Friday, June 19, 2009

Wednesday through Friday

 

Wednesday

Wednesday was just a total gong show.  I saw a doctor in the morning who didn’t see a point in getting an x-ray on my hand.  Then I went into work and my boss immediately said, “It looks broken to me.”  It seems like half the people in my group have broken their wrist at some point or another.  After spending the entire duration of a Society of Petroleum Engineers lunch and learn worrying I left work in the afternoon to get a second opinion.  And an x-ray.  After my x-ray I was just about ready to cry in the car on my way back to the doctor’s office.  I was convinced that I was going to get bad news and I was trying to prepare myself for the fact that my race season might be over.  Imagine my surprise when the x-ray delivered good news!  I was supposed to have a bike ride on the schedule and was going to ride the trainer…but I was just mentally exhausted.  Let’s just call it a rest day.

Thursday

It was my final swim class, but I had other plans and couldn’t make it.  I had a 22 km (13.6 mi) run on my schedule.  The best way to fit the run in would be to run from my house to work.  I had left a bag of clothes and toiletries at the office on Wednesday so I wouldn’t have to carry anything with me besides water, nutrition, my wallet, cell phone and keys.  The biggest bonus about running into work would be the net 353 feet in elevation loss.  I had hoped to leave at 5:30 or so, but didn’t get out the door until just after 6 am.  The run went really well though, and my splits were the most consistent they have been in awhile, ranging from 9:34/mi to 10:18/mi.  Not bad considering this route was not flat.  My plan was to pick up my gear at the office and run the final mile from the office to the Y…but since I had left left I was pushing it for what time I would be starting work at.  I may or may not have borrowed a pass to shower at the gym downstairs…ahem…  So I was short a mile, but the run into work was a great way to get a long run done on a weekday.  I then took the C-train home to the brand new Crowfoot Station.  I contemplated walking home from there, but since the skies were just starting to open up I hopped the shuttle bus to my neighbourhood.

Friday

There are not a lot of open water swim options around Calgary.  All of the lakes around here are private and you have to be a resident of the community with the lake in order to get in (or you have to know someone who lives there who can sign you in).  Luckily Angie was able to get a few of us in to swim at Arbour Lake this evening.  The clouds looked nasty and I was worried it would start to rain, thunder and lightning at any time, but things held off.  After struggling to get into the wetsuit it was time to swim.  I went for one lap around the perimeter of the lake and didn’t feel too bad overall…until I stopped.  I felt tight in my chest.  Angie figured it was probably due to gulping air.  This explains why I keep feeling like I have to burp during and after an open water swim.  As I tried to burp Angie gave me some tips to help avoid gulping so much air, and sent me on a bit of extra swimming to try it out.  Thank you Angie for giving us the advice, then making sure we used it right away instead of letting us out of the water, quitting and ending the swim on a sour note.  When I really focused on making sure I was breathing all of my air out I felt a lot better.  Just as I was about to swim away from Angie she asked me, “Leana, what is on the back of your head and under your swim cap?”  Er…um…it’s my Garmin…  I think I may have earned the title of biggest numbers nerd on the team now…  All in all, about 1290 meters done!  From there is was on home to kick back, enjoy some sushi, and put my feet up in some compression socks to relax for tomorrow. Arbour Lake Swim DSCN0224DSCN0228

13 comments:

joyRuN said...

That run to work is impressive!

Re: open water swim - I'm a complete chicken when it comes to that. I think I'm afraid of swallowing a frog or something.

Lily on the Road said...

Just catching up with your eventful week, OMG Leana, I hope you're okay after your fall. How's the hand?

Excuse me, your garmin under your cap, you're cracking me up ~~)

Oz Runner said...

glad the hand isn't broken...nice job on the long run to work, nice splits...

Sonia said...

I'm going to have to call you speed devil!! Seriously a hilly long run averaging sub 10 min/mile?! That's insanely fast!! Congrats and what a relief to not have the broken wrist!!

Meg said...

Glad to hear nothing is broken! And number nerds are the coolest...

RoadBunner said...

So glad to hear the good news about your wrist!

I love that last photo of you! You look so happy :)

Have you seen the new waterproof garmin? I actually like my 305 vs. the 405 and think the new one looks very nice!

Lindsay said...

busy week! glad your hand isn't broken for sure :) impressed by the run to work and lake swim! i imagine the water is a *bit* cold still, pretty sure i wouldn't be hopping in!

Run For Life said...

That's great about the run into work and the open water swim looks like a lot of fun!

Marlene said...

Great news that nothing is broken! I hope it's feeling better.

I'm so nervous about running to work on Friday - I hope it goes smoothly!

Good job on your run AND swim!

teacherwoman said...

Glad to hear the hand isn't broken! Great pics!

Anonymous said...

So glad your hand is not broken!!!

I love the garmin under the cap...what do those numbers look like in open water.

Rainmaker said...

I'm so happy to see that you are continueing your nerdyness with the Garmin headtracking. It's one thing to just do it every once in a while...but dedication to the cause over and over is very solid!

Danielle said...

That's weird that all your lakes are private...I saw some of the people swimming in Lake Michigan while in Chicago.