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Just substitute your name in the URL and voila! - YOU ARE MIGHTY!
For example:
http://www.Joe.youaremighty.com
Have fun and BE MIGHTY!
Training is Hard
I wish I were talking about the kind of training that makes you quiver with exhaustion and monoamine overload but alas that's not it. This week is training week at work and I have just spent 3 days glued to a chair listening, listening, listening with just a little bit of talking. I can feel my butt growing like a dry sponge in water as my brains turn to mush. It's exhausting.
I was supposed to go for a run with The Amazing Hip and SHSMH last night but I got held up in training and then brow beat into going out for dinner with "they boys" for a little more bonding time. I was very sad about that - in fact I still am. One of these days I'm going to meet those 2 - I really am.
Training is Good
Some of you may remember that waaay back last April I was crushed to learn that the Nike Women's Half Marathon was sold out. I really wanted to run it so I could get the bling. Instead of giving out big old finisher medals they give you a silver necklace from Tiffany. I seriously considered running the whole thing but realized that I just would NOT want to do that and so I let it go.
Well, yesterday due to a fortunate triangulation with Juls a.k.a Sydney Bristow of Keeping Pace (a woman with a masterful ability to secure secret codes) I was able to get to the registration page for the Half. I'M GOING FOR THE BLING! Of course I'm a little under trained but I'm going to Peru in a week where being at 14,000 will be like getting a shot of EPO. I am so ON. I'm going to run 8 or 10 miles this weekend and then I'll just do what I do in the race. And then I'll get the necklace - oh yeah. Why just go out and buy one when you can spend $80 in entrance fees and run 13.1 miles?
The Internet is Fun!
Look at this thing I found via Wil's blog.
The Internet Is Annoying
Sometimes when I look at my own blog I get a full page pop-up for something (can't remember what). Sometimes when I look at Wil's blog I get a popup telling me I have weatherbug on my machine (which I don't). Where does this blog poop come from? Do you ever get that popup on my site>
At the time I was a runner and I hated swimming or so I thought, so I decided that joining masters would be a really good thing for me. You know, expanding my horizons and all that. The first day of practice the coach gently coaxed us through the workout. We (mostly middle aged folks in dubious shape) were panting and puffing and exhausted but felt pretty triumphant. At the end of the season we reminisced about that first workout and he laughed and said, "yeah - you did 400 yards". If you are a swimmer you know how funny that is. 400 yards is an okay warm up - it hardly constitutes a decent workout but it was a good start. 25 yards is a good start.
Out here in the triathlete blogosphere there is a lot of silliness about going to masters class to have your ass handed to you and I'll bet a lot of you non-swimmers reading that are thinking "swimming?? - no thanks!" and who could blame you? No one wants to transcend the humiliation of showing up in public in a Speedo only to have his or her butt handed to him so that he (or she) feels like slithering out of the pool and pouring himself down the shower drain.
Well I've got good news for you. I know nothing of having my ass handed to me even though I am one of the slowest people in the pool no matter which workout I go to. Today I swim with a US Masters Team and USM is like God - they love everybody. No ass handage involved.
I ended up joining the team because one of the coaches cleverly recruited me. After my first masters class ended due to the end of the club summing season I was so hooked on swimming that I started going to the public pool for adult lap swim almost every single day. For extra motivation and to keep it fun I would go to a site called Swimmingcommunity.com which generates a workout for you, print it out and take it to the pool. I was a solo act but a happy one.
The masters program has workouts in the morning at the same time. The coach would see me show up every day with my little piece of paper which I would have to refer to repeatedly during my workout like a kid using a crib sheet in an open book exam. He came over one day and said, "gee - that looks like a lot of work. Why don't you come over and swim with us?" I hemmed and hawed and demurred and he gently suggested I just give it a try so I did. He put me in the appropriate lane and I found that although I really couldn't keep up it was fun to swim with other people. I made friends and my every attempt at self deprecation was met with "You're doing great! You're here - that's what counts!"
