Yesterday I had to squeeze too much into my day, so I only swam 2600 meters at the outdoor pool in the morning, although it was another glorious day, and I totally enjoyed them. I saw 2 meteors from the Perseid meteor shower right after I woke up and walked outside! I guess seeing them set the tone for a basically happy day.
I had several consecutive meetings at work, and so I couldn't run until about 1PM, and I should have known I was low on calories from Tuesday's series of staggered workouts, since I had a sugar craving. So I ate a handful of Swedish Fish (I'd eaten 6 or 7 figs earlier) and headed out to run. In retrospect I probably should have had a can of Coke as well.
As soon as I started, I didn't feel right. I had that bonky feeling of just nothing being there to power my legs. But it was such a nice day out, that I HTFU'ed and ran almost 5 miles anyway, even though it didn't feel too great. I loaded up on calories right after, got a much needed massage later in the afternoon, ate a solid dinner of pasta and lamb chops, and got to sleep right at 8PM.
This morning, my alarm went off, and I immediately got up and went outside to see if I could catch some meteors. Sadly, the moon was too bright, and I didn't see any, so I commenced drinking a cup of coffee and eating a Power Bar to get ready for my long run. My plan called for 1:40, but I was thinking even last week that I wanted to see if I could run 2 hours just because, well, I will be running A LOT in 2 weeks. I took 2 12-oz. bottles of defizzed Coke with me to Waterfall Glen, and was on the trail by 6:20.
I made myself pay attention to my breathing, knowing that if I'm "hardly breathing" that I am actually running a nice, easy pace. I wanted to be sure I didn't go out too fast, and besides, I didn't know how I'd feel after yesterday's bonk festival. I started out with a nice, high cadence, and my legs felt pretty darn good, and I did, in fact, run an easy pace for the first 2 miles.
I then tried to just keep things nice and easy, and since I'd drunk 2 big glasses of water right before I left, I didn't need to dip into my Coke for awhile. Originally, I thought I'd go out for maybe 4.5 miles and back, but after 3 miles were gone, I figured I could just run the full loop (9.65 miles) on the 12-oz. of Coke that I had with me. And it was feeling great. I had walked the first 2 hills on miles 1 and 2, but after that I ran every single hill, and they were feeling great, just great. The weather was nice and cool and not too humid, so a perfect day for running.
When I finished the loop, I stopped briefly at my car to get more Coke and leave my singlet which I had doffed at mile 8. Usually there's something mentally in me that makes me feel like UGH when I start a second loop, but today that feeling was not there at all. Since I'd finished the loop in 1:27, I thought I'd go out about 1.5 miles and back and that would be enough, but I was running faster now, so I decided to go out 2 miles and back, and when I got out to mile 2, man I really just wanted to keep going! It was just one of those days where I think I could have run 20 miles, but I didn't have time because I needed to be at work, and besides I knew that almost 14 miles would be enough on the day.
My legs still are not sore at all, and so I am going to do a little running tomorrow, too, even though it's not called for on my plan. That will make 5 days of running in a row, about 35 miles worth, which is a solid week before my run taper for ROTPM begins. But I am going to swim 5500 meters in the morning first! That should be interesting! It will be my longest swim ever, and it's supposed to be beautiful again tomorrow.
In one respect, I wish I'd been going to do Ironman Canada, because I think I would have a great race. But in another, heck, making it through ROTPM will be an achievement, too, so all good! My massage therapist said my muscles felt like I was just really peaking now, and that is how I feel...like IMLP was the warmup, but we shall see, as ROTPM begins TWO WEEKS FROM TODAY! I am excited about it and am feeling good about it now based on how this week has been going. I don't really need to swim 5500 meters tomorrow, but what the heck, I guess maybe I'm training for Ultraman already? I did exchange email with someone who coached a few finishers of this year's event, and asked him if I was an idiot to think I could do it, and he said he thought I was good to go! But I'm still not applying until after ROTPM.
I need to stay focused on one day at a time--do the training, stretch, eat properly, sleep and stay in a good mental place. I think this is about the best mental place I've been in for about 3 years--it feels to be a combination of my excited, exuberant self, but also that deeply thoughtful and quiet person that is just working towards yet another goal and trying to stay locked into integrity--which is being who I want to be.
This weekend I plan on riding 80 on Saturday and 100 on Sunday. After that, it's all taper, baby!
Good stuff, right?
