Back in the Swim of Things

I haven't been sleeping well. At all. Three nights last week I got about 3 hours of sleep each. Broken into about 45 minute segments. I think the worst thing about it was every time I woke up, I remembered a very strange dream. One or two were near nightmares. I don't know what's worse, waking up in the middle of an asthma attack (which has happened twice in the last 3 months) or waking up from a dream that you were having an asthma attack and had to be taken to the hospital. Last night I broke down took an Ambien. Finally, 10 hours of sleep. No waking up. Still plenty of weird dreams though. I was well rested for my day.

My day of absolutely nothing that I had to do. Well rested I went to masters. I almost busted out a map to find the pool. It's been six weeks. When I walked in the coach did a double take. I told myself I'd do 2500 M. And jumped in for a 500 M warm up. 2500 M? Was I crazy. Fortunately we started with fins and 50s. Then kicking and 100s. At least my arms were going to get an 'easy' day for my first day back.

Hold that thought. Then the main set. 4 x 50 hard as you can hold and 200 pull breathing every 5. 6 x 50 hard as you can hold and 200 pull breathing every 7. 8 x 50 hard as you can hold and 200 pull breathing every 9. I have a hard time breathing every 3 when I'm out of swimming shape. And then when you add in paddles. Well, I just suck. Seriously, give me pool toys and I turn into the slowest person in the pool. It's mind boggling how I can go from leading a lane when just swimming and then get lapped if you slap paddles and pull buoy on me.

I made the 200 breathing every 5 not being lapped. But I nearly was. I told myself I'd swim the next part of the set and reevaluate. I made it through the 50s. The last two were sssssllllloooowwwww. And I could fell my stroke falling apart. I got lapped on a 50. Really. My stroke was not smooth. It was mechanical. I could barely get my arm out of the water. I'd hit that point in swimming where there is clearly no gains being made. So I called it a day. I was a little disappointed because I didn't think I got more than 2K in before I started swimming backwards. Somehow in my oxygen depraved state I told the coach I plan on swimming 5 days a week for the next month. I told him it might only be 2K a day, but that I'd be there. Let's see if I can make it. Turns out I swam 2400 before I completely broke down. So, not as bad as I thought.

The rest of the afternoon was spent being lazy. I forgot how much the first couple swim workouts take out of me. I'm always surprised how exhausted I feel after a 2500 M swim workout after not swimming for a month or more. I know I'll feel this way all week. Okay, maybe all month as I take my training from 1 hour a week to 15 hours a week. Can't wait to get there.

TGFF

Thank God For Fleece. I realize it was freezing rain, sleeting, hailing and snowing in most parts of the country, but if you live in those parts of the country, you should expect that right? It was see your breath cold in Honolulu on Sunday morning. It was perfect weather for a marathon. If you were running.

To start the day off, I set my alarm for 5:15 AM. I was shooting to leave the house at 5:45. The marathon kicked off at 5AM with 5 minutes of fireworks. At 5AM my dogs heard the fireworks and jumped in bed with me. I was out of the house by 5:30. On my bike in the dark to make it to Kal highway by 6AM. It was still pitch black and the wheel chair athletes were returning along the course. Each one had 3-4 cyclists with bright lights around them. They were seriously hauling ass. I'm not sure I could have been an escort. I don't think I would have wanted to ride my bike in the dark fast enough to stay up with them.

I made it to Aina Haina about 6:15, just after the lead woman passed heading out. About 10 minutes later I started to shiver. Seriously. I had a fleece, but that was it. I had planned for the heat the day would bring. I had sunscreen and plenty of water. I forgot that if the race starts at 5AM, most people I knew would be done by 9AM, and past where I was cheering by 8AM.

I was able to sort of get a picture of the lead man heading in.
It was still dark. And cold.

I've done the Honolulu Marathon four times. The first was when I lived in Japan. When in Japan, do as the Japanese do right? I doubt I'll ever do the marathon again. It's a very crowded marathon. And not a very well supported marathon. The aid stations are water and gatorade only. No gels. But every year almost everyone I know does the race. And so I go watch. The first time I ran I carried a camera (again, when in Japan, do as the Japanese do). I wish I could find the picture of the group of 50 year old men with yellow singlets that said "Honoruru Marathon" They all kicked my ass.

