ScarFace

Stunning sunrise this morning. Seeing this while I drink coffee in the morning almost makes running up the hill to this house worth it.

I knew today would be my last opportunity to train for a little while- I only had about an hour but I did the best I could with it. Short hill reps on my bike. I went up/down a hill near my house for 45min, alternating seated with standing climbing and the effort felt hard enough. As I was finishing up it started raining. I saw a gorgeous rainbow on my last trip up the hill and I wanted to snap a picture but rainbows can be fleeting. It disappeared before I got to the top.

Today was a scheduled surgery to remove a couple of skin cancer spots on my face. When the derm finds basal cells on my body he just scrapes (or freezes) them off. That process leaves little round scars but I don't particularly care. Last time I was in he found a couple spots on my cheek so he recommended the surgeon take over so the scarring would be minimal. One of the spots was actually a bigger brown spot that I've had for years but just recently started changing and exhibiting signs of turning into melanoma, so he wanted that cut out too. Basal cells don't scare me but melanoma gets my attention so I was like yep whatever you think doc let's get rid of that spot.

Anyway, the surgeon walked in today and we both thought the other looked familiar. It didn't take us long to figure out the we have about 100 friends in common- turns out, she is a runner and we've done some of the same fun runs and races over the years. That connection put me more at ease which was cool. A benefit I suppose of living on an island with a fairly small running community.

Long story short, my face is cut up and once the numbing agent wore off, the pain settled in and it hurts. Doc said no exercise for 2 weeks but the look on my face made it clear that wasn't going to happen... And she is a runner so she gets it... so she said ok well how about a week? I'll play that one by ear. Right now the pain is enough that my desire to exercise is zero. Kind of a bummer that as soon as my hip feels solid I get put back on the bench... 

Given that this is a blog about my training and that I'm apparently not going to be doing any training for a week few days, I might not update again until I'm back and doing something. My guess is that tomorrow is going to be a Netflix marathon from bed. If I don't write for another week you can assume I checked myself into a mental health facility.

The Park Bench Routine

Nobody showed up to swim this morning so I was on my own. 1000 w/u easy/relaxed as every 4th 50 kick on my side. Throwing in some kicking like that prevents me from going too hard so that's why I sometimes throw in some kicking or sculling when I'm warming up. Then I cruised through 2x500's pull just sort of steady- not hard but stronger than warm up effort. Used my solo swim as an opportunity to swim with drag (in the form of band only). I don't do a ton of that when I'm swimming with others, mostly b/c bands don't even start to slow Mark down so we can't really swim together if I use bands. But, I think bands force me to really create power up front and I think it's good to practice, so today was a good opportunity. Anyway. 1500M main set. I did the longer swims as pads/bands (no buoy) off 1:45 base and the 50's as band only off 60". Pretty solid long strength set and was good to alternate pads with no pads. No extra rest between rounds.

400 @7:00 (6:48)
2x50's @1:00
300 @5:15 (5:00)
2x50's @1:00
200 @3:30 (3:17)
2x50's @1:00
100 @1:45 (1:36)
2x50's @1:00

My new thing when I walk Maia is to take her down to a little park at the end of our road. I can let her off leash there and she can run round (and poop!) and I use a bench there to do a bit of strength work. My current routine is as follows:

~Steps ups (2x12 ea leg)
~Hip Hikes (2x30 ea leg)
~Bench Pistol Squats (2x8 ea leg)

Pistols are good on a bench like that b/c I can start at the top and squat down with one leg and then use the other leg to touch the ground and give myself a bit of assistance in getting back up. I can really feel those though and it doesn't take a lot to feel the effort! I did attempt to do one without any assistance from the other leg... and I did it! Just one, and only on the right side, but still. I was pretty pumped. #GoMe! I'll keep working those b/c I like them and I think they are good/useful.

I would have LOVED to have ridden my bike today (it was gorgeous out, again) but Moana didn't have school today and I didn't have anyone to watch her. She did play at the neighbor's for a bit so I used that window to go for a short run. Got 4 aerobic miles in and felt ok. Avg HR 146, 9:48 pace which is an improvement over last week but still yikes quite a ways to go. Sometimes (like today for sure) I absolutely despise living at the top of a hill. It basically means I can never negative split an aerobic run b/c in order to stay aerobic running up that damn hill I have to go stupidly slow (often with walk breaks) and it's obnoxious and annoying and well, #triathleteproblems. I'll shut up now.

