Happy. Healthy. Heathen.

I did exactly what I wrote that I was going to do.

It’s 3:27 pm on Country Music Marathon day, and after 3 hours recovering in the hammock, I’ve dragged myself back into the house to get this posted.

So the day begins at…(wait for it)…2:00am.  I had crashed the night before around 6pm and actually got several delicious hours of sleep.  Jesse stayed up til 10:30 or so; he’s still asleep now.  We get up at 2, get the bikes/gear loaded and were on the road to Nashville by 2:30.  (Why are Starbucks not open 24 hours?)  We park a couple of blocks away from Centennial Park, take the bikes out of the truck, gear up, ride 100 yards, and then….I have a flat.  Jesse, always our resident Fix-it-up-Chappie, changes it in no time (I know, I know, I have to practice it a few times before May 9th to get speedy at it, cuz Jesse ain’t riding that one with me).

Okay, crisis resolved, now back on the bikes.  Two things I forgot at home:  the printed directions of the marathon course, and my rear blinkie light.  But I HAD put in my caving headlamp, so in the interest of creativity, since I had a front LED headlight, I strapped on my headlamp backwards, set it to red blinky mode, and made do.  The directions were a bigger loss, although ultimately, Jesse was glad we didn’t have them cuz we would have driven ourselves crazy with street names and mileage, which would have slowed us down significantly.  Our technique instead was to look for police barriers and the massive fleet of wreckers towing cars parked along the route.  Really, it was us, the cops, and the wreckers.  With that system, we got ourselves completely through the marathon course (including a very creepy, very scary, very dark stretch of the greenway along the river) and ended up in Shelby Park.  We rode all the way to the chute at LP Field, where we turned around and logged another 10 miles or so in Shelby, til we needed to work our way back to the truck, the starting line, and my running shoes.

Timing was great on that and we put the bikes in the truck and got to the start line just as the wheelchair racers began.

The run was as expected.   I enjoyed the change in course that took us past the Hilton and the Schermerhorn (?), and I ran strong til about mile 8, where I hit the wall a bit, got through that, ran strong again til mile 11, where I walked and took a potty break, then jogged in the last mile with a time of 2:37.  (I’m built for endurance, not speed).

The trip home included a stop at where else:  Starbucks, and then Jesse’s lunch choice of Famous Dave’s BBQ.  I called dibs on both the shower AND the hammock, but Jesse had no intention of wanting either cuz he had a toy waiting at home:  a Hoe Ram (pic included for those of you who don’t know what the hell THAT is) he’s using to work on one of the ponds.

This went well til he BROKE it (hydraulic line something, something) at which point he did take a shower and went to bed, where he was til just a minute ago, when he transitioned out onto the living room couch where he’s asleep again.  I have spent my recovery time in the hammock, to which I am now returning…

No iPod today, because they don’t call it the Country Music Marathon for nothin.  Actually some pretty good bands, and they help entertain as the masses huff and sweat their way to the finish.

Thanks for reading…

How many entries in the course of this training blog have I titled some variation of “Cold and Windy”??  NOT TODAY.  Today’s weather was as perfect for a bicycle ride as the heavens can provide.

I had commitments for noon and later, so it was necessary to get the thing done by then.  Jesse again volunteered to go with me for company, so we hopped on around 9.  Since it’s been about 2 weeks since our Good Friday tornado, we thought it would be alright if we toured the damage to some of the neighborhoods on our bikes.  It didn’t feel so intrusive now, and there was not so much heavy equipment and volunteer force.

It was, however, very dramatic.  We went down Penny Lane, Henry Hill Rd., Sulphur Springs, Victoria Court or Circle, and then on to the Greenway at Thompson Lane.  I only took this one picture because it’s such a remarkable visual of what a tornado can do.  The damage was breathtaking, and one can’t help but marvel that there were no more deaths and injuries than there were.  It was also frightening to see how very close it came to the Walgreens where the girls were holed up in the freezer as it passed.  The Greenway was profoundly moving, because it’s the area with which Jesse and I are so familiar.  We’ve logged miles, particularly on that stretch and we were astonished at the power of the storm.

After surveying all that, we tried to do our “criterion loop” at the Battlefield; with all the damage to the neighborhoods, I had missed reading that the Battlefield had been hit as severely as it was.  We didn’t even attempt to do our 2-mile loop through there.

