weekend doings

another weekend gone...all too fast. no riding either. yeah, i know i suck. i wasn't feeling too good on friday or saturday. there's been at least one person ill in my household for the past 6 or 7 weeks. it's crazy. we just keep passing things back and forth. i felt nauseous friday afternoon and most of the day yesterday so i really didn't feel like riding. i chilled out most of the day, lifted some weights and headed out to the party. yep, i wasn't planning on going, but i was talked into it. i knew it would be fun, and it was. it was really good see all these people i haven't seen all winter. the party was pretty chill so i got a chance to talk to a bunch of people i either haven't talked to in a long time or people that i normally don't converse with. good times although i didn't get home until almost 4:30. my how time flies! i did end up with a bloody, fat lip! if you really want to know, you'll have to ask! ;-)

consequently, i didn't get up until 2pm today. i need my beauty sleep. well, if my beauty was actually measured by the amount of sleep i get, i'd be sleeping 24/7. i knew i had to get in my first long run today. i had to muster up enough energy and finally did at 8pm. my long run today was 5 miles. i went a bit further and felt okay. i'm stupid. my 3 mile run on thursday i couldn't hold back and ran all out for 3 miles and that put the hurt on my shin. i don't think it's healed but i'm gonna try to run through this as long as it doesn't get too bad. i have my training plan down. i'm gonna add 1.5 miles to my long run each week which would put me at 11 miles the weekend before my race. i'm still keeping my fingers crossed because i REALLY want to do this race!

it's funny how i keep talking about running, isn't it? i'm not too worried about the PLRA race even though i should be. i don't think i could ride all out for 50 minutes right now. we might be getting some people together to ride yankee next weekend if it's nice. i guess the trail is in awesome shape. that will definitely give me a good idea where i'm at fitness wise on the bike.

looks like it's gonna be a very short day today. time to shower and hit the hay!

it's springtime!

spring has officially arrived....and i'm freezing my ass of in my basement. it's always super cold down here when it's clear outside. maybe some science geek can enlighten me as to why.

i didn't get a chance to run yesterday but i did 4 miles on the treadmill tonight. yeah, i guess i could've ran outside, but the scenery is definitely better inside. plus, i didn't freeze my ass off. see a trend here? it looks like it's gonna warm up this week so i'm looking to ride this weekend. maybe both days. i'm contemplating whether or not to go to a party this weekend but i know i'll just get hammered and feel like shit on sunday. i haven't had a drink since south beach two weeks ago...nor have i wanted one. well, the two bam biere's were looking quite lonely at the bottom of the fridge last night.

ugh, work has sucked this week. early morning 2 hour meeting yesterday and a bright and early training session this morning. i've gotten like no sleep the last two days. i think i'm hallucinating again.

well, it's that time of year again. time to get back into riding. it seems like people have already gotten a good start although from what i've heard, the trails are still trashed. so i guess i'll have to stick to the pavement...which i so dearly hate. maybe some hill intervals this weekend. that's what i need to work on. well, i guess i don't really need to work on anything, but i would like to be in good enough shape to enjoy myself on my bike. don't plan on being too competitive this year although i'll be doing a good number of races. damn, i'm dead tired. i need to stop typing and get some rest.

lazy sunday

got the results from my tests on friday. everything is A-OK...well, except for my blood pressure. i need to monitor that and make sure it doesn't stay high. i've cut way back on the sodium intake as it has been ridiculous the last couple of weeks mainly because i've been eating out pretty much every meal. and as we all know, restaurant food has ungodly amounts of sodium in it, not to mention i usually eat double or triple portions. yes, i do love to eat. so, i've eaten very healthy this weekend and the pounding in my chest has subsided. i'll see if i can get a bp reading sometime this week and see if it's back to normal.

i ran 3 miles on the treadmill after work friday. i had to force myself to stop at 3 miles because i was feeling really good. i was tempted to go out today since it was sunny out, but decided on one more days rest and will attempt 4 miles tomorrow. i thought about going out for a ride at hines today but it was too damn windy and chilly for my wimpy ass. i really don't like the cold especially now that i've gotten used to the warm weather. hopefully, i'll be ready for the plra race next month. it's more like, hopefully the trail will be ready for the race next month. i imagine the trails are still a mess but haven't checked any bb's lately to see the updated conditions. if it's sloppy, i'm definitely skipping it. no need for any early season injuries and no more trashed bikes this year!

results?

i had my stess echo this morning. weird. my blood pressure again was high. actually, it was VERY high this morning. something like 158/94, which is higher than i ever remember seeing it. so either something is going on, or i'm subconsciously nervous about the tests. if i remember correctly, my bp was normal when i saw the cardiologist 3 weeks ago. i'll have to follow up w/ the cardiologist tomorrow to see if they want to monitor it.

