Preoccupied
Well, its certainly been a hectic couple of weeks since I've checked in. Sorry for the silence. Lots of health related issues floating around my household. I'll start with the bouts of strep that made their way through my boys; which is never fun. My oldest contracted an ear infection last week. They always cause my wife and I tremendous concern because he was born with a congenital malformation in his lymphatic system just under his jaw on the right side. He has had two surgeries to remove cysts in that area. They form when his lymphatic system can't drain properly following an infection; ears for example. Each cyst has been preceded by one of these, and just like clockwork, one has developed. We have an MRI next week.
I've fully recovered from a head cold/sinus infection a few weeks ago. It was a learning experience for me. You may ask what can be learned from a common virus? Well, I had my annual physical around the same time, which included the standard blood tests. My doctor was concerned because my platelet count came back low, so she ordered a repeat test. The second test came back lower, which caused more concern (not just the doctor). I got on the web and diagnosed myself with everything from a rare auto-immune disorder to leukemia. The third and fourth tests came back higher and within normal ranges, so everyone relaxed. The culprit was the virus that kicked off the cold earlier. Apparently, they can lower platelet counts. The blood test from the physical and head cold were just bad timing.
I promised a comparison of power bars and although preoccupied, I've been sampling different varieties. The Power Bar seems to have the most vitamins, especially the anti-oxidants A, C & E, which we, as endurance athletes, need more than most. The Cliff Bar has more fiber and is completely organic. The Zone bar has good vitamins, and even includes molybdenum. Anyone want to take a stab at that?
In conclusion, training with the Y club has been great this month. We've been keeping the training in lower heart rate zones, but next month, the coaches will increase the intensity of the workouts. A highlight for me was to 500 yd swim time trial. I dropped a full two and a half minutes from the same distance at a race this summer. Did I mention that I'm a rock? Maybe Steve deserves a new nickname...
I'm looking forward to a few days of relaxation. Merry Christmas everyone.
Assassins and Power Bars
When the mountain stages were added to the Tour de France in the early 1900's, the racers were overheard cursing the organizers and calling them "assassins!". That's the way I feel about Steve the swim coach. He's pushing this newbie swimmer. Hopefully I'll respond. Tuesday's workout was the following:
W/U 6 x 50 stroke, 25 drill, 25 kick
400 pull
6 x 50 interval in 1:15
400 pull
6 x 50 interval in 1:05
4 x 150 50 stroke, 50 back, 50 stroke
2600 yds if I counted correctly. I expect no quarter from Steve tomorrow. Who knows, my swimming confidence might grow after a winter in the pool.
On a different note, the tri club had a seminar from a dietitian last night; very good info. A question came up about energy bars. There are too many to choose from and one for every person's taste. Some are packed with vitamins, carbs, or fiber. I'm interested in what everyone out there is using. I have my own favorites, but I'll hold off for now. Let me know your preferred bar and I'll do a highly un-scientific nutritional comparison. Price will definitely be in the equation!
Ready To Resume
All right, I've taken two days off to combat this stubborn cold and I'm mad about it. I need to get back to the base program with the tri club, and today will happen no matter what. Yesterday's day off wasn't directly related to the cold. My youngest had his birthday party, so my wife and I had to reshuffle workout times. Mine was shuffled so much that when combined with the cold, it was easier just to skip. I wasn't interested in going for a run in 40 degree drizzle with pulsating sinuses. Today will be a long cycle, and I'm looking forward to it. The weather next week will be much colder, so I'm going to enjoy the outside while I can.
Invasion
My body has been invaded by something this week. Whatever it was stuffed 10 lbs of wet cotton up my nose and sprinkled shards of broken glass down my throat. My face would throb when lying down, and my voice sounded like Yoda. Fortunately, thats as far as it got. I reduced training, but not entirely. A slow run and a light spin on a trainer temporarily cleared the sinuses. Its on the decline, and with any luck it will steer clear of the lungs. I'm interested in hearing what other approaches to training with bugs may be out there.
On a different note, while at the library the other evening, I saw a book about ancient Roman gladiators near the triathlon/marathon section. Gotta love Dewey Decimal. I thought there would be come common spiritual or psychological elements between the ancient bloodsport and our own. How wrong I was! It seems that Hollywood has provided an incorrect version (what? you're kidding), and the main theme was death. Most paticipants were forced to fight and they lived incredubly short, violent lives. Nothing at all similar to the deliberate, disciplined glory-achieving triathletes of today. I did uncover a few interesting facts though. Women were gladiators, and actually quite popular. ( You go girls) However, sometimes they fought dwarves. Being devoured by an animal was considered the lowest form of "combat"... Thats a double whammy, not only are you being eaten alive, but hey, nobody cares too. In the end, it was an interesting read, but nothing that lends itself to multi-sport. Any recommendations for my next book?
