spring forward=boo

I used to hate it because in the bars it meant an hour less of drinking. Now, I hate it because it means it's harder to get up at o'dark hundred. Oh, someday, Arizona....
Got letters composed to 4 "randomly chosen" HS's today, and little packets of solicitation.
Went to a chiropractor to help me with my detective work regarding the stress fracture. He took several xrays and is going to "study them and take measurements" before I see him again next week. Seems very reasonable. I liked him. I wonder, however, if I will start glowing in the dark. I have been irradiated a lot in the past couple of months. He told me not to run for THREE MORE WEEKS. I think I will need therapy for that. 5 weeks flew by. No problem. These past 5 days have lasted forever. My swimming is going well, however. I am going to ride outside tomorow. Whoa.

WU: 100 FR
300 DR
300 K
300 FR

I. 2x(3 x 100 FR on 2:05, 4 x 100 IM :20R, 100 FR all out)
200 DR/Swim

II. 9 x 100 FR on 2:15 descend 1-3. 4-6. 7-9. fastest ones :05 secs slower than all outs. My all outs were 1:38, 1:37. I managed to come in 1:39-1:41 on the fastest. I was very happy with that.

CD: 100 DR
200 IM K
100 DR
100 FR
=4200

middle ground

I think some people, like Brad, experience life with a middle ground. I am trying to see if I can go there, or even figure out what it looks like. It is a foreign concept to me. I am trying to not judge myself regarding being an extreme extremist, but use Mary's "isn't that interesting?" Indeed.
Wading through the grant app. Does the 25 page max include the biblio? Does it include the questionnaires? Do I include the questionnaires or just cite them?

Had a good, challenging workout this morning.
WU 1000 - free, kick, drill, kick, free x 200's
I. 400IM, 2x200IM, 4x100IM.
100 loosen
II. 3x(4x100 FR on 1:45 holding 1:25's. 50 EZ) with FINS!
100 loosen
III. 4x50 fly kick on back arms down
3x50 back kick streamline
2x50 breast kick
CD 200 EZ
=4400.
My 100 IM's were all under 2:00 with :20R. That was exciting at the end of the other business.

OK, I am withdrawn from CDA. I also cancelled my hotel reservations that had a nonrefundable deposit. I tried to give the hotel woman on the phone a sob story (which is true) that I have a stress fracture and can't run. She, although expressed regret, did not give me back my deposit. I do get some money back from IMNA. I just would like to say, in writing, for the record, that I do not want to do another IMNA race. I will do a mom and pop IM distance like Boerne, but not IMNA. I am going on record. They are too expensive, and they are too assholey if you need to withdraw - like when Brad had to withdraw from IMCA a few years ago. And this time. However, Gulf Coast Half IM is the nicest of all time, and I would do that race, again. (Because I had to withdraw to get a tonsilectomy, and they gladly refunded at least 80% of my money). That was very cool. And I think they are an IMNA race. Buffalo Springs= not nice, IMCA= not nice, IMCDA= not nice, for the record.
Anyway, I feel relieved, so I am thinking I made the right decision. 400 IM and 5k running races, here I come.

ncaa's

hard to find news about the ncaa swimming champs going on concurrently with basketball. Peter Vanderkaay broke Tom Dolan's long-standing American/NCAA record in 500 free. and Phelps' new 200 IM American record didn't last long - Ryan Lochte of FLA broke it by nearly a second. PVK is a facebook friend. talked with my former facebook friend Aaron Peirsol yesterday. he decided facebook was too addictive, so he took himself off it.

ok, tackling the grant app this afternoon!

thinking

Seriously thinking about withdrawing from IMCDA. #1 I don't feel like doing a 4-6 hour ride every Saturday. #2 if I take summer school, it will be hard to get to Idaho and back in a short amount of time, plus the fatigue, etc. #3 I can't start running for another week and need to work up to a long run of 20 miles in less than 4 months. #4 it feels like a have to and not a get to. #5 I can spend my lump however I want to, and if it means in another couple of years I want to do another one, I could. This is not the last possible IM I can ever do, and even if it is, I have completed 2 and 3/4, and it is not related to my value as a person to do a sub 12 hour IM. I have several PR's with which I am happy. Those can be enough. I am seriously an addict. One is too many and 1000 are never enough. I think that is true with everything in my life.

Pros are: #1 Marie is doing it, and it would be fun to train with her. #2 if I end up training with her, I know myself, and I will want to do the race. #3 I will lose some money from the entry and possibly the hotel. That is not really a pro, but a reason not to withdraw. #4 I will feel like a little bit of a loser that I said I was going to do it, and now I don't want to. That is a silly reason to do it.

