I had a Dentist appointment today. Like most of the people on the planet, I don't find going to the Dentist a pleasant experience. Luckily, today was a routine cleaning and a fitting for crown on a root canal I had a few months ago. The fitting couldn't be that bad, right?
The cleaning went as planned. I had the usual muffled conversation with the hygienists. It is amazing they can understand the gibberish we speak when their hands are stuffed into our mouths. At the end of the cleaning, the DDS will make a brief appearance to check things out. He is nice guy with a great sense of humor. After checking me out, he instructs to move to another room so we can start the crown work. He ask if I wanted some gas to relax. I quickly ask, "Are we doing something that I would need gas"? He laughs, says no, and says he just wants me to be relaxed. I believe him and head for the next room.
I settle into the chair and promptly accept the gas. I must admit, I love the gas! After a few minutes the DDS and his assistant show up. The first thing he does is crank up the gas. I find this odd, but dismiss it as he changes the subject to more humor. He is a duck hunter and has a few pictures of ducks on the ceiling. He ask me to let him know if the water in the duck pond starts moving or if the ducks start talking to me.
The gas has started to kick in and I am feeling pretty good. I start to see two sets of hands hovering above my mouth. Looks like they are about to get busy. Out of the corner of my eye, I see the big needle used to numb your mouth. Wait a minute, what are we doing that requires this much gas and a needle. My fear increases as I see a second and third needle enter my mouth. He turns up the gas and they leave the room.
I am very high at this point and half of my face is numb. The return and start to go to work. I have learned how to zone out and not think about what they are doing. I stare at the duck pictures and notice the water is moving. Should I report this to him? Heck no, I don't want to take any chances of feeling pain. More time passes and I see one of the ducks head move toward me. This is kind of freaky, but I am not about to say anything that will get my gas turned down. I am suddenly hearing other voices above me. You have to be kidding, the duck is talking to me.
"You missed your run yesterday and you have only swam once this week".
I am not going to talk to this duck. Who does he think he is, my trainer?
"If you don't run on Thursday, your legs are going to hurt as bad as they did last weekend."
I know, I know, I will run tomorrow. I can't believe I am talking to the duck.
"You ate Ice Cream yesterday and have only lost 2 lbs this month. You are behind schedule."
Hey, I am getting back on track, ease up. I just started training again.
"You do realize you have an Ironman in 7 months. You can't train like last year and finish."
That's it, I am through talking to you. I am closing my eyes and you will go away.
After an hour of construction, they release me. I am no longer high, but I feel like I have a slight hangover. Half of my face is still numb, so lunch should be fun. Maybe I should use the numbness as an excuse not to eat. After all, the duck is right about everything.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Back in the Groove and Loving it!!!
I am alive again! I can still bike, run and swim without having a heart attack.
You really don't appreciate a long rest period until you get a couple of weeks back into training and start to feel normal again. Those first couple of workouts really hurt and make you wonder if it is all worth it. Fortunately, the body has a good memory and only makes you suffer for a couple of weeks.
I had a more methodical rest period at the end of 2008. I had a great year, lost a lot of weight and was more fit than ever. As I finished my last race in early November, an MTB race, I knew I needed to start winding down and giving my body a break. Putting and Ironman on the schedule for 2009 really changes your focus.
I put the small tire bikes on the rack and grabbed the fat tires for most of November and December. I did a lot of casual riding in the woods and some easy running. Well, as casual as MTB will let you be. A casual MTB ride is still a good workout. I finally figured out how to ride in the dirt without ending up on my back. That really made riding a lot more fun.
December arrived and I decided to do something crazy. I decided to stop exercising for two solid weeks. No swimming, running, biking, core work or weights. I was good the first few days but started to go crazy the second week. I was counting down the days until our annual club ride on New Years day. I would actually walk by my bikes and drool. I longed to be back on my bike or even run. I never thought I would miss running.
I have put in almost 100 bike miles, 21 run miles and an hour and a half of swimming in the past two weeks. I feel like a million bucks. My body is rested, injury free and I am very motivated. To my surprise, the hardest thing for me right now is to not overdo it. I am spreading out the workouts and taking it easy.
I had one of the best runs of my life last Saturday. I call it the "Marianne" run. Marianne is a super runner who will get up at 4 am to run to make sure she doesn't miss it that day. She runs because she loves it and is very good at it. I have never been good at running or loved it. I guess shedding almost 40 lbs will make you enjoy running. I did a few short runs the last two weeks and decided to do a longer run last Saturday. I decided to run in my hilly neighborhood. I was shocked at how good I felt and ended up running 10 awesome miles.
This weekend should be a great weekend. I plan to do a 14 miler on Saturday and a 40 mile bike on Sunday. This is the base period so it will be slow miles so I don't hurt myself.
If you are resting or just getting back into the workouts, don't get discouraged. Your body really needs to rest and you will get back to normal before you know it. Oh, I forgot one of the most important parts. The holiday weight gains are already starting to disappear. We have a great year to look forward to!!
You really don't appreciate a long rest period until you get a couple of weeks back into training and start to feel normal again. Those first couple of workouts really hurt and make you wonder if it is all worth it. Fortunately, the body has a good memory and only makes you suffer for a couple of weeks.
I had a more methodical rest period at the end of 2008. I had a great year, lost a lot of weight and was more fit than ever. As I finished my last race in early November, an MTB race, I knew I needed to start winding down and giving my body a break. Putting and Ironman on the schedule for 2009 really changes your focus.
I put the small tire bikes on the rack and grabbed the fat tires for most of November and December. I did a lot of casual riding in the woods and some easy running. Well, as casual as MTB will let you be. A casual MTB ride is still a good workout. I finally figured out how to ride in the dirt without ending up on my back. That really made riding a lot more fun.
December arrived and I decided to do something crazy. I decided to stop exercising for two solid weeks. No swimming, running, biking, core work or weights. I was good the first few days but started to go crazy the second week. I was counting down the days until our annual club ride on New Years day. I would actually walk by my bikes and drool. I longed to be back on my bike or even run. I never thought I would miss running.
I have put in almost 100 bike miles, 21 run miles and an hour and a half of swimming in the past two weeks. I feel like a million bucks. My body is rested, injury free and I am very motivated. To my surprise, the hardest thing for me right now is to not overdo it. I am spreading out the workouts and taking it easy.
I had one of the best runs of my life last Saturday. I call it the "Marianne" run. Marianne is a super runner who will get up at 4 am to run to make sure she doesn't miss it that day. She runs because she loves it and is very good at it. I have never been good at running or loved it. I guess shedding almost 40 lbs will make you enjoy running. I did a few short runs the last two weeks and decided to do a longer run last Saturday. I decided to run in my hilly neighborhood. I was shocked at how good I felt and ended up running 10 awesome miles.
This weekend should be a great weekend. I plan to do a 14 miler on Saturday and a 40 mile bike on Sunday. This is the base period so it will be slow miles so I don't hurt myself.
If you are resting or just getting back into the workouts, don't get discouraged. Your body really needs to rest and you will get back to normal before you know it. Oh, I forgot one of the most important parts. The holiday weight gains are already starting to disappear. We have a great year to look forward to!!
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