It's Friday!

Friday, June 29, 2007

I saw Dr. Ewert today to get my bone density test results and thankfully they’re normal! This was a big relief to me! She said to continue taking the Calcitonin to keep helping the healing but said I can stop it in a week or so. Eeesh, my toe joint hurt this morning but she said that was normal since WG was trying to loosen it up the day before. I will do the stretching exercises WG gave me and hopefully that will help get that joint moving properly again…this joint thing is very annoying, I have to say. At least things are still getting better! I see him again next Thursday. Please oh please, let that toe loosen by the then. WG showed no mercy yesterday so if it's still locked up I expect there will be a repeat performance.

I bought an aqua belt so that when Giuse and I are at the cottage out east in a couple of weeks I will be able to do some interval training in the lake!! This will be much more fun than being in a chlorinated pool. I can hardly wait for this holiday!! I will swim, eat, swim, lie on the dock in the sun, swim, sleep in the hammock, read, eat, fall asleep again, swim. It will be so relaxing and peaceful! It’s a beautiful little lake we'll be on too and we'll get to finally spend some quality time with B & D. Hopefully I will be able to do some short bits of running by then too! There are some great spots to go for a run there.

I had a lesson right after work today. I was tired and wanted dinner so I didn’t feel like singing. Selena was brilliant as usual though and managed to get something out of me.

It’s our four-year wedding anniversary today so Giuse and I ate at one of our favorite restaurants in our hood, La Piola right next door to The Italian Bakery. This place serves up some great authentic Italian cuisine and has a live jazz band every night of the week…a wonderful place! We’re going to hang in this evening and snuggle up to watch a movie. Let’s hear it for the long weekend!! We’ve got some fun plans lined up. Yeeehaw!

Bike/Pool 1:25:07

Thursday, June 29, 2007

Well, the audition went better than expected. I thought I would be a bundle of nerves having not done an audition in over two years. It was pretty intimidating walking into Wood Hall with just Timothy and the new Executive Director sitting there. Harder still, not wanting to embarrass Joey (he stepped out of the room for my audition, thank gawd). I stayed focused for the most part. It certainly wasn’t my best but considering everything, I was satisfied with how I did. Again, I cannot tell you how fortunate I feel to be working with Selena. The anxiety of performing is lessened so much when you are confident in your technique and what you are doing. You have to be completely uninhibited to sing freely and without trust in a decent technique the nerves just get in the way. I will sing for Tania Miller in August for the Symphony. They have their artists lined up for next year so it would be for anything they might be doing in the 2008-09 season. The bottom line is I have to keep doing auditions and start trying to get some gigs.

I saw WG today at Cedar Hill. He had a good look at my foot and asked me to hop on one foot, barefoot. I couldn’t do it. He did some yanking on my toe and said I have a jammed 2nd metatarsal joint. I wasn’t surprised. I knew there was a problem because I can put full weight on the fracture with no pain but the toe-off hurts (or manually pulling the toe backwards) but it hurts above the fractured spot right on the joint. He reamed on it for a good ten minutes which had me thinking he was going to give me another fracture but it was the only way he could loosen the joint up. He gave me a stretch to do and then said nonchalantly that I won’t be running for another few weeks…another FEW weeks?! I nearly fainted. He said you can’t monkey around with this type of injury. Arg!

Back to Crystal I went. 40 minutes steady on the bike at a good moderately hard clip and then a pool WO of 10 x 1 minute with 15” rests then 45 “ set break, then 5 x 2 minutes with 30” then 3 x 3 minutes with 15” rests. All intervals were done in a fit of frustration so they were mean spirited and freekin' hard. This was good therapy.

End of the Whine-Fest 1:15:13

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

One decent night of sleep and I am back, baby! Wow, did I crash last night! I felt like a new woman this morning! The whine-fest is officially over. I sang this morning and it went much, much better. My job tomorrow is stay focused on the text and on what I’ve got to do. It's all there, I just have to let go and trust that it will happen. Just do it!

Today, my foot feels like my own again! It doesn’t have that dead feeling anymore and it now feels the same as my right foot…they’re a happy couple again! There’s been a big improvement since yesterday I think primarily due to the magic needles of MC.

Today I did a steady 30 minutes on the stationary bike followed by 45 minutes of easy pool running. I want to feel rested for tomorrow so I kept it all really low-key.

