Exercise therapy

I had a long, fairly rough day on Tuesday. I knew I'd be on campus until 7 p.m., so I planned a swim workout that day to avoid going home in between. (The pool is open 7-9 p.m.) I was tired and crabby, but when I walked down the hall and smelled the chlorine, I smiled. Love that. I wish I could say that I had a great swim with no stress, but that's not what happened. Instead, I had to wait until 7:45 p.m. for a lifeguard to show up for me to even get in the water. I got home at 8:30 p.m. for the night...and for dinner. Which brings me to the point of this post...

Today, I had a similarly long day and had again planned on getting off work right before 7 p.m. I walked in ten after seven, and two ladies were leaving, very happy to see me. As it turns out, they were hoping I was the lifeguard because they had the pool before (we rent it out to other people when it's not open), and they were asked not to leave until someone got there to avoid locking/unlocking. I told them I was an employee and had a master key to the building, so they could leave and I would lock up if no one showed. I didn't stay more than 10 minutes because I was fuming! If you're supposed to be open at a certain time (and only a short time period), make sure you are there! I know it's student employees, but it's really frustrating. I'm glad I get the "service" for free...not paying a student fee or anything! Gah! So angry.

So I locked up, left and called people to vent. After venting to my dad about the situation, how I have a tri in two weeks (and it was too late to run), etc., he told me that no matter what I do, I should make sure to do something training-like and use my frustration. So I changed clothes, set up my trainer and got on. I did a hard 40-minute drill workout. I pedaled hard, fast and felt great. Between the awesome workout, and the final scene in Dirty Dancing, the one where Patrick Swayze jumps off the stage and starts dancing in the aisle, and everyone else joins in and automatically knows the all moves, I just felt so much better.

Moral of the story? Next time you're angry, frustrated -- even if it's brought on by a training or workout obstacle...USE it. And of course, surround yourself with people who are willing to let you vent, bitch and complain to them as a pre-exercise therapy sort of therapy.

Climbing high

My parents decided to take up rock climbing this year. I was eager to try it out. I mean, if they could do it, I could, too, right? So when I finally got an opportunity to go to Tulsa for a few days, we went to climb at a place in Tulsa. I took the lessons on how to tie the knots and belay, then went over to the rocks to give it a try! Do I look ready to go?

I think I did a pretty decent job and got the hang of it pretty fast. It was fairly tough, but I was eager to get to the top. The hardest part? Letting go once you get to the top. My mom kept yelling, "Just let go," but nothing in my brain told me I could safely let go. It was tough. The second hardest part is undoing the knots when you're done. Your arms are already tired, so working to untie the knot is rough.

I was only mildly sore yesterday from it. I'd recommend it if you're looking for something sporty and challenging. But gimme a call before you leave...cause I want to come with you!

Jumping in

On Sunday, I signed up for my first tri of the season! (Only $50!) It's April 11. 400m pool swim, 12 mile bike and 2 mile run. Not bad to start the season, eh?

So now I have less than six weeks before I race a tri! Ahhh! But yay too! I started my official tri training yesterday with some speed work on the run. Here's what I did:
- Warm up: Walking 0.25 miles, jog 0.5 miles
- Main set: 5 x 0.25 miles at 9min/mile pace, incline 2, followed each set by 0.15 miles walking
- Cool down: Walking three minutes, slowly reducing speed

Then today, I did my long swim. I haven't really been swimming much, so I'm jumping in!
- Warm up: 100m
- Main set: 3 x 250m
- Cool down: 100m

I'm feeling pretty good. Tomorrow I'm supposed to double up swimming and cycling. I don't think I'll be able to do them right after each other because of pool/daylight hours, but I'll get them both in!

How's your training going?