What it take... May 2011
Starting off the new month!
Here is what has been rattling around in my head. I am committed to supporting non-WTC events. We have been saying Wildflower or Rev 3
Cedar Point. I was thinking, why not do both? Not to be fast but to stay fit. Then I was thinking MAYBE carry the fitness and do IMAZ if I can get in on line. So 3 long course events in a year.
What say everyone??
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@Michele: I love that you plan big!
Things here are humming along. Work is good. Busy as usual, but good. School is over for the most part. Have academic hearings for those who cheated. Running and weights are coming along, too. Got in the pool for a few minutes last week and that was nice. I didn't ride Sunday because it was John's day off after his last RR for IMTX. Nice to get to have breakfast together (after a trip to the gym) and some other time, too.
Have started logging my food again which is helping me focus.
I think I'll do a sprint at the end of June. It is a pool swim (which I don't like) but do want to do something. Then, maybe another sprint in August or so. Since John didn't get into NYC Marathon, he wants to do Longhorn HIM in October.
Hope everyone has a great day!
Have a wonderful week y'all!!!
Everyone must be really busy. We are two weeks to IMTX here. Things are going to be crazy at work. I'll tell you guys the news Wednesday morning. :-) I ran three times this week, lifted twice, and biked once. I think I've got a Morton's Neuroma on my left foot. I'm going to a KT taping seminar to get certified next weekend (yes, I get to spend all day Saturday AND Sunday learning how to KT Tape people). I've got my foot taped now because. . . I had the tape. . . and saw the video. I'll have to do it when I run this week.
Hope all you guys are OK!
I'm excited about TOC and IMTX. So many fun peeps to track at IMTX this weekend and so much fun to be had in California next week! It's gonna be a blast.
Celebrated 25 years of "dating" this week with Joe. Our wedding anniversary is later this week (17 years). Having lots of fond memories this week, and also quite a bit thankful cellphones with cameras and facebook wasn't around back then to capture some of them!!
Nemo: Congrats on the anniversary! It is great to see couples who can make it work for a long term commitment. I think that deserves a special #workworks tag. :-)
Sheryl: Keep up the work on losing weight. It is slow, but slow = long term success.
Well, the big day is finally here. The group I work for is now officially the Ironman Sports Medicine Institute at Memorial Hermann. http://ironman.memorialhermann.org/ And, I'm not sure about posting this to the entire forum yet, but you can enter to win an entry to 2012 IMTX here: http://on.fb.me/ironmansportsmed.
I'm not sure what this means as far as my practice, but we are excited. There are a lot of possibilities out there including being at more of the races representing "The Institute." I keep expecting someone to come after me with a tatoo machine to put an M-Dot on my forehead or behind. ;-)
Things are ramping up getting ready for IMTX. I'm feeling like I'm trying to come down with something - scratchy throat, fatigue. We instituted the quarantine plan last night - no smooching and sleeping in separate bedrooms. I don't want John to get sick this close to the race.
Have a great day everyone!
Ladies!
I've missed you! How are you?
@Michele- wow, that sounds like quite a schedule. If you think your body can handle it, your head is in a good place (which it sounds like it is as far as expectations/goals), and Max is on board, awesome! what the heck!
@Nemo- congrats on the anniversary. and have fun in CA!
@Sheryl - I am in a weight gain crisis now. My weight the past 2 months has crept up... to 138.2 (today). I'm a bit frantic about it as I eat pretty well and I'm starting to ramp things up (doing the HIM plan now - doing elliptical instead of running because the plantar fasciitis). I seriously wonder if it's the new birth control Rx I started a couple of months ago... I went from having zero periods for many years to spotting every 2 weeks, so the doc put me on a new Rx to try. I liked it then discovered it didn't have a generic, so 3 months later I went on a new one (that was 2 months ago). I guess I figured the 10lb gain for the pill is only for first timers, maybe not... anyone have any thoughts on that? I'm also wondering how much of it is not running. I've only recently (maybe 2 weeks) been able to tolerate the elliptical (even that hurt my arch/heel)... so I'm improving but oh so slowly.
