Monday-Thursday catch-up

I have actually been doing my regular thing, just not logging it here! So -

Sunday: beautiful 40 as 1:1 on a sunny day in the park, lungs still not great
Monday: non-run day and no wherewithal to do anything else, needed every scrap of energy for my long morning meeting and my pm seminar
Tuesday: 60 as 1:1, starting to feel better
Wednesday: 40 as 1:1, definitely getting better, resisted temptation to do more than coach had suggested!
Thursday: just a short swim, but I got my Bosphorus swim paperwork done by the coach and have medical certification appointment later today, so that counts as a Something....

It was very crowded, we are all grumpy and planning to write letters to the director of athletics, and yes I was circle-swimming for part of the time, but it felt pretty good!

200 swim
200 kick with board
200 freestyle drill as Ra-La-Cu-Ba down stroke back
100 fly drill (Ra-La-fly-free)

Had a noon meeting so that was it for me anyway, I relieved lane congestion by getting out and getting on with things....

Friday-Saturday

David rightly cut everything back; Friday I did 30 as 1:1 and really felt rather ill; Saturday I left it till the very end of the day but did get out for a no-longer-quite-so-rainy 40 as 1:1. Slept 12 hours last night and lungs do finally seem like they're starting to repair themselves, and sitting or standing no longer seems like an incomparably bad idea compared to lying down. Glad I have another weekend day to let things continue to get better....

The big ugh!

That illness I had about 2 weeks ago was dragging on in minor remnants but cold NYC air really gave the lungs a blow, I was feeling unexpectedly bad over the last few days. I followed David's advice and took Tuesday as an extra non-run day (just did good PT+ at home), Wednesday really didn't feel good and just did 30 as 1:1 on the track at the gym, even that was really killing my lungs, went home and went to bed instead of going to the eighteenth-century seminar (which is a whole evening's enterprise). It felt better by a few hours later, and I had a good long sleep, but still well below par.

Today I just had a short swim, because it's crucial to lay down good habits at the start of the semester and I needed to get myself in there and back in the routine, but though I would intellectually LOVE to go to a hot yoga class as well, I think I will be better off resting. Grumpy about that!

Oh yes, swim details (I was on short time anyway, for lungs and because I had to go to a job talk at noon, but really I got out even sooner when a third person wanted to come in the lane, I just didn't have the wherewithal for that!):

100 swim
100 kick
4 x 100 free drill (2 x RaLaCuBa, thumbs-and-salute, finger-drag)
2 x 50 drill-swim (back, fly)

So just 700 but really all that mattered was to get back at it. And I will do PT etc. later on at home - my 3pm appointment was canceled so yes, I think I am going home and back to bed!

(I'm not really that sick, it's all just bad lungs, but my natural mode is to be in a horizontal position with no pants on reading a book, and there is no reason why I shouldn't spend the rest of the day that way. Will be in work overload then Monday-Tuesday if I'm not getting on top of things like visiting library to get and scan some critical readings I need for seminar, but really that stuff can happen piecemeal over the next week, and though I have Duchess publicity tasks to stay on top of, for once I am really NOT trying to finish or start writing anything - I have NO essays and NO conference talks to write this semester, the Gibbon book is off my hands and I generally feel optimstic that this semester won't feel nearly as overwhelming as last semester did.)

Hot class!

Back at Bikram Yoga Harlem for the first time in many years. Nobody was there to open the studio and we stood outside for a bit but it was all fine in the end, I paid for a month unlimited as an incentive to get in there as often as I can (3x week minimum). The room was therefore less hot than usual when we started, a gift, though did heat up to full-on HOT so that I felt rather queasy by peak standing pose and had to lie down for a couple postures. (Lungs still full of a reservoir of GLOP which was not helping.) It really is convenient, sore/tender feet mean that Bikram or similar is preferable to flow currently, I can make this a part of my regular semester exercise. My back needs it more than anything else, it needs the PT+ as well but this particular kind of yoga lets you check in on where things are on one side vs. the other to an extreme and desirable degree.

Farewell Cayman run

Travel day, just 40 as 1:1, L foot a bit sore (I have an appointment with foot doc on Friday to see if I can figure out more about what's going on and what I can do about it). Will shower momentarily and just do short stretch, body still absorbing Friday's massage!

Saturday!

