november highlights...the first jumps in a LONG while, search me! page (link to left), first full run, nebraska trip, house buying.
Thursday, November 29. A late swim.
Finally made it back into the pool tonight around 9:00pm. The swim didn't feel so great at the start but I found the groove towards the end. I had a bit of a caffeine headache left over from the Pepsis and Mountain Dews I had on my recent roadtrip. No fun.
In other news...I'm on a mission to lose the 15 pounds I gained while I wasn't able to do anything due to my ankle problem. Stay tuned...
Sunday, November 25. Nebraska run.
The road trip back to NE wasn't so bad. We ran into a lot of snow near Rawlins, WY but pretty fair the rest of the time. I went for a run this afternoon, running west from my aunt Jean's house for about 20 minutes, then 20 back. The elevation slowed me down quite a bit, but by the time I turned around, I felt like I was almost up to par. It was a beautiful day, sunny and pretty warm considering its late November...in the high 50s. When I stoped to stretch about 10 minutes into the run I was pleased to be reintroduced to how quiet things are around these parts. I could see for miles and hear birds (crows, hawks, etc.) that were a long way off. There was also the sound of wind wispering through the tall grass fields. Its been many years since I've been back to NE in the fall/winter. Feels pretty good to be back. We head back Monday afternoon. I'll update my "Wheetfield Bound" page once I get back with more on my visit.
Friday, November 23. A run then off on a road trip.
They run tonight didn't feel all that great. I was only 15 seconds slower than my last run around Portage Bay, which isn't bad considering how tight and jolty my run felt. I think it shows how much my swimming plays a role in loosening me up. Better get back to swimming, hope that pool opens soon. I think I need to get back into yoga too. I could use some mind/body work.
In other news, my grandfather passed away this morning. We've been expecting it for a while so I think we're all pretty adjusted. My dad, sister and couldn't get any flights due to the turkey day holiday so we're road tripping it. We leave tonight for Nebraska...should arrive early Sunday morning. I'm going to try to get a couple runs in while I'm there.
Tuesday, November 21. Vestus Pestus.
Vesty was once again quite a pest tonight, though better than usual. We're slowly starting to come to an understanding about things. I am able to stay much softer in my hands and remain much more balanced than I used to on Vesty. I also learned the three-point position tonight that - lets just say - is easier for women to do than men. It actually isn't so bad though and I ended up being much better positioned to communicate with my legs.
The swimming pool is closed while they fix one of the heating units.
Wednesday, November 14. Running Man II.
Had a great run tonight. I took about 25 seconds off my Red Robin time and about 47 seconds off my full Portage Bay time. I'm VERY pleased. Next week I start in on intervals again to get my speed back up. I have about two minutes to take off my Portage Bay time so the fun is not over yet.
Tuesday, November 13. Aha! swimming and a small Vesty victory.
I think I made a breakthrough in my swimming last night, not sure though. I did my regular workout and did OK on my timed pieces, but not exceptional. I then started in on the swim/drills and by the end of the practice could feel a dynamic going on bewtween my hands and hips that Laurie had talked about in my Portland lesson. I didn't do any timed pieces after this, but my stroke count across the pool dropped a couple strokes immediately. Nice.
Tonight was my first Tuesday night flat lesson in what will become a regular lesson in addition to my Thursday night jumping lesson. I was once again on Vesty who in many ways is going to be very good for me, but in many other ways he will be my arch nemesis for a while. Our biggest problem is that we fight each other so much. He's strong, I'm strong and he is able to take advantage of that and be a major pill whenever possible. After a lot of frustrating drills I finally brought Vesty down to the walk and started working with him at that gate so that I could be softer in my hands rather than continuing the tug of war. Once all was under control we went...quietly...up to the trot and maintained control while staying soft at this gate. So, to sum it all up, the last five minutes of the lesson were fabulous. Now if I can just get a full hour of this out of Vesty, I'll be pretty darn happy.