Before bike crash in Sep. 09 me weight was a steady 128 +/- 2. I got down to 125 when in race mode (and my friends staged interventions begging me to eat). Then there was the crash followed by a Jan 10 hand surgery - so I was out of commission for a solid 6-8 months (only stationary biking) and my weight crept up to about what it is now. Traing last year only got me back down to 132 (as of IMFL) - which bummed me out, believe me. I'd hoped to keep it about there in the off season... and was doing relatively well (well, closer to 134ish) until I could no longer run... then the Rx change... I think I eat well. Mike and I don't eat out much. My wine drinking hasn't been out of control... I just don't know. Argh.
Other than that - getting ready for my first OLY on 5/22. I may DNF because of my foot, we'll see. Doc is happy with the progress and I ran (with his permission) for 15 min yesterday and it was ok (not perfect, but not bad either). I was a bit limpy the rest of the day but woke up pretty good and did 30 on the elliptical and another 15 min jog... so far so good. will see the art/graston doc again tomorrow.
I'm hoping I can finish Eagleman in June... after which I'll have a week's transition then 12 weeks to IMWI... and I hope hope hope I'm running by then! The doc thinks I should be!
Things with Mike are going well... so that's about it from me.
@ Nemo- Loved the old pic of you and Joe, so cute!
@ Penny- from the looks of things your new job lets you do a lot of cool stuff, must be very exciting!
@ Sheryl- Maine = me jealous. I have a great-aunt that has lived in Maine forever, and my mom and I had the chance to stay with her for a week about 2 years ago. Just beautiful up there, so much outdoor stuff to do, I've wanted to go back ever since, and it definitely went on my list of places to live which is funny since every other place on my list has a large-ish city nearby- except Maine!
@ Becky- slow recoveries are extremely frustrating, but sounds like you are going about it the right way. From what I've learned sounds like PF can stick with you forever if you push it even a little too fast. Glad to hear things with Mike are still going well!
I have nothing too exciting to report, I'm slowly working my way back to full workouts after dealing with some of my own knee and foot issues. I don't want the problems to reoccur, so I'm hoping I can continue building. Have a few vacations planned to upper Michigan and the Grand Canyon in the next month, and then my race will be here. The summer seems like it's already flying by and it's barely started! I'm off to heavily medicate myself as I have absolutely awful allergies and right now is when a lot of the pollens, etc. all come out together (fun!). I'm sure people on the running path think I'm a bit nuts as it generally makes me wheeze pretty badly while running. I bet the tourists think I'm going to pass out into the lake at any minute
had a very exciting visit with the ART/Graston doc yesterday... initially he said he'd see me in 2 weeks (very exciting - went from 2/week last week to once this week) but then I asked about my Columbia OLY strategy - and he decided that he should see me next week for a pre-race tune up. Fine. He is cool with me running 30 this weekend to see how it goes and, assuming well, trying the 10k next week. He noted that my problem in the OLY may not be the foot but the lack of training- which, is good news, so he suggested a run/walk strategy - a mile on, a mile off. So, fingers crossed this weekend is okay! Planning to try a brick both days. Happy that DNF may not be in my future although it won't be a particularly good time.
I was hoping to do an RR tomorrow at the Eagleman course, I still may, but the weather is gonna be crappy. I spent some time looking at the race prototocol and listening to the podcast (I listened last year but was an HR athlete so the chart and stuff wasn't that helpful). I guess I assumed I'd ride the HIM in my power Z3 (like I did as an HR athlete). Kinda bummed that my goal watts are only a percentage (I'm thinking 78%) of my FTP - which puts me doing the race in gear 2 which is actually below Z3.
I'm also wondering how the IM pacing guide will work on the hills of WI. I've spent time the past few weekends riding hills to prep for Columbia trying to keep my PN in zone 3 (an ABP ride) and trying like heck to not spike my watts too much on hills. Looking at the IM race protocol (for short hills GW +5% and long hills GW +10%), I wonder how the heck I can keep it that low. Even when I'm in my easiest gears and trying to just spin my watts get pretty high on some of the long or steep climbs. I'd really appreciate your ideas/suggestions as I want to ride WI as smartly as I can!
I didn't do the run test yesterday, obviously... I see next week is bike test week. Gulp. I'm over my last test weight (ugh) and I really want to try to bump up to pass 170 (which is what Coach R pegged me for exiting OS at). I'm at 167 now (started OS at 147). I think the outdoor riding hills has helped, i've noticed my drainer rides have been easier to hit my targets now, at least easier when I first started with these numbers.
