Weekly Workout Totals 04/14/2008-04/20/2008

That number on the calculator is the total bike miles I've put in since October, 2007. I'm about 200 in the hole as compared to the prior season, but I think that's pretty good considering how much my training was off there for awhile.

For running, I'm at 698 cumulative miles as compared to last season's 853, but I trained for and completed Goofy Challenge last year, so I'm doing good on the running front as well.

On the swimming front, I'm at 175,650 yards as compared to last season's 225,100. Now that's where I've slacked the most, but you know what? It's coming back. My swim yesterday in NuclearMan was my second fastest 1.2 miles EVER!!! Considering it was Day 3 of Triple Dog Dare, hey, that ain't bad. But it's to be expected, as I know that since I've only been swimming for 8 years, and not that much as compared to *real* swimmers, I don't start picking it up until I'm swimming at least 10,000 yards per week. And from here on through the end of this season, I'll be swimming at least that much per week unless it's a recovery week or something odd happens.

When all is said and done this season, I'll still probably rack up my typical 750 hours of training. It's what I'm used to and is a very tolerable load for me while I'm still working full time. With over 40% of those hours being spent biking, I'm a happy camper!

I actually feel pretty good this morning, and am about to go for a short swim just to shake things out. I'm taking the day off from work, and have a number of errands to do that can be done while half comatose, which is how I'm sure I'll feel after trying to move around in the pool!

Oh, and I'll get to finishing that Triple Dog Dare race report later on. It's rather epic, but after all, isn't that what you'd expect from me?

Weekly Workout Totals	04/14/2008-04/20/2008
Swim:	9850 yards (5.59 miles) in 3.3 hours; 22% of weekly workout time; approx. 1155 calories burned
Bike:	Approx. 117.5 miles in 6.83 hours; 46% of weekly workout time; approx. 3075 calories burned; Total TSS=451
Run:	Approx. 31 miles in 4.7 hours; 32% of weekly workout time; approx. 2124 calories burned
Strength:	0 hours; 0% of weekly workout time; approx. 0 calories burned
All Sports:	Approx. 154.09 miles in 14.83 hours; approx. 6354 calories burned
Sleep:	7.14 hours avg./night
Stretching:	0.92 hours. Massage: 1 hours

It's Done!!! Triple Dog Dare NothingMan 4/18-4/20/2008

Betcha didn't think I'd go through with this, what with all the talk of overtraining and such. But I fucking did it, and it was great!

The race report won't be ready until tomorrow, but the pics are already posted:

Friday: TinyMan sprint--550 yd. swim, 5-mile bike, 1-mile run
Friday set up for Saturday and Sunday
Saturday: RainMan Olympic--1500 yd. swim, 25-mile bike (1/2 of it in the rain), 6.5-mile run
Sunday: NuclearMan Half Ironman--2200 yd. swim, 61-mile bike, 13.3 mile run

And for the rest of this evening, I will be doing this:


Oh and the rest of you need to HARDEN THE FUCK UP!

Beer on my Downtube

Beer on the Trainer
Originally uploaded by peteryan.com

I don't think I'll be doing this today while riding LGL, but you never know...

Saturday Morning at the Tiki Hut

Happy Friday

I'm up early. I wonder why that would be...?

Now who could this be?
















Also, I scored myself some new happy shoes. Now, you might say technically they don't qualify because the leather isn't pink, but if you zoom in you will see there is a little crystal butterfly that is partially pink--and it's made of Swarovski crystals!!!!

Overtrained and What I'm Doing About It

But first, check out those bitches and their rides--a lobster, a trout and a chicken. Feel free to pilfer the photo and caption it here.

I was starting to feel a bit overtrained last week. Is it because I'd done effectively 2 HIM's in 3 weeks? That's part of it. But the training was feeling good and all. I am going to have to chalk this one up to an overload of life stress.

Even though things are winding down in Dominatrix land, every few weeks I've had the pleasure of being insulted, directly or indirectly, by one or more of my siblings. How nice! And even though I think I'm brushing it off, well, it does take its toll.

I have always had this thing about being yelled at by anyone--whether it's deserved or not--and I know where it comes from. When I was a kid, being second to youngest, I got to observe all the antics of my 2 older brothers and older sister, and I did not wish to be punished, so my MO became always be the good child. And I pretty much was, up until the age of about 17. Although from the age of I think 2-4 or 5 (I'm not quite sure), I did this thing where when I wanted attention I would hold my breath until I passed out and then sure enough, Mom would come find me and revive me. My parents thought I had epilepsy, but as it turned out, I didn't (although I'm sure there were permanent effects), and I stopped that behavior and moved on to more healthy ways of getting their attention--getting perfect grades, behaving well, watching after my little sister, learning to play the piano and trying to stay out of the line of fire with the older ones. Mom and Dad were quite the disciplinarians with them, and again, I did not want to get the belt from Dad (I don't think I ever did--YAY!) or the broom or whatever Mom had handy. Now, I'm not saying Mom and Dad were abusive--from what I recall, it was just good old tough love. Nevertheless, I didn't want any part of it.

And you can guess where this led--to a blossoming perfectionistic/control freak/OCD combination. Whatever I could control and perfect by doing it over and over again and get rewarded or recognized for it, I was on it. School work, piano, violin (not sure why I stopped this but I think it had to do with the cost of lessons or an instrument), sewing, cooking. In my haste to perfect doing things, I failed to acquire or see the need for good social skills. I earned the attention of all my teachers, but Mom and Dad seemed to just be pleased that I stayed out of trouble. The same rules were applied to my business life, rollerskating/rollerblading, gardening, and you guessed it, now triathlon.

