Run x Fence = ?

The run this afternoon wasn't stellar...perhaps it was the pint of Ben and Jerry's I had after lunch. But it wasn't that bad either. Its just that my feet and lower legs are still fatiguing quickly. I'll be glad when there are back in shape and I can start concentrating on times. I did pretty well, my time was the same as two days ago, including the two times I had to stop and retie my shoes. The last stretch, in which I do a sprint, felt really good. I think I'm ready to start intervals again. Coach Wendy's back in town, so I'm planning on joining the Greenlake running crowd on Wednesday.

Went back to fencing tonight for the first time in over a month, maybe even two months. YIKES! It actually went really well though. I fenced 5 other fencers and held my own pretty well...even got 8 touches on a b level epeeist. My plan is to continue open fencing with a lesson once a week. Once the Olympics are over I'll start going full tilt on the fencing with two or more lessons a week as the plan is that I will try my first pentathlon in the spring.

This is also the first time I've done two events in a day. We'll see how my legs feel...a run followed by a heavy fencing day should leave them pretty wobbly.

Run, run, run

I'm becoming a running freak! Did I mention that I loved running? Snuck another run in this morning before heading back down to Steilacoom to pick up my Mom to take her back to the airport. Nothing spectacular about the run, other than its the third day in a row that I've been running. Feels great!

Sun Run

I was able to sneak a run in before heading down to Roy for polo. It was one of the most beautiful mornings I'd seen in a long while. The run went well and I took a full minute off my time so I was pretty pleased. My feet and lower legs still fatigue quickly, but this should go away as I get back into shape.

Tacoma polo

Another beautiful day for polo! I was really looking forward to playing today as I've gotten to the point where I can start getting into the game more now that I'm not so concerned about my riding.

Polo was extra special today as my Mom (Ingrid) was up from Arizona. She used to be a hunter/jumper back in Germany, so she's getting a kick out of me getting back into horses. It was also great that she could stop by as a polo ranch down by where she lives is for sale and she may be able to get some gear for cheap...she took a good look at all the gear so that she knew what to look for. In addition, the circuit governor, Derek, and his wife, Deb, were visiting and playing at the club.

It was Jason's Aticus again for me. I took him out for some stick and ball and passing drills with Jason. Felt great! I was scheduled for the 7th chucker, so had lots of time to watch the game. I did much better this time around, I was able to play my position, with a lot of guidance from Nancy, and even was able to hit in one of the penalty shots...MY FIRST GOAL!

I helped Jason groom and put away his horses then headed back for dinner at the clubhouse. The club put on a big dinner in the governor's honor, so we had quite a feast.

Fun run

For trying to get my legs and feet back into running shape, recovering from my plantar wart procedures and getting used to my new orthotics, todays run was a really fun one. I feel that I'm up to about 70% of my old running self with both my physical and cardio aspects of the run feeling much better. It was also a beautiful morning to run...scents of spring flowers in the air, lots of people along the way smiling and saying hi and some beautiful scenery as I ran around Portage Bay and a small portion of Lk. Washington. The only bummer about running around Portage Bay is the traffic exhaust, especially at busy times of the day. Time to look for some cleaner-air runs I think.

Another great night of boxing. This time we added the right uppercut to our list of hits. I have the jabs down, my left hook looks a little goofy, but the right uppercut feels great. Any grace I thought I had when I first started the boxing class has quickly dwindled and I'm sure I look more than a little awkward as a boxer. I need to become much quicker and much more agile. But...its still one of the best workouts I've had, so I'll be sticking to it for a while. My jumproping and speed bag are getting a lot better too.

Down Howie, down

My Mom is visiting from Arizona this week, so I won't be able to fit all my workouts in (I love having excuses like this). But, here's what I am up to...

...it was Howie time again this week. Laura had ridden him earlier in the day, so he wasn't Mr. speedy this time. Well, at least not as speedy as last time...his walk and trot were almost at regular pace. Laura had me working on positioning my hands correctly and we worked primarily on getting Howie's neck turned correctly to the inside. This meant holding him with my outside rein while pulling down and in with my inside hand. This went pretty well at the walk, trot and canter. The next objective is to keep Howie's head down towards the ground and tucked as he is used to keeping it pretty hight up. A really great ride though.

Up to a run

Well, I'm up to a run now from the jog last week. This time it was my feet that fatigued first, cardio felt fine. Not surprised on the foot thing at all since I am running with the new orthotics and its been so long since I was running regularly. I'll spend a couple weeks getting back up to speed, but should be back to where I left off six months agao soon enough.