Ironmen, yet again!

Many hearty congratulations to my Maramarc and TriGirl friends who completed Ironman Brazil this weekend! They endured a brutal swim, with some strong currents, and hillier than advertised run--and at least two of them PR'd. My very good friend, and usual training buddy, Lynn broke her first IM record by a hour and 40 minutes.

I am in awe of these people who trained all winter, riding mostly indoors on trainers. Their dedication, tenacity, and ability are such an inspiration to me, especially Karen, Shelley, Susie, and Lynn who had finished IMFL just 6 months earlier. I am so proud to train with them, and call them friends.

YOU GUYS ROCK! Love and many hugs,

ko

Running with the Big Dogs

On Sunday, to make up for some missed workouts during the week--not out of laziness, mind you! I was moving lots of furniture at the beach house--I joined a couple of Richmond Tri Club members for an open water swim and @35mi bike, my longest this season. When I called Craig Saturday night to let him know I was coming to the workout, he said there would be 6 or 7 others there. Only 3 guys showed up, and all of them were in their taper for Eagleman 1/2 iron. Uh oh. Here are 3 really fit guys, all in shape for their A race, and lil' ol' me--just starting to ramp up my Florida training. So far this year the longest ride I've done is 22 miles.
The open water swim was fine. The river was quite pleasant. The current was pretty swift, so we swam upstream for 12 minutes, and down for 8. I felt good in that I was a better (read faster) swimmer than two of these guys. The third I think swam in college, so he blew us all out of the water, swimming half way to Charlottesville in 12 mins. The bike ride was great, but challenging. Lots of rolling hills, and I had to work really hard to maintain a steady 18 mi/hr pace. By mile 30 I was pretty much done, but still 9 miles from the car. The guys were good sports and kept me in their sights the whole time to make sure I hung on. I tell you, there's nothing like drafting off a 6'5" tall dude on a long downhill! I must've hit almost 40mph...
When we got back to the cars, we did a quick 15 minute run through the woods and trails along the river. At that point, I let the guys go on, and I turned around to go home. I was hungry and desperately in need of a nap.
This workout was a good test of my new nutrition plan, which seemed to keep me fueled for most of the workout. The previous week, 1 1/2 miles into a 4 mile brick run (that 22 mile bike), I bonked on a run and tripped and skinned up my knee. After I made it back to the car (yes, Jen, I did RUN back to the car, albeit slowly) I called the nutritionist/dietician that has worked with other TriGirls. She had me keep a food log for the week, which started and ended with the same items day in and day out: coffee in the morning, and red wine at night. After asking about my current workout schedule, she informed me I wasn't eating enough by far and luckily I don't have to cut out any caffeine (only the coffee, we don't drink sodas) or wine! She said that eating right will help in a number of ways: with energy for the workouts, to help recover from said workouts, and also to help build more muscle--good news for these skinny thighs). The new meal plan has been tough to follow, mainly because I'm not used to eating constantly throughout the day, as opposed to my previous habit of small bfast, decent lunch, big dinner. I must say itI have a follow up appointment in three weeks, which is also after my yearly annual check up with my GYN, who'll check my cholesterol and iron levels. We will continue to tweak my plan as the training ramps up.
Jen also sent me the following article, which talks about the importance of carbs in a training diet, http://ironman.com/training/nutrition/jennifer-hutchinson-focuses-on-the-importance-of-carbohydrate-energy, which has proven very timely and informative.

Graduation Weekend!

I am well and truly done. Graduated. It was a great weekend, despite all the stress and fun of the previous week. My in-laws came in Thursday night from California, and #1 son Jim was able to fly in from New Orleans, since he was back (relatively healthy) from Thailand. My uncle and aunt also came up from Williamsburg for the day on Saturday to represent the Cunningham side of the family! The only person missing was my sister...next time, Molly. There were 8 of 16 grad students that walked including me, so we were fairly well represented. How many people can say they processed to the Uulating Mummies? It is the School of the Arts, folks. This is the first time I've had my name called and walked across the stage (missed H.S. and undergrad graduations, and 1st master's at Georgetown was just a stand-up-you've graduated-sit-down affair) and I'm so glad I finally was able to hear my name called. Sorry for the fuzzy picture, but that was taken by Joey.