I did spend some time in therapy going over this stuff, and while I still have the same tendencies to want to be doing stuff all the time, I recognize that it's just part of who I am, and that in many ways (as I said a few posts ago), my greatest weakness is often my greatest strength. I mean, hey, I'm happy I'm good at so many things. I don't try and fight my desire to do things anymore. But sometimes I do need to stop and turn down the intensity. And I do work hard at trying to make and keep friends, although I prefer just a few close ones.

Of course, my desire for perfection has been applied in my role as Dominatrix (Executor/Trustee) in spades. The professionals I am working with are always telling me what a great (and fast!) job I've been doing. That makes me feel good, and I think it honors my Dad, but isn't it funny that even in his death I am still trying to show him how good I am? But it's the right thing to do, and I just don't know how to slack at too many things.

Now contrast the professionals I've been working with to 3 out of 4 of my siblings. No contest there! See I can never understand that when I think I am doing my best and going out of my way to help someone (and I am trying to help them get money, what could be wrong with that?) why they would treat me like crap. Hell, in the past 5 months more complete strangers have treated me with kindness than them! Thank you, countless strangers and friends who have been so considerate. But so it goes.

I know I'm still processing a lot of emotions because whenever one of my friends is having difficulty lately, it's like I channel their bad feelings and add them to my own. My manager sent this really nice video clip about telling people how much they make a difference the other day and I watched it and it just sent me off bawling for an hour or so. I know the bad feelings will dissipate, and I'm still much, much better than I was a month ago. Yes, I need a vacation, but I am still finding plenty of ways to enjoy myself until that happens. It's just still a bit tumultuous being me right now, and it's not entirely unexpected.

Circling back, I know this has created stress for me, and I guess I thought I had it under control. I still mostly do, but I have had to realize that 14-15 hours of training a week plus this shit has been overloading me. So last week I started to wind things down a bit, but I had great workouts on Saturday and Sunday so I thought I had things licked.

Wrong.

But you know me, gotta keep doing things to see if something will change or get fixed. Monday I felt fantastic swimming. But running later on, not so much. Tuesday I totally dug on riding my bike outside, but afterwards, felt like crap. Yesterday, the extremely long warmup of my swim felt great, but the anaerobic 50's put me over the edge. So I skipped running yesterday and I just kept eating and trying to rest. Here's all what I took in yesterday (and yet I woke up hungry this morning) in no particular order:

• Power Bar Triple Threat
• Some sugary Coffeemate in my coffee
• 10 oz. glass of orange juice
• Large banana
• Lean Cuisine (beef, potatoes, corn)
• Endurox R4, one serving
• 20 oz. Gatorade
• 2 or 3 pieces string cheese
• 7.5 oz. can of sockeye salmon
• 1.5 cups of a shrimp/vegetable stir fry (homemade)
• 1/4 cup of coconut
• 2 eggs fried in butter
• 2 pieces of toast with butter (eggs and toast were a 10PM snack)
  
• About 3 oz. of Gummi Life Savers
• Tigermilk bar
• About 1 oz. of cheddar cheese
  
• 1 Beck's beer

I didn't add up the calories in all that, but my guess is well over 3,000? I also took an extra multivitamin, magnesium and B complex. I'll take them again today. It's not like I'm going to gain weight--I'm trying not to lose anymore, because stress is catabolic, and I don't need that.

Sorry for the long ramble. Sometimes this stuff just comes out. I feel pretty good right now, but unless I feel *perfect* later on, no workouts today. It is really hard for me to hold back, but sometimes holding back is the right thing to do (and sometimes not, but that's another story!). I just feel like I need a complete year of "mostly good." But you know what? I've kept going through the last 3 years with tons of crap happening in my life and I'll keep moving forward. One thing that is critical to me is laughter. I really, really like to laugh. Hence the Tiki Hut.

The Barbies are bitches. Can't change that!

Amateur Day at the Pool

I guess all the people who swim one day a week choose Wednesday, because there was a continuous stream of amateurs while I was there, and I was in the water swimming by 6:30AM. I say this because I swim Monday, Wednesday and Friday morning (and sometimes Saturday), and I know that the Masters swim on Tuesday and Thursday, so odds are anyone who shows up on Wednesday is not there on Tuesday and Thursday, which leaves Monday and Friday and I don't see these people on those days.

I wore the pink Desoto whore suit (see post from a few days ago for a pic of me in it although not wet, and I have no idea what it looks like on me wet) and felt kinda nekkid in it. Shawn was there and he immediately said, "I see you got yourself a new party suit." At least that's what I think he said. I asked him if I looked okay in it, and asked him to be honest. He's married, but I know he flirts with other women at the pool, which is cool--I think that's part of the fun of swimming. Shawn does not need a nickname because he's a mellow dude and a good guy. Anyway, he told me I looked fine, and I jumped in.

Once I started swimming I almost thought the bottoms were going to come off, but thankfully 1) I don't do flip turns and 2) I cinched the tie fairly tight. I guess it was just a matter of getting used to a skimpy bottom. I mean I wear jeans that are that low cut from time to time and you just have to relax. But it's a little different when you are trying to stretch your entire body out to make it as long as possible, know what I mean? And they did gap a little bit at full extension, but hey, I shave!

Now, there was at least one amateur guy that showed up on deck that I don't particularly like (we had a small altercation way back when because he whacked me with his lazy stroking arm), who today catches a look at me and gives me a big wave and a "hi." I'm thinking WTF when did he think I became his friend, so I look over to the lane he is going to swim in and he's standing there and I swear he's got some wood going. You're welcome, El Dorko.

The Scenery arrived and got the lane adjacent to me which was cool, although I prefer swimming in the same lane with him, but it was OK because I've taken up a different breathing pattern so I was always breathing to face The Scenery, no worries there! Bonus is that the desire to watch The Scenery gets me to rotate better.

