Hooah!

I'm an army of one! On Tuesday I swam 23 laps in a 25 meter pool. That's OVER 1/2 a mile in under 45 minutes-- and further than the triathlon will be! (I found out that it's really only about 17.5 pool laps for 1/2 a mile). The triathlon will actually be harder since it's in open water, and I won't be able to stand and rest when I want to, but I've got months to get there.

Also, I "graduated" from physical therapy yesterday. It was actually kind of sad because I've been seeing these people twice a week for months-- talking about boyfriends, break-ups, moving, work, etc. According to the physical therapist, I'm the best kind of patient-- a challenging case because it was hard to figure out my knee pain (who would've thought it would all come down to a back problem and an inflexible right foot?) but I actually did all the at-home exercises. That was in no small part to Ken's quasi-daily "Did you do your exercises tonight?"

Beyond that, I bought and started using a heart rate monitor. (That's more to make mom and Sally Edwards happy than anything else.) So far no one at the gym has made to punch me when it starts bee-bee-beeping at me to say "SLOW DOWN!!!" Wow is it annoying.

Looking forward to the next exercise in the pool session!

2 weeks later...

I finally 'fessed up to my physical therapist. She gave me the ok to do the triathlon, and also gave me strict rules about what I can and can't do to train. It's the end of 4+ mile runs for a while-- I'm not supposed to run past 2 miles more than a couple times a month, not more than 3 miles. Instead, I am supposed to focus on cardio. So here's the last couple weeks:

4 or 5 days a week:
- strengthening exercises (from physical therapist--involves lots of resistance bands and a balance ball)
- 10 mins each on stationary bike, elliptical, treadmill

1 or 2 days a week:
- strengthening exercises
- swimming for an hour doing as many laps as possible (so far it's been 20-25, the triathlon distance will be about 36)

That's 5-6 days a week at the gym. Wow!

Mass:
I lost 10lbs while I had strep throat (P.S.: This is not a recommended weight-loss method), but with all this exercise I haven't gained those 10lbs back yet. Looking forward to getting more muscle so my clothes fit me again.

Fuel:
I've been trying to eat more proteins, good fats, and veggies. So far that's been more fish, avocado, and this awesome butternut squash gnocchi I made last Sunday. Ken keeps lecturing me about drinking more water because I don't like to rehydrate after working out, so I have been, but not happily.

Other news:
Last Thursday, I got together with the gals from work doing the triathlon for a swim work-out and a healthy dinner. It really helps to have a group to do it with-- especially when 4 people have done it before. The next get together will be a 5k followed by brunch.