I'm IN IT--my term for training a lot, hard, and barely finding time to do other things besides work, train, eat, sleep, stretch, fix bottles, wash bottles, acquire food.
This week I'm doing FOUR brick workouts because next week I'll be in Colorado Springs on business, and I'm not taking a bike so I'll be running pretty much every day, pretty much A LOT. I am fortunate, though, in that there are a lot of people out there who run, so I have 3 running dates (out of 4 days) lined up. One of them is for this: http://www.inclineclub.com/ I'll be doing the Thursday workout, which is essentially running partway up Pike's Peak (and also down, I assume!). What the hell! I may die doing it, but it will be fun. My hotel is only 2 miles from the YMCA, so I'll be swimming in the morning and running either at lunch or after work. What's awesome is that I don't have to goad anyone into running--there are many volunteers! I just hope I don't hold any of these folks back. I get to meet a host of people that I've worked with but never met in person, so that will be fun, and I've got some nice lunch and dinner dates, too, including my favorite, SUSHI! It will be a nice change of scenery, and I guess that this will qualify as my "high altitude camp" for the year! I should finish out next week with over 40 miles of running, and I'll be home Friday night so I can get back on my horses Saturday and Sunday and still get in 7 hours of biking for the week (and knowing me like I do, probably more than that).
I am shocked at how quickly I transitioned from itty-bitty 12-hour training weeks to 17+ gonzo fucking shit! But I'm here, and it's going well. The only downside is that when I train this much, sleep tends to go down. Partly because the days are so long now and the sun comes up so early and that's pretty much my alarm clock (along with the birds singing, which I love). Partly because (put on your gross filter NOW) with all the training comes a revved up metabolism that wants to dispense with waste products EARLY and OFTEN. Aside from maybe the sun waking me up, I am waking up hungry and I have to crap NOW. Funny how I never see articles in the triathlon magazines about THAT part of Ironman training! I think I have just passed the point where my body actually doesn't have to shit every time I go for a run! Although it knows that it's OK if I have to, because the porta-potties have been placed at all the parks along my running routes, so I'm never that far from sweet relief! I swim M/W/F, and there have been a few times where I wake up, eat, go to the pool, I'm hungry while I swim and/or I have to get out to use the facilities, and we are not talking about #1 here. Thankfully, everything is pretty much "through the system" by mid-afternoon, and I can focus on just eating and working.
You KNOW the feeling when you are running--maybe you have to go, maybe not. But once you see that porta-potty, your brain is screaming LET'S GO RIGHT NOW and there is no stopping the urge at that point. During one run last week, I was on that program and there was someone in the porta-potty, and I was knocking on the door and admonishing him/her to hurry it up!
This spring it seems as if a switch has been flicked whenever I run off the bike. I mean I KNOW how to do it, and I'm running really well. Maybe because of doing back-to-back brick workouts for a few months late winter? Maybe because I've spent the last 2 years running just a whole lot? Whatever, it's nice when you experience breakthroughs. And wherever I go from my house, there are hills. I just have to decide whether I want to go out with or against the wind, and how steep I want to go. Plus I'm scared shitless that I am going to die next week in Colorado Springs, so I have been thinking about that when I want to slow down or walk during the brick runs. There's been a lot of "OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD" during these runs lately (and I do say it or yell it out loud, and sometimes even F bombs while climbing hills), which is a combination of the usual it being a brick run which sucks in and of itself, I'm training a ton and my body would be happier in the horizontal position, I'm starving, I'm asking myself why am I doing this, and yet I keep going. I know I'm incredibly lean--I feel like I'm leaner than ever right now based on how my face looks--you know--the drawn cheeks that are sculpted from all the miles. But don't worry--my thunder thighs are not going anywhere!
Anyone with a gun is welcome to come over to my house and shoot all the rabbits that are multiplying in my white trash neighbors' yards. I expect some rabbits, but when people leave huge brush piles, they are just inviting more rabbits and way too much rabbit sex. Oh well, one of my good neighbors said he had one of the local red-tailed hawks munching a bunny in his front yard! I LOVE food chain action! It's part of nature. He commented that the burgeoning rabbit population would attract foxes and coyotes, to which I said, "Bring it on!" And then maybe the coyotes would also kill off the little rat dogs that are yipping constantly.
I only have to swim today!!!! Well, and maybe lift weights, because I haven't done any of that this week. We shall see about that!
Have a great weekend, and if I don't post next week, it's because I'm passed out on some mountain in Colorado!
