Weekly Workout Totals 08/04/2008-08/10/2008, Sunday Ride and General Rambling

First, I back up to last Wednesday. After my little bonk episode, I did eat a big bowl of pasta and a "normal" (as of late, anyway) dinner of lean protein and vegetables. Thursday morning I wake up and feel like crap. Bloated, gassy, crampy--my entire GI tract was in knots. So bad that I ended up calling in sick. I spent many hours curled up in the fetal position hoping it would subside. Was it the extra dose of carbs that I wasn't used to? Who knows. All I know is I felt like shit. But I needed to do a long run. I wasn't dying...I was just uncomfortable. So around 1:15, I went to Waterfall Glen and did it. It wasn't pretty--it was one of the slowest runs I've done in years--almost 10mpm. But it was an absolutely beautiful day, so I toughed it out. Since my stomach was a mess, of course, I barely ate anything before I started, so by the time I got comfortable running, then I had little fuel to draw on and my legs just plain hurt! It made me laugh that I was swapping one type of pain for another.

On Friday morning, I felt a little better--enough to be able to work, but still not great. I went to the outdoor pool and knocked out 3100 meters. It felt good to stretch out my midsection, but it didn't fix anything. I decided to do a ride in the middle of the day so I could be lazy on Saturday, and I headed out on CF to Greene Valley (a dump with accompanying trail system--it's actually pretty nice), and rode around in bright sunshine. I enjoyed the ride, even when my stomach would cramp up on me and try and bring me down.

Saturday morning I got to sleep in, and I didn't feel like doing much of anything, so I turned on the Olympics. I just got into it, and it was a really cool day, and I had wanted to go swim outdoors, but it rained a little and I decided I really didn't need to anyway, so I just vegged out. Ever have one of those days where you get really lazy and can't imagine getting excited about a big workout the next day? Saturday was one of those days for me. I just went into this mode of "I can't believe I work out so much when this laziness feels so good." I felt like my body was conspiring to shut me down anyway, so I let my brain indulge this fantasy for the better part of the day, all the while thinking I needed to fix some bottles, stretch and do a whole lot of other things, none of which seemed more appealing than parking my butt in front of the TV.

Finally, at about 2:30, I decided I had better do something because even though the laziness felt good, it didn't feel right. So I did an abs/core workout, and that got my blood flowing, and got me thinking about riding on Sunday. I decided that with my stomach still in knots that aero position probably wouldn't feel too good, so I lovingly carressed LGL to let her know she was going to get to go long on Sunday.

Of course, I had to stay up (anything past 9PM is late for me) and watch Phelps swim his 400IM, and that was awesome. I set my alarm for 4:30AM and fell asleep quickly. Upon waking yesterday morning, it was quite cool outside, so I had some time to obsess about what to wear. The forecast called for a high of 75, so I knew bike shorts were in order and maybe even a jersey. I felt better than the day before, but not overly excited about riding. Given all the training and racing I'd already done for the year, I knew that in the big scheme of things, if I really didn't feel like riding 100 miles that I didn't need to, but that was still my objective for the day.

I drove to Dekalb (home of Northern Illinois University, home of the Huskies) for the Windy 60. The ride had 20, 40 and 60-mile route options, so I figured I'd combine the 60 and 40. When I got the route map, though, it looked like there was an inner loop that I could just repeat, and now that I think of it, I'd done that before a few years back. I ended up leaving on my sleeveless tank and putting a bike jersey over it plus arm warmers, as it was still only maybe 56 when we started.

I had brought a can of Coke along for the ride in case I wanted it before I started, but I never did open it. I left it in the cup holder next to the driver's seat of my car. A few miles into the ride, I remembered I left it there and thought it might explode, but I didn't really worry too much about it. I had made a 6-hour bottle of Infinit for my nutrition, which was good, because on this ride they don't have Gatorade--they just have lemonade--and I am just not into carrying all the salt tablets with me anymore.

Odd for August (or summer, for that matter), the winds were out of the north. And our route took us, guess what? About 25 miles south to begin with. Nice! The tailwind was great, but considering there was little chance of the wind changing direction today, I knew the ride back would suck. About 20 miles in, you get to the main rest stop, and then you do a 21-mile loop and come back to the same spot, and then it's about 20 miles back to the start. The first time through the loop is when I got to experience the north wind. It sucked! Not only that, but the road we took north featured very long uphill grades, so that was really nice!

I finished the first loop and thought about whether I wanted to do it again. I could just stop and do a 60-mile ride, but there was this little voice in my head that was telling me it was no big deal and that I can suffer. Besides, the north leg only lasted about 20 minutes (of hell) or so. On loop 2, of course the wind picked up and it was even harder. It was funny that I was recognizing things, like a certain empty bottle of water tossed to the side of the road, an empty (or so I thought) bag from some sort of chips, corner dog (there was a dog at a right-hand turn and that's what I named him) and a whole lot of corn. Oh well, the ride south was fun!

I checked with the folks at the aid station (which I didn't really need because there was a water fountain) to see how long they'd be there and to let them know I was heading out for one more loop. I spoke with the woman heading the station and she noticed my Ironman Canada jersey and asked me how many I'd done, and I told her and that I was doing a self-supported one in a few weeks. I wasn't even very animated while talking to her, because, well, it's just stuff I do, but her eyes and her daughter's eyes went pretty wide when I told them about NothingMan. I really enjoy seeing the look on people's faces--I guess because I want them to see in me how much I love doing this that I would just "go do it" even though I do "regular" Ironman races, too.

That little voice was playing with me about now. I could just head back and call it 80 or so miles and that would be a good ride, especially with the amount of wind. But hey--I drove 46 miles to get there, so how stupid would it be for me to ride less distance than I drove? Pretty stupid. At least if you have a little voice in your head that's telling you to get back out there and suffer some more in the wind. So I went back out. I hadn't seen too many riders on the previous lap, but anyone I could see ahead of me I was able to catch. On this last lap, I didn't expect to see anyone, but sure enough, when I hit the north leg into the headwind, I saw first a solo rider, whom I caught, and then a group of three. The group of 3 looked like maybe they were players, but I guess not since I caught and passed them. Some people just give up into a headwind, and I was hurting big time, but not giving up. I knew it wasn't long into the wind, so I just kept pressing on.

Getting back to the rest stop for the last time, I pulled in first and was by myself. The group of 3 followed shortly thereafter, and when it seemed like we were all ready to go home, I asked them to come along and we could ride a pace line to make it easier. They looked at me like I was nuts, and maybe they thought I was too fast for them or else a little brash? But hey, I meant it, but they didn't follow right behind me.

