Tuesday Swim, Fail :-(

Today was a continuous one!
Took the light rail in to work  - which makes for an 11 hour day.
Made it to the gym for an elliptical 30 minute workout, abs and legs! 
Got home right before 6, had a quick salad and was hesitant to leave the couch for the pool :-) I headed over because I knew I wanted to get a swim workout in!

So at the Wash Park Rec Center - there are 6 lanes. There are 2 slow, 2 medium, and 2 fast. Usually there are 2 people per lane, splitting the lane = 12 people total. If there are more than 2, you cycle through the lane in a loop. When I got there, there were only spots left in the fast lanes. There were already 8 people in the slow/medium lanes. I was hesitant incase more people came - but it was better than cycling in three people (which I have never done).
So I started (like last week) with 4 lap cycle - it was tough! I couldn't get in to a breathing grove. When I got back 2 more people had arrived, one hopped in my lane and then the pool was full. I did my next 2 lengths and was very tired again. I tried another 4 length cycle and it was really hard. I rested and saw 2 more people come in. Of course I'm wondering in my head where are they going to go. I see them disrobe and obviously are meant to be in the fast lane. I have no idea what to do at this point - I know they should be in the fast lane, there is no way I can cycle since I am so slow. Do I get out? Do I move to the slow lane? I do another 2 lengths and see both guys are waiting at the end of my lane.  I just decided to get out. I was so upset, I get flustered when I am uncomfortable in situations. I guess that is one reason I liked running. All you need to run is you, sure mother nature gets in the way sometimes, or sometimes there isn't a treadmill at the gym...but anyone can just go out and run. I am so new to swimming, I don't know etiquette and I was not comfortable.

I dried off and went back out just in case there was some room in the pool, I was so mad I had only done 12 laps. Maybe it was because today felt harder than both days last week? But can't look back now.  There is lap swim 6-8 AM tomorrow, I am thinking if I can get to bed early I will go check that out and then shower at work. I have the MRI after work at 6:30 so I can't do the lap swim after work. Sigh, I don't know.

Monday = new week!

Not too much to update on the training! 
I was able to get in a good 30 minute bike ride in at the gym on Friday and some arm exercises!
Over the weekend, AA and I were supposed to go snowshoeing but am fighting a cold and sore throat, so we decided to sleep in! Instead we took the dogs to Wash Park - it was still very nice to get outside!

Today I had another bike and arm day. I made it 7 miles today in 30 minutes! Farthest to date. I didn't get to the gym at my normal time and was having a sort of hectic/stressful Monday! Once I got to the gym though, my stress seemed to sweat (literally) right out! It felt great to get some aerobic in - plus work on the arms :-)

I also went to the specialist this AM. Ordered an MRI for Wednesday night - so we will see what the prognosis is. He said without more testing - it would be hard to diagnose the fibular stress fracture versus Peroneal Tendonitis, so hopefully I can find out what is wrong! After he wants me to make another appointment and see how my running shoes look and what the treads are to see if that has anything to do with it too. I am so jealous driving by Wash Park watching all the people run! I am hoping be able to run the Boulder Boulder 10K over Memorial Day so I want to get back and RUN!!!


Tomorrow is elliptical during the day and swimming afterwards! Hartford Jen is going to go swimming on Thursday too, so that will be nice!


Until then...time for The Bachelor!

Swimming Week One!

Boy was I nervous!! I had never swam a lap in my life!
I decided to get a 30 visit pass at Wash Park Rec Center. On Tuesdays and Thursdays there is lap swim from 6:30-8 so I figured this would be good to start two times a week and maybe on the weekend if I had time. I had read a lot of posts that I shouldn't be scared if I couldn't do more than one lap!


I had gone to Sports Authority to purchase a swim suit, goggles and a cap! Clearly I need to look the part :-) Don't laugh at my picture - maybe it will be a good before and after - but Aaron wanted one!

There was an open lane so I hopped in the pool put on my goggles, took a deep breath, and just went! The pool is 25m. I did 2 lengths and came up for air. I don't remember much. I kept doing this, a few times I did 4 lengths - but would stop every 2 or 4 laps. I had watched a few youtube videos and read a few articles so I had a few things I wanted to try and keep in mind. Getting breathing right is really important. I'd say it took me 12 or 15 lengths before I got the hang of exhaling in the water. Taking breaths is hard too - I wasn't sure which side to do! I had read beginners should try both so I got in the habit of taking a breath every 3 strokes. I think by the end of the night I had done 25-30 lengths but I definitely lost count. I was out of breath, but, I actually really enjoyed it!


