I did a sneaky...ssshhhhh

I know I said I wasn't going to run for 3 weeks but I couldn't help myself. It wasn't anything historic nor anything we should alert the media about, it was a mere 600m but I just wanted to see how things felt. Nothing hurt - nothing at all. Zip, nada, niet. I do believe things are mending nicely and I couldn't be happier.

Now this doesn't mean that I am going to get back into running straight away, it was just a taste test of the wonderful meal to come. With all the strength work I have been doing, stretching I have been enduring and swimming I have been loving, it has allowed things to net together nicely and there is no way in the southern hemisphere I am going to jeopardise it.

It sure felt nice though to loosen the cobwebs. My brain however went into overdrive analysing every movement, stride, pace. And I made sure to make this run as slow as I could, a bit hard when my legs are quite long, but I think I accomplished it. The one thing I did feel strained and that was my breathing. Not sure if it was the cold air or that I have become that unconditioned to running already. I hope it isn't the latter.

Before my small running comeback I went back to the pools in the morning and completed 600m of a aqua jogging as well as the spa/sauna again. Things are feeling awesome, I am so happy. I also completed my strength workout written up by Sandi, a good friend on DM.

This was my session:

• 20 backward leg swings (R & L)
• 20 sideways leg swings (R & L)
• 20 backward lunges swinging leg forward when coming up

• 3 sets of 15 of the following using 3kg dumbells
• lateral arm raises
• bicep curls
• shoulder press
• tricep extensions

• 3 sets of 20
• ab curls
• bicycle crunches
• standard situps with 3kg weight

• 3 x 1min planks

I have made it my goal to stick to this session 3 times a week as it will give me much needed strength when I well and truly get back into the running and cycling full swing.

One thing I have noticed since not running or cycling and focusing on my swimming and upper body is how tight my shoulders have become, so I am now off for a massage. Can't wait.

Brrrrrrrr - but I got in.

This morning was absolutely freezing. A suburb not too far from home recorded -1 degrees celsius overnight. And I would say where I live it was not too far off. We had severe frost all over the lawn and on the cars again, enough frost that even the morning sun was not melting it and we needed to get the hose out. And I half started to contemplate going back inside, putting on my PJ's and getting back in bed. That thought was far more logical then going to the pools for a swim, but logic was not going to win this morning and I was going to get in the pool regardless of the external temp. I can't pike out when the going get's tough in my races, this training in adverse conditions is what is going to make me tough.

Heading into the pools my car thermometer recorded 4 degrees external ambient temp and as I reached the pool I could see the steam coming off it like some beautiful blanket. I was lloking forward to getting into a nice bath like pool. HAH, bath like, what a joke. This couldn't have been further from the truth. I jumped in thinking it was going to be like my last swim - 28 degrees (almost too warm to swim in) and what I was met with butt freezing, breath taking, just tepid water. The lifeguard took one look and said "The boilers can't cope with the cold and are struggling. Water temp is 26.3 degrees celsius and dropping". Great. Oh well, I'm in, time to get cracking on my session so you can get out quicker.

Here's how it went:

• 700m Fr/s Warm up
• 3 x 100m Bk/s kick with flippers
• 3 x 100m Fr/s. Easy 50m increasing to sprint in 2nd 50m
• 4 x 200m Fr/s turning at the "T"
• 12 x 25m Fr/s breathing every 3,2,2,3
• 8 x 50m Easy Br/s up, Fr/s sprint back.
• 200m Fr/s cooldown.

By the time I finished water temp was 25.1 degrees celsius. I was kind of lucky in a way that I was staying warm by swimming and working hard otherwise there is no way I would have gotten in. This poor old lady jumped in and almost backtracked instantly and all she kept saying was "oh dear, oh dear", I would have found some other choice words to use.

It took me a good hour to warm back up again, even after a hot shower. My toes were burning, it felt like they were on fire. When I got home, I got changed into my PJ's and some nice fluffy socks and veged on the couch. Ah bliss.

Aqua Jogging - not easy my friends.

My recovery has been going really well, sufficed to say that this morning for the first time I have zero pain. I keep waiting for the twinge in my groin to grab me or the the pain in my butt cheeks to come back but so far so good. It is such a welcomed start to my day and I can't help wondering that if I feel this good now then in 3 weeks when the kids go back to school I should feel awesome and ready to go again.

To add to my collection of rehabilitation exercises I went Aqua jogging yesterday, harder than it looks. Reading an article yesterday morning in "Triathlete" April 2010, it stated that deep water running was an effective way to recruit all your running muscles in a non-impact way but still effective in eliciting a good VO2 response. Although this intrigued me what really got me was the part where it stated that this one women "Kathy Winkler" crossed the finish line second in an Ultra Marathon last year and ranked Top 10 with the fastest splits and had done most of her longer runs in deep water due to chronic hip issues. Now I was really intrigued. So I packed my sports bag and my Aqua Belt - not the one pictured above, mine is slightly different and off I went.