I have actually been unimpulsive in considering this. I was going to wait until I saw the doc in a week, but now I want to resolve it, and move forward. I have slept on it many nights. Last night I dreamed I had an affair with Slade Cleaves. Why? In the dream, I thought, oh no, I really don't want to do that. That was good. I am go glad my subconscious has a conscience. At least it feels guilt, even if it doesn't prevent behavior. In the dream I was telling him how I got to play with Ron Wood from the Rolling Stones when I was 18. Wow. That part would have been cool.

I killed 2 giant sequoias for no reason by turning in 4 copies of my proposal to the HED secretary. You are not supposed to give her your actual proposal; you are supposed to give her your IRB proposal. Duh. This is a much shorter document. I feel like an idiot. Oh, well. Lesson learned. Maybe this experience will benefit others - I think she has told several people that is what I did. Yes, I see that it is funny. It is a virtue to laugh at oneself. OK, I am laughing!

workout

WU 200 free
2 x 100 IM
200 pull
2 x 100 IM
200 kick with fins on back

2 x 25 fly :05R
4 x 50 back :10R
6 x100 breast :15R
8 x 200 free, descending 1-3, 5-7, 4 and 8 are easy :20R

12 x 50 breast kick :10R

300 back/drill/back
50 ez free
=4600 it was fun and challenging.

200's were about same both times through. Funny, I don't have a faster than about 1:45/100m pace. With tons of rest, I can get it down closer to 1:35, but I guess the good news is, it doesn't get much slower, even for 500.



HED secretary says IRB will not take 3-4 months. Decided to take SEM this summer. Ugh. But maybe it will make me a better researcher. Afterall, my whole study is self-report survey data. The work is in the analysis and interpretation. I want to be able to make conclusions from my results, and I don't want to use procedures that would not be taken seriously.
Using multiple regression to find 3 mediators would shoot type I error through the roof. And who wants that?

irb

turned in my proposal to the irb - along with 4 copies to the hed secretary which I printed out on the printer in my office. that took about 7 years. talked with a classmate today who told me it takes 3-4 MONTHS to get irb approval. stink a link. I am all in writing mode. this is a good thing, but now I feel disappointed that just as the wind was making my tiny ship sail forward, I am docked. I have no idea what that analogy means, but anyway. so, I decided to try to work on an advocacy manuscript to try to get published in a little journal. plus lana is going to have some data for me soon. I just have to make an appt with the stats people so they can help me figure out what the heck the numbers mean. eek.
REALLY enjoying the weather. love cold mornings and cool days. awesome.
about a week and a half left of not running. can't beat that. and with my 400 IM coming back, I have nothing to complain about. speaking of, I certainly enjoyed having a week off from my clients. god bless them, but I needed a break. yes, I really want you to do 3 sets, and I really want you to use that weight, and yes, it is challenging, that is why we are doing it. ugh.

staying in shape

coach steve is making sure I stay in good cv shape while I can't run. my leg is not hurting too much as of today.
only 2 more weeks!

WU 300 free, 200 IM, 300 pull
I. 3x(400 IM, 3x100). 1st set of 100s back, 2nd breast, 3rd free
II. 12 x 25 fly with fins :15R. I think I may be faster at fly with fins than free with fins. they took 23 secs. I will have to check that out.
III. 16 x 50 K with fins. 1st 8 - on back fly arms down, 2nd 8 - bk flutter
CD 4,3,2,1 breast drill: 3K, 2K, 3,2,1 swim
50 EZ
=4300.

that's 8550 m + 6000 yds since sunday. =approx 14000 meters. could be an all time weekly high. good job
funny i had a dream last night I swam 300 fly. I got 2nd to Michael Phelps by 1:00. I swam it in 4:00. haha
saw Olympic gold medalist Ian Crocker walking into Moncrief today. he is tall. (and, for the record looks better with clothes off.)

ended up working on my proposal ppt most of the day. I think I am addicted to working on it. I like being in my office! I had planned to watch my gay stories and veg, but I just didn't feel like it. isn't that the weirdest thing? I am also completely addicted to starbucks. I know this is not news, but I am trying to take the first step. facebook addiction is gone. contingent upon the maintenance of my spiritual condition. supposed to rain here a lot this weekend.

feeling dumb

After completing my proposal, I sat down to try to tackle this grant application. I can't believe anyone actually receives money from the federal government. It is an extremely complicated process. Ugh.
I am listening to my organ hymn music. It is calming.
Be careful if you leave the house after dark tomorrow. Amateur night #2 + SXSW = DWI. Actually, probably people who get loaded on St. Patrick's Day do so more regularly than the people who get loaded on NY eve. That's just a guess.
I did like Guiness, myself.

not corroborated

Well, the primary care doc who gave me the prednisone did not concur with my hypothesis that it was related to my stress fracture. I figured he would not because I guess I could sue him. That was not on my mind, but of couse I always want to be right.

