I hit the pool this past week, and I have not lost much of my water skills since my old days of being a pool rat and lifeguard.  I was able to swim 20 laps (up and back) in 22 minutes 16 seconds (I believe it was a little over a half mile).  I was able to do the crawl stroke the entire time, and did not have to pull out old faithful, my favorite stroke which is side stroke.  I also watched the Crossfit Games on TV this past week, and started following them on twitter.  I am trying to organize my workouts into more high intensity workouts.  I watched a video on Kipping pull ups.  I have always seemed to struggle with pull ups.  No matter how much I focus on them and try to increase the number of reps, I always seem to stay at the same level.  However, after watching the video on Kipping pull ups, it looked easy.  Not the case!  I was not able to do a single one where my chin rose above the bar.  However, this was a day after shoveling 11 inches of snow, so I am writing it off to a sore back and tired muscles.  I also added jumping rope to most workouts to get a little extra cardio.  I was able to do 43 double unders in a row, which is a record for me.  I was so tired after that I almost threw up.

On another note, Jake has not had much luck after getting the baby in the King Cake when we celebrated this past Fat Tuesday.  His wish was that his platelets would stay high.  We have had a rough run since then.  One week ago today, he was in the hospital to get his medicine (Winrho).  It usually takes about 5 to7 days for it to take full effect and get his platelets back to normal.  It seemed to be working as he was not showing any more patichi.  However, on Wednesday night, I noticed some spots on his back, and on the day we were snowed in our house (Thursday) he got a slight nose bleed.  On Friday when we tested him, his platelets were back down to 2,000 (150,000 to 400,000 is average).  After talking with the doctors here in Hastings, and also the specialist in Omaha, we were able to figure out a plan of a high dose of steroids for 4 days.  So hopefully this brings his levels back up.

Training continues, but has headed in a new direction for both Terri and I.  A few days ago, Terri and I started talking about maybe doing a sprint triathlon that is put on by the YMCA in the middle of May.  On Friday, Terri brought home the registration form so I guess it is a go go.  The triathlon will be swimming 16 1/2 laps, biking 10 miles, and running 3.1 miles.  So to start preparing for this event, Terri and I both did a bike/run workout.  Yesterday, I rode the bike for 4 miles on a exercise bike at the Y, and then ran 2 miles.  Terri rode about 7 miles outside and then ran for 1 mile.  The bike part of the workout really wipes out the legs which make the run more difficult.  I typically run about a 7:30 pace on the treadmill; however, after riding the bike first, I had to slow it down to a 9:00 mile pace.  I will also need to start getting in the pool more to make sure I will be good to go.  We both thought this would be a good test to make sure we are training right for the Tough Mudder.  If we are happy with our performance on the sprint tri, I figure I will keep doing the same thing.  If I struggle to finish, I will still have 5 or 6 weeks to tweek my workout so I will be ready for the middle of June which is when Tough Mudder is.  It is amazing how fast time is flying by. 

Speaking of the Tough Mudder, donations are still needed.  So please help me reach my goal by donating here:  https://register.toughmudder.com/fundraising/donate.aspx?event=13403&fundraiser=r7473298

We had a big day in the Studley house today!  My baby is not a baby anymore.  Today was Bennet's first day of preschool!  He has been very excited about starting preschool, asking about it for the past 2 weeks.  However, when the big day arrived this morning, he started to have second thoughts.  Instead of wanting to go to preschool, he wanted to go to his daycare.  When we arrived at his school, he wanted "uppie" and wanted to be held the entire time we waited for his class to be picked up.  Looking around, he was the only preschooler that was being held.  It has become clear to me the past few weeks that I continue to look at him as my baby since he is my youngest.  When my oldest was 4 years old, Nolan, our second child, was already 1 1/2, so Jake was viewed as being "older".  BUT BENNET IS MY BABY AND WILL ALWAYS BE MY BABY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  Bennet even got to ride the school bus to his daycare.