The cop is playing double duty. Traffic control and photographer for

people wanting pictures at the half marathon point.

After the 3:15-3:30 marathoners go by, it's just people watching. The course is too crowded to really pick most people out too far before they get to you. Here are some of the best costumes.

Mr Mini Mouse. When he ran by in the pre dawn hours, I thought it was a she.
A really fast she. When he came back I realized it was a he. Still, a pretty fast he.

I can not explain this guy.

Stud

Gives new meaning to pace rabbit.

We Wish You A Merry Christmas

School's Out

Last class is done. Phew. I am soooo switching majors. My courses this semester were Geology classes. One was very basic, Geology and Geophysics (GG) 104 Volcanoes in the Sea. I could sleep through the class and get an A. The other, GG 711, Accelerated Introduction to Geology, AKA The Big Gulp. It's for people who are interested in getting their masters in Geology or Geophysics, but don't have an undergrad in it. Four months ago that was me.

Exploring a lava tube by the ocean

Searching for the perfect rock on Wainae Coast

GG 104 had field trips worth 20% of your grade. It had a midterm and a non-cumulative final. It also had a semester project. Make something from a rock, using another rock. And nothing else. GG 104 is also a Hawaiian studies course. I made a, for lack of a better Hawaiian term, pahu. It's a business card holder. That would have been an awesome conversation starter had I stayed in the geology and geophysics field. But I'm not. That comment about switching majors. Well, we'll get back to that.

Final Project. 30% of my grade

GG 711 was hard. It had four different instructors. The first taught, History of the Earth. He assigned an entire text book he wrote. We had to read it and answer questions. That was easy. The second taught mineralogy and petrology. Igneous rock stuff. It was long and boring. No homework, but then a take home exam. With diagrams like this.


The third was a funny woman who dressed up like a jester and passed out candy on Halloween. She called the above diagram scary and asked easy test questions. The last instructor was a nervous man who spends more of his time on a boat in the middle of the pacific than anywhere else. I have yet to look at the final exam for his section. I will tomorrow AM. Then I will be done with rocks.

I've decided to become a Physician's Assistant*. I've wanted to do this for a while, but had a good job and there were no PA programs in Hawaii. Well, there are still no PA programs in Hawaii, but I no longer have that job. I made this decision right after classes started, yes, 2 days after the deadline to add/drop classes. Oh well. This was a practice semester. Next semester is all about the prerequisites. Some of the classes I have to take are ones I've taken before, but more than five years ago. Chemistry and Biology. Then I have to take Anatomy (meh), Cultural Anthropology (looking forward to this), and Organic Chemistry (taking it in the summer, supposed to be easier then). There might be 1-2 more. I also have to have between 1000-2000 hours of patient care/interaction minimum. It depends on the program I apply to. To date, I have zero.

I've already mapped out what class I'm taking when. That's the easy part. Getting the patient care/interaction is going to be a challenge. But I'm taking the first step next week. I have two volunteer gigs set up and a job. The job is part time and is an 'internship' through UH. Still I'll only be working/volunteering 20-25 hours a week.

Originally I thought about some trips I wanted to take during winter break. See the niece and nephews. Go to New Zealand. This training camp fit perfect with my break. But then I realized if I did IMAZ I wouldn't be recovered enough to start training to be in any kind of shape to have any fun on the bike that much. Then, well, we all know what happened to IMAZ. So I reconsidered, but decided that there was no point in all that training during the pre-season. It wouldn't help my fitness come June. And might actually burn me out. So I decided to just go to New Zealand. I had a travel partner. And then that travel partner got deployment orders. But I decided to go anyway. I have some friends there. And friends of friends. It was going to be fun.