Bike WO 123:38

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Ok, yesterday I was tired. Today I was absolutely and utterly exhausted. I couldn’t sleep last night and woke up this morning feeling horrendous and spent the entire day in a fog. I saw MC today for treatment on my foot. I told him how I felt doing my walk last night. I had no pain whatsoever this morning. He and I discussed the idea of introducing some short periods of running…we’re talking 5 x 1 minute segments here. He said it would be good to get the foot used to some running movement for 1 minute at a time stints with 5 minute walks in between. He said I could start Thursday! He did some acupuncture which I think has been dong wonders for my recovery. I nearly fell asleep on his table when he left me…really, there was some drooling.

Giuse was complaining about going to Cedar Hell tonight for the WO so I twisted his rubber arm and he came with me to do a bike WO instead at Pearkes. I did 8 x 3 minutes hard with 2 minute breaks finishing with a long, steady cool-down. I could have done a couple more but decided it would be a good idea to take it a bit easier tonight in case I was coming down with something (so “taking it easy” is doing 8 intervals instead of 10. I need my head examined). It was nice having Giuse’s company…not sure if he’ll do a bike WO again though! Ha! I did my strength circuit and then some solid torture stretching with Rol. My calf on my gimp foot was really tight just from yesterday’s measly walk. I have an appt to see WG on Thursday after my audition…Rol said WG’s torture methods are far worse than his. Good grief.

Walking!!

Monday, June 25, 2007

Wow, did I feel tired when I woke up today. I really dragged my butt out of bed! I had set up a run-through of my arias with some friends as an audience after work and although it wasn’t a complete disaster, it wasn’t stellar. My focus wasn’t there so I was miles away as I sang and not as grounded as I wanted to be…weird. Anyway, I am chalking it up to fatigue and hope that I will be back on top of things by Thursday. It was so great to have the support of everyone who came! A few of us went out for dinner afterwards and had a couple of good laughs (Paul was there). His potty-mouthed humor is right up my alley. I think Robert my accompanist thought he was a riot too. The most exciting part of the day however was my walk with Giuse around the Cedar Hill golf course. It was a good 40 minute walk at a fast pace and I am thrilled to say my foot felt very, very good. I would have to say there is a slight discomfort occasionally but it certainly didn’t get any worse during or after the walk. In fact, my foot felt loads better afterwards, like it was waking up. We’ll see how it feels tomorrow. I might be depressed again.

Rough Day 1:55:38

Sunday, June 24, 2007

I had a tough morning this morning mentally. Giuse was getting ready to go for a run with Shan and Lis’ and it was a gorgeous morning and I was facing yet another morning stuck in a gym and pool. I had a melt-down but then sucked it up and drove out to the lakes to drop Giuse off. Lis’, Shan and Lola were there. I spoke to them for a bit and then headed to the Commonwealth. I did 75 minutes on the bike at a steady pace, did some strength stuff on the machines and then did 40 minutes of steady pool-running. Boring…boring….boring….It was quiet at least. I am definitely getting to the end of my rope. I miss being outside and running with my friends. I know it’s only another week or two but wow, I am feeling pretty blue today.

Giuse and I went to Demi-tasse for brunch…we were both starving and wanted a big breakie and it was exactly what we needed. Alison came over in the late afternoon and we did some dramatic work on my arias. There’s a lot to remember…information overload! I’ll have to concentrate on some main ideas and not get hung up on too many details…anyways it was good to do.

Paul and Lis’ came over for dinner which was a load of fun! Thanks guys for cheering me up a bit! I needed that!

6 weeks and counting...1:15:32

Saturday June 23, 2007

Today’s pool WO was 2 sets of 4 x 5 minutes with 1 minute rests with a 2 minute set-break. I imagined running mile repeats…strong and hard with a fast turn-over. It was a good WO. I have no idea if what I am doing for cross-training WOs or what I should be doing. I am completely making this up as I go and since I have never cross-trained. I am just doing the types of WOs that I would do if I were running. Anyway, I guess it doesn’t really matter as long as I keep moving.

I had a lesson with Selena which went really well and then spent the rest of the day hanging out with Guise walking around downtown. We stopped off at Island Runner and had a great chat with Phil and his wife L. He has had a number of stress fractures over the years so he was making us laugh at all the things he did to try and heal up as fast as possible. Walking still feels good but I did the one-legged hop test for the first time today and I was pretty tentative on it so still no running for me. I can’t tell you how discouraging it is to realize this but there’s nothing I can do about it. At least I can walk.

Great Ride

Friday, June 22, 2007

I left from work today with a friend on our bikes and we did a really nice ride of just over 90 minutes. I really, really love my bike. The only issue I have is that my feet get numb after about 30 minutes of cycling. I read on-line that I may have to adjust my cleats back a bit to relieve the pressure off the forefoot.

