Week of 02/18/2008 - Monastery

My training summery for the week of 02/18/2008 was:

Planned Time = 13:18 hrs
Actual Time = 12:23 hrs
Calories Burned = 9,526 kj
Swim = 8800 yd = 5 miles
Bike = 74 mi
Run = 41.48 mi

This was the third week of a build cycle. It was tough getting in all of the scheduled workouts this week and I ended up not biking on Sunday which is why my actual hours are less than planned. This was also a very big run week for me. I ended up running everyday except for Wednesday.
My legs were pretty sore come Sunday evening.

Some workout highlights for the week included;

• Running in the pouring rain.
• Running up a huge hill in the dark that had an elevation gain of 150ft and 15-20% grades, I don't think even cars can make it up the hill.
• Spending a very early morning on a bike trainer talking about kids and marriage with other triathletes while sweating my butt off.
• Running during a snow storm.
• Running in 12.2 miles Massachusetts not knowing the roads and suffering hardcore on the hills.
• Getting up the very next morning and running another 6miles only 12hrs latter while watching the sun rise and the birds chirp.

The Good

This weekend I spent the weekend with Megan and we went to St. Mary's Monastery where she is Benedictine oblate. I didn't really know what to expect but figured it couldn't hurt to check out a new place and learn more about the Catholic Faith. We stayed in a guest house which had separate wings for males and females. There was a common kitchen, dinning, and recreational/reading room which we spent most of the time in. We went to a few services which included; Compline at 8pm, Mass at 10am, Terse at the end of mass, and Sext at 12:15pm. I really liked Compline and Mass was pretty cool also except the incence really started to get to me. The services did have the readings and some prayers in English but most of them were sung in Gregorian chant in Latin with the nuns and monks alternating verses. It sounded really cool and made the mass seem totally more spiritual than an all English mass like at the Cathedral in Portland. I had a really nice time and it was very peaceful there. The monks and sisters were very nice and hospitalble. I would definitely like to visit again.

St. Mary's Monastery
271 North Main St.
Petersham, MA 01366

Photo's taken from website.
http://www.stmarysmonastery.org/
and
http://jdtreat.com/petersham.htm

The Bad

A few tough days of training really took it's toll on me. Some very sore and tired legs, back, and arms.

Time management is the key to this sport.

The Ugly

Not much really ugly happened other than missing a bunch of meals and still training. Doing this usually isn't a good thing to do.

Week of 02/11/2008

This past week was a bit better than last.

My training summery for the week of 02/11/2008 was:
Overall Time = 11:49 hrs

Swim = 8200 yd / 4.7 miles

Bike = 49.12 mi

Run = 36.03 mi

XC-Ski = 16.99 mi

The Good
Lots of training and other activities this week. My training load is increasing and I'm feeling more and more comfortable in the pool and running. I'm able to run now back to back even after long days. The soreness in the legs is also decreasing after a long run. I'm sleeping a bit better now but since I workout early every morning I don't get to really sleep in much.

During the week it was also Valentines Day. I got Megan a beautiful single rose along with a Boyd bear and a hand written card with a photo that I had taken. Megan got me a really cool alabaster polar bear and heart that one of her patrons at the library makes. They are really cool.

Megan also prepared a private candle light dinner for me in her room. I picked up the food, which I was late doing, but we both prepared it once I got there. We had scallops cooked in oil with garlic, roasted vegetables (sweet peppers, onions, carrots, parsnip) and some nice multi-grain crusty bread. It was good. We then watched a not so great movie that I picked out, d'oh again, oh well. I fell asleep during it anyways. I've been doing that a lot lately. It was a wonderful night that I will not forget.

Also this week I had another Disciples in Mission Group Meeting. It went pretty well and I contributed also. I didn't complete last weeks assignment but I couldn't really think of anybody to write a letter to. This weeks assignment I'm already doing. I'm listening to the daily readings and Liturgy of the Hours every day. So now I just need to reflect on that. This next week I'm actually going to mass to a Monastery with Megan and a few others. I will definitely report back on how that goes. I'm sure it will be just fine and I will further my religious bond.

