Woo-Hoo! I'm Sore ALL OVER!!

This weeks marks my return to "training." I am taking it slowly, after doing almost no exercise last week (I did swim once for about an hour; did an abs/core workout and rode my MTB for all of :30). I am going to hold back on any intensity (unless I can do it swimming, which would be rare for me any time of the year!) until I feel ready for it.

Yesterday I did a 1-hour swim drill workout. Man, do I have work to do there! Maybe I'll actually get the swim coaching I've been looking for on my third try? I tried with one guy last fall, and he bagged on me, tried again this summer, same result--maybe third time will be a charm? I would like to improve my swimming, yet I know in the big scheme of things I'd have to work really hard to see something like 1:05-1:10 in an Ironman, and maybe I don't really care--I'm not sure right now. I just believe there are a couple of things that if I can get them right, that I will get a little faster, and I don't see it happening without someone watching me critically.

I also ran for :30 yesterday. I was a little slow, but not too bad. It was pretty hot, so who knows how much of an affect that had? I ran after I lifted weights, so that my legs would be already tired out and again, I wouldn't care about my pace.

I had avoided doing any lifting on my arms because of whatever has been going on with my left elbow/grip. But I figured it out! It's not my brachioradialis, and it's also not mainly my triceps, which I suspected last week. It's my extensor radialis that's fucked up, but I've been working on it diligently for a few days and it is much improved. My triceps have taken a beating, too--I guess all those big yardage swim weeks finally got to my chicken arms?

It felt good to lift, and it feels GREAT to be sore today. I rode my MTB for about 1:30, and I have to work hard to get any speed on it, but I think I did OK. I may ride it again on Thursday, just so that when I head out on Saturday for 2:30 or so on Bitchie, I'll feel like I'm flying!

It's funny that, as is very common post-Ironman (or should I say post-NothingMan?), I've felt fat, out of shape and generally disgusting, yet both yesterday and today I received the nicest compliments from strangers on my physique. I didn't even want to write anything about it here, since I know that can make me appear narcissistic and ego-driven, but what the fuck, I am to an extent and I may as well get over it, right? So there. Anyway, it was interesting that yesterday's comment was that I was so "lucky to be blessed with such a beautiful body." I suppose I am blessed, but I felt the need to interject that it was at the expense of a lot of hard work! I could just tell this woman thought I just looked like this naturally. I didn't go into details, though. And then she proceeded to give me at least 5 reasons why she didn't have time to exercise. Oh well... Today, I was stopped at a light while on my bike, and a woman out with her young son (and pregnant with another child), commented that I am "in phenomenal shape." Well, I wasn't feeling that way, but it sure made me smile, especially since she noted that it must be as a result of a lot of work. And then she said she needed to get to it and I told her "one hour a day is all it takes," and directed her towards the Y just a 1/2 mile away when she got around to it. I love it when I can leave others who are open to it with one idea that they might try to get themselves moving around more.

Initially, I'd planned to not bike or run for 2 weeks post-NothingMan, but I think one week of almost nothing at all was a fine plan. I'm sleeping like a freaking professional sleeper (9-10 hours a night and I want them all!), and I'm not ingesting any caffeine except my morning coffee. Mentally, I'm feeling very calm and at ease. I am returning back to that state where my life is "good enough." And it's plenty good. I'm really happy I don't have another Ironman for 10 months! That in and of itself is reason to rejoice! And I know I will enjoy getting back on the training wagon.

My next triathlon-related task is to take a look at my last season and assess the good, the bad, the ugly and all that. I'm also going to look across the last few years for patterns of what works and what doesn't work for me. As always, doing the same thing generally would not create improvement, so it will be interesting to see what I can throw into the mix this time around.

One thing I know for sure--it's already different--and that is a good thing. I don't think I've taken almost a full week off completely from exercise in years! Maybe it's time for a real vacation, too. One that isn't focused on training. Damn--if I hadn't bought LGL, I could be in Kona right now!