A Day in the Life, Part II

Continuation of yesterday:

5:40AM Drive to the Y to run. Towel Nazi is not at the front desk, so I'm able to score 2 towels so I can actually dry off after I shower.
5:50AM I'm on the treadmill. I brought a can of Coke with me and a bottle of Gatorade. My stomach isn't right from the coffee, and I'm thinking it's going to be mostly Coke. Suprisingly, my legs do not feel too bad, although the Zone 1 shit feels waaaaay too slow. There are an awful lot of smiley, morning workout people at the Y. 25% of them recognize me.
6:20AM Time to start Zone 2. It still feels slow, but not that bad. I'm able to take sips of Gatorade now, although periodically I want to gag and puke anyway.
6:50AM 1 hour down, I get to--you guessed it--take yet another shit. Ah, the pleasures of running, training hard, and a high metabolism. I use the opportunity to change the CD in my CD player (still no iPod, don't start on me) while I am in the can.
6:55AM Back on the treadmill, and a friend, Jamie, comes in. One of the first entrants into the Hottie Brigade. I love talking to him, it's like we both get motor mouth when we see one another. One of these days I hope I get to ride with him again.
7:55AM I'm done! It was a good idea to run on the treadmill today. My legs had been pretty beat up from last week, and they finally feel "normal" again. Well, as normal as you feel after running 2 hours.
8:15AM I'm back home, ass in chair, working, sucking down Endurox R4. Ready to face the leftover crises from yesterday, but I am easing into things, and after prioritizing, think it won't be such a hectic day after all.
10:15 One long call, and now I'm getting hungry. Colleague wants to chat post-team call, which is good, but I am fucking starving, so I'm on the speaker phone making myself breakfast or whatever it is. 4 eggs, 3 pieces of Canadian bacon chopped, scrambled and cooked in butter, English muffin also buttered. Man, I love eggs. I wolf this down and start to feel better.
12:00PM I'm fucking tired. I want a nap, but there's no time for that. Must keep working.
12:30PM Guy arrives to go over with me what yard work I'd like him to do. First time I'm paying someone to do some of it for me--I have just run out of time for some reason this year, and I want it finished before June rolls around! Stuff like trim all the shrubs, weeding, etc.
1:00PM Back into work crisis mode, but I seem to have a handle on things. Start wondering how I am going to make it through the day without a nap. Eat some bananas, which helps temporarily.
4:00PM Work is under control; maybe I can finish up my lifting from yesterday, so I do (16 minutes is all), but my muscles are screaming at me while I do it (bis, tris, chest), and yet I do a little posing in a mirror and am happy about how I look.
5:15PM I call it a day, workwise, and get ready to go to The Bike Shop. Load Bitch into car first, blanket on top, and LGL on top of her. My bikes are having sex back there. I'm concerned that the metals (magnesium and boron carbide) will commingle and birth some mutant bike back there.
5:40PM I'm at The Bike Shop. So what am I having done? Well...Bitch is getting BLUE (or as they call it, blau) Nokon cables! Also, I'm ditching the X-LAB and getting a carbon behind-the-seat-bottle holder. I needed to observe LGL being lubricated one more time so I know how to do it--she has special lubrication needs due to the way her Nokon's had to be installed. I also had them switch the cassette on the back (I can do it myself, but what the hell) since I'm riding in Wisconsin on Saturday. I also picked up my new Louis Garneau Rocket Helmet (I got the blue and white one, of course):


It's fucking gorgeous, and looks good with Bitchie. I also had shims put into the left shoe of both LGL's and Bitch's shoes, since my left foot is different than my right and my left leg has a functional shortness compared to my right. I also picked out new carbon cages (curiously enough, Profile Karbon Kages) for Bitchie once she has carbon on her butt and on the seat tube. She is going to look awesome once they are done with her! I also looked at (first time you are hearing about it) fixies online, and have decided on this one:


I'm going to put cowhorn bars on it with sweet bar tape, Cane Creek brake levers,

and no, I don't have a name for it (I think it's a HIM) yet.
8:30PM I get home (yes, my bike shop trips are legendary lately), throw pasta into the microwave, load the coffee pot, crack a beer, start making a list of crap I need to do on Friday, wolf down the food, decide I better eat more, think about TV, scrap that idea, grab a package of crackers and read yesterday's newspaper in bed for about 15 minutes, decide I better pass out since I have to be done swimming by 7:45AM (and I'm doing the 4,000 yard workout again).

Phew. Now it's Friday...
2:45AM I wake up. At first I'm not sure whether it's stress, I'm hungry, or I have to pee. Lay there for awhile, and guess what? I have to take a shit AND I'M HUNGRY. Take care of the first item, then make a sandwich, eat it while reading a little bit more of the newspaper, and then try and go back to sleep. No such luck, really, but laying down is still a good thing.
3:55AM I look at the clock and decide, close enough. I'm awake. Turn on the coffee pot, put on a record (I'm loving the new turntable, and I still LOVE Ska--like I need to listen to really fast, crazy music, you know). Grab a Power Bar and get rolling. Think about what I have to do today--swim 4,000 yards, work on major crisis at work, maybe run a little bit, go grocery shopping later (and booze sampling), stretch, fix bottles for Saturday's festival (Patti and I are riding the ENTIRE IMWI course and then running--I wonder if I can pull it off), begin packing for Saturday, set the coffee pot, OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG.

And yet, despite all this craziness, I am loving life!