Perfect start to final day here. 1hr as 1:1 easy and early (recovery week basically - my lungs were glad, they were v wheezy Thurs and Fri prob from Thurs morning intervals, back to just gloppy today which is preferable), quick stop to rehydrate and say hello to Brent at Cafe del Sol, then 75 mins fascial flow yoga. Heidi took my request and we did just feet and calves, which was excellent - I need to pay more attention to that part of the body on a regular basis, they give me more trouble than anything but my R back/glute area.

Friday

No hot class for me this morning, lungs feeling not so good and I needed the sleep anyway as was a bit late goiing to bed. But good long PT+ session in the am (did a good one yesterday afternoon too) and an excellent 90-minute massage with Heidi this afternoon plus 30 mins walk home.

Thursday

1:10 with 4 x 5min faster, 2min walking recovery.

Wednesday

40 early as 1:1.

Yoga!

As I was lying on my mat waiting for class to start I wanted to CRY because of how much less yoga I've done this month so far compared to what I'd hoped! Alas, no catching up, just focus on moving forward. Rachel's core class is really good - a mix of pilates and yoga, very simple but very challenging, the sweat was pouring off me! Plus 2 x 15min walk to and fro.

Tuesday

1hr as 1:1, lungs junky but definitely on the mend, contemplating 9:30 core yoga (it will be another few days before I'm better enough to go to a hot class).

Monday

Makes me sad not to start Monday and Friday with hot yoga, but I'm still too germy I think, and too much junk in lungs. That said, feeling significantly better than yesterday morning (that was a dramatic low!) and did quality 25 minutes PT+. Gotta get back on this seriously, it fell apart the week of Thanksgiving and with these two colds my Cayman stint hasn't been as conducive to getting it really back into a routine as I had hoped....

Sunday

Just about eked out 40 as 1:1. Cold descended into the lungs overnight and I am feeling now really awful!....

Spine!

Heidi's workshop was amazing! I have been looking forward to it for months, and it lived up to or even exceeded my high expectations. Highly beneficial.... (Still rather coldy but not I think strewing germs as I have been for the last two days.)

Took Friday off, can't go to hot yoga when I'm strewing so many germs, afternoon massage canceled for reasons beyond my control (we have reschedule for next week, that's better). It was just as well because I needed those afternoon hours to FINISH MY BOOK!

Saturday: 90 with 30 as 1:1, 30 as 4:1, 30 as 1:1. Lungs waterlogged, too much postnasal drip, but certainly still net enjoyable rather than not. Going to Heidi's thoracic and lumbar spine workshop later, very excited, what a treat!

AND just got the email confirming our spots in the Bosphorus swim (I had initially thought we were in already, then realized the ballot hadn't been done yet, it was a little confusing). Will have to scurry to sort out various paperwork, but I'm really excited!

Thursday

I AM GETTING ANOTHER COLD.

Workout was pretty good tho: 20 min as 1:1, 6/5/4/3/2/1 min faster with 3 min easy/walk recovery, 20 min as 1:1.

Hot!

And yes, 10:30 hot. Writing interview questions took more time and attention than I thought and I realized that really it was more a question of having a second work session on book stuff in the afternoon than hanging on and segueing directly into it after already having worked for a couple hours. R lower back rather achy, will make sure to do full mindful PT+ later.

Tuesday-Wednesday

Tuesday: 1hr as 1:1
Wednesday: 40 as 1:1

Possibly 10:30 yoga today but it partly depends on how morning work goes.

Hot!

2 x 15min walk to and from hot yoga. Yesterday's fascial flow focused on spine and psoas, this was really great, and it helped me really "feel" all the different muscles and focus on them during the standing sequence. Very hot but in the right way.

Saturday-Sunday

Saturday, 90 minutes with 20 as 1:1, 40 as 4:1, 30 as 1:1. Very good, back benefiting from yoga, more consistent stretching, slightly better mattress (yes I will replace mine when I am home) and very little seated computer time.

Sunday, 1hr as 1:1, everything felt really good. Will go to 9:30 fascial flow yoga as well.

Hot!

2 x 15min walk to and from 6am hot yoga, then incredibly stressful session wrangling Grayson into a carrier! I am terribly sorry to see him go, but he is flying tomorrow to an amazing permanent home in Colorado, it is the best possible outcome (except that I love him so much and will miss him!).

Just

40 as 1:1 in the morning, schedule/logistics ended up obliquely ruling out both yoga options, that's fine...

Jan. 1

1hr as 1:1 easy and early, a book session at Cafe del Sol and 10:30 hot yoga (SO HOT!!!!!). Now I am just going to be lazy for the rest of the day.