Feeling Good! 1:05:06

Thursday, June 21, 2007

I felt ready to do a couple of 5 minute walks today so I went around here on campus on the grass. These walks were great so I ventured out to get a coffee and did a longer walk of about 15 minutes. So far so good! I was able to walk normally at a fast clip with my full weight on my foot. I also did some double-legged heel lifts and still no pain! We’ll see how I feel tomorrow. Either way, I will make tomorrow a rest day (no walking) and if it still feels good, I will try a longer walk on Saturday.

I had a good pool WO tonight. 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 minutes at a really hard effort with 1 minute recoveries. I got my HR up to 155 on all the intervals on the way back down the ladder.  I then did 10 x 45” hard with 15” recoveries. After a quick bite I headed over to Pearkes and did my strength and stretching routine with Rol.

BO-ring! 1:01:20

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

How boring is 60 minutes of steady pool-running? Good grief. It’s brutal. I was so glad when that was done. I kept an eye on my HR – tried to keep it between 130 and 135. I felt great afterwards though…all loose and limber. Giuse and I were spoiled tonight by Squintch’s Mom who is in town visiting. A deluxe five-course meal was served: Cold cucumber soup, green salad, chicken curry dish on couscous and fresh strawberries swimming in Quantro liquor topped with real whipped cream! Now how choice is that?! Thanks to Squintch and his Mom for a great evening!

Bike WO 1:23:24

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

I met up with Robert today for a coaching. There were a lot of things to iron out so the hour went by so quickly. We have booked a room at the Conservatory on Monday right after work to run through my pieces in front of some friends that I have invited. My hands are sweating as I type this which tells me the run-through will definitely help prepare me for the performance nerves I’ll get for the audition.

Syl bailed on a ride again today so he is officially not my friend for one full week.

Tonight I did a leg-burnin’ WO on the stationary bike at the Commonwealth (where I boldly wore a sports bra…gasp!) After a 20 minute warm-up, I spun easily for 1 minute and then did10 x 2 minutes with 2 minute rests. I did the first minute of each interval on “gear” 12 then bumped it up to 14 on the second minute of the interval while keeping the same 100RPM. This was nasty. On the 5th interval I kept the gear on 13 the whole time, then went back to the12-14 combo for two intervals and then did gears 13-14 for the final three 2-minute intervals….these really, really hurt! I did a 20 minute cool-down and finished off with a few minutes of super-fast spinning with no resistance. Legs felt great afterwards. I did a few of my strength exercises on the machines and then called it a day. Joey made his gourmet BBQ hamburgers tonight with potato salad and a green salad…the best ever! He went to the IRR WO tonight and said there was a pretty big group out…I miss them all so much!

Too Hot for Crystal! 1:34:09

Monday, June 18, 2007

I wanted to go for a ride tonight but my good friend Syl bailed on me…bugger! So, back to Crystal pool for me tonight for a steady cycle and pool run. My WO started off by being reprimanded for not wearing a t-shirt over my Speedo swimsuit while using the stationary bike. I always just wear my shorts over my one-piece swimsuit so that way I can hop right into the pool and not have to worry about changing. Apparently, I was “exposing too much”…uh…that’s interesting. I think it’s pretty safe to say there isn’t a heck of a lot of stuff to expose on me. I brought this point up…no argument from her there (nice). Then she said I should be wearing a t-shirt so I wouldn’t be dripping sweat on the floor. Aren’t we supposed to be sweating in a gym? I had a towel…isn’t that good enough? The guy doing a bike WO next to me intervened just as I was about to scream at her or cry (not sure what was going to come out) and pointed at the pool of sweat under his machine despite wearing a t-shirt…I was thankful for his support. She walked away in a huff…I am probably banned now for exposing myself. Sweet. How much longer until I can run??!!

As I was finishing off my 45 minute steady ride and was dreading the boring steady pool-run I was about to face I saw Jessalyne enter the pool. Yay! I scooted down and we did the run together! She wanted to do a WO of 3-4-5-4-3 with 30”. I did this with her but at “tempo” pace since I wanted this to be an easy day, effort-wise. Baloney hopped in with us after his pool WO and the three of us had a great chat while we casually ran. It really made the time pass quickly…Thanks guys!