Super Double Good!

Easter morning was pretty stunning around here. No wind, blue skies... If I was single I would have headed out on my bike immediately, but instead I waited for Moana to wake up and open her Easter basket and go in search of eggs in the front yard. It was a fun morning for sure. :)

Once the chaos wore off I headed out for a run. I made the choice to take some ibuprofen before heading out, which is something I said before that I would not do, but I changed my mind and decided to try it and see if it helped prevent soreness in the first place (vs simply eliminating it after it has occurred). I made a little deal with myself that I need to 'earn' my ibuprofen by doing all the basic hip/core/glute strength stuff. My position on the ibuprofen has changed a bit (bc, um, it totally helps!) and now I'm thinking maybe ibuprofen will be the band-aid I need that will allow me to keep running while I continue the process of strengthening my hips (so eventually I can run without it). So as long as I don't get lazy and complacent about the hip strength stuff, I'm giving myself permission to take the anti-inflammatory. Anyway. It worked! I ran 5 miles, which was my longest run in months, and discomfort never escalated at all and even later in the day I had zero pain in that hip! Super double good! I got home and while I was still dripping with sweat I told Scott that even if I never raced again, to be able to go out and float through 5 miles like that is something that I just really want to always be able to do. I just enjoyed it. A lot. Running without pain beats running with pain.

We spent the rest of the day at the beach with some friends. We all agreed it was one of the  best beach days ever. Perfect weather, good friends, good moods all around. Super double good! Also, Maui Brewing Co has this limited edition Hopkine IPL for sale now and it's fantastic.

In Brief, Saturday Ride

This will be quick b/c I still have to go play Easter Bunny. Decent ride this morning with a few friends/training partners. 58 miles in just under 3 hours. Pretty easy first hour, then we did a few strong intervals like 6-7min long. Coming home it was moderate for a bit but sitting on and drafting really reduced the effort required. Eventually I went to the front and put out a 20min effort of my own- Mike knew what I was doing so he gave me some space and stayed behind me (but wasn't drafting). I avg 209w for that 20min piece which is right about current FTP (given last week was basically an FTP test). People tend to do 20min "FTP tests" but I'm not convinced 20min gives a true picture of FTP. It gives an estimate, yes, but what you can hold for 20min is not necessarily a concrete indicator of what you can hold for 60min, as evidenced by how rarely athletes actually go out and ride as hard as they can for 60min(!). It's hard(!). Anyway. Last 30min coming home was punchy and I think at times Mike was attempting to spit me off his wheel but it never happened.

I felt like I could have run off the bike but I want to run tomorrow and since I ran Thurs/Fri I didn't want to push it running 4 days in a row. Call it patience maybe?

Good Friday

Pools were closed today for Good Friday but no worries... The ocean was open! No wind again this morning so it was still all glassy and perfect. Same 3 Musketeers as Wednesday. It was pretty much the exact same swim, except on the way back today Mark took off sprinting (sneaky with no warning!) which forced Nalani and I to chase... Eventually we caught back on and then we continued that race pace effort all the way back. I could see Mark surging at times like he was trying to break us but we didn't let it happen! Turned into a 20min threshold effort which was great. I think people (us included) commonly tend to swim fairly easy/relaxed in the ocean, but sometimes pushing the pace for an extended period like that is super.

Afterward Nalani and I had our husbands drop off our kids and we dragged them along on a run around Kailua (dog too!). We were probably quite a sight... Me jogging with the dog on a leash and Nalani pushing the jogger and Moana following us on her bike. It was slow and easy but quite pleasant and enjoyable and my hip was only slightly irritated so all in all a good morning.

Managing Spring Break...

Spring break means I'm a full time mom and since Grammy isn't here anymore (boo!), I had to get pretty creative in order to get work and training done today. Well, I don't know how 'creative' setting an alarm actually is... But that's what I did. I was pedaling as the sun came up this morning and had time to get ~90min in before Scott had to go to work, so I used it riding mostly aerobically. It felt like it took a bit of effort to get my HR up above 140 today but I pushed hard enough to get it there and held that for the bulk of my ride along the coast. I didn't have any power numbers today b/c I was on my road bike... I've been too lazy to swap my Enve race wheels off my P3 and I didn't want to waste 5min doing that this morning so I just grabbed my road bike since it was ready to go. Power is nice to watch on an aerobic ride but what matters is HR and I had that. So. good enough.

