The Snot Rocket Barometer

Hi there! Whats new?

I went silent over the last week because quite frankly I was fed up with my body from slipping in the shower that I needed a nice mental break from blogging. There was really nothing new to report other than, "Yep! My ribs still hurt...."

But! Now that my ribs don't hurt as much, I can finally report that I am rallying and coming back a tad stronger.

Swimming:
Swimming was the hardest to return to. Something about arm movement and breathing that gave me an awful stabbing pain in my side. Fortunately that went away after two weeks and I can now swim 2200 yards before that stabbing pain comes back. Fortunately! My swimming endurance didn't take much of a hit. Phew!

Biking:
A week ago I did a short 40 min ride (because 20 mins out I didn't think I was gonna make it back) and got back to my car and was wheezing thinking I was going to suffocate. That subsided and I saw day after day improvement. I was able to knock out a pretty decent 3 hour ride + 30 min brick last Saturday. That settled some worries.

Running:
I can now run up hills without running out of oxygen! Same thing was occuring a week ago where I would run to the top of the hill and just slowly run out of gas (oxygen) and would be gasping for air on the way down the hill. This past Sunday I did an AMAZING 2 hour run on the trails of Rockefeller State Park (where I only got lost 4 times...) and knocked off 2400 feet of elevation over 14 miles all while holding an 8:33 pace. BAM! Happy to see that some of my long run speed is still there.

Oh! And the title of this post: So I have been gauging my long term pain threshold by how little pain I get by blowing snockets (like that one?) off the bike or while running. Its gross, I know, but to do a successful snot rocket, you gotta blow out of your nose really hard and that really uses your rib muscles. The less sharp pain, the better, hence, The Snot Rocket Barometer.

And OH! I am doing a 70.3 this Sunday. Happy Tuesday!