Critique My Bike Position

This is a picture that Rich took of me today while out riding the Ironman Wisconsin course. It was on Birch road just before the Old Sauk Pass climb. Initially he told me he thought my stem should be shortened slightly, but I don't at all feel stretched out on this bike. I think this is probably the best picture of me on the Bitch ever.

When the entire camp began riding today, I led everyone away from John Nolen Drive. I was a bit surprised that I was the chosen leader, but I was told later by a woman that since I was wearing "almost a thong" that it was only natural that I should be the leader, and so I was. It was fun knowing that I was leading a number of not-yet-Ironmen out on their very first ride of the Wisconsin course, that I know like the back of my hand. It's been a bit odd for me to be with these folks since I try and not think about my own race until I really have to, which should start to happen sometime next week, as I begin to organize all my crap. But it's also good to sense the excitement these people have, and it rekindles my love of the sport and the people in it.

I only rode 68 miles today, as now my taper for Ironman Lake Placid begins. I was a little sad doing the ride today, since it means I have to begin resting, but that's what's needed now. I ran :40 off the bike and ran pretty well considering it was about 90 degrees out.

During the last 15 or so miles of the ride, I rode with Eric, who is attending the camp here, and he and I are both light and we both run power meters, so we were comparing watts and talking about how we ride the bike. We had a good run back into Madison, getting a tailwind on Whalen Road which totally rocked! Eric ended up calling me "Turbo," I suppose because I can really pour it on when I decide to. Today was just about having fun riding the bike.

Tomorrow is a running clinic (been there, done that, learned a lot), and then I get to run 1:30. It's supposed to be extremely hot, but I feel like I'm pretty acclimated to it. I'm going to talk about something or other for about :15 before we begin running, and I'm sure I'll come up with something to keep people interested, and then it's onto the run, a few more hours of Rich talking, and then he and I drive back to my house.

Rumor has it that Rich is going to actually go SWIMMING with me on Monday morning. OH THE HORROR! He's swam all of maybe 200 yards in the last year. When I suggested we go at 6:30AM to the outdoor pool he looked at me like I was crazy due to the early hour. Hey--us poor schmoes have to swim early since we are usually doing a second workout later in the day. But I guess we can wait until 8:00AM to be in the water, and then we'll just go for an hour.

Camp is fun, I had a great day, and I hope everyone else did, but now it's time to get some rest for my really not-so-big day tomorrow.

Off to Camp

Rich is here (arrived yesterday around 3PM), and we are about to go for a short run.

It's a tradition with me that whenever I attend his camps that I get no sleep and have a hangover, and today is no exception. We had some sushi and plenty of beers and then watched Casino Royale (after me the dufus figured out there were 2 DVD's and inserted the one with the movie on it), and I don't know what time we went to sleep, but I woke up at 4:30AM as it was getting light out and I was HUNGRY. My metabolism continues to race, so tonight I'm going to need to eat a bunch more, especially since *I* have to ride and run tomorrow.

I think there are going to be several cans of Ultra Violence consumed during the drive to Madison...

Will report in later.

4th of July Ride

Pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8737154@N04/sets/72157600646386327/

Every year, the Joliet Bicycle Club hosts the 4th of July Ride. The longest route billed is 62 miles, but I think whenever I've done it I ride more than that, by adding on. It starts from Plainfield South High School. I used to ride from Plainfield frequently, since I have a friend, Matt, who lives in Plainfield, but he got shipped out to Afghanistan a year ago (he's coming back to town permanently, though--YEAH!), and it's just as easy for me to ride to Fermilab and circle around.

Jamey, who I met at the Y swimming, asked to do the ride with me, and he needed to start fucking early (6AM) because of family obligations for the 4th. Turns out he'd be in Plainfield to ride, go back home to Antioch for some do, and then come back out even further west than Plainfield for another do.

(Side Note: Beer tastes pretty good right about now. Disco Inferno sounds pretty good on the CD player right about now.)

I had set my alarm clock for 4AM so I could be out the door about 4:45. I managed to fall asleep a little after 8PM last night, which was great, so I'd get almost 8 hours if I made it to 4AM. I was awakened a bit after midnight by thunder, which was right on the predicted schedule. I got up and looked at the radar, and knew the storms weren't severe, so I just got back in bed, hoping the storms would pass by morning, and I fell back asleep pretty easily.

4AM WAKE THE FUCK UP, said my alarm clock. Oh boy, did NOT want to get out of bed, but hey, I have a job to do. Turned on the coffee pot, took my Gag Juice out of the fridge (I can't drink it ice cold), and got organized. I had Bitchie all set up to go, and all I had to do was pick an outfit. Socks--no brainer--my lucky socks (that I got from Lori's SO, Marc). Panties? No brainer--black. Now what to wear on top? First I put on a zebra-striped Shebeest tank, but it's a bit too tight under the arms for my liking. Next, the black Zoot tank, and I just couldn't see wearing a black top all day, so I resorted to a tiny white bra top and one of my Zoot white tanks, which is usually a cool (well, as cool as you can be in the mid-80's) combination, and I could even remove the tank at some point if I wanted to.

Radar check--the blob of the storm system was just barely over my house and going south, so it looked good for riding. Drank 2 cups of coffee, ate my Power Bar Triple Threat, downed the Gag Juice, had a little quality time in the bathroom, and I was ready to go. I had fixed my bottles last night. Somehow I ended up leaving at 5:00AM instead of 4:45, but I figured there would be ZERO traffic this time of the morning and that I'd still make it by 5:30AM, our agreed upon meet-up time (clipping in at 5:45).

For about the first 4 miles of driving, it was raining, but I could see the clouds were breaking up and knew we'd be fine today. I was almost there when Jamey called and asked if the high school was east or west of Route 59. I said west, and hoped I was right (I was). We met up about 5:35AM, parked and began getting ready. Jamey had a bit more to do than me, it being the virgin voyage and all of the Skank. I picked that name right away. After a bathroom stop and me paying the money for the ride (because I want to support these people volunteering), we were off at 6:08AM.

I had a workout plan that I wanted to execute, but I was also flexible. I always worry when I ride with guys that I am holding them back, and know that because of this, I had be prepared to just ride hard for a long time if that's what I need to do to stay with them. We took off, and about :45 in Jamey got a flat. He began messing with a brand new pump, and I just grabbed the wheel and stripped off the tire and tube, and I found that a rather sharp rock or piece of glass had lodged into the tire and had almost punctured clear through, which is what I believed caused the flat. So I sacrificed and ate a gel so I'd have some semblance of a tire boot to ensure the new tube wouldn't flat. As I'm doing this, I'm explaining to Jamey what I'm doing and how you can actually buy tire boots (I didn't have any with me since I was running tubulars today, but I usually have some with my clincher tube crap), but you can also use parts of gel wrappers or even money in a pinch.

The classic line from the tube changing was, "Where's the hole?" Which I said a few times as I wanted to line up the almost hole in the tire with the hole in the rim so I knew where it was when I put the piece of gel wrapper in there and then the tube. Jamey took over after I blew some air into the tube and he got the pump working and then he seated the tube and the tire, pumped, and we were good to go. I told him we'd get some more air in there when we got to the rest station, just to be safe.

After the flat, there were no more mechanicals, and we just rode. Since we were the first people to begin riding (technically, the ride began at 7AM), we hit the rest stations first and got the royal treatment. Lots of peeps looking at the Bitch and Skank and asking us what we were training for. Jamey was the one who said, "An Ironman." I don't do that--I just say, "A triathlon." And if they keep asking questions, I get to the Ironman shit eventually.

(Side Note: Beer tastes REALLY good, and I feel a nap coming on.)

