Welcome the first virus of the season. As much as I tried to avoid the crud creeping around, tag, I was it. After a week of balloon head, the body is slowly returning to a normal state….and that’s a good thing!
Of the workouts I was able to complete, I did manage to have a swim earlier in the week that turned the page. I swam 2000 yards in less than half the time I am aiming for during the race. Maybe it was last minute fumes before the virus kicked in however, it was a much needed confidence booster. So for that one workout, I am most grateful.
I noticed over the last few weeks, the body clock is changing to earlier wake up times. I started to think this might be a sign of over training. Turns out, it is a case of realizing the morning workouts do tend to make quite a difference when it comes to handling the days challenges. I used to be a night time workout fanatic however the change to the morning is good. So for balance, I am splitting the workout times throughout the week just in case there is that one morning I may need a few extra minutes of shut-eye.
This coming Sunday is IronMan Arizona 2010. A lot of my friends are competing and I am so excited for them. All of the hard work is done and now it’s time to head out and enjoy the race! I am ready to track their progress online and cheer for them throughout the day. I am so very proud to know so many who have dedicated themselves to take on this challenge. Good luck everyone!
So for the next week, the schedule consists of a few days of work followed by a few days at home to celebrate Thanksgiving. I love this time of year and look forward to continued focus on training. I have never trained through the holidays before as normally I complete a fall race.
That about wraps it up for this week folks, I am taking a week off from the blog to enjoy family time. I hope you make the most of your holiday! Happy Thanksgiving!!
Talk to ya in two weeks,
Janet
Friday, November 19, 2010
Friday, November 12, 2010
The Journey to a Texas Ironman
The wind is blowing, the leaves are quickly changing colors and the time has been turned back an hour to ring in the cooler weather months in North Texas. One drawback to this much welcomed change of seasons is the absence of the sun after the work day.
I have been so good on multi sport expenditures so it was about time to pick up another toy. Naturally, the toy is for when Celeste and I are out and about when the sun sets. After combing over every cycling headlight on the market. Comparing virtually every make and model then drilling down to what options I –REALLY- need and slowly depart from the “sexy must have” on the device, I now have on order my choice of helmet lighting and look forward to it’s delivery next week. ;)
Next, I have to harp a bit to everyone who has a driver’s license. I had the worst “near miss” incident this week by a passing vehicle that swerved over to the right lane. I was riding in the right shoulder and had literally inches of distance between me and the speeding car. When I caught the car in the corner of my eye coming at me, I immediately thought, okay, this is it, you are going down and you may not be getting back up….yes….it was that close. The speeding driver was less than 500 yards from a stop sign to turn left. Here is the kicker, I caught the driver texting.
I am sure virutally every cyclist has their “close calls” and likewise, drivers have their “annoying cyclist” stories. No matter what, ultimately the driver will always come out ahead as far as injury than the cyclist. As we are on the bike and are then thrown through the air by impact, we are seriously injured or we die. The driver on the other hand has damage to the car yet they walk away unharmed.
The next time you are driving, think about turning off that cell phone or place it in the glove compartment. When you are driving, your job is to safely operate a vehicle….do your job! I absolutely refuse to answer my phone while driving as I absolutely refuse to be the cause of inflicting harm to someone on the road. Do you think you could refuse as well?
Talk to ya next week!
Janet
I have been so good on multi sport expenditures so it was about time to pick up another toy. Naturally, the toy is for when Celeste and I are out and about when the sun sets. After combing over every cycling headlight on the market. Comparing virtually every make and model then drilling down to what options I –REALLY- need and slowly depart from the “sexy must have” on the device, I now have on order my choice of helmet lighting and look forward to it’s delivery next week. ;)
Next, I have to harp a bit to everyone who has a driver’s license. I had the worst “near miss” incident this week by a passing vehicle that swerved over to the right lane. I was riding in the right shoulder and had literally inches of distance between me and the speeding car. When I caught the car in the corner of my eye coming at me, I immediately thought, okay, this is it, you are going down and you may not be getting back up….yes….it was that close. The speeding driver was less than 500 yards from a stop sign to turn left. Here is the kicker, I caught the driver texting.
I am sure virutally every cyclist has their “close calls” and likewise, drivers have their “annoying cyclist” stories. No matter what, ultimately the driver will always come out ahead as far as injury than the cyclist. As we are on the bike and are then thrown through the air by impact, we are seriously injured or we die. The driver on the other hand has damage to the car yet they walk away unharmed.
The next time you are driving, think about turning off that cell phone or place it in the glove compartment. When you are driving, your job is to safely operate a vehicle….do your job! I absolutely refuse to answer my phone while driving as I absolutely refuse to be the cause of inflicting harm to someone on the road. Do you think you could refuse as well?
Talk to ya next week!
Janet
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Laser Treatment For Fungal Toenails: Treat ALL Your Toenails!
Laser Treatment for Fungus- Calling All Toenails!!!
I have been lasering toenails for quite some time now and only recently have come across more and more people wondering “Why not just laser the affected toenails? It would, after all, come out cheaper that way wouldn’t it?”
