Saturday, December 20, 2008
Thursday, December 18, 2008
Yeah, Fucking POWER!!!
Hit this 1:30 bike workout today dead on:
WU: 15' warmup, 3 x spinups. 3x2' (1') Z3. 3' ez.
MS: 3x5' FT (5'). 10' 88-90%, 5' cd, 10x30/30. CD 5'.
I'm using my FT as measured late last summer, so it hurts a bit. But I'm sitting on FT, and when I did the 30/30's, I went well into VO2 territory...
I AM SO FUCKING HAPPY!!!!!
There's just something about being able to work out really hard that puts a huge smile on my face. And this was after I put the hurt to myself this morning with another almost :45 of strength work. All of the cylinders appear to be firing now, despite my back issues.
Speaking of which, I found the most excellent .PDF file all about the iliopsoas. There is something in there for EVERYONE. I highly recommend you read it, especially there are direct references to triathlon. And I'll put a link on my sidebar, since I think this is so important.
WU: 15' warmup, 3 x spinups. 3x2' (1') Z3. 3' ez.
MS: 3x5' FT (5'). 10' 88-90%, 5' cd, 10x30/30. CD 5'.
I'm using my FT as measured late last summer, so it hurts a bit. But I'm sitting on FT, and when I did the 30/30's, I went well into VO2 territory...
I AM SO FUCKING HAPPY!!!!!
There's just something about being able to work out really hard that puts a huge smile on my face. And this was after I put the hurt to myself this morning with another almost :45 of strength work. All of the cylinders appear to be firing now, despite my back issues.
Speaking of which, I found the most excellent .PDF file all about the iliopsoas. There is something in there for EVERYONE. I highly recommend you read it, especially there are direct references to triathlon. And I'll put a link on my sidebar, since I think this is so important.
A Few Thoughts
This morning I was reading about a person whose friend is in the hospital with a neurological condition. It made me cry a little, and I realized that was a good thing. Why? Because despite our personal issues, one of the things that makes being a human so special is empathy. When I'm so wrapped up in my own misery that I fail to empathize with others, it's not a good thing. And I have been wrapped up in myself. Some of it was necessary; some not.
But in the way of the Tao, a person must become enlightened in order to help others along the way. For awhile this fall/early winter, I felt like I was way off track in my quest to grow mentally and spiritually. But as is always true, I knew there would be many lessons for me to learn as I experienced a number of uncomfortable situations.
Back in August, I was feeling that I was in a position to help others through difficult times. And then I guess I decided that I needed to subject myself to some additional (non-triathlon) challenges in order to make sure I was truly ready! A hallmark of a life well-lived is the impact you have on others in your sphere of influence. I am not sure who I have left a mark on in the last 4 months, but I hope there are a few people out there who have somehow benefited from my existence. Not because I did anything to do with money or things; but rather just being. I suppose one of my lessons from this time was that I can just be even while I am doing. Maybe that is what Sheila v2.0 is all about. I've always struggled with the doing thing, but fact is that if I stop doing then I'm dead. So I am going to keep doing and if that is what get me to be, then I'm fine with it.
I'm pretty sure that I am going to experience a number of sobering moments now that this phase of my house remodeling is complete. I am relearning how to just live in my house, rather than keep changing it around. I am relearning where things belong, as most every room has been reorganized to some degree. I am relearning to be relaxed and comfortable without creating additional stress on myself. I am relearning that beautiful things around me make me feel good, as shallow as that sounds. I am returning to my happy place, and think I've done enough grieving for myself now. I am really happy that through this last 4 months that I have worked hard at a few friendships that are deeply important to me.
Even though my physical body is still injured, I'm feeling like my spirit is rising back up. It's making me cry that once again, it is the result of a lot of turmoil and sadness. But such is life. The reason I'm Crackhead is that when the ups are happening I am taking 200% advantage of them, and I plan to keep doing so. Why wouldn't I? If it appears to outsiders that I'm a little manic when doing so, tough shit. Life really is too short, and there is too much good stuff to suck up, and when it all gets balanced out, I want to look back on my life and know that I lived it large and with integrity.
As I sit here, I'm looking at my poster of Madam Pele. While she represents the fire of the volcano, she also emanates peace. I am relighting my fire as I rediscover my inner peace.
But in the way of the Tao, a person must become enlightened in order to help others along the way. For awhile this fall/early winter, I felt like I was way off track in my quest to grow mentally and spiritually. But as is always true, I knew there would be many lessons for me to learn as I experienced a number of uncomfortable situations.
Back in August, I was feeling that I was in a position to help others through difficult times. And then I guess I decided that I needed to subject myself to some additional (non-triathlon) challenges in order to make sure I was truly ready! A hallmark of a life well-lived is the impact you have on others in your sphere of influence. I am not sure who I have left a mark on in the last 4 months, but I hope there are a few people out there who have somehow benefited from my existence. Not because I did anything to do with money or things; but rather just being. I suppose one of my lessons from this time was that I can just be even while I am doing. Maybe that is what Sheila v2.0 is all about. I've always struggled with the doing thing, but fact is that if I stop doing then I'm dead. So I am going to keep doing and if that is what get me to be, then I'm fine with it.