Later that evening, we all went to Can Can for dinner. Lots of wine, great company, and a chocolate peanut butter bomb for dessert. Joe was a dear and took the kids and his parents home, allowing me to continue the party for a couple more hours with fellow grad students Molly and Vanessa, and TriGirl Lynn. I was yet again sidelined for minor medical reasons over the weekend so I was unable to run the 10k planned on Sunday with my husband and father in law. This week I jump back into training, along with getting a few quiet days with my dog at our new beach house--(re)decorating, hanging drapes, and moving furniture.

Thank you all for your warm thoughts and support for Joey. He has bounced back from the seizure and was able to enjoy his time with the grandparents. I am so over medical problems and emergencies. Let's all pray that from here on out, our 2008 season is a healthy one! Congratulations to all those bloggers and friends who ran races over the weekend--come July I will be out there with you in body not just spirit--and best of luck to my TriGirl and Maramarc friends leaving this week for Ironman Brazil. You will rock!

My Man

Last night my youngest son Joey had a hypoglycemic seizure--his second. He was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes almost three years ago (June 10th) and has been on an insulin pump for the past two years. He is the most amazing kid--he can change out his insulin pod all by himself and is usually pretty good about giving himself his insulin "bolus" after eating. The first time he had a seizure, we were overseas--having taken the kids to Germany and Austria for Christmas and New Years. That was so scary, to be in a foreign country and not know the emergency procedures for something we'd never experienced. Luckily between Joe's German and the doctor's English, we made out ok. The hospital in Salzburg was great--the nurses took really good care of him and were very attentive. Our local hospital here was ok, but it felt like we had to really pipe up and make ourselves known when we needed something for Joey. I spent 7 hours in the ER with Joey, trying to sleep next to him in 1/2 hour shifts since they were keeping a close watch on his blood sugars. We are home now, and Joey is doing fine. He has been sleeping most of the morning, which is a common side effect after suffering a seizure.

In the past three years, we've done our share of fundraising for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, through their Walk for a Cure and Ride for a Cure. This year I'll be raising money through the Janus Charity Challenge, so I guess this is a good point to start the fundraising in earnest. To donate, please visit my fundraising page, and thank you!

Komen Race Report (My name's not Paula...)

Happy Mother's Day! My beautiful kids made me breakfast (eggs benedict!), and my husband brought me coffee in bed. We've done cards and they bought me some nice beach house gifts, and all I have to do between now and our dinner reservation at 6 is to go for a bike ride with TriGirl Fave. I'd say it's shaping up to be a good day!

Maddy did great at the 5k yesterday! She and Joe ran together, but started pretty far back in the pack of over 9,000 runners and walkers. Since they seeded themselves so far back, they had to weave through lots of foot traffic, and ended up finishing in a little over 45 minutes. Maddy came across the finish line with a big smile on her face and seemed to have had a good time. Maddy agreed that Dad let her walk more than I would have, but she still enjoyed the whole day from putting on a race number through to having a medal placed around her neck! Joey said that next year he wants to run it too, so we'll make it a family affair. A coworker of Joe's took a picture of us at the finish line--I'll post it when I get a copy.

My race report is short. I didn't pr today, but did for the first two miles: 16 minutes. The last mile of the 5k would've been much better had I not had tummy issues. Mile 3 was 12 minutes, but that included a much needed potty stop. So, on to bigger things: next weekend is the Carytown 10k that I'll be running with my husband and father in law the day after graduation.

I blame my poor last mile on my lack of sleep. Friday night I was having stress dreams. I was nervous about saturday's run, but come on, it was just 3 miles and I don't have school work looming over my head.... As it turns out right after we got home from the 5k I got a call from an Air Force woman, whose first words were "We don't want you to worry but your son is ok..." BAD word choice, but I guess it's better than "Please sit down Mrs. Oliver, we have something to tell you." Cue the twighlight zone music. #1 Son Jim (who's 23 yrs old) is in Thailand for his annual two week National Guard duty, doing joint training w/ the thai army. Turns out he had to have an emergency appendectomy yesterday! With the time difference, I think that explains my stress dreams. Luckily Jim was able to get through to us right after the Air Force chick called. He was pretty groggy, but said the thai hospital was quite nice, and all the nurses and doctors were taking really good care of him. In a way it's a good thing this happened when it did--had he been at home in New Orleans, I'm not sure he would've gone to the doctor when he was puking and having abdominal pain. Heck, I don't think the kid even has health insurance, but since he was on active duty when it happened, the Army will pick up the tab! They'lll keep him in the hospital for 2-3 days and then decide whether or not he can serve out the rest of the tour at a desk job or be sent home. I hope to be able to get through to him tonight, which will be tomorrow morning in Thailand, and get an update on his condition.