At this point now, we had about 15 miles north to go. It was miserable. At one point we were on a road that was a long uphill grade of maybe 4 miles, into the headwind, and the pavement was grooved! My legs were screaming at me, and all I could think was hey--it may as well be raining, too! I was happy when I could get up to 15mph on this stretch. I did encounter one guy up ahead who eluded me for about 4 miles, but finally I caught up to him, and I could tell he was really suffering. We came up to this little nothing of a rest stop (which I hadn't expected), and someone flagged me down and said they had water. Well, I could have kept going, but the thought of cold water sounded great, so I stopped, dismounted, and grabbed some. One guy remarked that I didn't fall off my bike like other riders had. I was still hanging in there, and they said we had 8 miles left, mostly north. I thanked them for being out there and forged onwards.

At least the grooved pavement stopped, and it wasn't so much uphill anymore, so I was thankful for that. I wasn't looking at where I was at mileage-wise, because I just didn't care. I knew I'd be over 100 miles, and that was good. When I was almost back, I came upon a family of 4--Dad had an extension on his bike for his son, and Mom and a daughter were on their own bikes. I asked Dad how many miles they had done and he said 40. I was totally impressed! I told them all good job, and Dad asked me where I was at, and that's when I looked at the Ergomo and saw 107 miles. When all was said and done, I had 108.5 miles and was one happy camper to be finished.

I rode into the parking lot and proceeded right to get my t-shirt. Normally, I don't want shirts from rides, since I do so many of these, but this one I wanted. A man who I'd seen at various points asked me about my mileage and I told him and he said he wished he could give me a prize or something! All I wanted, though, was the shirt.

When I got back to my car, guess what? The can of Coke had exploded, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. Luckily, I always bring a frozen washcloth to these long rides that I drive to, which by now was perfect for wiping up the Coke, but not until I wiped off my face. I was able to pretty much clean it all up, and just chalked it up to another minor obstacle in my day. I had brought along frozen Endurox, too, and it was ice cold. Now I wondered if I could make the entire drive home without going hypoglycemic.

Luckily, traffic wasn't bad at all, so I cruised home, and even was able to stop at the grocery store for a few things before going home. Although while at the grocery store I could tell I was on the verge of hypoglycemia, all I was craving was protein. And Olympics! As soon as I got in the door, I started eating and cracked a beer, and remembered I needed to mow the front lawn (I had done the back on Friday), and figured I should do that before I shower, so I did, and then I had the BEST SHOWER EVER and finally I could just lay around and watch the Olympics. I made myself stretch, which felt good, and while doing so, thought either I rode pretty hard or I suck!

That was one of the toughest rides I've done because of the wind, but also because my mental state wasn't in it initially. Pretty typical for 3 weeks after an Ironman race! There were points during the day when I thought I pretty much sucked, but when I realized what I was doing and the fact that there was no option but for me to keep riding loops into the wind, I thought, hey, I guess that shows some mental toughness, right? When I downloaded the ride information, well, I did ride pretty hard because I averaged 80% of FTP on the day. Wind makes me work!

This is when it's "fun" to me. When I feel like I'm struggling a bit because I've been pouring it on for months, and I'm starting to ask myself why do I keep going and think maybe I suck, but I know I don't and someone tells me I'm nuts, and in a way I am, and it's a good thing. This is the whole NothingMan thing--to want to do it, but not want to do it--to want to stop training, but to keep going anyway--to think it will be fun but realize that it's pretty sick to think of an Ironman as fun--to feel like everything and nothing all at once--to care and not care--to want to tell everyone about it but also to keep silent--to act like it's a big deal but it really isn't. And the whole objective of the exercise really is nothing, so here again is my favorite quote:

To achieve satisfaction
in everything
Desire it in nothing.
To possess everything,
Desire to have nothing.
To be everything,
Desire to be nothing.
To know everything,
Desire to know nothing.
--John of the Cross

Weekly Workout Totals	08/04/2008-08/10/2008 This week's totals are sponsored by the Olympics. I just can't get enough. Swimming, especially--soon to be followed by track and field!
Swim:	7815 yards (4.44 miles) in 2.65 hours; 13% of weekly workout time; approx. 928 calories burned Canadian: 7146.04 meters
Bike:	Approx. 214.32 miles in 12.2 hours; 60% of weekly workout time; approx. 6007 calories burned; Total TSS=722 Canadian: 344.91 kilometers
Run:	Approx. 25.14 miles in 4.01 hours; 20% of weekly workout time; approx. 1819 calories burned Canadian: 40.46 kilometers
Strength:	1.6 hours; 8% of weekly workout time; approx. 400 calories burned
All Sports:	Approx. 243.9 miles in 20.46 hours; approx. 9154 calories burned Canadian: 392.52 kilometers
Sleep:	9 hours avg./night
Stretching:	2.55 hours. Massage: 2 hours

...

Once divided...nothing left to subtract...
Some words when spoken...can't be taken back...
Walks on his own...with thoughts he can't help thinking...
Futures above...but in the past he's slow and sinking...
Caught a bolt a lightning...cursed the day he let it go...

Nothingman...
Isnt it something?
Nothingman...

She once believed...in every story he had to tell...
One day she stiffened...took the other side...
Empty stares...from each corner of a shared prison cell...
One just escapes...one's left inside the well...
And he who forgets...will be destined to remember...oh...oh...oh...

Nothingman...
Isnt it something?
Nothingman...

Oh, she don't want him...
Oh, she won't feed him...after he's flown away...
Oh, into the sun...ah, into the sun...

Burn...burn...
Nothingman...
Isnt it something?
Nothingman...
Nothingman...
Coulda been something...
Nothingman...
Oh...ohh...ohh...

Just Add More Carbs!

Had my usual breakfast of some coffee and a Powerbar. Rode CF to the outdoor pool and drank about 10 oz. of Gatorade during a 3200 meter workout. Rode home. Finished the Gatorade. Had 2 more cups of coffee. Ate a Twinkie (low-fat--why did I buy those???). Ate 2 huge peaches. Drank 1/2 can of Coke (with the mysterious amount of calories since I know they lie on the can). Ate 2 pieces of fruit slice candy. Went for a run. Wasn't exactly bonky, but could tell my muscles are not fully loaded with glycogen (no pics today--wore the swimsuit I ran in yesterday which got cleaned up during this morning's swim). Kept telling myself while running that I should eat rice or pasta for lunch. Drank 12 oz. Gatorade during my :50 run. Got home, forgot to make bottles of Endurox, crap need to drink some warm. Put pot of water on stove to boil. It's going to be pasta, baby! I think I ate almost 1/2 lb. of pasta with some walnut pesto on top. More like wolfed it down. I needed that! Tonight I may have rice with dinner just to punch up my carbs even more. Thing is, all I need to do tomorrow is run for 1:40, but I think I'm 3 days' worth down on glycogen. Could explain why I'm all sore, too.

