Um... OUCH!

Firstly: It must be stated, that I am grateful for Ibuprofen. Say what you will about NSAIDs and how they affect/don't affect the body's recovery after sports performances; my mind is still made up. As far as I'm concerned, the inventor of the stuff should be given an award.

Why?

Well...let me tell you.

It would be ONE thing if I was just running or biking or swimming. Sure, the muscles would be sore and I would encounter the post-workout ache that we all acquire. Especially that I'm now - for the first time since Kona - beginning structured training. However, its no longer about just swim-bike-run.

Now, I have the distinct pleasure of adding... Functional Strength Training (cue: lightning flashes and scary music).

There have been only two other times in my life where I've been as sore then as I am now.

1: Inaugural weight room session of 2007. I spent the first week of the New Year barely able to walk, lift anything, or move efficiently after 2 gym-sessions in a 4-day period.

2: After Ironman Coeur d'Alene. Everything in my body hurt, even pressing my hands to my lower back and hips, to try and take strain off my shoulders and aching neck. Contact with anything made me cringe, but after 10+ hours of racing - that's just a fact of life.

And then there's today. It would be wonderful if I could blame the pain on 60-minutes worth of leg-intensive strength training and heavy lifting exercises. Or if I could replicate the feeling of seeing the magical Ironman finish line, stretching out half a mile before me.

But I can't.

Instead, it was the 30 lunges that did me in.

(and yes, I heard the snicker from California. Believe me, if I were reading this, I would be snickering too.)

Clearly, 120 seconds of lunges was about 110 seconds too much.

Because it is safe to say, that those lunges inflicted as much pain on my legs as Iornman. And I don't even get to eat sheet cake afterwards - clearly something is amiss.

Wow.

At least after the race, I earned a finisher's medal (AND the cake!). Today, I was happy just to hobble out to the car with my dignity intact. Walking as though I've got something thrust up my backside, past a group of rowdy Marines at one of the Fitness Center's aboard Camp Pendleton is NOT a way of getting 'positive' attention.

I was too focused on not allowing my right hamstring to seize up to listen to their comments. And if you think I'm joking...I'm not. It took a lot of effort to make it down those four stairs without tripping.

Now before you laugh, know that they were 30 VERY DIFFICULT Lunges. I don't half ass my lunges! After the giant step forward, I make sure the opposite knee makes contact with the ground before lunging back up to my first foot. I knew I was screwed after five were completed, but I did the best I could with what I had.

Which is also why I'm most assuredly in so much pain right now. And yes, I realize that - for the amount of discomfort my legs, hamstrings, abductors, adductors, glutes, and quads are experiencing - 30 doesn't seem like that many.

But... Its 30 MORE lunges than I've done in the past 3 months combined.

So there.

We've all got to start somewhere, and for my 2010 triathlon season, this is it!

So I and my painfully sore legs, will keep moving forward (as best as we can). On a completely different not, the specialist that I saw yesterday confirmed that I've got something going on in my lungs and referred me to a Hematologist and ordered a CT Scan of my sinuses and upper respiratory system. He agreed that I could work out and do whatever I felt like doing EXCEPT I need to stay away from the pool until my sinuses are completely clear. I don't want to run the risk of another sinus infection...and if it means I stay out of the water for a few more weeks...well...

There are worse things.

He DID mention that salt water was probably okay - so that I would be allowed to swim in the ocean...

But I just laughed him off. With my overactive imagination and fear of sharks/not knowing what's under me/not being able to SEE what's swimming under me (but knowing the big buggers are there)/non-willingness to let myself be eaten by a fish, I told him I would wait until I could swim in the pool.

Yes, the waters off Kona were beautiful and I felt safe. Out here, however...well... I just can't enjoy it. I guess the fear of being eaten trumps any good vibes I'm getting.

So - for now, things are rolling along as best as they can. I'm not allowed in the pool (YET) and I can barely hobble around after my lunges. But I've got a bike ride on my schedule tomorrow and a day (thankfully!) that's lunge-free!

Now...if you'll excuse me, I need to go find the Tylenol. You know...they should also give the person who invented that an award as well......

HAPPY TRAINING!