Ah, kids.

Back in the Saddle

Yesterday I got on my bike for the first time in over a month, and rode outside for an hour in gorgeous weather. It was about 75 degrees, not a cloud in the sky, and breezy. Since April I've had my bike fit tweaked--Jim Miller, the PT who does most of the TriGirl bike fits, raised my seat by what felt like 5" (I think it was closer to 3cm). I have to unclip and almost jump off the seat to get my feet on the ground. Have you ever seen bikers stopped at an intersection, one shoe unclipped, but still w/ butt on seat, waiting to push off? Well, that won't be me. I forsee a couple of falls at a dead stop in my future. Did the revised fit help my power? Hard to tell...I think the bike portion is my weakest discipline and I always wish I had more mass in my thighs. I know I'm going to catch hell for that, but it's true. Jim said I have longer than average femurs, so my power on the bike will need to come from more than just my quads. My first ride outdoors always makes me think "what the hell am I doing?! I don't need to do xyz race..." I felt slow, like I was riding a tricycle, but I wasn't. Isn't it a law in triathlon that swanky equipment makes you fast? (I know the answer to that one!) Average pace: about 17 mph. Ideal pace: about 19 mph. Jen, consider this a goal.

Later that afternoon, Maddy and I went for another run. She averaged a 12 minute mile pace--3 miles in 34 minutes and that included just two short walks. Joe brought home our race packets today--one of the sponsors of the race is our local Ukrops grocery store chain. Instead of plastic race bags, they gave us pink reusable grocery bags. How smart is that?! I think Maddy's ready, bring on the Komen 5k!

I'm Done!

This is me, just after my thesis defense yesterday, celebrating with a little bubbly in the studio.
The festivities continued at Vanessa's, where we sat on her porch and drank more bubbly. Joe, bearing roses, and the kids met me there and took me out to a nice dinner. This will be the weekend of celebrating--Friday night chez Oliver with the graduate class and professors, and Saturday in North Carolina cheering the 30 TriGirls kicking butt at the White Lake Half Iron race. Accomplishments this year: MFA, check. Still to come: IMFL.

Girls on the Run

My best friend Heidi volunteers for a great organization called Girls on the Run, which promotes healthy habits and builds self-esteem for pre-teen girls through running. Heidi has seen some girls conquer their self-doubt, weight issues, and bad eating habits through their coached running sessions. She helps a group of about 20 girls between the ages of 9 and 12 up in Northern Virginia, some of whom have never truly exercised in their life outside of PE class if even then. Last year their big race was a 5k, run on a COLD (below 20 with the windchill) February day.

Joe and I are trying to help Maddy find some kind of athletic endeavor that she enjoys--two years ago we tried swim team and softball to no avail, and she's been dancing ballet for over 3 years too but not really enjoying it. So now we're trying running. Today after getting home from school, Maddy asked if we could go for a mile run since she's signed up to run the Komen 5k with us in two weeks. (I know, we're a little late getting started on her training...) She and I suited up, and headed out with Sophie in tow. I guess I should say Sophie headed out with us in tow, that dog loves to run! The first 3/4 mile went so well, I changed our route to my regular 3 mile loop.

Maddy did great! We only walked 3 times, and she made it around the University of Richmond lake--a total of 7/10ths of a mile--without stopping in about 9 minutes. The 3 mile route includes some small hills, and is not the easiest for a purely beginning runner, but she almost ran the entire thing! I'm so proud of her. We talked about the 5k, and how she can walk through the water stops to catch her breath and drink some water or gatorade. She was glad to know she's not expected to run each and every step, and I'm glad she's realized she could cover the distance already. I asked if she would help me during IMFL, by running a bit with me to take my mind off things, and she promised she would. Now if I could only get her to stop being afraid of her bike, I'd have a new TriGirl for Grandison to coach!

And now the exhaustion sets in

Tonight I made it back to Sunday evening TriGirl swim, and during our set of 10 x 100s I was feeling sluggish and very, very tired. I almost demoted myself to the slower lane, but stuck it out, knowing that it wasn't a high-milage (meter-age?) workout. We totalled just 1600 meters, but it felt like I had been swimming, or treading water, or drowning for weeks. I think it's the past few weeks catching up with me.

