In Sickness and in Health

Saturday I rode Death Machine for 3:18 and then did a little running afterward.  It was cool out, 50's is all.  I have the gear to ride in weather like that, and I was completely comfortable.  When I was done, though, I seemed to have developed a dry cough and the beginnings of a sore throat.  I attributed it to the cold weather riding.  A few hours later, I also noticed my entire patootie was sore, dumbass, you don't just ride a new MTB that long and not expect it!  I may need to get a different saddle for him.  But I digress.

I went to dinner with some friends, and we had a rollicking good time.  2 I hadn't seen in quite awhile (yet more people I inadvertently alienated last year while depressed), and then Lori.  I thought maybe she would get sick of me because this was 3 weekends in a row we'd spent time together!  We had a great dinner of sushi.  I had beer, the rest had wine.

When I got home, my throat felt worse.  I'd already started on the Zicam drops, but that night, I was barely able to sleep because my throat was so sore.  I'd planned to ride with Blane on Sunday, but that was clearly out.  Sunday I spent the day being completely miserable, barely able to do anything much except lay around and watch TV.  When you are in heavy training and the bottom drops out and you can't do it, you don't know what to do with yourself!  Kind of like a taper.

I began pumping in my usual medicines--Alka Seltzer Plus, cough syrup (I had Vicks 44 laying around), and cough drops as needed to help with the throat.  My throat improved on Sunday and I no longer wanted to off myself.  That was the worst sore throat I have ever had in my life!  I began asking around to see if this was the "going thing," and indeed it is.  But that doesn't help me any.  I'd already planned to take Monday off from work, and now I would be sick.  At least on Sunday I managed to make the muffuletta that I'd bought ingredients for a few days earlier:

Work has been very busy as many of us are working on HIX customers, and it's a series of daily calls for status checks, ensuring the customer's issues are being worked well, tons of email, making sure everyone is happy (such as it is), and it's generally high pressure because this stuff is very visible.  While I had a colleague covering for me yesterday, I still wanted to attend the 2 primary calls just to stay up with my customer.  That's how it goes when you do the job that I do.  Sometimes.  Usually I can just be gone and not think about things.

Well, I joined the first call and tried not to talk, as my voice was pretty much kaput--porn star quality, though!  Over the weekend, things had blown up somewhat, and I really can't go into detail here, but I wanted to be sure I made a statement as to the disposition of that particular issue.  So I did, only I didn't realize a certain person was on the call.  Nonetheless, I didn't say anything that hadn't already been sent in a public email, but the dude I didn't know was on the call said, "We are already spending fucking tons of money."  Yay!  My first F-bomb on a customer call!  Luckily, I am the queen of the MUTE button on my phone (I use my land line for these toll-free conference calls because the quality is unsurpassed and I know nobody can call me while on there), and it was all I could do not to laugh hysterically.  I got support from my colleagues on the call, and we carried on.

After that call, I had a doctor's appointment, because I just wanted to be checked out in case I had something bacterial, and also I'd decided I wanted an inhaler just to keep my lungs in tip-top shape.  I've done this before, and the reason is that when I was a child, I had repeated episodes of bronchitis, and it has scarred my lungs (it shows up on chest X-ray), so I'm a little vulnerable when things move into my lungs.  The doctor checked me out and pronounced me OK as far as lungs, throat, ears and nose, told me it's viral, and then she obliged me by writing the script for the inhaler.

After that, I made a trip to Toys 'R Us to look for various things, and found 2 new friends for Iron Man:

They were having a special buy one Iron Man 3 thing get the second 40% off, so of course I got them both!  They make quite the crew, don't they?  Then I stopped at the UPS Store to mail some things to my friend, William, who had recently sent me some T-shirts from his coaching company, a Rudy Project winter hat (I LOVE Rudy Project), and an articulated HULK!

Finally, I picked up my inhaler at the drug store and headed home.  I wasn't feeling too too bad, except I was all jacked up from the combination of drugs I'd taken.  My body is very sensitive to antihistamines and ephedrine and norepinephrine, and I was a bit jittery, my heart was racing a bit (at the doctor my BP was way up and she was alarmed but I explained why), and I had a whopping headache.  I decided that I was well enough to terminate everything but the inhaler.

