Oh-Dark Thirty...

My day started off about as early as I can handle, yet I have plenty of energy to sit awake and type all about it now. That's rare for me. I'm usually exhausted by bedtime. Not tonight.

For a change, I awoke ahead of Bam-Bam, meaning 5:30 a.m. I promised my Fortius teammate and friend, Lisa, that I'd do my swim time trial with her. And I really didn't want to flake. Considering it wasn't raining (yet), I had no excuse.

Surprisingly, swimming smoothly as the sky silently becomes light is a beautiful way to wake up. I think I may do it more often. There's something calming about the teal pool water being lit from below while the sky turns from black, to gray, to purple, to blue. All while the steam from below and fog from above swirl together in a hazy mating ritual.

The time trial itself demonstrated one thing and one thing only: If nothing else, I am consistent in the pool right now. Five weeks ago, I swam 1,000 yards in 20:50. Today, I swam 1,000 yards in 20:50. What are the chances of that happening? Probably pretty good for a guy who knows just when to call California Chicken Cafe in Encino when driving from Burbank to pick up my food just as I walk inside the restaurant. When it comes to timing, I have a tendency to operate like clockwork.

But what does this mean? Why didn't I see improvement in five weeks? Or didn't I? I was able to negative split my swim, so the second 500 yards was faster than the first. This didn't happen my first time, but I was only off by two seconds then. This time, it was a bit more pronounced. Is that progress?

Or is progress measured by feeling comfortable in the water? By feeling strong enough to even consider a negative split at the 500-yard mark?

Is progress measured not in seconds but rather by swimming smarter right now, not harder?

I would like to think so.

The rest of the day and evening has been a blur. More to report than I have time to share. Among the highlights, I had a contractor visit my condo to write an estimate for sound-proofing the ceiling. Wow. For the estimated price of remodeling my kitchen, I can have an insulated condo -- with no full guarantee it will eliminate the noise problem. A sizable noise problem, according to the contractor. Further, I got into a nice, heated confrontation with Trudy via phone because the contractor asked me to inquire if her hardwood floors had cork insulation (they do).

We had what some might call a failure to communicate.

Fortunately, the Fortius group brought me back to my Happy Place(TM). We had a group yoga session tonight at Topham Street Gym. It was nice to see everyone in non-cycling, non-running or non-swimming attire. We looked, well, normal! The session was intense but not overpowering. A good precursor to my time-trial run tomorrow a.m.

After the run, the group went for vegan Vietnamese food in Reseda. I was hesitant at first because after my awful-tasting Vega supplement, I was about finished with this vegan lifestyle. Especially considering that I can pretty much eat whatever I want right now within reason! But, I have to admit that this meal rocked! I ordered udon barbecue "chicken" that tasted outstanding. I have leftovers that I can't wait to dive into tomorrow.

Who knows, maybe I'll even put on a pound by then!

All in all, it was a great day. A busy day. A productive day. An insightful day. A satisfying day spent with friends.

A day I'd like to repeat.

309 days and counting.

Quick Post

It's late. I'm sore. I'm tired.

Long day of training today. It started with a frigid 50-mile Valley Coach group ride from Calabasas to Newbury Park and back. It was so cold that I had to stop at a convenience store to pick up a pair of mittens because I couldn't feel my fingers for the first 15 minutes of the ride! I didn't even care they were ladies mittens so long as they were warm. Which they were. The ride featured some decent climbs, and despite my lower heart-rate zone re-calibrations I was able to lead the pack for most of the major ones. Of course, I'm suffering the consequences as we speak, laid up in bed hardly able to move. My quads are shredded. But I loved every minute of it...for one day, I earned the coveted metaphorical polka-dot jersey on my team.

Following the ride (and a quick shower), I high-tailed it over to Black Dog Yoga for a basic flow session. While the stretching helped, the quads and abs work pushed me over the edge. The rest of the day was spent trying to will my body to finish it without keeling over on the spot. Definitely will feel the weekend workouts for the next couple days.

Fortunately, tomorrow is a recovery day, with weights and a light swim being the only activities of the day. I can handle that.

Wish I had more to offer. I'm just too pooped to think of anything clever.

332 days and counting.

Yoga-ta Be Kiddin' Me!

Until this point of training with Valley Coach, I thought my hardest workout would be in the pool, trails or on the road cycling. Maybe even the weight room.

How wrong I was.

After a fairly decent swim test this morning (20:50 for 1,000 yards) at 8 in 53-degree Calabasas, I got a reprieve. Or so I thought. All I had to do was an hour of strength training or yoga. No running or trainer exercises? Noooo prob!

Several months ago, my co-worker Brian and his wife Jenny bought me a gift certificate for two weeks of unlimited yoga at Black Dog Yoga in Sherman Oaks. (BTW, in the spirit of my recent restaurant and movie reviews, two full water bottles for Black Dog. Spacious facility, warm, experienced staff, affordable classes and many of them.) I purposely saved the certificate for my holiday break, when I'd be most able to take advantage of truly "unlimited" classes. My first session was today, a "basic flow" class for all levels. Noobs included.

I've had a fair amount of yoga experience over the years, be it Hatha or Ashtonga. We had yoga class at my current job a few years ago, which I practiced for several months. I've also taken individual classes over the past couple years, so my practice ranks somewhere between "novice" and "novice-plus."

Today it ranked as "kick my ass." The session lasted 90 minutes but at points it felt like three days. My body is getting pretty darn hard from all the training, but where I'm gaining in strength and tone I'm losing in flexibility and suppleness. I needed the blocks more than I can remember in the past, and even a rolled blanket for some poses. And pigeon pose? I'll be feeling that one for a few days. Surprisingly, I felt weak.

Despite being annoyed at my "performance", I accepted it as the aspiring enlightened yoga practitioner I'm trying to become. I'm looking forward to more in the coming days (next class on Christmas!) and months.

Overall, returning to yoga was like meeting an old friend you haven't seen in a long time. Everything seems the same, except you feel a little stiffer, slower and more awkward than you'd like. There's an adjustment period. It's not quite like riding a bike, metaphorically speaking. But you're still damn glad to see that friend again. And Shavasana was about the only thing to calm my jumpy mind today. Five minutes of clarity.

Who would have thought that my toughest workout would be the one I figured would be the easiest? And perhaps the most rewarding?

336 days and counting.

Namaste.