After my last post, I took a much needed breather and headed up to Northern VA to see friends and meet my friend's possible in-laws. Yet while the bulk of my project was finished, there still was so much to do: trying to print my boards was tedious and with every test print, something that needed fixing popped up. My thesis instructor asked me to tweak my watercolors, which I did on a couple of them, then I ran out of steam. Tuesday was my day to tackle my model, and for some stupid reason I decided to rebuild it from scratch--I was in the studio that night until 4:30 in the morning. Wednesday and Thursday were days devoted to printing my final boards, putting everything up at the gallery, and helping my classmates with their stuff (making models, redoing boards, hanging stuff, etc). I had hoped to take Friday as a day to pamper myself before the openning show with a pedicure or massage, but that didn't happen. I was able to start the partying a bit on Thursday since my training buddies were headed out for drinks. I met them at 3 Monkeys and promptly ordered two mojitos! Classmate Ginny met me there. See below. I guess I had martini's on the brain, thus the neon over my head.

Below is a picture at the gallery opening with husband Joe, and another with fellow TriGirl Maryjo:

Later that night, dancing till 2am (in 3" heels with NO knee issues, surprise surprise) with fellow grad students Veronica, Molly, and Vanessa. Don't ask about that guy on the right in the shot w/ Vanessa.
Tomorrow I will start working on my thesis book, which ideally I'd like to have finished by Wednesday when I defend. It isn't due until May 8th, but it would be nice to have this whole MFA thing ALL truly wrapped up this week. Lots of people have asked, "What next?" After catching up on sleep, putting my house back in working order, and maybe getting that massage, it's training, baby!

The end is in sight!

Just a few minutes ago, I finished up my presentation boards, meaning all I have left to do this week is to tackle my model. That will still be a few days' work, but I feel I can breathe a little easier. Tomorrow will be a break, and tonight I'll go to bed at about 9pm (last night I was in the studio till 3:30am.) Maybe I'll even try to go for a run... Yey!

Four down, two to go...

TriGirl40 wanted to see some of my designs, so I figured since I have no training news to report (other than a 3 mi run today w/ no pain afterwards--making progress on that PT!) I'd post the watercolors I've finished to date for my thesis project presentation due April 25th. They still have some finessing, I just started working w/ this medium a couple of weeks ago...

Sigh...of Relief

Yesterday's MRI showed a much thicker than normal ITB, and no meniscal issues. Yey! So, now let the healing begin. Yoga, PT, biking, swimming--all these are ok. Running, no. But maybe I can convince Kent and Michelle to let me "run" on the elliptical, even if it is boring as all get out.

Speaking of running, my friend Sarah ran today's Monument Ave 10k in my stead, and posted a new PR for me! My goal was to beat last years time, which she did by a whole minute, and I didn't even have to break a sweat. Thank you Sarah, and I'm so glad you had fun.

The remainder of the weekend will be spent hammering out my thesis project floor plan, and getting my Sketch-up model in good shape so next week I can start my renderings. I'll need to have 6-10 good drawings to include on my presentation boards, which go to the printer by the 16th or 17th at the very latest. I'll have a bit of a respite tonight: date night with Joe. The venue tonight is a black tie fundraiser to raise money for MMD (myotonic muscular dsytrophy) research. One of Joey's best friends and classmates lives with MMD, and like Joey's diabetes, it is an everyday, all day disease.

Not a pretty picture

This is my IT band. Nice, huh?

Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore?

My husband told me about this lecture last night, and today I watched the condensed version Randy Pausch gave on Oprah. It's long (11 mins), but very worthwhile.
http://www2.oprah.com/videochannel/videochannel_player.jhtml?video=1178&category=31
I hope to live my life as a T-I-double G-er!

The view from the sidelines

I've spent a lot of my life watching from the sidelines. In middle school, I was always one of the last girls asked to dance, and that was only because in the Mexican version of cotillion everyone (even the unpopular kids) had to dance. (For those that don't know, my family was living in Mexico at the time.) I've watched most sports from the bleachers and was usually picked last for a team in PE, never mind the fact that I didn't want to play much since I was deathly afraid of any sport requiring a ball. It wasn't until much later in life that I discovered that sports can be fun, and I can play/do some of them decently. I didn't start running until 2004, and I still have a hate/love relationship with it. (Read on.) But there's no denying that the view from the sidelines is never as good as it is from the floor or field.