Friday, May 04, 2007
Sunday, April 29, 2007
Weekly Workout Totals 04/23/2007-04/29/2007 and Progress
Today was another absolutely gorgeous spring day here. I headed out just after 6AM to drive to Union, IL, to do the Spring Forward ride. My plan was to ride the 62 miles and then go out again for another 18 to get in a solid 80. The weather called for increasing winds, no worries, I like wind.
I drank probably 48 oz. of water throughout the night last night, probably because I ate a lot of highly salted food, and probably also because I am just running high octane lately, so I didn't make it 57 miles without needing to stop and pee. But I made a quick stop, and shortly I arrived at the ride start.
I asked some stranger man next to me to put sunscreen on my upper back, to which he gladly obliged, paid the money and declined the bag of stuff, except for the required bib number and a fun-size Snickers bar, which I knew would come in handy later.
I was rolling by 7:28AM, and I started out with arm warmers, which worked out great. Starting temp was about 55, but projected high was 80. The winds were fairly calm for about 1 hour, and that was enjoyable. The course was mainly flat with rolling country/farmland roads. There was ONE hill, and I remember approaching it thinking, "Cool! Bike on hill action." And then I realized what I thought, like being in a porno flick. It made the climb go quite easily.
I was passing people all day, men and women, and was just riding what I thought to be upper steady. When nearing the one and only rest stop in a park called Marengo Ridge, there was a cute sign as you turned in that said, "OH SHIFT!" I got a great chuckle out of that. At the rest stop they had a TRAY O' MEAT, which I totally appreciated (it was chunks of lunch meat, and I gravitated towards the salami), as well as a huge assortment of other goodies. I had some meat, pound cake, a Rice Krispies trest, and then reloaded my bottle to circle around and come back to the same place.
There was a long stretch into a now fairly stiff headwind. Here I passed lots of people. It seems that many people just give up in the wind. Since I ride by power, I just focus on holding a good wattage, and whatever speed that gets me is just fine. Plus, I knew we would eventually turn and go back the other way, which when we did, I just hammered away.
Back to the same rest stop for more meat, pound cake, and this time, I slugged down about 8 oz. of Coke, which I had brought with me. I have no idea why they don't have cold Coke on these rides. I told one of the volunteers that they should, and she was all like, "oh but the fizz." I told her that a lot of pro riders do the Coke thing, and that the fizz really isn't a big deal at all. My Coke went down just fine, although mixed with spicy meat I had a bit of a bloaty tummy for a few miles, but no worries.
All day there were plenty of farm animals to view--chickens, sheep, pigs, horses and cows. At one point a rooster started crowing, so I crowed right back at him! There were lots of dogs, but all of them were either leashed, fenced or invisible-fenced, so none of them were chasing after us.
About 5 miles from finish, I rolled up on a small group, and it appeared one of them was a bit faster than the rest. I passed them all, and then the guy comes up beside me, and I said, "Come on, let's go!" He said he needed to wait for the others and that he had been holding back all day, and I told him if they are truly friends they will understand if he peels off at this point. I convinced him. His name is Harold, and it was nice to push it in (against headwinds) with someone else, but we were chatting the entire time, too. Harold gave me his email address, and maybe one of these days we'll be able to ride someplace else.
Back at my car to get some more Coke, it turned out this one guy who had passed me going into the rest stop (to which I yelled at him, "SHOW OFF") was parked right next to me. He and his buddy and I talked about power meters, which was fun, and how we train with them and all that. It was nice to be talking with men who weren't all condescending as if I wouldn't know anything. And of course, they complimented my "awesome rig."
As I headed out for another 18 miles, I thought I didn't need to do all of that and that I would just ride out for maybe :15 or :30 and turn around, but then I decided to follow the course. Boy did the wind pick up! I was about dying on this one stretch, and a SAG wagon asked me for my number, and I tried to tell the guy I had enough fluid and such. I was hoping he didn't think I was just out for 18 miles on THAT BIKE!
I managed to throw in a bit of lostness at the end just to complete my day, and I ended up with 85 miles overall, not bad. I made sure to stop at the registration area to let them know I was done and OK, and the SAG drivers were pretty smiley at me and said they were happy to watch after a pretty girl! It did make me feel good that they were out there and I thanked them heartily, drove home, ate, went out into the yard for about 3 hours and I am about ready to pass out!
The totals for the week are pretty happy, and knock wood, I am still feeling pretty good! Let's see if I can wake up tomorrow morning and swim 3500 yards!