I eventually did some of my workout crap, some of which sort of sucked (thanks, Rich, or as I took to calling him today, "Strauss"), but Jamey was a willing participant in all the shit, although I told him he could take off ahead of me any time he wanted. We were about to head into a tailwind at one point, and we passed a group of 3 guys. Of course, said guys could not take being passed by a girl, so they began to take chase, but only one of them could keep with me with the tailwind going. He gets in front of me, and I'm like, fine, dude, I will just suck your wheel and catch a break while you work your ass off. His buddies couldn't keep up, so bearded guy peels left to look back for them and goes, "You are right behind me." I said, "Yeah, dude, where the hell did you think I was?" I think he thought he was going to be able to drop me, but NOT FUCKING TODAY! Meanwhile, I am sure Jamey was right behind laughing his ass off at all this. So I dial it down a notch, and we let the other 2 guys catch up, and one of them (who I think was enjoying the, ahem, view), tells me to tuck in behind the really big guy (and he was HUGE) and draft. So I did, and we had a nice train going, but the gang of 3 peeled off because they were just riding in the area. Jamey and I had a good laugh about this when I told him that many guys get pissed off when I pass them and pull that shit. Oh well!

Rest station, about 50 miles and we need to decide what to do. I consult map and volunteers and we are going to do another 42 miles. Jamey is going to be late, but I consider that because of his flat, he owes me penalty miles and will just have to be late for whatever is next on his agenda. I mean, come on, we have priorities!

So we head out again and that's when we encounter Robbie-Ventura-wannabe Vision Quest dude, who gets pissed that we pass (especially by me) and so he has to show us what he's got. The dude zooms by only to have to cycle back to stay with his wife, and then we never saw him again. I'm sure he was torqued he couldn't ride as fast as he wants, but hey, thems the breaks.

Jamey and I are now riding through lots of people who started later and just people out riding, because the area is very popular with cyclists, so they are everywhere. And we are passing them all. There were some decent winds, but no matter, we just kept cranking.

With about 1.5 miles to go, we passed some girls, who asked how fast we had been riding, and I said, "about 18.5 miles per hour." She said something like, "That's pretty good," and then I was thinking to myself, "Wait for it..." when I couldn't resist adding, "for 95 miles." At that point she was probably shaking her head or something like what the fuck, and we marched on. Later, Jamey said he knew I would add that last little bit, but I was proud of myself for inserting the proverbial pregnant pause first.

When all was said and done, we banged out 95.2 miles in 5:15, which was not bad, considering. Jamey looked a bit tired (as was I), and so I think I gave him a good run for his money. We stopped at a Subway just about 1.5 miles from the high school, loaded up, and went our separate ways.

I really had fun riding with Jamey on this flattest of rides, had fun riding the disk for the first time in 2007, and put out some decent watts. I may run into Jamey this Saturday, since we'll both be up in Madison riding around--Jamey just for riding, me for Strauss' camp.

Tomorrow morning I do another 3800 meter TT swim as part of a 3-mile workout at the outdoor 50 meter pool, then I chill for a few hours, pick up the Strauss, we go for a short run, I get a massage, and Strauss buys me sushi (OR ELSE). Then Friday, we head up to Madison to do a training camp for IMWI. I can't believe I'm less than 3 weeks out from an Ironman and there's so much going on (and even more I can't discuss right now). Ah, well, such is the life of a Crackhead.

I hope Jamey had fun today!

Fucking Rabbits and Things I've Learned This Week so Far

You can see my bar/bike shop supplieds above, and I did my toenails yesterday/today. Yes, there are TEN DIFFERENT COLORS. But they are all shiny.

In support and honor of Cindy, here's a list of stuff I learned this week so far (I can't believe it's only Tuesday):

1. Rabbits make me crazy. My back yard is overrun by rabbits. Every size, every color. And they are barely frightened of me!


2. Cupcakes with whipped cream and PAMA (pomegranate liquer) and guava juice cocktails aren't good training nutrition.


3. I can run on no sleep and the after effects of PAMA and guava juice cocktails. Swimming--not so much.


4. I can still think pretty well on no sleep.


5. I am fucking creative--will reveal the fruits within a few weeks.


6. I still love my 80's ska and new-age records (yes, RECORDS! I have a Bang & Olafsen turntable that plays them spectacularly). Talking Heads, Tom Tom Club, Specials, General Public are still good music.


7. I can only take so much of my attempts at Zen-like peacefulness before they are interrupted by hard training.


8. Free hot dogs after a swim at the YMCA rocks.


9. Regular people think I do nothing but train. Today I was asked if I do "regular" things like go to movies, festivals, etc. Well part of the year I don't do anything but train (like now), but the rest of the year somehow I manage to grow a beautiful garden, sew for myself and others, read a bunch of books, cook and work. I don't "entertain," and there are a lot of typical things others do that I don't, but I still love my life.


10. My blog is very popular. I've installed Blogpatrol, so I know who you are looking for and at me. I suppose it doesn't hurt I am Crackhead, and apparently a lot of people Google that and end up here. Happy to help! I want to thank all my readers who have followed my advice that it's not necessary to leave comments all the time. But sometimes I like to know who you are and that you are here, so shout out once in awhile!


11. I still have not commited to an Ironman for 2008, although there are already pushers trying to rope me into one. Coach thinks I should JUST SAY NO TO IRONMAN IN 2008. We shall see. Ask me in 3 weeks.


12. It's eerie getting a postcard in the mail about my next dentist appointment which is July 31, which is AFTER IMLP. Just looking at the date makes me think about how will it have gone? I don't like thinking about "after the race" until it's actually happened.

Twenty-Two

As I close in on IMLP, I need to go inside myself and get my game on. I am drawn to the Tao Te Ching as a source of meditation and inspiration, and so I will be posting pieces of it here. Twenty-Two reminds me to be yielding even as I become stronger and more focused:

Twenty-Two

Yield and overcome;
Bend and be straight;
Empty and be full;
Wear out and be new;
Have little and gain;
Have much and be confused.

Therefore wise men embrace the one
And set an example to all.
Not putting on a display,
They shine forth.
Not justifying themselves,
They are distinguished.
Not boasting,
They receive recognition.
Not bragging,
They never falter.
They do not quarrel,
So no one quarrels with them.
Therefore the ancients say, "Yield and overcome."
Is that an empty saying?
Be really whole,
And all things will come to you.

Nailing a Workout and How if Affects My Mood

I did it, I did it, I did it. Three times today. Swim, bike and run. A triathlon of sorts. To wash away the mental anguish from sabotaging my own workout on Saturday (which wasn't really all that bad; after all I nailed the run, right?).

Let me just say that sleeping my normal amount was key. Normal being 8.5 hours. Also helpful was the lucid dreaming, which is typically positively oriented (I would hate to have lucid dreams about horrifying things, but I know it happens to people occasionally). Also helpful is implementing what I am saying I need to do which is to let my support network know that I am in no state to take any crap, be given "extra" work to do or be inconvenienced in any way. Yet it will happen, and I know that, but still at least I've put the word out there, so if I react badly, it won't come as a surprise.

Also helpful is knowing that I only have to work today and tomorrow this week. Even though I don't consider my job highly stressful, nevertheless, I am very aware of how differently I feel on a day when I don't work. Even better is having an actual "rest" day from training on a day of no work. When I have or take a rest day on a day when I do work, it isn't really all that restful, because I tend to just work harder!

So I went into today figuring (as I've said to people at work), "Every Monday is a new week." I guess it's a take on "Today is the first day of the rest of your life," but I don't always want to think that far ahead, and I think focusing on one week at a time (and sometimes one day at a time) is a little easier to cope with.

I had scheduled a 3,400 yard swim for myself, and Rich had scheduled a 1:30 ride/:40 run brick workout. When I looked at it on paper today, I thought something needs to give. So I decided to sub in a shorter (2,650 yards) swim workout.

