! Oh yeah, while they were helping me out, still many more people asked if I needed anything! It really restored my faith in the human race.

Sara, if you come up with a good lizard tri tattoo, let me know--I don't have any yet, but I keep trying to think of a good design for one!

Did a second set of biking to/from college yesterday--45 minutes there, and if I hadn't managed to get a stupid flat (GRRR!) it prob'ly would have been the same or better for the route back--if I subtract the time spent fixing the tire, it would have been about 45 minutes!--The thing was, not only did I get the flat, but then, after I put my spare tube in (proud of myself the whole time for having it...),I found out that IT had a hole!!! No big deal, except filling THAT tube used up the last air in my compressed air thingie! --And I still had 8 miles to go... Thankfully, the American River Bike Trail--where I ride here, is full of some wonderfully nice people, cyclists and joggers alike! At least 30 people asked if I had what I needed, and when I did need supplies, two gentlemen stopped and gave me a new tube AND had a pump that worked AND they stayed til I was on my way again! How amazingly nice! Oh yeah, while they were helping me out, still many more people asked if I needed anything! It really restored my faith in the human race.

Oh and on the subject of bike pedals - would it be worth me getting new ones? - One side of the right one has a hole in the rubber that goes straight through to the metal - If so what type? and how do I go about replacing them?

Today was the first XC meet of the year for my son.  It was a big meet with the #1, #2, and #4 ranked teams in the state there.  His school went in #2 and came out #1 winning the meet handily.  He had some IT band issues that kept him from doing as well as he would have liked.  He was the #10 man for his team but finished 44th out of like 350 boys.  Tough part for him is that he would have been in the top 5 (scorers) for all but 3 of the teams there and the top 7 for all but his team!  It'll be fun to watch him for the rest of the year as his cardio is incredible and it's just a matter of getting the leg healed.  I got in a bunch of light jogging and walking during the 5 hours we were there watching all of the races.

  I'll likely sweat ketchup when I go running today.