@Jennifer - hang in there with picking things back up! and with the allergies (I've never had them before and spent 2 weeks in misery a few weeks back).
@Nemo, et al, have fun in CA!
I'm definitely looking forward to the camp over Memorial Day! I need to learn a lot about hill riding with power and the course, etc!
Mary
Jennifer- sounds like you are taking a good approach to your recovery- very smart. The trip to the Grand Canyon sounds very interesting! What exactly do you have planned? If I recall correctly this was gonna be a trip with your sibling?
Becky- good luck at Columbia and the run/walk sounds like a smart idea. Far better to have a slow time now and still be able to train for Wisconsin! Also- now that you have a PM, you need to sorta "unlearn" what you did as a HR athlete. Just follow the Power guidance and don't get hung up on trying to equate HR zones to Power zones. You'll just frustrate yourself for no reason.
As for the hills at Madison, here's my advice. For l'il peeps like us, there is gonna be a combination of %incline and weight that simply do not permit your FTP to get you up and over exactly at the race gears. Assuming you've done all the other stuff we talk about right (make sure you have a compact crank and a lot of gears on the back), then you simply have to do "the best you can". That means if you are in your easiest gear, spinning as lightly as you can, and you see a power number that is over your gear, well then you are doing what you can and that's good enough.
Don't sweat it- just do the very best you can. This also makes it just that much more important to ride smart over the crest and into the downhill. Getting as close to a VI=1 as possible is your goal. Then let the TSS chips fall where they may.
Joe and I head to Norfolk tonight for our flight to Cali in the morning. 2 hour drive to the airport combined with a 6:00am flight equals getting a hotel room near the airport for the night
I'm new to EN (trial membership now, probably going to join) - and it's great to see a bunch of women triathletes in one forum! I feel like my husband has so many training partners, but I just don't know many women into triathlon where I live. It probably doesn't help that we've got 3 young kids plus I work as an ob/gyn - so lots of my training is solitary.
So, have you all found EN to be helpful in general? What do you think of the training volume? What's your experience with Rich and Patrick?
Thanks so much,
Janine
I am a new member of EN (since January) and love it! I used to work with Patrick's wife, so do know P., but not R. It wouldn't matter if I knew neither one of them though, the strength is in the team and in the forums. The price is right and the feedback is amazing, on whatever topic you have questions on. I've met a few people on the team in the Boston area and all have been great! I also have 3 little ones (5y, 3y and 9mos). I know what it feels to need "me time" and this is perfect. I can get my workouts done and still have really QT with my kids. I believe in the quality vs. quantity. EN has helped me bounce (almost there) back to pre-prego state.
So, go for it! They even have a policy that if you don't like it you can quit, no questions asked. No brainer!
Hope to see you in the forums!
Dottie
@Nemo - thanks, that makes me feel better...looking at the guidance and the gear chart I thought I was nuts! Have fun in CA. Glad Joe is going with you this year - so you can spend your anniversary together this year (at least I think this was your anniversary weekend... maybe it was another weekend you were training/racing last year).
@Janine - welcome! I've found the forums super helpful (like Dottie said). I've been more of a lurker the last few months bc of work and other stuff...but last year this form imparticular got me through my summer and my first IM. The women here are super supportive and smart. There's nothing we don't talk about here, seriously. And through EN I've met a few ladies that are local to me that I've trained with off and on, which is nice (but, like you, I end up doing a lot of solitary training bc of HR training and now power zone training... I stick to the EN plan and let others go by and don't let it bug me).
Columbia is my first race. I'm not at all worried about it. In part bc I've ridden out there 2x in the past few weeks and in part bc I'm looking at it like another training weekend... to be honest, I'm more terrified of my trip to WI over Memorial Day! I'm way over weight and just starting to run again - so my plan is to just stick to my training plan this weekend. I may do a 3 hour ABP ride Saturday (per my HIM plan) and then go as hard as I can at the race Sun doing a run/walk for the 10k. It's kind of nice not thinking about it as a race.
