Never gonna grow up, never gonna slow down

Okay-I know I didn’t write for two days….and that is actually because I didn’t swim either of those days!  One of the unfortunate truths of being an adult (and I guess also being an attorney) is that sometimes work becomes all consuming and stressful.   I was pretty stressed out Wednesday (as I had a trial on Thursday), then Thursday I worked a 15 hour day-not leaving the courthouse until 10:00pm!  So….the excuse train as to why I didn’t swim has passed….moving on now:

Today I only had to go into work for 2 hours, but I swam first.  And since I didn’t get my test set done on Wednesday, I did that this morning.  And in an hour of continuous swimming, I got in 3700 yards in an hour.  That is about 2 and a quarter miles.  My goal pace for the swim is 2 and a half miles an hour so I am off by about 400 yards.  That’s excellent, because I know that is totally attainable.  So that is a great sign that my training is going well!

With about 10 minutes left of my swim this morning several swim team kids got in my lane and although I’m going to stay away from any discussion of which of us was faster…their presence in my lane along with my pride stepped my pace up a little at the end.  : ) 

This was a busy week, but I enjoy being busy.  I enjoy this line from a country song I just heard today: “never gonna grow up, never gonna slow down.” 

In other news here is a link to the KAJ story that Laura did on my swim:

http://www.kaj18.com/news/athlete-of-the-week-emily-von-jentzen/

Anyway, today I am headed to Washington to visit my parents for the weekend-might make it up to Chelan while I am there!

Have a great weekend everyone!

~Emily

Garbage in = Garbage out

I am 0 for 2 on attempts to actually get up and workout before work this week.  I think the problem might be that my bed is just too comfy…maybe if I slept on the floor or the couch, I would be more likely to get up at the 4:30 alarm…Well, at any rate, I will try again tomorrow.  Tomorrow’s workout is a test set, so it would be better to get that done in the morning when there isn’t open swim occurring in the lane next to me!

Today I felt the results of the last week or so of poor nutrition.  I knew I hadn’t been eating well…but sometimes when I get busy or tired the LAST thing I feel like doing is cooking myself a well balanced meal.  And when I am stressed out (and actually even when I am not) I probably eat way too much candy.  But…I know this (and I tell the people I coach this quite often)….garbage in, garbage out.  If all you feed yourself is garbage, you can’t be too surprised when your body doesn’t perform like you want it to.  It’s like putting diesel fuel in a non-diesel engine.  I was in a rush most of the day today and I didn’t eat well or much.  Then at practice I TOTALLY FELT IT.  I just couldn’t get going.  It was a fairly easy practice (just 3,000 yards) with what was supposed to be a faster set of 10 x 100’s, but I felt like I couldn’t get to the next gear.  I ended up changing the send-offs which was a little frustrating.  But I knew I didn’t eat well today.

So, when I got home I took the time to cook a nice well balanced meal.  After that I went shopping to make sure the “no food in the house” excuse was not valid.  : )  Then I met my friend Cassie from Missoula for some Frozen yogurt.  It was really nice to catch up with her.

Well anyway…its getting kind of late and I’ve got another busy day tomorrow!

Good night!

~Emily

Back to work!

Whew!  What a day!  I guess I should back up, since I didn’t write yesterday.  I took Sunday off, as it was the LAST day of my recovery week (total yardage last week was 11,000 yards) and it was SO SO nice outside.  Dixie and I spent nearly 3 hours at the dog park-she was one tired puppy!  I had such a fun weekend, I wish they could all be like that!  With a nice recovery week, now its back to the hard stuff.  This week's yardage goals may be a little ambitious (I have a trial at work this week) but that's kind of right up my ally!  : )

I got in bed early enough last night with the best of intentions to get up in the morning and get a nice hard workout in before work.  I could not fall asleep last night though…I don’t think I was actually sleeping until past midnight (after laying in bed from about 9 on).  So I didn’t get up to swim in this morning, and I didn’t make it to work on time.  But the busyness of the day made it go by REALLY fast.

After work, the rain clouds had started to move in, which actually was helpful because I got some inside stuff done that I avoided this weekend (like laundry).  I also got in about a 30 minute VASA workout and my stretch cords.  I got a quick bit to eat in and headed to the pool for a pretty decent 4,000 yard swim.  Since I got to the pool close to 8pm there were hardly any people there.

I am going to stretch for a few minutes and then head to bed!  : )  Good night!

~Em

Sunshine!

What a FANTASTIC day!  Seriously.  First I had put on a swimming clinic at the Summit.  I had 6 people in it, which is the perfect size for what we were doing.  We did under and above water video taping and TONS of drills and stroke work.  They all said that they took a lot away from it, which makes me feel great.  I was able to assist all 6 of them in reducing their stroke counts by at 2-6 strokes per length in just two hours!  I love clinics and the best part was these were all athletes I had not yet worked with before.