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Can't Believe How Good I Feel
This morning I awoke just before the alarm went off. I sort of knew it was time to get up based on my body temperature. Once I start warming up and throwing off blankets, I'm ready.
I got on Clipless Fuck by 5:57 and rode to the outdoor pool on a beautiful day. The sun was behind some clouds, but it was still light enough to not need a light on the bike--besides, I don't have one! My legs felt pretty good even though yesterday I'd swum, lifted and run--and yesterday's run was great!
The pool temperature was just perfect, and I settled in for an easy 2000 meters, chatting up a few people. The water was just so great, and when I finished, I showered and started riding home. It was during the ride back that I had this sense of complete bliss wash over me. I felt very content, at peace with myself and the world, and feeling like I was doing the right things for myself. I was so blissful that I was singing along out loud to my iPod! I know a few drivers heard me, but I could care less. I was just smiling and pedaling and feeling wonderful. I can't remember the last time I felt just like this, but I hoped I could hold that feeling for the rest of the day.
Alas, I have a job to do, and well, not exactly bliss there. But not bad, either. I got out again around 11:30AM to do some more riding on Bitchie, and initially I selected a top that I thought was fine for the weather, but after warming up for about 6 miles, I stopped back at home because I was too hot. It was still gorgeous outside, and once I headed out with less clothing, I felt better. I decided I'd try and do some intervals today and see how that felt.
Sure enough, when I hit my interval loop, I was able to crank pretty well, and while I didn't experience the same level of bliss as in the morning, it felt good to go hard, and I know I was smiling a ton even while pushing the big gears.
When I got home, I assessed how my legs felt, and really not bad! I was glad that my plan called for a run "not off the bike," so I'd get that done later on. I did, however, eat a lighter lunch than I normally would, because I didn't want to chance feeling like crap for my later run.
After I finished work, I headed out to run and it was still, well, gorgeous. I don't usually run in the evening, so it was interesting to see all the commuters in their cars looking at me--I know how fit I am and how fit I look, so I am not surprised.
While the run wasn't stellar, just as I had done yesterday, I picked up the pace on the way back home and surprised myself. My ability to push myself has just changed this year, and it's all for the good.
When I got home, I had to put the recycleables out to the curb and mow the lawn, so I just now finished eating dinner and now I need to stretch and get to sleep, since I need to be in the pool at 6AM tomorrow!
I don't expect these moments of bliss to occur very often, so it's important for me to write it down when it does happen, so I can go back and remember what a wonderful feeling it is. While it was happening, I was thinking, gee, if everyone in the world could feel this way, a lot of problems would be solved. I think that even if you can experience bliss every now and then, it gives you a different perspective on life and maybe, just maybe, you gain something from it that might help you lead someone else down the path.
Time to stretch!
I got on Clipless Fuck by 5:57 and rode to the outdoor pool on a beautiful day. The sun was behind some clouds, but it was still light enough to not need a light on the bike--besides, I don't have one! My legs felt pretty good even though yesterday I'd swum, lifted and run--and yesterday's run was great!
The pool temperature was just perfect, and I settled in for an easy 2000 meters, chatting up a few people. The water was just so great, and when I finished, I showered and started riding home. It was during the ride back that I had this sense of complete bliss wash over me. I felt very content, at peace with myself and the world, and feeling like I was doing the right things for myself. I was so blissful that I was singing along out loud to my iPod! I know a few drivers heard me, but I could care less. I was just smiling and pedaling and feeling wonderful. I can't remember the last time I felt just like this, but I hoped I could hold that feeling for the rest of the day.
Alas, I have a job to do, and well, not exactly bliss there. But not bad, either. I got out again around 11:30AM to do some more riding on Bitchie, and initially I selected a top that I thought was fine for the weather, but after warming up for about 6 miles, I stopped back at home because I was too hot. It was still gorgeous outside, and once I headed out with less clothing, I felt better. I decided I'd try and do some intervals today and see how that felt.
Sure enough, when I hit my interval loop, I was able to crank pretty well, and while I didn't experience the same level of bliss as in the morning, it felt good to go hard, and I know I was smiling a ton even while pushing the big gears.
When I got home, I assessed how my legs felt, and really not bad! I was glad that my plan called for a run "not off the bike," so I'd get that done later on. I did, however, eat a lighter lunch than I normally would, because I didn't want to chance feeling like crap for my later run.
After I finished work, I headed out to run and it was still, well, gorgeous. I don't usually run in the evening, so it was interesting to see all the commuters in their cars looking at me--I know how fit I am and how fit I look, so I am not surprised.
