Three days off in a week is not the way to train for Ironman...and why George Bush is an asshole

Mon 5/8 – Off. Hooray for Mondays. Want to swim at lunch for relaxation, but have donor visit and can’t. For second Monday in a row eat roast beef sandwich and talk about lofty things. Somehow I keep faking my way through this, but I keep getting a paycheck so I guess no one’s figured it out yet.

Tues 5/9 – supposed to swim 3600. Psyched about it, even get validation from Neil (excellent swimmer) that ours is a “solid workout.” Start having hot flashes (well not really, but sweating a lot and feeling weird) and spins on train. Sweating profusely by time I get to car. Decide to go home, have proper dinner, and go to bed. Behave like normal person, but feel excessively guilty as I watch Access Hollywood.

Weds 5/10 – Kezar. 15 min warm-up, then 3x1 mile at L5, then a cool down. Ran my miles at 7:27, 7:11, and 7:16. Yeah baby – and that felt easy. Had short mental breakdown and strongly advocated leaving track, driving home, and quitting. I’ll spare the details, just thank goodness for good friends, and some sunglasses….a pretty crier I am not. (last time I did Ironteam the crying didn’t start until July. I am not sure what ot means to be this much ahead of schedule!).

Thursday 5/11 – My brother arrived from Korea at 8 am, which meant rockin’ chiropractor Dr Rabbetz fit me in at 6:45 so I could get to the airport on time. So excellent! Got to SFO in time to meet him, then spent the day running American type errands (Target, Sports Basement, espresso at Peet’s, and the obligatory Mexican meal).

Let me now talk about how much G-Dubya and the godforsaken Patriot Act SUCKS. My brother is an American citizen, with a social security number, an American passport, an international driver’s license, and a credit card. He wanted to set up a bank account. But thanks to our fair administration, all of the above did not warrant him eligible for said bank account (let me point out again HE IS A BUDDHIST MONK. This is about as far from al Qaeda as you can get). But noooo, because of the Patriot Act, this American citizen had to go to extraordinary lengths to find a credit card statement, print it out, and bring it in. Which makes him more safe because….why? Oh, right, that $19.95 charge to MSN, that means he is not a terrorist. For Christ’s sake people.

Workout: first spin class with Michael McCormack, which means walking through the Marina at Prime Time. I should have just put on a sign that said "Does not belong here." Marina aside, this man rocks my world. I was one of only two new people in the class, which meant he kept focusing on the two of us (no slacking). It was excellent, and I can’t wait for next week. Hour spin, then a 20 min run on the treadmill.

Fri 5/12 – 3 hours of asthma and pulmonary function testing at USCF (I’m not responding to the meds anymore and as ethical practitioners of medicine, they won’t increase my meds without doing testing. Damn them.) This involved not drinking coffee, breathing many, many times in many, many patterns, into a very claustrophobic device, being locked in a Miss America-like Isolation Booth (where I also had to breathe on command), and my personal favorite, riding an exercise bike with 11 electrodes strapped to me, sans sports bra (they made me take it off to put on the electrodes.). I am sure this was fun for everyone involved. I think I failed the test, though, as there were toe cages and I pulled my foot out of it in the middle of the test, forcing the tech to scramble to shove my foot back in.

To make matters worse, after all my smack talking before the test, I only lasted about 5 minutes on the bike, after which time they rushed me back to the Miss America booth to do some more breathing. Then I got dressed, went immediately for my coffee, paid $11 for the privelege of having parked at UCSF, and drove home. Hmm. Ok.

This was the workout for the day. Meaning I basically took three days off this week instead of one. Oops. But I helped the monk get a bank account, and aren't we all better for that.