or
How I Scored Zero on a Test (and loved it)
Sunday, after my run, I went back to the house and relaxed for a bit. First order of business was to feed my tummy! I thought I would be starving, but my diet has been good. I ate one sandwich, some chips, and some pickles. Rather healthy, I say. The rest of the afternoon was spent catching up on some house work and fixing a nice family dinner. My daughter and her beau came over. It was nice for all of us to get to sit around and enjoy each others company.
I thought I'd get to bed at a decent hour. I was pretty tired, to be expected, but not overly sore from my workouts. Dee Dee opted to stay up and watch the Women's Triathlon. I slept good until she joined me. Then the fun started. One of my furry children was having bowel issues. Dee Dee blamed it on me, as I was the one feeding the hounds table scraps after dinner. Feeling guilty, which I wasn't, I was up on the hour every hour all night long letting the critter out the back door. Needless to say, my sleep sucked.
The alarm clock went off early, and before 6:15 AM, I was in the car heading to downtown Atlanta. I had made my appointment to have my heart scanned. This was the final installment of my pre-Ironman promises to Dee Dee. I arrived at Crawford Long - Emory Hospital a bit early for my 7:30 appointment. I was the first one there.
Around 7:30 the staff arrived. I filled out my paperwork, and by quarter to eight they were taking me back. I changed my shirt for a hospital gown and had blood drawn. They then took me into the scanning room. I laid down nice and comfy on a bed. The attendant gave me instructions and pressed the button.
All of sudden, I felt like I was in a Star Trek movie. The bed began to rise up off the floor and slide between the big circle. Laser lights made lines on my body and worked their way up my legs and chest. I smiled and relaxed.
"Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Breath out. Breath in. Hold it!", the voice said.
I did this two more times, and just like that, it was over. The attendant had told me fifteen minutes. It was more like five. Either that, or I fell asleep, but I don't think so. A few minutes later, the attendant came in the room and handed me my results. She said I got a zero. The range is zero to two hundred, and I had a zero. No blockage for me.
Deal.
Ironman, here I come...
Wes
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Monday, August 18, 2008
Down Range!!
I'm pretty sure, with the exception of mock tris and races, that I've never had a double workout scheduled for a Sunday. The plan yesterday called for a forty-five minute swim and then a one hour and forty-five minute run.
I stayed up late Saturday night to wait for Dee Dee to get home. I got back late in the afternoon from riding, and she had to be at work at four. That didn't leave very much "us" time. Even after getting up at 5:50 AM, I managed to stay awake till after midnight. I needed that. We both needed it.
Originally, the plan for Sunday was to get up early and be home in time for breakfast. Dee Dee and I, however, found ourselves kidless. I was able to sleep in until 8 AM (yuck!) and hit the gym by 9. I've always loved how the pool refreshes my legs. I can almost feel the lactic acid flushing from my legs. The swim was moderate, and I felt wonderful. I climbed from the pool after 1900 meters in about 38 minutes, ready for my run.
Since I was close to Kennesaw Mountain, I decided to hit the rolling trails there for my run. It was getting hot after 10 PM, but lucky for me, most of the run was in the shade. My heart rate jumped all over the place on the rolling hills, but I had a good run and managed 9.75 miles in my allotted time. I was amazed at how well I felt during most of the run. I never would have guessed I could do that as recent as January. I didn't get fatigued until the last couple of miles, then it really started to hurt.
As I was coming out of the woods along the trail, I saw a group of Civil War soldiers gathered around some cannon. The metal beasts were pointed out into the field along which I was running. I kept looking at them, and as I got closer, I followed the trail towards the cannon. I heard this man's voice yell:
SIR!! YOU ARE DOWNRANGE FROM A LIVE FIRE EXERCISE! PLEASE RETURN TO THE ROAD!!!
I raised my arm to signal that I had heard him and headed back up to the road that runs to the top of the mountain. As I completed my run, the cannon went off with bang.
Thanks boyz! I appreciate you not filling me full of grapeshot. Also, thanks for putting up the (non-existent) warning signs along the trail. I am sorry if I interrupted you while you were playing soldier :-)
Wes
OSN: 1900 meters, 38 minutes
ORN: 9.75 miles, 1:45:20, 10:48 mmp
I stayed up late Saturday night to wait for Dee Dee to get home. I got back late in the afternoon from riding, and she had to be at work at four. That didn't leave very much "us" time. Even after getting up at 5:50 AM, I managed to stay awake till after midnight. I needed that. We both needed it.