The simple answer is “No, not really.” But let me back this up so you can take my word for it.
Fungus is visible when the nail is grossly infected. What many do not realize, is that the process started long before you could see it with the naked eye. This alone is enough reason for the need to laser all ten toenails.
All too often I see patients who tell me that their nail fungus was only on one nail for the longest time. Then, all of a sudden, it has spread to others. Fungus is contagious! It does not just sit in one place. It gets in in your carpet, your bath mats, your shower tile. And worst of all, if you do have fungus, even in just one toenail, that fungus has already grossly contaminated your shoes! For your other nails there is no escape!
Think about how lasering only those affected nails singularly, ignoring all the others which are surely contaminated. How secure do you feel about that? If you had a bad cough and shortness of breath, how secure would you feel about going to a doctor who gave you cough medicine, but didn’t bother to listen to the pneumonia brewing in your lungs? Only treating the “visible” symptom, but not the underlying problem is a problem, whether it is lungs, nails or any other condition. Fungus brews until it has a large enough colony to “visibly” affect other nails or even a previously treated nail! What does that mean to the patient? It means more frequent trips to the podiatrist for yet another “spot” treatment. You will find, is that in the end, you will have coughed up (no pun intended!) what you should have to have all nails treated in the first place! Worse yet, the cycle may continue since only the nails with visible fungus are treated again! Who knows when it might end for you and how much time you will need to devote to these types of visits? Why take that chance?
What I do strongly believe, as do all the physicians at Foot and Ankle Associates of North Texas (FAANT), is that if you are going to spend your valuable time and finances to have this procedure preformed, the least we can do is treat all your toenails at once. This will greatly increase the odds of success! One very effective treatment in one visit!
Another thing to consider is FDA approval. Only one type of fungus-treating laser in the U.S. is FDA approved. Fortunately, we have this laser at FAANT!! This is something that should give you extra piece of mind! You are getting what we know is safe and effective! All ten toenails and FDA approval is money well spent!
I have been lasering toenails for quite some time now and only recently have come across more and more people wondering “Why not just laser the affected toenails? It would, after all, come out cheaper that way wouldn’t it?”
The simple answer is “No, not really.” But let me back this up so you can take my word for it.
Fungus is visible when the nail is grossly infected. What many do not realize, is that the process started long before you could see it with the naked eye. This alone is enough reason for the need to laser all ten toenails.
All too often I see patients who tell me that their nail fungus was only on one nail for the longest time. Then, all of a sudden, it has spread to others. Fungus is contagious! It does not just sit in one place. It gets in in your carpet, your bath mats, your shower tile. And worst of all, if you do have fungus, even in just one toenail, that fungus has already grossly contaminated your shoes! For your other nails there is no escape!
Think about how lasering only those affected nails singularly, ignoring all the others which are surely contaminated. How secure do you feel about that? If you had a bad cough and shortness of breath, how secure would you feel about going to a doctor who gave you cough medicine, but didn’t bother to listen to the pneumonia brewing in your lungs? Only treating the “visible” symptom, but not the underlying problem is a problem, whether it is lungs, nails or any other condition. Fungus brews until it has a large enough colony to “visibly” affect other nails or even a previously treated nail! What does that mean to the patient? It means more frequent trips to the podiatrist for yet another “spot” treatment. You will find, is that in the end, you will have coughed up (no pun intended!) what you should have to have all nails treated in the first place! Worse yet, the cycle may continue since only the nails with visible fungus are treated again! Who knows when it might end for you and how much time you will need to devote to these types of visits? Why take that chance?
What I do strongly believe, as do all the physicians at Foot and Ankle Associates of North Texas (FAANT), is that if you are going to spend your valuable time and finances to have this procedure preformed, the least we can do is treat all your toenails at once. This will greatly increase the odds of success! One very effective treatment in one visit!
Another thing to consider is FDA approval. Only one type of fungus-treating laser in the U.S. is FDA approved. Fortunately, we have this laser at FAANT!! This is something that should give you extra piece of mind! You are getting what we know is safe and effective! All ten toenails and FDA approval is money well spent!
Friday, November 5, 2010
The Journey to a Texas Ironman
Keeping a commitment. Many ask how one can train for an IronMan and still keep the rest of life going. It’s simple. When you find something that is your passion, you make it work. You honor the commitment to yourself and to others.
I am excited to know and meet triathletes that are sincerely honest and have a genuine outlook on life. There is a friend of mine that I cycle with on the weekends. She has no idea but just riding along side of her..okay, she is in the front a lot then again I can sometimes pass her…is such a positive influence and has that strong sense of commitment. Even though she usually places in her age group, you would never know it. She is committed to improving herself however never making others feel inadequate. Thanks Laurie – I hope to be at IronMan Wisconsin 2011to cheer you on just like you have committed to cheering on athletes including me at the Texas Ironman. ;)
This whole Journey of commitment also adds another goal to my list: To pay it forward by committing to helping others join and grow in the world of triathlon. This community has a lot of great people and it is the right thing do by welcoming others to the multisport lifestyle.