I attended one more call from work, and then I needed to lay down, which I did, and probably napped a little bit--not really sure.  I really needed to mow my lawn, so around 5:45 I finally went outside and did that, and the gasoline fumes made me choke, but I got it done.

The headache was pretty bad, but I knew it wasn't sinus based on its location.  So I finally got an ice pack and iced my head!  That helped a lot.  I got a good night's sleep last night, and while I still have a bit of a cough, my nose is no longer running like a faucet, and as you can see, I am up early again.  I decided to take today as a sick day, although I will probably participate in some calls at work.  I also am going to try doing a light workout, as I am beginning to feel creaky!  I need to move around, even if it's just to walk, but I think I can at least jump on a bike on the trainer and spin for a little bit.  So I definitely am on the mend, I am through the worst of this, and hope to be good as new by Thursday so I can get in a long run and then of course, the weekend's long rides.

I had several well-meaning friends try and tell me to take this or that for my illness, and while I appreciate their input (because some of the things I forget like get my usual vitamins), I know my body really well and that I can't really put too many foreign substances in there because I do have pronounced systemic reactions to them.  Typically when I contract something viral, I can do full-strength medicine for one day, and then I have to taper off because the reaction I have to the drugs is worse than the disease.  It has always been this way for me, and my Dad was the same way.  I had to take something initially just for symptom relief.  And this time was no different.  Sunday--all the drugs.  Monday morning--all the drugs, but then I cut them out mid-day.  Today, just inhaler as needed.

The only GOOD thing about being sick is that when you feel well again, it feels AWESOME!  So I am looking forward to that, and I think it's maybe a day or two away.  In years past, I might have tried to push it in terms of working out, but I know that would be suicidal at this point, so I am just rolling with it.  Next week is a planned rest week anyway, so I guess I'm doing an early taper!

El Sicko--That's Me!

Even though I have been taking a cocktail of meds (antibiotics, Alka Seltzer plus, regular aspirin, bronchial inhaler), I am at best marginally better than I was a week ago, or at least it appears that way.

And then I don't do well on drugs anyway--I can't tell if I am so tired and spaced out because of them or because of whatever it is I have.

This is making me depressed. I feel like crap, I can't train (OK I tried for a few days and look where that got me), I have a race in a week, I can't train, I can't train, I have no energy.

This thing is sucking the life out of me. Even more fun is that when I don't train, I lose my appetite except for the sacred chicken soup, but I'm even getting tired of that.

I want my Mommy. Oh that's right, I don't have one anymore. I wish I could rent one that would come over and take care of me just for a day. That would be awesome.

THIS is what I call suffering.

Weekly Workout Totals 02/02/2009-02/08/2009 and Another Race Win!

I'd been reluctant to say anything about the state of my recovery from whatever virus attacked me a little over a week ago because I didn't want to jinx my race yesterday. I was up and down this past week, sleeping a lot, including naps, completing most workouts at less than 100% prescribed intensity, coughing every now and then and feeling mucousy. I held myself back on the hard stuff biking (sort of) and running, and swimming was just there. I completed my strength workouts, but was left completely exhausted after them. Anaerobic stuff is always tough on me when I'm fighting a virus, and it was pretty obvious that if I felt I needed to go to sleep after 30' of lifting that I was still fighting one!

Friday morning I felt pretty good in the pool, and did a short run that left me feeling tired, but I snuck in a nap, slept long and well, and Saturday morning felt pretty good. It was a warm day, and there was just no excuse not to ride a bike outside. But the snow melt combined with all the built up crap on the roads would make for a messy ride, and besides, I thought it would be wise to hold back my intensity, so I decided to ride Clipless Fuck, since I didn't want to do a full road bike cleaning after the ride (I like my bikes clean!).

Well, just heading up the stupid little hill out of my house I was like, whoa, I suck really bad, but then again I was riding into a stiff headwind. I rode west first, just to enjoy the headwind even more, and rode on my usual weekday interval route, and all I could think was I suck, I suck, I suck!!! I didn't feel like my lungs were completely present, and neither were my legs. OK, so I can cut the ride short (my goal was 1:30), right? No. After I turned around and was going like twice as fast with the tailwind on the way back home, it didn't feel so bad, so on one of the hills I like to use for short, hard hill climb intervals, I decided, what the fuck, I'm going up. And as soon as I made the turn to start the climb, I said out loud, "I hate myself!" I mean, who else could I blame for making me do this when I wasn't feeling 100%? I actually did OK on that climb, because the sun was shining, I was slightly sheltered from the wind, and hey, I'm riding outside in February!