Weekend Stuff

I didn’t train Friday. Instead I had some fun! Giuse and I stayed up waaaay too late hanging out with Lis’ and Paul having a blast laughing mostly at Paul’s antics. I was all hyped up and couldn’t sleep that night so I woke up Saturday morning pretty bagged.  I managed to drag my butt to the Commonwealth pool where I saw Pan-Pan and his brother there doing their “workout”…to be honest, I just saw a lot of chatting going on and not a lot of action! I did a steady ride for 30 minutes on the stationary bike to warm-up, did a few strength exercises and then did my pool run WO. I saw CM there doing a pool run and found out that she too has a stressie and it’s on the second metatarsal just like me. So that makes three of us who have the exact same injury, in the same spot, all occurring a week apart from each other…how weird is that? We grumbled to each other a bit about being confined to pool running and then I started my workout. I did 6 x 3 minutes hard with 30” easy then 5 x 2 minutes hard with 30” easy. I felt really good and wanted to do a longer cool-down but I promised myself I would start cutting back a bit this week, starting today. Matty said not to do too much...who, me? NAW!

The rest of the weekend was filled with a great visit with Barb, practicing, a hair cut, buying a father’s day gift for David, watching Simon’s race on-line, catching up on emails and watching the IAAF Golden League track & field meet from Oslo. Meseret Defar of Ethiopia annihilated her own 5000m world record she established just last year by 8 seconds finishing in 14:16!! It was just mind-blowing! I was going bonkers as she went through 3000m in 8:30-something. The last lap was her fastest and she looked incredibly smooth. Brilliant!

Sunday I was a lazy slob and didn’t do any training but did do some strnegth stuff that I didn't have time for on Saturday.

Foot update: I now have no pain at all when I press down hard on the fracture. On Sunday I was able to finally walk completely normally (I did this just around the house with shoes on). I will continue to avoid walks longer than a couple of minutes for a few more days. I don’t want to aggravate it. When I feel completely confident that I am good to go, I will try to do a longer walk and see how this goes. To walk without any pain is such a relief! I have had a couple of awesome physio and acupuncture treatments by Lis’ and MC these past two weeks which has helped a lot. The best therapy I think was tickling Lisa’s boobie with my foot! Ha!

Bike + Strength/Stretching 1:13:28

Thursday, June 14, 2007

I drove to the lakes tonight to drop Giuse off at the IRR WO. It was so wonderful to see everyone again. I really miss the club! I drove from there to Pearkes to do my bike WO. I did a solid 20 minute warm-up and then did a short ladder of 2-3-4-5-4-3-2 minutes hard with 2 minutes easy keeping the RPM at 100. I got my HR up to 153 and it came back down to 120 just seconds before the 2 minute breaks were up. I did the 2 and 3 minutes intervals one level higher than the 4 and 5 minute ones and got a good burn going! The air-conditioning wasn’t working so I was just dripping wet. Rol would come by on my breaks to chat and said I was making almost as much of a mess on the floor as him. Gross! After a cool-down, I toweled off and changed into dry clothes and then started my strength routine. The routine is actually really fun and I am starting to like using the machines. Then there was pain. Rol did the stretching stuff with me . He slowly worked me through some stretches while I laughed in pain…why do I laugh when I am being tortured?! My legs/hips felt absolutely awesome afterwards though so now I am hooked (better late than never)! We skipped the balancing and calf strengthening stuff this week. My foot needs a bit more time to heal. It will be 5 weeks this Saturday. Time sure flies when you're havin' fun. My foot is really coming though. My guess is that I can start up land-running again in a week or so. I was hoping to start this weekend but it’s not quite there and I want to be absolutely healed up before I do even a walk let alone a run…at this point, what’s another week.

When I got home, Giuse had ordered a pizza, a large. I ate half of it in about four minutes! I love pizza.

Recovery Day 55:58

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

I did a pretty low-key session today on the bike and in the pool. Yesterday’s killer WO warranted a recovery day today so I did a relaxed spin on the bike for 25 minutes followed by another easy 30 minutes in the pool. The Commonwealth pool was so quiet tonight. It was nice cruising back and forth with no one around me while watching a diving club practicing their dives.

Hard Pool WO 1:30:22

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Change of plans today. I did a pool WO tonight instead of Thursday. I am meeting Rol at Pearkes on Thursday so I will do a bike WO that night instead before we meet. So, tonight I did 30 minutes on the bike as a warm-up, 20 of that at a good steady tempo pace. Then I hopped in the pool for a mega WO.  2 sets of 8 x 2:30 with 30” rests, 2:00 between sets. I wore my HR monitor again so I could see where I’m at with these faster, hard efforts. I really hammered these going close to what felt like 400-600m effort. I got my HR up to 149 in the last 4 or so of each set…add 10 beats to that…sweet! Your HR drops way faster in the pool. I was back down well under 120 every time within 30 seconds. I guess that’s why the breaks have to be short. My average was 143 for the WO. Anyway, I did a good 10 minute cool-down and felt great until I hopped out of the pool and got the worst calf cramp in my life which was followed immediately by a nasty foot cramp on the opposite leg. I was spazzing out grabbing my leg, writhing on the pool deck for a good 30 seconds…lordy.

