Ow

I think it's about time to devote a posting to injuries. Well, I shouldn't say injuries. That's too harsh. They are more like....little discomforts. Just one or two body parts that, due to strenuous activity, don't quite feel or behave exactly as they should.

My first significant discomfort was after the first time I went swimming and I was doing the straight-arm windmill stroke. Totally wrong. Big time strain on my shoulders. So, I got this pain in the muscle behind my right shoulder. Here's how I'll describe it; make an 'L' using your left thumb and forefinger. Now turn it flat with your palm facing down. Now stick your thumb in your right armpit and put the tip of your pointer finger on your back. That's where it hurt.

Then I got some discomfort in my left arm just behind my elbow. That only hurt when I was driving and making a left hand turns. Now I have a pain in the same spot on my right arm.

For my first couple runs, if I didn't warm up properly, I would get charlie-horses in my legs after my first lap. I'm over that now.

I hurt the bottom of my left foot from all the pushing off the wall during my swim last night. It hurts when I walk up the stairs or stand on my tip-toes.

I have MAJOR discomfort in my back now. I think I strained something during our swim in the bay this weekend. I've circled the exact spot on this nice man's back:

I don't feel the pain when I move. But whenever I breathe deeply, hiccup, cough, burp, sneeze or do this weird high-pitched hiccup/burp thing I occasionally do, it feels like someone is stabbing me in the back. Juliana is my resident sports medicine expert (her major in college) so I asked her the probability that I had actually broken a rib and it had punctured my lung. She said "slim to none." Ann Marie is my resident massage expert, so she's nice enough to rub my back whenever she comes over to my desk to talk to me. I love her! I'm using the heating pad every night too so it's starting to feel a little better. Luckily, these discomforts usually only last a couple days.

I get a break tonight! Swimming practice is cancelled due heavy rain, lightening and hail. That means I get to watch American Idol!

Swimming in the Bay

Yesterday morning was our first swim in the bay. So at 8:00, in a bitter 49 degrees, I was standing in my bathing suit at Aquatic Park trying to put on my wetsuit. Imagine the dressing room scene, but in the freezing cold and in public. Luckily, there were about 40 other people there with me so it wasn't that embarrassing. By the way, I was mistaken when I said before it was going to be at Treasure Island. I tend to not read the training manual or all the emails we get from the team.

Anyway, after we were all in our suits, we slowly ventured out into the water. The shock of the cold started when I put my feet in. I'm not sure the exact temperature of the water, but it seemed MUCH colder than the 49 degrees outside. So as an educated guess, I'd put it somewhere around -5. I think I saw an iceberg float by. As I got in deeper, the water came into the suit through the zipper in the back. The science of the suit lets in water and then the warmth of your body heats it up, so it's like a little more insulation. But only a little.

The coaches really just wanted us to get used to the water and being in a wetsuit before we actually swam. So, we all just paddled around a bit at first. After a few minutes, a mild case of hypothermia set in which was actually a welcome relief. With my blood rushing to my core, my arms and legs were left numb and I felt ready to try swimming. So, our mentor lead us out to the buoy and back...twice! I only put my face in the water once. It didn't last long because after a few seconds, I realized I wasn't exhaling and I needed to breathe. Plus, the water was this weird green pukey color and I couldn't see an inch in front of me. So I just kept my head above water. Not the proper swimming position but at least I felt safe.

We were only in the water 20 minutes or so, then they let us get out and change. I actually felt fine when I got out of the water because I had a false sense of warmth. But about 10 minutes later, I got these shooting pains in my feet. Even with my socks and shoes on, it felt like they were frozen, but on fire. That lasted like 30 minutes, but it took another hour or so before I got the feeling back in the fourth toe on my left foot.

Overall, the whole experience was not at all as bad as I thought it would be. I thought it was going to be HORRIBLE, but really it was just uncomfortable. Plus, Lee and I went shopping at Sports Basement afterward and I'm sure shopping is a known cure for hypothermia. I felt better at least.

On a related note, I'm now the proud owner of my own wetsuit. At first, I didn't want to buy one because I thought it was a waste of money. But, when I did the math, I figured out that to rent one for all the times I'd need it, it would be over $300 and I could just buy one for $100. The store got a new shipment in on Friday, so I found one in my size and bought it. Unfortunately, it's sleeveless. A full suit would be around $200. But, you know me...I'd rather be frugal than comfortable! So, I got a rash guard to wear underneath to protect my arms a little bit and I really wasn't any worse off than everyone else yesterday. Plus, I figure that the Sacramento River on race day will be much warmer than the bay, so I'll be fine. Maybe I'll wear it when I go to the beach this summer. Just for fun!