As for the workouts, the swim stood out this week. Alot of time was spent slowing it down and focusing on form. No running even though I gathered an inkling of possible walk to run workouts coming up soon from my coach. I figured I might as well type that sentence to see if she will let me strap on the running shoes and head out for a run..errr…jog…errr….walk in the near future. Did ya get that Della? ;)
Commitment. Just one of the many facets of becoming an IronMan.
Talk to ya next week,
Janet
I am excited to know and meet triathletes that are sincerely honest and have a genuine outlook on life. There is a friend of mine that I cycle with on the weekends. She has no idea but just riding along side of her..okay, she is in the front a lot then again I can sometimes pass her…is such a positive influence and has that strong sense of commitment. Even though she usually places in her age group, you would never know it. She is committed to improving herself however never making others feel inadequate. Thanks Laurie – I hope to be at IronMan Wisconsin 2011to cheer you on just like you have committed to cheering on athletes including me at the Texas Ironman. ;)
This whole Journey of commitment also adds another goal to my list: To pay it forward by committing to helping others join and grow in the world of triathlon. This community has a lot of great people and it is the right thing do by welcoming others to the multisport lifestyle.
As for the workouts, the swim stood out this week. Alot of time was spent slowing it down and focusing on form. No running even though I gathered an inkling of possible walk to run workouts coming up soon from my coach. I figured I might as well type that sentence to see if she will let me strap on the running shoes and head out for a run..errr…jog…errr….walk in the near future. Did ya get that Della? ;)
Commitment. Just one of the many facets of becoming an IronMan.
Talk to ya next week,
Janet
Monday, November 1, 2010
The Journey To a Texas IronMan
Off days…love them! It is the one time I can catch up on reading and a bunch of other items on the to-do list. Recently, I tripped across an article in the New York times referencing how 40 somethings are turning to triathlons. Leave it to someone to come up with this acronym: Mamils. Mamils stands for Middle Aged Men In Lycra. So if the over 40 male crowd is a Mamil, then I guess you can lump Dr. Crane and I in the Mafil category.
I’ll take it. I think Mafil is pretty cool. Here we are living a healthy lifestyle, dedicated to the sport, with the occasional luck of placing in the top three of either age or weight division and enticing people everyday to become more active and live healthier lifestyles. Many of our friends think we are nuts. I’ll take that as well. I think you do have to be nuts to a certain extent to plan out and execute daily workouts on top of work and all the other curve balls this thing called life pitches to us.
As I read the article, it mentioned the median age group is 41 years of age. I would agree with that. The average salary however which was listed at 175,000 may be a bit grand. You see, there are many who do not necessarily fall for the paying full price on the latest gear. I am one of them. I cannot remember the last time I paid full price for anything except for race entries and the bike jersey from each race. Thanks to the internet, and social websites, you can learn a lot from clothing to bikes to running shoes. Many people I meet are do not necessarily have the best of the best however they often are the winners of their respective age group. Sure, the pros have the latest and greatest…then again it sure helps to be sponsored by the brands plastered all over their clothing, helmet, shoes, bike, wetsuit, running shoes…well, you get the picture.
It all boils down to the athlete. You need to train and put time into all three disciplines. You also need to eat right, maintain life balance and sleep. Sure, I do adore my bike and the few upgrades I have done (discounted items of course) but the bike isn’t going to obtain the level of endurance needed for the IronMan. It comes down to training. So for those who think they must be of a certain income level to be in triathlons whether long or short distance your wrong. You can join in on the great fun of the multisport lifestyle just like the next guy……but you do need to train.
Talk to ya next week,
Janet
I’ll take it. I think Mafil is pretty cool. Here we are living a healthy lifestyle, dedicated to the sport, with the occasional luck of placing in the top three of either age or weight division and enticing people everyday to become more active and live healthier lifestyles. Many of our friends think we are nuts. I’ll take that as well. I think you do have to be nuts to a certain extent to plan out and execute daily workouts on top of work and all the other curve balls this thing called life pitches to us.
As I read the article, it mentioned the median age group is 41 years of age. I would agree with that. The average salary however which was listed at 175,000 may be a bit grand. You see, there are many who do not necessarily fall for the paying full price on the latest gear. I am one of them. I cannot remember the last time I paid full price for anything except for race entries and the bike jersey from each race. Thanks to the internet, and social websites, you can learn a lot from clothing to bikes to running shoes. Many people I meet are do not necessarily have the best of the best however they often are the winners of their respective age group. Sure, the pros have the latest and greatest…then again it sure helps to be sponsored by the brands plastered all over their clothing, helmet, shoes, bike, wetsuit, running shoes…well, you get the picture.
It all boils down to the athlete. You need to train and put time into all three disciplines. You also need to eat right, maintain life balance and sleep. Sure, I do adore my bike and the few upgrades I have done (discounted items of course) but the bike isn’t going to obtain the level of endurance needed for the IronMan. It comes down to training. So for those who think they must be of a certain income level to be in triathlons whether long or short distance your wrong. You can join in on the great fun of the multisport lifestyle just like the next guy……but you do need to train.
Talk to ya next week,
Janet
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