Getting Back on Track

I started off the week with the almost getting sick feeling; sore throat, stuffy nose, sort of cough, etc. Since I knew we were heading up to Sacramento this weekend for the CIM (I am watching, Jen is running) I wanted to be sure not to get sick. It seems like I get a case of this every year and it hangs around for a week or so. This year I was on top of it with Vitamin C, tea, OJ, and plenty of time in the steam room. For some reason when I really wanted the steam room to be filled with the smell of Eucalyptus it wasn’t, go figure.

My training for the half marathon starts next week and I am really looking forward to it. I feel like I have been drifting along on the periphery of working out for the last three weeks; getting in a run here, a lift or a swim there, while making sure to eat as much crappy food as possible (yeah, makes a ton of sense I know). I think the problem started with not really having a goal to work towards and was compounded by my starting a new job. It seems like life changes like that always throw a wrench in the best laid plans. Of course if I look at it in a positive way I guess it has given me motivation to pick an event and get back into training and eating right which will be a really good thing come Christmas. I will have a good reason to avoid all the candy, cookies, and other delicious but deadly treats that show their faces around the holidays.

Toward the later part of the week I got in a couple of swims and a run:

Tuesday pm swim at 24 hr. – 500m
Total Time: 8:57

I was feeling like I needed to do something Tuesday evening and I also wanted to hit up the steam room so I headed up to the gym for a swim. I only did 500m but it was nice to be doing something and I felt pretty good. After swimming for 9 minutes I sat in the steam room for 20 minutes or so.

Thursday am run – 4mi
Total Time: 30:16
AP: 7:34

Well the good news is my legs had trouble keeping up with my lungs; the bad news is my legs had trouble keeping up with my lungs. I set out for my first run in a while on Thursday morning and I decided just to run and not try to push myself very hard. I could tell right away that my legs were feeling heavy but I figured that as long as I didn’t push myself too hard I would be fine. Turns out that was easy enough given that my legs felt pretty heavy the whole time. I was happy with my pace when I finished up and I stretched out pretty well but this morning when I jumped out of bed I could feel that I didn’t stretch well enough because my legs were sore. Sore! After 4 miles!

Friday am swim at 24hr. – 500m
Total Time: 9:22

Up to the gym again this morning for a swim steam combo; 9ish minutes of swimming followed by 20ish minutes of steaming. I focused on keeping my stroke count low and was successful the whole time – 14 on the way down, 15 on the way back. I also tried to feel myself pulling the water with each stroke instead of letting my hand “slip” through the water. After the swim my legs felt better and I stretched out really well in the steam room; however, while I sit typing this I can feel that my legs are pretty tight again. I think I’ll take a little walk at lunch and then stretch them out again.