Happy. Healthy. Heathen.

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…

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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…

From my house to the Cannon County Arts Center is 20.08 miles.

I am not crazy about doing an out-and-back, but that’s what I’m left with when I don’t give myself enough time to map out a loop either with the Gazetteer or the mapmyride.com website.  I just pedaled out for an hour and a half, then visited the little girls’ room at the Arts Center, then pedaled back home for an hour and a half.  That road has a nice strong shoulder, good and wide, and the scenery actually improves as you near the county line.  The terrain turns into gentle rollers, the farms are picturesque, the traffic lightens up.  The weather also cooperated; all in all it was a great ride. 

Again, weird pics, I know, but I thought the bird roadkill went with the fish roadkill which went with the deer roadkill…I’ll try for that to be the end of it.

Fave ipod song:  If I Could, Jack Johnson

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Final workout day of the week.  Strength training in the morning at Sports Com (with a shout-out to my buddy Scott, who will be doing a triathlon soon), then some work, then I’d planned a 30 mile ride this afternoon.  However, the day was wet and cool, so I struggled within, but managed to get myself out on the bike around 1:30.  I took off from the house, with the intention of getting to the Greenway as quickly as possible to stay off the roads.  There is some construction near Cannonsburgh, so I hopped on on Broad Street behind Dodge’s store. 

It has rained so much there was lots of mud washed up from the river onto the path, and if you wonder how much mud…

I know the fishy pic is kinda gross, but how often do you get to see fish as roadkill??  They must have washed over the Greenway Trail in high water and expired strewn across my course.  I thought it mixed nicely with the deer roadkill picture from the bike ride Wednesday…

Swim Day.

I swam 2400 yds today in 1:09.  That’s a little over the 1.25 miles that the triathlon is.  Of course, as we’ve all learned, pool swimming and ocean swimming are vastly different.  I did mix up my strokes today, using free, breast, right side, left side, and back stroke.  It was a great workout and I felt really strong, even throughout the rest of the day.  No real fatigue, no soreness – it’s all good.

So here’s my issue for the day.  If you’ve been reading, you know I’m in the last 6 weeks of a pretty intense 16 weeks of training.  I’ve been very dedicated to the plan and have missed very few workouts.  I’ve also been diligent (excepting the Krispy Kreme extravaganza) about eating clean in my usual fashion:  high protein, low carb.  With the volume of training, especially as it continues to increase, it is only expected that my weight would drop a little.  Not a problem, and in fact it helps me with the running portion to be down a pound or two.  WITH THE RUNNING PORTION.  The swim portion of the race is affected a bit differently by my bad slim self.

Hmmmm, how to put this….my entire life I have carried any extra weight on my bootay.  My entire life I have not minded this…small waist in exchange suits me fine.  It’s one of the things that makes me ME, like my turned-up nose or my long arms and legs.  So what’s the problem?? 

Fat is bouyant.  Fat is lighter than muscle and is bouyant.  Now picture a swimmer in freestyle…see that nice streamlined look?  See how that swimmer is planed out on the water?  See how that bubble booty keeps the hips elevated and the feet just below the surface of the water, making the flutter kick so efficient?  Without that nice fat hunk o’ love bobbing around back there, the hips sink, the swimmer loses that form and struggles with fighting the vertical trend that the heavy muscular glutes, thighs, hamstrings and calves add to the mix.  That’s your girl there.

One more thing with which to contend as long as we’re discussing weight.  In the racing world, a woman is considered a “heavyweight” if she is over 150 pounds (140 pounds in some races, such as this upcoming half-iron).  Somewhere along the line when this brilliant strategy was developed, someone suggested titling such a qualifier as “Athena” (oh yes, that’s much less offensive, for no one will know what that implies).  FYI, the over-200# men’s division is known as Clydesdales.  Thank you SO much.  Anyhow, with this training, it becomes harder and harder to maintain my division qualification.  Most races will take you at your word, but if there is any prize money at stake, no such luck.  I learned the value of hydration/dehydration at weigh-ins from my wrestling sons, so maybe that will keep me in the class on race day.

Favorite random song:  Lily Allen, the song about brother Alfie smoking pot.

Thanks for reading…

8 miles in the rain.  I love this training.

I had a good strength training workout yesterday and recovered from the tough brick on Monday.  Then this morning was rainy and drippy and soggy and while I could have switched up the schedule and hit the pool today, but it’s supposed to rain tomorrow and Friday, so what’s the difference?!?!  The wind was up too, so I went straight down DeJarnette to have a crosswind both ways. 