The next portion of our ride was much more pleasant.  We did the new 1.5 mile loop at the Gateway.  We’ve been doing this for months, watching the progress – I posted a picture of a backhoe in mud and muck a while back.  Today it appeared they were filling up the water feature, so I took a few views of that.

Weather was just beautiful…not to obsess, but it’s 15 days to the race…trying not to dwell on it.

No iPod, just plenty of sunshine and no wind!!

Thanks for reading…

Swimming and weight training today.  This is unofficially the beginning of the taper, but I still plan to do a mighty brick this weekend…if I don’t survive to write about it…

The Country Music Marathon and Half-Marathon is (are?) this weekend in Nashville.  Here’s my plan:  Go up to Nashville around, hmmmm, 2am, ride the full marathon course from the start to the stadium, turn around, ride it back again (the math on that is 52.4), get off the bike, get in a running corral, and run 13.1.  What did you say??  Crazy?  Insane?  Completely certifiable??  That is the actual full distance of the bike/run portion of the race, then two weeks from Saturday we put the whole damn thing together…

Ok, so anyway, today’s swim/strength training was spectacular.  I’ve got a little personal stuff on my mind and I think you know you’re an athlete when you know without a doubt you are going to feel better (physically, emotionally, spiritually) after a workout, and I was right.  Personal stuff not one iota closer to being resolved, but your mind is more at peace.

Fave iPod song:  Tied to the Whipping Post…Allman Brothers Band

Thanks for reading….

April in Panama City Beach….warm, pretty, kinda Spring-Breaky still, but not, repeat, NOT ocean swimming weather…

So Jesse and I are in Panama City Beach, for my 2nd-to-final brick before the race.  We drove down here yesterday, got in quite late, and started the Water Odyssey around 11 this morning.  Remember that I came down here in March to practice swim, with my mom serving as support.  That round included swimming with the wetsuit since about half of the time in this race’s history it has been wetsuit-legal.  You can refer back to that post to know how well that went…

This time it was my plan to swim in the ocean without the suit, to have that experience.  Some of you might know this about me already, but I’m kinda, let’s see, what was the word Jesse kept yelling at me from the jetski….oh, yeah, bullheaded.  I knew the water was cold…it was my ass in it, after all….I was just determined to have the practice of swimming without the suit before the race (the ruling on wetsuits is made on race morning).  I was attempting to swim for a full hour, since that’s about what the race will take me, and it may signify something that I crawled up onto the back of the jetski with 58:00 showing on my tri watch.  Just couldn’t take two more minutes in that North-Atlanticish (my blog, my words) water.

It took me 10 minutes recovering on the jetski, one fast hot shower, and 25 miles on the bike to feel like a human again.  It was probably mid-70’s by then, and I rode with my sweatshirt on for most of the ride.  The bike ride was OK; got to admit a little boooring to ride in in the Sunshine state.  Once you leave the Strip in PCB, it just becomes rural Futtbuck, Florida.  Add to that about 8 miles of the worst-surfaced road I’ve ridden on EVER, and there you have the bike ride.  It’s an out-and-back, so that didn’t help its attraction.  Oh, well, it was great to have done the course and know what to expect.

Gotta give a shout-out to Big Jesse on this one…he was right there with me (albeit out of the cold water) with the jetski the entire time, telling me h0w much like my dog I am (a compliment – I love my bulldog Uga), and then kicked my hiney on the ride…he said an hour of hyperthermia (for me) gave the advantage (for him) to keep up with me…which is not true; he’s a strong cyclist.  Anyway, he came through for me and I am very grateful for his support.

Final word….when you see me, do NOT ask me about the Psycho Tool From Hell who RAMMED the back of my corvette on I-24 on the ride down yesterday.  Son Ben was driving, left lane, 71 mph (in a 65), asshole comes from behind, bumps us TWICE, we get the hell out of the way and watch him ram two more cars, get the plates, call 911….long story short:  he rammed 15 people in a 20-mile stretch in Tennessee and Georgia – they caught him…damage to the vette:  new rear bumper at the very least.  OMG!!  Some of you know what that car means to me…I guess I’m supposed to take a lesson in materialism from this event….grrrrrr.

Thank you for all the encouraging words….they swirl about my brain when I’m gasping for air, or screaming with cold, or cursing the asphalt, or pleading with my legs, or well, you get the idea.  They mean more to me than you will ever know….EVER.

No iPod today, no roadkill…just lots of Florida.