Originally, the plan for Sunday was to get up early and be home in time for breakfast. Dee Dee and I, however, found ourselves kidless. I was able to sleep in until 8 AM (yuck!) and hit the gym by 9. I've always loved how the pool refreshes my legs. I can almost feel the lactic acid flushing from my legs. The swim was moderate, and I felt wonderful. I climbed from the pool after 1900 meters in about 38 minutes, ready for my run.
Since I was close to Kennesaw Mountain, I decided to hit the rolling trails there for my run. It was getting hot after 10 PM, but lucky for me, most of the run was in the shade. My heart rate jumped all over the place on the rolling hills, but I had a good run and managed 9.75 miles in my allotted time. I was amazed at how well I felt during most of the run. I never would have guessed I could do that as recent as January. I didn't get fatigued until the last couple of miles, then it really started to hurt.
As I was coming out of the woods along the trail, I saw a group of Civil War soldiers gathered around some cannon. The metal beasts were pointed out into the field along which I was running. I kept looking at them, and as I got closer, I followed the trail towards the cannon. I heard this man's voice yell:
SIR!! YOU ARE DOWNRANGE FROM A LIVE FIRE EXERCISE! PLEASE RETURN TO THE ROAD!!!
I raised my arm to signal that I had heard him and headed back up to the road that runs to the top of the mountain. As I completed my run, the cannon went off with bang.
Thanks boyz! I appreciate you not filling me full of grapeshot. Also, thanks for putting up the (non-existent) warning signs along the trail. I am sorry if I interrupted you while you were playing soldier :-)
Wes
OSN: 1900 meters, 38 minutes
ORN: 9.75 miles, 1:45:20, 10:48 mmp
Saturday, August 16, 2008
Did I Do That?
Massive workouts for this weekend. Well, massive if you look at my prior months. About right if you see what is coming up on my schedule soon. I had a 5 hour bike for today, and tomorrow, I get to swim and run. Woot!
The plan called for rolling hills with six five minute hill repeats. I love the Silver Comet Trail, but I would not characterize it as rolling. Gentle might be a better word, but definitely not rolling.
Now, I'm a pleasing kind a guy, and I like to keep coach happy. When she says rolling, by God, that means I go do rolling. My recent ride at the Bud Plant was definitely rolling, a little hilly even. I decided that was the place to go. I would go out there and try to do two loops of the 45 mile route.
Last night, I printed out the cue sheet, packed up all my gear, and hit the bed at a decent hour. Is that even normal with the Olympics on? The alarm went off at 5:45 AM. I was slow to get up, slow to eat breakfast, slow to pack the car, just plain slow. I thought the last minute that I should print out a map, just in case, you know. I finally got out the door around 6:30 AM.
I wasn't really excited about riding in the dark. First light was the right idea for me. I also, to be truthful, wasn't excited about riding this by myself. I was afraid that I was going to get lost. I pulled into the parking lot at the Bud Plant shortly after day break, and the place was full of cyclists. I had no idea the place was this popular. A group of 12-15 riders took off in a group as I prepared my bottles. By 7:10 or so, I was off.
This ride was totally different than my last ride. There was no immediate hell bent for leather start. There was no struggling to keep pace with the fast group. I rode my ride, and I enjoyed it. The first couple of hours was familiar ground. I got chased by the same dog as last time, but now, there were no tri-chicas bringing up the rear to distract him. I honestly think he just wanted to run with me. He never barked, never tried to bite me, and let me go rather quickly. He needed to conserve energy you know. Lotsa riders coming through today.
After my little adventure with the dog, I refocused on finding a hill for hill repeats. Coach wanted me to do 5-10 minute hill repeats with 5 minutes of recovery. I finally settled on a hill, the longest I could find, and did my repeats. The hill was only 3 minutes long, but it was one of the longest around. By the end of the last repeat, my snappy feeling legs were, well, feeling less than snappy.
When I came to the spot where the route split, I decided to go ahead and do the 65 mile route. I figured, with the repeats, it would take me about 4 hours to do the ride. I could then do as many loops of the 12 mile route as I wanted to make up the time. Feeling brave, I set off on the sixty-five mile route, without cue sheet, without map. Everything was going fine until I ran into a section of newly paved road. The little spray painted symbols were no longer there.
