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Memorial Day

Thursday, May 29th, 2008

Had an enjoyable long weekend.  With the exception of leaving Friday after work, only to turn around and go home after moving 9 miles in an hour and a half.  Thanks construction and possibly a wreck on I-35.

Made it to the H-town mid-afternoon Saturday, in time to get to the pool for C’s b-day party.  We got the babies into the pool for their very first time.  They did protest for the first few minutes, but then had a blast splashing and kicking.  Both G and A tried to put their face down in the water and came up with big gasps.  Quite entertaining.   Ended the evening swimming 600M in the lap pool.  Wasn’t bad, but the pool is outside and was full of all sorts of tree debris.

Went back to the pool Saturday and repeated the drill with the kiddos, but passed on doing laps as we had Pei Wei take-out at the pool as soon as we got there.

Headed home via Austin for a visit to see Granny, Grammy and Grandpa.  We had a good visit and made our way home by 11PM.  Not too shabby.

Haven’t gotten out of bed early enough to hit the Y yet this week, but did mow the lawn last night into the early darkness.

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Let Me (re)Introduce Myslef

Thursday, May 22nd, 2008

Dear Interwebs,

Hi, I’m back.  Been a little while.  Life has been hectic.  The kiddos are both teething.  Abs began actual crawling yesterday.  They have decided that a 5:30am snack is a good thing, when in fact it is not.  Additionally, we hosted a crawfish boil this past weekend complete with 80 lbs of mudbugs and all the trimmings.  Good stuff, but a lot to plan and do, and even harder to do it while juggling the kiddos.  Plus work has been super busy.

But I’ve been slowly  getting back into the workout routine.  Over the last week I’ve clocked 4 runs, a couple of walks, an evening lake paddle, a few weights, and this morning my first swim in, oh about a month.  Highlight of exercising was probably the Sunday am bike to church with the kiddos in the trailer.  Great fun, even though it was getting fairly warm by the time we headed home.  I’m moving for a vote on the appropriateness of shorts in church during the summer months.

I pledge to be more diligent, interwebs, that is after this weekend’s trip to Houston to sweat, sweat, sweat.

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Work-Outs

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

So I actually went for a run Saturday afternoon.  Felt great to be out again.  Not pain-free, but definitely not the old pain.  Still feeling it in the back of my knee.  Had the MRI this morning bright and early.  Luckily it was the open air kind and I wasn’t slide into a tube.  They even piped in radio over some headphones for me.  Not bad at all.

Been to the Y the last 2 days.  Yesterday was 30 min of bike followed by 2 X 250M free and 2 X 100M breast.  Felt nice, but forced to be back in the water.  This afternoon spent lunch at the downtown Y.  20 min on the elliptical and 25 min on the bike.  Was going to run outside followed by a swim, but there have been severe storms all day and the pool was closed.

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Change in Attitude

Friday, March 28th, 2008

So I thought about my post yesterday, and decided I needed to suck it up and take advantage of the Y and all it has to offer and embrace the experience.  So I decided to drag myself out of bed early this morning and get in a long challenging workout.

Spent 30 min on the elliptical trainer.  Did the interval setting and focused on keeping the stride long and fast.  Then went over to the bike and spent 20 minutes again on the interval program.  Kept the RPM’s high and finished with 6 miles.  Finally went to the pool for some laps.  Swam 2 X 250M free and 2 X 100M breast with no breaks in between.  Used the breast as recovery between the sets of free, and then as a cool down.

Felt good, and I still got in to the office early.

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Workouts

Thursday, March 27th, 2008

Sorry for the lapse in posting.  I’ve been to the Y numerous times over the last week.  At least 3 swims, a cycle, 1 session on the rowing machine, and 4-5 rounds on the elliptical.  I’m actually liking the elliptical, gets the heart pumping and is quite a bit more comfortable than the unwieldy seat on the stationary bikes in the cardio room.

But I’ve come to the realization that working out in the Y is pretty blah.  It is working out.  It is not the adventure that running and biking are.  There are no new trails or routes to take, no chance of finding a new street or cool new part of the town.  There is a tv, or magazine, or the same 4 walls.

It really hits me, especially this time of year.  I’m quite sad that I’ve yet to run in the warm southern breeze of spring.  I haven’t gotten to smell the blooming pear trees and other flowers floating through the air.  I have only kept track of the speedy buds of new growth on the trees and lawns from the safety and security of my car on the way to and from work.  It really kind of stinks.

I need to remedy this by getting the road bike out this weekend and maybe taking a boat to the lake tomorrow evening or this weekend.  Soak up some sun, get a breath of fresh air, enjoy nature and all its glory.

Oh, still haven’t made it to a spin class.  The one morning the kiddos woke up early enough for me to get to a class was this Wednesday, and of course no spin class Wed. morning.

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Biking and swimming

Wednesday, March 19th, 2008

We had a great trip to Shreveport over the weekend. Got to see the Roberts who were in from Denver and celebrated Mad’ s 1st B-day at a great party. We also got to have breakfast with the Gibsons. Ummmm Strawn’s pancakes. Good to see everyone and the kiddos were great in the car. Only downside was no exercise to speak of, and too much good food.

Finally got back to the Y last night for a quick spin. It felt good to get the blood pumping and the legs churning. Pushed the upper end for 30 minutes. High resistance and high rpms. Ended up with 9.2 miles in 30 min. The legs felt very good afterward. Finished with stretching. Still having some knee pain. Its in the back of my knee, but is definitely feeling better.

Went back this morning to bike and swim. Spent 2o minutes on the bike. Did the 1 to 1 interval program. Man was I feeling it. 20 minutes yielded 6.1 miles. But my heart rate was definitely up and the legs were burning. Then headed to the pool. Great swim. Really felt like I was gliding through the water. Put in 2 x 250M free and 2 x 100M breast for a total of 700M.