Stupid Crackhead! You'd think I'd know better, right? Sure, I do, but sometimes I just get sick of the starchy stuff. No worries--I just need a little here and there.

I saw Chuck at the pool today, and he told me that he circled back for me in his car on Monday during the storm that I waited out. What a nice thing to do! I told him I just waited for the lightning to stop and made it home between storms. I'm lucky to know some really great people like him. On our ride back from the pool together, I told Chuck about my bonk yesterday and we had some good laughs about bonking and how "regular" people don't understand how that happens and how desperate you can get when bonking! I would have snatched anything sugary from anyone yesterday! In retrospect, I should have eaten some pasta last night, but I didn't (1/2 of a PB&J sandwich right before bed). Oh well!

When I say I'm "training," it means I'm paying attention to all that minutiae, like how much carbs I'm taking in, sleep, stretching, all that. I was trying to "not train," but I have failed miserably. I guess it's back to actual training now...stupid NothingMan!

Bike, Run, BONK!

I did not run in a swimsuit yesterday because it was on a treadmill. Today, I had a 1:45 bike and :45 run scheduled--the run was not supposed to be a brick run.

I suited up in this to ride. Notice my balls. Also the mop on my head, which is getting cut in 2 days--I can't wait!










Here I am with the helmet, shades and shoes. Also my balls.











Here I am post-ride. With my balls. I ended up riding almost 2 hours. It was hot. VERY hot.










I didn't want to wait too long before I ran, so I wasn't able to eat a meal right after biking. I drank Endurox and ate 2 huge peaches (without the skin, which I peeled off using my teeth, by the way) and 2 apricots (with the skin--they are a PIA to try and peel but the skin doesn't bother me as much as peach skin). About 1 3/4 hours after finishing biking, I suited up to run:

Again, with the balls. Different swimsuit, because I just couldn't stand putting on the one I wore to bike in.










I headed out to run with a 12-oz. bottle of Gatorade. I thought I had enough calories in me for a short, :45 run. I was wrong. First off, it was HOT. Even hotter than when I had been riding. As soon as I started running, I felt a little light-headed, but I attributed it to the heat. I pressed on and got 1 mile out and then I knew the light-headedness wasn't just the heat--it was a bonk. I drank all the Gatorade, but as I know from other bonks, Gatorade just doesn't do the trick for me--I need more concentrated sugar and NOW. I tried to convince the guy on the golf course who was selling candy to just give me some, but he wouldn't (I didn't have any money with me). I should have told him I'm diabetic and was about to pass out!

So what did I do? I walked a little bit, sat in some shade for a little bit, filled up my bottle with water and thought about what I should do. I decided to try run/walking, and that worked, but at first I had to walk more than I ran. After about a 1/2 mile of suckage, I was able to run a lot more than walk and make it home, so 3 miles covered. Did I stop? Hell no. I'm Crackhead, after all. I chowed down on 6 fruit slices, which I needed whether or not I continued running, and gave them about 2 minutes to work their magic. And then I went back out and finished my run!

Here I am post run with the bonk saving candy











Now, of course I needed to figure out how much I was off on my nutrition for the day to have caused the bonk, and so I sat down and figured things out. Before I began running, I had 817 calories, including 213 grams of carbs, in me. That would have worked if I had just run straight off the bike, but that included the wait time, so it wasn't enough. I then immediately added the fruit slices and more Gatorade which brought me up to 1,117 calories with 288 grams of carbs, but that's still really not enough for 2:45 of working out! Oh well. One thing I discovered in adding things up is that nutrition information on cans of Coke are fucking wrong. It says 140 calories and 39 grams of carbs. That doesn't add up. 39 grams of carbs is 4 x 39 = 156 calories. Which is it, Coke? People who can bonk need to know!

Anyway, I also discovered that peaches don't have very many calories. And I still have not been eating any pasta, but maybe I should start. I don't know. I still feel fat. But I tell you, wearing a swimsuit to bike and run in is making me very conscious of every bit of unnecessary weight hanging off me! It's the best diet ever! I just need to be a little more careful of getting sufficient carbs now that I'm effectively training like a mad woman again.

It was fun, though! Even the bonking!

A Little Bit "Thinky" Today

Got up this morning after sleeping OK, although not great. I use Infinit on my ride yesterday, and it's been awhile (um...2 weeks) since I've been wired on all the caffeine, so it took some work to get to sleep, but that's just the price I pay.

I looked at the radar (I HEART Doppler), and saw a storm that looked to be well north pounding Madison, Wisconsin, among other areas to the north. It didn't look like it was going to sag too far south, so I had 2 cups of coffee, a Powerbar, and suited up to go swim.

While riding to the pool, a number of things were swirling in my head. Maybe it was all the negative ions in the air with storms just to the north. Maybe it was because my legs were telling me I was nuts to be on a bike right now (there were times yesterday when my left IT band was screaming at me and my right VMO), and that I was so tired that maybe I should just take a day off from training.

I started asking myself why do I do this? That happens periodically. Should I be doing something else? Is this taking away from more important things? Do I really think that in the big scheme of things this bike ride, this swim workout, means anything? It looked like it might rain. I can turn around whenever I want and just bag it all. I could just ride the bike a few miles and call it a short bike workout and skip the swim. Why do I do this? And I just kept riding. What's the worse thing that can happen? I get caught in a rainstorm. Been there, done that. All day! It wouldn't bother me for it to happen right now. Keep riding. Why do I do this? Look at all the people in their cars, many of them driving to work. I'm riding a bike! To a pool! So what my legs are tired and sore, so what that I'll probably swim like shit. I've got plenty of time before I need to be working, what else would I be doing? I didn't wear a shirt over my swim top because it was pretty warm already and I'd just get it all sweaty anyway and maybe I wouldn't need to wear a shirt home, either. Maybe it's going to rain. Whatever. It's just rain. Not like rain is going to ruin my day today. I feel hungry. Maybe I didn't stuff down enough calories after yesterday's ride. I did get out of bed at 10:30PM and ate another hamburger pretty much in my sleep because I needed something. Oh--I'm making my shortcut through the loser pool's parking lot. Thank God I don't have to swim there--it's only 25 yards. Outdoors, yes, but only 25 yards. Loser pool!