Thanks for reading…

Today’s ride was a have-to…heading to Panama City Beach tomorrow for the last swim/bike brick before the race.  Busy day, so I had to hit the road pretty early, while it was still pretty brisk outside.  I took off down 96, then left on Compton to glance at the tornado damage (extensive), then Memorial (more damage), then Haynes – till I got shut down altogether.  The Greenway was hit pretty hard, and there is construction on the Cannonsburg end, so I stayed away from that.  I ended up getting in just under 30 miles before I had to head back into home to shower and then work.

No iPod today…just didn’t feel right while I was so near tornado damage…

Thanks for reading…

I said from the time that I began writing this blog that training for a triathlon is not about the effort…it’s about the time it takes to do it.  I started today’s brick at 8:30 this morning, and I finished just in time to shower and get in to work for a 4:00 client!

It started with a bicycle ride around Murfreesboro, the Greenway, the Battlefield, and back home again.  As long as the race includes a 45 minute breakfast break at Panera, I should be good.  I guess that’s the price I pay for having Jesse ride along with me…

We continue to ride the new sections of the Greenway…the loop by the new hospital, and the extension that goes under Old Fort Parkway toward Barfield Park.  Neither is complete, and we always have to dodge construction workers and equipment. 

 When we got back to the house, Jesse bailed and started his errands, and I took off for the run.  My usual 10-mile loop is to run to Siegel High School and back.  The weather was perfect:  warm, sunny, very slight breeze.  The run was going strong, Jesse had dropped a bottle of G2 at a stop sign along the route, all was well.  Then, just before the turnaround point, calamity struck:  my iPod FROZE UP COMPLETELY!!  It wasn’t the battery – the screen was still showing the song, it’s just that it wouldn’t do ANYTHING – not play, not fast forward, not rewind, not even on or off.  It shouldn’t have been such a big deal, but I really depend on it.  So I had 5.5 miles to go with no tunes.  It actually turned off pretty good, because it gave me the opportunity to focus more on my pace, my breathing, my surroundings, etc.

It was a pretty tough day, but I feel good now, even when I would usually be achy and fatigued.  Thanks go out to all who offer those sensational words of encouragement and confidence in me…I couldn’t have done it without you!

Favorite iPod random:  (with just a few to choose from)  Nat King Cole, Unforgettable

Thanks for reading…

Was anyone outside in middle Tennessee around 8am??  Remember the temperature?  Remember the wind?

Today was scheduled for a 45-mile bike ride.  We’ve had bad weather for 2 days, but today it was to have been a bit warmer and sunny, although quite windy.  Ummmm, yeah.  By 3 or 4 this afternoon, it really was warm, sunny, and pretty.  But early this morning it was cold and windy (45 degrees, 15-18 mph wind). 

Jesse, in a huge show of spousely support, joined me on this frigid adventure.  We each had on leggings and double sweatshirt top layer and were still cold.  We headed out 96 East to Auburntown, turned south toward Woodbury, stopped for a quick snack, then headed in on 70S, with a final right turn at the bypass to home.  Contrary to what Jesse will tell you, I did NOT leave him behind, I just had higher motivation to make it home because I had a client at 2.  I did not know it would offend him like it did…he was having a Butterfinger sinker and had slowed his pace substantially, and I really was worried about keeping on schedule.  So here it is, Jesse….my public apology.  Thank you for coming on the ride with me, and I’m sorry I didn’t wait for you.

By the time we got home, the weather was really shaping up and turning into a beautiful spring day.

No ipod today…

Thanks for reading.

Just because I’ve been away from the blog doesn’t mean I’ve been away from the training…

Today was the beginning of the last three weeks of training before the taper.  It was strength training/swim day and despite feeling a bit under the weather, it was a really good dual workout.  The strength training is always my favorite:  I like how it feels, I like how it makes me look, I like the intensity of it, I like the community I share with other lifters, and I like how I feel for hours afterward. 

The swim was good, a little slower than usual because of the upper respiratory funk.  The pool at SportsCom was so much cooler than is usually is, and that was a welcome change.  Sometimes it’s so warm it’s uncomfortable.

I missed blogging about a swim and a run…just not enough hours in the day! 

Spring has retreated in Middle Tennessee, so I’ve got a cold training day tomorrow…probably a run.

Fave ipod random:  That Thing You Do, from the movie of that name.

Thanks for reading…sorry, Dora, no roadkill in the SportsCom pool…