While the run wasn't stellar, just as I had done yesterday, I picked up the pace on the way back home and surprised myself. My ability to push myself has just changed this year, and it's all for the good.
When I got home, I had to put the recycleables out to the curb and mow the lawn, so I just now finished eating dinner and now I need to stretch and get to sleep, since I need to be in the pool at 6AM tomorrow!
I don't expect these moments of bliss to occur very often, so it's important for me to write it down when it does happen, so I can go back and remember what a wonderful feeling it is. While it was happening, I was thinking, gee, if everyone in the world could feel this way, a lot of problems would be solved. I think that even if you can experience bliss every now and then, it gives you a different perspective on life and maybe, just maybe, you gain something from it that might help you lead someone else down the path.
Time to stretch!
Monday, August 10, 2009
Solid Week Last Week and Feeling Great!
So yesterday it was hot, hot, hot, and I did get riding by 6:40AM, when it was only 80. For my first foray, I headed east (with tail and/or crosswinds). Legs felt a little toasty from Saturday, but I'd slept well and figured I just needed a good warmup. I ended up riding to Brookfield Zoo via the Salt Creek Bike Path, once I got there on my normal, winding route through Westmont, Hinsdale and LaGrange.
Early in while on the bike path, a deer almost jumped in front of me in the woods--I was happy I'd seen her before she did! A mile or so later, I saw a man fumbling with his rear wheel, and I stopped to ask if he needed help. Turns out he did--he'd just bought a well-used bike (complete with downtube shifters!), said the rear wheel came out of the dropouts and he fell, and he didn't know how to get the wheel back on. So I took a look, moved the rear brake, got the wheel back on, and made him promise me he'd take the bike into a shop for a complete tuneup!
After getting out of the woods and back near the Burlington Northern train tracks, I decided I wanted some more water, so I rode to this park that I do not know the name of (nor do I know the name of most of the streets that I ride on when I take this route), and noticed a black Lamborghini parked by the tennis courts. I wanted to just stop and stare and look inside, but that would be crass, so I just went and guzzled a bunch of water from the fountain and went on my way. I was about 13.5 miles from home at this point.
The ride back home sucked mostly when I was heading south, but also much of the time heading west, as the winds were SSW to WSW. Some of the crosswinds made me laugh, because I've felt some of the worst ones in the world when I was in Kona in 2004. When I arrived back home, I drank some more ice cold water, grabbed another bottle of Infinit and water, and didn't dally too much lest I become enchanted by the air conditioning. I did check the temperature, and now it was about 88, and I'd covered 45 miles, so I only needed to do 35 more if I wanted to hit 80.
After being indoors for just a little bit, when I started out again, I could tell it was really hot, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so the sun would just be beating down. I'd changed from tri shorts into a tri swimsuit bottom, because for me, cool legs equals cooler Crackhead. The winds had picked up, too, and yet I headed east again, meaning I'd be returning in a headwind.
I didn't really want to repeat the same loop I'd just done, so this time, I went out for 5 miles and then decided I'd do some "Pepperidge Farm" repeats. Yes, there's a Pepperidge Farm factory right in my town, and there's a 5-mile (2.5 miles out and then 2.5 miles back) loop alongside the train tracks that I'd used on Friday a few times. I'd need to do 5 repeats to make 35 miles total.
It sucked riding right into the wind on purpose, but hey, what are you going to do? After 3 repeats, though, I wanted to go someplace else, so I headed further east and meandered around through some neigborhoods (just to get a little shade), and when all was said and done, I'd made about 85 miles total!
I felt pretty shelled mostly from the heat, and while I had plans to accomplish some other things, about all I really did was lay around and read the newspaper and watch a little TV, and feel good about how much training I'd gotten done in my second week after IMLP:
So a good amount of swimming and biking, and I ran more than my plan called for and feel fine for it. This morning I ran and it felt good--almost like my run legs are back. I am cautiously optimistic. We'll have to see how this week goes, and then, crap, it's taper time AGAIN!!!
Early in while on the bike path, a deer almost jumped in front of me in the woods--I was happy I'd seen her before she did! A mile or so later, I saw a man fumbling with his rear wheel, and I stopped to ask if he needed help. Turns out he did--he'd just bought a well-used bike (complete with downtube shifters!), said the rear wheel came out of the dropouts and he fell, and he didn't know how to get the wheel back on. So I took a look, moved the rear brake, got the wheel back on, and made him promise me he'd take the bike into a shop for a complete tuneup!