I get to my pool and there are a good number of cars in the parking lot, and only 1 bike. Hmmm...maybe everyone thought it was going to rain? Whatever, now I get to swim. Get on deck and see a number of happy faces of people I know...some that I only see at the pool. I wonder if they ever ask themselves why they do this. I pick a lane, get in, and yeah, oh shit, am I tired! I need to breathe every stroke I'm so tired. But my legs feel good in the water! I swim 200 meters and then kick 200 meters and then Thor goes off. Everyone out of the pool! The skies didn't really look that bad, and we couldn't see lightning or hear thunder, but still...a few more swimmers arrive only to see that we've all gotten out of the pool, and we chat. Is it for real? The skies begin to darken up, someone has Doppler on their phone, and yeah, it's coming for us now. I should have jumped on Chuck to load my bike in his car and drive me home, but now the clouds are coming fast, and I literally jump in the shower and rinse off thinking I can make it home before it hits. No such luck! The skies open up and the lightning show begins. It's actually pretty spectacular! Everyone else is leaving in their cars...I figure it can't go on forever and I can wait it out. I realize that one gift I've received from doing this Ironman thing is that I can be pretty relaxed in situations like this. I do a little stretching and chat with the guards, who ask me if there's someone they can call for me. I tell them, no, I have a phone, and besides, I just need to wait for the lightning to stop and I'll ride home in the rain if I have to. I mean, I did an entire Ironman in the rain! No big deal to ride in the rain today--just 5.3 miles. Worst case scenario is I call a cab and load my bike in there. I can wait a little more. The guards ask me about the distances in an Ironman and I tell them. They look at me like it's pretty far and ask how I train. A lot. I tell them I really like the training and am very lucky that I can do it. I go and look outside again and it looks like the lightning has stopped, so I tell them I'm going to leave and hope they have a nice day.

The rain has pretty much stopped (it was about a 1-hour wait), and I get back on the bike, and my legs still hurt, but it's not raining--I'm just getting a little road spray and tree drip is all. And now instead of asking myself why I do this I'm thinking that life is like the weather--storms drop in every now and then, and if you are just willing to watch them and see them for all they are, which is sometimes destructive and sometimes beautiful, in the end you know they pass and everything is all right. Sometimes there is damage afterwards, but you just pick up and keep going. And you know there will be other storms and maybe they will somehow interrupt your life temporarily, but you'll get through them. And sometimes you get to see really beautiful rainbows. And you can't plan for the storms. They just happen!

I made it home just fine. A few minutes after I got inside it started raining again. I guess it's just going to be a rainy day today. Oh well! I swam 400 meters and biked about 10.5 miles already, and I'm going to go for a run. No, not in the rain. On the treadmill.

Weekly Workout Totals 7/28/2008-8/3/2008 and Ride of Lostness

But first, some messages from my food sponsors--fruits and vegetables picked up yesterday at the farmer's market and some meat that all got grilled yesterday:
Chicken soaking in hot sauces and cayenne pepper








Burgers containing hot, spicy, olive mufaletta








Eggplant, red bell peppers and jalapeños








Peaches and apricots









Red leaf lettuce








Chicken's on the grill








Chicken's done









Bell peppers are grilled









Eggplant and jalapeños done being grilled with rosemary and basil from my garden








Burgers are done being grilled









And I got to eat at last!










I did a local ride called the Rotary Ride today. It didn't get into the 90's--just low 80's. But there was a lot of lostness. Apparently, some guy in a pickup went and gathered up a lot of the turn signs. Dickhead. Funny thing was it didn't really matter all that much to me. I ran into a number of people I know, and we were all comparing "tiredness" notes. I did get to hammer with many of them for bits and pieces, and we'd then go off separately and get lost separately and then somehow reconnect! It was pretty funny. I ended up at 110 miles, and my legs let me know. Hard to believe, but I did 3,000 ft. of climbing today. Not bad for flatland, eh? But look at what I did this past week below. That's the most stretching this entire season (I needed it). Also a good bit of biking. I am pretty beat, but think I can put together another good "not training" week this week. And oh yeah, I rode in tri suit panties today. I never did take off the token tank--it just wasn't uncomfortable--and my legs are browner than they've been in a few years. I'll even things out this week as I swim and run more. My quads are really beat up right now, but I get worked on tomorrow evening.

I am too tired to bold anything at this point. Figure it out!

Weekly Workout Totals	07/28/2008-08/03/2008 This week's totals are sponsored by crack. I MUST be on crack to do this 2 weeks after an Ironman, right?
Swim:	13300 yards (7.55 miles) in 4.87 hours; 23% of weekly workout time; approx. 1704 calories burned Canadian: 12161.52 meters
Bike:	Approx. 223.71 miles in 12.52 hours; 60% of weekly workout time; approx. 5598 calories burned; Total TSS=689 Canadian: 360.03 kilometers
Run:	Approx. 16.26 miles in 2.44 hours; 12% of weekly workout time; approx. 1107 calories burned Canadian: 26.17 kilometers
Strength:	0.95 hours; 5% of weekly workout time; approx. 238 calories burned
All Sports:	Approx. 247.52 miles in 20.78 hours; approx. 8647 calories burned Canadian: 398.34 kilometers
Sleep:	8.75 hours avg./night
Stretching:	3.17 hours. Massage: 1 hours

Run Like a Whore

Here's the before shot. Notice where my keys are. Or not. Your choice. Thanks, Jamie!











After running. I managed a little over 7.5 miles. My legs let me know that I did an Ironman 2 weeks ago, but it was such a gorgeous day, I didn't care that I walked a little here and there. Yeah, I got some looks running around like this, but I have to say, I was totally comfortable. The only problem is that I took off like a jack rabbit, which cost me, but still, I really enjoyed the run. I have to change the rules--the temperature only needs to be 70F or above to run like this.




Here's the backside. Geez, do you think I could have bigger legs???











Right after taking the after pics, I headed to the outdoor pool and knocked out 2800 meters in glorious sunshine--it was maybe 83 out, and several other folks swimming laps commented how this was the BEST day of the summer. I sure thought it was! I did a drill workout, and when I was on my back, I took time to contemplate the puffy clouds overhead.

When I finished swimming, I went and took a shower and washed my hair, and then returned to a chaise lounge to dry off a bit before heading back home. I was packing up my swim bag when a man came over with hand extended and asked me what my name is. His name is Kevin, and he told me that I "rock." I figure I was blushing, because that's just not a common thing, but he told me he'd seen me swimming and noticed my physique and figured I did more than just swim. What a nice thing to say! I bet some people think I make up these stories, but I do not. I am just out there doing my thing. I told Kevin how to find my blog and gave him the usual warning :)

Back at the ranch, I made a good lunch from some of the things I got at the farmer's market, then mowed the lawn, and felt tired so I laid down for a nap. Only thing is, I wasn't so much tired as in need of stretching, so I just got on that in bed and then on the floor and then I felt a lot better, got up and motivated to get things ready for tomorrow's riding (100+ miles, baby!) and grilling, got the grilling done, and here I am about to cash it in because I need to get up at 4AM!

