Happy. Healthy. Heathen.

It was bound to happen.  It has taken until week 6, but it always happens.  Sometime during the training, against all reason, you just stumble upon a day that totally eats your lunch.  Today was just such a day.

I know that I just did a swim/ride brick on Saturday, and now here I am doing another one just two days later.  This is almost entirely weather-related; but schedules factor in as well.  So today was a simple 20 mile ride/4 mile run.  They both sucked.

There was an 18 mph headwind, but that wasn’t it.  I didn’t sleep well last night, but that wasn’t it.  My nutrition for the preceding day was adequate, so that wasn’t it.  I struggled with every mile on the bike and every step on the run.  I wear a heart-rate monitor, and it was slightly more elevated than usual, but I knew that.  I was crabby about the whole headwind thing, and worried about loved ones, but I try not to make excuses; to just accept that there are bad days during training, and today was one of them.

I got it all put down, but it was ugly.  The ride was weak but I finished it in about an hour 20, but the run was were it got really bad – I got to the halfway point…22 minutes to the turnaround (from my house down DeJarnette just past the light at the new elementary school), and then it was walk/run to get back home.  The trip back took over 30 minutes.

Oh well, it happens.  Tomorrow is a 6 mile run and it will be better.  Or it won’t.  That’s the way it sometimes is.

Random iPod song:  Masters of War, Bob Dylan…good for my angry mood.

Thanks for reading…

Brick day:  swim/bike.

Another triathlon training week comes to an end with the completion of the weekly brick…for those of you trying to keep up, that’s the dual-event training day.  Each week includes a swimming day, a running day, a cycling day, and a dual event day (always either swim/bike or bike/run, since that’s how the races go).  Today was swim/bike. 

I really like the swimming workouts; the only inconvenience is scheduling around the community pool lap lane availability.  I’m pleased that our community has water aerobics for seniors, but would it kill them to reserve ONE lane for lap swimmers??  Lanes are open 6-8am, 11am-1pm, then 3-6pm.  Not bad, but not great either.  Factor in as well that on swim/bike bricks we’re looking at the weather as well, and there you have it:  an entire life scheduled around lap lane availability.  When I win the lottery I’m buying one of those $20,000 endless pools – a giant deep bathtub with some kind of motor that puts a current in the water you swim against…go online, I’m not making this up.  (Plus, I guess you have to play the lottery in order to win it…bummer.)

So I hustled to get to the pool for Saturday lap times of 8am-noon (my grandson did a sleepover, so I’m working around fixing him waffles…).  The workout itself was strong…love my goggles, love my suit, love my ironman watch, love my lap counter, love my iPod, even love my very attractive swim cap.  I love how strong I feel when I swim, I love the feeling of the bubbles when I blow out, I love gliding through the water.  I’m still incredibly intimidated by the idea of an ocean swim, but IT IS WHAT IT IS, so I’ll just get over that. 

Then out of the water, into the car, back home, change into the bike stuff and am pedaling within 30 minutes of leaving the pool…not quite the 2minutes 30 seconds I shoot for in a race, but considering the circumstances, not as bad as it could be.  My extra boys (Fez and Danny) joined us (me, Jesse, and Aden in the burley) for the 25 miler.

Mother of a headwind, so we start out right into it so we can have it at our backs when we’re fatigued on the way home.  Jesse fell of the back of the G-train because of dragging the cart, but we just put our heads down and got through it til we got to the Greenway.  My bad.  My poor judgement.  This is the first pretty day we’ve had in weeks of hideously cold weather, AND it was a Saturday; the Greenway was packed.  We were dodging dogs, kids, strollers, other bikes, rollerbladers…bad bad choice.  So we bailed on that at Gen Bragg trailhead (got on at Cannonsburgh), leaving Jesse and Aden to play on the playground while we took off for the battlefield.

Our Stones River Battlefield has a 2 mile, one-way loop that goes past significant sights from that battle in 1863/64 (over New Year’s Day).  It makes a great criterium style circle…you know you won’t be facing any cars coming at you, the speed limit for cars is 25 (which we broke!), and it doesn’t have the same set of walkers/strollers, and very few bikes.  We did that loop 3 or 4 times to get in the miles before heading back to get Jesse and head home.  By then it was well past lunchtime and the fajitas and margaritas at La Siesta were calling…okay, I indulged in the fajitas, but stuck with beer…all those carbs in a margarita – I’m training you know.

All in all a great brick…too much lag time in between, but that’s just how it went down this time.  The end of week 5 is one-third of the way to the taper (the three week, low-mileage prep time leading to the race).  Feeling good.

Thanks for reading.

Today was the run day; 4 easy miles.  I’ve done all my running training either down the street leaving from the house or on the Greenway.  I have a little 5k loop on our farm, but I don’t usually use that when I’m preparing for a race because it’s a trail run, which is a lot different that a street run.  I use different shoes, the terrain is completely different, I have no gauge of the distance other than timing, and I do some calisthenics leaping over branches and avoiding cowpies.  But today was clear and cold and pretty and not too muddy, so off I went with iPod and dogs in tow. 