It was also Fat Tuesday today!!!  We also celebrated that today with a King Cake and a little lesson from Terri on why we celebrate Fat Tuesday and why there is a King Cake.  When Terri told our kids that the person who got the baby in their piece of cake got good luck for the next year, Jake said he hoped he got the baby in his piece of cake so he would not get petechial any more.  As "luck" would have it, he got the baby in his piece.  Now, since he is king for the day, he is bossing me around and I am currently grounded for the next 20 minutes.  The whole experience was very educational, it was the first time I every tried a King Cake.  I might have some for breakfast tomorrow.

To update you on my workouts, they are progressing nicely.  I am adding more cardio to most all of my workouts, and I felt the benefits on my run today.  I ran 4 miles after getting off work, and it felt good.  If I would not have started my run as late as I did, I would have tried pushing it to 6 miles.  This might be my goal this weekend if the weather stays nice. 

It's been awhile since I have blogged. Ben has been beating me to it. As you have read in Ben's blogs that we were all sick and believe it or not I am still getting over my lingering cough!! After being sick and finally getting back into the workout groove I tried to run on the treadmill and I about coughed up my lungs! So, the run was short lived and disappointing. I began easing back into everything and went to my Monday bootcamp class and coughed a lot there too. I am finally at a point where I don't hack while I am working out but I still manage to cough throughout the day pretty good. I woke up early last Thursday morning and decided to go for a swim before yoga class and try to get my cardio in early. As I began to swim and put my head under water I about drowned. My congestion from being sick was more prevalent that I thought. I had to swim the entire time with my head out of the water which is way harder than I thought it would be.
Yesterday we went and watched my nephew run at the Concordia Invite. That was our boys first time ever watching an indoor track meet. They were bored, go figure. I however had a great time and thought Koby did great. He got second place in his heat in a race that he had never ran before in his life. Since I knew that we were going to be going to Koby's meet in Seward I knew that we would be leaving early and I would not have time to get a work out in, so I again woke up early and went to one of my old favorite classes...Body Pump. One hour of a full body weight lifting class. It was nice to see my old friends there and catch up, however my hamstrings are super sore today! It always amazes me how you can lift weights and workout and then just do one exercise just a tad different and BAM your body is dead! It's a good reminder to keep switching things up.

After having to reschedule our snowboard outing a few weeks ago due to illnesses, we were able to make it to Mt Crescent on Saturday and spent the day learning to snowboard.  Terri, Jake, and Nolan each had a 1 1/2 hour lesson.  I decided to wing and and hit the slopes immediately after arriving.  Mt. Crescent has one main ski slope that was perfect to learn on.  Information indicated it was 1500 feet long, a 17% grade so it was not bad for only having to drive 2 hours to get there.  But wow did that wipe outs hurt.  I am sore in the sides of my neck, next to my esophagus (I think I got whiplash on a few of my wipeouts).  Also, my forearms hurt, either due to strapping on and off my snowboard, or pushing myself up after all of my numerous wipe outs.  After Terri and the boys wrapped up their lessons, I was able to join them on about 3 runs down the slope until Jake and Terri called it a day.  Overall, I was impressed how Terri, Jake, and especially Nolan picked it up.  Nolan could have kept snowboarding all day, but we needed to eat and get back to Hastings. 

On the workout front, last week was a busy work week for me.  It seemed I had either an early, or late, meeting each day of the week.  During the week, if I am not able to start my workout by 5ish, I quickly lose my motivation.  I have a short time window to get it in, and usually, my late meetings throw off my schedule.  However, I was able to get in a weight workout, and also rode the exercise bike a few times last week.  Last Sunday, my old man basketball team got our first victory of the year, I believe we are 1-6 on the year.  We have another game today so hopefully we add another victory.  I would have to say snowboarding was the best workout of the week.  I was drenched in sweat after my first few runs, due to all the wipe outs I had.  If anyone is looking to pickup skiing or teach their kids, I would recommend Mt. Crescent.