I'm pretty sure that I am going to experience a number of sobering moments now that this phase of my house remodeling is complete. I am relearning how to just live in my house, rather than keep changing it around. I am relearning where things belong, as most every room has been reorganized to some degree. I am relearning to be relaxed and comfortable without creating additional stress on myself. I am relearning that beautiful things around me make me feel good, as shallow as that sounds. I am returning to my happy place, and think I've done enough grieving for myself now. I am really happy that through this last 4 months that I have worked hard at a few friendships that are deeply important to me.
Even though my physical body is still injured, I'm feeling like my spirit is rising back up. It's making me cry that once again, it is the result of a lot of turmoil and sadness. But such is life. The reason I'm Crackhead is that when the ups are happening I am taking 200% advantage of them, and I plan to keep doing so. Why wouldn't I? If it appears to outsiders that I'm a little manic when doing so, tough shit. Life really is too short, and there is too much good stuff to suck up, and when it all gets balanced out, I want to look back on my life and know that I lived it large and with integrity.
As I sit here, I'm looking at my poster of Madam Pele. While she represents the fire of the volcano, she also emanates peace. I am relighting my fire as I rediscover my inner peace.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Puttin' the Hurt to Myself
With my house remodeling done for now (a frozen pipe crisis in the new upstairs bathroom was averted yesterday) and my house put back together, I'm finding that I am getting myself back to "normal," meaning I am on my training plan.
Last week was a pleasant deviation from my written plan, since all I could do while out of town was run, but that was perfect. The weekend was great, as Shelley was willing to do what I needed to do or figure something out different for herself.
This week I am full on my plan, meaning all the strength work, running, biking, stretching, everything! As I've picked up my hours, I realize my diet needs to change. After I finish what's left in my fridge (or maybe before) of salad fixings, I am done with that shit. My body needs more carbs, so it's time for me to revert to my usual staple of brown rice or couscous with my evening meal. Besides, my body doesn't like digesting all that salad crap, don't ask me why! I've always thought my body was wired to process a lot of protein and very gentle carbs (and beer!).
As I've begun to add intensity to my workouts, too, my level of fatigue has increased, thankfully! Which gets me to sleep earlier and sleeping a bit longer. I'm not quite on my optimum sleep needs, but I figure that will happen soon enough, especially once I stop eating rabbit food at dinner!
My weight is about 2 lbs. up from where I'd like to be, and I feel like a total fatty. That will fix itself automatically as my stress levels go down, less drinking (not that I've been going overboard--but less is more in this case), more strength training, and I'll be good to go. On a positive note, I'm now up to 5 chinups (almost from a dead hang), so I'm pretty confident I'll hit my 10 in about 6 weeks!
That leaves one remaining challenge: the state of my back. This weekend will make 5 weeks since my little act of stupidity. I have nearly full range of motion in terms of twisting, and obviously, I'm able to do all my sports just fine, even getting through a 50-mile running week. I am experiencing no pain while exercising. I am now at the point where I am experiencing discomfort mainly while sitting, and through my own investigation and with confirmation from massage therapists, I am down to my QL (quadratus lumborum) and iliopsoas muscles being the last remaining ones that are still a bit distressed. Listen up peeps--these two muscles are key to triathlon and well, just holding you up, sitting, twisting. They are the workhorses for your back mechanics and hip flexors.
I had some awesome work done on these muscles Monday evening, and am arranging to get some quality massages during the next 2 weeks. These are deep muscles, and while I can do some work on them myself, there's nothing like having someone else put the hurt to me!
I have to say that 5 weeks seems like a long time to me to be dealing with unhappy muscles, but I know how crucial it is to keep the QL and iliopsoas happy, so I am being patient and conservative--although my definition of conservative probably doesn't match to most people's! My real test of the system will be ZebraMan next week, and I'm really excited about it! Ordinarily, I wouldn't take pics of event clothing before the fact, but hey, I got the suit, so here I am. Bonus, spot all the zebra things in the pics!
Last week was a pleasant deviation from my written plan, since all I could do while out of town was run, but that was perfect. The weekend was great, as Shelley was willing to do what I needed to do or figure something out different for herself.
This week I am full on my plan, meaning all the strength work, running, biking, stretching, everything! As I've picked up my hours, I realize my diet needs to change. After I finish what's left in my fridge (or maybe before) of salad fixings, I am done with that shit. My body needs more carbs, so it's time for me to revert to my usual staple of brown rice or couscous with my evening meal. Besides, my body doesn't like digesting all that salad crap, don't ask me why! I've always thought my body was wired to process a lot of protein and very gentle carbs (and beer!).
As I've begun to add intensity to my workouts, too, my level of fatigue has increased, thankfully! Which gets me to sleep earlier and sleeping a bit longer. I'm not quite on my optimum sleep needs, but I figure that will happen soon enough, especially once I stop eating rabbit food at dinner!