A Day in the Life

Lest you think I have way too much time on my hands to be playing with streamers, here's how yesterday went down:

4:30AM Wake the fuck up. Take a shit (this is what wakes me up lately), get some coffee and a Power Bar. Visit the Internets.
5:30AM Take out the garbage, recycleables and some yard waste. Try and straighten up the mess of bottles and dishes
6:00AM Make Voodoo Mix, put defogger into goggles while taking yet another shit, put on swimsuit, put in contact lenses, look in mirror and shout, "IT'S SHOWTIME!"
6:15AM Drive to Y.
6:30AM Have some laughs with guys in the pool. Start 3,800 yard workout, and after finishing warmup, realize it's actually going to be 4,000 yards.
7:45AM Finish swim workout, get yelled at by Rasta Guard, head to shower, shave, change, drive home.
8:15AM Start working. First, assess crises by checking email and then start addressing them.
9:00AM First conference call of the day
9:45AM While on one phone line, another line rings, ask them if I can call back later, finish the conference call and doorbell rings. People are here to seal my driveway, so I move my car to my neighbor's driveway.
12:15PM Literally run out the door and go run about 7 miles, again, using Voodoo Mix, because, well, I need it now.
1:30PM Slam down Endurox R4 and heat something in the microwave for lunch and take a quick shower. Work, work, work
4:00PM All hell has broken loose at work, but I'm under control. Make a bunch of phone calls in order to triage the various situations. Doorbell rings around 4:15--it's my neighbor who needs to get into her driveway, so I move my car onto the street in front of my house.
5:30PM Done with work, lift weights for :45, since I've been putting it off since Monday. Think about whether I want to go run some errands. Decide not, I'm too fucking tired.
6:20PM Mow the lawn because we've been getting a lot of rain lately and figure I'll be too tired tomorrow to do it and besides I need to go to the bike shop right after work.
6:50PM Grab a beer and stretch for :25--this is a priority. Realize I should probably eat dinner. Put pot of water on stove to boil for some pasta. Check email.
7:45PM I am finally eating dinner. Think about watching some TV and maybe reading a little bit of the newspaper, decide I don't have time for it and try and relax while eating dinner ACTUALLY SITTING DOWN AT THE TABLE. Think that I should eat more because I have to run 2 hours in the morning, but my stomach can't handle it. Have some wine.
8:30PM Decide to enjoy spinning some records on my new turntable. The fidelity is unbelievable, and I'm very happy I didn't give away all my vinyl. Decide to assemble the streamers onto my race belt for Triple T, and in a flash, figure, OK take some pics, what the hell, upload them, do a quick blog post, go back downstairs and listen to a few more tunes.
9:15PM Decide I better get to sleep because I need to be up before 5AM to be running by 6AM.

Today...
4:30AM Wake the fuck up. I didn't need the alarm, which I had actually set, because, well, I needed to take a giant shit (AGAIN). Turn the coffee pot on. Don't bother putting actual clothes on, but apply Body Glide and suit up to run.
4:45AM Have some coffee and a Power Bar. Look at today's run workout. Fuck. 2 hours, but no worries I feel pretty good.
5:10AM Take another shit. My body is like a furnace lately.
5:15AM Put in contact lenses and get run bag ready to go, write this post (I type REALLY FAST).
5:30AM Go outside and look around the yard. It's only 41 degrees, so I'm running on the treadmill today.

Later!

Trying on my Race Outfit for Triple T

Click on post title to see all the pics...

Which one do you think is the best?

Preview:

Cross Dressing...er...Cross Posting

Click on the post title to read about today's swimming experience! It was awesome.

This is What Ironman Training Looks Like

And this is how it FEELS:




Check back in a few weeks to see what improvements have been made. More of a tan. More biking. More running. More swimming. All performed on at least 3,000 calories a day.

More is More!

Weekly Workout Totals 05/05/2008-05/11/2008

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!

THIS was a week. Last year, I did a similar week, only all my running was trail running. Running on asphalt most of the time was really tough. But now I remember what Ironman training is all about, and I feel almost totally prepared for Triple T--just one 112-mile hilly fucking ride to do on Saturday and that will be that.

But once again, this week I learned some things:

• I have some really amazing friends. They are amazing athletes and simply amazing people.
• Every week you should do something you've never done before. I can't imagine living life any other way.
• I really, really love riding bikes.
• I am pretty tired of the cold weather. Bring on the heat!
• May is still one of my favorite months, even when it's rainy and cold.

And now, here are my weekly totals. Read between the numbers!

Weekly Workout Totals	05/05/2008-05/11/2008 This week's totals are sponsored by the Republic of Vanuatu. Yumi, Yumi, Yumi!
Swim:	14100 yards (8 miles) in 5.07 hours; 27% of weekly workout time; approx. 1773 calories burned Canadian: 12893.04 meters
Bike:	Approx. 111.42 miles in 6.37 hours; 33% of weekly workout time; approx. 3346 calories burned; Total TSS=392 Canadian: 179.31 kilometers
Run:	Approx. 43.87 miles in 6.66 hours; 35% of weekly workout time; approx. 3027 calories burned Canadian: 70.6 kilometers
Strength:	1.02 hours; 5% of weekly workout time; approx. 255 calories burned Canadian: same thing unless time is different?
All Sports:	Approx. 163.29 miles in 19.12 hours; approx. 8401 calories burned Canadian: 262.79 kilometers
Sleep:	7.5 hours avg./night Canadian: I dunno--slept with some bears?
Stretching:	1.53 hours. Massage: 1.5 hours