Fast forward from middle school to this week. I have been diligent in my phyiscal therapy for IT band issues, putting up with various forms of torture that Kent and Michelle dispense with great enthusiasm. Among these: ice baths, foam rollers, the stick of pain (see photo), Kent's thumbs, various rubber bands, monster walking, and "saddling up" to drag 90lbs on a sled sidestepping down a long hallway. I figured I was doing well, and I had followed their orders not to run for a while. I was a little nervous on the no running front, considering this weekend is the Monument Ave 10k. Last year I PR'd, with a 52:36. At the beginning of this year I was confident I could shave time off that--and was aiming to beat 50mins. So I decided on a trial run. Miles 1-3 felt great. Mile 4 and 4.5 not so good. Then I had to get to school. The four flights of stairs down from the parking garage were downright agony. Uh oh.

This morning I 'fessed up. Kent and Michelle scolded me. Dr. Cutter scolded me, then checked me out. My good knee had more swelling than the bad one, which was clicking in a certain place. He has since ordered an MRI, to make sure it's nothing worse. So now I wait. Luckily I'll have my answer on Friday--do I have worse meniscal issues, or just severe ITB issues? In the meantime, I'll try to be good company for Cyndi and Marit, two serious triathletes who are dealing with their own injury demons, and go cheer on the other TriGirls running this Saturday.

I found a great quote from Jon Kabat-Zinn, who wrote Wherever You Go, There You Are. "No one can listen to your body for you....To grow and heal, you have to take responsibility for listening to it yourself." Hear hear!

Putting my money where my mouth is

As some of you know, for my thesis project I'm designing a restaurant centered around the principles of sustainable agriculture. That is to say, food that is organically and sustainably raised and produced, and local to extend 150 miles from Richmond. Some might say that organic and sustainable are the same, but after reading Michael Pollan's book, The Omnivore's Dilemma, he makes a very valid point that there is a significant difference in not just scale, but also footprint, of how the food is raised. If it's true that on average our food travels about 1,300 miles from farm (or factory) to our plate, that distance comes with considerable unseen "costs" that in days of increasinglyt scarce oil, may become unbearable in years to come.

Much of my research started with looking at the slow food movement, and chefs who work to promote "slow" foods and production in their restaurants. Chief among these chefs here in the US is Alice Waters. She has founded a non-profit organization that is looking to promote more healthy eating in public schools in a novel way: by teaching children to grow the food and prepare it, you instill in them an appreciation for their work, and a greater appreciation of the value of digging in the dirt. Several schools in the Berkeley area have implemented this type of program, with the food grown on former playgrounds being incorporated into daily menus.

Other reading on the topic of eating seasonally and locally included Barbara Kingsolver's book Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and Plenty: One Man, One Woman, and a Raucous Year of Eating Locally by Alisa Smith and J.B. Mackinnon. Those two books prompted me to question the quality of the food I was finding in my local Ukrops, Fresh Market, and Kroger supermarkets. Asparagus, blueberries, and grapes available throughout the year, but at what cost? Is it cheaper to buy those grapes knowing they may have been grown with DDT, when you factor in the possible health issues of consuming those pesticides? What about how much it cost to get them here, and what the farm worker was paid to harvest them? These are hard questions, and while my bleeding liberal heart told me to abandon all trips Ukrops, the realistic side of me knew that I couldn't at this point commit myself to eating that way immediately. So I've done the next best thing. I've bought a share of a CSA.

CSA's are wonderful things: you purchase at the beginning of the season a share of a farmer's produce, and I had the option--which I took--of including free-range eggs, chicken, flowers, and goat cheese. (In my book it's worth it for the goat cheese alone!) I found a cooperative of about 3 farms from two neighboring counties, and one outside Charlottesville that delivers on a weekly basis to a local market here in town. While it seemed steep to write a check out in advance for all that food, I know it will be worth it in the long run. I may have to come up with creative ways to get my kids to eat things like beets, but my daughter's budding interest in the culinary arts should give us some good times in the kitchen and improve my nutrition during peak training months. To find a CSA near you, check out LocalHarvest. Bon Appetit.

TriGirls Rock Shamrock!