Saturday, November 10. First full run.
I did my first full run around Portage Bay this evening. My time was a good three minutes slower than my best. It has been over two months since I last ran so I'm not to bothered by this. My plan is to do more steady state running for another week and then start doing intervals again to build up speed.
Thursday, November 8. More swim, less ride.
The swim tonight went really well, I continue to add on to my workouts both in distance and speed. Before long, I should be back up to the workouts I was doing pre-ankle surgery. I'm definitely not in all that great of shape, I'm totally exhausted after the workouts, but at least I'm getting back to normal bit by bit.
The ride tonight was quite the challenge. I rode Vesty, who is well know for not being the easiest horse in the barn to ride...can't be too strong, can't be too light. Needless to say, I didn't get to any jumping. Laura had me working on balance issues as well as controlling my aids with lighter hands. Frustrating, but good for me.
Wednesday, November 7. A little more run.
I did about 18 minutes of running tonight before my ankle started to freak out on me, 8 more minutes than my last run. This time I timed myself to the Red Robin restaurant in order to start measuring how I'm progressing back into my training. This time it took about 10:03 to get there. I think my best time before ankle suregery was around 7:30. So that's what I'll be heading for. I even did some sit-ups tonight, gotta get that core body strength back up to par.
Tuesday, November 4. More swim drills and a Susan lesson.
Squeezed in a swim workout before heading off to Susan's riding lesson. Didn't do anything spectacular at all just a lot of TI swim/drills. I feel like its all starting to come back to me, but still have a long way to go on the swim.
Susan's lesson went really well. She started working over poles, first at a consistent trot then coming out of the poles into a canter. As usual, she did really well. She'll be outjumping me in no time.
Monday, November 3. Full on Sunday swim.
I made myself to a full swim workout on Sunday. Man, am I WAY out of shape. Stuff that used to be a since is now pretty taxing. I'm doing my old basic workout but with a couple new twists to do the TI swim/drills 10 lap warm up, 200 swim/drill, 200IM, 200 timed, 400 pyramid. My buddy Jake, that I loaned my TI video to was at the pool, so it was good catching up with him after my absence and his trip with his wife to Europe.
Friday, November 2. We have lift off.
The ride last night went really well. The main objective was to see if my ankle would be OK for riding. Boy was it. I started on Mac, Laura's competition horse. He's an awesome horse, but very bouncy at the trot which is where I planned on spending most of my time. You need some serious shock absorbers at the trot on Mac. About half way through the lesson, Pam - one of the other pentathletes - and I switched horses so that she could do some dressage on Mac and I could get some smooth time on Eli. Riding Eli was like "butta" he is so smooth and controlled. The canter was even better. Man, I love Eli. Just when I was getting ready to call it a really successful night, Laura told me to take the small cross-rails. I quikcly and eagerly put on my helmet and went for it. Boy did it feel good. Eli is an awesome little jumper. Laura said she was very pleased with how soft my hands were and how I was really down into my calves. I guess teaching lessons to Susan has really helped me too. It was a really great night...my ankle is cool with the riding and my riding is better than where I left off. Yee haw!
Thursday, November 1. First run, first ride.
I took my first run last night around 7:00pm. I made it about 11 minutes into the run before my left ankle (the one I had an operation on in Sept.) started acting up. I decided not to push it and stopped. This meant about a 20 minute walk back home, but it actually was a pretty cool Halloween night...full moon, wispy clouds flying by trick-or-treaters, etc. What little run I did do felt pretty good and my time was not too far off the last fast run I did way back in early summer. I plan on building up over the next couple weeks.
I'm off to my first riding lesson in several months tonight. I've been coaching Susan a bit, but haven't been on a horse for way too long. REALLY looking forward to it. Depending on how expenses turn out with me buying my house in December, I may try to add another lesson here and there to get back up to speed. Same will go for fencing.
