Last Big Run Before the Madness

I really should say the madness has begun. Triple T is about a week away, but this week will make 5 straight 18+ hour training weeks, race week should be around 17, and then it's 9 weeks until IMLP.

FUCKING YIKES!!!

Between now and the end of July, there's a lot of racing and eventing that I'll be engaged in:

5/27 Start of Triple T
6/11-ish My coach, Rich, drops by on motorcycle, leaving bike at my house and flying home
6/16 Horribly Hilly Hundreds 200K ride (on LGL, of course!)
6/18-ish Rich flies back in to get back on motorcycle and ride to IMCDA (I am not going)
6/29-6/30 IMLP Race Rehearsal weekend for me and Cindy
7/4 Fabulous 4th of July Ride 100 miles. Maybe my bitch, Cindy, can do it, too
7/5 Rich flies back in for IMWI camp.
7/6-7/8 Attend and speak at Rich's IMWI camp (if you are interested in attending, let me know or just head to http://ironcamp.com/midwest.html)
7/18-7/23 IMLP travel and race, Rich and I traveling together (and him yelling at my sorry ass while I race)
8/11 Dairyland Dare 300K ride. Last year, I was sort of laughing at people doing it who had done IMLP. This time, other riders get to laugh AT ME (and Cindy)
8/26 Bike Psychos 200K ride. Did this one last year. AWESOME ride!
9/7 Rich flies back into town and we head to IMWI to ride moto/officiate
9/15 I do IMWI course with other crazies the week after the official race (because I was officiating, see???)
9/16 End of madness, unless someone ropes me into something stupid

That's a whole lot of Rich and Cindy. Good thing they are 2 of my most favorite people in the world, even though I don't usually get to see them this much!

I should be a travel agent. I've been coordinating sleeping arrangements for a small hoard for Triple T, and working with Rich to figure out where he's going to be (he's doing IM camps all over the country, mostly traveling by motorcycle), figuring out what sort of training I should be doing and trying to rope Cindy into as much of it as possible. This is going to be one helluva summer, and I'm tired just thinking about it! But I'm also very excited, this is what I love doing.

Speaking of tired, I ran 13.5 hilly, asphalt miles as a double out-and-back from my house, so it included the notorious Clarendon Hills Road to Cass Avenue 1-mile hill twice. I averaged 9:09/mile the entire way, my stomach felt like crap and I didn't get enough sleep last night. So I figure that was a pretty solid last long run before Triple T. All the hills I ran last week in Colorado Springs have definitely paid off. I feel like I can almost glide up hills now, and I prefer going UP to coming DOWN, because my quads don't get beat up going UP. I didn't even start going OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD until I was about 11 miles into the run climbing the 1-mile hill for the second time.

And there will be no such thing as a taper for Triple T. Must train through. I mean how do you effectively taper for something like that anyway? Might as well just keep right on going.

Thankfully, I don't have to run or bike tomorrow--just swim freaking 3,800 yards! But I swam that much yesterday, so it's really not that big of a deal--it just gets a little, um, boring, swimming that much in a pool. But it's intervals, so it's not really that bad. And I'm going to wear my wetsuit so that I am used to it before the race.

The madness has officially begun! Embrace the madness! I just hope the time doesn't fly TOO quickly--it's beautiful right now, and it's not even officially summer!

A Poem

I composed this mostly yesterday while I was riding. Just goes to show you that exercise stimulates creativity!

Who I Am
by Crackhead

I don't peddle idle thoughts; I pedal my bike.
I don't meddle in others' affairs; I medal in races.
I shoot for the stars; but I prefer running through chutes.
I'm not staring at you in the pool; I'm watching the pace clock.
I'm a triathlete.

Home Sweet Home

Now that I have a digital camera, I figured I should take some pics of stuff I talk about, so above are photos of my house and yard. I should have done an April photo so you could see all the tulips and daffodils, but I missed that boat, so we will begin with May, and then I'll give you a digital "tour" at least once a month as all the flowers begin to do their thing.

The house "came with" the Colorado Blue Spruce trees (one of which I had removed to make way for more flowers) and the shrub border next to the house. The front of the house faces East (is that Feng Shui?). On its south facing side, there is another shrub border, and there were perennial beds on the north-facing side as well as next to a privacy fence that attaches to the garage (not shown in this series). There was a 2-foot diameter circle around the lamp post. Everything else was added by me (I had help from my ex-husband for some of the front borders).

The photos as lined up are of: the back border that continues on in both directions, connecting to the one behind the garage as well as along the entire west-facing side of the back yard; the back of the garage; the front (and yes, the flower beds go right out to the street with maybe a 3-foot area that is taken up by a drainage culvert, and there's a sidewalk through it since 2 years ago); and a close-up of one of my Japanese tree peonies (which are woody perennials that take many years to get to the size of this one, which is about 3 feet tall).

As much as I enjoyed being in Colorado Springs last week, I truly love what I've done to my yard, and it brings me great joy. The front beds include 10 rose bushes, way too much phlox, lots of day lilies, a good amount of oriental lilies, wandering Echinacea (coneflowers, for those of you lacking Latin skills), tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, columbine, bee balm, and gosh, I can't even remember them all. At one time I catalogued all the perennials that I have, and it's well over 100 different types across the entire yard. I used to also plant about 20 hanging baskets which adorned my garage and various hanging devices, plus another 10 patio pots. While I have the time to do the planting still, I don't have the patience or energy to water all of them every day, and you absolutely must water potted annuals pretty much daily. But I still do 3 hanging baskets of geraniums as a sort of "tradition," and this year I've got tuberose bulbs that will fill some patio containers as well as some heliotrope. Tuberose and heliotrope both have the most delicious smells, and that's why I planted about 60 oriental lilies 2 years ago. Unfortunately, the damn rabbits have nibbled many of them down this year, but I should still get at least 1/2 of them. And then we are scheduled for 17-year cicadas any day now, so who knows what the actual bloom output of my yard will be this year?