Speaking of training weekends... the weather held up and I went to Cambridge this past Saturday with 2 friends to get ready for EM. I gave them the choice of doing my interval workout of doing a RR ride. They chose the RR ride and that's what we did. It was interesting for me to have my gear chart and to focus on that. More interesting bc wind is treated like a hill... and for a long slow hill we're supposed to be at GW+5%...well, anyone who's done EM knows that the whole course can potentially be windy and this past Sat it was. So, I made a choice to try to stay between 134 (GW) and 140 (+5%) and my PN at the end was 137. My TSS was higher than the chart suggested, but my IF was .8, essentially the high end of where I wanted it to be. So, I'll say the ride was a success. I ran for 30 minutes afterwards (not a true RR), doing 5 min on and 1 minute walking. I didn't pay attention to pace at all (also not EN protocol) just because I'm trying to just get used to it again. All told, I averaged 10mm. Not too bad. I slept in today and will do either elliptical or a run/walk for an hour tonight. If I do a run-walk, I'll definitely stay in my recovery zone (regardless of what the schedule calls for) and add more walking minutes between running sets. Hopefully I can run for 40' total.
So, that;'s it for me. Want to lose 10 lbs by EM. I know that 's not gonna happen... but this next month I'm going to cut back on my treats and the things that were on the "no" list during the cleanse (sugar, caffeine, gluten, dairy...with the exception of a decaf with skim milk once a day, if at all).
@Dottie/Becky - thanks for the welcome! I'm just learning my way around these pages, and trying to figure out where to post what. Discovered the wiki yesterday - wow! It's going to take a little while to read through all the great info there.
Doesn't it just figure - I got hit by an evil virus this week - fever, chills, hurts to just walk across the room much less run for a hour - so my much-looked-forward-to training plan is not getting off to a very solid start! Oh well, I'll try not to freak out about losing fitness, but it is frustrating. Especially since it comes at the end of a 2-week break after running Eugene marathon. I've learned the hard way that training too soon after a marathon = injury.
@ Becky - don't worry, the 10 lbs will come off. It might take 2 or 3 months, but it will come off! I tend to gain/lose the same 5 lbs over and over, and have never actually made it to my supposed "racing weight" of 116 (I did this calculation from Matt Fitzgerald's book - don't know how much stock to put in it). I tend to hover around 125, closer to 120-122 when in peak shape, but I know how frustrating it can feel to see the needle creeping up again towards 130. (Hey, is this TMI? I would probably never discuss my actual weight with my neighbors, for example). So for me, figuring out my diet triggers is really helpful in cutting out the extraneous crap in my diet. I've learned, for example, that a latte at 4pm often leads to a cookie at the same time. Not good. Or that a beer at night after the kids are in bed often leads to potato chips. Again, not good. Good luck!!
So - here's a training question: I live in a very hilly area. I can find flat places to run, but it's impossible to bike on the flats. I'm not used to doing intervals on the bike - how do I incorporate these with the hills? Are the workouts all designed for flat riding? Or do I just do the workout as written, hills included? (e.g. it's hard to do a recovery minute or whatever when I'm in the middle of a huge climb) - any input?
Second training question: Do people in EN do any core work? I don't see it in the training plans. I am core-challenged, so need to figure out how to incorporate this with the training.
Thanks,
Janine
This Women's Forum is the absolute BEST! I participated so much last year, as it was really the place to be, (still is!) and get support. To all the new ladies out there, WELCOME! So nice to see the other ladies back on here...Becky...Nemo...Sheryl... etc. I'm doing IMLOU this year, and will give it 100% and WILL finish, if it means crawling across the finish line!!
@Janine, as for riding flats and intervals, I would suggest doing those workouts on the trainer, since you have hills everywhere. Have to tell you what an advantage you have, living in a hilly area and biking on hills!
Wish I could head to WI for Memorial Day weekend, to train w/my EN peeps, but don't think I can swing it now.
Hope all are doing well and take care for now!
Barb
Just a quick post to check in. Glad to see some new faces here and some "old" ones back. I love reading everyone's posts.
I've lost my voice so am resting it per Dr. orders today. Hopefully, it will be back tomorrow so I can work the IMTX expo.
Take care every one!
@Barbara - hugs... what a crazy winter you've had. Glad you're getting through it. Still lots of time to get ready for and conquer LOU, so excited to track and cheer for you. I'll miss you at camp over Memorial Day!
@Janine - I will actually continue to do my weekday ride on the trainer throughout the season to be sure I'm hitting my targets. I'm new to power and will be training for a hilly race, so I wondered the same things about getting the Sat interval ride in. I'll do my best and see what happens. I plan to do both weekend rides on hills to prep for WI we'll see what happens.