Got to the pool about 6:45AM, and asked to share a lane with someone I hadn't seen there before--Brent. Brent is an awesome swimmer, and he looked friendly, so we started up a conversation, where I learned he's got friends trying to rope him into triathlon, and he has a concern with running, and of course me being the pusher that I am, I assured him he'd probably do just fine, since I know lots of former college swimmers (as he is) who are able to pick up the other 2 sports quite easily. I have to say, though, it's pretty easy to talk to a hottie swimmer dude. We can always use more hot men in the sport of triathlon!

Brent was almost done and Chad shows up, and I think Chad was a bit jealous that I was lavishing my attention on Brent, so he thrusted his hand into our lane to shake hands with Brent and introduce himself. I told Chad that Brent didn't know what he was getting into, and we all had a good laugh!

I start my workout and then Jamie arrives, and I tell him that Brent is almost done, although I laugh because many times when a swimmer says "almost done," they mean just another 800 yards or so. Anyway, Brent does finish up, I wave goodbye, and Jamie joins my lane, and we're all swimming.

So I had a good swimmer on either side of me to get me motivated today to swim harder than I normally do. At one point, I was keeping up with Jamie, and at another point, to my own amazement, with Chad. Of course he was going slowly (or so I thought), and I had fins on, so whatever. But still, like I said, it was nice to be surrounded by mojo. Chad even mentioned that I was keeping him en pointe. Unbelievable!

I finished up the workout feeling not at all tired, in fact when I started I was so wired up because I got such good sleep last night, otherwise I might not have even done the swim workout, since the key workout for today was the brick.

As soon as I got home, all I could think about was the next workout, but I had to get some work done before I started, and so I lined up what I needed to do, and caught a minute here and there to pump my tires, select today's outfits and running shoes and ensure I had bottles chilled for biking. I don't know why I even bother with regular clothes lately, since it seems I am always just taking them off to get ready for a workout!

I took off on the bike around 11:30AM on schedule, and did an easy warmup. What a gorgeous day! It was about 72 with light winds. I hoped that not too many cars would be looking to kill me today, but as always, I was very cautious initially. I did get a lot of looks because I'm still sporting my temporary tattoos which will remain until I get my massage on Thursday. I guess I look a bit aggro.

As I neared my interval loop, I could feel my mood change to "it's work time." This time, there was no easing into the interval stuff, just warmup and then it's GO TIME. Shifted into the big chainring, and started out. I thought it must be Tuesday, because that's when I usually do these workouts, but it got shifted to today because I'm riding 100 miles on Wednesday. But I still had some of my fans out, and they waved heartily every time I looped past them while they were on lunch break.

When I fired up the first interval, I could really feel a power surge in my legs, and thought where did that come from? OK, well, let's just keep it up then. And I got the first :15 done and thought, can I repeat with only :03 rest? Yep. And then once more, with feeling. They were all good intervals and spot on. And then I got to go easy for :05 and finally complete the last bit, which I should have cut short because I was running low on time, but then I thought, what the heck, I can be a few minutes late for my 2:00PM meeting or cut my run a bit short. So I got it done, the workout ended up being 1:45 and it felt great.

Now it's time to run. Since I was trying to beat the clock, I hurried up and changed into running shorts, washed my scummy face, put on my running shoes and hat, grabbed a bottle of Gatorade and I was off in about 2:30. Not too bad a transition time--it could have been faster--but it was good enough for today. It was not a race!

I started running in my typical "just keep your cadence up and the pace will take care of itself" mode, and surprisingly, my legs didn't feel all that trashed. But I could tell I'd need to work to make it happen. Looking at my watch, I decided that instead of running for :40 that I would just go 4 miles in however long it took and call it a day.

The run went well, and I was really in the zone of just doing what I needed to do, and it didn't feel like pain or bad in any way. It just felt like effort.

When I finished, I just felt great, and I still feel great. I reestablished that my bike power is right about where it should be right now (I haven't had luck with hitting the elusive 200 FTP; I'm stuck at around 180-185), and that's what I'm going into IMLP with. And I learned that even though I haven't been sleeping enough, that I've been doing quality workouts, and the numbers show up when I am truly rested.

So I guess the point of this post is that I'm just like anyone else in that I can get down on myself when I don't perform up to my own sky-high expectations, but also that I know deep down inside what I'm capable of and that on any given day, it can all unfold to give me a wonderful experience, which is what I had today. So I'll take this one, and be happy for it, yet not use it to set expectations for the Ironman.

I will be happy (I should say happiER--I haven't been unhappy) just for today and see what tomorrow brings. I feel like I'm finally absorbing all the nonsense of the last 11 weeks, and this week makes the magic 12-week classic Ironman build. So it's about time that it's all seeming like it's coming together!

Weekly Workout Totals 06/25/2007-07/01/2007and Surviving Ironman Training

So, the ride yesterday didn't go as well as planned. 1) I decided to stop and take pictures. 2) I was "thinking" a bit too much. Even though I'm bummed, it is what it is, and so I will let it go and move on. I'm riding 100 miles on Wednesday, and so I have another chance to see how well I do, although I wasn't given any pacing guidance, so I will most likely hammer it! I plan on riding my disc just for shits and grins, panties, the whole outrageous kit! What the hell, it's the 4th of July, gotta celebrate!

Now, onto the topic at hand: How do you (an average age grouper) keep your sanity while training for an Ironman? It all comes down to the following equation:

Sanity = x * (time you want to train to achieve your outrageous goals) - y * (time actually available to train) - z * (unpredictable life crap) + q * (value of your support network, and be honest) + s * (genetic giftedness) + t * (amount of training planning you actually do or coaching you receive) - v * (amount of unnecessary crap you engage in that doesn't contribute towards your training/racing goals) + r * (your knowledge of the art and science of triathlon training in order to cope with all the other shit)

The variables x, y, z, q, s, t, v and r are very important and very individual, and are subject to change at any given time! Considering that "sanity" will reflect your ability to execute on race day, it's very important to be honest about the variables. Things get even more complicated because many people are unable to self-assess to the extent required to keep things in balance and keep things real.

What about me? I am subject to the same stressors as the next guy or gal. Sure, I'm not married and don't have kids, but hey, cut me some slack. I do EVERYTHING, and I mean EVERYTHING for myself. I work, and if I lose my job, I have noone to lean on to support me. I pay the bills, take out the garbage, tend to the house and yard, do the laundry, cooking, dishes, repairs, anything you can imagine.

BUT, and this is a very important BUT, I do everything possible to ensure that I can get in the training that I want to do to achieve what I think is possible for me. So I eliminate crap that doesn't need to get done, and while I make incessant lists, many things never get done because they just aren't truly necessary. If I want to go out drinking with a friend, I know in advance the price I will pay and whether I will be able to execute the next day's workouts. I knew that by stopping to take pictures and "thinking" too much yesterday that I was jeopardizing my race rehearsal ride. Sure, I'm still pissed, but it was a choice I made, and in the end, I still had fun doing it, I still got in a good workout, and the experience will still contribute to my race day execution. At least I did the workout, you know?

I am by no means a talented athlete. I got where I am by sheer determination, discipline and hard work. Nothing more, nothing less. Sometimes my sanity equation gets out of whack, and I just try to sit back and figure out what needs to give.

Right now, for example, I'm sort of at the edge of my own sanity. I feel incredibly fit, yet I am subject to the odd poor workout. I also need to be aware that as I've aged that I may have reached my inevitable peak and begin to decline in ability any day now. It's all I can do right now to do the workouts, maintain some semblance of "regular life," do my job and begin planning for a race that happens in 3 weeks. It's fucking nuts! I would be totally remiss to say it was anything less than that.

