Another OWS, CB's unexpected vet visit and Beer Camp. OH MY!

Another fabulous week in the books...
It didn't start out all festive and merry however.

I worked out a little over half of what I've normally been doing. I just felt fatigued and kind of sick by the middle of the week.

Those days when it's 90 degrees out and the next morning and it's 59, really throws me off.

CB was cute. As always. He's so stinkin precious.
He played dress up as Yoda when Fido to Go came around.

Wednesday I was feeling icky but was happy to go meet Kim and her husband for dinner. Definitely pulled me out of my funk for like 2 hours,..

Got home and played with CB for a bit. Around 10:30 we were getting ready for bed and I noticed the area around his right eye was swollen.

I freaked the eff out. Googling symptoms at 11pm is never a good idea. Ever. I put a cold compress on his eye and stayed up with him until midnight. Other than the swelling, he seemed fine.

The next morning I was able to get a vet appointment and left work early (also because I had the chills/fever) and walked CB to the vet. Clearly he was miserable on our walk. I had given him some Benadryl once I was able to get some from the store and it seemed to help reduce the swelling over 2 hours.

The vet called me around 4:30 and said she didn't see much swelling and that I did the right thing by giving him the Benadryl. No definitive cause could be determined.

We walked home and he laid like that for 5+ minutes, staring at the wall. High on Benadryl??

Saturday morning I did my 2nd OWS. It was gorgeous and calm and the water seemed really cold.

I warmed up for 8 minutes and then forced myself to swim a half mile. Holy shit. Swimming a half mile is really really far. I felt like crap, with the 63 degree water not aiding my headache and just wanted to go home. So after my half mile I peeled out of my wetsuit and cycled home.

After I got home I went for a run with the CB dog. We walked 3:00/ ran 2:00 and I felt ok. He was pissed not to run more.

I'm debating on whether or not to get a second script for PT since my first will run out in a few weeks. I've made a ton of progress with the ankle and hip strength, but there is still lingering pain- which caused a change in diagnosis to "tendinosis." (Osis because there's pain but no swelling) a quick google search yielded enough info to make me understand that this is a no joke chronic issue and could take up to 6 months to heal.

I am not sure if I should continue with PT until the discomfort is nearly gone or if I should try to be on my own for a bit and take things easy with my return to running and being diligent with all my PT exercises. I could always return to PT.

For a birthday surprise, I took L to "The Aviary" which is one of the best cocktail bars in the world.

It's described as a 4 star restaurant for drinks (although the small bites of food we ordered were also amazing). The time and care put into these creations is just mind blowing.

It's a place that appeals to all of your senses- the visual of a beautiful drink, the smell, the texture, the presentation. The cocktails were so delicious.

Sunday we went to Sierra Nevada's Beer Camp across America tour.

It was held at Navy Pier (aka the tourist trap Shit Show) but turned out to be a cool venue at the very end of the pier.

We got tasting glasses and sampled many new to us beers from breweries in the Midwest and beyond:
(new to me) Beers I tried:
•Urban Chestnut-"Zwickel"
•Nevin- "Summer sesh"
•Mobcraft- "Bat Shit Sour"
•3 Sheeps- "Really Cool Waterslides
•Pipeworks- "Simcoe IPA"
•Blue Nose- "Archer Ave"
•Figure 8- "Ro Shampo"
•Argus- "Strawberry Brogurt"
•Big Dawg- "SOB Ale"
We had a great time. And drank many many delicious beers.

•Dark Horse- "Barracuda Blue"
•Sierra Nevada-"There and back"
•Country Boy- "Knotty Pine"
•5 Rabbit- "Guava Paletas"
•Alpha- "Cantaloupe Sour"
•Destihl- "Mango IPA"
•Cigar City- "Jai Alai"
•Sierra Nevada/Cigar City- "Yonderbock"
•Sierra Nevada/New Glarus- "Electric Ray"

It was a fabulous end to the week and a great way to kick off L's birthday week.

The live music was also fun. We danced and had a great time before meeting up with some friends for dinner.

And to think this was only day 2 of L's fantastic birthday bash week....

Can't wait for all the fun events we have planned this week- including going to the Shedd aquarium, and the main event..... Lollapalooza!

I'm going to need a vacation from all of this.


-Xaar

Spectating RnR Chicago and My 1st OWS EVER!!

109+ miles cycled/swam/ellipticalled/ran 

Low point of the week:
Running Tuesday morning and the Cankle getting pissy again.

Consequently, the PT told me not to run the rest of the week which was fine considering the time and money I'm putting Into Cankle rehabilitation and wanting a successful long term outcome. It was amazing how crunchy my ankle was when the PT performed Graston on it later Tuesday. The unfortunate part is that while the tendon is seemingly ok, the sheath around it is being ridiculously stubborn and asides from my PT exercises, and icing at home- time is the only thing that will heal it.

Highlights of the week:

Going to the Green City Market Chef BBQ again.
We've gone the past few years and have enjoyed it immensely. Basically many of the best restaurants in Chicago set up tents and create small plates of food.

Think of it as a much classier version of the Taste of Chicago. Or the "TRUE" taste of Chicago.

We got to have small plates from Cookies and Carnitas, Spiaggia, Honey Butter Chicken, Rick Bayless, The Chopping Block, Pecking Order, Sable, and many others...
I had a stout beer float, a cherry bourbon Popsicle, tequila berry punch and many other delicious drinks. I should have realized that alternating beer and cocktails without drinking water would end in disaster, but at the time it was perfect. Friday was rough.