@Penny - take care of that voice. I noticed your FB post and laughed at the exchange you had with your doc when you told him/her doc you were going to work.
It's bike test day for me (I exited OS to do the last few weeks of the HIM plan, but will count this on the US v. rest of world). I've always tested after work (get better numbers than I do at 5:30am)... fingers crossed. Coach R pegged me at 170. I'm at 167 now. So, 170 is my goal. I have noticed the outdoor riding has made it easier for me to hit my targets inside...
I've also dusted off the Lose It app on my iPhone and am tracking calories again. Hopefully it will work. It certainly keeps me honest and makes me stop and think before I mindlessly snack. I'm very glad fruit is back so I can snack on melon and berries, etc... and hopefully when IM training ramps up I can add raw nuts and brown rice cakes and nut butters.
I just need to vent for a minute. Prepping for my first HIM of the season in 3 weeks. Looked up my PR (only 1 other race at this distance). I am terrified that I will not PR (or even come close). I have been working so hard on my bike and not seeing results. Only 10W gain all OS and then I get on my tri bike and I lose 22W. I'm getting very nervous that this tri thing is just not for me. I know it's all for fun but for me fun is racing, working hard and getting faster. RR Saturday, hoping that it goes well. Trying to follow the EN guidance, but very disappointed to know that I will most likely be where I was 2 years ago when I had no training, no PM, a less aero bike etc.
Ok rant over. Thanks for letting me spill!
I'm sure you'll be fine once you're tapered. I'm not going into Quassy expecting a PR. People say it's a tough course! Hopefully I'll feel stronger though, than what I would have felt if I had done it before, pre-EN. I don't think it's realistic to compare Quassy to my last HIM, but I guess it depends what your first one was.
Everyone seems to feel the same mini-anxiety I'm having about getting back into race season coming off a not-so-stellar OS. Oh well! I just got back from Mackinac Island which was great. No cars, got to bike and run around the island. Of course my bad allergies turned into a sinus infection which has been awful, but hopefully the antibiotics start to help! Aside from that I'm gearing up for some Madison riding next weekend.
@ Nemo- I was planning on going with my brother, but he's in post-college job search mode, so we put it off. But, it just so happened my dad and family were planning to go out there for a week this summer and invited me to go along. I'm excited!
Ok...again...have been off. I hate the commute. I thought I wouldn't but I have so little time for anything extra. Sounds like everyone is busy!!! Nemo...congrats on 25!!! Lots of hard work got you there.
Penny, what is Morton's Neuroma? I'm looking it up!
Sitting here tracking IMTX . The video feed has been horrendous.
OK...so we are moving to Freeport, ME. Archie got the offer on Friday. They told him on Tuesday that he could expect to hear something on a possible "finalist" interview in two weeks to a month. They called him the next day to come in for a meet and greet with the team, then called him the next day with a fantastic offer. I'm in chrome vapor lock. Not looking forward to being left behind to pack but looking forward to making the change. I will so miss our youngest daughter.
Leaving at 4 AM for Shelby's second race of the season. She is struggling with running. I'm going to have her read the Daniel's running book.
Y'all take care! Sorry I didn't mention everyone in note. I'll catch up this week. Promise!!
@Nemo: TOC sounds great! Can't wait to see the blog and details.
@Sheryl: Glad you have some clarity on the move. Things will be crazy, but at least there is a light at the end of the tunnel. What is the Daniel's running book?
@Jennifer: Mackinac sounds great. I have heard great things about it!
@Carly: Have a good race! Don't stress about your performance until the time comes. Worrying about it now doesn't do any good. There isn't anything you can do about it. Just relax and get ready for it.
@Becky: You are welcome to join us using myfitnesspal!
WOW! What a couple of weeks. My voice came back Wednesday afternoon. I worked the expo for a couple of hours, met John for dinner, then went back to the hotel and rested. Thursday and Friday were a lot of fun at the Expo. We were pretty steady which was nice. It kept the time moving. I got to see lots of friends and EN'ers. Race day was long and fun. John had a great race - PR'd by about 30 minutes. I was glad to be at the host hotel which was on the race course. I also had my hybrid bike for getting around which worked out well. Still tired. Back at work today but have tomorrow off and a massage.