When I was almost home, I decided I could knock out another 7.5 miles even though it would mean the last piece would be into the winds. No matter, I finished up, I was filthy, my legs hurt, and I was coughing up a lung. I had to leave my bike shoes outside, and as soon as I went in the house, I had to strip down in the laundry room since I was a filthy mess, but smiling about it! I cleaned off my helmet, grabbed some Endurox, then went and cleaned my bike shoes and finally the bike (not a full cleaning, but enough), and thought that I didn't need to do anything for the rest of the day, which was nice. I laid in bed for about an hour but didn't fall asleep because I had slept so much the night before and napped the day before, but still just laying down was great.

When I woke up yesterday morning, I didn't feel bad, but I didn't feel the usual "oomph" that I feel on a race day. I knew I wasn't 100%, but anything can happen, so I did my usual routine of Ultrafuel, a little stretching, and headed off to race.

As I warmed up on the track and then the bike, I could tell I just wasn't feelin' the love, and even though I had assessed my day's competition and thought there were 1 or 2 women in my age group who could beat me, I just let go and figured I was going to have an off day, so may as well get the show on the road.

My swim was a bit slower than 2 weeks ago, although I think they miscounted laps, but whatever. I could tell that I just couldn't push it in the water, and my stroke didn't feel that great either. Oh well, onto the bike.

I didn't have high expectations for the bike, but biking is my thing, and I just started in and fired up my legs and sucked it up. I guess for me, biking is the sport where I'm really good with pain, and I went faster than 2 weeks ago(6.89 miles in 20 minutes), and cleaned up in my wave (including beating all but 1 man), and when I got off I was light-headed and once again laid on the floor for about a minute, and then walked up the stairs to run.

I was a bit wheezy right away, and I could tell that I just didn't have speed in my legs to run today, and I was suffering right away. This was the first time in maybe 5 years where I felt so bad that I just wanted to stop, but I told myself to HTFU and just do whatever I could. I was totally OK with not winning my age group, but I had done so well on the bike it might be a wash for me anyway. As it turns out, I was just 1/2 lap off from 2 weeks ago, but man that run hurt like a mofo. It wasn't that I couldn't run; it was just I couldn't run fast.

Oh well, I still needed to run for another 1:30, and I didn't want to wait too long in between, so I chatted with a few friends and got on the treadmill, and got it done. My legs didn't really hurt so much as I was only doing a Z1-Z2 run, but it was B-O-R-I-N-G. Still, I knew it wouldn't do me any good to try and run any faster.

Next, I went and watched the elite wave, which included my friend Adam, and also Lauren Jensen, a local pro. Lauren and I chatted in the locker room before she started her wave, asked me about the bikes, and I told her she'd clean up, that these bikes seems a bit easier than in the past 2 years.

Not that I'm competitive or anything, but while everyone was on the bikes, I walked around to see how everyone was doing and what resistance levels they were using, and even though a lot of these people are way faster than me, I knew I'd done a solid effort on the day that would be hard for anyone to beat me in my age group or neighboring age groups ;)

After watching the elite wave, I finally grabbed some pizza and got a short massage (the best part of the race!), and prepared to watch another friend race. In the meantime, I was checking the scores, and it looked like I was going to take my age group and be fairly high again overall, but you never know...it's not over until it's over, right?

I had fun watching my friend race and cheering even though I was pretty wasted, but hell, he had done another race before this one, so what could I complain about? He did really well, too, and then finally it was time to go eat some sushi and have a beer or three.

Before leaving the facility, I had to check once more, and I think I was 6th woman overall, first in my age group, and pretty happy. I'm going to try and hit 7 miles on the bike in 2 weeks, as I should be done with this stinking virus, back on a full week of training for 3 weeks solid, and I really want to have a solid swim, bike and run.

It's going to be nice and warm again today, so I'm going to do a short run outdoors, even though I know my legs are going to protest mightily, but that's OK.

I am pretty happy that at least my biking legs have returned to where they were 2 years ago, and I think I can pick up my swimming, and my running is good except for the glitch of the virus I've had for about 1.5 weeks.

Yesterday was just an awesome day, and even while I was suffering I know I had some sort of stupid grin on my face because, well, this is what I like to do, isn't it?

