March 2005 Archives

The Wakulla Suites hosted our family again for the week prior to Easter, twenty-six years since our first visit. The Wakulla has a special place in all our hearts. Each year, we're anxious to see what changes have been made since we were there last. Life changing years included the installation of microwaves in every room. It was nine years since I was there last. I brought Kris along, 6 months into our courtship. After that trip, I didn't know if she would continue dating me. She did, and we returned triumphantly this year, excited to be back.

Instead of driving the 24+ hours to get there, everyone flew into Orlando, and we made the trek to the Atlantic Coast. I finished Week 8 off with an hour-long run on Sunday. I swam once in the City aquatic center, a really nice 50-meter by 25-yard pool. Of course they had it set up long course. The wind was whipping off the adjacent municipal golf course, making for difficult swimming. Swimming against the wind from the deep end of the pool made it feel like I was swimming up hill. I also got in three additional runs, with one on the beach. Running on the beach is not easy. Even though we ran on the hard sand by the water, the relatively strong winds and pitch made for a tough outing. Obviously, there was no biking, but I think the body surfing made up for that.

I tested running this week, and I'm quite pleased with the results. I did my Pain Free exercises every day, and the running was free of pain. (Couldn't resist.) The week's highlight was a 2000 straight (40 lengths without stopping) I swam. I just put my head down and told myself to get done with it. I finished it 27:10, which was averages to about 1:21 per 100 yards. Not too shabby. The toughest part was convincing my mind that I could finish it. It kept saying to split the swim into parts, taking short breaks between each. I shot it down every time, and finished the swim without stopping.

A really busy but successful week at work and the recovery from the forced rest last week cut into training time this week. I'm now in Florida for relaxation and sun. But that doesn't mean a week without training. I ran an hour tonight to finish off Week 8. We'll get some swimming and running in this week, and then visit a podiatrist and work really hard when I get home.

I experienced my first setback this week. After last Sunday's long run, the legs were sore. They didn't recover like I wished they would and were still a bit sore going to bed Monday. The next morning, things felt better until I started running. I lasted only 15 minutes before I stopped, hopefully preventing any additional injury. I can't quite find the cause, but it's mainly my right leg. It involves the shin, calve, and arch. I saw my doctor on Friday and have upcoming appointments with Sports Med and a podiatrist. Based on recommendations, I picked up the book Pain Free to see if that will help in the mean time. After one day of the Pain Free exercises, things are feeling better. I'll try running a bit this week to see if things have rested enough yet. Any pains and I will stop immediately.

Basketball ended in the worst way imaginable. Think of bad, and then triple it. At least Thursday nights are open again.

I upped the hours this week with an easy swim on Monday. Slight pains in my shins are starting to cause some concern while running. I cut this morning's run in half because I didn't want to push it. This week is scheduled to be a bit shorter, so I'm going to expand it and do very little running, and pay a visit to my PT. Besides, work is keeping me really busy, and I'll be able to get some stuff done in the mean time.

Our last basketball game is this week, thankfully. We haven't been doing too good. A lot like those college teams that you see at the bottom of their conference year-in and year-out. We win one to get the hopes up, and then we lose three in a row. I'm glad it's over. Without it, Thursday nights will open up. Also, I was worried about getting seriously injured. Just last week I jammed my finger and couldn't wear my wedding ring for three days. It's still swollen. And my nose is still sore from getting an elbow to the face two weeks ago. Everyone's already looking forward to softball, anyways.

Week 5 was a very busy week. I got in my nearly 7.5 hours of scheduled exercise (again the swim was lacking) alongside charging 52 hours to work, with an additional 12 hours donated for training on Friday night and Saturday. Lots of rearranged workouts and venues. The long bike ride (1:40) on Saturday started at 9 PM, and the long run followed the next morning at 9 AM. Even with a full night's sleep, I passed out in the bed after showering.

February was the first month (although the shortest) that I was working out according to a specific schedule and plan. The total of just over 28 hours is a nice average of an hour per day. As comparison, January was 19:13, or about 38 minutes per day. March will see those number go up as weeks climb toward an average of 10 hours. Basketball ends in two weeks (Mar 10), so that will open up more time to get things done around the house. On this swim deficiency...I will switch some things around to include 3 swims per week, allowing for increased swim time for the week, but each one at the same distance (around 3000 yards) as I have done previously.