My training plan for the NY marathon starts this week! I'm really excited. I was thinking about doing a couple of sprints this fall, but now I'm questioning that. I really want to focus on the running and having a good race in NY. However, I do like the cross-training. I also have to keep lifting to keep my hips and legs strong to keep running. I'm following a training plan from CoachP and his Marathon Nation. I can't wait to see how it goes.
Other than that, John and I are trying to adjust to post-Ironman life. He has this week off and is supposed to be finishing some projects around the house. I can't wait to get them done! We started removing the wallpaper and painting the bathroom LAST SUMMER! We made a lot of progress over Christmas. Now all that is left to be done is painting the woodwork. And, I think he wants to add another coat to the walls. I just want it done. I know the dogs are going to love having him around this week.
As for work, we are now trying to figure out what post-IMTX life is going to be like, too.
@Carly - hugs to you. Hang in there. I know what you mean... last year my June HIM time (as a HR EN athlete) was a hair slower than it had been the previous year when I didn't know what I was doing. This year I really don't even think I can compare any of them as I'm not sure what my run will be like - likely a 5-1 as I continue to improve and move forward with the plantars. Bottom line, racing has to be fun. I totally hear ya though, my worst critic and biggest competitor is me and I hate it when I don't improve. But that just makes me more determined.
@Sheryl - congrats to your husband. It's nice that you finally know what your future holds. Sorry that you'll be separated by distance from your daughter... but you'll make it work.
@Nemo - welcome home, glad you all had a great time (and there were no injuries this year)!
@Penny - thanks, I'll check out myfitnesspal. Now that you mention it I do remember you guys talking about it here. But I've been hit or miss on the forums the last few months...
All is okay with me for the most part. I had a great bike test last week. Jumped to 183 (from 167). I started OS at 147 so that's super cool. Not so cool is that I didn't come close to hitting my Z4 watts on the 2x20s this morning and I was a total sweaty mess... oh well. I tried. I did my first OLY this past weekend. I planned to do a 4/2 run/walk to get through it and I did. My swim time was slightly slower than the last time I did that race and a minute or two off my last OLY race swim (a PR)...and it felt long. My endurance is not there. I guess it's really time to get back to the pool at least 2x a week (this was only my 5th total swim of the season). I don't know why I dread it so much to start the season. Maybe because last year was so long... and the workouts are crazy long (at least for a HIM distance race).
Work is totally annoying. I had a really bad day last Monday and that pretty much put me in a crappy mood for the rest of the week and I'm doing my best to salvage my attitude. Some days are better than others.
Things with Mike are okay. Still have mixed feelings... trying to sort them out. I don't see him on the weekends and by Sun afternoon I'm like Mike who? But then we get together and it's fun... mostly. he's dealing with a lot of work stress and has suffered a setback with his marathon training... so he hasn't been quite himself. I'm trying to assess if that's all there is to it. I've talked to him about it a few weeks back and he said that he thought it was just work (not exactly reassuring), but for the next few days he made more of an effort... we'll see... Tuesday is not a day I usually see him. Tomorrow he has a meeting so I won't see him til late. Thursday we're going to a play so there won't be much talking... and then it's the weekend. Hmm... I hate it when my head runs away with me.
This weekend is WI training... it's going to be brutal! So far my longest ride is 56 miles and that was flat (to prep for the HIM). I have been riding hills (the OLY last weekend was hilly) but 100 miles on Sat and another 80 Sun... of hills. Oh man, this is going to be a very rude awakening. At the very least my pancake flat HIM on 6/12 will seem like a piece of cake,
okay, close enough to quitting time for me... gonna head to the pool tonight to do yesterday's swim (needed a rest day after the OLY).
hope everyone is doing well!
Ladies, thanks for the words of encouragement. I had a solid RR and a solid trainer ride today. I'm feeling better about letting the numbers be what they are and focusing on executing.
@ Nemo, Michele, Kit and Leigh-so jealous of all the great riding. Looks like you ladies had an amazing time!
@ Sheryl-big move ahead. I'm sure you are glad to know where you are headed anyway. My sister lives in Old Town, a bit north of Freeport (more in the boonies). Let me know if you have any local questions. She really likes it up there.
@ Becky- I hear you about getting back into the training routine. I had to force myself the first few weeks of this HIM plan. Sometimes I really enjoy the low volume of the OS. Maybe too much!
@ Penny-sounds like you are feeling better! Tough to lose your voice like that.