Weekly Totals 04/23/2007-04/29/2007
Swim: 10000 yards (5.68 miles) in 3.48 hours; 18% of weekly workout time; approx. 1220 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 156.62 miles in 8.95 hours; 47% of weekly workout time; approx. 4839 calories burned
Run: Approx. 34.34 miles in 5.13 hours; 27% of weekly workout time; approx. 2328 calories burned
Strength: 1.57 hours; 8% of weekly workout time; approx. 393 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 196.64 miles in 19.13 hours; approx. 8780 calories burned
Sleep: 8.07 hours avg./night
Stretching: 3.3 hours. Massage: 1.5 hours
I drank probably 48 oz. of water throughout the night last night, probably because I ate a lot of highly salted food, and probably also because I am just running high octane lately, so I didn't make it 57 miles without needing to stop and pee. But I made a quick stop, and shortly I arrived at the ride start.
I asked some stranger man next to me to put sunscreen on my upper back, to which he gladly obliged, paid the money and declined the bag of stuff, except for the required bib number and a fun-size Snickers bar, which I knew would come in handy later.
I was rolling by 7:28AM, and I started out with arm warmers, which worked out great. Starting temp was about 55, but projected high was 80. The winds were fairly calm for about 1 hour, and that was enjoyable. The course was mainly flat with rolling country/farmland roads. There was ONE hill, and I remember approaching it thinking, "Cool! Bike on hill action." And then I realized what I thought, like being in a porno flick. It made the climb go quite easily.
I was passing people all day, men and women, and was just riding what I thought to be upper steady. When nearing the one and only rest stop in a park called Marengo Ridge, there was a cute sign as you turned in that said, "OH SHIFT!" I got a great chuckle out of that. At the rest stop they had a TRAY O' MEAT, which I totally appreciated (it was chunks of lunch meat, and I gravitated towards the salami), as well as a huge assortment of other goodies. I had some meat, pound cake, a Rice Krispies trest, and then reloaded my bottle to circle around and come back to the same place.
There was a long stretch into a now fairly stiff headwind. Here I passed lots of people. It seems that many people just give up in the wind. Since I ride by power, I just focus on holding a good wattage, and whatever speed that gets me is just fine. Plus, I knew we would eventually turn and go back the other way, which when we did, I just hammered away.
Back to the same rest stop for more meat, pound cake, and this time, I slugged down about 8 oz. of Coke, which I had brought with me. I have no idea why they don't have cold Coke on these rides. I told one of the volunteers that they should, and she was all like, "oh but the fizz." I told her that a lot of pro riders do the Coke thing, and that the fizz really isn't a big deal at all. My Coke went down just fine, although mixed with spicy meat I had a bit of a bloaty tummy for a few miles, but no worries.
All day there were plenty of farm animals to view--chickens, sheep, pigs, horses and cows. At one point a rooster started crowing, so I crowed right back at him! There were lots of dogs, but all of them were either leashed, fenced or invisible-fenced, so none of them were chasing after us.
About 5 miles from finish, I rolled up on a small group, and it appeared one of them was a bit faster than the rest. I passed them all, and then the guy comes up beside me, and I said, "Come on, let's go!" He said he needed to wait for the others and that he had been holding back all day, and I told him if they are truly friends they will understand if he peels off at this point. I convinced him. His name is Harold, and it was nice to push it in (against headwinds) with someone else, but we were chatting the entire time, too. Harold gave me his email address, and maybe one of these days we'll be able to ride someplace else.
Back at my car to get some more Coke, it turned out this one guy who had passed me going into the rest stop (to which I yelled at him, "SHOW OFF") was parked right next to me. He and his buddy and I talked about power meters, which was fun, and how we train with them and all that. It was nice to be talking with men who weren't all condescending as if I wouldn't know anything. And of course, they complimented my "awesome rig."
As I headed out for another 18 miles, I thought I didn't need to do all of that and that I would just ride out for maybe :15 or :30 and turn around, but then I decided to follow the course. Boy did the wind pick up! I was about dying on this one stretch, and a SAG wagon asked me for my number, and I tried to tell the guy I had enough fluid and such. I was hoping he didn't think I was just out for 18 miles on THAT BIKE!
I managed to throw in a bit of lostness at the end just to complete my day, and I ended up with 85 miles overall, not bad. I made sure to stop at the registration area to let them know I was done and OK, and the SAG drivers were pretty smiley at me and said they were happy to watch after a pretty girl! It did make me feel good that they were out there and I thanked them heartily, drove home, ate, went out into the yard for about 3 hours and I am about ready to pass out!