I came to a three way intersection and had to pull up. A group of twenty riders or so was coming in from the other direction. I figured they had ridden out of Cartersville. Right behind them was another group of 15 riders. After they passed, I fell in behind them. I couldn't keep up, and they soon disappeared. Along this stretch of road, I got attacked by another set of dogs, but luckily, none of them tried to bite me. The poor little weiner dog was just a runnig and barking. He was so cute.
Where the road dead ended, the other riders were long gone. I didn't see any symbols at the intersection. I decided to take a right. Yea. That ended up being a mistake. When I got to the next intersection, there were no symbols either. I thought I better turn around. Back up the hill I climbed to the turn, and then I saw them. The symbols were a little ways up the hill. Back on track!
Off to the left here, I saw something and did a double take. There were a few goats and flock of turkeys in the pasture. Damn turkeys!! I hunted them for years (15) and never shot one. They are much smarter than I am. I relaxed when I made the turn at the point where I ran off the road and into the barbed wire fence. Oh yea, that didn't happen. I forgot. Plausible deniability and all...
As I made a left turn onto the main road, I fell in front of two groups of riders. The first group passed me by and kept going straight at my next right turn. The second group fell in behind me and joined me in teh turn. They too passed me by. Everybody was really friendly. I wasn't trying to, nor could I match their pace, and they soon left me behind. I could really feel my thighs as I grinded my way back to the Bud Plant. Every little rolling hill seemed to suck a little more life out of them.
I pulled into the intersection near the Bud Plant with 4:10:00 showing on my bike computer. OK! I could take it easy and do one 12 mile loop, and that would get me pretty close to 5 hours. Coach said not to worry about pace. I set back off down the route.
There is something mental about seeing the finish line, but still having fifty minutes to ride. Let me tell you. That 12 miles hurt. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as my last ride at the Bud Plant, but I had to do the entire loop this time. Somebody told me this route was flat. Well, once again, it is not. My definition of flat is a piece of paper. LOL!! I quickly reached the turn off from the other routes, and made a left back to the west. The roads in the area were fairly quiet, but I soon found myself on a main road, heading north.
I let out a big "geesh" as an eighteen wheeler came barrelling by me in the other lane. Up ahead, I could see the symbols in the road. I was shocked, literally, when I came up on them, and they were directing me down this crap road on the left. With out even thinking, I banked left and took off down the road. The road looked like it had recently been grated. It was rocky, bumpy, and generally sucked. It is not the kind of road you want your crotch riding on in its fifth hour.
About a half mile down this road, I realized, suddenly, that I had made that left turn without even looking to see if anybody was coming up behind me. I could have been killed. I sucked in my breath, swore, and vowed to refocus my attention on being safe. I could not believe I had done that!!! Being tired is not an excuse for getting killed...
The crap road eventually ended, and the path, like all paths, led back to the car which took me home. I did a little recreational riding in the parking lot to make sure that I reached the required five hours. I assume that I did good. I rode for 84 miles, the same distance as I did in 4.5 hours at the Silver Comet, but threw in the hill repeats. My legs are little tired, not overly sore, and I think I'm ready for my 45 minute swim and two hour run tomorrow.
That, my friends, is a solid training day :-)
Wes
OCN: 84 miles, 5 hours, ~17 mph
The plan called for rolling hills with six five minute hill repeats. I love the Silver Comet Trail, but I would not characterize it as rolling. Gentle might be a better word, but definitely not rolling.
Now, I'm a pleasing kind a guy, and I like to keep coach happy. When she says rolling, by God, that means I go do rolling. My recent ride at the Bud Plant was definitely rolling, a little hilly even. I decided that was the place to go. I would go out there and try to do two loops of the 45 mile route.
Last night, I printed out the cue sheet, packed up all my gear, and hit the bed at a decent hour. Is that even normal with the Olympics on? The alarm went off at 5:45 AM. I was slow to get up, slow to eat breakfast, slow to pack the car, just plain slow. I thought the last minute that I should print out a map, just in case, you know. I finally got out the door around 6:30 AM.
I wasn't really excited about riding in the dark. First light was the right idea for me. I also, to be truthful, wasn't excited about riding this by myself. I was afraid that I was going to get lost. I pulled into the parking lot at the Bud Plant shortly after day break, and the place was full of cyclists. I had no idea the place was this popular. A group of 12-15 riders took off in a group as I prepared my bottles. By 7:10 or so, I was off.