Another advantage to 'being on the team' (and use that term quite loosely as much of the team consists of competitive swimmers who swim in meets) is that in the winter when is seems just a little too dark and a lot too cold to go swimming (because in California we swim outdoors year round) my absence is noticed. I know that when I finally get it together to get back to the pool I will be questioned. "Hey, haven't seen you in weeks! Where were you?" is not a question I like to respond to with "in bed". Oh no - that would imply sloth and sloth is a sin and swimming is a semi-religious experience and you see where this going. No can do. Must get up. Must show up.
If you live in a major metropolitan area or even a minor one you probably have a US Masters team near you. To find out just go to this site and do a lookup by city (click on the local programs tab and then on the left find 'places to swim' and after you click on that click on 'search places to swim' also found on the left).
US Masters rules the pool and I mean that literally and figuratively. If you can swim at all you will benefit from showing up. Contact the coach of a local team and tell him or her what your interest is (cross training, triathlon, a change of pace, fitness - it doesn't matter) and what your experience it. You will be welcomed and you will learn a lot and your swimming will improve. No worries about your ass, either. No one will take it away and smugly hand it back. It's all yours.
INCUBUS - Drive
Sometimes, I feel the fear of uncertainty stinging clear And I can't help but ask myself how much I'll let the fear take the wheel and steer. It's driven me before, and it seems to have a vague, haunting mass appeal. But lately I'm beginning to find that I should be the one behind the wheel. Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there with open arms and open eyes, Yeah Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there..I'll be there. So, if I decide to waiver my chance to be one of the hive Will I choose water over wine and hold my own and drive? Aah-ah-oo-o-o. It's driven me before and it seems to be the way that everyone else gets around. But lately I'm beginning to find that when I drive myself my light is found. Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there with open arms and open eyes, Yeahhh Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there... I'll be there. Would you choose water over wine....hold the wheel and drive? Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there with open arms and open eyes, Yeah Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there.. I'll be there. Do do do do do do do do do do doohh wa ohDo do do do do do do do do do doohh wa oh
My official time was
Here are some other interesting things about that event that left out because my race report was just so long.
First of all, when I came in on the bike and pulled my bike up over a curb my seat bag fell off. I started to stop to pick it up and a very nice man who is probably a few years older than me and who was already done yelled "I've got it! I've got it! Go! Go!" and picked the bag and the bracket that had fallen off and ran over to my transition area with me. How nice what that??! That man probably saved me a whole minute so a hearty thanks to the good looking and very fast guy in the red Hammer Tri suit.
Second of all - I really need to work on my cycling. It is sort of pitiful. For one thing my form is horrible. I tend to sit straight up on the bike and just block the wind as best I can. Not good. Also, my legs really aren't that sore and if I had been working harder they would be. I'm thinking I could knock another 15 minutes off the bike time with a little work and that would put me in the middle of the pack.
Lastly - the older woman I passed and then thought 'big deal' about turns out to one of the original Clif Bar Athletes. Her name is Barbara Robbens and she is 72. I did a little google search and found results for some of the races she did when she was 70.
5K - 32.49; 4.5 mile - 46:19; 8K 53:19
I guess she needs a little bike work, too because if she did that she might just kick my ass in the next Tri. She generally takes 1st in the 70+ age group so maybe I have that to look forward to as I get better and better instead of getting older.
Last time I went out of the country I was 19 and put everything in a backpack. This time will be different but what is they same is my level of 'I have no idea what to do'. I'm just like a bug eyed teenager leaving home for the first time. I do have my Lonely Planet book of Peru but that only helps with the 'what to see', not so much with with 'what to pack'. Just to make my travel preparations a little more difficult I will be away from home all of next week at a training event. Great.
So - I need your best international travel tips and 'must haves'. The following will amuse me but not be of much help:
1). Take me with you (I'd love to but I can't really afford to take me. I'm doing it anyhow).
2). Don't miss your plane
Seriously, folks. If you can help me streamline my preparations and help me not discover that which I should have known before I left I would so appreciate it. Do I need a particular type of currency converter (the electrical kind, that is); a certain type of passport protector; water purifying tablets; why type of luggage? How much? What else??
If you have been to Peru I'll take any specific advice on where to go and where not to go, also. We are on a tour so most of that is taken care of but there are some free days.