Huge Walrus Guy (who is actually quite a nice man and decent swimmer--he never collides with me and for his size doesn't make a giant wake) who was initially sharing my lane left and in came Skinny Scruffy Beard Guy, who I've yelled at in the past because he has a shitty breaststroke kick (if you can call it breaststroke) and has kicked me even when I've been way the hell on the other side of the lane. He now knows better to hug the lane rope on his side, and if I remember correctly, he, too, lingered on deck before getting in the lane with me. He had a look of shock on his face in seeing what I was wearing. He has commented from time to time, "You have a lot of nice suits." My Indian name is Girl Who Wear Many Colorful Suits With Words on Butt.

Skinny Scruffy Beard Guy doesn't swim very long so now there's an opening in my lane and I see Look At Me I'm a Fucking Triathlete Guy on deck. I call him this because of course he wears a swim cap from a triathlon, has a bag that he brings on deck that says "FAST" on it (he is a good swimmer), and some sort of designer water bottle that just screams , "I'm a big fucking dorkwad." Initially, he stood at the head of my lane stalking it, but he must have become frightened or something (maybe I looked bad???) and opted for a different lane. Which finally left me all to myself for my main set.

Huh...I guess you could call me the Pool Dominatrix. Thing is, everyone makes nice with me once I've pointed out that they have been hitting or kicking me, annoying me, or just being ugly.

50's, hardly any rest, I about died, and I was about done when Chad (a hottie, but alas, I have no pics of him) arrives, says hi to me and I could barely breathe. I toughed it out a little more, and then I decided I'd had it and I was done. I think somebody was trying to talk to me while I was organizing my crap on deck, but honestly I don't remember. I then timed myself in taking a quick rinso shower and getting to my car. 4 minutes flat!

Meanwhile...the Barbies are a little worked up and so decided to have a little phone sex in the Tiki Hut. Apparently one of them left a message for some guy...I sure hope he takes her up on it!

Return of the Tiki Hut

I think I'm overtrained, so I'm trying to take things easier for the next few days so I can still do Triple Dog Dare NothingMan. I rode OUTSIDE today for 1:30 and it was totally fun. Noodled around for a long time and then hit my interval loop for about 20 minutes of hard fun.

If it ain't hard, it ain't trainin'!

Oh yeah, the Tiki Hut is coming back online...

I'm Hungry!

I have a feeling that the giant Barracuda is going to clean out the fridge...I better start eating!

Weekly Workout Totals 04/07/2008-04/13/2008

It was a busy weekend. Saturday morning I ran about 12 miles (on the dreadmill, yuk) and then swam a little, and then I went to the bike shop to pick up LGL and drop Bitchie for repairs.


While there, I ordered carbon cages for LGL. I had tried to get some other ones last year but we couldn't get them, but I just had to have something new for the bikes so I settled on the Elite cages. They shall be sweet! While I was waiting for my mechanic, Anthony (also Italian--I seem to hang with many Italians), I felt myself getting hypoglycemic, and I had to grab a bottle of Gatorade out of the cooler at the shop.

When I got home, I finished stretching and then began preparing a good meal. My friend, Matt, had been in Italy a few weeks ago and he sent me the 3 bottles of wine you see. I cracked open a pedestrian Vino Rosso, which turned out to be stupendous! I also think it had a higher alcohol content than most wines you would buy here, because I got quite the buzz going. Anyway, what I cooked was chicken with olives and spaghetti with tomato/onion/anchovy sauce. Excellent! I only drank 1/2 a bottle of wine, and then I guess I decided I needed some more exercise, because I decided to spin some records and do a little dancing. When all was said and done, I ended up eating almost another meal right before going to sleep, knowing I had a solid workout today.

Well, let's just say this morning was not entirely pleasant. A bit hungover, but hey, I know I can ride a bike that way, so I went about some morning stuff, and when I finally got on the bike (trainer--another crappy day here), I had a great warmup and then got a solid workout in, despite the fact that my legs were sore from yesterday--I don't normally have an urge to go dancing after a 12-mile run!

When I started to run, OMG my legs were sore, but I've experienced this before, and after 10 minutes they didn't feel "too" badly. But I felt really overheated, and decided to go onto the indoor track for 10-15 minutes. Well, when I got there, I realized that my blood sugar was dropping precipitously, and so I ate a gel and sat down for a bit. I had broken out in a cold sweat, felt dizzy, all the usual hypoglycemia symptoms. I cut the run a bit short, although I was sort of chuckling to myself. I guess just Gatorade is not enough nutrition for me on the bike anymore!

I still got in plenty o' training for the week, and next weekend is the Triple Dog Dare NothingMan weekend, so there's no need for me to shell myself in anticipation. I guess you could say I had a little taperoni this week.

Weekly Workout Totals	04/07/2008-04/13/2008
Swim:	9800 yards (5.56 miles) in 3.5 hours; 24% of weekly workout time; approx. 1225 calories burned
Bike:	Approx. 86.05 miles in 4.92 hours; 34% of weekly workout time; approx. 2994 calories burned; Total TSS=315
Run:	Approx. 30.01 miles in 4.6 hours; 31% of weekly workout time; approx. 2085 calories burned
Strength:	1.65 hours; 11% of weekly workout time; approx. 413 calories burned
All Sports:	Approx. 121.62 miles in 14.67 hours; approx. 6717 calories burned
Sleep:	7.79 hours avg./night
Stretching:	2.23 hours. Massage: 0 hours

Got my Metabolism Checked out

I found a place nearby that has Body Gem equipment and had an appointment at 7:00AM today to get measured. I was not allowed to eat anything or drink anything except water this morning. So of course, last night I had trouble sleeping because all I could think about was food! I actually did get up at 3AM and had to eat 1/2 a Power Bar because I was so hungry. I took a thermos of coffee with me so that as soon as the test was done I could drink a cup.