We went out tonight for dinner with my foster mother who is in town adjudicating RCM exams. It was so great seeing her again. She’ll be back on the weekend after she finished her exam tour!  I wolfed down a burger (the Med Grill has reeeealy good burgers) and now I am going to pass out in my bed. Goodnight!

Thanks Roland! 1:13:13

Monday, June 11, 2007

Today’s WO was a steady 35-40 minute ride at a decent clip on the stationary bike, but nothing too hard followed by a pool run with Jessalyn. We did about 30 minutes throwing in 4 x 5 minutes with 30” breaks. I wore my heart rate monitor this time. I was curious to see where my HR was at while in the pool. I was going moderately hard and averaged 135. They say you add 10 beats per minutes when you’re in the pool due to the pressure of the water on your body (your heart pumps more blood in and out with each heartbeat) and the lower temperature of the water. So, at a moderate to hard effort my HR actually averaged 145, which is exactly where I was at on the bike minutes beforehand and exactly where I wanted to be for today. I’m going to wear it again on Thursday night when I do some harder V02 max stuff in the pool to see how high it goes. I've had three weeks in a row of solid training so next week will be an easier week. I hope to start a run/walk plan in a week or so depending on how I feel, so the easier week beforehand will have me starting the program rested and recovered.

I scooted home, ate a few snacks and then headed straight to Pearkes Rec centre to meet Rol. We went through a great new strength and stretching routine he made specifically to help prepare me for land running again, in particular stuff for my feet and ankles. I rarely stretch…bad, bad girl, so Rol is also getting me to limber up…brutal. We’re going to meet at the gym a couple of times a week and he is going to manually stretch me (torture me) and make sure I am using the machines with proper alignment. I was starving when I got home and had a huge plate of homemade curry!

First Ride on the New Wheels!

Sunday, June 10, 2007

Giuse and I woke up bright and early to meet up with Don-Don for his farewell breakie at Mo:Lé. It was pretty a fun morning with lots of razzing and laughter! I am so thrilled for Jarhead and T and look forward to following Team Gobi’s adventures on-line…it will be a life-changing event for all of them, I’m sure! How exciting! Good luck guys!!

Singing went well again today. I am taking that spray in the evening which seems to be working better for me.

I hooked up with Squintch in the afternoon for my first-ever ride on my new bike! I put the bike in the trunk of the car and drove to Squintch’s place in James Bay. I hadn’t used the clipless pedals yet so I thought I better avoid going out for the first time where I would have to stop for traffic lights. First we rode up the street to the large p-lot where the cruise ships come in near the breakwater. I practiced unclipping my shoes, gearing up and down and generally just getting a feel for my new wheels where there were no cars to worry about. Squintch gave me some great tips on how to climb hills etc. Once I got the hang of things, we jumped right on to Dallas Road and headed out towards Willow’s Beach at a fairly good clip just as the sun was coming out. Squintch told me to stick to his wheel as closely as possible. I wasn’t following too closely on the way out but got the hang of it and stuck right behind him for the most part on the way back. I cannot believe how smooth this bike feels…and boy is it ever fast with the clipless pedals! The fit is excellent although I am going to get a proper fitting and get some fine adjustments made in a week or two with a pro fitter. I was so excited through the whole ride! Squintch said I should do a duathlon…maybe someday! It took us about 50minutes to get to Willow’s and back. I wanted to keep going but it was extremely windy and we had a wicked headwind from Clover Point to the breakwater so we called it a day.

I was planning on doing an easy pool run after supper but was feeling a bit pooped so I bailed. I did my strength and core routine and then rested the rest of the night while watching the Prefontaine Meet that I taped earlier that day. What a fantastic meet. The men’s 2-mile was amazing…I love Mottram. What a huge guy! He looks so out of place, towering over everyone…beautiful, beautiful running form!  It was brilliant being able to rewind bits that were inspiring. Matty went to the meet with his Dad and brother…lucky slob! He’ll want to see the taped version, I bet. Maybe I’ll lend it to him.