After getting out of the woods and back near the Burlington Northern train tracks, I decided I wanted some more water, so I rode to this park that I do not know the name of (nor do I know the name of most of the streets that I ride on when I take this route), and noticed a black Lamborghini parked by the tennis courts. I wanted to just stop and stare and look inside, but that would be crass, so I just went and guzzled a bunch of water from the fountain and went on my way. I was about 13.5 miles from home at this point.
The ride back home sucked mostly when I was heading south, but also much of the time heading west, as the winds were SSW to WSW. Some of the crosswinds made me laugh, because I've felt some of the worst ones in the world when I was in Kona in 2004. When I arrived back home, I drank some more ice cold water, grabbed another bottle of Infinit and water, and didn't dally too much lest I become enchanted by the air conditioning. I did check the temperature, and now it was about 88, and I'd covered 45 miles, so I only needed to do 35 more if I wanted to hit 80.
After being indoors for just a little bit, when I started out again, I could tell it was really hot, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky, so the sun would just be beating down. I'd changed from tri shorts into a tri swimsuit bottom, because for me, cool legs equals cooler Crackhead. The winds had picked up, too, and yet I headed east again, meaning I'd be returning in a headwind.
I didn't really want to repeat the same loop I'd just done, so this time, I went out for 5 miles and then decided I'd do some "Pepperidge Farm" repeats. Yes, there's a Pepperidge Farm factory right in my town, and there's a 5-mile (2.5 miles out and then 2.5 miles back) loop alongside the train tracks that I'd used on Friday a few times. I'd need to do 5 repeats to make 35 miles total.
It sucked riding right into the wind on purpose, but hey, what are you going to do? After 3 repeats, though, I wanted to go someplace else, so I headed further east and meandered around through some neigborhoods (just to get a little shade), and when all was said and done, I'd made about 85 miles total!
I felt pretty shelled mostly from the heat, and while I had plans to accomplish some other things, about all I really did was lay around and read the newspaper and watch a little TV, and feel good about how much training I'd gotten done in my second week after IMLP:
| Weekly Workout Totals | 08/03/2009-08/09/2009 This week's totals are sponsored by the Recovery |
| Swim: | 12525 yards (7.11 miles) in 4.47 hours; 22% of weekly workout time; approx. 1564 calories burned Canadian: 11452.86 meters |
| Bike: | Approx. 206.62 miles in 11.8 hours; 57% of weekly workout time; approx. 5665 calories burned; Total TSS=638 Canadian: 332.52 kilometers |
| Run: | Approx. 21.96 miles in 3.35 hours; 16% of weekly workout time; approx. 1502 calories burned Canadian: 35.34 kilometers |
| Strength: | 0.97 hours; 5% of weekly workout time; approx. 243 calories burned |
| All Sports: | Approx. 235.69 miles in 20.59 hours; approx. 8974 calories burned Canadian: 20.59 kilometers |
| Sleep: | 9.04 hours avg./night |
| Stretching: | 2.27 hours. Massage: 0 hours |
So a good amount of swimming and biking, and I ran more than my plan called for and feel fine for it. This morning I ran and it felt good--almost like my run legs are back. I am cautiously optimistic. We'll have to see how this week goes, and then, crap, it's taper time AGAIN!!!
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Week 2 of IMLP Recovery
Things have been going pretty well this week. I haven't had any of the "why am I keeping up training" thoughts that have occurred last year and the year before after the first Ironman. I suppose that's because I have so many things looming in the future that I am not giving myself time to have those thoughts. I do wonder if I will have gotten my recovery right, and won't know for another 3 weeks, right?
I still haven't written my training for the block between Revenge of the PirateMan and Goofy Challenge, but I have sketched out some aspects of it, like how my weekly training pattern changes. I have no idea how my recovery will go after ROTPM. That is something I will play by ear. For sure, at least 3 days of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Then, I will drop my long ride through the North Face Endurance Challenge (the 50-mile run), and instead will be doing 2 long runs on the weekend. I don't mean LONG long as in 15/30, but more like building to maybe one 10/20. This will allow me to sleep in on weekends, and also on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is when I will do rides of up to 1:30. Hopefully I can maintain some semblance of bike fitness on just that! I am going to try and start up my extra strength work in the form of pushups, chinups and jump rope to keep my core extra strong. I am going to keep that Friday long swim, though, at 5,000 plus yards, as I do need to start building towards that big 10,000, eh?
