It's been another hectic week and I'm now beginning to understand how important it is to keep a schedule. Time sure can get away from you! I managed to fit in several workouts and even found a pool in Sacramento (where I spent Thanksgiving) to swim in. In addition to finding the pool, I had my own personal coach (my boyfriend Jeff) to help keep me focused on correct swim strokes. I finished the swim with a few great laps under my belt and just before the thunderstorm rolled in. Today, I woke and ran the bike trails of Gold River with Jeff. Along the way we spotted a couple of deer. The wind was blowing pretty forcefully and my stomach was heavy with all the delicious food I've been eating, but we managed to get 40 minutes of good running in. It's been a great visit with Jeff's family, and I'm thankful to be included. We'll be packing up the car in an hour or so and heading back home to prepare for yet another hectic week!
Today was my first workout since Saturday. This is not what is on my workout plan, however, "Life" just seemed impossible to accomodate any such workouts. On Sunday morning, I was out the door by 7:30 to head down the street to the Long Beach Convention Center where I was judging the North Level 4 State Gymnastics Meet. I was assigned to judge Bars. The day was quite long and breaks were literally allowing enough time to race to the bathroom and then shovel food in your mouth as you walked back to your judging station. The competition finally ended at 8:30 pm. From there, I drove to Marina Del Rey to let Zeus (the great dane) out. Lilly is taking care of Zeus for a week while his owners are on vacation. However, Lil was assigned to the South State meet which was in San Diego. Therefore, Zeus was in desperate need of some attention.
Monday arrived quicker than I wanted it too. Another busy day was scheduled. Though I intended to get a bike workout in, my plan was changed when I got a call from Lilly to ask me how to clean her wounds as she had taken a nasty spill while on her 90 min bike ride. I met her at the drug store where we purchased several bandages, antibiotic creams and ice packs. I spent a good hour or so cleaning her up and instructing her to ICE. By the time I got back home, it was after 9 pm. I was WIPED!
This morning, I was supposed to be out the door by 5 am and on my way to Group Fitness for Runners class in Santa Monica. I vaguely remember turning off my alarm at 4:30. I woke an hour later, got out of bed and dressed, and was on my way to class. Though I arrived 30 min. late, I joined in the class, completed the "stair workout" and then ran another 20 min or so. After I showered and was on my way to work, Lil called and asked me to bring her more bandages (she was at work). I stopped by and fixed her up once again...perhaps the lesson learned is that you should always be wearing your bike gear?!
Today was a georgeous run along the beach in Santa Monica and Venice. As the team started out, I decided to join the "run/walk" group of about 10 people. As we approached our second interval (4 min run, 1 min walk), the group had already dispersed and I now found myself alongside 5 teammates. Among them was Meghan Harrigan. As we ran a bit further, Meghan and I had broken away from the remainder of the group and were now on our own pace. Though we both agreed that "continuous talking while running" was not our style, I couldn't help but ask her questions.
Meghan is another Honored Teammate - that means, Leukemia Survivor. Just a little over a year ago she began her remission. I recall hearing about her story in 2007 from my friends Kyle and Carrie Garlett. Meghan had joined TNT to fundraise and participate in the Malibu Triathlon. Shortly after her training began, Meghan was diagnosed with Lymphoma. At about the same time, Meghan was considering taking a new job that was ideal for her. However, by doing so, she would become uninsured as there was no Employer sponsored health coverage. As Meghan and I ran, we discussed this and A) how "lucky" she was to not have taken that job, B) how she was diagnosed with Stage 1, and C) how she was already involved with TNT.
Though Meghan's treatments are now over, her fight continues on. As she states, she has a "new normal" to learn for everything. The treatments were harsh on her lungs and she now has asthma. Our 42 minute run was a reasonable pace for me and even though Meghan was never more than a foot ahead or behind me, she felt it was a bit tough. Even if I didn't feel like running this beautiful day, I discovered that there is no room for complaints from me....especially when I am pacing a Survivor!
Yeah for me!! I not only survived swim practice last night, but I got up early and went back to the pool for some more practice. Both practices were a bit challenging as I kept taking in way more water than I should. This leads to my question for the day: if "breathing" is a natural instinct, how is it so difficult to do when your face is surrounded by water?" If they allowed oxygen tanks during the swim - I would be in heaven!!
Tonight is our 2nd official Team swim practice and I'm a little nervous for two reasons:
1) I am exhibiting symptoms of the common cold - runny nose, minor headache, and scratchy throat
2) I dreamt last night that while at practice, some inconsiderate guy swam over me, kicking me so hard in the head that I was knocked unconscious and drowned! YIKES!!! Is this even possible? I don't know and I don't want to find out. Therefore, tonight, I will ensure to always be the last swimmer in my lane so that my dream will not come true!
