Recovery Week!

Recovery week is a nice chance to take a look at what you've accomplished so far and how things have changed. Looking forward to taking a bigger bite out of this training and seeing what's next.

The bike rack modifier - so simple.
So I bought this beautiful new bike but there was a problem with getting it on the bike rack (see previous posts). We were going to cut the thing in half and soder it back together, make some crazy adjustments, etc. And then someone at swim last night mentioned that there is a bike rack modifier for this exact problem. And they're $15. AWESOME! So now I can transport my bike on Eric's bike rack problem-free. Yippee!!!

Swim technique - little changes make a big difference.
Two weeks ago I had a swim lesson with the Master Swim Gu-Ru Drew Surinsky. I was having some weird/major left shoulder issues. At the end of swims my shoulder was bothering me A LOT. So I had a lesson with Drew and he gave me two specific workouts to do and some strengthening exercises. Lots to do.

So I did them all last week, strength a bunch and two workouts with Drew's sets and drills. Last night I went to a VQ swim and I think my form is getting MUCH better! I'm so excited. No shoulder pain till today and it's light - and I was on the toes of the guy in front of me - awesome! There is always something to work on regarding swim technique. Next it is my pull through the water and then my entry - but I was doing 100's on the 1:28 last night, a solid time.

Yay for specific coaches!

Working out sick.
All last week I was on my deathbed. Grossly sick - stuffy nose, sinuses all blocked up. And when I would work out I would feel like a million bucks. The minute I got done working out all the grossness would come back. Ick. I spent 14 hours sleeping that Sunday and one week later I am finally back to normal! Even the guys I work for noticed I looked terrible. (real nice) So I think that working out when you're sick is a must-do. Get those good juices flowing and sweat that infection out!

Lent
Today is fat Tuesday, which means that it is my last day to have sweets for 40 days. Eeeeekkk!!! It's going to be rough, but I think I'll be able to hack it. Eric and I are doing it together and we can have fruit. We just can't have chocolate, candy or ice cream. Which is a bummer b/c we're going to San Fransisco during Lent. But it's Ok, we'll have a Sunday there to bend the rules. :)

The Pain...

Rode Kitty Kat on Tuesday night for 70 mintutes with no back pain!! Yippee!! There was other kinds of pain, but only b/c my bike shorts are too baggy. Read: yuck .

All the cool kids at VQ were admiring her, too. This is what a proud mother must feel like when her kid does something cool and all the other parents are envious. :)

Eric and I tried to do some work on her Monday night to get her ready for the Tuesday ride. We attempted to take off the aero bars and replace them with my (not nearly as cool) Profile T-2's. We got the first shifter half way off when it was clear we could not do any more without possibly doing serious damage to the bike. We need expert help.

But we did get the stem switched out. For a crazy-looking MTB stem. So I have this beautiful sleek tri bike with this HUMUNGUS MTB stem. It's pretty funny. I'm going to swing by Treck HP Saturday and see if I can get a different stem.

So the back pain was alleviated from the bike riding - which is awesome. But now I have a shoulder problem - Going to Drew on Saturday for a swim lesson. And hoping the shoulder will hold up tonight for the 1.5 hr. swim workout. It feels kinda funky already.

If it's not one thing, it's another!

Left Shoulder

My bodey is broken. I'm a mess. First the back problem and now this.

Was swimming last night with VQ and about 2/3 of the way into the workout my shoulder started to bother me, a lot. It gets sore after I swim for a while, but it's not like it's painful all the time.

Anyway - Craig, the coach last night, told me to stop about 3/4 of the way through the workout. Bummer.

So I emailed Drew Surinsky about it and we're doing a private lesson on Saturday morning to see what's going on. He's really the only person I trust to diagnose and treat this kind of thing. Thank goodness for Drew! And I haven't seen him in a while, so it will be fun to hang out.

Eric and I tried to take the bike apart last night to switch out the aero bars - it didn't go so well. We flipped out the stem but it looks pretty silly. I still need to switch out the aero bars, too.

If my body wasn't broken this would be a whole lot easier!!!

Meet: Kitty Kat

New Bike!!!

She's beautiful. And so light (skinny). And already demanding - she doesn't fit on Eric's bike rack.

I found this beautiful baby on Craig's list Thrusday. I emailed saying I was interested, can I take a look? The answer was sure.

So we picked it up on Saturday morning in Eric's car. We get there and the bike is beautiful. Stunning, really. But she doesn't fit on the bike rack. Her frame is a wedge, so it's not a standard size. So we drive back to the N. Side to get my car and then back to the S. Side to pick up the bike - then to VQ.

Cortino moves the seat around to match my setup on my road bike. And we put her on a trainer. She rides like a dream. We move some stuff around to see what kind of changes we can make to make it work. The previous owner had a 110cm head tube on the bike, so if we bring that back, plus switch out my aero bars for my profiles that are adjustable... we can make it work.

So we decide it's worth a shot, for a full carbon-fiber frame with all the bells and whistles, this is a tremendous deal.

After a quick call to my parents for some negotiation guidance, I decide to offer $1000 cash. The guy took it right away.

So now I am the proud new owner of a carbon-fiber tri bike! Yippee!!!

The 2006 Felt S22

I found this bike online in a 54cm. My 56cm Felt F80 road bike is too big to be a good tri bike, so I'm going to give it a shot on Saturday. Eric and I are going to pick it up on Saturday morning and take it to VQC where Cortino can check the bike out - and take a good look at me riding it. Awesome - this is what coaches are for, baby!

I've gained back all the weight I lost in the last few weeks. Ick. It takes like two days for me to put on the lbs it took a month to take off. Brutal. So it's back on the strict calorie restricted diet. I'm going to swing by Jewel tonight and get lettuce to make a bunch of salads for this week. I need to stop eatting crap at lunch and dinner.

So it's back on the training horse. I have to work late tonight - the Echo blue book needs to be re-written and we're creating an eBay website. Lots to do and I can't leave right at 5 again tonight. So I'll make up the Aqua Jog on Friday.

Too much Aqua Jogging and not enough time running!!! I'm listening to the coach, but I'm running a 1/2 marathon April 11th and I hope I'm ready.