slowly but surely...

One week of running down, 6 miles total. Still a little pain in the IT band. I am planning on setting up a massage for it next week through the hospital. They would know better about what specifically to do for it.

Swam again today. the pool at the Aquaplex kind of suck for lap swimming and is awesome for everything else. They say its a 20m pool, i am thinking 20yds. Its also like 87-89 degrees! That comparable to running in 95-100 degree heat. I get out of the pool and sweat! But, its the only pool open. two more days of that this week and then more pools will open.

Been riding a little as well. Not as much as i would like, but i still don't think i am up to my regular fitness. I am getting about 75-100 miles/week.

Work is kicking my butt. Last week was my first full week off of school and i was already into overtime! I am actually liking it a little though. I feel very accomplished at the end of the week.

Swim and two miles running tomorrow. Mountain bike on thursday. yes.

Summertime...

Two more days! I get to run again! The IT Band is feeling better, not 100% by any means, but better.

I have to figure out a new place to swim for the next month. The country club pool doesn't open til memorial day weekend and the Natatorium on cmapus (where i usually swim) is closed to rec swimming for the month of May. Who does that? I can't believe they close for a whole month. I can't believe flagstaff doesn't have more public pools.

The weather is Nice! I have been able to commute on my bike again. Get some miles in. I am feeling really good for this part of the season as far as my cycling is concerned. Let's hope that carries through til July.

Next race: Flagstaff Barnburner. A 104 mile looping mountain bike course. June 20th. Single Speed. Break 12 hours and you get a sweet belt buckle. That is my one and only motivation.

Not much changing as far as training is concerned. School is over. Summer has officially started. And what better way to start than two days of Grand Canyon Region track and field!

Training gets serious next week. Check you later.

Ups and downs...

I had a good day and a bad day yesterday. We'll start with the good. I got in the pool for a 1000m time trial. I dropped my 750m time (en route) to 12:44 and my 1000m to 17:13. Those times are still a lot slower than i would like them, but i am seeing successes in small triumphs. I mark my progress by dropping under certain minutes blocks. For example, My next goal is to drop my 1000m under 17 minutes. I am hoping that with more time in the pool this summer i can drop those times exponentially and get to a point where i feel comfortable as a threat in races.

Bad news. I hopped on the bike later in the day and i felt absolutely horrible. My legs were heavy. I think a lot of it came from the strong headwinds. It also could have been from being the first good day on the bike outside since last year. Riding inside on a trainer only does so much. But, I don't like making excuses.

One success and one needing improvement. My IT band is feeling better and i am counting the days til i get back to running full time.

Mental blocks...

I am having mental blocks. Not the kind that ail you when you are trying to write an essay or a song. But the kind of mental blocks that make everything you do seem bad. For example, I want to get back to running. But, today especially, I am feeling horrible. I am sick of feeling bad. Well, not bad necessarily, just not 100%.

I had my knee diagnosed last thursday. I have Illiotibial Band Syndrome A.K.A. ITBS or IT Band Syndrome. It is a swelling of the It Band which runs from your hip to just below your knee. I have started home therapy on it.

I look back at this year and am thinking, "Man, here i am in April and i have yet to put in any good run training." I think never being seriously injured before is really a blessing and a hindrance at the same time. I am not dealing with this well. On the other hand, even if i start my base back up come may and the end of the semester, i will still have a good 8-10 weeks of training time before the race the matters, The Pacific Coast Triathlon.

The whole situation is mighty frustrating.

Time is just seeming to fly by these days. One minute it was spring break and now its two weeks after and I am counting down the days til the end of the semester.

I felt really good in the pool today. The pool trolls moved the lanes back to short course which was a nice change. The Japanese team must have left again. I have been running a couple miles per day or every other day. No pain back in my knee but i am still being super cautious about everything. Every little ache and pain is registered on the mental radar. I think its good to be cautious, so you catch injuries before they get too bad, but i might be over doing it.

The weather is still a nuisance. Its either warm and super windy or cold or cold and windy. There is no good weather in flagstaff in the spring.

I need to get back on the bike more, i think i am ahead of where i was last year as far as fitness goes but i won't know until this summer.

I guess that is about it. The Rock and Worship Roadshow was awesome! Good job to the few track athletes that competed this weekend at chandler. I'm out!

Back to it...

I finally went running again. After just about 4 weeks off, i went on an easy 30 minute jog with a co-coach of mine last saturday. Except for the usual aches and pains from getting back into running, i felt ok. I went running an easy 20 min on tuesday and that felt pretty ok too. My knee doesn't seem to be bothering me yet, but we'll see what happens when my pavement pounding becomes more routine. I hope to get out again today for an easy 20-25 min.

I am being very cautious this time around. My base mileage last fall was obviously low and i didn't have the strength to keep up training at the intensity that i was going. I am really focusing on getting myself healthy and staying healthy through the year.

This week, in general, is pretty laid back. It is spring break and the pool is closed. No swimming. I haven't yet, but i want to get on my bike maybe once or twice this week too. It is generally a recovery week and i will be back to normal training, plus running, next week once school recommences.

base training...

I am still off of running which i am mentally feeling better about. I still have two weeks of self prescribed rest before i try another few easy miles. Track season is in full swing. The high school team that i assitant coach had their first meet last night. Most of them did a good job, although we have a lot of work left to do.

Personally, my own cycling and swim training is going well. I had an opportunity to get out a few times last week on the bike. It was breezy at times but felt a lot better than so much time on the trainer. I am also getting in a consistent 3 days in the pool every week. I am working up my base in both cases. I want to drop my 1500m swim time down to 25min by May. I feel like right now i am at about 27-28min.

Not much else happening really. The weather is supposed to get bad again this weekend and into next week. I will hibernating on my trainer once again.