Again, recovering after NF will be a new thing. For sure no running for 1-2 weeks. I can usually pick up swimming right away, even though I may be dog tired doing it. That's one of the things I really like about triathlon--there's usually something you can do. I think a 50-mile long run will be good preparation for Goofy Challenge, and so I won't be doing any "special" training for that. In fact, I will begin my Ultraman training pattern, adding my long ride back in, in fact I will probably go back to the weekly pattern I am doing now. I'm glad I've been used to back-to-back long rides for years now, as that is an Ultraman-specific thing. I'll keep up the Friday long swim, too.
For me, Goofy Challenge will be more about fun than anything else, since I've done it before, since I'll have friends along with me--Shelley and Brad! We are going to cook up something funny for the 1/2 marathon. After Goofy, well things will get very interesting as I try and do "as much as possible" for Ultraman training. I envision lots of time on the trainer on weekends and lots of time on the treadmill during the week. Whereas an Ironman build is typically 12 weeks, I'm thinking for Ultraman it needs to be about double that, which lets me recover from Goofy for a week or so.
It's a lot to think about! Yesterday I had the pleasure to run with a new friend, Amanda, who is an ultrarunner. I tried not to pester her too much with ultrarunning questions. I know that if I can run with her every so often that I will get faster and smarter about this aspect of Ultraman, particularly nutrition. I need to learn to eat more while I'm running. We encountered several other ultrarunners at Waterfall Glen (so popular because of the 9.5-mile loop, soft surface and well, hills). I was more interested in listening to them, but Amanda told them I was an Ironman veteran, and one guy asked me how I fit in all the training. He had made the big "L" loser sign on his head, and I made the hanging myself sign and said, "I have no life!" Well, whatever semblance of life I had before is going to be even less next year! I don't know if I can do all this, but I am sure going to try.
I managed to run for 1:20 yesterday, and that was enough. When I got home, I thought I should try and get a head start on my 6 hours of riding scheduled for Sunday, since it is predicted to be in the mid-90's, and while if we'd had a normal summer, I could deal with that, I don't want to expose my recovering self to both mid-90's and a 100-mile ride. So I took off on Clipless Fuck and rode for 2 hours. My legs were fried, and the trails were wet from the morning rain, so it was slow going, but I didn't care. When I got home, the temperature was only 86. Then I went for a refreshing 1/2-hour swim, where I tried out my new dinosaur fins. I really like them! I had wanted to go to REI (I need to buy a headlamp for ROTPM and NF), but remembered I needed to go grocery shopping and didn't want to spend much more time driving, so I stretched, got groceries, ate dinner, read a little bit and got to bed early.
My appetite has kicked back in to match my training hours, and it seems I have become obsessed with food. In looking back over the last 3 months, I really wasn't treating myself very often (during the winter I was eating a little richly, but that's what happens when I'm cooking for someone else frequently), and on Friday I went to my Italian deli for prosciutto, and found they had fresh figs, so I've been going a little nuts on fig/prosciutto snacks. I also fixed some carbonara with the prosciutto and freshly grated Parmesan, and have contined eating some great salads. I am trying my best to eat a little more real foods so I'm not dipping into the Twinkies and Gummi Bears as much, but it is work.
Mentally, I'm in a place where I just need to DO IT and not think about it so much. I was pleased on Thursday when I swam that I mostly just thought about swimming and the cool water, but also the fact that I've got only one more week of outdoor swimming, which makes me sad.
Since I got in some riding yesterday, my goal for today is 4 hours or about 80 miles. I figured that since it's going to be so hot (it's almost 80 at 5:30AM), I'll just go out and back for 2 hours from home and then reload bottles and repeat. That saves me driving anyplace and gets me on the road sooner, gets me done sooner, and then maybe I'll still get in that retail therapy later on!
I am already looking forward to dinner tonight--some more pasta carbonara and a couple of glasses of red wine. And then maybe I'll actually read the Sunday paper!
Enjoy your Sunday!