The weather forecast for tomorrow is not as oppressive as predicted a few days ago, but it will still be H-O-T! I haven't picked out my more-or-less-nothing riding outfit--I'll do that in the wee hours tomorrow--but I did fix bottles which was a little weird. I hope to be riding at 6AM since it's going to be so hot, so I'll need to put something over my nothing to start, but no worries--the Hydrotail is good for wrapping stuff around it meaning I can go nearly naked as it warms up!

Hope everyone's having as great a weekend as I am!

Today's Ride

Before. Wow, I look kind of excited. The outfit is a combo--the top is something I got in Hawaii years ago but hardly ever wear because of the fabric, but it seemed like just the thing to wear with the bottoms, which are Zoot. They are actually a tad too big, oh well, my booty hung out and I don't think anyone cared. I sure didn't.







After. It was H-O-T. 90 with a heat index of 96. Did I say it was hot? It was hot. I rode for 2 hours on Bitchie, drinking really warm Gatorade. Yum. I stopped once to pee at a church (hey God doesn't mind if I water the grass, right?). I didn't feel tired, but I didn't feel great, either. Did I say it was hot? It was hot. REALLY hot. Thankfully it wasn't too humid. But it was HOT.

The forecast calls for even hotter on Sunday, but it could change...most likely to EVEN HOTTER.

Oh well, tomorrow will be a fun day. Farmer's Market to restock the fruits and veggies, a nice run in some sort of swimsuit, a nice swim to keep the tan going, grilling, maybe mow the lawn, fix some bottles, keep working on the house...all good.

About one hour to beer and groceries, a little stretching and some din din. I think I'm going to treat myself to a little pasta tonight. For some reason I'm wanting a bit more carbs. Not like I'm underfed or anything.

I was thinking of this song while riding. One of my favorite Clash tunes. I saw them live years ago back when I was into the "punk" thing. I still feel like a punk. Only a Crackhead punk.

NothingMan Swimsuit Throw Down

I hereby declare that between now and NothingMan 2008, on the 13th of September (or the 14th if it's crappy on the 13th), that I will wear nothing but swimsuits to bike and run, if it's at least 75 degrees Fahrenheit.

Furthermore, said swimsuits shall be 2-piece unless the supply of 2-piece becomes so disgusting that they can no longer be worn. Included in 2-piece is a selection of tri suits whose bottoms may be mixed and matched with various tops, so as long as my legs are uncovered, it qualifies.

Thanks to Jamie, I have ideas on what to do with the keys, and I am taking a cue from Blink in that I can also use duct tape when needed.

Oh and there will be pics. Here's the tan so far:


Actually, this won't be that difficult, since other than the Pirate Ride in Lake Placid and the actual race there, I haven't worn bike shorts in about 5 weeks. But other than brick runs where I was already shortless, I've been wearing running shorts. THIS HAS TO STOP!!!

Forecast for Chicago calls for HOT HOT HOT over the next 10 days.

It's not enough to know I can do NothingMan--hey--it's really nothing--a girl's got to have goals, right?

Pink Day

I decided today was Pink Day, and I've worn nothing but pink (or nothing). I rode CF to the outdoor pool and knocked out 3500 meters and rode home. Here's what I wore riding:













Here's what I swam in (taken after running):












Then a little after noon, I went for a run. It's really hot again, and so I decided to just throw on my cold and wet swimsuit top and a pair of shorts. I was so hot, I ended up rolling the shorts down and also tucking them in on my legs--I know, I should have just worn the swimsuit bottom, but it doesn't have a pocket to hold my keys (now what a great idea that would be!). I tossed a lot of water over myself in the last 1.5 miles, but I had a great, GREAT run! I feel really recovered now, but the proof will be my ability to knock out a 100-mile ride on Sunday. So far, so good!













I made some simple egg salad from 5 hardboiled eggs (eggs, mayo, salt and pepper), and fixed myself this sandwich with farmer's market romaine lettuce and Arkansas (they're actually pretty good) tomatoes (I used a little over half the egg salad):










Man, that sandwich was T-A-S-T-Y!!! I HEART eggs. And tomatoes. Lettuce not so much, but it's not bad when combined with other stuff. I started on my lettuce kick at Triple T, when I was being fed by a small troop of Canadian men.

I'm at about 10 1/3 hours for the week so far, and feeling really good. I have a little DOMS from my strength workout on Tuesday (plus just for shits and grins I did 50 "air squats" and tried out a couple other Crossfit moves yesterday), and I'm starting to have a little fatigue, but other than that, I'm doing great. This is what happens when your longest workout has only been 2 hours! This isn't "real" training until I knock out a 2-hour run and 6 hour ride. The ride should happen on Sunday, but it will be 2 more weeks before I'm up to a 2-hour run, then I'll have a couple more weeks at 2+ hours and then it's taper time again. Sigh...

First Run since IMLP

For some reason, I thought going for a run would feel bad, but it didn't, and maybe that means I am recovering well. Even better is the fact that I lifted yesterday (first time in 3 weeks), and earlier today I biked to the pool, swam 3,000 meters and biked home.

My quads felt, well, normal! I was sort of shocked. Running uphill didn't feel bad, and neither did running downhill. Plus it was near 90! I only ran 3.5 miles--I felt like I could have and wanted to go further--but I purposely didn't brink any Gatorade with me, which I would have wanted had I gone further.

The only downside is all the glares and scowls I got from women who saw me running. I can no longer stand wearing running shorts up near my waist when it's warm out. I don't think I look bad, but maybe I do?

Today was just a shorty run, and tomorrow I'll add on a bit, and then I'll see if I can knock out maybe 8 miles on Saturday.

I don't often say I like running, but today it felt really good. I'll take it!

Meanwhile, I'm keeping my diet to lean (mostly) protein supplemented with lots of fruit and vegetables.









grilled summer squash, Vidalia onions & garlic










grilled chicken breast, filet mignon and turkey sausage (I HEART meat!)










white flesh peaches and apricots

I'm laying off the starch mostly except maybe for the occasional sandwich. It's still summer, so I'm still very much in the mood for a beer or two in the evening! I'm getting lots of sleep, keeping up stretching, and generally feeling pretty good. Even though I'm allegedly "training," I'm not taking things too seriously at all. Mostly I just want to enjoy what's left of summer by garbaging up on swimming, biking and running outdoors--three of my favorite things! But I have to be honest that I am antsy to train more so I can eat some other goodies that are on my "allowed" list when I'm over 15 hours, like Cheetos, Twinkies and pasta! Oops--just checked what I'm doing, and I guess I might hit 20 hours this week, so my grocery list is going to have some additions!

A Few Corrections and Thanks

NothingMan is 9/13. A few days ago I said it was 42 days until, but even though I studied higher mathematics, sometimes mundane addition and subtraction escape me. 46 days from today! Phew...I get another week to train...

