22km + 2250m

Biked to the pool

Warm-up:
600s/600p/200k/200k brst

Sets
4x100IM :30sec rest

Cool Down
200s 50 scull

Biked Home

Total: 22km 50 min & 2250m 1hr.

It felt good to be on my bike again. I rode it everyday to/from school this week, but I only had one long ride. And the pool felt amazing today, not too hot or too cold. But I think I drank too much of my amino sports drink before getting in because I started to cramp up in my abdomen. I kinda wanted to do more, but the cramping was slowing me down. After my first 600, the ladies in the lane next to me decided they HAD to tell me what a great swimmer I was. It's nice to get compliments, but after awhile, it's a bit much. They said they had been watching the old grandpa in the next lane over (who was trying to keep my pace) and thought he was a fast swimmer until I got in and then they realized that he might be fast, but his stroke wasn't very pretty. He splashes a lot. But apparently I have a nice gentle stroke with no splash. And they said I'm fast and have a beautiful stroke! Since I haven't seen myself swim in about 6 years, it's nice to know that others think I have a nice stroke.....but it's always a bit embarrasing and akward. Maybe more importantly....I understood all that in Japanese! But I still couldn't say a word back to them. Agh!

21km & poor

To school and back home again. It's my longest commute ride....up up up and then down down down.

And then even though I'd rather be biking, I had to pay to keep my car on the road today, a mere ~$1000US. The ups and downs of living in the middle of rice paddies....there are days when I need the car (to leave rice paddy land) and days when I can easily bike everywhere I need to go. Agh!!!

Total: 21km 50min. and $1000 poorer

KMSC 2300m

Warm-up
500s/300p/200k

MSC Sets:
100fr ez
3x50k fly-bk
2x50 r/l alt fly-bk
3x50k bk-brst
2x50 r/l alt bk-brst
3x50k brst-fr
2x50 r/l brst-fr
3x50 fly-bk/bk-brst/brst-fr
100IM

Cool Down
200

Total: 2300m 90min

We worked on IM turns and transitions tonight. Although I felt like mine got worse by the end of the night. It's hard to do a real turn in a lane with 10 people when everyone gets backed up and doesn't know how to space themselves. Agh. Anyway, at least we got in 1000m. Everyone was complaining, but I got excited and they all gave me evil looks and called me young. Oh well! The meet is in less than a month!

Dance Aerobics

I'm in hermit mode! I don't want to leave the house except to study, which I'm supposed to be doing now. Anyway....this morning I briefly considered going for a run in the sun....and then I woke up and realized that was a crazy dream. I put in an MTV Dance Aerobic video I stole from my school. It was 40 minutes of aerobics and 15 minutes of Tai Chi. Got my heart rate up, got me dancing in my apartment and I could enjoy my Sunday morning. Not the Sunday morning the Jehova's Witness people who knocked on my door yesterday would like me to be having....but a great one nonetheless. I miss my boot camp aerobics.

Total: 55minutes

A Failed Attempt

I had this feeling that the pool would be closed today. It's Saturday and it's usually open on Saturday. But I had a feeling today would be one of those unlucky days where I show up and it's a special holiday or a maintence week. But I ignored that feeling and picked up a friend that lives in the opposite direction and we were going to go for a swim....but, it was closed! Just like I thought. ANNOYING!! It turns out, today is a national holiday, but since it's on a Saturday I don't notice it. Usually it only really matters if it falls on a weekday. But not at the pool.

So we went to an onsen and relaxed for an hour instead.

I've been so sore this week from Mt. Hakusan I haven't done much besides stretching and biking to and from school.

Monday is swim practice!

Mt. Hakusan 2702m

I climbed Mt. Hakusan! And just escaped a typhoon!

10 hours
3000 meters up/down
14 km up/down

Read more on my other blog soon (as soon as blogger stops crashing!)

1000km young

Today my biked turned over 1000km and this is the exact spot it happened! I was riding near the beach inbetween some rice fields as the sun was setting. How romantic! Just me and my bike. It was a lovely moment. I decided to document it.

Unfortunately, my counter turns back to zero. Zannen! Now I just have to get my ass in gear and work towards my next 1000km. I'm not sure I'll be able to do that before snowboarding season. It might not happen until next spring! Let's see!

It only took me 3 1/2 months. I haven't broken any world records or anything. But it's 1000km I wouldn't have biked if I hadn't bought this bike. And it's saving me gas money! Hurray!

32km

Today was the sunny and warm--finally! It was beautiful compared to the last week--gray and rainy. So after biking to/from school, I decided to bike to the pool. Not for a swim, just to sign up for the Masters meet in October. It was too nice to be inside and plus, my pool allergy has gotten so bad, if I swim it pretty much incapacitates me for the rest of the day. It's really bad! So I have to plan my entire schedule around it. So, today I just biked! On the way there, I was able to maintain 25-30km/hr. Coming back was harder because I was going against the wind. I was at about 20km/hr. Felt good!

Oh...but my gear/pedal on the right side is clicking every time my right foot pushes down in the rotation. It's getting pretty annoying! I'm not exactly sure why or how--but it needs to be fixed!