Happy Monday!

Weekly Workout Totals	02/02/2009-02/08/2009 This week's totals are sponsored by my usual February illness and another race win!
Swim:	7800 yards (4.43 miles) in 2.78 hours; 21% of weekly workout time; approx. 976 calories burned Canadian: 7132.32 meters
Bike:	Approx. 95.48 miles in 5.08 hours; 38% of weekly workout time; approx. 2636 calories burned; Total TSS=315 Canadian: 153.66 kilometers
Run:	Approx. 27.14 miles in 4.23 hours; 32% of weekly workout time; approx. 1918 calories burned Canadian: 43.68 kilometers
Strength:	1.28 hours; 10% of weekly workout time; approx. 320 calories burned
All Sports:	Approx. 127.05 miles in 13.37 hours; approx. 5850 calories burned Canadian: 1.25 kilometers
Sleep:	8.07 hours avg./night
Stretching:	2.95 hours. Massage: 1.25 hours

Weekly Workout Totals 01/26-2009-02/01/2009

But first, the results of my Pirate Personality Test:

You are The Cap'n!

Some men and women are born great, some achieve greatness and some slit the throats of any scalawag who stands between them and unlimited power. You never met a man - or woman - you couldn't eviscerate. You are the definitive Man of Action, the CEO of the Seven Seas, Lee Iacocca in a blousy shirt and drawstring-fly pants. You're mission-oriented, and if anyone gets in the way, that's his problem, now isn't? Your buckle was swashed long ago and you have never been so sure of anything as your ability to bend everyone to your will. You will call anyone out and cut off his head if he shows any sign of taking you on or backing down. If one of your lieutenants shows an overly developed sense of ambition he may find more suitable accommodations in Davy Jones' locker. That is, of course, IF you notice him. You tend to be self absorbed - a weakness that may keep you from seeing enemies where they are and imagining them where they are not.




What's Yer Inner Pirate?
brought to you by The Official Talk Like A Pirate Web Site. Arrrrr!

And now back to our regularly scheduled blogging...
I came down with a virus last week. I could feel it on Thursday, and Friday morning I woke up and went "Nope." I was down for the count all day Friday and most of Saturday, but I came around Sunday and ran almost 11 miles (slowly, Zone 1). I hated being in bed for so long, even though I did sleep a ton, but it was the right thing to do. I usually come down with something in late January/early February, so this wasn't unexpected. I am mostly better, and I can tell because the lymph glands on the left side of my neck have almost vanished. I know I needed sleep, and maybe this will remind my body that I should actually try and sleep more. One can always try!

So I guess I got a rest week last week--enforced rest! I took things easy yesterday, and today I will see if I can punch it on the bike or not. Either way, I know I'll be good to go for the weekend and another race, especially since I'll have a target on my back!

It's nice to notice the days getting longer and occasional appearances by the sun. Only one more month until March, the month where the weather can be pretty much anything where I live, but the chances of being able to bike outdoors are increased, so that's good. Plus, March is when the first flowers in my yard will poke themselves out of the ground! Knocking out 2 more races in February will make it a good month, and I'm pretty optimistic about some other good things happening in my life, too.

Overall, I have no complaints, and while being sick sucked, that moment when I know I'm back to 120% (my back seems to be 100%!!!) is a great feeling, too. It's like...you want to feel good, you want to feel good, you want to feel good...and then all of a sudden, you do! There aren't many feelings like that in life, huh?

Weekly Workout Totals	01/26/2009-02/01/2009 This week's totals are sponsored by my usual February illness
Swim:	6100 yards (3.46 miles) in 1.73 hours; 18% of weekly workout time; approx. 607 calories burned Canadian: 5577.84 meters
Bike:	Approx. 56.67 miles in 3.13 hours; 32% of weekly workout time; approx. 1571 calories burned; Total TSS=181 Canadian: 91.2 kilometers
Run:	Approx. 23.23 miles in 3.64 hours; 37% of weekly workout time; approx. 1646 calories burned Canadian: 37.39 kilometers
Strength:	1.25 hours; 13% of weekly workout time; approx. 313 calories burned
All Sports:	Approx. 83.36 miles in 9.75 hours; approx. 4137 calories burned Canadian: 1 kilometers
Sleep:	7.64 hours avg./night (does not include all the hours spent sleeping on Friday/Saturday)
Stretching:	1.65 hours. Massage: 1 hours

Feeling Much Better

I'm doing a whole lot better today. Spent the entire weekend being sick and taking so many drugs that I couldn't tell whether I was getting better or not.