Lay it on me!
Thanks
None the less I chose to sign up for this event and recruited a couple of other women to do it with me. They were 22 and 25 - I was 46. No matter. I got my bike tuned up and had new tires put on and I rode it a grand total of about 3 times before the Tri. I ran a few miles here and there. I had been swimming, though!
On race day I got in the water in my regular swim suit and soon found myself thrashing and in a panic, on my back floating, on my stomach breast stroking, treading water, sputtering and desperately wishing I were somewhere else. I did manage to finish the swim and get on my bike. I rode the bike like a tourist on Nantucket Island, and of course got passed by everyone. When I finally came in and did my T2 thing (which was really easy because all I had to do was get off the bike and take off the helmet) I started running and thought - YEOWCH! MY LEGS! But I ran on and hit the trail and it was hot and there was no water left and I was clearly way behind everyone else. I don't believe I had any nutrition, either. I bonked at about 2 miles and pretty much walked about 1/2 of the rest of the thing with the occasional jog tossed in.
Time: 2:31
Place: 254 out of 260 women. 3 men had a worse time than me and one of them was 11 years old.
I hated the whole thing with every fiber in my body and swore I would rather run a marathon a week than ever do THAT again. Little did I know.
This year was different - way different. Same event, different contender.
Last night I got back from San Diego at about 9 PM. I had spent a busy day with Pookie, schlepping luggage and boxes and bags of stuff. My arms were sore (I will write up the trip another time). I started plotting reasons I couldn't really do this Triathlon but chose instead to report in that I was doing it and to get my stuff ready.
4:45 AM came way too soon (as it always does) and I didn't want to get up. Didn't want to put my bike in the car, didn't want to go. I had a million reasons - my arms were sore, I was tired, I had to go all by myself and that made me sad, and blah, blah, blah. Mostly I was just afraid - afraid of failing to do any better than I did last year.
I got to the park, took my stuff to the transition area and went to check in. ID please. Crap - the bike rides never actually ASK for the ID. I had to go back to the car to get it. Got my license, signed the waiver, got my bib, got marked and headed over to set up transition. At this point I was still equivocating over bike shirt vs. run shirt; jacket or no jacket; what food to take. I was driving myself nuts but I pushed on and pinned my number to my run shirt, put my food in my bike shirt and called it good. I line up my shoes and socks.
The guy on the mic kept yelling out instructions and telling people to "Rack your Bike and get your wetsuite ready!" WETSUIT - I DON'T HAVE A WETSUIT... THE REGISTRATION SAYS YOU DON'T NEED A WETSUIT. I DIDN'T WEAR A WETSUIT LAST TIME. Panic, panic, despair. I look around and see that about every 10th person has a wetsuit. The fact that about 95% of the other people are wearing tri suits and I'm in a 1 piece Tyr workout suit bothers me but only a little bit.
Then I had to figure out about the Garmin. I realized that I was very anxious about swimming with it but I really wanted to give you all the swim, T1, bike, T2, run breakdown. Then I thought it doesn't matter. Do what feels right. Oh yeah - SHIFT FOCUS! I said to myself and decided to wear my HR monitor watch for the swim and put the Garmin on for the bike and run. Good choice.
Off to the water for instructions and to wait. The air was chilly but tolerable as I stood there in the suit that screamed I'M A TOTAL ROOKIE - SEE? LOOK AT MY SUIT! but I didn't mind that much. I was too freaked out about getting in the water. You see, my dirty little secret is that I'm terrified of fish. Really. I hate open water swimming but oh well... too late now!
We watched as wave 1 took off and soon saw that they had collectively veered way over to the left of the target buoy. Those poor guys (18 and under) must have added another 150 yards to a 700 yard swim. Oops. It was an excellent reminder to look up early and often and make sure you are headed in the right direction.