The vid below was sent to me by Kim right after IMLP. She reminded me that it belonged in the 100% Fuckage post, so it has a permanent home there, but I am also including it here together with a list of people I'd like to thank for...well...just for being upstanding human beings, putting up with my shit, encouraging me and all that blather. Turn it up! Apparently I know a lot of Mikes. If you're not in there, apologies, I just typed this off the top of my head!

Mike
Rob
Cindy
Mark
Steve
Shelley
Brian
Mike
Mike
Mike
Mark
Patricia
Susan
David
Mike
Lou
Deb
D
Kim
Kim
Karen
Ino
Al
Karen
Michelle
Laurie
Nick
Louis
Joe
Kevin
Russ
Chuck
Brett
Marty
Darren
Greg
Julie
Rob
Dave
Ian
Cindy
Jen
Jen
Matt
Jay
Rich
Rich
Sol
Brent
AJ
Analisa
Wolfgang
Julie
Anthony
Tyler
Jamie
Jamey
Patty
Ed
Lori
Kurt
Mike
Mike
Mike
Dino
Mike
Sarah
Stephanie
Hazel
Liana
Courtney
Fred
Pierre
Harlan
Cheryl
Pat
David
William
Harold
Judi
Jim
Peter
Vicky
Verne
Calvin
Gene
Oswaldo

IMLP in Pics

I look totally hot in rubber, don't I?

My swim sucked. But the people behind me sucked even more.


















At least the aero helmet kept the rain off the TOP of my head, but going downhill or riding up on someone else pretty much sucked--spray-o-rama.

I should win an award for biggest dork!















I felt pretty much like ass most of the day, especially with the constant peeing, but I tried to smile when I noticed a photographer and also at the volunteers, because, hey, they don't need to be part of my misery!















See? I saw the photographer and managed a big smile even though I was cold (notice my hands inside my jacket), wet, smelly and my legs hurt pretty much. Oh well, when everything sucks, you can always still smile!

















Do I look like I'm glad it's over?


















No that's not a pizza in the bag I'm holding. It's my Special Needs bags.

I want to black out the time clock. Ugh...Oh well, you can guarantee I'll be faster at NothingMan!

On the plus side, those black shorts are slimming, don't you think?














The typical "deer in headlights" photo. At first, I was going to take off the rain jacket, but the thing went 138.2 miles with me so it earned a place in this photo.














I didn't write in my brief race report that I spent the better part of the bike and run trying not to cry--I was successful much of the time. Not because I was in physical pain--it was because this was my second Ironman following the death of a parent. It's not easy. I thought that because it had been 8 months that I wouldn't feel so sad. But hey, a ton of rain, being cold and wet, not being as well trained as I wanted to be (in fact I'll be where I should have been by NothingMan), and I had a lot of time in which to think over the last 8 months. IMLP became the punctuation on the experience, and I got through it. I think I worked out a lot of things that day, but there are more to come. The best part of all is that Dad got to do it with me. Nobody else in my family will ever be able to say "I did an Ironman with Dad." And it was a PR for him!

Meanwhile, I don't see anything in my way right now. My legs are starting to feel good on the bike (no running yet), and I'm still digging on swimming outdoors. I'm getting a lot of sleep and eating well. I just don't have the desire for junk food. I've got maybe 2-3 more lbs. to come off and I'm good to go. I'm actually looking forward to my first run in a few days!

100% Fuckage

Sometimes I just can't get enough. Results of my poll have said that I should not curb it, so even though it's Sunday, here's a good bit of it. This is not meant to imply anything to anyone. If you don't like it, get the fuck off my blog! Enjoy!

42 Days Until NothingMan

Blink--you better get back to training!

I got back on the horse, so to speak, on Thursday, doing a short swim just to see how things felt. They felt pretty good, so on Friday, I biked to the outdoor pool and swam, and then later I did an abs/core workout, which also felt good, just because I think it helps to rebalance muscles that get out of whack during an Ironman. I also got a massage that was well-needed.

Today was a great day. I slept like a baby, including having weird Ironman dreams--I know there was a wristband involved--and woke up and got going on some paperwork. Not my usual Saturday morning! I went to the farmer's market and got some good stuff, but still no Illinois tomatoes! Today's tomatoes are from Kentucky. Man--I hope they are good! I wasn't too impressed with either the Canadian or Arkansas tomatoes. To me, Michigan and Illinois have the absolute best!

Of course, whenever I get the chance, I am putting things away and cleaning up, even beyond how I left my house before I left for Lake Placid. A lot of things went there with me, and I'd say about 75% of them have been put away.

A little before 11:00, I went to swim at the outdoor pool. Heaven! Swimming there in the sun was divine, and they left up a couple of lanes after the 1-hour designated lap swim time. Even though I'm still up about 5 lbs. (my massage therapist commented on my swollen lower abs, for example), um...I'm still fairly buff, and when the "regulars" showed up at noon, I got quite a few looks. Plus, I'm getting my deep, dark tan. I am going to repeat this tomorrow! Even if I can't swim for shit right now!

In other news, I fixed fucking bottles today. Time to get back on the training horse to get ready for NothingMan. I'm totally pumped about NothingMan, as I know it will be 100% intense, crazy fun. Doesn't that sound strange talking about an Ironman? Oh, by the way, we are doing 2.5/115/27. Just so we can say we did over an Ironman. Someone was trying to get me to commit to 3/120/30, but sorry, not this time! Maybe in 2009, who knows?

Tomorrow I only need to ride easy for 2 hours, so I'm going to try that out and then head back to the outdoor pool to work on my tan--I may or may not actually swim! Isn't that a hoot? Today while swimming, I was thinking how fortunate the people are who can actually spend time just laying in the sun! But hey, even though that's not my normal M.O., I totally understand it. I expect that I will tire of "regular life" in a few days here...already I notice my body is out of whack from a lack of exercise.

I'm working on my schedule for 2008-2009 season, and for you inquiring minds out there, here's what appears to be on tap after NothingMan (which is 9/13, FYI...anyone who wants to come and spectate, volunteer or do some or all of it is welcome at my house):

• 11/9/2008: 1/2 NothingMan. Probably will be all indoors.
• 11/27/2o08 (Thanksgiving Day): 5K race (local) followed by a bike and FOOD!
• 2/14/2009: Myrtle Beach Marathon (attempting to qualify for Boston)
• 3/6/2009: sprint NothingMan
• 3/7/2009: 1/2 NothingMan
• 3/27/2009: sprint NothingMan
• 3/28/2009: Double or NothingMan (2 Oly's back to back)
• 4/17-4/19/2009: Triple Dog Dare (sprint Friday; Oly Saturday; 1/2 IM Sunday)
• 4/27-5/3/2009: Big Bike Week (as much biking as I can handle--I may travel someplace else for this, who knows?)
• 5/4/2009-5/10/2009: Big Run Week (about 45 miles or so of running and lots of swimming)
• 5/21-5/23/2009: Triple T (solo)
• 6/20/2009: Horribly Hilly Hundreds 200K ride
• 7/26/2009: Ironman USA (4th time)

I dunno--does that look like a tough schedule? The only tough part is that I will be doing the "traditional" long run schedule for an intermediate marathon runner for the Myrtle Beach Marathon, and the schedule I'm using has 2 18-milers, 3 20-milers and a 22-miler in there. I'm counting on the base I've developed over the past 8 years to allow me to do a decent amount of swim and bike training while pounding out those big long runs. I probably won't change up my weekday running that much, because just by going the really long distances on Sundays, I'll be punching up my run mileage a lot.