The totals for the week are pretty happy, and knock wood, I am still feeling pretty good! Let's see if I can wake up tomorrow morning and swim 3500 yards!
Weekly Totals 04/23/2007-04/29/2007
Swim: 10000 yards (5.68 miles) in 3.48 hours; 18% of weekly workout time; approx. 1220 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 156.62 miles in 8.95 hours; 47% of weekly workout time; approx. 4839 calories burned
Run: Approx. 34.34 miles in 5.13 hours; 27% of weekly workout time; approx. 2328 calories burned
Strength: 1.57 hours; 8% of weekly workout time; approx. 393 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 196.64 miles in 19.13 hours; approx. 8780 calories burned
Sleep: 8.07 hours avg./night
Stretching: 3.3 hours. Massage: 1.5 hours
Happy, Happy!
Thought I'd post since I woke up early (I rarely need an alarm clock), since I'm riding long today.
Yesterday it was a little chilly in the morning even though the high was supposed to be 70 or so, so I did some house stuff in the early morning while everyone else in my neighborhood was asleep or something. It was an absolutely beautiful day. The birds were singing, geese were honking, ducks quacking, and not much car traffic. It makes me laugh when people say they need to "get away" to experience nature. Get outside at 5 or 6AM and enjoy it!
After a bit of yard work, I checked the clock to see if I still had time to make it to the grocery store before riding--I decided I needed to start riding by 9AM in order to get in 2 hours on the bike, a :45 run and then make it to the pool between 12 and 1PM to swim :20.
I was smiling at the grocery store, because my cart clearly reflected that I'm training a lot now--Nutter Butters, Cheetos, peanut butter and cheese crackers, Gummi bears, deli salads and lots of Gatorade. Sounds like a lot of junk food, but trust me, I don't eat a lot of it on any given day. The Nutter Butters are more for Triple T (Cindy and I LOVE them) and for a race rehearsal weekend or two before IMLP. The Cheetos are for salt replacement after 2+ hour workouts (lots of those these days). The crackers are to stash in my jersey on long rides. The Gummi bears are to top off my calories at the end of the day when there is no more room in my stomach for bulk yet I need more calories. The deli salads are to ensure I get some veggies with dinner, as I won't have time to "cook" for a few weeks. And then the Gatorade--I am going through 6-7 of the 32 oz. bottles a week now.
I started my ride a bit late, but no worries. I warmed up fairly easy for about :30, and then I decided to just "ride hard" for :20 intervals, but when I got to :20, I figured I could go for :30. So I did 2 of those plus a bit more, and man, I banged out 2 full hours at 92% of threshold power! Not bad considering the first :30 was just noodling around. While I was out riding, I saw 3 people I know--Debbie, Jennifer and Craig. While they have never seen my new bike before, somehow they recognized me. I think it must be my legs or something that gives me away--I dunno. All I know is that I was smiling a lot while riding, and enjoyed every minute of it, and there were very few asshole driver moments.
As usual, I didn't know how I'd be able to run after such an intense ride, but I had no trouble at all, even though, as expected, I felt like puking most of the time. But it seems this spring there is something different about when I run off the bike--almost like the harder I ride the better I run. I guess in retrospect it was a good idea to do those stinky super sprint races over the winter.
I didn't start in time to hit the pool between 12 and 1, so I ate some lunch and went to swim at 2PM. I was pretty tired and didn't really feel like swimming, but I know that these short recovery swims are good for me, so I did it; and besides, I wanted to hit 10,000 yards for the week! After the swim, I hit the sauna to stretch for about :10, and then I headed to the bike shop to pick up Bitchie. I stopped at the running store to chat with a friend (the owner, Pat) and met a guy, Fred Faller (sp?), who's a good rider and just a nice man. We shared "bike rage" stories and talked about all who we know in common. My world gets smaller every day, but that's a great thing! Each of us knows someone who the other knows. Actually several. There was a woman buying stuff, and to me she looked 5-10 years older than me. Turns out she's younger. That gave me a boost, as even though I'm feeling my age, I guess I still don't think I look as (excuse me, here) "haggardly" as some women who do this stuff. Maybe I have good skin or something. I think there's a fine balance between leanness and muscularity, and some women are quite lean, but don't have a lot of muscle, and that doesn't make your skin look so good. So I guess if nothing else, that's where my years of strength training pay off. I work very hard to retain the muscle I have, and OK, so I'm a little vain about it, but it sure beats just being skinny!