This ride was totally different than my last ride. There was no immediate hell bent for leather start. There was no struggling to keep pace with the fast group. I rode my ride, and I enjoyed it. The first couple of hours was familiar ground. I got chased by the same dog as last time, but now, there were no tri-chicas bringing up the rear to distract him. I honestly think he just wanted to run with me. He never barked, never tried to bite me, and let me go rather quickly. He needed to conserve energy you know. Lotsa riders coming through today.
After my little adventure with the dog, I refocused on finding a hill for hill repeats. Coach wanted me to do 5-10 minute hill repeats with 5 minutes of recovery. I finally settled on a hill, the longest I could find, and did my repeats. The hill was only 3 minutes long, but it was one of the longest around. By the end of the last repeat, my snappy feeling legs were, well, feeling less than snappy.
When I came to the spot where the route split, I decided to go ahead and do the 65 mile route. I figured, with the repeats, it would take me about 4 hours to do the ride. I could then do as many loops of the 12 mile route as I wanted to make up the time. Feeling brave, I set off on the sixty-five mile route, without cue sheet, without map. Everything was going fine until I ran into a section of newly paved road. The little spray painted symbols were no longer there.
I came to a three way intersection and had to pull up. A group of twenty riders or so was coming in from the other direction. I figured they had ridden out of Cartersville. Right behind them was another group of 15 riders. After they passed, I fell in behind them. I couldn't keep up, and they soon disappeared. Along this stretch of road, I got attacked by another set of dogs, but luckily, none of them tried to bite me. The poor little weiner dog was just a runnig and barking. He was so cute.
Where the road dead ended, the other riders were long gone. I didn't see any symbols at the intersection. I decided to take a right. Yea. That ended up being a mistake. When I got to the next intersection, there were no symbols either. I thought I better turn around. Back up the hill I climbed to the turn, and then I saw them. The symbols were a little ways up the hill. Back on track!
Off to the left here, I saw something and did a double take. There were a few goats and flock of turkeys in the pasture. Damn turkeys!! I hunted them for years (15) and never shot one. They are much smarter than I am. I relaxed when I made the turn at the point where I ran off the road and into the barbed wire fence. Oh yea, that didn't happen. I forgot. Plausible deniability and all...
As I made a left turn onto the main road, I fell in front of two groups of riders. The first group passed me by and kept going straight at my next right turn. The second group fell in behind me and joined me in teh turn. They too passed me by. Everybody was really friendly. I wasn't trying to, nor could I match their pace, and they soon left me behind. I could really feel my thighs as I grinded my way back to the Bud Plant. Every little rolling hill seemed to suck a little more life out of them.
I pulled into the intersection near the Bud Plant with 4:10:00 showing on my bike computer. OK! I could take it easy and do one 12 mile loop, and that would get me pretty close to 5 hours. Coach said not to worry about pace. I set back off down the route.
There is something mental about seeing the finish line, but still having fifty minutes to ride. Let me tell you. That 12 miles hurt. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as my last ride at the Bud Plant, but I had to do the entire loop this time. Somebody told me this route was flat. Well, once again, it is not. My definition of flat is a piece of paper. LOL!! I quickly reached the turn off from the other routes, and made a left back to the west. The roads in the area were fairly quiet, but I soon found myself on a main road, heading north.
I let out a big "geesh" as an eighteen wheeler came barrelling by me in the other lane. Up ahead, I could see the symbols in the road. I was shocked, literally, when I came up on them, and they were directing me down this crap road on the left. With out even thinking, I banked left and took off down the road. The road looked like it had recently been grated. It was rocky, bumpy, and generally sucked. It is not the kind of road you want your crotch riding on in its fifth hour.
About a half mile down this road, I realized, suddenly, that I had made that left turn without even looking to see if anybody was coming up behind me. I could have been killed. I sucked in my breath, swore, and vowed to refocus my attention on being safe. I could not believe I had done that!!! Being tired is not an excuse for getting killed...
The crap road eventually ended, and the path, like all paths, led back to the car which took me home. I did a little recreational riding in the parking lot to make sure that I reached the required five hours. I assume that I did good. I rode for 84 miles, the same distance as I did in 4.5 hours at the Silver Comet, but threw in the hill repeats. My legs are little tired, not overly sore, and I think I'm ready for my 45 minute swim and two hour run tomorrow.
