OR and OB

This week's been busy at the hospital. I was on 24 Tuesday, and now on another 24 hrs today (Thursday). The hospital is getting busy. Alot of babies which means more epidurals and C-sections. In the OR, we have alot of add-on emergency cases, several more to go tonight. There is also alot of patients in the ICU and we've had a few Codes. In this economy, I can't complain too much about having a lot of work. Helps pay the bills and my triathlon expenses.
The downside to more hours at work, is less time for training and recovery. I missed my coached swim sessions on Tuesday and Thursday. I'll swim on my own tomorrow. Saturday will be my first open water swim. I can't wait.

Family stuff

Sometimes family stuff comes first. We had an unexpected family crisis which we are dealing with right now. I've been good about completing most of my workouts on my own. However I do miss the team workouts.
After a busy Saturday dealing with family matters, I finally did the brick workout Sat evening, which the rest of the team did earlier Sat morning. I rode my trainer for 2 hours, transitioned, and completed a 1 hr run. My knees are a little sore this morning, perhaps too much downhill running last night. Later today I plan to swim 1.5K
The fundraising is going well. I reached 80% of my goal, with 5 months still left to go. Hopefully I'll be done before May, so I can concentrate on training during those last couple months. I'm still waiting for some of my friends who pledged to donate, but haven't pulled out the checkbook yet.

PV Bike and Run Weekend

Our Ironteam had a nice 3.5 hr bike ride in PV on Saturday. The weather was dry, although the roads were still a little wet. A slight breeze, but nothing too strong. I covered 56 miles and my legs were fine. My butt was a little sore though.
On Sunday, I ran the hills of PV and covered 10 miles. It was a nice, cool, beautiful morning. I felt great after the run, then BOOM!!! Bad news was waiting for me at the door.
We had a family emergency which I'm busy dealing with. I am not at liberty to discuss it on a Blog at this time. Perhaps later, after a little time has passed, I will discuss it.
The bottomline is that LIFE is precious... Live every moment as if it could be the last...

Hail to the Chief

Busy week at work. In addition to two 24 hr shifts this week, I am also the acting chief of the department at the hospital while the chief is on vacation for the next couple weeks. I just started as Assistant Chief last month. So I'm still learning on the job. I have to attend and sometimes lead administrative meetings, chief's meetings, departmental meetings, and various other committee meetings. I have to deal with issues that arise within the department and deal with complaints from other departments. To top it off our scheduler is on vacation for the next couple weeks, and I've got people asking to make major changes to the schedule.
Trying to squeeze in Ironman training to this workload is tough. I've been good with getting in the cycling and the running. However, I have not made it to the pool yet this week and I have a coached session tomorrow night. Perhaps I'll get in some drills tomorrow morning after my 24 hr shift. I hope my swimming is not too bad, or too slow.

A Rainy Weekend

I missed the Ironteam swim session Thursday because of the rain. Rain means traffic accidents and traffic jams in L.A. I didn't want to be stuck for 1 to 2 hours on the 405 freeway. So I decided to swim Friday after work. That didn't go very well. The pool was crowded, meaning sharing lanes with multiple people per lane. I also felt lethargic and my swimming was BAD. I swam 1000 yards and that was it.
Saturday was our scheduled 3 hour Ironteam bike ride. Again because of the rain, the bike ride was cancelled. The Ironteam met over in Santa Monica and we had a 90 minute run. The run went much better. Initially the skies were overcast, but dry. We tackled a long steep hill, then a gradual ascent. Finally it was a gradual downhill. During this time it started raining again. I enjoy running in the rain. I started to run at my half marathon pace. I felt like a kid again.
As children, we loved playing in the rain. ( At least I did.) Getting your clothes wet and soggy, covered in mud was FUN. Playing football in the rain was fun, as long as you keep moving. And the warm shower, and hot chocolate afterwards was divine.
The run was effortless. My breathing was rhythmic. The moisture on my face and my lips was refreshing. The cold air was exhilarating and sharpened the senses. My run reminded me of all those times I played in the rain as a child. Try it sometime, you will see what I mean.
This morning my swim workout 15 X 100 went pretty well. It got me energized for my 24 hour shift at the hospital today. I will try to get my 3 hour bike ride in tomorrow if the roads dry up.

6 minute miles

I had a nice dual workout yesterday morning before work. I was at the gym and swam the advance Ironteam swim set which consisted of 400 X 4
My fastest 400 was 8 minutes during my third set, so I think I'm slowly improving. I coasted through the fourth set, as I was preparing for part 2 of my workout: the run.
I toweled off my tri suit, put on my running shoes, put away the goggles and swim cap, grabbed a new electrolyte drink bottle and headed over to the treadmill.
After a 20 minute warmup, to get adjusted to the upright position again after my swim session, I started the speed portion of the workout. This consisted of three 8 minute speed segments with a 3 minute jog in between.
I started with 9 min miles...8 min miles...7.5 min miles....7..... and finally to 6 min miles!
Wow, I don't remember running 6 min miles even when I was 20 years younger.
Not bad for an old fart.
Maybe there is something to this Ironman training.

Surf City, USA

Wow, what a Super weekend. I started with a 2 hour bike ride on the Hills of PV ( my home course) with my Iron Team on Saturday. I just rode my bike down Hawthorne to join my team. It was a brick workout. So I rode my bike up Hawthorne ( 2 miles with an 8% grade) to drop off the bike at home. Then I ran back down Hawthorne and joined my teammates for the rest of the 1 hour run. After a snack of Bare Naked cereal and my recovery drink, it was back uphill to go home. Total mileage 33 miles bike, 8 miles run.
Sunday I ran the Surf City Half Marathon. Perfect weather, overcast and cool in the beginning, warmer at the end, but not too hot. Great crowd. I spent most of my run chatting it up with other runners, especially the cute ones. I met a couple ladies with Team in Training. They were very impressed with my Ironman goal. I met a couple cuties from Snail's Pace. They liked my socks. I was wearing knee high compression socks. First time. I liked them. I think they helped prevent my calves from fatigue and cramps. My calves had bothered me during the Rock n Roll Arizona marathon two weeks ago. This time my legs held up despite the hilly workout the day before. I met quite a few runners from my running club in Long Beach: AREC ( A Running Experience Club) I hooked up with them afterwards at the Beer Tent. I met a guy with a Kaiser Thrive jersey on, so I chatted with him for a couple miles about Kaiser and Health Connect ( electronic medical record). Finally for the final 5 miles, I picked up the pace to try to finish under 2 hours. I finished in 1:57, not bad considering I stopped several times, ran back and forth to catch up with different groups of friends, and basically ran the race at my easy long run pace. Perhaps this Ironman training is helping me with my overall fitness and improving my speed / ability to run faster with less perceived effort.
Afterwards the buddies I ran with ( at least for the first few miles) and I had a nice Dim Sum lunch. Later at home, I enjoyed the Super Bowl. I even got on my trainer and put in a 45 min workout! The exciting conclusion to the Super Bowl was a nice ending to my action packed weekend.