Spring?

Looking out the window, I'd swear that it's early January, not late March.  Between the frigid temperatures, the recent snowfall, and the arctic winds, it seems like spring, and the accompanying warm weather, will never come. However, according to the calendar, training and racing season are just around the corner!

Monday, March 18: Strength Training
I loosely based this workout off of one I found on a CrossFit-type blog.

Here's what I did and how I did:

3 - 7 Minute Rounds - As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) - 2 Minutes Rest Between Rounds

Round 1:
10 Pushups
20 Walking Lunges
30 Single Rope Jumps (I had to settle for a 'pretend jump rope' because the basement ceiling is too low!)

Results: 3 full rounds + 6 push ups

Round 2:
5 Burpees
10 Lateral Raises (5lb weight in each hand)
15 Sit Ups

Results: 3 full rounds + 5 burpees

Round 3:
15 Air Squats
10 Overhead Tricep Presses (5lb weight)
10 Bicep Curls to Overhead Press (5lb weight in each hand)

Results: 3 full rounds + 11 squats

I look forward to trying this again in a few weeks to see if my fitness level has improved.

Tuesday, March 19: Holy mother of sore muscles!  I don't think I've been this sore from a workout since...oh...my last marathon.  Seriously, everything hurts. Getting out of bed? Ow! Standing up from my desk chair? Ow! Ow! Walking half a block from the car to a restaurant? Ow! Ow! Ow!  Today was likely going to be a rest day anyway due to having dinner plans to celebrate my dad's birthday, but I don't think I could have worked out today if I wanted to! We met up with Dad, Little Bro, Little Sis and her boyfriend at one of Dad's favorite restaurant's: Balistreri's where massive quantities of fried eggplant and pizza were consumed in his honor.

(source)

Wednesday, March 20: I woke up this morning and sneezed.  No big deal, right? Think again. My abs were still so sore that I had to roll onto my side and curl up in a little ball when I sneezed to minimize the pain!  My original plan for tonight was a trainer ride, but my legs were still dead and getting off the couch caused wincing.  I ended up spending a solid 45 minutes on the living room floor, stretching out every aching muscle in my body - with Spot's assistance! (Apparently Human on Floor = Coolest Climbing Toy Ever)  Once I was done, I felt a lot better, so hopefully I'll be back in business tomorrow.

Thursday, March 21: Feeling better, but not great.  Took another day off because I'd rather not start the season injured.

Friday, March 22: For the first time in two months, I dragged my butt to the pool.  I felt like a total loser because I had to stop and rest at the end of each pool length - while the lovely 70-something lady who was kind enough to share a lane with me whizzed by repeatedly. I spent about a half an hour in the water, swam about 400 meters, and managed to do something interesting to my right arm while attempting to re-train myself to breathe on my right instead of my left side.  It seems that I'm one of the freaks of nature who breathe to the left instead of the right - something that's going to have to change.  Anyone have any suggestions on how to change a 30 year habit?

Saturday, March 23: Remember how I said I was feeling better in the Sore Muscles Department? Not any more!  That swim kicked my booty.  My activity for the day was limited to a walk downtown with Mr. R&R and a trip to the Public Market since moving my arms more than necessary didn't seem like such a hot idea!

Sunday, March 24:  Well...$#!% just got real.

I'm officially a member of a triathlon club, which can only mean one thing:

Fish Be Damned. I'm Doing This!

111 days until Race Day.  This should be interesting!