Scary Sights

First off, I do want to say that I did work out when I was in HB this weekend. Dad was very concerned that I would get off-track, but I did go for a swim and a couple walk/runs.

Since I've been back home, I’ve had two somewhat-mortifying experiences. On Tuesday, after my 6 hour long drive home from HB, Sara, Lee and I went to the Oakland See Jane Run store to get our swimming critiques. The week before, the coaches had taped everyone swimming a lap, so they could tell us what we needed to work on. It was quite interesting watching everyone else swim...until it was my turn.

Now, I strongly believe that to retain your self respect as a human being, there are certain things that you should never have to see yourself do. Swimming is at the top of the list. Watching yourself from an underwater perspective, struggling from one end of the pool to the other, is quite simply; scary. Things jiggle underwater and it’s not pretty. I got the same critiques as everyone else; keep your lead arm out longer, rotate more when you take your breath, don’t kick as much. But really, the whole time I was thinking; yeah, uh huh, sure, ok, DO MY LEGS REALLY LOOK LIKE THAT UNDER WATER? As one gal said to me; “I learned more by watching other people than I did watching myself. I actually watched them swim and listened to their critiques, but I just watched my butt the whole time.” Totally. Of course the whole experience wasn’t bad enough to stop Sara, Lee and I from going to Zachary’s next door for a pizza afterward. (Which reminds me that I will write about “The Triathlon Diet” in another posting soon.)

Then last night, Sara, Lee and I went back to the store for a wetsuit demo. (By the way, I’m working on some clever nickname for the three of us so I don’t have to keep writing our names. It will probably end up being something like "The Tri Trio” because I’m just that clever.) Our first open water swim is at Treasure Island in the Bay Saturday morning, so we all wanted to be prepared. One of the swim coaches was there to give the group instructions on the proper fit of a wet suit. “It should fit like a second layer of skin” we were told. Lovely.

After the discussion, we were able to try on suits to rent for the weekend. Unfortunately, we were told they only had sizes small and x-small. But just as we were leaving, they found a size large in the back. My lucky day!

So, I went into the 3 foot by 3 foot dressing room which had a full-length mirror, ready to put into practice the techniques our coach had just told us. I stripped to my skivvies and unzipped the suit, folded it down half-way and stepped into it. The problems started at my ankles. Uh oh, this is too small! But, she did say it had to be tight. So, I pulled and I shimmied and I squirmed and I yanked and I tugged and I shimmied some more and I twisted and I wriggled. I was finally able to get it up to my hips. HALF WAY THERE! WOO HOO! I looked like a half-stuffed sausage. (By the way, second on that list of things never to see yourself doing, would be trying to squeeze into a wetsuit half naked) I took a moment to catch my breath. Time for the arms! More twisting and bending and yanking and squirming. Now to make sure it’s hugging my torso! This involved mostly pulling and wriggling. Now let’s get someone to zip me up! I stepped out of the dressing room and had Sara help me. Immediately, I was surrounded by half a dozen strangers. “How does it feel?” “It looks good!” “Are you comfortable?” “Do you feel like you can swim in it?” Swim? I can’t even breathe! The coach gave me the once-over and said; “oh no, it’s too big for you. Look at all that room around the neck. You're a medium.” Are you serious? You consider this 1 centimeter space around the neck, room? Another clerk agreed. I was told I would definitely NOT want to buy that one because I really needed a smaller one. Apparently, it's important to get one that cuts off the circulation to your extremities, makes you want to pass out due to lack of oxygen and shows everyone your business. Whatever. This one was good enough to rent for the weekend, so I did. Oh and in case you're wondering, I will not be posting pictures of me in it. Ever.

Training Doesn't Take a Vacation

So, I'm leaving tomorrow for Huntington Beach. Mom and I are going down to visit Nana and my Auntie Ann for 4 days. A couple weeks ago, my Mom printed out my first posting and mailed it to Nana to tell her what I'm doing. After she read it, she called me to get the details. I tell ya, I've never heard that kind of excitement in my Nana's voice EVER! She said "no one in our family has ever even attempted to do anything like this." What can I say? She's so proud. But, she was very concerned that I would be missing 4 days of training. So we worked it out.

Nana lives in a retirement community called Huntington Landmark, which is a mile from the beach. They have two pools, which she says are heated. She knows they're heated because her friend goes swimming every morning at 3:00. Ah, the retired life! Also, the complex is set up on a big loop, so I'll be running/walking that everyday. They also have a shuffle board court, so I might have to stop and challenge some grumpy old man for a game! I kick ass at shuffle board!

Here's some pics from our last visit. Time to pack!