There--I said it. That is what I'm going to try and do. As far as my current season goes, so yeah, IMLP was more or less a bust, but you know it was the punctuation on my Dad's death that I needed and that's what I really think held me back. But I'm going to change up my taper a bit again for next year...one thing I'm learning is that I get older, I need a LOT of volume and can handle it closer and closer to a big race. I mean, I can pretty much do a 15-hour Ironman at the drop of a hat (well, maybe not today...). Plus, I had such a shitty winter last year, I'm really looking forward to giving the winter absolute fucking hell this time.

I'm enjoying my rest, but I don't feel right, either. It's time to HTFU again. After 11 Ironmans, I can say that, well, I'm in pretty good shape for my age. I still can't think of anything else I'd rather be doing on a beautiful summer day than swimming, biking or running (or gardening--pics forthcoming!) either by myself or with good friends.

Oh--tomorrow is going to be riding on LGL--she is SOOOOOO happy to go out with me. I won't be duct-taping tunes to the bars, but I'll have plenty of company in my head as I begin to think about NothingMan. I tell ya, there's nothing like it. NOTHING! It's going to be DA BOMB!

Meanwhile, everyone HTFU and get the hell on with your life!

The Fun Parts of IMLP

I think this picture from Friday, July 18 pretty much sums it up. It was taken on the deck of the awesome house I stayed in with Shelley and Cindy. Shelley and I are both going back to race IMLP in 2009, and we will be staying in the same house!!! We sort of established a tradition this time that whenever one of us was on deck and someone else was arriving at the house or just driving or walking within sight, we'd flash them. I know there were at least a few appreciative passersby, even if there wasn't much to see when I was the one flashing!

Shelley is a real Crackhead enabler, I have to say. The Hello Kitty panties are a gift from her to me last year, and the Barbie crown and earring set are from her to me this year. The Tootsie Roll socks are just socks I got for myself. In case you would like some for yourself, head to Joy of Socks. They have lots of cool socks, and bonus, they almost work as compression socks!

If you zoom in on the photo (and yes, I know you are doing that), you will see a series of reddish dots just above my right nipple. Those are from something or somethings that stung me on Tuesday, July 15 while doing my last ride before leaving for Lake Placid. Cindy calls them my bee stings, as opposed to my tits which are just normal mosquito bites. Sorry, but I've never had anything in that department! You'd think at least the bee stings or whatever they were would provide some enhancement, but NOOOOOOO.

Later this same evening, Shelley and I had a really nice dinner and some wine on the deck, and then we headed into downtown Lake Placid for a walk--about 1/2 mile from the house. I left my Barbie crown and earrings on since I was feeling rather festive. I'm pretty sure I got a number of strange looks, but I know I was all smiles. We went to visit a mutual friend at his hotel, but he wasn't there, and I guess his wife wasn't too appreciative of our visit or message, which probably came across as two drunk chics asking for her husband. Oh well--we were having fun!

The picture below (that I lifted from Shelley) was taken after Shelley and I had gone riding the same morning on the run course. I bought pirate socks for Shelley, Cindy and me, and we all had fun wearing them, but I can't tell you how much fun it was wearing them while riding! Shelley was also wearing streamers that I had given her, and we were quite the sight! Many of the people who were doing the race had their game faces on and were confused by the sight of us, but several athletes got the joke/fun aspect and would smile and give us high fives or other gestures of approval.





















I don't think I have ever had so much fun in my life, I mean really. Sure, I had my worst Ironman performance in 5 years, but I have put that aside to focus on all the great things that happened during the last week:

• I drove 850 miles straight by myself in 13.5 hours on Tuesday--from New York to home! This proved to me that I can do an Ironman and then do another Ironman of driving. You may think the drive was boring (OK, so I had to speed through Canada), but for some reason it was just another opportunity to apply my focus on something and get it done.
• I got to be a part of other athlete's successful days. Cindy rocked the course, and I am so happy for her! Other friends of mine did the same. So what if it didn't happen to me. And the best part is nobody (at least to my face) said anything remotely like "you suck" to me.
  
• I learned some do's and don'ts for riding and running in the rain. Obviously, if I ever have to do it again, it won't be such a big deal to me.
• I got to be taken care of for a few days. By good friends, and by total strangers. It was the best!
  
• I set a new PR for number of times I peed in a single day. It had to be well over 50 times!
• I think other than during the actual race, I spent more time laughing than doing anything else!

While yesterday morning was an emotional blowout for me (pretty normal post-IM crap), by yesterday evening I was already looking forward to my next adventures--NothingMan is coming up, and I've already got a secret hardcore schedule prepared for 2009 that is beginning to take shape.

In the meantime, I am still a bloated pig with all the extra water I am carrying around--I look nothing like in the pictures above--I'm up about 6 pounds--and while still pretty tired, I'm actually going to go for a short swim today and looking forward to a weekend outdoors.

Life is FUCKING AWESOME!!!

Ironman Deluge Brief Race Report

Actually, I came up with a number of names for the race while out there yesterday:

• Ironman pee pee socks
• Ironman deluge
• Ironman what the fucking hell
• Ironman Beat the Dead Guy (more on that later)

I did not have a good day, but I didn't have a bad day. 15 hours and a minute or so (which I could have saved had I not stopped to pick up my special needs bags before finishing). I think the rain got to me, I think I didn't have enough hill riding under my belt, and I think some of the cumulative stress of the last 9 months managed to stay with me.

I knew it was going to be a rainy day, but I managed to put my wetsuit on in the beach house next to the lake before it started coming down, so that was a good thing. I lined up way in the back so I could wait for the washing machine to pass, and at some point while swimming, I figured out it was raining. It didn't seem to add too much chop to the lake, though, so that was a good thing. Although I thought I was swimming well, I guess not. I just can't figure out this swim! I can do 2.4 miles in a pool in 1:15, so what's up with 1:25? Oh well, get out and get on with the bike.