Sent my proposal off to IRB. 68 pages - most are double spaced. Making the table of contents was harder than I thought. Apparently there is a way to do it in word, but I couldn't figure it out. Oh, well. Every time I read the thing I make a little change. I figured the IRB won't care if a comma is in the wrong place. Hopefully, I am right. The biblio also gets screwy which I have to go in and fix every time I change something. Oh, well.
I am going to work on that dang grant app tomorrow then try to relax on Friday.

Yesterday, someone from Iran visited meredithlouisemiller.blogspot.com. Hello, there. Welcome.
Hopefully, my advocacy for all things gay, all things democrat, and all things obsessive thinking sat well with him/her. I figure we have exactly the same opinions about GWB.
Oh, speaking of all things gay. I heard a Republican congressman from MA talking about banning gays from adopting because "every child deserves a mother and a father." So, in addition to banning divorce to protect the sanctity of marriage, we should ban divorce especially of parents so that every child may have a mother and a father. Great idea.

a little pissed

I have been a little obsessed with why I have a stress fracture. I ran fewer miles/week than I have ever run for a marathon, I get plenty of calcium, I strength train, regular female processes, etc. I was thinking about the prednisone I took for the sinus infections - 2 rounds, then a shot. Of course, as soon as I started taking it I felt 1 million times better so I continued to train. I just looked up side effects of prednisone - inhibits calcium absorption in small intestine! I don't know exactly what this proves or anything, but I knew I wasn't doing anything cuckoo that would make me get a stress fracture like most people who get them do!
Anyway, I am not feeling very motivated today to work on my proposal. Boo. Going to do it anyway.

woke up

woke up REALLY early this morning. just wide awake. no reason. I went to bed fairly early last night, but nothing ridiculous. night before last I slept great, so I can't complain.
swam at the tsc last night due to coach steve's absence. marie was supposed to come, but didn't. I surprisingly staying in the water for 4000 at 5 pm! I was thinking I was going to be too tired.

WU 600 (300 free, 300 pull)
8x50 K
4x50 drill/swim (I did sculling)
The main set was supposed to be 8x300's - odd's IM, evens free
I did (200 IM on 4:00, then 100 IM on 2:00, then 300 pull on 5:00) x 4. It was challenging.
CD 300 EZ kick
100 IM EZ

Brad and I are seeing a CPA today to do our taxes. I drove nearly 2000 miles to do personal training last year. whoa.
I am not feeling too bummed about the stress fracture. my dad said he knew I had one the second I told them I was hurt. I told him he could have saved my insurance company $500 for the MRI. he said I was too skinny. no woman ever tires of hearing that she is too skinny. I weigh the most I have ever weighed in my whole life. I am lean, because I am not any bigger, but I don't think weight is the problem. plus, I don't have any of the risk factors for the female athlete triad. except maybe we hardly ever eat meat. I guess I need to get my protein eating on. my bones are good, I am regular as clockwork, and I definitely don't have an eating disorder. plus, the fibula is not weight bearing. I don't understand why I got it while we were tapering, however. maybe I'll try to get a dexa sometime. this time last year my t score was above normal. +.3. that's really good FOR SOMEONE MY AGE. ugh.

stress fracture

turns out I do have a stress fracture in my fibula. very rare. no running 3 more weeks. had to walk thru the rehab area of st.david's. didn't feel nearly as sorry for myself!
reflecting on the wedding. there were some antiquated things that made brad and me bristle with antagonism - obey, man is boss, etc. but, overall the wedding and reception were nice. it always surprises me when people get drunk at weddings.
JH and "DH" were staying with us. that was fun. I swam in barton yesterday. had my fastest 400 there - 6:56! that was the first loop weaving thru "swimmers." don't ask me how I did that. ate at casa de luz last night. mmm, vegetables.
working on my proposal today. after talking with another professor I am doing a bit of an overhaul.