I had this done 3 years ago, and my numbers haven't changed much, allegedly. Which is a good thing, because it's easy for one's metabolism to slow down as the years pass due to decreased activity and/or decreased lean mass. I think I'm actually training harder than 3 years ago, and while I haven't had my body fat measured in awhile, I'm pretty sure I'm retaining my lean mass.

So what is the number? My RMR is 1400. That means that if I sleep all day, that's how many calories I burn. So obviously, you bump that up for daily living activities like, oh, working, preparing food, etc. That stuff, which I believe was underestimated, gives me an additional 300 calories per day. Then, based on my age and what I reported for the intensity of workouts I do and the volume, I am able to add another 500 calories per hour for whatever exercise, be it swimming, biking, running or strength, that I do.

Now, all this is computed in some software, and it's still just a guess. I think that the RMR is probably right, but I think that my daily activities give me about another 500 calories, so I'm going with 1900 for my BMR. During the week I'm doing about 2 hours of training a day, which means on weekdays I should be at about 2900 calories per day, which feels about right.

At any rate, the guy who owns the place where I had the measurement done and I had a long discussion about me and what he knows and what I know and how I want to get into the health/fitness profession that was quite interesting. Thing is, even with those estimates, they can be wrong or off by a few hundred calories due to many different factors.

So what am I going to do with this information? One thing I decided is that I need to take in some protein after my morning swims. I always have some carbs, but I don't do the Endurox R4 until after my second workout of the day. But apparently, the swimming gets me revved up, and so I should give myself some protein to stop any catabolism. I think it's time for me to supplement with some string cheese, which will give me a nice little hit of protein and some fat post-swim.

I know that some of my metabolic fire is stress driven, too, and then I suppose doing a bunch of races is adding to the mix. It's all good. As long as I don't drop any more weight (I was at 108 this morning, which is not good--110 needs to be my absolute floor), I should be good to go.

Side note: the pic is me in this Desoto tri outfit I just got. I don't know--should I return it? The top is fine but the bottom is barely there. I suppose it's good enough to swim in. Hard to believe I have any modesty, but I don't want to look like an idiot. I know I wouldn't wear this just riding around--too risque. I have never liked my legs, but maybe with a tan, it won't look too bad. Comments are welcome!

Happy Shoes

Stronger thought she was on Momo's blog when she saw my sparkly toes, so I guess I felt the need to exonerate myself.

I have a small collection of what I call "happy shoes." The original pair is shown in the first 2 shots, and were acquired at Ron Jon's in Cocoa Beach (Florida, where else???) in 2004. Sometime I should post the race report that goes with them here, but I'll save that for another day. The short story is I bought the shoes, and then in the morning of the Disney 1/2 IM (now a 70.3 race), I was getting ready and blurted out, "Where are my happy shoes?" And I found them and put them on and got all my stuff together on race morning.

The next pair I got are the ones in the last picture, and they are Dr. Scholl's vintage 2004 also. Alas, my right shoe has a crack, but I can still wear them "lightly." The pair with the big buckles are Kenneth Cole shoes and the last pair is by Cindy Says. I got those 2 pair late one night online shopping at Nordstrom.

I will probably get a new pair of happy shoes this year; I just need to find the right ones. But one thing's for sure--whenever I put on one of these pairs of shoes, it's impossible to not be happy!

I did leave out one pair--the ones with the flashing heels--but they can be seen here. I haven't done the pink toes yet, but trust me, they will be imminent for Triple T! Today's colors are in anticipation of my next NothingMan which I'm calling Triple Dog Dare, as I'll do a sprint on Friday, and Oly on Saturday and a 1/2 IM on Sunday.

Happy Feet and Not Enough Calories

I was feeling a little introspective and it got me a little down yesterday, but once I started making my toes all sparkly it fixed everything. It's tough to be unhappy with happy feet! I couldn't decide which color I liked more which is why I ended up doing each foot a different color. I have gone with 10 different colors at once. I thought I wanted the blood red, but once I put it on I didn't like it so much, but that got fixed up when I added the sparkle coating. Yes, I'm like a little girl sometimes with my love of pink stuff and sparkly stuff. But I have my limits. You will not catch me in a matched set of sweats with rhinestone lettering on them. Sandals with rhinestones? Sure. Diamonds? Hell yeah.

I woke up early again today feeling very hungry. I thought I had been eating non-stop in the evening, so after eating something right away, I added up what I had eaten on Tuesday. I can pretty much remember whatever I've taken in, harkening back to when I've needed to watch my intake more closely. I added up conservatively and it was about 2500 calories. I biked 1:25 and the Ergomo said I burned 830 calories in that time! I wasn't even going hard! And then I lifted weights for :45 which I figure is only another couple hundred calories, so I probably did undereat by about 500 calories or so. I'm not really sure. Which is why I'm trying to find somewhere I can get my RMR/BMR measured again so I know what I should be doing.

I used to be obsessive about wearing the HRM and noting the calories on the power meter and using those numbers to guide my food intake, but I no longer use an HRM and I haven't been looking at the bike numbers, either. I've sort of just been guesstimating what I think I'm burning, but if that bike number from yesterday is right, I am way underestimating. Yet I hate to just eat like a total pig until I gain weight--that seems stupid to me.

So today, so far I've swum for 1:05 (fairly hard) and I ran for an hour, slightly slower than tempo pace, and through lunch and recovery stuff, I've had about 1,300 calories. I think I need to eat a lot more today yet...I should probably get in about 1,800 more. I think I may need to start drinking a carb supplement . Or get back on pasta more often.