For those of you who know my dogs, you know Boo the golden retriever runs each and every mile with me, and then some.  She runs up and back and up and back again.  Uga, however, my magnificent English bulldog, has absolutely stepped up and gotten into the fitness groove.  I know, I know, I have to watch her breathing and the heat and all that, but in spite of their genetic issues with that, she has really taken to the jogging.  She stays in sight of me, and doesn’t do all the extra jogging that Boo does, but she seems to just love it…she wants to come every time.  Now she most certainly naps a lot of the day after that, but I think it’s good for her.

It was good for me too…don’t know the distance, but since I usually run about an 11 minute mile, I ran for 46 minutes and then headed back into the house.  It was so cold my iPod quit working until I put it under my shirt and warmed it back up, but it wasn’t breezy, so it was just about perfect.  It’s harder to run the trail, what with the extra balance and obstacle course, but it was a nice change of pace from the usual out and back.

Favorite shuffle tune:  Parliament – P Funk

Thanks for reading.

I’m behind a bit on the blog, but instead of trying to catch up, I’ll just describe today.

I had a half-mile swim, along with a standard strength training workout.  The swim was great.  I felt strong, I love my toys, the iPod really helps pass the laps.  I still struggle with increasing my pace because it alters my breathing pattern.  My coach tells me, instead of trying to swim faster, to add more laps of sprints to my sessions.  That seems to be working; it increases the number of what I call recovery laps, but overall it allows me to complete the laps in a shorter time.

This is the 5th of the 18 weeks to the race…I feel good, nothing seems to hurt (too badly), the distances are increasing.  My biggest fear is still the ocean swim.  I still plan to do a trip to PCB before the race at least once to swim the actual course. 

Everyone who knows I’m doing this has been so supportive and encouraging.  I am so grateful for those words..they echo around in my head when I’m running, riding, and swimming.  I draw on them when I’m puny or stuggling, and they give me a little blast. 

Thanks for reading…

Brick, week 4. 

You know, it’s not the effort. 

It’s not the hassle.

It’s not the cost, equipment, or logistics.

It’s the time.

Anyone can do the training…it’s just swimming, biking, and running.  Some sessions are harder than others, there are some investments in equipment, and you do have to accomodate pool schedules, bad weather, and work.  But honestly, the bigger issue is the time involved in all that training. 

Today I planned to do my swim/bike brick (.5 in the pool, and 25 on the bike).  The first obstacle was the packing.  One bag for the pool (at SportCom), one bag for the bike (MAC), one bag for the shower, then the bag for water stuff (flipflops, towel, ipod water case, lap counter, goggles, swim cap), and my computer bag for work.  Then there is the workouts themselves.  50 minutes in the pool, then a quick shower-off, change into bike stuff, drive over to MAC, bike 25 on the stationary, then a shower.  So I’m make-upped, hair-dried, dressed and ready for the day…at 4:00pm.

The swim was great, and I can’t say enough what a difference it makes to be able to groove my tunes while I swim…it really helps pass the time.  I like mixing up my pace, and I can do it to the random shuffle – the nature of it lends itself to fast/slow pacing.

The bike ride, ehhhhhh.  Not so great.  I said I wouldn’t whine so much in this blog, so I’ll try to be brief:  Stationary bike.  25 miles.  Inside.  Daytime TV shows.  Brief enough?  I just plugged into my ipod again and settled in.  My pace was slower than when I’m outside – I may have had the tension set a little high on the bike.  Anyhow, the weather was below my 40-45 degree borderline, so I opted out.

The brick is down, and it’s only Monday! 

Thanks for reading.

Great day of training today.

Today was the end of the third week of training.  It was the swim day, and the schedule was for 1/2 mile.  I worked in a strength training workout just before the swim, so I had a little fatigue going before I started, but I felt strong in spite of it.  I had all my toys in place…my ironman watch, my waterproof  iPod case, my high-tech, underwater, touch-pad lap counter.  It allowed me to completely focus on my stroke, my breathing pattern, my body mechanics – it was great.  I had a sensational swim, and I was able to put in a few sprint laps. 

I’m refining my breathing pattern – I want to stay with an odd-stroke pattern (every 3rd stroke), but I have to work that into my cardio-vascular fitness so I can sustain that at the speed I want.   I’ve also got to incorporate looking ahead occasionally cuz there is no black stripe on the bottom of the ocean.  There’s so much to think about, it really is helpful to have the lap counter for keeping track and the iPod for entertainment.

Song of the Day:  Officer Krupke from West Side Story.

Sitting here on the couch under an electric blanket catching up on email and blogging is about all I have the energy for right now.  Today was Brick Day (Bike/Run) and while it was a good one, I am whipped.  Seems like those are harder than the swim/bike bricks, which makes sense since running is my weakest of the 3 events.