The Bad
This weeks weather was horrible though. Wednesday was the worst weather that I have ever driven in. Normally my commute is 45min but this day due to rain/sleet/freezing rain/snow it was almost double that. It started off as rain at my house and ended up having a windshield covered in Ice and by the time I hit work it was snowing.
The very next day I went out for a run in the early morning. It was actually still dark when I left and due to all the rain and ice we got the roads were very treacherous. Plus it was very cold and I froze. I couldn't even move my hands when I got home.

Valentines day evening was great but the day it self sucked. I ran in the am before my first seminar on Phosphorus. I ended up going to the wrong hotel where it was taking place and ended up being late. The seminar itself was very dry and boring. Very technical and it was done by an engineer who has never taken a Dale Carnegie course. My second seminar/class is the Dale Carnegie class that I'm taking. Today I totally screwed up my speeches. I got very nervous and flustered. Oh well. That why we do it week after week. I just need to relax more. I also ran around afterwards and ended getting to Megan's house for dinner very late but once I got there every fell into place and I had a wonderful evening.

The Ugly
Work was still pretty stressful and I'm having a tough time with it.

The Start of Something New

I've decided I'm going to try and do a weekly post to my blog.
I haven't posted in forever and this was one thing I wanted to do this year.
I have been reading other endurance athlete blogs over the past year and I like how one guy sets his up so I'm going to mimic his. He give a summary of the week by stating "The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly." So I think I'm going to copy his format and see how that works for me. If you would like to read his blog it can be found at http://bolderinboulder.blogspot.com/
So here it goes.

This past week was a tough one for me. Very busy with work, training, church, and spending time with the girlfriend. Not much sleep was taken but all in all the week turned out just fine.

My training summery for the week of 02/04/2008 was:
Overall = 10.50 hrs
Swim = 5900 yds
Bike = 65.92 mi
Run = 24.83 mi
XC-Ski = 8.75 mi

The Good

I was able to spend a lot of time this week with my girlfriend who I have been dating now for a few months.
We have really hit it off and I have really falling for her. I feel like my love for her is growing everyday and will continue to grow.

Also This week was also the first week of Lent and the first week of my Disciples in Mission Group Meetings. I am Christian but not officially Catholic. My girlfriend however is Catholic, along with my roommate. I have been going to church with her every week now and also taking part in other Catholic activities. I am really learning a lot about the Catholic faith. I have a lot more to learn though. I do feel like faith and religion should be part of your everyday activity and I'm going to try live by this. I hope to take part in RCIA next fall and become part of the Catholic Community. The Disciples in Mission Group meeting went well, I attending mass on Wednesday and on Sunday. I have also for lent I have decided to give up caffeine and to listen to the daily reading and the liturgy of the hours every day. So far giving up caffeine has been tough and I'm still getting migraines every day. Hopefully they will pass soon.

The Bad

I didn't get much sleep this week. Wednesday's bike session was done on 3.5 hours of sleep but turned out OK in the end. It just hurt. Due to not sleeping and being exhausted I missed Thursday's morning swim because I overslept and was just too tired to get out of bed. Saturday's run really hurt bad and made me sick. The stress of work and lake of sleep I think got to me this day.

The Ugly

Work was very stressful and is totally killing me. I commute 80 miles a day for work which really cuts into my personal time. I also worked a lot of late hours because I had a project go out last week which was totally not done. So this week we had to catch up and issue the first Addendum. So I spent Saturday working, and couple of late nights. We did get the project a lot further to completion and be more like 100%. The outlook however for the next month isn't good in the work aspect. I'm going to have a lot of long stressful weeks up ahead. Hopefully my training, or health, doesn't suffer.