That, my friends, is a solid training day :-)
Wes
OCN: 84 miles, 5 hours, ~17 mph
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Working Hard
Work is crazy busy right now. I've got a bunch of stuff that I need to get done by Monday, although its becoming increasingly obvious that this is unlikely to happen. Not great timing for my first week of Ironman training as well.It is what it is.
While I have time to read blogs while my code compiles and my server restarts, I just don't have time to think about much else, including posting.
Y'all hang tough. I'll be back soon.
Wes
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Eight on the Eighth (Tenth)
A Virtual Race Report Celebrating the Olympic Games
Who needs an alarm clock when you have a dog that snores? It was a three dog night last night cause the l'il black dog needs Prozac, and we haven't found her a doggie psychiatrist yet. Oh, and the fact that Dee Dee went out of town and left me at home by myself certainly had something to do with it.
Yea. The dog snores, but you guys knew that already. Good thing for me, I didn't notice until it the sun had come up, or the beer had worn off. Which ever.
Yea. I said beer. My friend David was in town from Greenville, SC, and we entertained each other up at the restaurant for a good four hours last night. I, however, have been good. I've had very, very little to drink the last month, and I've been feeling great, and the sleep has been even better.
So, yea, the dog was snoring then the phone rang at 8:30 AM, and when I answered it, one of my neighbors was looking for their teen age son.
As if I would know ANYTHING about where to find lost teen agers. I mean, really. I usually find mine in the trunk of my car. I have no idea how those cement cinder blocks got tied to his ankles.
I tried to call eldest son. His phone went straight to voice mail. I left him a message and decided now. Now would be a good time to go for my run.
I haven't done a road race in forever. Virtual or otherwise. I Garmined up. Grabbed the heart rate monitor, slipped on the new shoes, and was out the door at 9ish. It was still relatively cool. My training plan called for an hour fifteen in zones 1-2. I figured 8 at a moderate pace was good.
Slapping the start button on the Garmin, I took off to challenge the hills of my neighborhood.
It's been a while since I whined about my neighborhood. Here. I'll make it quick. Hills. Blech! Hills. Whine! Hills, hills, hills. Boo freakin hoo....
After climbing out of my subdivision and onto the main road, I felt pretty good. I decided to carry a bottle of Tiger with me today, rather than wear my Fuel Belt. I picked up the pace long enough catch the down hill then enjoyed the easier pace to mile one. I was happy to see 10:20 as I crossed the first mile marker. Shortly after that, the route levels out for about six tenths of a mile. The second mile ends with another big hill, yet I still managed to negative split the sucker, coming in at 10:18.
It was around here that my intestinal issues began to manifest themselves. It would seem there is a direct correlation between alcohol, my nose, and my intestines. Just sayin...
Opting not to stop at Publix to use the restrooms, I soldiered on. About a half mile down the road, I realized that this was probably a mistake. Never the less, I enjoyed the absolute flatness of mile three. If I lived in the neighborhoods along this stretch of road, I could run mile loops forever :-) My third mile came in at 10:07. So far so good. My heart rate was creeping up, but I wasn't too worried about it.
At the end of mile 3, I made a right turn out onto a major four lane road. No matter which way you go, left or right, you get to go up a big hill. I opted to go right today. I wanted to do an out and back, rather than go left and do the hilly 8.3 circle I usually take.
Yea. That's a joke, but really. It IS less hilly. On the down side, there is no shade either.
I knew at the top of the hill there was a gas station where I could make a pit stop. Unfortunately, my mind tricked my body, and I had to stop and walk up the hill to keep myself under control. We were reaching a crisis. Lo and behold, I spied a port-a-potty on the side of the road. Touchdown!!! I ran over, opened the door, and let out a healthy sigh. The inside was clean as a whistle. Thank God for the construction going on this road.
At 9:30 AM in the morning it was starting to get hot out. I had worked up a healthy sweat and drank about half of my Tiger. Inside the vacating station, it was 140 degrees. The sweat just poured off. By the time I was done, I felt like I was stepping outside into air conditioning! LOL!! It felt so good.
Feeling much relieved, I enjoyed the flat stretch of road at the top of the hill, hit my fourth mile in 11:00, then turned around and headed home. Going back down the hill was a lot of fun, and I actually passed three or four runners that were out this morning. I reached the five mile marker where I made the left turn back into the neighborhood: 10:11.