Then I went out to Foys Lake and Laura from the news interviewed me and got some shots of me practicing for a news segment they are going to air on Wednesday about my swim.   Laura did a really nice story on my swim last year for Karmyn, she is very good at her job.  After she was done taping, I swam a little more and I think total I did close to 2000 yards maybe.   The lake was so blue today and it was surprisingly warm.  I expected the water to be colder after the week of rain we have had.  I think it was actually warmer than it was last week.  I didn’t use my neoprene shirt under my wetsuit this time, so my arms were exposed and I also did not wear my neoprene cap.  It was a great day for a swim.

After my swim, Katie met me out at Foys with both her dog and mine and I played in the water with the dogs for about an hour and a half.  I forgot to put sunscreen on…and I think I got a little bit burned, but not too bad.  The dogs love swimming so much.  Today Dixie jumped off the docks for the first time to fetch her water toys.  The first time she looked a little shocked when she came up, but after that she was a pro!  She is SO tired tonight though, this evening she went into her kennel on her own before I even started getting ready for bed (where as she usually will go in her kennel when I brush my teeth and she knows its “bedtime”).

As soon as I got home from swimming I got to the yard work I have been putting off due to the rainy days we have been having.  I mowed my entire back yard….which took about 2 hours for two reasons, 1) it’s kind of a big back yard and 2) it had been awhile since the last time I mowed and the grass was like knee high (I am only slightly exaggerating).

So I thoroughly enjoyed this sunny, warm day!  I don’t think there is any place else more beautiful on a nice day than the Flathead Valley.  I hope you guys had a nice day too!

~Emily

TGIF

Okay…I didn’t get up and swim before work like I told you all I would, but……I woke up feeling like I had been beaten…with a baseball bat.  Seriously, I was SO sore this morning.  But its good…sore is good.  I just need to get tougher and get up to workout in the mornings even when I am sore.  I used to be tougher, I swear.  From age 15-25 I did double morning and afternoon practices, nearly year round…but once I got used to sleeping in, it’s a very hard habit to break.

Anyway…I did get my swim in after work.  And although I was sore, my swim felt very good.  My muscles felt a lot looser and my shoulders felt really good.  I did about 3,000 yards.  After my swim I sat in the hot tub, which was wonderful for the soreness factor.

Here is some great Katelyn news….she was accepted into the experimental study in New York with Neuroblastoma specialists which should increase her chances.  The family leaves Sunday.  Here’s a link to the story:

http://www.kaj18.com/news/young-kalispell-girl-to-get-experimental-cancer-treatment/

So anyway, keep little KK in your thoughts, she is one tough kiddo.

Good night!

~Emily

"Don't be fancy, just be dancy"

So….I did NOT get up this morning and swim.  So sleepy!  : )  I did my stretch cords though.  My massage today was WONDERFUL. I fully recommend Jeff Eayrs for Deep Tissue-I am going to be sore tomorrow.  Deep tissue is not a relaxing day at the spa…but it’s helpful to assist in recovery and getting the most out of your body.  The most painful part for me was my back and shoulders…mine are VERY tight.  I’ve also been having tightness in one of my hip flexors and a tiny bit of tightness in my Achilles (these are obviously running and biking ailments, not swimming related).  Post massage my “problem” areas feel much better and Jeff told me a few more hip-flexor stretches to do after running and biking.  Jeff also suggested icing the Achilles as he thinks after my marathon I may have a tiny bit of tendonitis in one foot.

So body’s in good shape today…recovery weeks are kind of a roller coaster for me emotionally though.  I was in SUCH a good mood this morning and most of the day but then a phone call home this evening flipped that all around and left me feeling like the black sheep of the family (which is an overdramatic summary of the conversation, but like I said…roller coaster).  So…I felt sorry for myself for about 5 minutes…then Dixie and I had a dance party in the living room and I’m better.  Pink’s “Raise your glass” at full volume…it solves problems seriously, try it out-that’s your homework!

Anyway…tomorrow is Friday and despite the fact that I am going to be sore when I wake up….the lure of the totally empty pool of Friday mornings all to myself will hopefully be enough to get me out of bed in the am….but if that doesn’t work…I got waffle mix to make for a “reward” breakfast if I get myself up and to the pool.

Anyway…that’s all for me today!  Good night!

~Emily

Short and sweet

Good day!  The office part of the day was just okay.  But after work I managed to squeeze in my 30 minutes of abs and a snack before heading to the pool to coach and then swim.  My triathlon class almost did an extra long workout due to my stellar math skills…but I caught my mistake before they suffered too much on that account.

My workout tonight was a nice light 3,000 swim.  It felt really good and smooth.  The main part of my workout consisted of a Ridley mile…one of my favorite sets.  You start with 11 lengths, then rest, then, 10, 9, 8…all the way down to 1 and it adds up to a mile.  It goes by pretty fast.  We used to do those sets all the time on swim team as a kid.

I got my stretch cords in after swimming and I am going to get in a real quick dinner and get to bed in the hopes that I get up when my first alarm goes off (4:30 am) to get a workout in before work tomorrow because tomorrow is MASSAGE day!  : )  So…..stinkin….excited!

Have a great night!

~Emily