Yet I know that to some folks, I appear totally cool, calm, collected and all that shit. Oh, boy, there are things I could talk about going on in my head that would make YOUR head spin. Let's just say I have an extremely active fantasy life right now. My brain is constantly scrolling through all sorts of scenarios, not just for the present, but for the near and far futures. I am constantly testing myself against what I think I am, what I think I know, what I think I want, and all possible combinations. Sometimes I think it's a miracle that I can concentrate on a single thing, like writing this post. Am I unique in this regard? I don't think so. I bet that if I could get other would-be or already Ironmen to comment on these feelings that they would concur.

It's a fantastic thing to bring your body to this point--where you are a finely honed machine that is constantly chomping at the bit for the next challenge. In fact, that's how I like to schedule my entire training calendar for a year. Most of the time it works like a charm, but there's always something different about an impending Ironman.

At this time, what I try and do is draw heavily upon my support network, and by that, I mean those people closest to me who really know what this is about in terms of ME--they don't need to know the ins and outs of Ironman training or racing--but they need to know ME and just be there and reinforce my sense of self and confidence and in the end, that's really all any of us needs, right?

But sometimes my support network doesn't see through my external shell of She-Ra strength and attitude, and I need to remind them that I am just as vulnerable as everyone else. It's OK to ask for support when you need it, and it's OK to be a little selfish in these last 3 weeks. Of course, that's with the assumption that I'm giving back to my support network. I try my best to do so, and I am regularly surprised at all the nice things other people do for me throughout the year. I never think I am doing enough for others, which is a personality fault of mine. I'm a doer, plain and simple. That's what I do; that's what I get satisfaction from. Even when I may feel overwhelmed at all the "doing" that I've committed to, in the end, that's what makes me a happy camper. When my schedule is overflowing with stuff, to me it all just becomes a juggling act that is yet another skill for me to master.

So now, here's what I did last week. I have one more big (20-hour or so) week, and then it's taper time! I'm feeling very much on the edge right now, but I just need to bear with it and then it should all come together. I'm heading back to Wisconsin this Friday with Rich to conduct an IMWI training camp, and I'm looking forward to that. To me, it will be a ton of fun, assuming I don't frighten off the other campers! And then I'm looking forward to meeting up with old friends at IMLP, so no matter what happens, it will all be good!


Weekly Workout Totals 06/25/2007-07/01/2007
Swim: 15215 yards (8.64 miles) in 5.12 hours; 24% of weekly workout time; approx. 1790 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 180.54 miles in 10.32 hours; 48% of weekly workout time; approx. 4584 calories burned
Run: Approx. 31.75 miles in 4.82 hours; 23% of weekly workout time; approx. 2177 calories burned
Strength: 1.03 hours; 5% of weekly workout time; approx. 258 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 220.93 miles in 21.29 hours; approx. 8809 calories burned
Sleep: 7.07 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.23 hours. Massage: 1.5 hours

Oh, and if you haven't looked, see what's blooming for this past week: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8737154@N04/sets/72157600496071836/

Edit (Monday morning): I woke up at 2AM (as has been happening pretty much daily for the last 3-4 weeks--notice the correlation to the number of training hours I'm putting up) this morning. I was hoping it was later, but my curiousity got the better of me and I looked at a clock. I was like, oh fuck, this is even earlier than my usual 3-3:30AM wakeup. But whatever. I've learned not to obsess about this, figuring that as long as I am horizontal, it's all good in terms of giving my body a rest. So I took stock--I was, as always, hot, even though my bedroom temperature was 73 (my bedside clock has a thermometer in it--I told you I like to measure stuff!) and I had a fan blowing on me all night and I sleep naked. I went to the bathroom and turned on the light, looked in the mirror and thought, "I look disgusting." Guess most of us don't look so hot at 2AM, huh? And this is why we invented alcoholic beverages... I washed my face, got pissed about a zit on my chin (I mean what the fuck, I'm 50 and I still get these things? Oh yeah, I ride a bike and drool all over my face while sweating like a pig.), turned off the light and got back in bed, knowing I would lay there for awhile wide awake thinking, or should I say "scrolling." I just let my mind do it, because trying to stop it is futile (much like the Borg). What was cool was that I went into a lucid dreaming state--I went through 4 dreams, where I had them and then immediately became fully alert and awake, knowing I had just had a dream (trust, me, they were all good ones), feeling like my mind was having some fun, and then I dropped back into sleep only to repeat the sequence. Sometimes I just have to let my brain run wild, and this can be the happy result. I ended up with 8.5 hours of sleep, and I feel great, rarin' to go. There's a link on my sidebar to a dream interpretation site. I taught myself to recall my dreams many, many years ago, and also this ability to stare at the ceiling (during daylight hours) until I am not "seeing" at all. It's sort of like what happens when they give you that shot of sodium pentathol to put you under before surgery and you see the bright white light that collapses into nothing and then you are out. The purpose of doing this? Achieving the feeling of nothingness and everythingness all at once. Being there and being gone. I think it's a fleeting glimpse of that thing they call "Nirvana."

Race Rehearsal in Pictures

http://www.flickr.com/photos/8737154@N04/sets/72157600573824079/

My ride was slower than expected, but my run was faster than expected, and I refused to swim afterwards. But I did accumulate and will write copious notes about the course and how to ride it. And I think I looked good out there.

I think I've been training A LOT. Here's the last 11 weeks, and keep in mind I plan to swim :30 tomorrow:

17.91
19.13
19.45
20.08
18.31
20.78
16.54
21.08
20.84
22.23
20.62

Am I ready for a taper or WHAT??? Right now, I'm the world's cheapest date.

Hope you enjoy the photos--I had fun taking them or asking others to take them!

Live from VERONA, WISCONSIN....IT'S SATURDAY...er...FRIDAY NIGHT!!!

I'm here in Verona, after a nice dinner at Avanti for pizza (I decided to start with the lucky topping mix from Horribly Hilly and add a few more) and Bell's Oberon. The head waitress recognized me from 2 weeks ago. After that, I headed to World of Variety and scored some fire power and some other things that will make an appearance at IMLP, went to Walgreen's to complete my juggler's set of light-up rainbow ball things, and back to the hotel, where I convinced the front desk girl to take some pics. I warned her ahead of time!

Sorry the "I HEART Endurance Sports" thong pic didn't show as much as I had hoped, but maybe there will be a retake tomorrow after all the riding, running and swimming. I'm thinking about doing a "pantie ride," where I'll wear a swimsuit bottom, because I am SICK AND TIRED of the fucking bike shorts tan lines (I browned up my thighs a bit when I swam 4800 yards in an outdoor pool last week and to a lesser extent at Triple T). After all, I have a reputation to uphold. And I always say, that when I look bad dressed that way, please let me know and I will CEASE AND DESIST. I'm more than happy to call "fashion police" on others, so I expect no lesser treatment of myself. Too bad all you Anonymous bloggers can't bitch and moan about how narcisisstic I am and blah, blah, blah. Are you doing 8 hours of workout tomorrow? No? LOSER.

Now I have some "homework" to do in order to get my head on straight for tomorrow. And I need to apply the customary temporary tattoos (I hope to find more in Madison tomorrow--you can basically get anything there). Other than that, I'm all shaved up and fed with no place in particular to go until I head out the door about 7:30AM tomorrow. The Incredible Hulk beckons!

Inspiration!!!!

Even a CRACKHEAD needs inspiration at times! This pic was sent to me by my friend, William, who lives in Tejas.

I also got some mojo and advice workin' from Rich. Sometimes I need to remind him that while I am very self-motivated, I appreciate encouragement every now and then. The one word? Git 'er done!

And with that, I'm off to Cheeseland.

Time to Wind it Up!

First, I made it through 10 consecutive days where I either biked or ran or both, including 5 days in a row of cycling (last Friday through Tuesday), 3 brick workouts, 2 long runs (2:15 and 2:00) and boatloads (20,400 yards--HOLY CRAP!) of swimming. My 2:00 run yesterday went quite well, even though my quads were pissed off at me from the get-go. Too fucking bad, I told them, we need to run.