I think part of my problem is the nervous energy I'm burning up with my Dad's stuff. There is still some stress going on, I can't deny that, and one thing I don't need more of is stress or additional calorie-burning activities!

But I won't know until I find out some real numbers, so stay tuned...I really don't like it when someone says to me, "Nice problem to have." No it isn't. I need to time my calorie intake based on when I'm going to train (typically once before work and once in mid-day), and at some point I just can't put any more in. But I just thought of some other snack foods I need to start buying again--string cheese for one--and really it comes down to a couple hundred calories here and there, and that should do the trick!

Oh and there was some excellent scenery at the pool this AM. Swam this workout:

WU: 200 swim, 200 pull, 200 kick, 4 x 50 (10") Swim Golf
MS: 10 x 150 (15") as 100 Hard, 50 Easy.
100 easy swim.
2 x 200 (15") pull, Steady with excellent stroke.
8 x 25 (15") as 25 Hard, 25 Easy
CD: 100 easy swim

I was pretty fried after the 150's, but the rest was easy so no big deal.

A Few Things that Death has Magnified for Me

In a slight departure from triathlon content, it seemed like a good day to write some of this stuff down. Ah--the luxury of having the time to think about this stuff! I'm so lucky!

Some or all of the following may appear to be clichés. But remember, sometimes a cliché is just something you haven’t personally experienced.

1. Things aren’t important. People are important.
2. The color of death may be black, but, a girl (moi) can't have too many wacky swimsuits or nail polish colors. I need lots of color in my life--certain colorful things, colorful experiences and colorful people. This is something that I don't think will ever change about me.
   
3. What I sometimes think of as my greatest weaknesses (and I have plenty) can become my greatest strengths in a pinch.
4. While it’s most important to live in the here and now, a little tape rewind for review purposes isn’t bad, either. Things I haven’t thought about or remembered in years are coming back to me. I was organizing some athletic wear this morning, decided I needed a bunch of hangers, and it turned into finally deciding I could let go of a bunch of dresses that I sewed over the years. In taking each one off the hanger and throwing it onto a pile, I could remember wearing it and that point in my life.
5. Learning how to let go of things, thoughts and reactions to experiences never stops, and it makes you much stronger. This is probably the biggest lesson of death that I can think of.
   
6. Every now and then, it's good to have a few glasses of good wine, turn off all the lights, put on the flashy shoes, and sing and dance by myself. It's a marker of being in a good place. And then go out and dance with friends. Soon, very soon...
   
7. I’ll take a couple of close friends over a pile of meaningless acquaintances any day. Not that I don't appreciate the blogging world--I do, but keep perspective.
   
8. Keep trying new things—even something that on the surface seems like a crazy idea might, under the right circumstances, be the best idea after all.
9. It’s OK to leave certain projects unfinished. They must not have been that important in the first place, right?
10. Giving or receiving one moment of genuine kindness or joy can erase 10 times your suffering.
11. Every moment of every day is an opportunity to look at yourself in the mirror and ask whether you are doing your very best for yourself. Because if you can’t do that, you can’t do it for anyone else.
12. Fire anyone that isn’t living up to your expectations or is toxic to your well-being—business associates, friends, lovers, family members. Life is too short.
13. You don’t need to be liked by everyone. But being respected is divine.
14. Don’t care what other people think of you. Just care about other people.
15. Keep moving. When you stop moving, you’re dead.

I love NothingMan, but boy--do I need to do a real race. T-6 weeks!

Weekly Workout Totals 03/31/2008-04/06/2008 and Bunch of Firsts

It didn't get quite as warm as I hoped today, but still, I rode outside. First outdoor ride of 2008! First outdoor ride of 2008 on LGL! First bonk! First bit of suntan on my face! First time cussing at cars (OK so it was under 5 minutes before the first F-bomb left my mouth)! Most amount of stretching I've done in a week this season so far! Did the 60 pushups to qualify for "excellent" status (it was actually easy)! Right now I'm eating some homemade spaghetti and meatballs, and I have to say it's my best version ever. Yesterday I made this Italian salad (recipe below) that is da bomb, and that will give me a few more lunches. Eating (and cooking) well is one of the perks of all this training.

I only took Gatorade with me on the ride today, and since it was still cool-ish, I didn't drink enough, and I should have supplemented with gels (or else used my custom Infinit which always gives me enough calories). As always, my first outdoor ride was a shock to the system, what with actual terrain, wind, needing to pay attention to cars and such. And then, there was the fact of what I did last weekend. And that I ran like a woman possessed yesterday. So my legs did not feel quite up to the task of a hard ride. But after an hour of noodling around (and removing a top layer as it had warmed a bit), I finally kicked in to some decent intensity and was enjoying it. Part of the ride ended up being recon, and man, some of the roads are in crappy ass shape after our snowy winter. It's like pothole city! One road on my interval loop is so chewed up that it caused an issue with my Nokon cables to surface--the rear derailleur cable kind of flops down after rolling over so many bumps and holes. I know my LBSG won't be thrilled when I ask him to remove a couple of the "links" in it so this doesn't happen. Good thing I noticed when I heard an unusual noise, which was the cable rubbing against the lower cog thingie.

When I got off the bike, I noticed my legs didn't feel too great. This wasn't entirely unexpected. I probably didn't need to do a brick run today, and it would have been better if I waited a few hours until I ran, but I didn't start riding until 10:15 since it dawned cold, and I had other things to do, so I suited up and took off. My legs felt at least as bad as they do when you start the Ironman marathon. This tells me that I am not in Ironman shape yet, which is fine, because I shouldn't be! I don't think I took in enough calories while riding, but no worries. I was supposed to run for :30, but I bargained with myself and instead decided to tough out 3 miles, which was plenty of running! After I finished, I wolfed down some of my Italian salad and an Endurox R4, and decided I needed a little lay down, which felt great.

