My first day of training, MY FIRST DAY, I had a problem.  I could tell when I felt the actual weave of the socks under my feet (sports socks, made for athletes).  This happened to me during the Knoxville triathlon.  I remember how painful it was to take every step.  I considered crawling for the "run" portion of the race. After that race I ended up with big, fat, painful blisters right on the balls of my feet.  Walking the next day was definitely an issue. This can't happen again, not ON MY FIRST DAY of training.  How would there be a second day? I'm on a time crunch here!  I changed my socks, changed my sneakers and bought something called liquid skin.  It stinks but it provided a barrier between my feet and my sneakers.  It was pretty effective because my blisters healed quickly and I haven't gotten them back.  I just wish that I put some between my toes.  Guess where I got blisters on my long training day?

And people wonder why I hate running.

OK, so I did it again.  I am a bit impulsive sometimes.  I really am. I was scrolling through facebook when I saw an ad for a half marathon.  Now if you've read ANYTHING in my blog you would know that I HATE running.  I HATE! HATE! HATE! running, and I’m not even supposed to run after back surgery.  But THIS half has a really cool medal with a pirate scull on it. (I’ll include a picture.)  I really WANT that medal, so I signed up.  I wouldn't have signed up if it was a traditional half marathon, but it is a “do it yourself” half marathon.  You register, they send you a bib and the medal. You do the miles and then log into the website with your times.  I can walk the whole thing and nobody will be giving me poor, sorry looks as the last struggling athlete.  The catch is that I have to do the event by July 31^st.  The 31^st is a Thursday.  I have plans on the 27^th so I really need to do this thing by July 26^th.  I saw the ad on the 1^st.  That gives me about 3 ½ weeks to train, and I’m starting from couch potato status.  Yeah I’m a little crazy.  I’ll let you know how it turns out, and NO I won’t wear the medal until AFTER I complete the 13.1 miles.

Frustrated

The FOURTH doctor in as many weeks has told me that biking and running are out.  He’s the second one that actually laughed at me when I suggested triathlon training.  Poor guy, I drilled him.  What about a stationary bike? (yes), spin class? (no)  Can I hike? (no)  What activities can I do outside? (swimming – really?  It’s February)  

I am SO BUMMED!  I actually ENJOYED doing the workouts last year.  I would bitch and moan about riding up a difficult hill in Northport, but I secretly liked it, and felt so good about it afterwards. I had my little training calendar and followed it like it was my bible.  (Well, I followed it the best that I could).  I would go to work that morning and put a check next to the completed workout.  I was never a fast triathlete but I had a routine, and I loved it.

I’m going to see the doctor again tomorrow.  I’m writing a list of questions to ask him.  Can I use the elliptical?  How long am I banned from training?  Until I feel better?  Until you tell me I am not?  Forever?  Maybe I’ll have to change the name of my blog to Former Slow, Fat, Triathlete.

Still benched

The doctor said that if I injure my back any further I will need emergency surgery.  I'm still raising money though.  As soon as I get the thumbs up I want to be back on the road training.  Meanwhile I am mentoring other athletes so that they will find their Team in Training experience a positive one.  Together we can find a cure!!

Since my back hasn't gotten much better in the last few weeks I went to see a back specialist this morning.  He looked at the MRI that I brought with me.  He poked me and prodded me, asked me a few questions and then ordered another MRI.  I told him that I needed to get fixed right away because I am training for a triathlon I wish it were that easy.  He told me that training would only exacerbate the problem.  I, not wanting to stop training tried to pin him dawn.  What would the problem be? Is it the swimming, the biking or the running?  I was hoping that he would say the running then I could explain to him that my run is more like a slow meander and he would tell me to carry on, plus I would have a great excuse to not work harder on my running, but he banned all three. He said that any exercise will be tough on my body right now.  UGH!

Too cold to workout outside (I'm a wus.) and my gym had no hot water for the last few days. So proud of myself. I found a new place to workout and didn't miss a single day this week

Introducing: The Lady Lenore

I've had my bike close to sixteen years, and FINALLY found a name that suits her.  The Lady Lenore is named after a fictional violin and I'll buy a drink for anyone that knows who owned that violin.