I ran in Waterfall Glen, and started at 6:00AM. We had storms roll through the day before that finally dropped the temperatures, but the humidity remained in the early hours. I had "governors" of sorts while there, because there were a few cross country teams (half-naked young men, thank you very much, and a few girls) doing intervals on the trail, and I also saw this pair of runners that I believe must be ultrarunners because of how skinny and chiseled they are. So you know the rule--you can't slow down or look bad or walk a hill when there are other runners within eyeshot, and this got me to charge a few hills that I would have otherwise taken easy. My average pace was 8:58/mile, which is a teensy bit more than my alleged open 1/2 marathon pace. Considering that only :40 of the run was supposed to be at 1/2 marathon pace and the course has some serious hills, I feel like I ran pretty well. Cool weather helped!

Today begins the official Race Rehearsal weekend. I take these things pretty seriously. This morning, I'm swimming a 2.4-mile TT (the total workout will be about 3 miles), and then I head up to Wisconsin where I'll ride the full Ironman course tomorrow followed by a 6-mile run. I'm doing the swim in an outdoor 50-meter pool, which will be nice, because it's only 55 degrees right now, and the pool should be COLD and I'll wear my wetsuit. Bonus--less laps to count!

I set up Bitchie, as you can see above, with her race wheels, so she's a bit lighter than usual. I mixed my bottles of Infinit, Ultrafuel (aka "gag juice"), Endurox R4, and I have a can of Ultra Violence defizzing that will be used for the run. I'll be staying in Verona rather than Madison, just because I like the hotel that I stay at in Verona, and it's right on the bike loop. I will begin my ride from there, and do the out-and-back part (to and from Madison) first, and then I'll ride the loop twice. I'll stop back at the hotel to pick up my second bottle of calories at some point.

When I finish riding, I'll run right from the hotel on the Military Ridge trail, which is pretty sweet. Technically, this doesn't mimic race conditions since it's crushed limestone, but that's OK.

This will be my first time riding the Wisconsin course this year. Some summers, I'll ride the thing maybe 4 or 5 times. This year, I'm riding it tomorrow, part of it again next week at my coach's training camp (you can still sign up for it!), a little bit the day before Ironman Wisconsin (where I'll be officiating on the back of a motorcycle driven by Rich again), and then if I decide I'm still in, the following weekend will be a full-course ride as part of an unsupported Ironman "race." Horribly Hilly included parts of Garfoot Road in the reverse direction from the Ironman, and that ride is MUCH harder than the full Ironman course. Triple T was also much harder riding that the Wisconsin course. And I believe the Wisconsin course is tougher than Lake Placid.

So we'll just have to see how well I ride. My FTP is a bit down from its high last year, but yet I seem to be riding faster than last year. I know my CdA is probably pretty low, which always helps, and I no longer use the aerobottle, as I think it's kinda gay. I also believe that my CdA is less without it, although someone pointed me at some alleged study that said they improved it. All I know is that when I ride without it, I seem to go faster. Go figure!

Cindy was going to join me for the weekend but can't make it due to family commitments. That's OK, since I need to ride my own ride anyway, but I'll miss her post-ride. No worries--I know the Madison area pretty well, and I will just enjoy a weekend away from home, and no doubt I'll spot friends and they will spot me while I'm up there. I could come home tomorrow night, but I'm going to stay and chill, and then drive back early Sunday when traffic will be light.

Enjoy your weekend and I'll update you when I'm back about how it all went!

Training Will Continue Until Fitness Improves

I got through 3 workouts today: a 3400 yard swim, a 1:10 run and :27 strength. That brings me up to 8.5 hours in 3 days!

The swim was a no-op; the water was way too warm for me to swim effectively, so I just made the best of it by swimming with good form.

The run was in 90-degree (96 with heat index) temp with about a bazillion percent humidity. I was supposed to do HIM and 10K intervals, but as soon as I began, I could sense my HR was way up (I don't wear an HRM but I can tell) and that this was going to be tough going. I held myself back as I was supposed to do for 20', and at that point I made a decision to just not slow down. The sun was beating down, but I could tell that when clouds blew over that I felt better. I had brought Gatorade with me, but I made a point to stop and drink copious amounts of water at the two water fountains en route, and also doused my face, arms and back with water, which cooled me off for a few minutes.

To add insult to injury, my legs were a bit fatigued from, well, training like a fucking maniac, and so I had that going for me. But I did my best to not give in to the walking demons. My only trouble came about 6 miles into 8.5 miles, when I had to run "the hill." It's a 1-mile hill, with stair steps taking you progressively steeper. I just dialed things back a bit to prevent myself from needing to walk. Once I finished that, there was a gentle downhill for about 1/2 mile and picked up the pace again.

At the last mile, I decided to try and pick it up since clouds were rolling in, and I was able to reel off a 10K pace mile. All in all, I negative split the run by a little bit, which is good considering the way back was harder, with the 1-mile hill and running into a slight headwind. So I have nothing to feel bad about, really!

I did do a short lay-down around 3:30, and was dozing off when the phone rang--someone from work calling--but this is someone I love working with and I shook off my cobwebs and we did some stuff and I came around, and then a bit later I managed to finish up my strength routine.

I had been thinking about making a trip to Target tonight for some miscellaneous stuff, but at this point, I'm not much good for anything, so I'm going to chill, read the newspaper, watch some TV and call it a night. Hopefully I'll sleep 8 hours again tonight which would be fantastic.

Storms have rolled on through, dropping the temps by 20 degrees, so it's supposed to be nice and cool and low humidity for a few days, which will be really nice. My gardens are appreciating the rain, and I love how it's been raining AFTER I've finished up my workouts! I couldn't ask for more perfect days.

Tomorrow I "only" have to work out for 2.5 hours!!!! Yee-haw! And then Friday is just 1:45, and a little trip up to Wisconsin, where hopefully things will come together for a great 112-mile ride and 6-mile run. If not, well there's that race thing to try it out...

Namaste!

End of 5 Days Straight Riding

Which wouldn't be a big deal if that was all I was doing...

The festival ended yesterday with this workout:
Bike 1:45: WU: 20' Easy MS: 3 x 15' (3') @ FT, 5' Easy, 6 x 1' (2') @ 120% CD: 5' Easy
Run :40: Z2 out, Z3 back

It was about 92 degrees or so (it was 90 in the shade at home) and very humid. I didn't get much sleep at all (5 hours?) the night before because, well, it's hard to sleep well right now.

I drank the better part of a can of Coke before I started, and had a 300-calorie bottle of my personal Infinit (also loaded with caffeine) to ride with. I felt a little creeped out since the day before there were 3 attempts on my life by drivers while out riding. What I learned from those experiences is this: cars have no idea how fast I (we) are going on our bikes. They think they can outrun you from a dead stop. Nope!

As I was doing the warmup, I could feel the hot sun on me. Because of the Coke or in spite of it, I didn't feel mentally tired, but I could tell my legs were not really recovered from the last 4 days of riding, but oh well. The objective is always to do the best you can given the conditions and your physical state.

As I drew near to my interval loop, I had a slight sense of dread, which is normal when I'm doing these types of rides. How will it feel? Can I do it? I know how it should feel--pretty fucking hard. Can I do it? Probably.

With the heat and the humidity and the effort level required, I found that I was mouth breathing like a fish! It's simply an extreme desire for as much oxygen as I can pump into the system. Last week when I was doing an interval ride, a guy rode up on me and asked if I was racing in August. There's a criterium close to home every year, and I guess he figured me for someone who races!

I ride my interval loop pretty much every Tuesday, and as a result, I have acquired a number of "fans." I go past a few small factories right around noon, and some of the workers are outside on the lawn smoking cigarettes or eating a sack lunch. As hard as I'm working, and as much as I'm mouth breathing and going pretty fast, I manage to smile quite a bit, and I happily wave to them as I ride by them numerous times. I think, "They are working, but so am I."