After about :45 I got out of bed and started in on making the meatballs and sauce, and I'm eating now (and enjoying a Turning Leaf Cabernet Sauvignon--half of the bottle went into the sauce), but I must go and veg out for a bit now and call it a day.

Hope all you readers had as great of a weekend as I did!

Insalata russa con gamberi

Shrimp and Vegetable Salad

Serves 6 (allegedly)

Note: You can fudge on the amounts of each of the vegetables, and it will still probably turn out just fine. I am rarely precise in my use of ingredients, especially when it comes to vegetables or garlic!

1 lb. medium shrimp, unpeeled

1 TBSP. red wine vinegar

¼ pound green beans

2 medium potatoes

2 medium carrots

1/3 of a 10-oz. package frozen peas, thawed

6 small canned red beets, drained and dried on paper towels

2 TBSP. gherkins in vinegar, preferably French cornichons (available at Trader Joe’s), cut up

2 TBSP. capers, the smaller the better

3 TBSP. olive oil

2 tsp. red wine vinegar

Salt

2 ½ cups mayonnaise

Directions

1. Wash the shrimps. Put them, whole and unpeeled, in boiling salted water. Add the TBSP. of vinegar to the water and cook for 4 minutes. Allow the shrimps to cool; then shell and devein them and set aside.
2. Snap the ends off the green beans, pulling away any possible strings. Rinse them and drop them into rapidly boiling salted water. Taste them early and drain them as soon as they are tender but still firm, in as little as 8 minutes if they are very young and fresh.
3. Rinse the potatoes and boil them with the peel on. When they are easily pierced with a sharp fork, drain them and peel them while they are still hot.
4. Scrape or peel the carrots clean and drop them in boiling salted water. Do not overcook. Drain when tender and set aside.
5. Drop the frozen peas into boiling salted water and cook very briefly, not more than a minute or a minute and a half. Drain and set aside.
6. When the vegetables have cooled, set aside a very small quantity of each (potatoes excepted), which you will need later for garnishing, and cut up the rest as follows: the green beans into pieces 3/8 inch long; the potatoes, carrots and beets diced into 3/8-inch cubes. The peas, of course, stay whole. Cut up the capers also if these are not the very tiny ones. Put all the ingredients, including the cut-up gherkins or cornichons, in a mixing bowl.
7. Set aside half the shrimps. Cut up the rest and mix with the vegetables. Season with the olive oil, wine vinegar, and ½ teaspoon salt. Add 1 cup of the mayonnaise and mix thoroughly. Taste for salt and correct.
8. Turn the mixture over onto a serving platter. Shape it into a shallow, flat-topped, oval mound pressing with a rubber spatula to make sure the surface is smooth and uniform. Now spread the remaining mayonnaise over the entire surface of the mound. Use the spatula to make it as smooth and even as possible. Indentations or deep pockets will spoil the effect. You can omit this step and just scoop the salad into serving bowls.
9. Now decorate the mound. Here is one way of doing it. Place a thin carrot disk on the center of the mound. Put a pea in the center of the carrot. Make a rosette of shrimps around the carrot, placing the shrimps on their side, nestling one around the other. Over the rest of the flat surface scatter flowers made using carrots for the center button, beets for the petals, and green beans for the stems. Emboss the sides of the mound with the remaining shrimps, heads and tails imbedded in the salad, backs arching away. There are limitless ways in which you can use shrimps and vegetables to decorate this salad. Use your imagination! Caution: if you are preparing this many hours or a day in advance, decorate with the beets at the last moment before serving. Their color has a tendency to run. Note: Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving.

Weekly Workout Totals	03/31/2008-04/06/2008
Swim:	9600 yards (5.45 miles) in 3.45 hours; 23% of weekly workout time; approx. 1207 calories burned
Bike:	Approx. 94.79 miles in 5.42 hours; 36% of weekly workout time; approx. 2439 calories burned; Total TSS=347
Run:	Approx. 29.04 miles in 4.39 hours; 29% of weekly workout time; approx. 1987 calories burned
Strength:	1.75 hours; 12% of weekly workout time; approx. 438 calories burned
All Sports:	Approx. 129.28 miles in 15.01 hours; approx. 6071 calories burned
Sleep:	8.11 hours avg./night
Stretching:	2.63 hours. Massage: 1.5 hours

Spring...FINALLY!

I LOVE spring! I think I am probably loving it more than ever this year because the bulk of my Dominatrix duties are complete and it's been an uncharacteristically long winter--almost 6 months of (pick from 1 to 4 at a time) grey, crappy, snowy, cold.

One of the things I've learned living here all my life is that it's good to forget a bunch of stuff over the winter, because when spring arrives and you remember, it just enhances the feeling of rebirth. For example, I typically forget just how many beautiful flowers I've planted over the years in my yard, and so when I see them poking up out of the dirt and remember, it's a great feeling. I get some of that feeling when I browse through the seed and plant catalogs, but it's not the same as seeing something in your own little plot. Now I'm looking forward to the succession of blooms--hyacinths, daffodils, tulips, lilacs, peonies, roses, and the list goes on and on.

Yesterday I had a spectacular long-ish run (1:40 worth) in Waterfall Glen. I almost could have worn shorts, but when I hit the few shady areas, I was glad for the tights. I was happy to re-experience parts of the trail as if they were all new again (they were new to my quads, that's for sure). Even as I kept trying to let myself run easily, I ran a surprisingly fast pace for me--which is pretty good considering what I did last weekend. I did a short recovery swim afterwards, and while this guy, Mike, that I know who swims mid-day on Saturdays was into his usual rant (for some reason the Saturday noon lap swim has been usurped by people mostly playing around), I kept on my positive bent. I was a little tired after the run and swim to get out and do yard work, but that's OK, I did a pretty good job of cleaning up my flower beds last fall. I did finally break down a bunch of cardboard boxes from all the things I ordered online during the winter plus the new snowblower I bought, which gave me a jump on the annual cleaning of the garage (which I totally hate doing--I guess that is reflective of my "girly" side).