I was in wave 6 which is women over 40 and teams. I lined up over to the right and at the back to avoid the churning and broiling and to give me ample room to freak out. 3-2-1 go! and we were off. The water which was only about 72 degrees felt great at first but I found my heart was pounding. Oh My Stars... swim, swim, swim... you are okay, you know how to swim, just keep swimming! Mouthful of lake water - ugh! rotate! pull! ..... I thought I was having a panic attack and then I thought no - you are cold - this is just happening because of the cold... KEEP SWIMMING and I did.. I kept swimming. I was pretty much with the women in my wave and was even passing some. Look up - find that buoy... keep going... rotate, pull, blow out, breath... no panic... and finally I got in a rhythm and I was swimming and I hadn't freaked out or rolled on my back or started breaststroking other than to sight. Around the first buoy, past the second buoy and BRING IT ON HOME THIS WATER IS GROSS! And it was gross. I soon got to the part where the lake weeds grow almost to the surface and your hands touch them and THERE ARE PROBABLY MONSTERS HIDING IN THERE - SWIM - FAST! and I kept swimming. I swam hard and finally the weeds went away and there was sand and I swam some more and then I touched and ran out of that nasty water good and hard.
Swim Time 15 something. 15!!! That was 5 minutes better than I had expected. ROCKIN'!
I ran to my bike and my whole body was abuzz in that sports high buzzy way we love. My heart was pounding like hell and I felt a little dizzy but I remained calm. I forgot that thing about 'pants first, then shoes' and put my socks and bike shoes on and then had to pull on my bike shorts. Oops but keep moving, girl! Turned on the Garmin, strapped it on, got on the shirt, grabbed my unnamed bike and headed out. I have no idea what T1 was.
I rode, baby.... I rode hard because I had this idea that I should hit 18 mph only I couldn't get there. I passed a few people whee! I was so proud when I started gaining on the first one and then I saw her face and realized she was at least 70. Way to go. But on I went. I let myself let up a bit at the start so my heart could come down and so I wouldn't kill myself. The bike ride is 2 loops and the guys were passing me like crazy, heading out on their 2nd loop. I refused to be intimidated- that is their ride and I was on mine. The ride was unremarkable other than being a bit slower than I wanted it to be but it went fine and 1:03 later I was back in the transition zone making a switch. At this point my transition area looked like a bomb had gone off in my bag. Honestly - if I had left the management of my stuff up to a 14 year old who never puts anything away it couldn't have looked worse. This came back to haunt me later but in the moment I got off my shoes while chatting with a guy who was already done (he did the whole thing in 1:26. Ih ate him), put on my running shoes, pulled off the bike shirt, got on the run shirt and took off again.
T2 1:45 or so it seems. I think that's not quite right but whatever.
The run on this thing is hard because it loops around a couple of times. I kept thinking I was done but then there was another loop or another hill. The thing that made the run so much better than it was last time was the Forward Motion Race Club who came out to pass out water and encourage the participants. This is the club I believe I will join so that I don't have to cry in my beer about doing these events alone any more. They were fabulous, yelling out 'Way to go! Looking Strong!" and that meant a lot to me because I was tired. My Garmin was not functioning at all or so I thought. Also, I couldn't switch it from 'speed' to 'pace' which turned out to be a great blessing. I just let it go and decided to focus on my breathing and my footfalls.
Finally I came into the home stretch and they had mic guy calling out the runners names which was SO fun. I thought I heard the guy say my time was 2:11 but the clock wasn't running. I had a composite Bike/T2/Run time of 1:47 and knew the swim was 15 minutes and after doing a little math I believe that 2:11 is correct but for some reason my results were not in. The guy said they probably transposed my number or something - he'll let me know. In any case I passed people on the run and I saw plenty of people behind me so I know for sure I won't come up almost last again.
After I came down from my finishers high I gathered up my stuff that was spread all over hell's half acre, put it in the bag and took it over to the car. I leaned the bike on the car and started looking for my keys. No keys. I pulled everything out of the bag. No keys. I checked every pocket. No keys. I left my stuff at the car and walked back to the timing desk and asked if anyone had turned in some keys. No keys. One last thing to do. I walked over to my transition area and there they were, lying on the ground - the casualties of my bag bomb. Phew!
Here's the really good news - I rocked that run - rocked it!