So tonight I went back for round two. My goal this time was 30 lengths. I would do 4 then rest. 2 then rest. Then repeat. So I did 5 of these 4 then 2 sets. Clearly I don't know the swimming lingo yet but it is 4x25 then 2x25 or something. It took about 30 minutes to do and I would say I took about 45 breaths between each set. I was really happy!


I don't want to do too much - so next week I'll probably only add one 4 set and just work on my recovery! I also found a place in Denver where I can take semi-private lessons. I really want to get my form and breathing right :-)

Normal Workouts...

So after the dreadful no running prognosis - I had to switch up my routine at the gym - this is what I landed on:
M/W/F - 30 minutes on spin bike at the gym (averaging 6.9 miles on a cross country route) - then arm exercises as well (about 15-20 min)
Tu/Th - 30 minutes on the elliptical and then abs/pushups/leg exercises

AA and I have been trying to go to the Wash Park Rec Center on Sat or Sun, where I have learned some cool new arm exercises :-)

Weekends are also times for hiking, skiing, snowshoeing - but haven't tried with the ankle yet. Maybe after Monday!

A bit of a background....

I guess I will start with a little background about myself and lead in to why I think this has been a great journey the past fifteen months.

I had been living in CT for 3 years right out of college. I had a great job doing what I went to school for. I made a good group of friends in CT and had all my close college friends and many high school friends nearby. My family (most) was a short drive away and I was lucky to have my aunt only ten minutes away. 

Don't get me wrong, I was very happy there, but at the same time...I was ready for a change! One of my best friends from college and one of best friends from high school had both decided to move out to Denver within a few months of each other. I had an uncle in the area, and had visited with one friend when she was deciding to move out here. It also helped that this cute boy had been texting me every so often that lived in Denver :-)

So eventually the question became: Why not??

Fast forward 15 months - I went from not being able to running a mile when I moved here to running as much as seven and eight miles. I started out slow and found time during the day at work to go to the gym. I was consistently running 3 or 4 miles - 4 times a week. It was hard, but at the same time, I really enjoyed it. I did a few races and eventually worked up to my first 10k! I was really enjoying running (even if I was still very slow)! I have probably lost around 30 pounds since moving here. I am lucky to have my friend Jen from college here, who turned me on to running. She runs much more and much faster, but she can be pretty persuasive! I am also lucky to have my great friend Kelsey here, from high school, along with a handful of other Saratoga graduates. It is really nice to see familiar faces :-) When I first moved here, I didn't start work for six weeks so Kelsey and I made the most of that fall for many hikes and adventures! My aunt/uncle/cousin live close by so I enjoy having my family around! And that cute boy that was texting me....we have been dating for over a year! I owe so much of my enjoyment for all things active, to him. We started hiking together, which he was already much more experienced than I - but I really came to enjoy it. I even did my first 14er last summer! Mt. Elbert was a beast, but I'm ready for another. 

This is sort of a long synopsis and I am leaving out A LOT over the past 15 months - but basically, I am loving my move to Denver and am ready for my next adventure!

Unfortunately my ankle started bothering me around the time of my 10K. I hoped that decreasing my mileage might help - but finally I realized I had to just go to the doctor. I am seeing a specialist on Monday - but my regular doctor was 90% sure I had a fibular stress fracture. NO high impact activities for 6 weeks minimum. I was distraught! I had to turn to the elliptical and bike to make sure I still stayed active. Then enters my other friend Jen, who just moved here from Hartford. In passing she mentioned she was thinking about signing up for a Sprint Triathlon in July. Surprisingly - I was very interested. I was already biking and hoped eventually I would be back to running. That just left - swimming. I was thinking - with a bum ankle, swimming would be a great way to stay active and let my ankle heal. I've never swam competitively or had any lessons - but did grow up every summer swimming nearly every day at the country club pool. So, after some research, and support from the bf - I decided it to give it a whirl!

There is my background :-)