By now, I realized that my legs were getting tired and perhaps, perhaps I was going too hard. Between miles five and six, I knew I was. My legs were just plain tired. I climbed the small hill back by Publix and turned in a paltry 11:20.
Then it was down the steep hill to the entrance to my subdivision. I love this stretch of road. I picked up the pace, knowing that this would be one of the last stretches of road I got to enjoy before the test. Evidently, my time didn't reflect this: mile 7 came it a 10:54.
Today, I admit it. The Test beat me. I don't like getting beaten by Mount Doom nor Ass-Kicker. Hell, they haven't beat me in so long, but today, I caved. I had to walk up each of them. Once I crested Ass-Kicker, it was all flat and down hill to the house, and I tried to pick up the pace a little bit, but my legs were just so tired. I cruised into the house with a total time of 1:24:42, for an average pace of 10:42.
My oldest son was home when I arrived. Evidently, the neighbor boy had lied to his Mom and Dad. Go figure. My little angel got to go back to sleep in his own bed. No trunk of the car for him today :-)
Wes
ORN: 8 miles, 1:24:42, 10:42 mmp
Who needs an alarm clock when you have a dog that snores? It was a three dog night last night cause the l'il black dog needs Prozac, and we haven't found her a doggie psychiatrist yet. Oh, and the fact that Dee Dee went out of town and left me at home by myself certainly had something to do with it.
Yea. The dog snores, but you guys knew that already. Good thing for me, I didn't notice until it the sun had come up, or the beer had worn off. Which ever.
Yea. I said beer. My friend David was in town from Greenville, SC, and we entertained each other up at the restaurant for a good four hours last night. I, however, have been good. I've had very, very little to drink the last month, and I've been feeling great, and the sleep has been even better.
So, yea, the dog was snoring then the phone rang at 8:30 AM, and when I answered it, one of my neighbors was looking for their teen age son.
As if I would know ANYTHING about where to find lost teen agers. I mean, really. I usually find mine in the trunk of my car. I have no idea how those cement cinder blocks got tied to his ankles.
I tried to call eldest son. His phone went straight to voice mail. I left him a message and decided now. Now would be a good time to go for my run.
I haven't done a road race in forever. Virtual or otherwise. I Garmined up. Grabbed the heart rate monitor, slipped on the new shoes, and was out the door at 9ish. It was still relatively cool. My training plan called for an hour fifteen in zones 1-2. I figured 8 at a moderate pace was good.
Slapping the start button on the Garmin, I took off to challenge the hills of my neighborhood.
It's been a while since I whined about my neighborhood. Here. I'll make it quick. Hills. Blech! Hills. Whine! Hills, hills, hills. Boo freakin hoo....
After climbing out of my subdivision and onto the main road, I felt pretty good. I decided to carry a bottle of Tiger with me today, rather than wear my Fuel Belt. I picked up the pace long enough catch the down hill then enjoyed the easier pace to mile one. I was happy to see 10:20 as I crossed the first mile marker. Shortly after that, the route levels out for about six tenths of a mile. The second mile ends with another big hill, yet I still managed to negative split the sucker, coming in at 10:18.
It was around here that my intestinal issues began to manifest themselves. It would seem there is a direct correlation between alcohol, my nose, and my intestines. Just sayin...
Opting not to stop at Publix to use the restrooms, I soldiered on. About a half mile down the road, I realized that this was probably a mistake. Never the less, I enjoyed the absolute flatness of mile three. If I lived in the neighborhoods along this stretch of road, I could run mile loops forever :-) My third mile came in at 10:07. So far so good. My heart rate was creeping up, but I wasn't too worried about it.
At the end of mile 3, I made a right turn out onto a major four lane road. No matter which way you go, left or right, you get to go up a big hill. I opted to go right today. I wanted to do an out and back, rather than go left and do the hilly 8.3 circle I usually take.
Yea. That's a joke, but really. It IS less hilly. On the down side, there is no shade either.
I knew at the top of the hill there was a gas station where I could make a pit stop. Unfortunately, my mind tricked my body, and I had to stop and walk up the hill to keep myself under control. We were reaching a crisis. Lo and behold, I spied a port-a-potty on the side of the road. Touchdown!!! I ran over, opened the door, and let out a healthy sigh. The inside was clean as a whistle. Thank God for the construction going on this road.
At 9:30 AM in the morning it was starting to get hot out. I had worked up a healthy sweat and drank about half of my Tiger. Inside the vacating station, it was 140 degrees. The sweat just poured off. By the time I was done, I felt like I was stepping outside into air conditioning! LOL!! It felt so good.