Tuesday is also garbage day for the homes within my loop, so I see the same guy driving the truck every week, and he waves and smiles at me when I pass as well. He also gives me berth when he sees me coming up to pass him. A few of the mail carriers recognize me, too, and they give me a thumbs up or a wave, but always with a smile, and I'm happy to smile back.

What my fans don't know is that what appears to be a smile on my face is a combination smile and teeth gritting when I'm in the midst of an interval. To the casual observer, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. And sometimes I'm not sure myself, but I do know that photos captured of me racing on my bike that show a smile on my face are that precise look.

So I banged out the first :15 interval, and all I could think is that 3 minutes of rest is not going to be enough. But that's how it goes--I pedalled easy until I got to the one stop sign that I typically must obey and started the second interval from there. Which added maybe 9 seconds of rest. I don't obsess about that stuff.

As I began the second :15 interval, I thought, what the fuck, my legs are pretty tired. Oh well, keep going, keep doing the best you can, that's the point of all of this, I guess, to see what I've got after doing intervals Saturday and Sunday, and oh, wasn't it nice I made it more difficult by not sleeping? I still managed a pretty good effort, and during my next 3' rest, all I could think was, "Only one more to go!" That's always a good feeling.

During Number 3, I began thinking about the shit that followed after some more rest. I thought, "Now those will be fun." Number 3 came and went, I was happy for 5' rest, and I was happy for the next set of intervals. 120% of FTP basically means go balls out as hard as you can go you can hardly stand it. I've done that for 30 seconds, but it's a little more difficult to hold that for a minute. But I did, knowing that I had a luxurious 2 minutes of rest afterwards! When I finished these, my next thought was oh, fuck, I have to run. I wonder how that is going to feel?

When I got home, I drank an entire 16-oz. bottle of ice cold water (my engine coolant, as it were), changed into running shorts, grabbed a 12-oz. bottle of Gatorade, tuneage, visor, donned running shoes, and I'm off.

How can I describe how my legs feel running off a bike ride like that? Like I'm doing a fucking race, that's how. Only maybe worse. No taper, no rest the day before, 2 bricks on the weekend, no sleep. Perfect! I never feel like I'm moving much when I start to run in a workout like this, but I am. It's really, fucking hot now, and at least while I was on the bike I generated some breeze in addition to the hot wind, but not so much while running. And when I take off from home, it's a .25 mile climb up a hill. GREAT!

Now I need to decide which direction I'm going to go. I decide to go into the wind so that maybe I can catch a break on the way home. It's so fucking hot that I decide I'm running on the sidewalk (ah, whiteness reflecting the sun and shade at times), and I decided to run the same route as if I was riding to my interval loop, which would be a nice change of pace. Not hilly--I didn't really need to run hills right now.

OMG the sweat is just streaming off me right now, and I know I must be glistening like an oiled pig. But thank God for my visor with the dark underside and really dark sunglasses (I wore my Catlike's) to keep all that sun out of my face. I actually ran a pretty decent pace, and I enjoyed actually looking at the landscaping I was passing. Of course, my brain kept playing games like, "Hey, we can cut this run short it won't matter one bit." But I know the games my mind likes to play and my answer was, "Not today."

Not too long after I turned around to head home, a cicada landed on one of my legs, and I picked him or her up to toss into the air while screaming, "I'm not a tree!" A guy doing some shrub trimming looked up at my outburst and I figured he didn't get it, so I explained that a cicada had landed on me. I smiled, laughed, and continued on.

When I got to the one stoplight on this particular route, and it was red, I tried my best to stand in the shade of the stoplight! That's how hot it was. The last mile was mostly downhill (yeah, I know I said no hills, but I forget they are everywhere), which was really nice, and before I started this one, I polished off the Gatorade and put the bottle in my shorts in my butt. Well, not IN my butt, but you know what I mean--between my shorts and my butt. I do get tired of holding onto the bottle, so it's a nice break to stash it and not have to worry about it. I'm sure it looks rather, ahem, interesting in that particular spot, but I gotta say it stays put there.

When I finished, I was so sweaty that I couldn't even shower right away because I would just keep sweating, so I stripped down and began drinking Endurox R4, and I stuck my head into the open freezer for a minute because I was so flushed. Then I went upstairs and stood in front of a fan while checking my work email. I think I waited about 10 minutes before I got into the shower, and of course, it was the BEST SHOWER EVER.

I felt like I had put out a good effort, and I didn't feel too badly, considering. But let me tell you that an hour later I felt like I needed to LAY DOWN NOW. But I couldn't, because I had work to do, and I got it done, and my body told me it needed steak for dinner, so I had some of that with asparagus wrapped in prosciutto with fontina cheese, and later on a humongous toasted bagel with butter and jam. And 2 beers.

I passed out at 8:30 and slept until 4:30 this morning. That was the best sleep I've had in a few days, and now I'm ready to go for today--a 3400 yard swim and then a 1:10 tempo run later on, and I'll finish up my strength workout. This weekend is a race rehearsal weekend--a 2.4 mile time trial swim on Friday and on Saturday ride the entire Ironman Wisconsin course and run 6 miles off the bike.

I should be in a freaking McDonald's commercial--I'm LOVIN' IT!!!

My Latest Amulet

For the last 2 years, I have been wearing a lone ruby stud earring on a regular basis, even though I have double-pierced ears and rarely wear jewelry anymore. I began wearing it as a sort of amulet, or what I like to call my "sanity saver." I have objects that I keep for no other reason than they remind me to stay calm and peaceful in times of turmoil.

The ruby stud earring helped me through a difficult depression in late 2005 (which is when I first began writing this blog--can you believe it's almost been 2 years?), it stayed with me through my Mom's terminal illness and death, and it saw me through Ironman Brazil and a summer of intense training last year. It was still going strong this past winter as I completed a 1/2 Ironman, repeated Goofy Challenge, the indoor triathlon series, Triple T and Horribly Hilly.

On a whim last week, while talking to a neighbor of mine, Vicky, who is single and lives across the street from me (she house sits for me when I'm away), I decided to go down to the local festival on Friday night. Vicky said she was walking down and I said I'd join her, what the heck. It was more just an excuse to take a walk, and I thought perhaps get to know her better, and maybe a stop in the beer tent.

We got down there around 5PM, and I was surprised that the craft show was still open! Before I began all this endurance nonsense, I would make a point to go to this craft show and look for jewelry, if nothing else. I have an insane collection of jewelry--most of the precious stones (the four basic food groups being diamond, emerald, ruby and sapphire) and tons of the semi-precious. I also like artsy-fartsy jewelry, and am always looking for original items, especially those that aren't mass-produced. All of the beautiful suits and dresses that I sewed back when I needed to dress that way for work have matching jewelry. It's crazy, since I rarely wear the stuff anymore, but somehow I know it will come in handy in the future, and some lucky young lady is going to inherit all my stuff!

Anyway, we get to the craft fair and I see a stand with all this crystal stuff, and that's where I got the necklace. The stone is a Swarovski crystal that is actually an extra chandelier piece. The woman who makes this jewelry gets "overruns" from Swarovski and makes them into various pieces. Of course, my eyes were drawn to all the pink ones, and I had to decide between a true hot pink and the fuchsia one. As you can see, I chose fuchsia, and I'm glad I did.

For reference sake, the size of the stone is about 1 3/4". I have now been wearing this thing during the day as my new amulet. It's tough to miss! Yesterday I was out in the front yard when 3 teen girls were walking by, and I could see they were looking at it, so I showed it to them and told them what it was (they didn't know anything about Swarovski crystal so I told them), and they said it was very pretty.