Right now, the perennials are mostly 1.5 feet tall, but some of them are going to top out at 6 feet! It's this time of year that makes working at home a bit more difficult, since my office looks out on my back yard, and it's easy to pop outdoors for a little weed this, pick that. But I suppose gardening is one of the things that balances me against all the frenetic training and racing activity that I also love so much, and I also enjoy the fact that anyone who walks in front of my house gets a little slice of my paradise, and they typically let me know how much they appreciate it! I may enter my home into a local garden walk--plus, I only need to provide a winter heated water source and a nut-bearing tree or shrub, and I would easily be able to have my yard certified by the National Wildlife Society as a backyard wildlife habitat!

Spring, glorious spring! I am so grateful for all the natural beauty around me and the pleasure it gives to the local wildlife (even the damn rabbits) and passers by. The hardest thing for me to give up should I move away would be the gardens. I need to stick my hands into dirt (at least 1/2 the time I don't wear gloves--who cares?). I need to see the struggle that is nature in a suburban area--bees, bugs, birds, rodents (I have a chipmunk that lives in my yard). I need to feel that I am improving a small piece of Earth. That in and of itself, would be enough for most people, and I know this is something I will have no matter my physical condition.

Now maybe you can understand why I am not so concerned as to the interior condition of my house (which I could easily spend $75K on remodelling)--I get a whole lot more satisfaction and pleasure from the grounds and then running and biking outdoors!

Namaste!

Weekly Workout Totals 05/07/2007-05/13/2007, and I want an Altitude Tent!

So I got through last week in one piece. The only downside to it was a lack of sufficient sleep, but the funny thing is I barely noticed, what with the altitude and all that I was at. Plus, when I am at about 18+ training hours per week, the metabolism is so revved and I'm so excited (despite sheer exhaustion many days) that I stay up a bit late. Now that the sun is up at 5AM, no more sleeping in until 5:30!


Weekly Totals 05/07/2007-05/13/2007
Swim: 13850 yards (7.86 miles) in 4.98 hours; 25% of weekly workout time; approx. 1744 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 129.79 miles in 7.42 hours; 37% of weekly workout time; approx. 3367 calories burned
Run: Approx. 42.14 miles in 6.73 hours; 34% of weekly workout time; approx. 3048 calories burned
Strength: 0.95 hours; 5% of weekly workout time; approx. 238 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 179.79 miles in 20.08 hours; approx. 8397 calories burned
Sleep: 7.68 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.58 hours. Massage: 1.5 hours

Saturday's ride was done, as I expected, at less than optimal intensity. My quads were shot from all the hilly (mountainous???) running, and I hadn't biked in about a week. Plus we had some stiff winds. I did as best I could and just put in the time. I rode Bitchie, which was nice, because at least I got to relax in the aero position a lot (especially into the wind).

After biking, I decided it would be good to hit the pool for :20 just to chill out my legs. And the pool had a special on FREE OXYGEN!!! Normally when I swim after a 4+ hour ride, the swimming is, well, not so much. But Saturday it felt easy. I definitely got a red blood cell boost from just a week at altitude.

After swimming, I got a massage and then hit the grocery store, got home, ate steak and pasta with walnut pesto sauce (I believe I've posted the recipe here), watched the finale of my favorite TV show, "As Time Goes By," and passed out.

Yesterday morning it was chilly, and my heat was on! But the forecast called for a high of 70, so I figured, what the heck, tank top, shorts and arm warmers. I was riding La Gazza Ladra (there are no magpie birds here in Illinois, so I had to make do). Since my legs were still toasted, I figured I'd head out east :30 and then back. I was cold. I stopped back at home and added a short-sleeve jersey. I went back out. Having stopped in my nice warm house, I think my body figured out just how cold I really was. I rode about 2.5 miles and turned around for more clothes. This time, I added fleece-lined cycling tights and a brand new Giordana jacket that I had never worn. The jacket cost like $200 or something, and turned out to be the perfect gear for what felt like 48 degrees and windy. Now I was in business, and I headed to my interval loop and banged out some decent intensity, even though my quads were literally fried. I saw various roadies, and I was happy that I was representing well in all my Italian splendor.

I put in almost exactly 3 hours, which is what was called for, and of course as soon as I finished, the sun came out! Great, because I had to run. So I stripped off the jacket, jersey, arm warmers and tights, and was left with my original outfit of black tank and shorts. I added a hat, running shoes, and I was off.

FREE OXYGEN ALL DAY!!! Normally a brick run after a hard ride feels like crap, but this felt like a piece of cake! Except for the fact that my quads protested mightily from running on asphalt (which I had not been on since the prior weekend), I was running easily, breathing easily (and freely!!), and feeling, well, GREAT. Ah, if brick runs would always feel like this! Maybe my brain will play a psychological trick on me from now on having felt like this!

I ran :40 at a little slower than tempo pace, but I did not feel badly at all. AND, I had no issues at all charging all the hills! I should have run a race.

I was putting things away when I decided to leaf through the USAT booklet, and noticed that the coaching certification classes are in Colorado Springs! Yee-haw! I'm going to book the Level 1 for 2008 and get that process started finally. And stay in the area for a week and find a road race that I can run right after I get back down to sea level. I am noticing that the universe is presenting me with things to guide me in the direction that I should be going. It's a wonderful ride, so far. When I look at my event calendar, I think I must be nuts, but despite being highly fatigued this morning, I'm happy as a clam.

La Vita e Bella!