Tris and Quads

I told Meredith yesterday, "Either I'll have the strongest quads ever by race day, or my legs will fall off."

This Wednesday was the first "long" run of the training, a 90 minute run with Meredith and Andrea. For them, it's taper time for Boston, so I managed to hang with them for their 7 miles (for once :) ), and added on another bit on my own at the end. It was nice to get back out there, but I had a right quad that was on the verge of cramping during most of the run. I hydrated pretty well that day, so I'm not sure what was going on there. Afterward, we got our Wednesday night $4 burgers, and I realized I had all of 8 hours or so until a bike ride.

Thursday's ride was back in on the trainer, and honestly wasn't a great ride. After the fun of the outdoor ride, it was mentally tough to focus on pedaling in the living room again.

And after work, the fun really began with fencing practice.

But let's take a step back first. Meredith is quite the napper - she loves to grab an afternoon siesta after work, or exercise, or...well, pretty much anytime. :) I, on the other hand, usually just lay on the couch and watch TV or sit at the computer for my relaxing time. But yesterday, I don't know what happened. I set down my gym bag on the bed around 4:15...

And then I woke up at 4:55, sideways on the bed with my feet hanging over the edge. Tired much? I had to scramble to get my fencing gear together and zipped off to class. Thanks to my lateness, I got to run some extra laps before class started. We began with some shuttle runs and strength training, and here's the spot I thought my legs would fall off, or I'd just end up on the floor some other way.

For those of you who haven't fenced and want to try this exercise for yourselves:

• Place your feet a little more than shoulder width apart.
  
• Turn your back foot (left foot if you're right handed) 90°, so it's perpendicular to your other foot. Keep your weight slightly shifted to your back leg, so you feel it in your quad.
  
• Lower yourself so that your knees are bent. This is en garde position, which should look something like this:
  
  
• Take a small step forward, front foot first, then back foot.
  
• Keeping your back upright (don't lean over!), squat down so that you are sitting on your back heel, which will come off the ground.
  
• Using your quads, push yourself back up to en garde position. Don't straighten your legs!
  
• Take another small step, and repeat down the length of the gym.
  

Let's just say I was looking forward to a swim-only day today. :)

Oh, and a little math I learned today...

(Forgetting to wear bandaids on the first longish run of the season) + (Pool Swim) = Ouch x 2!