Today promises to be warmer than yesterday, and so...I'm riding OUTDOORS!!! So that means I needed to fix a few bike bottles, and again, I forgot about my hot pink ones from IMLP 2007! As much time as I'll spend fixing and washing bottles from now through September, for today, at least, it is a pleasure. Since I'm still in a purge/reorganize mood, I pulled all my sleeveless bike tops and kit shorts out of their current locations so I can find a better home for them. Right now there's a huge pile of spandex/lycra on the floor of one of my bedrooms. But at least it's colorful and loaded with potential fun!

This coming week I plan to move my long run from Saturday to Thursday (meaning I will need to do it BEFORE work--OUCH!) in preparation for double long rides on the weekends--yet another sign of spring and ch...ch...ch...changes. Too bad it's not light yet when I'll need to start the run--meaning treadmill. No, I don't own a headlamp. But the days are getting longer and longer, and soon enough it will be light at 5:00AM. I guess it's a good thing that I am waking up on my own just before 5:00 already. Body knows that workouts are getting longer and longer, requiring more and more time, and I just don't like having my workday end much after 5:30PM. Since I've been watching less and less TV, it's been no problem for me to be asleep between 8:30 and 9:00PM (loser that I am), so I'm still getting plenty of sleep.

And with the double long rides on the weekends, it means I need to get hyper efficient in the use of my weekday free time, since it's tough to get much done after 4+ hour rides on the weekend, especially if travel time is involved. But I'm fortunate in being able to work from home, so that if I need a short break, I can get something done that needs doing.

I read on various triathlon forums and blogs how everyone talks about the sacrifices they make for Ironman training. I don't know if these people train more or less than I do, but I don't think of it as a sacrifice--I think of it as fun, and it builds mental toughness in me. I just happen to really like riding my bike, swimming and running outdoors. OK so maybe most of the people I hang with are also athletes, but so what? For right now, I still can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing, which reminds me of this verse from the Faith-Mind Sutra (thanks to Brett for this particular translation):

If you wish to abide in Tao, do not dislike the world you now experience.
Indeed, to see there is no difference between Tao and world is Enlightenment itself.
The wise man expends no effort.
The foolish man ties himself in knots.

Recovery is going well

When I woke up yesterday, my calves were still pretty fucked up from the elliptical and other stuff. They felt better than the day before, but when I first walked downstairs in the morning, I was saying "Ow, Ow, Ow" whenever I stepped on my left foot. I played with my walking gait to see how I could walk without it hurting.

I did a :35 abs/core workout early in the morning, but eventually, I had to decide if I was going to run. As soon as I put on my running shoes a little after noon, I guess the extra arch support (I use orthotics) was enough to correct whatever was making my calves hurt.

I still felt pretty fatigued, considering I did a really hard bike workout on Wednesday, and I knew I'd run a pretty good pace if I ran outside (it was a nice day), so in the spirit of continuing my recovery from NothingNess, I JFR'ed 7.5 miles. The nice thing about my run training over the winter is that longer runs are no big deal anymore.

My calves actually felt better for the run, which confirmed what I thought which was that they needed me to not be flat-footed, and with my new ultra lightweight running shoes, I spend more time on my toes, so it all worked out.

I got a massage last night--first one in 20 weeks! Yikes, that's a long time between. Yet, I've been doing fine, muscle-wise, until I a) started this NothingMan nonsense and b) started running on the roads. The massage was absolutely wonderful, and I'm going to get back on a schedule of every 2-3 weeks, just because it hurts so good. Turns out I had boatloads of trigger points from my left glutes all the way down (DUH, no wonder my calves felt fucked up), and in the vastus lateralis on both legs. My massage therapist did a new move on me which allowed him to really whale on my vastus lateralis, which I nicknamed the Vast-ectomy. If you saw how it was done, uh, let's just say if you were a guy you might think you were getting the other kind. My therapist also does some assisted stretches on me, and it was cool to see just how flexible my hamstrings are (or should we say overly flexible?). He did the stretch where I'm lying on my back and picks up one leg (straight knee), and gently pushes it towards my head. I achieved about a 120-degree angle with each leg! So I guess despite my crazy training lately, I've been improving my flexibility despite myself.

This morning when I woke up my calves felt pretty much back to normal. Surprisingly, I swam pretty well this morning, even though I felt worked over from the massage and the preceding training events. I'm about to repeat Wednesday's bike workout, and I hope I can nail it even better this time.

Tomorrow is supposed to be really nice, spring weather, and I'm going to treat myself to a long run on a trail I haven't been on since last August. I'm also looking forward to putzing around in the flower beds and getting really dirty!

Getting the Lead Out

It would be an understatement for me to say I have been pushing myself in training. Now that I find myself having done 2 HIM's (effectively) in 3 weeks (not recommended for those without significant base), I'm really feeling it.

I took Sunday off. On Monday I did an easy 2800 yard drill workout, and then I lifted for an hour. The swim felt good and there was no way I could have done a hard workout. The lifting is not a cardio workout, so no problem there, but in retrospect I should have dropped weight on each exercise for this week only--not like I'd lose any strength there. I woke up at midnight and had to eat something, so I had 2 slices of toast and a chicken leg. Apparently, I was still catching up on my calories from the weekend, although I estimated I burned 3,000 on Saturday doing the workouts, and add in another maybe 2,000 for my RMR, I needed about 5,000. I definitely took in at least 4,000, but sometimes on days when I don't workout, like Sunday, I don't eat enough. Which is why I'm waiting for a personal trainer I know to hook me up with someone who can measure my RMR exactly so I know how much I need to eat. I'm pretty sure it's more than I am customarily eating.