Yesterday I got an email. It was spam. But sometimes the spam looks interesting. It was about a Certified Nursing Assistant programs. I did a quick google search and there is one on Oahu. I'd been considering getting a Medical Assistant certificate to help me find a job to fulfill my 2000 hour requirement, but it didn't seem like I could take classes at UH, work/volunteer, and take the classes for the MA certificate. But the CNA program is 4-6 weeks long. 3 days a week (Tues, Wed, Thur). 4 hours a night (6-10 PM). I considered if I could take UH classes, work/volunteer, take the CNA classes and train at once. It would be tough, but I could do it for a month, and the training hours weren't going to be super high to start with. I figured the next class started in January. Nope it starts Tuesday.

So, my trip to New Zealand has been canceled for this year. I might make a quick trip to the mainland over a weekend to see the Ohio kids. By the time UH and real training starts, I should be done with the CNA classes. That will make getting those patient care hours a lot easier. Until then I've opened a clinic on Facebook. Many prescriptions for beer are being dispensed.

* I really just want an excuse to wear pajamas to work.

Hair Today, Gone by the Afternoon

Landon. The stylist.

I'd been debating getting my hair cut. I mean really cut. Short. I had pretty much made up my mind it was going to happen, but just couldn't decide on the style. It had to be short. It had to be pretty much maintenance free. As in wash and go. With an occasional style with a flat iron (most of which happens during the holiday season...it's just that time of the year, and it corresponds with the off/pre season). I don't own a hair dryer. I don't think I have since college. And I don't even know if I did then.

Sunday was the XTerra 21K trail run World Championships. A whole bunch of trail running crazy people did the race. Terrish ran it. And took a lot of pictures. And still finished in a great time. I planned on riding my bike up to watch. But really, 35 miles. Too far. I did actually start the ride, but had a flat. So I turned around and got in my truck. I got to the race as the winners were finishing. As I walked up I noticed a Paul Mitchel pop up tent. Hmmm... I checked it out, $15. I signed up. Even if I hated it, the money went to a good cause. Challenged Athlete Foundation. Twenty minutes later I was seated in a chair.

The stylist asked what I wanted done. I told him. " I don't know. Short. Low maintenance. But still need to be able to pull the hair back out of my face for working out." The low maintenance is key.

Pig tails work to pull it back*.

I tell every stylist I've ever had cut my hair this. It's nice they want to style it for me. But 1) I could never get it to look like that if I used the hair dryer, flat iron and tons of product goop, and 2) I don't own the hair dryer and tons of product goop**. So besides the fact that I can't sit still in a salon for more than 90 minutes, I never really like them to 'do' my hair after they cut it. But they always do. But, at the Paul Mitchel tent, there were no hair dryers or flat irons.

Landon asked again my styling tendencies. I told him 1-2 times a month I'll do anything to my hair. And he started cutting. When he was about half way done, I asked for some details. He told me it would be sassy. Stacked. Choppy. And I could still put it in a couple pig tails or pull it back with a barrette. When he was done, he put a little goop in it and gave me some of the goop to take home. I shook my hair out and took a look. Not bad for a $15 cut in the middle of a race site. Now I just need the highlights touched up.

It's been flattened so I could go out.

* I was carded buying PBR on Tuesday. My hair was in pig tails. She didn't believe me when I showed my ID (long hair). I think I convinced her by saying her "how many 20 years olds do you know who drink PBR?"

** I will admit to owning a flat iron. And as soon as I got home I ordered the InStyler. I first saw it a few months ago on an infomercial and have wanted one ever since. I actually ordered two, they were buy one get one free. Anyone want one?

All or Nothing

I believe in the off season. A REAL off season. Not a "run 10 miles here and there, still bike long on the weekends" no structured training off season. Next year I think I'm going to take an off season and an internet break at the same time. I questioned myself almost daily reading about people going out for runs, doing track, long rides etc. Maybe it works for them. But not for me. I need to feel the urge to workout on days I won't. It has to balance the days during the rest of the year where I feel no urge to workout, but I do. The desire to workout on those days off is what I try to remember during the season when I really just want to sit on my couch.