On Saturday, I made a foray to buy some house stuff, intending to go to 2 or 3 different stores, but after completing one stop, I was so exhausted that I headed back home for more soup, medicine, and bed time.

Yesterday around 10AM I decided I was done taking drugs and would tough it out, and magically I was able to complete a small odyssey, and got a lot of cool stuff for my bathroom that will begin construction next week.

Some things that were weighing heavily on my mind came to resolution in the past few days. I ended up settling on pure black granite for the vanity top in the bathroom, and then I went faucet hunting. Today I will find out if my guy can obtain all the parts for the ONLY FAUCET DESIGN THAT I LIKE!!!

I ordered these towels and also these. I got black/chrome waste basket and other accessories plus plain red and black towels from Target, and now I just need to agonize over a rug. I'm also thinking about how I want the floor tile laid--it will be black and white on the diagonal, but maybe I want a pattern--maybe not.

I reordered blinds for my office and guest bedroom from Home Depot after Lowe's fucked up my order over 4 weeks ago, but they should arrive in time for the final day of remodeling where we'll lay down the zebra carpet (which should arrive any day now) and I'll write a big check for the remaining work.

I stretched yesterday for the first time in about a week and a half, and I'm not sure whether it was stretching or what, but both my psoas muscles are in a bit of a spasm, but I'm not too worried about them.

I am still sick, but way better than I was 2 days ago. At least my nose isn't running like a faucet and the headache is finally gone. I'm not sure whether I can work out today, but I'm thinking at least a core session will be a good thing. Since I can breathe almost normally again, I can go and get a massage tonight!

I am just no good mentally when I am physically sick, and having the double whammy this past week really sucked the big one. But things are looking up--see the post above!

Sickness and Grief

I've been swimming in emotions since just before my birthday, since last year at that time is when my Dad took ill, and then next came his birthday, and 2 days ago the one year anniversary of his death.

I came back from PCB having had a nice time away from these thoughts, although I cried my eyes out on the balcony the night before I left in anticipation of the death anniversary. And since I've been having all the remodeling done in my house and people occupying it, I've had another distraction from my own emotions.

I had another good cry on Monday after returning from PCB, but it wasn't that bad, because I was so tired from lack of sleep that it kind of balanced things out.

Tuesday, the death anniversary, was surprisingly calm for me, and it really made me feel good to be with some of my family.

Wednesday morning I woke up to feeling sick in the same way I was last year at Thanksgiving. I knew that it was a result of all the grief and emotional processing, and I didn't think I would ever feel that awful again, but there it was. I managed to get through the work day OK since the contractors had returned so I didn't really have the freedom to walk around and cry, and I also didn't have the freedom to just lay in bed and be physically sick! I felt so awful at one point, that I could feel my eyelids trying to shut on me just to block everything out, even if I didn't sleep. I laid in bed for about 15 minutes so my eyes could shut and I could be in the moment with both the physical and emotional pain, but then got up and back at work because I had to.

On Wednesday afternoon, I was busy working and listening in on a conference call and web broadcast, and within minutes of one another I got phone calls from the estate lawyer and a grief counselor that has been following up with me over the past year (I've requested this to continue for a few months). I couldn't talk to either of them right then, and at the same time I wanted to scream and cry and tell them everything that has been going on and how sad I am and how helpless I feel.

Yesterday I was finally able to speak with the grief counselor, and I explained to her that I had become physically sick, and felt just like I did a year ago when the immediate pain of grief was on me. She assured me that all of this is normal, that the death anniversary is a trigger that sets you back. I told her that my triggers began about 2 weeks ago, and now I get to continue on into Thanksgiving and Christmas, although I've been through them once without my Dad. Last year the holidays were absolutely terrible. I am really hoping it's not as bad this time around, because I feel absolutely awful, and I don't think I can handle another 2 months of this. I told her I've been effectively unable to train the way I want to, which just compounds the bad feelings even further. She was kind enough to remind me that I had come a long way since a year ago and that all of these feelings I'm having now are perfectly normal.