The weather gods smiled on Murfreesboro today…a 53 degree day after all this cold.  I had company on the ride and the run.  The renters (aka my boys, aka Fez and Danny) joined us (Jesse too) as we headed out the driveway.  We turned into a headwind on hwy 96, so the boys (all 3) locked on to the G train to get to the Greenway.  It was a great workout for me and the traffic wasn’t too bad at 1:00.  We got on at the Thompson Lane trailhead and scooted through to General Bragg pretty quick.  We did the new section by the Medical Center which is SO pretty with the water feature – it’s only a mile or so, but I’m so proud of Murfreesboro for doing it.  We did the length of the Greenway (to Cannonsburgh), then rode through the square, down Lytle, Highland to Greenland, then left on 96 to home…which is the best part.  Remember the headwind???  So at the end of the loop, from Highland on, we have a rockin tailwind.  Going out we were managing 14-16mph; coming home we were hitting 25!  It was exhilarating!!  (BTW, that loop is 18 miles).

As soon as we got back to the house, it was change shoes, drop helmet and gloves, add iPod and off for a 4-mile run.  Jesse was the only brave soul to join me for that, and we turned into the headwind first.  It’s right at 2 miles from our house to Kroger, so we did our U-turn and enjoyed the little push we got on the way home.  Jesse’s calves locked up about a mile from the house, and we’re pretty sore tonight, but we got it done.

Treasure of the Day:  one old GM ignition key.  What is its story?  I’ve run this route several times and haven’t seen it on the shoulder.

Favorite from iPod Random (new blog feature):  CCR – Willie and the Poor Boys.

Thanks for reading…

I have never thought of myself as a complaining person, but this appears to be  one in a series of complaining blogs..what’s up with that?? 

It’s cold in Middle Tennessee.  I’m committed to this training, and I meant what I wrote when I stated that I learned my lesson about riding in the cold.  So today found me IN THE GYM, again, riding my 15 miles for the bike day of the training….bored, bored, BORED!!  I was in the cardio theatre watching a movie (Along Came Polly) for an hour, and I’m just having a hard time.  Television has never been able to capture my attention much…sometimes I can get wrapped up in a movie, and there were some funny moments in that film, but 90% of the time I’m looking around, watching the electronic monitors click away the 100ths of miles and 10ths of seconds, eeeccchhhh.  Anyhow, I got it done, crossed it off the list.

Another couple of weeks,and maybe most of this winter nastiness will be over.  I have no enchanting stories about found treasure, interesting encounters, sights I saw…the potty scene in Along Came Polly made me laugh.  Whatever.

On the lighter side, I appreciate the pat on the back from my girl Dora, for whom I have profound respect for her own epiphany and journey back to health…we’ll get that hamstring right lovey, I promise.  You rock little sister.

Amy, thanks for reading…you get the award for the family…thanks baby girl.

Pleasedonttell…you are right.  Murfreesboro is an enormous city, metropolitan, and progressive.

Thanks for reading…

Nice change in the weather – 4o degrees felt practically tropical.  I don’t usually train on Sunday, but I’ve been cooped up for a few days and got a little antsy, so I shuffled the week’s schedule around a bit.

Today’s mileage was an easy 4 mile run, right down the driveway and out on 96.  Not so terribly visually interesting, but lots of folks in cars passing by, which brings me to the heart of today’s topic.

I’m trying to think of how I react when I’m driving my car and pass a runner or cyclist.  The first thing I usually do is to see if I know who it is.  Murfreesboro is a small town, with an even smaller athletic community.  After checking for that, I lower my window and stick my arm out and wave and smile, whether I know the person or not.  I’m happy they found the moment in their day to run or bike, and I know how they’re feeling, legs pumping, heart beating, breathing rhythmic.  I guess that’s the difference I’m finding when I’m the runner or cyclist.  So few folks know that feeling, so I get a lot of negative response from drivers I encounter.  It’s not that they try to run me down (although that has happened), or that they honk* or crowd me on the shoulder (although that has happened), or that they are giving me the one-finger salute (although that has happened).  It’s that they simply give me no response…no wave, no smile, no acknowledgement.  It’s as if I’m a bit of a bother with which they have to contend on their busy busy day…a  quick glance, a slight frown, avoidance of any eye contact.  

For the record:  Let me hear a shoutout folks.  Honk your horn*, wave, smile, give me a thumbs up….anything!  I need the encouragement, and it lets me know you see me, which is always important for runners and cyclists.  I’m not judging you for burning your fossil fuel, I’m not judging you for sucking your smokes, or eating your fast food (well, maybe I am a little); just a little smile or wave – it’ll be over in a nanosecond.

*Point of clarification:  there is a difference in a happy toot-toot on your horn and an aggressive HOOOOONNNNNKKKK to get me the hell off your road.

New blog feature:  Treasures I Found While Training.  Today’s haul:  one entire package of Marlboro 100s, one Craftsman flathead screwdriver.  Maybe I’ll put them with the cold medicine and have Glenda create an art piece of found objects.

Boring stats:  24 minutes out (the house to Mrs. Higgins’ church – 2.2ish miles), 23:07 back.  Weather:  40ish and breezy.  Mood: elevated and rising by the day…

Great run.

Thanks for reading.