Light south winds are bringing in a bunch of vog which makes our skies super hazy. I did pause for a minute to look at this and snap a picture today. It doesn't normally look like this.

I don't know how I managed to get any work done with all the neighborhood girls running in/out of our house today. I told them a bunch of times to go play outside and leave me alone so I could focus. They would remember those instructions for like 20 min and then want to come in and play with the dog (who is forever by my side) or whatever... They're good kids and aren't doing anything bad - just good natured playing which is exactly what they should be doing at this age (!) - but I'll still be pretty happy when school starts again next Tuesday so I can have some quiet time here at the house to focus.

I had an introductory chat today with a new gal who I am going to start working with via the Tri-Equal group. I volunteered 3 months of coaching to a newbie athlete via their program Equally Inspired which is attempting to get more women into the sport. The match up between coach and athlete was pretty random I think - I got a young gal from Montreal - but it's all good. She seemed great in chatting with her today and I hope she uses me to her advantage! She's a lot more green than most of the athletes I tend to work with but I think it'll be fun to really go back to basics with this one. I'm happy to work with athletes of all abilities and experience, as long as they are willing and excited to work consistently and communicate with me. I'll be challenged with this one when it comes to run paces because, um, I don't think in kilometers. But I'll adapt. :)

I did want to get out and jog a bit today... working that out logistically when it was raining and I was responsible for a 7yo and a dog took a bit of planning, but by late afternoon I packed everybody up in the car with a leash for the dog and a bike for the kid and we drove to Kailua where it was dry (and flat!) and made it happen. We went a bit over 3 miles. To be frank, I felt like crap, just slow and heavy and labored even at like 10:30 pace ugh BUT in good news my hip never escalated above maybe 1/10 level on the not-quite-right scale. I think the flat road really helped with that. And the targeted strength work is working as well. So, while my run fitness is pathetic at the moment, if I'm healthy at least I can start the process of going about fixing it! Here's hoping it's not worse tomorrow!

Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

Everybody showed up to swim this morning, except the lifeguard. We hung around and had a bit of a social hour waiting for someone with a key to come open up the pool, but eventually a few of us bailed on the waiting and went to the ocean. No wind meant perfect glassy conditions and Mark, Nalani and I knocked out a few miles side by side just cruising and it was probably the best way I could have imagined starting the day.

It's been way too long since Nalani and I have swam ocean together (seriously, like almost a year!?!). It was just like old times though today like we never even skipped a beat. At the end both Mark and Nalani tried out my new Roka R1 goggles- those things really do increase field of vision- it's almost trippy. They both agreed it was like seeing the ocean through a magnifying glass. I think Roka sold out of their first round of those goggles in like a week but I'm assuming they're making more as I type. When they become available again, do yourself a favor and pick up a pair. I will need a tinted pair. I wore clear this morning and while my vision underwater was great, I was blinded by the sun every time I took a breath. #oceanswimmingproblems #crymeariver

Managed to get out on my bike today but only had ~90min so figured I better make the most of it. Went to a hill not too far away and did some strength reps. It's an undulating hill where some sections are steeper than others, and it takes ~2.5 min to get to the top. I used a moderately heavy gear and stayed seated at all times, grunting it out when it was steep. No HR/power data today but I'd guess my cadence was <60 at times but then 70+ at times as well when the hill flattened out in certain short sections. Anyway, I did a total of 12 reps, broken up as 5/4/3 with an extra 3min spin around the block between sets. That was more of a mental break than anything. Funny as I was riding today I got to thinking about the concept of repetition... When Scott was coaching me in 2013 he always had me doing repeats for long sets... 30x400's on the track, 15x3 min running, 20x2min riding, 60x50's in the pool... Super repetitive stuff and to be honest at times I felt really bored with that (can't say I loved it, at all) but I have to admit, it did coax me into being quite mentally strong. Feeling like I needed a mental break after 5x up the hill today pointed out maybe a mental weakness I have now that I think I didn't used to have. Anyway. Just some of my thoughts as I was riding today. I still got some work done and felt adequately tired at the end so I'm not beating myself up about it. But I might go back to some of that more boring repetitive work b/c I do remember liking the feeling of being an unstoppable machine. #RepeatRepeatRepeat

Hip actually felt quite solid today like maybe I could have run but I opted to be conservative. Will run tomorrow as I've put myself on the Every-Other-Day plan for running.