Drying Out

I went running in the rain again this afternoon, then swimming this evening. That meant when I got home, I had two wet pairs of pants, three jackets, a t-shirt, a pair of running shoes, two towels, bathing suit, cap and goggles; all in two wet gym bags. This has happened after almost every workout, since most have involved either rain, or a pool. Living in a 1,400 sq ft. townhouse, I've had to find creative ways to dry my stuff. Yes, I would throw them right in the dryer, but quite frankly, I'm just too lazy. So, I find random places to either hang stuff up, or lay stuff out. I was walking around the house tonight when I realized just how ridiculous I've made the place look. Definitely NOT Staged!

Running Scared

Ahhh, back in my dry, warm home with just enough energy to watch Grey's Anatomy and write about my first run workout. But before I do, let me tell you about the last time I ran for exercise.

It was freshman year of college. So that would be what...'98, '99? Some girls on my floor in the dorm had started a running group where they would run in the evenings around campus, through a little bit of downtown Chico and back. One night, they invited me to join them. Unfortunately for me, they had already been doing this for several weeks, so they did not feel like they wanted to puke by the time they got to the library. I, on the other hand, did. It was horrible, I was horrible, everything about the experience was horrible. So I never ran again. Until tonight.

The night started out fine. We did the typical group introductions; "My name is Michelle, this is my first Triathlon, my fun fact is that the love of my life is my bright blue parakeet named Ollie." Pretty much summed me up. Anyway, so we first had to do a lap around the track to warm up. No problem. I thought "wow, I can run half a mile without stopping! I'm fantastic!" Then Sara (my new friend via Lee) told me that once around was only 1/4 mile. Great.

Next we did some drills and were taught the proper way to run; keep your head up, hips straight, pelvis forward, bend slightly forward from the hips and not the waist, don't scrunch, don't land on your heals, don't bounce and don't let your arms cross the center of your body. You know, totally natural right?

Then we were told by our trainer "ok, you're going to run 3 laps. On the first one, concentrate on keeping your body straight up and don't scrunch. Then, do one where you concentrate on leaning forward slightly. On the third, go as hard and as fast as you can. Then, a lap of cool down at a slower pace."

So my first question was; "wait, isn't that 4 laps?" Then; "wait, what? You want me to run 4 laps? That's a mile!"

On my first lap, I concentrated on keeping my body in perfect position. My next lap, I concentrated on not tripping since it felt like my legs would give way at any minute. My third lap, I was focused on the sharp stabbing pain in my lungs and I concentrated on not barfing. There was no fourth lap.

Needless to say, I do need to work a little harder on my endurance. So now, I have to work harder on my swimming and running. I'm sure after our bike ride on Saturday morning, I'll decide I'll need to work harder on that too.

What have I gotten myself into???

"I'm running in the rain and so are you"

The title of this entry was the title of an email I received from our head coach today. Obviously I just assumed practice would be cancelled tonight. These people are hardcore! I'm shocked! I guess that's what I get for giggling when someone at swim practice asked "will we have to swim in the rain?" I mean, wet is wet people. Come on. But running in the rain is different. As I told Tonia; "I can't run when it's not raining, let alone when it is."

We'll see if I somehow find a way to drown on the track...

Diving Right In

I originally thought the running leg of the triathlon would be the most difficult part for me, but I now know it will be swimming. Though training doesn't officially start until next week, Lee and I went down to Heather Farms pool on Monday to get our feet wet. After a few laps, not only was I was exhausted, but I had come to the realization that I didn't know how to swim. I mean, I could swim...but not in a way that I wouldn't find myself having to be rescued from the Sacramento river after 50 meters. So I talked to Juliana about it at work the next day and, being the former swim teacher as she is, she so graciously offered to show me the correct way to swim. She was an excellent teacher and explained everything to me so it actually made sense and so I was able to catch on rather easily. Who knew swimming was so difficult!?! Now, it's just practice, practice, practice.

So, here's how my Tuesday went; up at 6, at work by 7, off work at 3:30, worked out at curves from 4-4:40, walked 2 miles around the DVC track with Lee from 5-6, then swimming with Juliana from 7-8. Needless to say, my achey shoulders and legs required me to take yesterday and today off. But we'll be going bike riding tomorrow!
As I've been telling people stories about my training "with my friend Lee," people keep asking...so who's Lee? So let me introduce her! We were good friends in high school, but as most high school friends do, we lost touch for about 8 years. Since I moved back to the Bay Area, we were able to get back in touch. I thought it would be fun to post these old pictures of us. She'll probably kill me. These were taken 10 years ago when I was 16 and Lee was 17 and we were on Color Guard together. I think we look about the same. Not much has changed in 10 years!