I began paying for that weight workout yesterday. I was supposed to run for 1:15 easy, but my legs were telling me NO, NO, NO. But I figured I could do elliptical. I ended up doing 1:05 of some course called "Around the World." The screen looked like Space Invaders. I had no problem doing the workout, and when I got the machine to tell me my HR, it was perfect for a solid, easy aerobic workout. But when I got off the machine, I had jelly legs something fierce. Probably because my calves had stopped working.

I stretched out really well last night, but when I woke up today, I could still feel my calves being all tight. So I decided to do a pulling workout this morning instead of my scheduled workout, because kicking would just not be happening. Turns out that I swam strongly, so the extra pushups I've started doing must be helping out there . I'm working my way up to the EXCELLENT rating for this test, so I need to get up to 60. I can do 40-50 easily, which already qualifies as excellent, but I want a 100%, and to be able to do a full 60 every day. I am not sure why, but it can't hurt me, right?

So I do the pull workout (with fine, fine scenery in my lane, thank you) and later, I look at my scheduled bike workout:

WU: 15' wup, 3' spinups
MS: 3 x 2' (1') @ 105%, 2' Easy,
4 x (6' @ FT then 2' @ 105-110%, 3' Easy),
8 x 30/30'
CD: 4' Easy

I wasn't sure I'd be able to manage it, but turns out I did just fine. Well, for the first 3 of the FT intervals I was fine...the last one I lost a little power on, but overall I was surprised to be able to nail this. Trust me, it's a hard workout! My calves still haven't settled down, but I think it's still after effect of the elliptical, so they should be fine by tomorrow.

So now that I've confirmed my legs are working again, perhaps with a good night's rest I'll be able to bust out a nice tempo run tomorrow. I'm looking forward to running, and now that the weather is approaching reliable for outdoor running, even better.

On the tapeworm front, I continue to be on the Food Channel since the weekend. I laughed and told my lane mate this morning that I was going to start bringing cheeseburgers to the pool! Somehow I have managed to eat only a handful of those crack-loaded Doritos Hint of Lime chips. Last night I ate until I was almost uncomfortably full, and even after eating a light breakfast and drinking Gatorade during my swim workout, I felt pretty underfueled. But that must just be the recovery fatigue talking. My weight hasn't budged.

I have a massage scheduled for tomorrow, and for the first time in several months, I feel like I really need it.

I'm not on drugs (wish I were)...

Brett asked me to write up the story behind these Boohbahs. Head on over to his blog for his story (whenever he gets around to posting it), since he's now the proud owner of one.

It was 2004, and I was in a hotel room in Racine, WI preparing for a HIM the next day with a former (I hate saying it, but it's true) friend, killing time before race checkin and channel surfing. What should come on the tube but Boohbah! I didn't know it at the time, but it was the successor of Teletubbies. I've seen Teletubbies, and in my opinion, Boohbah is a lot better.

Anyway, you need to actually watch an episode of it (I own the Hot Dog episode, which is a classic) to believe it, but the first time I saw it, I had no idea it was a kid's show, and thought I might have stumbled onto the drug channel. It wasn't until weeks later that I encountered another reference to the show, and found out they made these animated and other versions that you see in the picture. It is just so screwball that I had to buy them, and then I decided they needed Ironman clothes, so I doctored up some infant T-shirts for the larger ones. The big ones are about 12" tall, and they "dance" and make Boohbah noises. The smaller yellow one can be squeezed to make noise, and the small blue one is for travel, although it's been replaced by shark and octopus Beanie Babies on my car's dashboard. The one with the baby PeopleSoft hat--PeopleSoft is the name of the company that I used to work for. It no longer exists. When we were transitioning to the new company, someone left a box of these baby hats in the public kitchen area, and I snagged one.

I know it's silly that I own these things, but hey, I'm silly that way. Sometimes I fire up the dancing ones (I usually only keep 2 on top of the TV) right before I do a trainer workout. It sort of signals "game on."

Last week, Brett tells me his kids are starting to watch and enjoy Boohbah, and he doesn't get it--he also thinks it has something to do with drugs. So I sent him some Boohbah stuff and one other thing, which when he gets around to posting, you'll see.

Oh--I'm going to try and run today and see how that feels. A real easy run. I'm still enjoying the fact that I've effectively done 2 HIM's in 3 weeks. That's something I'd never done before!

If you've never seen Boohbah before, check out this perfect sendup of the opening sequence:

Weekly Workout Totals 03/24/2008-03/30/2008

It doesn't look like a lot of volume, but it was a lot of work. I've been tired all day, as expected. I expect I'll still have some residual fatigue tomorrow, but I need to get back on the training horse. I just don't feel right not working out, though I did get a bunch of errands and chores done today. Did I say I'm tired?

Weekly Workout Totals	03/24/2008-03/30/2008
Swim:	9200 yards (5.22 miles) in 3.1 hours; 21% of weekly workout time; approx. 1085 calories burned
Bike:	Approx. 100 miles in 5.47 hours; 37% of weekly workout time; approx. 2460 calories burned; Total TSS=417
Run:	Approx. 30.4 miles in 4.54 hours; 30% of weekly workout time; approx. 2055 calories burned
Strength:	1.87 hours; 12% of weekly workout time; approx. 468 calories burned
All Sports:	Approx. 135.62 miles in 14.98 hours; approx. 6068 calories burned
Sleep:	8.57 hours avg./night
Stretching:	2.15 hours. Massage: 0 hours