I still haven't written my training for the block between Revenge of the PirateMan and Goofy Challenge, but I have sketched out some aspects of it, like how my weekly training pattern changes. I have no idea how my recovery will go after ROTPM. That is something I will play by ear. For sure, at least 3 days of ABSOLUTELY NOTHING! Then, I will drop my long ride through the North Face Endurance Challenge (the 50-mile run), and instead will be doing 2 long runs on the weekend. I don't mean LONG long as in 15/30, but more like building to maybe one 10/20. This will allow me to sleep in on weekends, and also on Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is when I will do rides of up to 1:30. Hopefully I can maintain some semblance of bike fitness on just that! I am going to try and start up my extra strength work in the form of pushups, chinups and jump rope to keep my core extra strong. I am going to keep that Friday long swim, though, at 5,000 plus yards, as I do need to start building towards that big 10,000, eh?
Again, recovering after NF will be a new thing. For sure no running for 1-2 weeks. I can usually pick up swimming right away, even though I may be dog tired doing it. That's one of the things I really like about triathlon--there's usually something you can do. I think a 50-mile long run will be good preparation for Goofy Challenge, and so I won't be doing any "special" training for that. In fact, I will begin my Ultraman training pattern, adding my long ride back in, in fact I will probably go back to the weekly pattern I am doing now. I'm glad I've been used to back-to-back long rides for years now, as that is an Ultraman-specific thing. I'll keep up the Friday long swim, too.
For me, Goofy Challenge will be more about fun than anything else, since I've done it before, since I'll have friends along with me--Shelley and Brad! We are going to cook up something funny for the 1/2 marathon. After Goofy, well things will get very interesting as I try and do "as much as possible" for Ultraman training. I envision lots of time on the trainer on weekends and lots of time on the treadmill during the week. Whereas an Ironman build is typically 12 weeks, I'm thinking for Ultraman it needs to be about double that, which lets me recover from Goofy for a week or so.
It's a lot to think about! Yesterday I had the pleasure to run with a new friend, Amanda, who is an ultrarunner. I tried not to pester her too much with ultrarunning questions. I know that if I can run with her every so often that I will get faster and smarter about this aspect of Ultraman, particularly nutrition. I need to learn to eat more while I'm running. We encountered several other ultrarunners at Waterfall Glen (so popular because of the 9.5-mile loop, soft surface and well, hills). I was more interested in listening to them, but Amanda told them I was an Ironman veteran, and one guy asked me how I fit in all the training. He had made the big "L" loser sign on his head, and I made the hanging myself sign and said, "I have no life!" Well, whatever semblance of life I had before is going to be even less next year! I don't know if I can do all this, but I am sure going to try.
I managed to run for 1:20 yesterday, and that was enough. When I got home, I thought I should try and get a head start on my 6 hours of riding scheduled for Sunday, since it is predicted to be in the mid-90's, and while if we'd had a normal summer, I could deal with that, I don't want to expose my recovering self to both mid-90's and a 100-mile ride. So I took off on Clipless Fuck and rode for 2 hours. My legs were fried, and the trails were wet from the morning rain, so it was slow going, but I didn't care. When I got home, the temperature was only 86. Then I went for a refreshing 1/2-hour swim, where I tried out my new dinosaur fins. I really like them! I had wanted to go to REI (I need to buy a headlamp for ROTPM and NF), but remembered I needed to go grocery shopping and didn't want to spend much more time driving, so I stretched, got groceries, ate dinner, read a little bit and got to bed early.
My appetite has kicked back in to match my training hours, and it seems I have become obsessed with food. In looking back over the last 3 months, I really wasn't treating myself very often (during the winter I was eating a little richly, but that's what happens when I'm cooking for someone else frequently), and on Friday I went to my Italian deli for prosciutto, and found they had fresh figs, so I've been going a little nuts on fig/prosciutto snacks. I also fixed some carbonara with the prosciutto and freshly grated Parmesan, and have contined eating some great salads. I am trying my best to eat a little more real foods so I'm not dipping into the Twinkies and Gummi Bears as much, but it is work.
Mentally, I'm in a place where I just need to DO IT and not think about it so much. I was pleased on Thursday when I swam that I mostly just thought about swimming and the cool water, but also the fact that I've got only one more week of outdoor swimming, which makes me sad.
Since I got in some riding yesterday, my goal for today is 4 hours or about 80 miles. I figured that since it's going to be so hot (it's almost 80 at 5:30AM), I'll just go out and back for 2 hours from home and then reload bottles and repeat. That saves me driving anyplace and gets me on the road sooner, gets me done sooner, and then maybe I'll still get in that retail therapy later on!
I am already looking forward to dinner tonight--some more pasta carbonara and a couple of glasses of red wine. And then maybe I'll actually read the Sunday paper!
Enjoy your Sunday!
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