Mile 1 - 9:59
Mile 2 - 10:34
Mile 3 - 11:08
Mile 4 - 10:18
last .25 - 9:59
Those are good times on a day when I get up, have coffee and toast and hit the road without the swim and the bike. Seeing those numbers still has me smiling. So I rocked the swim and I rocked the run. Not bad.
I realized when I was out on the run course that one of my goals, one that I had failed to articulate even to myself, was to have a better experience this time and I met that goal in spades. I feel great. Another goal was to finish with a time I felt okay about and if 2:11 really is my time then I'm happy. That's a middle of the pack corrected time.
Miission accomplished. What I really like about this race is that when I did it last time I was 6 years younger so that must mean that instead of being 6 years older, I have gotten 6 years better.
I decided to try putting my Forerunning in a plastic bag and wearing it under my cap for the swim and I just practiced this tonight. One ripped silicone cap later I think I've got it - 'think' being the operative word. I hope I don't destroy the thing.
I've got food - a PowerBar cut up into pieces, a bag of Clif Bloks and 2 packs of Accel Gel. I have water and Gatorade and a bottle of Accelerade for after (never tried it before and don't want to try it on the course.
I've got my clothes and fortunately I checked weather.com and it looks like this year will be quite a bit cooler than last year. I'm taking my windbreaker but I hope that all works out - 'hope' being the operative word. I don't own arm warmers although I think they would be a better choice. I just hope I don't burn up in the jacket because it is too short a ride to stop and take it off. Also, I have to figure out if I can load up the jacket pockets or if I load up the riding shirt.
See? I wish I had a plan... but I don't.
If you are on the East coast and reading this in the AM be thinking good thoughts for me.
Matter Uno - My Locked Up Leg
I had intended to swim/run on Monday, Bike/run on Tuesday and just swim on Wed. I tossed the bike/run on Tuesday for all the wrong reasons but it was probably the right thing to do. Wednesday I went to swimming knowing we were doing speed work which seemed like a great idea. This was the prescribed workout:
100 sprint; 300 yd. pull; 5 x 25 yd. easy (your choice of stroke); 100 kick
75 sprint; 300 yd pull; 4 x 25 yd. easy; 100 yd kick (descend from last set)
50 sprint; 300 yd pull; 3 x 25 yd. easy; 100 yd kick (descend from last set)
25 sprint 300 yd pull; 2 x 25 yd. easy; 100 yd kick (descend from last set)
I knew I wouldn't make the whole thing because I didn't have time but I wanted to do well on the sprints. I did the 100 in what I thought was 1:40 which isn't brilliant but it's okay for me. Then I got to the 75 and the coach was on deck with a stop watch so I let him time. 1:26 - BLAH! So now I was more determined than ever to nail that 50. I wanted to do it in 45 which is just about impossible for me but I was determined to make the attempt. I started out hard, flipped at the wall and immediately noticed my left calf tightening up. No big deal, I thought - I'll just keep going - it's only another 20 yards. About 10 yards later it really hurt and about 2 strokes after that I had to stop and grab the lane line. My leg was completely locked up. I could neither flex my foot nor point my toes. Ow. So I'm stretching several times a day and trying to do a little sodium and potassium loading before Sunday.
Matter the Second - Oh Happy Day!
So I'm in the office and I had to arrive sans breakfast (that's French for I was hungry). I figured I could either walk across the street to Staryuks and get a latte and a bagel or I could see what was in the kitchen. My boss made the coffee (told you he's a good guy) and I started rifling the cabinets. We had 2 choices of food - protein bars and Pop Tarts. I scrutinized the nutritional information and discovered that a single Brown Sugar and cinnamon Pop Tart has fewer calories and the same amount of fat as the protein bar. Oh Happy Day! I'm sure the bar would have been better for me but I blissed out on the Pop Tart, instead. Just the one, though - not both of them in the package. YUM!
Life is all about choices, right? Sometimes you make the right choice for the wrong reason and sometimes you make the wrong choice for the right reason. Like Grandma used to say "It all comes out in the wash".