Normal! Big fucking deal! It's normal to feel like complete and total crap! The counselor told me that this will pass, too. In my heart I know it will, and I know that every little thing that goes wrong right now just amplifies the feelings I'm having, and that there's nothing I can do about anything external to me, even though those things are stressing the hell out of me. I am trying to dig deep into my heart and soul and convince myself that things are going to be OK again--that I will feel alive, hopeful and happy. That is all I want for the time being. Right now I feel dead, hopeless and very sad. I am doing the things that I need to do to be alive--that's about it. Writing stuff down helps in a way because it helps me capture a point in time. I know that when I am speaking with friends about myself that I do not have much clarity, and I'm swinging between one thing and the other, changing my mind on decisions that I thought were solid, and being generally dysfunctional, much like I felt a year ago.

I slept maybe 2 hours last night. I am pretty drained. At least today, though, there will be no other people in my house. If I need to decide to call in sick to work today, I can do that. My eyes already want to close on me but not to sleep just to not see and not feel.

I am very frightened of Thanksgiving coming up because my house stuff will be finished, and I'll be left here, all alone, with something that I should be enjoying, right? And then I'll jump right back into remembering that Dad isn't here, but maybe I can remember 2 years ago when he and I shared Thanksgiving dinner in my home. Maybe I'll cook what I cooked for him then. I know I'll always remember how much he loved me and wanted me to be happy.

I'm trying. It's very difficult right now, but I'm trying.

Things That Are Pink (Again) and Shiny

Louis nearly complained that I pulled a bait and switch the other day, so here's me all decked out for today's run. Let's just say I got a lot of looks, but what else is new? I haven't run since last Friday when I should have known I was getting sick because a) I was fucking tired and b) my legs hurt in a way that's not your normal "I'm recovering from a marathon" way (which turned out to be, I think, muscular catabolism due to whatever virus I had). Anyway, those of you who have been playing along since early 2006 would recognize the tights as those I wore at the 2006 Goofy Challenge during the marathon, but with a tutu. The tutu is retired; the tights are not! The jacket is something I picked up on sale some time last year I don't remember when, and this is maybe the second time I've worn it. Years ago, I made myself a shiny silver jacket that I loved and wore to death and this is my "adult" replacement. I do like feeling sparkly and shiny. I guess that's why I decided to wear this jacket today.

Back to the Future Crackhead

I guess I've been suffering from PNMS (Post-NothingMan Syndrome) long enough. What's the best way to get rid of it? Sign up for something!

Active.com-Registration" will be displayed on your credit bill.
Please print this page for your records.

2008-09-30 14:34:11.56 Order 197098-093008143329

MITCS (Midwest Indoor Tri-Classic Series) All 4 Races

The last time I did these was in 2007, and they, plus some awesome joint planning & scheduling with my former coach, got me on the speed train and prepared me more than adequately for Triple T in May. Each race is held all indoors as a 10' swim, 20' stationary bike ride and 15' track run. All the pain you can handle in an hour! Awards are by total distance covered, so obviously the place to do well is on the bike, and historically I win my wave (including men), age group, and many age groups beneath me on the bike. But that means I need to work hard this winter, and I think I'm up for it.

What I'd do in 2007 (you can check my archives to see race reports) was Friday was my normal swim and run, Saturday my normal 2:30-ish fucking hard trainer ride with a :30 brick run, and then Sunday I'd do the sprint race and follow it up with a 1:30-1:45 run. Nice! Repeat every 2 weeks for 8 weeks. While I had fun last winter/spring doing all kinds of Nothingness, I suppose I should reengage with society and do a few more "actual" races, and these are nice, because they are all close to home and fun to do. I've added the actual dates for the 4 events onto my race sidebar, in case anyone out there decides they want to join in on the fun. Historically, the series fills up by November, and it was serendipitous that I thought about these this morning while talking with a friend poolside.

Oh yeah--I was sick over the weekend and also yesterday, but it appears I've knocked that mostly out of my system. I am unsure about a 50K at this point--if I do it, it will be 50K of Nothing by myself on crushed limestone, as my legs don't seem too happy about asphalt or concrete at this time.