Many congratulations to the TriGirl half-marathon finishers:
Bethany L - 2:08.51
Caroline P - 1:34.38
Cathy D - 3:57.55
Charlotte M - 2:33.42
Cindy D - 2:04.34
Deanna L - 2:26.20
Deborah M -2:13.44
Dianne S - 2:27.06
Jackie R - 2:04.41
Jill B - 2:09.36
Joan G - 1:58.00
Lynn D - 2:08.27
Margo S - 3:28.20
Mary T - 2:09.33
Mary Beth E - 2:55.51
Megan L - 1:50.52
Melissa F - 2:04.06
Molly W - 2:08.20
Sandee G - 2:14.35
Sharon D - 2:08.34
Teresa D - 3:15.43
Trish P - 2:17:05

And to our marathon finishers:
Patty H - 4:26.31
Prissie N - 4:03.44
Ann N (her 1st!) - 6:26.13
Kate B - 5:03.07
Anna Beth M - 5:03:39
Kate T - 5:01:28

I wish I could have been there with you all!

"Eye on the Prize"

The talk Wednesday night in the locker room after Master's was focused on this weekend's race. I think there are at least 10 TriGirls running various distances, most the half marathon. I will be sitting it out. As other races come up this spring, especially White Lake with over 30 TriGirl and Maramarc folks running, it will be hard to be on the sidelines. I won't be the only one sitting out Shamrock--I just learned of TriGirl Cyndi's diagnosis and won't be alone in my misery. Walking Joey home from school today, I stopped to chat with a neighbor--she's a great athlete, runner, mom, and full-time OB-Gyn. She asked why I'm persuing an Ironman. "It's so hard on your body, and you run the risk of serious injury," she said. But then I talked about the inspiration of my friends, watching them all cross that finish line last year, and she knowingly nodded. "It's out there and you want it," she said then warned me to be careful and listen to my body.

Coach Blake has offered me a new perspective on my position (and now Cyndi's too) being an opportunity, rather than an inconvenience. I can make a very deliberate and careful choice--to keep training, risking worse injury, or to take the time to heal properly and come back stronger. His exact words to me were, "Keep your eye on the prize." And Ironman Florida is my prize. The focus I can afford to give now to my physical therapy, will pay dividends this fall. Yes, Kent (my physical therapist), I will try to back down on the spinning and running....and I promise I will quit when I feel pain.

With spring break ending this weekend, and under orders to take training more easily, I am once again going to be spending all my free time in the studio. Our outside critique last week went well, but there is much refining to do on my design, models still to be finished (or just made), and many, many drawings to produce. On Tuesday I was able to go up to the design center in DC to hear Roger Thomas, the design director for all Wynn hotel properties, talk about his inspirations. The man, like many talented designers, takes a sketch book everywhere. He made the point that even if his sketches aren't perfect, they capture and convey more about the time and place he was, than the actual detail of the object he hoped to draw, enough so that the detail of a stone wall he saw flying by in a car in Italy is transformed into a mosaic wall in a restaurant in Vegas. Later that afternoon, in perusing old pen and ink drawings for sale, one that was smaller than 3" caught my eye. It was a masterful little drawing of the piazza San Marco in Venice, complete with people sitting in a cafe in the foreground and a crowd in front of the arches of the Doge's palace in the distance.

Time and patience....and practice. If I wasn't trying to train for an ironman, I'd want to learn how to draw like that.

Pesky problems

Here it is just one week before the Shamrock half marathon, and due to my sporadic running and attempts to up my milage, my IT band is letting me know that I'm not doing things right. I have a doctor/PT appointment for Wednesday morning--Kent, my therapist who worked with me after my ACL surgery, is warming up his thumbs to work out all that bad juju. Didn't I just post something about him looking forward to seeing me more? Coach Mark agrees that with the larger prize out there this fall, the prudent course of action is to take it easy now, resolve the IT issue and then build back up slowly starting in May.
On a separate note, I've always lamented that despite my swanky bike and wheels, I'm still slow as molasses on the bike--at least when we're cycling outside. Inside I'm FAST. Yeah, right. But I've been trying to use the indoor cycling training to improve my cadence, especially in the higher gears. I was pleased as pie yesterday when Coach Blake commented on a perceived improvement in my cycling. I hope it makes a difference when we get back outside.
Today we start back in the pool with Som. Yey!

Priorities...

This weekend was spent in the studio, finishing floor plans and renderings for our big crit session on Tuesday. Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday I was there late (usually about 1am), Friday night I worked at home until 1:30 after a two hour break for family game and movie night. I have had to revise my plans for the Shamrock half marathon March 16th. If I show up for it, which right now looks doubtful, the goal will be to just finish the thing. My sights for now have to be set on getting through the next two months--April 24th is the opening night of the exhibit showcasing our graduate projects. The following week I defend. Then, I can get back to things like seeing my family, sleeping, and training (in that order).