When I got home, I fired up the grill, and then proceeded to hand dig every dandelion (I don't have too many but somehow I counted 80!) in my lawn and flower beds, then mowed the front yard, swept the garage, watered some new grass I'm trying to grow and got soaked because my hose sprayer is kaput, grilled a bunch o' meat, and finally went inside to eat and then pass out at 8PM.
I call that a very full, fun day, and I'm about to begin another one. There's bike crap all over my house, and that can mean only one thing: It's riding season, and I'm happy, happy!
Yesterday it was a little chilly in the morning even though the high was supposed to be 70 or so, so I did some house stuff in the early morning while everyone else in my neighborhood was asleep or something. It was an absolutely beautiful day. The birds were singing, geese were honking, ducks quacking, and not much car traffic. It makes me laugh when people say they need to "get away" to experience nature. Get outside at 5 or 6AM and enjoy it!
After a bit of yard work, I checked the clock to see if I still had time to make it to the grocery store before riding--I decided I needed to start riding by 9AM in order to get in 2 hours on the bike, a :45 run and then make it to the pool between 12 and 1PM to swim :20.
I was smiling at the grocery store, because my cart clearly reflected that I'm training a lot now--Nutter Butters, Cheetos, peanut butter and cheese crackers, Gummi bears, deli salads and lots of Gatorade. Sounds like a lot of junk food, but trust me, I don't eat a lot of it on any given day. The Nutter Butters are more for Triple T (Cindy and I LOVE them) and for a race rehearsal weekend or two before IMLP. The Cheetos are for salt replacement after 2+ hour workouts (lots of those these days). The crackers are to stash in my jersey on long rides. The Gummi bears are to top off my calories at the end of the day when there is no more room in my stomach for bulk yet I need more calories. The deli salads are to ensure I get some veggies with dinner, as I won't have time to "cook" for a few weeks. And then the Gatorade--I am going through 6-7 of the 32 oz. bottles a week now.
I started my ride a bit late, but no worries. I warmed up fairly easy for about :30, and then I decided to just "ride hard" for :20 intervals, but when I got to :20, I figured I could go for :30. So I did 2 of those plus a bit more, and man, I banged out 2 full hours at 92% of threshold power! Not bad considering the first :30 was just noodling around. While I was out riding, I saw 3 people I know--Debbie, Jennifer and Craig. While they have never seen my new bike before, somehow they recognized me. I think it must be my legs or something that gives me away--I dunno. All I know is that I was smiling a lot while riding, and enjoyed every minute of it, and there were very few asshole driver moments.
As usual, I didn't know how I'd be able to run after such an intense ride, but I had no trouble at all, even though, as expected, I felt like puking most of the time. But it seems this spring there is something different about when I run off the bike--almost like the harder I ride the better I run. I guess in retrospect it was a good idea to do those stinky super sprint races over the winter.
I didn't start in time to hit the pool between 12 and 1, so I ate some lunch and went to swim at 2PM. I was pretty tired and didn't really feel like swimming, but I know that these short recovery swims are good for me, so I did it; and besides, I wanted to hit 10,000 yards for the week! After the swim, I hit the sauna to stretch for about :10, and then I headed to the bike shop to pick up Bitchie. I stopped at the running store to chat with a friend (the owner, Pat) and met a guy, Fred Faller (sp?), who's a good rider and just a nice man. We shared "bike rage" stories and talked about all who we know in common. My world gets smaller every day, but that's a great thing! Each of us knows someone who the other knows. Actually several. There was a woman buying stuff, and to me she looked 5-10 years older than me. Turns out she's younger. That gave me a boost, as even though I'm feeling my age, I guess I still don't think I look as (excuse me, here) "haggardly" as some women who do this stuff. Maybe I have good skin or something. I think there's a fine balance between leanness and muscularity, and some women are quite lean, but don't have a lot of muscle, and that doesn't make your skin look so good. So I guess if nothing else, that's where my years of strength training pay off. I work very hard to retain the muscle I have, and OK, so I'm a little vain about it, but it sure beats just being skinny!
When I got home, I fired up the grill, and then proceeded to hand dig every dandelion (I don't have too many but somehow I counted 80!) in my lawn and flower beds, then mowed the front yard, swept the garage, watered some new grass I'm trying to grow and got soaked because my hose sprayer is kaput, grilled a bunch o' meat, and finally went inside to eat and then pass out at 8PM.
I call that a very full, fun day, and I'm about to begin another one. There's bike crap all over my house, and that can mean only one thing: It's riding season, and I'm happy, happy!
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