Busy Day! 2:00:40

Saturday, June 9, 2007

While Giuse did his run at the lakes with IRR, I went to the Commonwealth and got in a good bike session. I did a 30 minute warm-up, with a gradual pick-up then did 10 x 2 minutes at a very hard effort with 2 minutes rest. My legs felt good and rested today after yesterday’s day off so I was able to really go strong on the intervals. I imgained these as 600m repeats on the track. The two minute rests were timed perfectly with my HR getting down to just under 120 every time. I got in a total of 90 minutes on the bike. I didn’t have time for a pool run because Giuse and I made arrangements through Don-Don to go to a wine tasting at Venturi-Schultz near Cowichan so I had just enough time to get home, shower and take off. We met Squintch along the way at the Tim Horton’s at Mill Bay. We grabbed some food and coffee and would have made it on time if we hadn’t missed the turn-off. We were a few minutes late but they had only just started. The wines this year were really excellent. I ate a lot of bread and cheese this time so I didn’t feel as ripped as the last time we went. Thanks Don-Don for the invite!

Giuse and I spent the rest of the afternoon looking for some cycling accessories. I got some singing in before dinner (it was better today!) and then I went back to the Commonwealth to do some weights and a short pool run. Giuse hung out and watched in the stands and read while I did a quickie 8 x 1:30 with 30” break. I worked these hard and felt pretty strong. My turn-over is a lot faster in the water than it used to be when I started a month ago. I did a total of 30 minutes and then went home, watched some tube and went to bed. Tomorrow will be an easy, steady pool run and hopefully a nice bike ride with Squintchy! The swelling is completely gone in my foot now. There is only a very slight tenderness on the top of the foot when I push down on the fractured spot. I have to really push hard though. I am still staying off it for now avoiding walking on it as much as possible just to make sure it is not being stressed. I’ll wait until the end of next week and if the pain is completely gone by then, I will try and go for a good walk on some soft trails to see how it feels. 

New Bike!

Friday, June 8, 2007

My lesson didn’t go so hot today. I sprayed some of that Miaclacin up my nose an couple of hours beforehand and it sort of made my throat feel all gooey and kind of numb…weird. I will use it at nighttime instead and see if that is better…if not, I will have to wait until after the audition to start it.

It was a day off from training today. Instead, I went to Straight Up after work to get fitted on my new bike. Gerry had it all set up on the trainer…it is beautiful! He did a quick fitting and showed me how the gears worked. I am going to get someone Squintch knows to do a proper fitting. I bought shoes and pedals so now I’m all set. The weather’s not looking good for riding this weekend. Squintch and I hope to go out on Sunday for an hour or so just to get used to riding with the clipless pedals. I hope I don’t wipe out.

Giuse and I had dinner with Lis’ and Paul tonight at Glo Pub. The food was good but the service was a bit slow. The poor waitress was run off her feet. We had a pretty good time. Paul and Lis’ are just so much fun!

Bike and Poo Run 1:45:21

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Things really clicked this morning. My warm-up went well and the arias felt effortless…don’t know why it was so easy today but I’ll take it! I was pretty crabby about having to stop to get to work…I was late.

Back to Crystal pool I went. I had already made a date with Nancy that we would do a pool run but after yesterday’s “incident” I was not really looking forward to it! I wanted to focus on the bike tonight. After a 20 minute warmup I did 5 x 7 minutes at a strong effort with 3 minute rests. I increased the tension on the 3rd and 5th minute of every interval staying as close to 100 rpms as possible. It was a good WO with 75 minutes total on the bike.  Nancy was already warming up by the time got into the pool. We did 10 x 1 minute hard with 15” rests. We then ran at a steady pace, chatting next thing you know we had done 30 minutes…thanks Nancy!

Company in the Pool 55:09

Wednesday, June 6, 2007

I had my follow-up appt. with Dr. Cara Ewert this morning. She was so great! She went over the bone scan results and gave me some advice on recovery and getting started back on a running program. She agreed that it’s time to introduce some stretching, balancing and strength exercises for both feet. Obviously I’ll have get back into it slowly with really short runs but at least if I’ve done some work a couple of weeks beforehand it will help a lot having strong, flexible feet. I wish I want to start some calf raises but I think that will have to wait for another week  My foot is so much better. It’s only actually been 3 1/2 weeks and the pain is almost completely gone. She said I can start running once there is no pain at all when I press on the bone and when I can walk at a good clip for 5km without any pain, during or afterwards. She gave me a prescription for a nasal spray to try for one month called Miaclacin to help the bone healing. She has had great results with her rowers who get rib stressies. I will also go for a bone density scan to rule out low bone density. She thinks it was just a trauma to the foot but wants to be sure. Blah…blah….how boring an entry is this!? Anyway, I spoke to Rol and we have set up a time to meet on Monday night.