My little Pookie (the youngest of my three children) moves out of the house to take up residence in a college dorm on Saturday. She is both excited and terrified. We are very, very close and she will be living far away and that makes her nervous. She had a great kayaking trip to Baja and made friends so there is no fear of not knowning anyone. She has several friends from high school who will also be there. No - that's not it. It's just the natural fear of jumping off a cliff into the water. You know you can swim, you've seen everyone else come back to the surface laughing, you're pretty sure the water is a good temperature and as far as you know there aren't any rocks lurking just under the surface. But still - it's scary. What if something bad happens? Her lifeline will be 800 miles away.
To make this situation just a little more frightening my company is having a mandatory all hands meeting. Dinner Thursday night and team building all day Friday. The edict was no one leaves before 4:30 PM on Friday. That meant that I had to book a 7:30 flight and wouldn't get home until 10:00. I was towing the line until yesterday when I jokingly chided Pookie for the long face and the inactivity and she burst into tears. Sometimes you just need a slap in the face to see the light.
I changed my flight on Friday - I'm leaving at 1:10. I called my boss and told him. I didn't ask him - I told him. He's a good guy and he understands so it's okay.
So now I will leave today, be away all day Thursday and half of Friday, spend Friday helping her finish her preparations, spend Saturday flying to San Diego and back and then..... somehow get ready to leave very early Sunday for my event .
It's a really good thing the folks from Accel sent me some gels to test. They came today. That's one thing off my list! The rest will just have to fall into place. Of course I totally faked this event 5 years ago and lived to tell the tale so no worries about using a new nutritional product, right?
----
Post Script -
Remember the one about the world's most expensive pancakes? They also turned out to be the world's most delicious pancakes (second item). And here they are:
Their worth might not be obvious but that's because you didn't see the kids all sleeping in their sleeping bags out on the campus grounds
And you didn't get to hear the tale of how they helped SpongeBob find his house that had been stolen by the Coyote
Pookie giving a flawless, off the cuff account of her group's adventure
And you didn't get to see your baby smiling with her group of new friends. That alone, was worth the price of admission.
Monday Sept 4 - Crazy Mixed Up Mini Tri
Run 4 miles
Swim 1500 yds
Ride 19 miles
That little exercise felt GREAT! So great that I took Tuesday off.
Wednesday -
Swim 2000 yds
Run 3 miles
Again - this felt fabulous. So fabulous I took Thursday off
Friday -
Swim 1600 yds
Run 2 miles.
I had to cut the run short so I could meet my friends for coffee. Never underestimate the value of cawfee tawk. Very important!
Friday afternoon I was contemplating doing another crazy mixed up mini-tri but what I really needed was to work harder on the bike and then practice running after riding. I'm so glad I did that. The ride wasn't that great (15 miles with too much time on the trail slowing down and passing people with little kids and also stopping at cross streets) but the getting off the bike and running was an important reminder.
What I remembered is that when you get off the bike and start running your legs sort of yell "WHOA! What the hell?!!?" Seriously. I don't know how else to describe that feeling of being all wobbly and unsteady like a new born colt getting up on all 4s for the first time. You've seen that, right? At least on TV or in the movies. Running after getting off a bike feels exactly like that.
I'm glad I got a reminder before I'm coming out of T2 next Sunday. I haven't quite figured out my strategy for the week but I have a forced taper due to having to fly to Irvine Wed night, spend 2 days in the office, fly home Friday night and then fly to San Diego Saturday to help Pookie move into the dorms. Then I fly home Saturday afternoon and head for the Triathlon on Sunday AM.
Any tips, hints or suggestions for how to handle the other days would be much appreciated. Right now I'm planning on swimming and running (at least a little) on Mon and Wed AM. and I might go for a little run on Thursday or Friday. What about the bike, though? Think I should go for a ride on Tuesday? Maybe a short ride and a short run Tuesday AM?? If you have an opinion please weigh in. I'm kind of addicted to the double workout now - it just feels so good.
are lining up.
I doubt they are accessing a computer but I hope they can feel the collective excitement from the rest of the blogosphere. Be strong!