I'm pretty much all or nothing. I will admit to running twice in my four weeks off. And riding around Tempe. And of course the City Lights Ride. About 4 hours of exercise in four weeks. I also indulge in junk food. Quite possibly over indulge. There were days where there were no meals, just spoonfuls of Nutella and nachos. And lots of pizza. And fast food. Wendy's still makes the best cheeseburgers. McDonald's the best french fries. Burger King has the monopoly on onion rings. Arby's is still my favorite. Roast beef sandwiches with jalapeno poppers. I taste tested my way through Oahu's carrot cakes. I still vote for Safeway's colossal carrot cake. It actually takes second to Cheesecake Factory's, but that's not easy to get on a daily (or twice daily) basis. Yesterday I started to cut out the junk food. I still have some Nutella to finish. And a bag of Mother's Iced Animal Cookies in the cupboard. They'll likely be gone tomorrow. I'm going to keep pizza in my diet for a bit.

Christmas came early this year. Saturday a couple pair of shoes and a new Garmin 310 XT showed up. Yesterday I laced up some shoes, threw on the Garmin and headed out for a run. It's five miles exactly from my door to the end of the Ala Wai, and back. If I run up the hill to my house at the end. Which I have never done. I believe in a good cool down. Running up a hill and stopping is not cooling down.

I don't usually do this, but I decided on a goal pace. It wouldn't be fast by any measure. Speed is the first thing that goes for me. It goes fast. Two weeks of no speed workouts and it's gone. It's been about six really. The pace was fine on the way out. Even into the wind. On the way back I decided it wasn't just an average pace I was looking for. Every mile had to be under it. Which meant running harder because the hill to my house would slow down the last mile. My lungs burned for about an hour after the run. But I felt awesome.

During the run I decided about a couple races next year. It's going to be triathlon heavy (obviously) and then some cycling heavy in the summer. Then focus on training for IM Coz in the fall. Here's the plan so far.

Great Aloha 8.1 mile run February 15
Waterfront Sprint Triathlon March 21
Lavaman Olympic Triathlon March 28
NOLA 70.3 April 18
Honu 70.3 June 5
Mayor's Midnight Sun Half Marathon June 20
Na Wahine Sprint Triathlon September 12
IM Cozumel November 28

The next few weeks is just what ever I want to do. But I will try to get 2 rides a week, 3 swims a week and build my running up to 40 miles a week with a couple hill intervals and track workouts. The real training starts January 12th. I bet it will be threshold intervals up Tantalus. And it will hurt.


****I just want to clarify****

I am no longer in the off season. The off season was 4 1/2 weeks of less than an hour of exercise a week. Let's say I'm in pre-season now until January 12th, when the structured training starts. I will not be running 40 miles per week during this time. I will be building up my running so that the second week of January I will be able to run 40 miles that week. This week for instance, I will run 20 miles. And I will not be running a couple hill intervals and track workouts a week. In the next month I will be running a couple track workouts and hill interval workouts (works out to a track or hill workout a week).

Carl Got Run Over by a Reindeer

Terrish talked me into the Christmas Lights Ride. She rides for their Quick Release team. They've always welcomed me on their rides. This ride was a little different though. Dress up. Decorate the bike. Ride. Drink. Or maybe it was, Dress up. Drink. Decorate the bike. Drink. Ride. Drink. I was in the festive mood so I headed out and found some socks (roadies where socks right?) and bike decorations. When I stopped for a snack I saw the perfect Christmas Lights Ride hydration. 24 ouncers of PBR. Bottle cages must have been made to carry these things.

Terrish was the only one singing. She knows every Christmas song ever written. At least the first verse of them. And a lot of rap songs too.

In typical Carl fashion, he wrecked. Nobody knows how he does it, but he manages to spend a lot of time on the ground in nearly every group ride. This time he blamed a reindeer.

I bailed early, about 10:30PM. I told them I was a triathlete and was used to being in bed by 9PM. Then today I actually went for a run. I think it's time to start working out again. But I'll keep the PBR close.

They say there's no such thing as Santa.
But as for me and Terrish...we believe.