Nice Weather

We had a "cool" front come through. Now "cool" is a relative term when speaking of the weather. For us, after weeks of 100+ degree days, 80's and 90's feel down right COOL!

With the cooler temperatures came a couple of days of good rain. Not enough to help the lake level rise but enough to give the yard some much needed natural nutrition.

Monday's swimming was tough. I'm not sure if it's because I ran long on Sunday or if it was just a hard workout. I made it through but was exhausted (oh and it was my birthday) so maybe that was the problem! And on Sunday we had a wedding to attend in the Dallas area. I love weddings but not because I enjoy seeing people get married, it's the cake. There is NOTHING I love to put in my mouth more than old fashioned wedding cake with really rich icing. So on Sunday a had TWO large pieces plus these great little chocolate mousse desserts. No wonder Monday's workout was hard!

Micki, my coach, has given me some new running workouts, they are a bit different from what I've been doing and intended to strengthen my legs plus build endurance. Tuesday I walked 1 mile, jogged 2, then ran 2. That morning it rained hard until about 10, I got up and worked until a little after 10 when the rain stopped and went out for my run. I am sure you all know what happens when you live in a hot climate and it rains and then the sun comes out. Yes it got hot and steamy (and not in a good way). I was in the middle of my jog when it really warmed up.

Adding to the issue with the heat is my own perception of my "jog". In my head I KNOW that a jog means a very easy slow pace. However, getting my body to "jog" is tough unless I am running with someone who is going that pace. So my "jog" on Tuesday was not as slow as it needed to be. Thus my "run" was faster than it should have been because in my mind I had to do the last two faster than the two I jogged. That plus the heat was just not a good combination. I finished the run but had the chills and suffered from a bit of dehydration.

Wednesdays I usually swim but I could not get by butt out of bed and so I decided to do my Thursday run on Wednesday. This was a 2 mile walk, 3 mile jog, and 3 mile run. This time I knew to be more careful about my pace and I went early to avoid the heat. My jog was a jog and so my run was a good run at a decent pace and I felt good when I finished.

My knee is no longer hurting and the temptation to overdo is strong. If I can just keep with the plan Micki gave me I will continue to get my speed back. Patience....sigh.

Today was the last day of swim team and there were only two of us in my lane. We swam more continuously than before with little rest and having fewer people made it even more of an endurance workout. At first it was tough, always is with the warm up, but once I got past it I felt great and was able to keep going with little rest between drills. Over 4000 meters today.

The most exciting thing about today was that I was finally able to do the butterfly a full lap without stopping. I did that twice. I am sure it looked pretty bad but who cares! I made it all the way and THAT is an improvement.

My arms and shoulders feel like rubber. Lifting yesterday, swimming today, and tonight is Yoga. Tomorrow I will be wiped out.