anyway, the stress test was interesting. they had my walk on the treadmill at an incline and then increased the speed and incline every two minutes. their normal protocol is every three minutes but seeing as i was in good shape, they thought they'd speed things up. sure enough, my hr steadily climbed until i was at a 20% grade and running. i maxed out at 186 ( i think). my quads and calves were on fire so that was all i could take. so they had me jump off and immediately lay down to have my heart imaged with the ultrasound. it was weird laying down after maxing out my hr. i felt a little light headed and woosie but that was probably because of all the blood pooling and having not eaten in 16 hours. i should have the results tomorrow. the techs did see a couple of pvc's during exercise but i didn't feel them. if anything was seriously wrong, i would've heard from them by now.

so, now i'm wondering why my bp has been high this week...not to mention i've been having bloody noses which i NEVER get. weird. oh well, this just keeps my life interesting. my health always puts things into perspective. that's why i try not to get caught up in all of the little bs that plagues my daily life.

on the road again!

just got back from a run! yep a run! i went out for a quick but slow 2-miler. i'm feeling no ill effects...yet. keeping my fingers crossed. the stupid insurance company decided it would be cool and not pay for my two tests if they are scheduled on the same day so they moved my stress echo to thursday. i'm not complaining as that will give me a couple more days rest before they try to kill me on the treadmill. i have to run until i reach my hr max. that could take awhile. or not. i'm just in average shape right now. but still, i'm SO excited to be back running! maybe the half is not out of reach. we'll see how my body holds up as i slowly up the miles. happy trails!

springing forward

the beginning of daylight saving time always sucks. i HATE losing an hour of sleep! oh well, it works out better in the long run...more daylight to ride after work!

well, got out for my first ride of the year yesterday. it was a chilly 54 degrees...chilly after being in 75-80 degree florida weather all week! no, it really was a beautiful day for riding yesterday. hines drive for 25.5 miles. the only thing that hurts is my ASS! not having sat in a bicycle seat for 3 months and then doing a 25-miler, i have a good idea what it feels like to be a male prisoner. too bad the warm weather won't stick around.

i have my tests this week and hopefully the ol' ticker will be okay and ready for punishment this year....and for the rest of my life for that matter! i'm also gonna try some running this week to determine if i can run down in louisville at the end of next month. i'm keeping my fingers crossed.

i survived south beach. barely. i should be dead. i don't remember ever feeling as bad as i did on wednesday. that's not gonna happen again any time soon. south florida pretty much sucks. the people down there aren't very friendly. there was a brutal fight right in front of us down in south beach as we ate dinner. i heard gunshots on monday night from the hotel. there were a couple of other things i observed during the week that i didn't like. i was more than ready to come home. the only thing i did like about south florida was the warm spring weather. it was an interesting trip though. i learned a lot in class and got to at least experience south beach. if you've never been, you've got to experience it at least ONCE.

south beach, baby!

i'm coolin' down in miami, F-L-A. well, actually you folks back in meechigan are cooling it while i'm chillin in a beautiful 66 degree night under a full moon. what a gorgeous day it was today! low 70s and sunny! a little warmer tomorrow as we head down to south beach after class.

had an AWESOME dinner tonight OUTSIDE at a trendy nicaraguan restaurant. their chimicurri is to die for! short sleeves and flip-flops baby!

so south florida is pretty cool this time of year. not too hot and way nicer than the dreary late winter days of michigan. it's pretty cool that i'm down here all week. the downside is that i'm dropping tons of cash. work won't comp alcoholic drinks. party poopers.

oh yeah, i had my cardiology appt. last week. it went well. i'm scheduled for an echo and a stress echo next tuesday morning when i get back. the stress portion is done on a treadmill, so i'll have to run. it'll be one day shy of 5 weeks next tuesday. so, if i finish that with no significant pain, i'll start my journey towards my half marathon. i'm planning on running 3 days/week. tues, thurs, and sat for my long run. it'll be 4, 4 and 6 to start and i'll add one mile to my long run each week. the week before the half i'll be doing a 4, 4, 11, so i should be ready for the 13 the following weekend. well....that's the plan anyway. it all depends on how my shins hold up. i'm keeping my fingers crossed because i REALLY want to do this race. i'm sooooo bummed that i can't run right now because it would be SO nice to be running outside this week. omg, have i mentioned how NICE it is outside???

well, i've got to get some rest so i can get my drink on in south beach tomorrow night with all the honeys!