Total: 32 km 1hr+

20km + Yoga

Biked to my mtn school and back today in the rain! Felt good, but got soaked.

After work I did the yoga DVD again. I was so SORE from Monday, but felt totally energized afterwards! So I did it again. The hour goes so quickly and I love the stretching! Felt great. Plus it has a mini-ab routine. I wasn't able to get as deep into the poses today cause I was still sore, but needed the stretch!

Total: 20km 50min. & Yoga 1hr.

Yoga

I needed to stretch out after biking and windsurfing this weekend. A friend gave me a yoga DVD months ago and I tried it for the first time today--not bad! I got in a good stretch, got my heart rate up and enjoyed the relaxation!

I also biked to and from school and shot hoops with my students, but nothing significant!

Total: ~ 1hr of yoga

Windsurfing

I had good intentions of biking to the beach but I slept in and it looked like rain. It was a good thing I didn't bike, as my new teacher called it a day (for me) it started POURING! And I mean POURING!!

I've NEVER windsurfed before. So it wasn't much of a workout. But I'm sure I'll be sore tomorrow. I spent about an hour actually in the water on the board trying to get the windsail up. Learning balance especially with the waves and wind was a challenge. I managed to get the sail fully up once and sailed right into shore. Oh well! At least I got it up.

It was a lot of fun! I hope I can do it again. The guys I met today go almost year around. The best season is June-September when there is an East Wind. But they go in the winter too!!! Crazy.

32km

Can you count km if you do them drunk?? It was only the last 3-4 I did drunk. But I counted them in today's total anyway. But in acutuality I biked about 28km throughout the day. I had sports day today. But don't let that fool you....I didn't do any sports. Only my students do the sports and I sit on my ass and watch them. I did get to join in two of the events. The first was a PTA dice soccer ball relay game of sorts. I was first. But my team lost. That was at my small school in the mountains (that I biked too). Then I biked to my other JHS. At that school I got to dance in the obon odori...a folk dance at the end of the day with EVERYONE. I was only out on the field for maybe 30minutes. And I got burned!!! And then I biked home and biked back into town for the party afterward...that's where the beer came in!

Total: 32km 1hr+

35km

It was a beautiful day today. Blue skies, sunshine and a light breeze. So Linea and I got on our bikes after work and headed up to Unazuki. It's about 17km each way....up and then down. It's not a super hard climb up, just nice and gradual all the way. But on the way down we both clocked over 40km/hr without having to pedal. It's a little scary going that fast! There is one tunnel we have to go through, but luckily there is a pretty wide shoulder. It was getting dark so we didn't bother with stopping and exploring when we got there. Just drank some water and headed home. Felt good to do a longer ride. Although my back and neck was feeling it by the end.

Total: 35km 1hr. 40min.

4100m

Warm-up:
500s/400IM drill/400k/100IM ez

Sets:
6x100p on 1:45, breathing every 5
100ez
10x50 on 1:00 alt fr/brst
100ez
2x 4x25 fly 15 sec rest
4x25 bck 5 sec rest
4x25 brst 5 sec rest
4x25 fr 5 sec rest
3x100 IM
100scull

Cool Down
200s

Total: 4100m 1hr. 40min.

Wow, that felt great! That's my longest workout in MONTHS!!! I had the day off today, so I took the time and actually swam. The pull set was hard cause I was trying to get back into breathing every 5. I'm so lazy about it. So even though the interval wasn't that hard, it got my heart rate up. The other sets weren't hard, but I tried to keep rests minimal.

If only I had the time and energy to do this kind of workout several times a week!!

2100m

Warm-up
1000s/100k/200p/100k

Breast Set
2x50 k
3x50 drill k (push kick)
2x50 drill k (on side)
2x50 p
2x25 sprint w/start
(treading water with hands above water inbetween each 50)

Cool Down
200s

Total: 2100m 1hr. 40min.

Masters Practice: I made sure to get there early to get a good warm-up in before the "lesson" started, as they call it. It really is basically a swim lesson. It isn't aerobic and it isn't meant to be. It's only drill work. And the coach spends a lot of time teaching people how to swim. It's never bad to do drills--helps me get to know my body better in the water I guess. But with the meet less than 2 months away, I feel like we should be working on something else. Oh well. I led all the sets. And because there were about 16 people in our lane, there was A LOT of rest time. Hence, the coach suggested we tread water--BRILLANT idea!! At least it kept my heart rate up a little.

One swimmer asked me if we have breaststroke in Canada. 1) I'm the blonde from America. 2) Duh, of course!! I did't learn it yesterday. Swimming isn't unique to Japan. Oh my!

I gotta decide what I wanna swim in the meet by Sept 19th!!! Yikes!

2400m

Warm up
500s/500p/300k

Sets
10x50 on 1:00 last 2 brst
200p
4x50 IM order 25drill/25 swim

Cool Down
200s

Total: 2400m 50min.

I grabbed my two oldest nastiest suits today. It felt like I was swimming with a wool sweater on. But I guess that's a good thing. I wanted to get out quickly today. Just didn't feel like being in the water, oddly enough. And I was hungry. And I have a ton of other things to do. Hopefully I can start getting to the pool more regularly now!