Feeling much relieved, I enjoyed the flat stretch of road at the top of the hill, hit my fourth mile in 11:00, then turned around and headed home. Going back down the hill was a lot of fun, and I actually passed three or four runners that were out this morning. I reached the five mile marker where I made the left turn back into the neighborhood: 10:11.
By now, I realized that my legs were getting tired and perhaps, perhaps I was going too hard. Between miles five and six, I knew I was. My legs were just plain tired. I climbed the small hill back by Publix and turned in a paltry 11:20.
Then it was down the steep hill to the entrance to my subdivision. I love this stretch of road. I picked up the pace, knowing that this would be one of the last stretches of road I got to enjoy before the test. Evidently, my time didn't reflect this: mile 7 came it a 10:54.
Today, I admit it. The Test beat me. I don't like getting beaten by Mount Doom nor Ass-Kicker. Hell, they haven't beat me in so long, but today, I caved. I had to walk up each of them. Once I crested Ass-Kicker, it was all flat and down hill to the house, and I tried to pick up the pace a little bit, but my legs were just so tired. I cruised into the house with a total time of 1:24:42, for an average pace of 10:42.
My oldest son was home when I arrived. Evidently, the neighbor boy had lied to his Mom and Dad. Go figure. My little angel got to go back to sleep in his own bed. No trunk of the car for him today :-)
Wes
ORN: 8 miles, 1:24:42, 10:42 mmp
Friday, August 08, 2008
Thursday, August 07, 2008
Breathing Deep
I felt very proud coming off of Lake Logan, proud of my race, proud of my season so far. I've been working hard since January, and its paid off in a lot of fun.
When I looked at my training plan this week, I saw that coach had loaded me up with an Ironman in Training week. I was a bit surprised, as several times, she had mentioned that this would be an easy week for me, with the "real" training to begin August 11. I released the inner child and sent her an email that said, in essence:
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!
She being the mature individual in this relationship, responded with a positive change to my schedule. I am now enjoying a lighter week with one workout a day and a lot of time spent in Zone 1. My run this morning reminded me that this is a good thing, as the stabilizing muscles in my ankles were still a bit upset with me. Such is the life of an endie*...
Less physical activity means extra time to think... I've been warned I might be an over thinker. I've been pondering the last two years, where I've been and where I want to go. You see. I've been getting passed a lot by other people in my age group at the tris this year. I admit it. It bothers me. A leeeetle. I don't like finishing in the middle to front of the pack on the swim, and the back of the pack over all.
I have so much of which to be proud. I've been racing almost two years. I've avoided, really, any injury. I'm in the best shape I've been in since I ETS'ed from the Army (do they call it that anymore?) twenty three years ago. I've been patient, content to let things happen when they happen, and now is not the time to take risks. November is the biggest risk I've taken ever.
So, I'm taking a deep breath. I'm refocusing. I'm drawing on my reserves of patience.
Come Monday, let the fun begin...
Wes
* Endurance Athlete
When I looked at my training plan this week, I saw that coach had loaded me up with an Ironman in Training week. I was a bit surprised, as several times, she had mentioned that this would be an easy week for me, with the "real" training to begin August 11. I released the inner child and sent her an email that said, in essence:
Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!
She being the mature individual in this relationship, responded with a positive change to my schedule. I am now enjoying a lighter week with one workout a day and a lot of time spent in Zone 1. My run this morning reminded me that this is a good thing, as the stabilizing muscles in my ankles were still a bit upset with me. Such is the life of an endie*...
Less physical activity means extra time to think... I've been warned I might be an over thinker. I've been pondering the last two years, where I've been and where I want to go. You see. I've been getting passed a lot by other people in my age group at the tris this year. I admit it. It bothers me. A leeeetle. I don't like finishing in the middle to front of the pack on the swim, and the back of the pack over all.
I have so much of which to be proud. I've been racing almost two years. I've avoided, really, any injury. I'm in the best shape I've been in since I ETS'ed from the Army (do they call it that anymore?) twenty three years ago. I've been patient, content to let things happen when they happen, and now is not the time to take risks. November is the biggest risk I've taken ever.
So, I'm taking a deep breath. I'm refocusing. I'm drawing on my reserves of patience.
Come Monday, let the fun begin...
Wes
* Endurance Athlete
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