Another highlight:
Saturday I completed my first open water swim (OWS) ever!!
I got to the beach around 6am and stuffed myself into my wetsuit. Somehow I zipped it up all by myself!! Success! The water was a very cool 60ish degrees but with the wetsuit I felt comfortable. It took me a ridiculous amount of time to be able to breathe. I swam for a while and took breaks to stop to catch my breath.
The water was smooth as glass which was good, but I still felt a little bit of anxiety. I'm really happy I went out to do this before the triathlon in 3 weeks. I would have freaked the eff out at the TRI. I felt like I was suffocating with the wetsuit on- for the TRI I don't plan on wearing it because the water will be warmer and it will take me longer to get out of the damn thing than the swim itself. Ha.

I survived my first OWS and didn't get attacked by lampreys!

I plan to go out a few times a week to continue to get more comfortable in the open water.

Later on Saturday I ordered some food from my favorite Japanese restaurant. CB wanted my bacon wrapped tomatoes! Stinker!

We watched a rebroadcast of the Ironman Asia Pacific championship, Melbourne and I got all choked up and and had the thoughts of how I must do this one day. (Like I've had for years and years) Patience. Also, I must learn how to swim much much better and get a road bike and overcome the cankle..sigh.

Another highlight of the week: was spectating the Rock n Roll Chicago half with Vicky and CB. I've ran this race the past 3 years, and while it stung a little to not participate, I was excited to cheer on my friends.
Andy Wacker around mile 5.5, far in the lead and eventual winner.

Then we saw Shalane Flanagan fly by!

I also got to see Ken, Pete and Kimberlie having a blast on the course. They all look fab for this being around mile 13!!

Vicky, myself, CB and Joe. Fleet feet cheer & racing teammates.

We migrated over to the finish and watched Shalane zoom past us again to take 1st woman and 5th overall.

We also saw Adriana Nelson (15th woman at Boston Marathon 2014, 1st woman US Half Marathon Championships 2013) pacing her husband to a strong finish!

I've lost track of all the races I've spectated/played photog at this year. But I hope that supporting my friends in their adventures is building up my good karma bank so that when I eventually return to running I'll be injury free for a long long time. ;)

Honestly, I just enjoy being around the race atmosphere and seeing people striving for something better and achieving their goals. It's so freaking inspiring!
Another fab week in the books.

Another fabulous week

I'm swim/bike/and running in 4 weeks and I'm so excited!!

This past week I:
•Swam once for 2000 yards. Was mad the storms came because I wanted to try an OWS.
•Ran once with a 6x 3.5 min walk/1.5 min run. And had no pain yippee!
•Cycled 6 times for 95 miles.
•Had 2 PT sessions for an hour each.

I started looking at sprint triathlon training plans to dial it in for the next 4 weeks but most of the ones I found were too easy or didn't seem to line up with what I am currently doing. I also can't deviate from my "return to run" program. So I decided to keep doing what I've been doing and just up the intensity/duration of my cycling and swimming. I do some bricks 3-4 times a week between cycling/running and cycling/swimming. I think I'm in a good place physically to feel confident and prepared for the triathlon on 8/10.

I have no expectations for the TRI other than HAVE FUN.

The full moon looked cool over the buildings earlier this week.
Saturday my plans to try my first OWS were thwarted by the polar vortex. I hope to go out after work for some laps later this week when I don't have to compete with lightning bolts.

I ended up cycling and then running Saturday morning indoors. The run felt good- 3.5 min walking/ 1.5 min run (repeat 6x) I think the Cankle issues are finally starting to go away for good. PT + being patient with recovery (and not rushing back into running), plus diligence with my at home PT exercises are making a world of difference. I don't log the time I spend doing my PT exercises at home but it's probably a minimum of 20-30 minutes a day.
I found this on the ground Saturday after our massage. What the heck is it? I've never seen anything like it in my life. Lol.

Saturday CB and I watched the Brasil game. I'm now bummed the World Cup is over but happy to not hear the "oooooo eeeee aaaaa" each time the coverage starts.

Sunday I rode outside. Figured I might as well start seeing how my gear feels on the road. I was excited to wear the pretty jersey Kim got me for my birthday :)

Cycling was as expected on a knobby wheeled hybrid bike. I've wrestled back and forth about getting slicks (tires), but decided I'd rather spend the money on a new road bike if I decide to pursue triathlons after August.

I tried out one of the 2 possible TRI shorts I bought (and would potentially wear) for Pleasant Prairie Triathlon and got chaffed in places I never knew existed. I cringed when thinking of how this might have felt had the shorts been wet from swimming first. I will try the other shorts soon to see if they are better. Fingers crossed!

After cycling 14.5 miles outside I cycled to the pool and got to wear this schweet skull swim cap Kim also gave me for my birthday. The older Chinese ladies at the pool were clearly intimidated by me. Hehe I'm convinced it made me faster and feel less out of breath for the 2000 yards...
Post cycling and swim, I felt like CB above. Exhausted. Woof.
After a brief nap, CB and I went to play some frisbee.
After 9.5 years he still has game.
And he melted my heart with his happiness.

We zonked out post frisbee and watched the Germany- Argentina game. CB chose Argentina to win but obviously he was wrong.
We closed up the weekend with one of my favorite beers and good memories.


Looking forward this week workout wise:

•I want to do at least 1 OWS.

•Complete level 3 of "return to running" by walk/running 3 times this week pain free.

•Cycle more than last week & with higher intensity.

•Cycle outside a few more times.

•Swim at the pool 1-2 times and focus on breathing and technique.

•Keep researching triathlon stuff so I feel confident for Pleasant Prairie.