TUESDAY, 02.24.09 6:30 a.m. swim with Coach Andres. Theme for this morning is head down in the water! I felt it was more difficult to breathe this way but as soon as I had one arm extended all the way in front of me and the other elbow above water behind me (as Andres suggested), breathing was easier. Still I'm not as comfortable breathing on my left side. Andres said my reach was good but my arms were not pulling the water as powerful as it can. It was so cool to watch Katie do flip turns! I want to be able to do that this year! Is that too far of a reach for me? The next goal today is to tire my arms with weights. I wonder when my body can accomodate plyometrics class again. I weighed 115 before my swim. In the pool, I sweat and drank water. I expected to lose at least a pound during my workout, but I came back and still weighed 115. I guess that means I hydrate myself well. As soon as I jumped off the M104 bus to head to the office, I took a deep breath of that crisp Wintery NYC air. It felt good to breathe and feel the slight wind onto my face that blew my hair swifly across my back. I walked right by my regular cofee shop. Thought once to go in, but I didn't for some reason. I'm going to be lean this summer. I can feel it already. This is one of the goals I set for myself this year and I'm getting closer to it each day. I wonder if I'll run tonight as planned. I better not flake out on myself. WOW, can I tell you how much I love the mini massages they give at Equinox!?!? These people are pros! After lifting weights, I got a deep tissue / shiatsu massage from Angel and it felt grrrrreat~! More than great, actually. I really needed that massage. I feel brand new!
WEDNESDAY, 02.25.09 I must've created at least 6 bullshit reasons not to run last night, but I ended up at the gym. =) Pat me in the back! After 3 miles, averaging 12 mph (I think) and 153 heartbeats per minute, I felt good. Did I really just run without complaining? And did running just make me feel better? At that rate I felt like I could run forever. Ok, well not forever, until my knees give out. The pace was slow, but still I have to say I'm proud of myself for sucking it up. My knees felt tight though after and this morning my toes were also weirded out. =T Yesterday I figured out what was missing in my diet. Salt and carbohydrates. No wonder why I was feeling shitty since the beginning of training. For a couple of months I was used to limiting myself from salt and CHO, but now-a-days I know need it. Funny how my body / brain just suddenly had the urge to eat salty food. I craved chips! Then when my mom put out a bowl of rice for me last night, I scarfed it down so fast like a cavewoman who hasn't eaten for days. But heck, I eat all day long (at least every 30 minutes, I'm eating). After 9 hours of peaceful sleep (because I didn't swim this morning), I'm ready for cycling this afternoon! My co-workers commented that my pants were falling right off of me. They were right. I've been too busy working out and I didn't even notice for myself! Anyhow, I think working out 3 times a day is too much, but maybe if I eat enough of the right stuff, my body can withstand it. At cycling class, my heartrate was going between 85 - 92% of my max. Not as high as I'd like, but it was muscular fatigue that was keeping me from pushing and pulling the pedals harder. To what extent do I need to take a rest if this continues to happen?
THURSDAY 02.26.09 Twenty laps in 40 min (15 with pull bouys, 5 free style). I can maintain my breathing better when I don't use my legs. Last week Coach Laura said she'd rather me use the bouys and focus on my form than to have me struggle with breathing from using my legs too much. My arms were somewhat tired / sloppy towards my latter laps; it was apparent my stokes weren't as strong. But I did manage to pull in a few fast and powerful laps. Impressed myself when the lifeguard moved me to a faster lane. =) There's a swim coach at Reebok that I see many mornings at swim. He teaches this skinny Russian girl/lady who swims very fluidly. I like to watch them and learn without paying. =X I overheard him say lead with the elbows, not with the hands. Its similar in concept with boxing but in swimming it just doesn't feel that natural. I know me, I'll keep on trying until it makes sense. It's going to be a brick (bike then run right after) type training tonight. Nobody's stopping me from having my coffee today - I'm feeling hazelnut. Co-workers mentioned that my pants were starting to fall off. Don't get too skinny they warned me; "Guys don't really like that."
FRIDAY 02.27.09 I ran my "best mile" at 9:19 minutes yesterday (after our cycling session). Much to improve on - for sure. But holy cow! You would think that after four workouts on Thursday (swim, core, cycle and run), I'd sleep like a baby last night. But NOOOOOO. Even after a massage from KC, my muscles couldn't stop contracting and I couldn't sleep all night. =( My quads, my calfs, everything was just tight and wouldn't relax. My muscles were confused maybe - it thinks it's still supposed to run, cycle, squat, or something! I didn't like it. So of course, I cut out all my workouts for today. A little disappointing, but I sure ain't done for the week.
