Good run, better fencing and a new junior

I didn't do my long run on Friday because my knees were still a little tweaked from my ride on Thursday...being the first full ride since I was back from Nebraska and all. So, today was my first run in a while. It was a hot day, but I felt pretty good and had a good time, taking about a minute off my last Portage Bay run time (but my last time was REALLY slow). I did my sit-ups before hand too so didn't have any weird stomach cramping this time either. Went home, took a quick nap, then it was off to fencing.

The nap left me more sluggish than I expected, but I did make it to fencing. I think it was the afternoon heat more than anything that made me move a little slower. At fencing, I was debating on whether to fence at all right up until I tied my last shoelace. But once my shoes were on I was all ready to go. Fenced a new fencer and did really well against some others, so I was pleased. It was really hot, so under all my fencing uniform I once again was soaked, but it actually felt good, like I had a real workout.

Had another chat with Laszlo Beres of the US Modern Pentathlon today as well. No San Antonio pentathlon this weekend as the team is pretty much set to go. We talked a little about Sydney arrangements and pistols as well.

Over the weekend I went down to watch Laura teach some of her Pony Club students on a cross country course. Got a chance to meet Josh, one of the juniors interested in starting the pentathlon. He's been doing tetrathlon's for a while and is pretty interested in adding the fencing to make it a full pentathlon. With Sam, we now have two juniors interested in pentathlon. NW pentathletes are on their way.

Fast swim and a perfect Pet

Had my best swim time yet today, 2'58", still without kickturns and at about 75%. I'm aiming for under 2'30" so still have a long way to go, but should be able to shave the time down at full pressure, turns and coaching...lots of it.

It was back to Pet Step at riding tonight. Its been a long time since I've ridden Pet so I was anxious to see how I would do, I've learned a lot since I last rode him. It went REALLY well. Pets a little more in tune since he's been doing shows, but I think my riding and balance have improved a lot as well. Pet was much more responsive to aids than I remember. We worked a lot on balance, rein shifting and transitions from trot to canter. Pet did a great job and I felt great.

That Greenlake groove, finally and fast fencing

Finally had a great Greenlake run. My feet and legs didn't get tired and my cardio felt really good as well. Even took two minutes of my time!

I started by going over the the Greenlake shellhouse to do a warm up on the ergometer (rowing machine). I happened to run into Matt Marshall, a rowing buddy who has started rowing at Greenlake recently. Looks like I may be able row a couple times week. Rowing will be great cross training and it will feel really good to get back on the water, even if Greenlake is only 1000m wide at its longest point.

The Greenlake group always has a little pre-workout meeting where they talk about upcoming races and any results from recent races. Mike Jones, one of my pentathlon mentors, just placed 5th in a duathlon (swimming and running) down in San Francisco. Great job! For running, I did my usual interval workout...2 minutes off, 1 minute on. As I already mentioned, it felt great. This was the first time that my feet and/or legs didn't fatigue and my cardio felt great the whole time.

At fencing tonight, I had some my ups and my downs, but one thing for sure...the fencing seems to be getting a lot faster, which means I need to get faster. There is one fencer that I just can't seem to get any points on, but I seem to be improving against most others. I scored 8 touches on a fencer that ranked 32 at Nationals, and 6 on one of our coaches (who was one of the fastest fencers that night). All in all, a great night fencing.

Slow ride, fast swim

Went to the barn today to start getting back into riding. With my trip to Nebraska, its been over two weeks since I last rode. Howie was his usual tripper self. Laura had just sprayed down the arena, so I didn't do any cantering since it was still pretty wet. The trot work felt really good though. More importantly, it felt good to be back in the saddle. Found out that Meyou, the horse I was thinking about buying, had some problems while I was away. He fell while stretching (slipped), hurt his back and then fell again while recovering when trying to get out of way of another horse. Laura is doing her therapeutic magic touch, so we're all waiting to see how it turns out.

The swim went really well. I took seven seconds off my time, still without flip turns and at about 75% pressure.

Warm running, warmer fencing

Its was a hot day for running today, especially since I did my run at 3:00pm. The run felt good even though my time was a little slower than last time. I must have sweat a gallon though as my shirt was drenched when I got back. I'm going to add some ab workouts before my run since my mid section fatigues on me and could be a bit stronger overall.

Had a great night of fencing tonight, although I think I sweated two gallons under the layers of my uniform. Fenced a couple new fencers, did pretty well against both of them. One of them was taller than me and I had to use some 'short person' strategies for the first time as my long arms weren't doing any good. Also spent some time watching a video of national that was held earlier this month. Discovery...I'm not spreading my feet wide enough and not crouching enough. Something more to work on.

Two second swim

Did my first swim after my vacation today. It felt OK, actually felt really good to be in the water since it was so warm, but wasn't be best swim ever. I did take two seconds off my 200m time, but the rest of the workout felt like I was swimming in molasses. I definitely have a cold bug setting in, I can feel a little bit of a soar throat. Bummer. I'll just try to get over it as soon as possible.

Back on the track and a fast fence

After over a week of lounging in steamy Nebraska, I got back in to training today. I went to the Greenlake running group and made my first steps towards working out with the group...I did a warm up quarter mile with them. After, their planned workout was still a little above me so I did my interval run around Greenlake again. My legs didn't fatigue like they had previous Greenlake run, but I didn't feel my best either. The last 10 minutes or so felt pretty good, but it will take a few runs to get back into things. Mike Jones, a former pentathlete and current Greenlake runner, pointed out that Mary Beth Larsen was on the cover of Esquire this month as one of the "Women of Summer". Pentathlon goes mainstream...I love it.