In other news, well, there's been a number of things spinning in my head, and I'm lucky that I have people I can share it with because it is too much to try and put here, and besides, most readers think I'm a little off the charts as it is! And I'm not the sort of person to sit in the lotus position under a pyramid and meditate on things (believe it or not). The way I work through stuff is to train, let things come to me and then tie one of my friends to a chair and make them listen endlessly as I talk at the speed of light trying to get the words out as fast as they are forming in my head. Sometimes I also feed them or give them stimulants to help with their attention span. Or I make them work out with me. All good!

Inquiring minds probably want to know the answers to a few questions:

1. Will there be more bike porn? Probably. Although my tan is fading and I'm not sure it would look very good. Then again, I'm fixing up my interior space real nice, so I may just need to take advantage of it.
   
2. When will we see more of the Tiki Hut? After the interior of my house is painted and I finish putting things back together again, which should be in 3 or 4 weeks. Believe me, I've wanted to bust out the whore, bitch and slut, but there is just no place to put them and besides the contractors might think I'm nuts. In the meantime, I'll just have to keep those ideas about what the girls might be up to to myself.
   
3. When will I be getting back to hardcore training? Tough to say...I'm still in recovery mode and taking it one day at a time. I don't need to be hardcore for what, 8 weeks? Truth is, I had wanted to do a 1/2 NothingMan this past Saturday, but I did the swim and my body said "you're sick" so I DNF'ed. Fuck. I really do want to do a 1/2 NothingMan as soon as I feel ready to do it, so it could be in 2 weeks, 3 weeks, or further out.
4. Is it true I'm actually taking an off season? Fuck. I'm trying not to.
   
5. What foods do I miss most now that I'm barely training? Twinkies and whipped cream.
   

Weekly Workout Totals 03/17/2008-03/23/2008 and Miscellaneous Stuff

I know there are some people who have "feelings" towards the posting of the amount of time spent doing something. Feelings are good, but remember that numbers are just that--numbers--and if you choose to react to them in some way, I just hope that you enjoy your reaction!

I believe I have some sort of virus, but the good news is that I think I'm mostly done with it. I ended up not working on Tuesday because I felt so crappy, but I couldn't tell if I was partly overtrained or actually sick. Having a sinus headache for several days convinced me that I surely had something but that doesn't mean I wasn't overtraining, either. Every time I try something new to see how far I can push myself, well, there's always a chance of overdoing it. I think that when I wasn't able to kick out my usual intensity, the volume and sequence of workouts I was doing were just fine. But when I decided I could go full bore pretty much every day, well, guess what? Not.

So, lesson learned. At least once I knew I had a virus, I took things pretty easy. It was weird because I could do a workout and feel good doing it, but then a few hours later feel like crap. Such is life. Today I nailed a pretty good intensity bike and run (3 hours worth total), and while I am pretty wiped out and hungry as hell, I don't feel "sick." I only hope I wake up feeling this good tomorrow morning!

As is the case with any holiday now, I really missed both my parents. I had a short cry near the end of my run today, but I was enjoying running outside so much that it seemed like Mom and Dad would rather see me being happy doing something I love, so I just continued on.

IF I'm mainly recovered from my virus AND I get my workout sequence correct this week (meaning I need to actually take an EASY day tomorrow), THEN my plan for the weekend is to do a sprint NothingMan on Friday, and on Saturday do two Olympic NothingMan's back to back, same as like at Triple T, meaning the second one is bike-swim-run instead of the usual swim-bike-run. Of course, Sunday will be a rest day. It's still too cold for me to bike outdoors, but the weather is OK for outdoor running now, and if it's dry on Saturday, that will be excellent for a NothingMan. I guess if part of it is outdoors I should call it a half-assed double-roly-poly-Oly NothingMan. Try ordering one of those at Starbucks! NO FOAM, PLEASE.

Weekly Workout Totals	03/17/2008-03/23/2008
Swim:	8700 yards (4.94 miles) in 3.13 hours; 22% of weekly workout time; approx. 1097 calories burned
Bike:	Approx. 87.51 miles in 5 hours; 34% of weekly workout time; approx. 2251 calories burned; Total TSS=413
Run:	Approx. 28.45 miles in 4.43 hours; 31% of weekly workout time; approx. 2010 calories burned
Strength:	1.95 hours; 13% of weekly workout time; approx. 488 calories burned
All Sports:	Approx. 120.9 miles in 14.51 hours; approx. 5846 calories burned
Sleep:	8.39 hours avg./night
Stretching:	2.23 hours. Massage: 0 hours