The rain was manageable, the wind was manageable, even the mileage was manageable.  The most challenging part of today’s run were the passing cars, spraying the yummy mix of water, oil, street grime all up in my grill…

The time was 44 out, but 47 back, but I wasn’t surprised at the positive split time, because of the rain and the distance.  I’ve got to really concentrate on heading out slowly in order to get a negative.

Good training day, good nutrition, good recovery, good mood….12 weeks down, 6 to go…

Fave iPod song:   Agony of DeFeet, Parliament

Thanks for reading…

What a Brick!!

Today was a 35/10 brick…that’s cool triathlon lingo for biking 35 miles, then running 10.  And it was killer.

If you’ve been reading, you know I’ve had a couple of spastic weeks…one to go to Panama City Beach and practice swimming in the ocean, and the next to go to Colorado and ski with the fam over spring break.  Both were fabulous trips, and I certainly was active, but it cut into the OCD nature of my training program.

To get back on track today, I did the aforementioned brick.  Aggressive for the first day back after two weeks, but I’m nothing if not aggressive?  The bike ride was soooo great.  During my two weeks elsewhere, spring arrived in Middle Tennessee, so after months of layering up and bracing against the cold, I slipped on the trisuit and riding sandals only.  The sun was delicious, and the ride itself was strong.  I guess I’ll say that the biking portion is strongest event.  I headed out from the house toward Lascassas (with a tailwind – intentional, cuz I don’t know what race day will be like!) and rode 18 miles (that’s almost exactly the Wilson County Line – past Auburntown), then turned around and faced the headwind all the way home.  It took 1:07 going out, 1:12 coming back.

At home I dropped the helmet, changed shoes, peed (not easy in a sweaty one-piece trisuit), and headed out.  Transition time:  3 minutes – terrible.  I chose this time to run into the headwind first, since I knew I’d need the tailwind coming home.  From my house to MTSU President McPhee’s house is almost exactly 5 miles (5.2 I think).  It took 58 minutes, and even with the headwind I felt strong.  I did the turnaround on Middle Tn Blvd, started back, got about 2 1/2 miles along, and hit the proverbial wall.  Nothing left.  Nothing.  So I walked 100 yards or so, started back jogging…still nothing.  However, when you are 2 1/2 miles from home and have to work in an hour and a half, you find yourself some motivation in a hurry.  Jesse called, cheered me on – that helped.  I listened to my voicemails…son Sam was awarded the Mo Udall National scholarship – that helped A LOT.  Heard the voicemail messages of my other significant others…just hearing their voices helped – didn’t even have to speak with them.  Walked/ran/jogged all the way home jiggety jig.

Of course, now I can’t move off the couch, but It’s A Good Kind Of Tired (that may be the name of my triathlon training manual).  The Sambuca is helping.

Down to the last 7 weeks of training, the last 2 of which are the taper, with limited training sessions.  Here’s where the rubber meets the road, where it separates the men from the boys, all those other canned expressions.  It’s a part-time job from now til May 9.  I’ve reduced the taper from 3 to 2 weeks, so I’ll be doing my last Bike/Run brick at the Country Music Half.  Which means riding the marathon course twice at 2 a.m.  You read that right.  Who’s with me???

Fave random song:  hard to choose from 4+ hours of music:  RESPECT, Aretha (just seemed to fit the training).

Thanks for reading.

Just want everyone to know I’m committed to this training.

I’m out in Colorado with the kids on their spring break doing a little snowskiing.  I skied yesterday and had a great time….days are warm, snow is good.  However, in the training schedule I have a 10 mile run to do this week.  Last week’s schedule got a little upside down cuz of the trip to Panama City, and now this week’s schedule is gonna be a little crazy, so I really wanted to get the run in.

Ummmm, the altitude here is about 8100 feet.  Do we need to review what happens to the oxygen at higher altitudes???  I was seriously and literally sucking wind.  I don’t really know how far I ran; I just went for the usual amount of time.  I had to occasionally walk and allow my heart rate to go down a bit, then I’d pick back up again.  I had a really good time – I could see the mountains, the sky was so blue, the snow was pretty, and I was feeling strong.  I hated to miss a day of skiing, but I’m so glad I got it done.

I’ll ski tomorrow and Thursday maybe and try to finish out the week’s workouts at home.  Maybe the skiing will help with strength and cardio fitness??  Let’s say it will…

Fave iPod random:  Folsom Prison, Johnny Cash

Thanks for reading…