I know it may appear superstitious, but wearing this is helping me to keep my wits about me during this last stretch of monstrous training. It's tough to be angry, sad or self-critical when I've got it around my neck. I am not wearing it during workouts, though!

Can you imagine the chandelier this was made for? Man, someday...

Things continue to bloom in my yard, and I've created a new Flickr album, which will be updated throughout the week: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8737154@N04/sets/72157600496071836/

Weekly Workout Totals 06/18/2007-06/24/2007and Nuclear Hangover Ride!

Today I went riding with Marty, who was brave and smart enough to take me up on an offer to meet him in Fermilab to do some intervals. The drawing above is from the cover of a magazine. Check it out if you're a geek! The next 2 pics are of Marty and I before we began riding; the next 2 are when we are about 2/3 done and the swans were on my way home.

Last night, I went down to my local summer festival, called Heritage Fest, with Harold, who is a guy I met on a ride about a month ago. We both have challenging schedules, and we would be riding together more except that he crashed on his MTB and messed up a finger (just like Cindy--what is it with friends messing up their pinkie fingers?), so he was available for a mellow evening and I somehow managed to stay awake after my 4 hour trainer ride followed by a :40 run and then a :30 swim. The upshot was that I was very much enjoying his company, and I drank a bit more than I should have considering what I needed to do today. But you know how some people are worth a hangover? Harold is one of those people. After he went home, I stayed up until (GASP!) 11:30, so I could do a little dancing with the stereo cranked (hey it's something I do a few times a year, what can I say?), and I set my alarm clock for 6:00AM in case I didn't feel like waking up so I could be ready to ride by 7:15.

I woke up at one point during the night and popped some Tylenol, which was a good move. I woke up at 5:39 before the alarm clock and felt like what the hell, this is going to be an interesting day! I know from past experience (and not too many times, for the record) that I can still ride pretty well with a hangover, but you never know. Luckily, I had mixed all my bottles and had Bitchie all set up to go except for pumping the tires, so all I really needed to do once I woke up was fucking wake up and pound down some calories. Before yesterday's workout festival, I downed 700 calories before I mounted LGL (I ended up on the trainer for 4 full hours!), but today, I only downed about 600. Of course, 300 of that was Ultrafuel, which didn't make me gag right away, but a few minutes after it was down the hatch it made me gag, and then I brushed my teeth and gagged a few minutes and then my stomach kept being mad at me to the point where I really would have liked to vomit, but then I'd need to brush my teeth again which would make me gag, so I did my best not to puke.

It was supposed to be a sunny, mild (high 80) day, but there were remnant clouds left over from yesterday's constant rain. It was about 65 when I started riding, and it felt nice and cool, but I wasn't chilled or anything. As I headed west, I saw lots of cyclists with all long sleeves and shit and thought what wusses. 65 or higher and I am in sleeveless tank, because that's what I'd wear in an Ironman race so I should be used to it, right?

About 5 miles from home who did I see going the opposite direction? Larry, the guy who is going to borrow my bike box this fall. I recognized him, and when he realized it was me, he also let out a big yell. He has never seen me on any of my bikes, and I was all hunkered down aero getting things done. It was nice to see him.

About 2 miles later, I came upon signs indicating there was a 5K that was going on, which I figured would start at 8AM. I almost wished I had running shoes with me and didn't have to meet Marty at a set time, because I would have run the race and then gotten back on my Bitch! I saw some volunteer girls with these really neat hats (sparkly AND pink!), and I told them I thought they were cool.

About 1.5 miles later, who rides up on me but Lauren Jensen and her husband, Todd. Lauren lives in southern Wisconsin, but she comes down my way for various races, and she goes to the same bike shop as me, and I don't remember just when I met her, but we always say hi to one another. So now I'm allegedly warming up and now I'm with a pro triathlete, so you know what happens--we pick it up, and I figure I had better hang with her and Todd lest I look like a poser, you know? Lauren was supposed to be doing Ironman Switzerland today, but she's got a running injury (so sad), but she was still in a great mood. I asked what she was doing down here and there was some ride she was doing and she invited me and man, that would have been awesome to ride with her all day (assuming I could hang on), but I had a ride date with Marty, so no go. Lauren and Todd turned off my road after about 2 miles, and I was secretly glad that I rode harder for that short time even though I could supposedly relax now.

But no. Another 2 miles later, there's a group of 4 women coming from the north to an intersection, and I could have just latched onto them except that I got a red light. Of course, I was like, "Crap," but you know what had to be done. When my light changed, I gauged how fast they were going and figured I could catch up. So I did, said hello, and proceeded to pass them all and pull in front, and then I had a nice train behind me for about 2.5 miles. I was hauling ass going 26MPH and periodically I'd glance behind to see if they were able to stick with me. Not all the time, but after that nice pull, I dropped back to chat with them and we began climbing the ONE hill on this route and I commented to one of them that I couldn't climb for shit today. What she heard was, "I can't climb for shit," and she said she was the same way, and so I corrected her and said, "No, I just can't climb TODAY--I'm a good climber, and I did a 200K with 10,000 feet of climbing last Saturday." So then she says, "Oh, so this is a recovery ride, right?" And I said, "No, I'm recovered and this is my 4th ride of the week." At this point, I think the ladies figure out I'm pretty serious (duh) and we discuss what we are doing today. I would have been happy to ride with them some more (they were pretty good), but they had their own agenda and I had mine. So we parted ways at Eola Road, which is where I turn and head north to enter Fermilab.

I had agreed to meet Marty at the East gate, so the distance from my house there was about 19 miles, and I'd gone pretty fast, so I arrived ahead of schedule (8:30 was our agreed upon meeting time). Marty arrived, and I felt sorry for him because I don't think he had a warmup, as we just started the intervals--:25 of HIM watts, :10 at FTP, and then some rest. I told him to just hang with me and he could draft or whatever. I was putting out good power today, which kinda surprised me what with the hangover (which I dutifully used in my deliberate sandbagging before we started riding), but I think I am just peaking and it's all good. I warned him when we needed to crank it up a notch, and I did pull away from him, which I expected, but dang, that boy has some serious potential!

After we finished the first interval, we had some time to chat, and I was only supposed to ride easy for :05, but I wasn't concerned, so we extended that a bit because I didn't think it would be nice to just ride. Marty's a fucking smart geek! And I mean that as a compliment! It was awesome hearing about his graduate studies and we found it really easy to talk to one another. You can't beat the combination of someone who will ride with you that's fucking smart and interesting!

We began the second interval, only we went a bit easier than HIM watts, which was fine, because I was riding more than Marty and knew I could "make it up" later after he left. But when it came time for the second FTP interval, I just poured it on. We went into a slight headwind, which I like, because it makes me push harder, and I think I was going about 24MPH into it and just loving every second. We finished that up right next to my favorite tanks of Helium and Nitrogen, and that's where we shot the photos you see above in front of the tanks. At first I was going to go with the Helium, but then I made a split-second decision to go with Nitrogen. Marty made some comment about the element that I don't remember, but I know it was clever and funny (for a pair of geeks, anyway!).

Then we rode easy to get Marty back to his car so he could take off. He was going with his girlfriend to the Gay Pride parade in downtown Chicago. I asked him if they planned to act gay or not, and I told him that sometimes when I travel with girlfriends on training junkets that we play it up as if we are lovers and laugh hysterically.

Marty's doing a sprint triathlon next weekend in Decatur and then an Olympic in Mattoon, and we have no idea if and when we will see one another again, but I think I convinced him to sign up for Miami Man if he can swing the timing with his graduate studies. He wasn't planning on stepping up to that distance that year, but you know I'm an incessant pusher, and I know he could do it.

So Marty takes off and I turn for home, and I'm riding well and still enjoying the day. About 7 miles from home is when I saw the swan cygnets, and it took me a few seconds before I realized I had my camera with me and could capture them. The cygnets are so cute!