I must admit, I felt slightly awkward at first, I felt like an big kid with my oversized floatie but this awkwardness was shortlived when I got going. It is quite a challenging activity to run and not have any point of impact to gauge where your feet should be. Your body also wants to instinctively lean forward and start pulling water with the hands to help. I found I really had a need to want to see myself move forward and make some ground, but the aim of Aqua jogging is to mimic form not propulsion. So I set myself the task to complete 4 sets of 120m. The length of the pool was 20m so I ran 20m nice and slow and 20m at race pace (or the equivalent) in stride tempo.

My heart was absolutely pounding after each set, I didn't care anymore what I looked like. I set set myself a goal to accomplish and I was determined as hell to finish it. I am sure to everyone else I looked like a tiny head just slowly gliding along the waters surface, but underneath it was a flurry of activity - much like a duck I would think. Good thing was nothing hurt in my hip, groin or butt during this activity but I did have soreness just due to the drag effect of the water on my muscles. It is an awesome activity, I would suggest this to anyone - injured or not.

After finishing my sets of 480m in total which took me about 30mins to complete, I did my spa/sauna combo again with the cold showers inbetween. Absolutely the best way to finish off any activity I would think. My muscles felt relaxed and invigorated, ready to tackle another day. Life is good.

"Challenges are what make life interesting;
overcoming them is what makes life meaningful".

The numbers keep rising.

Last night I went through alot of my Triathlon magazines to try and get some fresh ideas for my swim sessions. Turns out some of what I am doing is pretty much what is written, apart from the fact that I haven't done any open water swimming. I need to invest in a wetsuit for one, and gain a little courage to get out into the ocean. As I child I would, but age has made me very cautious about what is lurking below when I am the only one in the water. I also need to for the time being maybe do a couple of long distance interval type stuff - just to increase cardiovascular fitness. Doing the shorter interval stuff helps, but I need to be spitting out longer distances.

During my search I also wrote up two more sessions, one for Sharon who session is now on the 2km mark and also one for Natalie. My swim group is getting bigger - word of mouth is a wonderful thing. I had met Natalie a couple of times through bootcamp and am delighted that she is joining this group of fine swimmers. Natalie also surprised me with another welcome addition, her friend Tracy (green cap) below.

(Mel, Tracy, Tracy, Natalie, Susan [purple cap], Sharon and Me)

Michelle turned up later in the session and I will be posting another photo in the not too distant future. Everyone is finishing every session really happy, they each have their own session which I make up depending on their swimming ability and how they finish. If they finish feeling really good and not at all too tired then I up their session ever so slightly and vary it up as well. However if they are feeling that they are slightly pushing to complete then they stay on it till it becomes a easier. Finishing on a high note makes you want to come back and keep giving it a go, and so far so good. Everyone is going ahead in leaps and bounds.

Funny thing is I get so caught up with writing everyone else's session I turned up to the pool without one written up for me. So I altered last week's one a bit and did a 2.8km session.

• 500m Fr/s warm.
• 10 x 50m kick with flippers. Fr/s up, Bk/s back.
• 2 x 400m Br/s up, Fr/s back.
• 8 x 50m lateral kick.
• 4 x 100 Bk/s.
• 200m cooldown.
  

I came out of the water feeling energised and not sore in my legs. My hip/groin today feels really good and my ischial/gluteal tenderness is settling. Finally, I was starting to think I had done something really bad in my past life for which I needed to pay penance. I am still doing my regular stretching and strengthening exercises and have added some added upper body strengthening activities. I am starting to feel a move in the right direction again.

Awesome video. Bart vs Comrades.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dfGkrq2VY78

I just found these

I was just skimming through the Hills Triathlon Club Website and lo and behold - look what I found. How cool. This brought a smile to my face.

Questionable activity.

So I got out cycling yesterday. Boy did it feel good to get some wheels under me and just go out for a leisurely ride. An hour was all I allowed myself as I didn't want to push the hip and groin too far. And I must admit, the cycling in and of itself did not bother my hip one bit. I dropped the gears to a nice easy spin so I wasn't pushing too hard and I made light work of a 20km ride.

The weather was ideal, but once again a bit cold on the ears. Still haven't gotten a thin beanie that will fit under the helmet and I made up my own version of compression socks and wore my daughter's stripped knee highs under my cycling tights - stunning, but my legs were kept warm atleast. I have found a nice new loop to do which is 9km and although it is own a useable road the traffic is extremely tolerable. There are only a few hills but nothing major and the majority is flat even roads.

So after the cycling and testing out the old hip, I would say I felt pretty good that is until this morning. I am not quite sure if my pain is all bone related - I feel like it is muscle related as well. My hamstring, glute and abbductors are aching. Have to ring physio this morning and see what the go is. When I bend forward I get pain just under my right butt cheek and it goes straight into my inner right leg and down to my knee - like I can feel my muscles move and they don't like it.

What do you do, if life was all smooth sailing it would get boring.