My weight is about 2 lbs. up from where I'd like to be, and I feel like a total fatty. That will fix itself automatically as my stress levels go down, less drinking (not that I've been going overboard--but less is more in this case), more strength training, and I'll be good to go. On a positive note, I'm now up to 5 chinups (almost from a dead hang), so I'm pretty confident I'll hit my 10 in about 6 weeks!
That leaves one remaining challenge: the state of my back. This weekend will make 5 weeks since my little act of stupidity. I have nearly full range of motion in terms of twisting, and obviously, I'm able to do all my sports just fine, even getting through a 50-mile running week. I am experiencing no pain while exercising. I am now at the point where I am experiencing discomfort mainly while sitting, and through my own investigation and with confirmation from massage therapists, I am down to my QL (quadratus lumborum) and iliopsoas muscles being the last remaining ones that are still a bit distressed. Listen up peeps--these two muscles are key to triathlon and well, just holding you up, sitting, twisting. They are the workhorses for your back mechanics and hip flexors.
I had some awesome work done on these muscles Monday evening, and am arranging to get some quality massages during the next 2 weeks. These are deep muscles, and while I can do some work on them myself, there's nothing like having someone else put the hurt to me!
I have to say that 5 weeks seems like a long time to me to be dealing with unhappy muscles, but I know how crucial it is to keep the QL and iliopsoas happy, so I am being patient and conservative--although my definition of conservative probably doesn't match to most people's! My real test of the system will be ZebraMan next week, and I'm really excited about it! Ordinarily, I wouldn't take pics of event clothing before the fact, but hey, I got the suit, so here I am. Bonus, spot all the zebra things in the pics!
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Monday, December 15, 2008
More Pics from Weekend
We had some of my NothingMan pizza for dinner on Friday. I guess I'm always amazed at just how thick it is! And yes, we were wearing some crowns to be festive ;)
My bike nutrition on Saturday consisted of mostly Coke, but occasionally Gatorade.
Shelley was lookin' good, and our two bikes got along famously!
For dinner on Saturday, we went to Bistro Nami for some sushi. We started with warm sake, which was pretty good (and strong!)
We asked for our sushi to be put onto a boat, but the waiter said we didn't order enough for a boat? I counted 34 pieces total (yes, we ate it all), which I think would have filled a large boat, but we settled for a bridge and decorative plate which kind of looks like a boat anyway. It was delicious!
Weekly Workout Totals 12/08/2008-12/14/2008
I had a great week all around this week. My house remodeling is now complete except for a few minor things that will get done today, and I'm loving the results! My new big black and white bathroom is fucking nice, and I smile whenever I go in there. My living room is spacious and zebra-ed out! I can stretch out in there (there's room for several people to stretch, actually), hang out (I started a crossword puzzle laying on the smaller sofa yesterday afternoon), listen to music and just enjoy life.
I had the bestest weekend with Shelley. We had so much fun and so many laughs, and well, we need to get together more often! She gave me some beautiful crystal candelsticks which were put to good use last night ;)
I had a good training week even though it doesn't look like a lot of hours...I ended up doing a whole lot of running since that was the easiest thing to do while I was out of town in Orlando. I'm a teensy bit beat up from it, but a massage tonight will fix that! This week I'm home and back on my training program, and I know I'll be in good shape for ZebraMan!
I had the bestest weekend with Shelley. We had so much fun and so many laughs, and well, we need to get together more often! She gave me some beautiful crystal candelsticks which were put to good use last night ;)
I had a good training week even though it doesn't look like a lot of hours...I ended up doing a whole lot of running since that was the easiest thing to do while I was out of town in Orlando. I'm a teensy bit beat up from it, but a massage tonight will fix that! This week I'm home and back on my training program, and I know I'll be in good shape for ZebraMan!
| Weekly Workout Totals | 12/08/2008-12/14/2008 This week's totals are sponsored by zebra stripes and pirates! |
| Swim: | 4300 yards (2.44 miles) in 1.55 hours; 12% of weekly workout time; approx. 543 calories burned Canadian: 3931.92 meters |
| Bike: | Approx. 68.55 miles in 3.92 hours; 30% of weekly workout time; approx. 1897 calories burned; Total TSS=184 Canadian: 110.32 kilometers |
| Run: | Approx. 42.75 miles in 6.67 hours; 51% of weekly workout time; approx. 3035 calories burned Canadian: 68.8 kilometers |
| Strength: | 0.82 hours; 6% of weekly workout time; approx. 205 calories burned |
| All Sports: | Approx. 113.74 miles in 12.96 hours; approx. 5680 calories burned Canadian: 0 kilometers |
| Sleep: | 7.07 hours avg./night |
| Stretching: | 1.77 hours. Massage: 0 hours |
Sunday, December 14, 2008
See if You Can Spot the Crackhead in the Pics!!
Yes, I have a leather zebra jacket, zebra running tights, winter gloves and flip flops...
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