When I got to Crystal Pool after work, the deep end was closed because “something inappropriate” was in the water…good gawd. Sure enough, when I went up to the mezzanine beside the pool where the bikes are I saw a lifeguard fishing around in the deep end with a long pole with a net on the end. Charming. I did 15 minutes of easy spinning on the rusty bike (the other one was being used) until they re-opened the deep end again. I wasn’t exactly thrilled about going in the water after they scooped up gawd only knows what only minutes before but my legs were tired and needed a break so in I went. I ran steady and fairly easily but then the boredom set in after 20 minutes so I decided to do Finn’s ladder: 10”20”30” up to 60”, repeat the 60” and then back down again going super hard with 10” off. It killed a few minutes anyway. I ran for 40 minutes total and then once again, went to the UVic track to watch the Track Classic. I sat with Rol, Matty, Simon and Becky and also a fellow Matty and Rol coached with years ago. The races were fantastic. I get almost as excited watching races as running in them! The men’s 1500m was brilliant! When I got home, Giuse had a strawberry shortcake dessert that he made waiting for me which I devoured …yum-meeeee!

Cycle/Pool 108:39

Tuesday, June 5, 2007

Practicing has still been going really well. The arias are feeling more and more grounded every day. I have an audition date set now for the 28th of this month.  I am going to run through everything with Robert since I think he’s playing for the all auditions and will do some dramatic coaching with stage director, Alison Green on the Mozart. The others should be fine, since I coached them a lot in University. I am going to book a room at the Conservatory the week before the audition to run everything in front of an audience of friends…always a good idea to see if you can hold it together in front of a crowd.

I emailed Rol this morning to book a session with him. I can put my full weight on my foot now so I think it’s time I start doing some balancing exercises and strength drills for my gimpy foot. My plantar fascia is pretty tight from inactivity. I can roll my foot on a tennis ball without any pain this week so I am doing that to massage it rolling the ball with my barefoot under my desk at work.

I really had to move it tonight to get my WO done and make it in time to watch the 1500m race at UVic. I did a 15 minute warm-up on the bike and then did 6 x 5 minutes with 2:30 holding 100 RPM.. My HR dropped under 120 before two minutes were up but I gave my legs an extra 30” to recover. I got almost an hour  total on the bike and then did a quickie pool run just to cool off and loosen up my legs. I did 3 x 3 minutes hard with 30” easy and then rushed over to UVic just making it in time for the women’s 1500m start. It was a bit tough sitting there watching the race, I have to admit. I so wanted to be on that start-line. Melina and Nanc did really well! It was a cool and windy night which would have made it a bit tough. I was glad I went in the end. I’ll be running it next year for sure!

Strength Day 55:39

Monday, June 4, 2007

I saw Lis’ this morning for some physio. She had a cancellation right after me so I got a deluxe, long treatment again today. The good news is the pain in my foot is very minimal now. I am still on crutches for longer walks but shorts walks around the house are completely fine (although I am still not putting any weight on the injured part yet.)

I wasn’t going to go to the track meet tomorrow night. I thought it would be hard to watch a race that I was supposed to run but Matty basically called me on my bad attitude. I really do want to cheer Melina and Nancy on so I am going to go. I will really have to do my WO quickly to make their race.

The Commonwealth pool was crazy busy tonight. The weather is a bit crumby right now so I guess everyone decided to head indoors. I focused on weight training tonight. I forgot to blog that I did weights on Saturday morning too. I think doing consistent strength stuff for my legs and core and balancing exercises will help a lot when I finally return to running. I did 25 minutes of easy cycling beforehand and then three sets of my routine from Rol as well as the three machines I like to use at the gym. I then did 30 minutes of pool running throwing in 7 x 2:30 with 30” rests. I did these at a moderate effort, so I’ll be rested for tomorrow night. I did the intervals just to occupy my mind and make the time go by faster.

Giuse and I went over to Baloney’s afterwards and had a nice visit with him. He gave me his air cast to try out. I will use it at work around the office…might be easier than the crutches.  I got to bed waaay too late!