I met, or should I say he spotted me, Swordfish, on Saturday, and he gave me a great tip that I used--lube up my feet with Vaseline to avoid water blisters. Also, I completely changed my mind about my race day outfit due to the rain, and my theme for the day was "Appreciating Dryness." So I didn't put my Ironman Canada bike jersey on until after I got out of the swim. That was a nice touch. At this point, knowing it was going to be a long, wet day, I didn't see the point in rushing too much.

As soon as I got out of the changing tent, it started pouring like a mofo. I had wondered what it would be like wearing an aero helmet in the rain, but it turned out to be a wise decision, just because it kept my head relatively dry. Also, it encourage me to stay aero and tucked. I had put a rain jacket over my jersey, and it worked pretty well all day to keep me relatively dry underneath. In looking at the weather almanac for yesterday, apparently it stayed right around 60-65 all day. Generally that's pretty comfortable on the bike, but for me with the rain, I was a bit chilled.

Last year, I bombed down (relatively) the descent into Keene, but I was too timid with the rain this time so I held back to maybe 25MPH. I just didn't feel safe going any faster, and I know that cost me some time on the ride, but whatever. I felt like I climbed pretty well, and while I didn't watch my watts like a hawk, I could pretty much tell where I was.

What sucked was that my hands got all wrinkly like I had been taking a bath all day, and then my forearms weren't all that great with the rain jacket on the aerobars. Again, oh well, too bad, keep going. I don't think I have ever felt so miserable in an Ironman--I mean, knowing I could finish but just not wanting to. I wanted to bag it so many times.

While riding, every time I would drink my Infinit or water, within seconds I would need to pee. Since it was raining so hard, no worries, I just kept peeing on the bike. I lost count after about 15 times--I swear it was at least 5 times an hour! I don't know whether this means I didn't need to drink so much or it was a sign of slight hypothermia or what. At Ironman Brazil in 2006, I peed on the bike 7 times and I thought that was a lot! Other athletes reported the same experience, so it seems that the cooler temperatures contributed.

One of the things that kept my spirits up was telling volunteers that I hadn't planned on a 140.6 mile swim today! I caught one guy on his bike standing up and as I passed, I asked him if he was peeing, and I said, "Nice work!"

On the second lap of the bike, I had decided I'd dump some of my Dad's ashes at the top of the biggest climb next to Whiteface mountain. I had brought them with me in a crack baggie, and this was the only time I stopped my bike all day. I told him I wished him a beautiful view from there!

Bike time 7:34 and change. Pretty crappy for me. But I felt steady and strong all day, and just suffered for the conditions. Still, I felt pretty much like a poseur--I mean I should have been able to do better than that.

My nutrition was spot on, and I didn't feel calorie depleted or bloated or anything like that, and when I got into T2, of course, I was very happy to get off my bike, and told a bunch of people on the way in, "FREE BIKE!" The volunteers are awesome, and so are the spectators, and as suck ass as I felt, I still wanted to smile as much as possible and thank everyone.

In T2, I opted to just leave my bike shorts on even though I packed a clean pair of running shorts. Why? Because I figured I would keep peeing on myself. I lubed my feet again with Vaseline and put on fresh socks (I should have told the volunteer to throw the bike socks away!), my Fuel Belt and a running hat, and just as I was about to get up and go, we could hear the rain pick up to a heavy downpour. Great!

My legs didn't feel too bad exiting T2, but my back was really tight. This is where I think I needed the hill riding--not so much for climbing ability, which I have since I'm so small, but to get used to holding that position while climbing. Also, I think I was hunching my shoulders while on the bike to keep my neck dry. Not a good thing!

Anyway, nobody is going very fast in an Ironman marathon, including me. I just decided at this point that I wasn't looking at my watch, because it was going to be what it was going to be. The streets were wet, wet, wet, and my peeing odyssey continued. I used up almost all of my Ultra Violence, and supplemented with Gatorade, water and chicken broth (broth was to ensure I kept getting enough sodium). Nutrition-wise, I was doing well, although at Mile 14 I had to stop and actually use a porta-potty to take a well-earned dump. That had been keeping me feeling full, and I took a nice, full, emptying pee in there, too, but as soon as I began drinking again, the peeing began again in full force.

The road camber bothered me, just as it did last year, but I think I made a mistake in wearing my ultra lightweight running shoes. On the one hand, they were good because they didn't hold too much water; on the other, my feet took a beating. Oh well!

There were a few times during the marathon that I felt almost really cold once the sun went down, and that alone kept me moving just to get someplace warm! On the little out and back before the finish line, I decided to grab my special needs bags, because I had some good stuff in there that I wanted back, and didn't want to walk another 2 miles or try and get Shelley (who graciously was getting my bike and bags out of transition) to get them later. Unfortunately, there were no volunteers manning the bags at this point, so I had to just find them myself, and when I realized I might finish in 15:00 or slightly less, I was pissed that I wouldn't because of this, and I just thought fuck it. At this point, I've had a tough race as it is, and worrying about 1 or 2 minutes just wasn't worth it!

Once I got to the oval, there were so many people lining it who gave me so much energy that I just ran and ran and slapped as many hands as I could, and I heard my name, and it was all over! After getting my hat, medal and t-shirt, I had a finishing photo taken, and I just left the damn rain jacket on, because it went all the way with me!

On the run, I also carried some of my Dad's ashes with me, and if it wasn't for that, I'm sure I would have just quit. I kept thinking he would tell me that I was the one that had signed up for this and so it was up to me to finish, and so I did. I emptied the bag of ashes in the transition area in the hope that they will bring me good luck next year when I return to face the same course!

They allowed athletes to register on Saturday, and while I had been thinking I would do Ironman Wisconsin in 2009, Shelly convinced me to go with IMLP, and hopefully, we'll get the same great house to stay in. As I write this, I hear the race is sold out for 2009 between athletes re-upping, volunteers onsite getting preferred registration, and all others onsite, so there is no online registration.

This was one of my toughest finishes ever, and while I'm not proud of my time, I'm proud that I finished it, and gosh, I should be in good shape for NothingMan in 7 weeks!

I am happy that my Dad got to do the race with me. He never saw me do an Ironman, and when I first started doing it, he didn't understand why I did it, but in about 2 years, he figured it out. No matter how bad I felt yesterday, it couldn't compare to the suffering he went through in his last week of life--maybe I actually wanted myself to suffer yesterday--who knows? But this I do know--every time I do one of these I learn something new about myself and acquire new skills, and this one is no different. Other than getting through it in the rain, I'm not checking in yet on just all what I learned about myself--that will take a few weeks.

Now it's time for some beer and more food! Thanks everyone who was watching and rooting for me out there. I feel badly I made you wait so long for me to finish--I'll try harder next time, I promise!