When I'm about .75 miles from home, I almost got killed by some interloper from another suburb who's madly turning left in front of me to get to a parking spot for the festival presumably so he and his family can stuff their maws full of Elephant ears, corn on the cob, pizza and other assorted junk food (OK so I ate pizza last night, but what the fuck I needed like 5,000 calories yesterday). Oh my, did I let out a string of expletives, that I don't really care whether the asshole heard me or not, but I needed to get it out of my system because I got such an adrenalin rush. I think the term I used was "What the hell you fucking bastard," and I screamed it at the top of my lungs. I had to swerve and lay on the brakes, but I didn't go down or anything and it gave me a bit of a scare. But I knew that it was due to the damn festival, so I'm glad it's over today and I won't have to face it again TOMORROW when I have to RIDE AGAIN!

Yes, you heard it right, that will be 4 days straight of cycling, and I am also riding Tuesday so that will be 5 days in a row. I have this love-hate relationship with my coach. I love him when the training makes me strong (and once again, he's right on schedule with my beginning to peak for IMLP), and I hate and curse him when I'm in agony, like I was once I started to run after the ride today. Before Rich wrote up my training block that goes through the next 2 weeks, I had made one myself. Usually I can put the screws to myself pretty damn well, but when I got his version, I was like, what the hell, can I even do this shit? But he's been my coach for 3 years now, and he knows what I'm capable of and so I just do it.

Oh, lordie, I can bike like a mofo with a hangover, but running fucking SUCKS! But I did it, and actually ran decently, considering I did a brick yesterday, too. And now I am starting on a little painkiller and laying in bed and watching "The Barber of Seville" opera (my favorite, by Rossini) and periodically checking the IMCDA results, but there's plenty of time for that later, maybe a nappie poo, and I still have to go get groceries and do laundry. I live in a fucking bike shop/bottle factory right now and it just makes me laugh!

P.S. Harold--I DID kiss my Bitch before I rode her hard today.

P.P. S. Doesn't my new Catlike helmet (and matching shades) make me look like a bad-ass?

P.P.P.S. Is the signage above my head on the nitrogen tank talking about the element or me?

And now for the workout totals. The funny thing is all that I had scheduled for Monday was a :30 swim, to which I added :30 strength, and look where I ended up! I wrote my own swim workouts for the week. I've got two more big weeks (about 20 hours each) and then I start to taper down. I think I needed all that beer last night!

Weekly Totals 06/18/2007-06/24/2007
Swim: 13850 yards (7.86 miles) in 4.93 hours; 22% of weekly workout time; approx. 1727 calories burned
Bike: Approx. 199.21 miles in 11.35 hours; 51% of weekly workout time; approx. 5016 calories burned
Run: Approx. 32.16 miles in 4.85 hours; 22% of weekly workout time; approx. 2199 calories burned
Strength: 1.1 hours; 5% of weekly workout time; approx. 275 calories burned
All Sports: Approx. 239.23 miles in 22.23 hours; approx. 9217 calories burned
Sleep: 7.25 hours avg./night
Stretching: 2.97 hours. Massage: 1.5 hours

Good Luck Ironman CDA Participants!

The longer I do this, the more people I know. Now, I literally read the entire entry list to scan for those I know, and here are the ones--send them some good vibes, but especially Brett, because he's been under the weather for a few days. I spoke with him yesterday and gave him all the advice I could (I was very ill during Ironman Brazil last year). Something tells me he'll be OK, but as I told him, we all love him no matter what.

Kurt and wife Shelley: 1409 and 2196
Dave Kuhnau: 153
Andrey Parvanov: 760
Tony Lyons: 740
Trevor Oseen: 671
Brett Cornwright: 878
Momo: 2290
Michelle Boyer: 2293
Mark Seale: 605

I am sure there are others. GOOD LUCK all of you and HAVE A DAY! I'll be thinking about you while I'm doing my tiny 4:30 workout today!

Gag Festival

Well, I need to wash my bike BEFORE I ride it (too much stickiness on the rear brake from dripping/condensation/whatever from behind the saddle), it's raining, and I may end up on the trainer for awhile, and I just drank the Ultrafuel which made me gag and then I immediately brushed my teeth which also made me gag. And I took apart a box fan so I could clean it and it's so disgusting that it made me gag. And the garbage in my garage made me gag--what the hell, I guess lobster shells get a little ripe in the heat. And I cleaned the toilets this morning, also making me gag.

Hey, but when you start a day that low it can only improve, right?

Happy Friday!

I just brushed my teeth and gagged while doing so. I think maybe the gag reflex has to do with my brain knowing that I'm about to work out (I'm going swimming shortly).

I'm up to 10 hours of training for the week already and have about 3 hours to do today. FUCKING A!!!!

See how happy my fridge is? 3 lovelies are busy defizzing themselves in preparation for this weekend's riding festival. The sandwich (or should I say remains) is something I made last night. It's a tomato focaccia round (about 8" I think) with the following fillings: prosciutto, hot capicollo, soppresata, Volpi salami and Provolone cheese. REAL mayo on one half of the bread, and on the other half a good sprinkling of Balsamic vinegar, virgin olive oil and oregano. I planned to eat only 1/4 of it last night, but it turned into half. Guess I must be training a lot, eh?

My garden is taking off right about now, so I took a bunch of shots, including pics of my statuary (yeah, I know--at least I don't have any garden gnomes--YET--but if someone were to buy one for me, I wouldn't be offended, HINT HINT). The pics are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/8737154@N04/sets/72157600400629771/

Enjoy, and kick ass at whatever you do today!

Gag Reflex

I keep wondering if I am unique in that I experience this quite often while in heavy training:

• When brushing my teeth, even before the brush hits my mouth, and then while I'm actually brushing my teeth
• When entering a porta-potty and then while in it. This one seems normal to me, although I doubt if everyone else actually gags and chokes.
• Sometimes when I'm about to begin a long run. Not sure why!
• When I'm about to drink and then while drinking and for about :15 after, Ultrafuel

What's up with this? Am I just weird? I'm almost embarrassed to admit to this, but on the other hand, it makes me laugh. I sort of understand the toothbrush and Ultrafuel things, and believe that it's my body's way of letting me know how sick it is of me stuffing all the sugary things down my throat. But still...

My First "Moment" of this Training Cycle

I'm having a good cry right now. It was triggered by thinking of a friend, Brett, who is doing his first Ironman this Sunday at Coeur d'Alene. I realized he might be leaving this very minute, so I left him a message on his cell phone, and then headed to his blog to leave some last minute advice, AND I sent him an email. Apparently, I have a lot to say to this young man!

I'm not sad--I'm very happy for Brett, and in thinking about first Ironmans and the many I've done, I suppose I am realizing how blessed I am to be healthy enough to do all this training and have all this prosperity in my life to be able to travel to races and events, and to well, just plain enjoy life. So these are tears of happiness and joy and awe and gratitude, and it's almost the summer solstice and the days are very long, very beautiful, and life is just bursting all around me.

Some of you may think the crying is a sign of overtraining, but it's not. I am literally enjoying myself SO much this year, not just in my "triathlon" life, but in the rest of my life, and I am amazed at all the universe has laid in front of me. I have so much, but I also see my infinite potential. Sometimes this gives me the feeling of being totally out of control, which I suppose is good, because (as you may have guessed), I am a person who likes to be very much in control. Yet I love the yin-yang of feeling in and out of control.

Today is a very long day, and I want to get started on it. See, I've "suited up." The shades are my new Catlike shades that I got with the Catlike helmet (which makes an appearance on Friday). It's bound to be a great one!

Namaste!

Edit: And then I swam 4,800 yards in an outdoor pool. Above is the "before" shot. I don't have an after, but I did do a pretty good job of softening some of the tan lines.