Drained

Weird to say this, but I'm glad it's Monday. I actually look forward to Monday's after my reserve weekends. I'm tired, exhausted, my brain hurts from taking a 2-hr advancement exam, and now I smell of chlorine while I slouch in my cubie. I'm drained, my mind is drained, and my legs hurt a little, too. I'm looking forward to getting things back to normal this week at work and at home, then comes another trip Friday afternoon to Beaufort, SC.

Thanks everyone for the well wishes for Grace. It seems as soon as she got her medicine, she started to feel better and hasn't complained about her ears since. She's on it for 10 days, and is taking it like a champ. Must be delicioso.

As much as I seem to complain about Drill weekends, it's really not that bad. I'm in a leadership role and it can be a little babysitting, but my department seems really squared away and self-sufficient. And, I'm busy the entire time I'm there, so it goes by pretty fast. I've got some responsibility thrown back into my lap over the weekend for the next few months. A job I gladly resigned from 6 months ago that I held for over 4 yrs. I think having that title for that long was holding me back from advancement, so I had to move on. Anyway, it's going to be a busy month for me to get ready to facilitate the Fitness test for the entire center next month. It's a mountain of paperwork, and tracking spreadsheets, etc. So, all in all - I enjoy what I do, Love the Navy, and am proud to serve my Country. It's just draining to work 5 days, drill 2 days, then back to work for 5 days, and this week, Sat is a triathlon.

Saturday was a planned bike ride with a friend from work. But, the 22 mph wind threw that out the window. I couldn't just not do anything, and the pool closed at 4. So, I opted for 35 min of strength training (including 3 planks :-) ) and 30 min of Pilates. It's all in the log.

My friend and I rode the Donaldson Center loop yesterday, and David even made it back in time from Atlanta to join us. His ride was leisurely, occasionally sticking his bum in the air to show us his spandex. We did the loop twice, and my bike computer decided not to work for the first 1-2 miles, then I screwed it up when we got back by hitting it again, before our run. So, I don't have an accurate time/exact distance. But, we estimated. Afterwards, friend and I ran 1 mile.

Bike (really reals roads) 14.6 miles ~1 hr
Run 1 mile (10:04)

Today I swam at lunch and it wasn't great. I had time issues again, but with my watch. During a lap somewhere near the end of the swim I must have hit stop, somehow. A great triathlete, swimmer, and Y lifeguard, Pam, gave me pointers on my stroke. Apparently, I was bringing my right arm all the way back but was cutting my left stroke short, bringing my arm out of the water in the middle, instead of following the stroke through. Who knew? So, after she told me to try it that way - It felt awesome. I could feel a difference, felt stronger during the entire stroke, and felt more level to the water. Amazing! I welcome her swimming tips. I think I sped up some too, but not sure. I will swim 1 more time before the tri this Sat, probably in my tri get-up.

500 yds - 13:06
250 yds - ~5:24

So, 5 more days before Big Parris Island Triathlon. It is a filled triathlon, capped at 500 participants and the first one of the season for the SC tri series. More importantly, (Yes, I'm biased), it's the 1st tri for team TYB Racing . There are quite of few doing the event so it should be fun! A few local friends doing the tri are Chris, and Eric, great guys! I'm a bit nervous, but feel more prepared than I was last Aug at Greenville tri. I don't think I'm totally prepared for this, but am expecting and WILL absolutely push myself beyond my comfort zone.

Tonight, Grace gets to get on her bike and ride. She's excited about it and of course, I'll take pictures.

Congrats to bloggers: Lisa, Tayrn and Karen for having an awesome Half-Marathon event that turned out very positive for all! Jess and Michelle had fantastic 4 mile races that ended with PR's and speedy times!!! You all are winners!