Bike and Pool 2:38:21

Sunday, June 3, 2007

Giuse and I got up bright and early and cycled out to watch Squintch race in his very first tri. It was a good 55 minute ride along the Goose and boy what a beautiful day it was! Squintch was a real star, especially on the bike (we didn’t see him swim). Good thing he did those pool runs with me leading up to the event! We met Don-Don, Pan, Lin and Pan’s Mom there who also came out to cheer Squintch on. I have to say it was tough to watch the athletes go by knowing I couldn’t run two steps even if I had to! Baloney, Paul and Derek were also in the race so there were lot’s of people to cheer on. I bumped into Graham who gave me some great advice on returning to running from stress fractures. He has had them before and said the walk/run program is a must…it’s going to kill me running for a minute at a time but at this point, even a minute of running would be thrilling so I will take anything. I won’t be doing that though for a good while yet….good gawd.

We hung around for a while afterwards chatting with people like LeRoo and Syl and then headed home at a fairly decent clip. The rest of the afternoon was spent downtown lazily shopping (on crutches, Lis’!). I hit the Commonwealth pool at about 6pm. This is a great time to go on a Sunday…there was barely anyone there. I had the most enjoyable pool run I have ever had. I did a steady 45 minutes with the whole dive tank to myself listening to the music they had playing. I felt so relaxed when I finished. Giuse was a sweetie and came and read his book while I scooted easily up and down the lanes. We grabbed a bite on the way home and now I am ready for my bed!

Foot Update: My foot is feeling noticeably better since Friday. Graham and Baloney both said it was very normal to have pain and a bit of swelling for a good 4 weeks after the initial injury with this kind of stressie so the fact that it is a lot better today makes me hopeful I am recovering well.

Bike/Pool WO 1:25:28

Saturday, June 2, 2007

I did my WO today at the Commonwealth while Giuse did the WO Boob gave him at the lakes. I did most of my harder intervals today on the bike. After a 20 minute warm-up I did 6 x 3 minutes hard with 3 minute rests. I bumped the level up a notch the second minute of each interval keeping the RPMs hovering just over 100. It was just over an hour on the bike including the cool-down and then I was in the pool and did 3 sets of 1 min hard, 1 easy, 2 hard, 1 easy logging in about 20 minutes total of pool running and 9 more minutes of hard intervals for the day.

Shan had her housewarming BBQ tonight. It was really, really fun. Thanks Shan!  Giuse and I showed up at about 4:30 and stayed quite late (for me, anyway). Paul and Lis’ were just hilarious and it was great to see so many other IRR people out! Don-Don, Giuse and I were in the mood for a coffee so we went to Starbucks on the way home (not my favorite coffee joint, but choices are few on a Saturday night after 9pm).

Steady Day 1:20:29

Friday, June 1, 2007

I sang the two newer arias for Selena today. They felt ok but of course the German one is as tough as I thought it would be. It so exposed! It will be fine…I hope!

I was back at Crystal pool tonight. I did a steady and easy cycle on the stationary bike keeping my HR at 130 for about 30 of the 45 minutes and then jumped into the pool and ran steady for 35 minutes just enjoying the feeling of the water. It really helps my foot.

We went in to see Phil at Island Runner and once again he came through and fixed me up with a pair of new Adidas shoes that have a ton of forefoot cushioning. If these feel good to run in, I’ll wear these when I start up my land running again to make sure my foot has as much cushioning and support as possible…no racing or training flats for me for a while! They’re a brand new model and I have to say, so far they feel wonderful for my injured foot.

Giuse made an incredible BBQ turkey breast tonight with grilled potatoes…so good. Squintch came by on his way home from work and stayed for dinner He is pretty psyched for his first triathlon! A bunch of us are going to go and cheer him on Sunday morning…go Squintchy!!

Sneaky Me 1:12:05

Thursday, May 31, 2007

I went to Crystal Pool tonight right after work while Giuse cycled to the WO at the lakes! Impressive! I did a steady cycle on the stationary bike for 30 minutes followed by a pool run. I was feeling tired tonight so I kept the intervals to a minimum. 1-2-3-3-2-1 minutes hard with 30” recoveries, a minute off and then 5 x 1 minute with 30” recoveries. Tomorrow will be an easy day with no hard intervals so I will be rested for Saturday. We had made plans to meet T and Don-Don at Barb’s Place for feeesh and cheeps! Giuse was a bit late having biked to the lakes and back AND doing the IRR WO in between…I really am impressed! I just love going to Barb’s Place…such a summer thing tp do! We yakked a lot about the Gobi March and how exciting the whole trip is going to be for Don-Don and T! 12 more sleeps for them! We then got a coffee to warm up (it was a bit chilly near the water!) and sat around and yakked some more. Don-Don was being very nice to me since I was on crutches and all. I have to say, I took advantage of his guard being down and nailed him right on the foot with my crutch…you should have heard him yelp…it was more like a scream…a girl’s scream actually. What a wonderful moment! I'm a dead woman.