more from LA

Went riding this morning. I was paranoid of dogs, so I decided to stick to the driveway to the hotel - 2 miles. I had plans to do this 4 mile loop for a couple of hours. After the 4th time of climbing Alp D'Huez, I decided to come inside and ride the trainer. I looked down and my HR was 186. I felt like I was going to throw up. I thought, that is near my HRmax or maybe that fruit I ate this morning was bad. That IS my HRmax. Although, I got it up to 189 the next time. That's good. I can still get it up. haha
Drove into downtown Many to eat at Subway. It was actually very good. We were going to watch the bball game with Matt, but they had to go on an errand for ferns. Right now the weather is pretty nice. Although, there is a 50% chance of Tstorms later. Hopefully they will come and go or wait. The ceremony is at 5. We are going to head back early in the morning. I woke up at 6 this morning for no reason. Of course that is 1-1:30 later than I usually get up, so I guess I slept in.
So far, Texas looks good in the game. Hope they do well.
Orange tower part deux?

went to Matt's rehearsal dinner. it was very sweet. his family and friends are great. this place is out in the middle of nowhere. we are going for a bike ride tomorrow. I don't want to go very far away due to possibility of dogs.
yes, it's 9:10 and I'm still awake. I might stay up until 10 or even 10:30. partay.
this is Brad and my's first getaway weekend in a LONG time. years? it's good to be away from the routine.
I am looking forward to the ceremony tomorrow.

Ga!

For the record, I don't think the water polo team is gay. I just like thinking of them as being gay.
What could be hotter than dudes rolling around together in the water?
I can't think of many things.
Except two cowboys...


Got to eat lunch with Ben yesterday. He is part of a large, San Antonio contingent that I used to hang out with about 15 years ago!!! Whoa. We talked a little about the old days, but mostly about the new days. He writes grants for non profits. He started a non profit that is now run by someone else. Pretty cool. Oregon banned gay marriage, too. Boo.

I am off to swim with Marie. Coach Steve is not going to be there. I hope we stay in the water.
Then a 6 hour drive to LA. I do love weddings, though.

workout

Here's this morning's workout

WU 300 free, 300 fly kick on back (abs!= ouch)

2x(4x100 IM on :20R, 200 IM on :30R) moderate pace

4x50 FR Pu Ez/Fast on :10R
6x200 FR Pu with last 100 fast on :10R

2x400 IM kick last 50 of each stroke fast :30R

200 Br Dr
200Fly Dr
100 loosen
=4500
tired.

Going to Matt's wedding on Friday. Trying to get my IRB app done and work on that grant app. It's complicated!
Planning on taking one spring break day for QAF videos. I was going to make a photo montage of the water polo team using the soundtrack to Brokeback Mountain, but I don't have a crush on them anymore.

AM records

got to see 2 AM records broken last night. 400 IM TMFOAT by Phelps, who was 13 seconds ahead of 2nd place, and the power quadruplet - Neil Walker, my bff, Peirsol, Crocker, and Hansen - broke the AM record in the 200 medley relay. That was really cool.

my record-long crush is also over. thank God because it was driving me a little cuckoo. apparently, the art of conversation is not borne in men until after age 28 or so. I really felt like I was in HS talking with him yesterday, the unpleasant part of HS. I volunteered for the meet, but didn't have much to do. that was ok after I stopped waiting for some job to do. I talked with every person I knew about 1000 times. I am going to try to stay awake and go again tonight, but I couldn't get to sleep last night, and I got up early to go swim with Marie.

I also saw my facebook friends, Phelps and Sandeno. it was funny when I saw them, I wanted to say hi because they look familiar. but, they don't actually know me, so they didn't recognize me. also saw Jason Leezak, Klete Keller, facebook friend, Tara Kirk, some more UT men. they all look cuter with clothes off.

I was thinking there are a few people with whom I could talk about dirt or nothing, and it would be interesting. Brad, TZ, JH, that's about it. I had a huge crush on TZ at one time. I drove around listening to Dave Matthews at full blast thinking about it. funny. I told Brad about the now defunct crush. and we talked about his crushes, which are awesome - 2 women over 40. one may even be over 50. as I lament about aging, that makes me very hopeful.

here's the workout from this morning. I liked it.
meter pool!

WU 400 free, 400 kick with fins
I. 2 x ( 2x25 scull catch, 2x25 scull finish, 2x25 scull thru pull)
II. 2 x (4x100 free on 2:10 moderate pace for me is 1:48ish, 400 free holding faster 100's pace than on the 100's).
III. 200 IM kick, 6x100 fast kick with fins on 1:45 @ under 1:30, 200 IM kick
CD 200 IM ez
=4000
I was tired. the 100's were slow. my effort was high on the 400's, but only on the second time thru did I get my 100 pace below. I did get the kicks under 1:30, but that was hard. burning legs.