No spin class to speak of. 5:45am is just way too early. Tomorrow is the last morning that the Y offers the class, so I’m going to try extra hard to get there. I really do enjoy the class, especially the spin bike. So much more like my road bike.

Getting ready for the road, and to spread the word about watching out for cyclists, check this video out.

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Swim,Swim,Swim

Friday, March 14th, 2008

Its been awhile, but I’m still here.  Not running, but we’ll get to that.  This past Sunday my leg was feeling good, and knowing that I had a Dr’s appointment on Tuesday I wanted to make sure I would be able to remember where the pain was.  So I went running.  Took the kiddos in the jog stroller and went.  Wanted to test the leg and put in 5 miles total.  Didn’t feel pain until around mile 3.  The pain was relatively light, so I decided to do it again on Monday night.  Put in around 3.5 miles.  Definitely felt it after that.  But both were good runs.

Tuesday got up and hit the pool at the Y before the appointment.  Swam a total of 950M, 3x 250M free and 2x100M breast.  Felt good.

Had the Dr’s appt and he couldn’t find anything in any tendons, muscles, ligaments, etc.  X-rayed my knee and hip and both looked good.  The only thing he could find was some reaction to physical manipulation around my meniscus.  So based on when the injury began, he thinks I have a slight tear in my cartilage.  Told me to take 3 weeks of no weight-bearing exercise along with 2 weeks of a strong anti-inflammatory.  He was of the impression that I would still be able to run OKC on 3 weeks training if I kept my aerobic conditioning up.  I don’t think that is a good idea, if even possible.  A long bike ride, even at a taxing pace is no substitute for the strain and exertion from a run of equal time.  So I’m taking off running for the 3 weeks, while keeping up the swimming and biking.  We’ll see how the legs feel after that, but I should be good for the 1/2 at OKC.

Followed up by swimming Wed and this morning, and riding the stationary bike Thurs.  All good workouts.  Wed I broke 1KM swimming for the 1st time ever, putting in 1050M.  Followed up with and even 1K this morning.  Really digging the pool, and feeling a lot more at ease.  Still need to get some ear plugs and work on breathing every 3rd stroke, though.  The bike ride was good, constant effort of 95RPM for 30 min for a total of 8.9 miles.

Next week I’ve vowed to make it to the 5:45 spin class at least twice.

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Tues B-Ball, Thurs bike/swim

Thursday, March 6th, 2008

Made it out to B-Ball on Tues night.  Had 3 good games, lots of running, sprinting, etc.  Only problem was that my right thigh and knee began aching shortly afterward.  By Wed. morning it was very sore, and has been ever since.  Don’t know what is going on, so I’m looking to kind an orthopedist to take a look.

I have decided to not run on it for a while and see what happens, and what a doc says.  So I went to the Y this morning to ride the bike and swim.  Spent 30 minutes on the bike at an easy pace, got 8.75 miles none-the-less.  Hit the pool and loved it.  Everything felt nice and smooth, with the possible exception of attempting to breathe every 3rd stroke.  Then I felt like I was about to drown.  Need to work on that.  But torso rotation was going well and my hand entry was not messy.  Swam 2X200M free with 2X100M breast after each set.

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Great run and swim

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Took a rest day on Wednesday.  Was thinking I’d hit spin class, but I was still sore from Mon/Tues, and was out late playing laser-tag with the guys from our Sunday school class.  Quite a good time.

Thurs, I had to drive to a courthouse 3 hours from Norman to be a lawyer in a courtroom for only my second time since graduating law school.  Hearing was at 10 am, so I had to be out of the house too early for a workout.  Took my running clothes thinking I’d run over lunch when I got back to town.  Got to the Lake Hefner trail and got out to change when I was hit by the wind.  There were sustained winds in the 30 mph range, and I was having to lean into them to move forward.  Decided to skip the run then and try later, even if it had to be in the Y.

After work, got home, and talked Carrie into heading to the Y.  The wind had died down so I decided to run to meet her there.  Took the dog for nearly 2 miles around the ‘hood to warm up, dropped him off in the back yard and hoofed it to the Y.  Did 3 miles at 8:10ish/mi. and finished with .8mi at cool-down pace.  It was a fantastic run.  Great temps and no wind.  Finished by stretching, sitting in the whirlpool and then 200M free and 100M breast.

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Run and Swim

Tuesday, February 26th, 2008

Was planning to get back on track w/ RLRF today.  Was being the key there.  We had some vicious winds blow in yesterday, and they stuck around for today as well.  At 6:15 it was 30F with sustained winds around 20mph, gusting higher.  Not exactly the weather to get out for a track workout.  Maybe I’m turning into a pansy, but I decided to switch the schedule and do a tempo run inside on the dreadmill.  Then I forgot my training log, and had no idea how far I was supposed to go.  Things were not looking good for a successful run.

But I pushed onward and got on the ‘mill, turned up some tunes and took off.  Warmed up for .75 miles and pushed it to 8:20/mile for a mile.  Was not feeling a good vibe at all.  Couldn’t get into a rhythm with my stride, so I dropped the next mile down to 8:40/mile.  Still not feeling it,  and my right leg began to give me some weird twinges.  Decided to cool down for .25 and call it a run with 3 total miles.

Stretched and headed to the pool.  The swim felt great.  I concentrated on relaxing and breathing (out under water and in out of water) and on getting my arms out and into a bent position smoothly.  Swam 2 X 200M free with 2X 100M breast between.  My arms are definitely sore now.  Still feeling those paddling muscles.

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