One day when I was leaning on my virtual bud Bolder for some advice he told me a story that I can't really remember the details of but the punchline is that as a man was running the marathon part of his Ironman and looking like he was really feeling it and his wife called out "Remember your reasons!" or something to that effect.
So everyone - remember your reasons and push on. We'll all be out here cheering for you.
Here are the results:
Answers
Votes Percent
1. Subaru Outback Wagon with Bike Rack 17 47%
2. Kia Spectras (cheap!) 1 3%
3. Toyota Yaris (very cheap!) 1 3%
4. Toyota Corolla 4 door sedan 0 0%
5. Honda Civic 4 door sedan 9 25%
6. VW Jetta 5 14%
7. Other 3 8%
As much as I love the idea of a big, expensive Mercedes it appears that the Subaru Wagon is the clear winner. As it turns out I'm going to wait a while to buy a car but it's good to have the data. And oh - if you happen to know of a good Sugar Daddy candidate please send him my way. As long as he can put up with my training schedule he'll do just fine.
Second - The World's Most Expensive Pancakes were delicious. The trip down there was rife with aggravation. The flight took off over an hour late, the rental car lot took a long time to get out of due to trainee checking car at the exit, a very looooong train was moving through town just as I got to the intersection of the tracks and my street and I had to drive up to the 11th floor of a building to park the car. I finally got into my $86 Priceline special room at the Sheraton to discover that I was in a lovely mini-suite that I had no time to enjoy as it was now 11 PM and I had to get up at 6 AM to make sure I could pick up a disposable camera and get to the breakfast on time. Oh well.
When I got there the kids were still all sleeping. Turns out that 8 AM really meant 9AM but oops - they forgot to update the website. That was okay, though because I had the pleasure of photographing these barely awake kids - very fun! I'll wait until the pictures come in to give more details.
Last - thanks for the bike advice and special thanks to Nancy Toby for discouraging my performance anxiety. But really - is that possible? I don't think so. I am really wondering how I managed a 2:31 last time when well trained, fast people seem to do these sprint distance triathlons in 1:50 - 2:05. I figure the 700 yard swim will take me 20 minutes what with the thrashing and piling on that goes on at these events. Then the bike will take me an hour if I really bust a move (18 mile ride) and then the run will take at least 45 minutes (4 miles on trashed legs). The transitions will probably be about 5 minutes because I'm practically a transition virgin. So that's 20 + 5 + 60 + 5 + 45 = 2:15 if I really work it. That's only 15 minutes faster. Maybe ONLY is the operative word here? I don't know. I'll just move as fast as I can and see what happens, right?
And on that note it's pillow time so I can get up and do another fabulous workout. I swam and ran today and loved it! More on that later, too.
Friday Sept 29, 2006 (all info is contained in the link below - just click on the next line)
Eddy Merckx ride for The Oak Hill School
The infamous Eddy Merckx is joining ZteaM cycling for a 50 mile ride to benefit the Oak Hill school located in Marin California. Riders should arrive at the Oak Hill School no later than 11:30 AM at 441 Drake Blvd, Marin City, CA 94965. The police escorted ride will travel through Marin, out to Nicasio Valley and back down the senic coast highway 1 and finish at the school. Come chat/ride with Eddy and have complimentary sodas and snacks after the ride. Diretions: Get off 101 at the Marin City/Sausalito exit where Mike's Bike is. Go west one block and make a left on Drake.
I won't be there but if you are an Eddy Merckx fan and you live in the area this might be a fun event for you. It costs $100 and benefits The Oak Hill School:
The Oak Hill School is a specialized school in Marin City for children with autism and other neurologically based development issues. Children on the autism spectrum typically have difficulty communicating, which severely limits their ability to communicate, form relationships, access the world and live independently around them. As many as 1 in 166 children born today are autistic, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
A worthy cause by any standard.
T1 was about 40 minutes what with the hydrating and the eating and the shower and the changing and the putting the bike in the car and the driving to the pool and the putting on the cap and the goggles. It all took time but it was okay. Fast transitions weren't part of the program.
The workout was pretty tough and I had to wear fins because every lane had at least 5 people in it and I just had to keep up. I only managed to get my heart up to 155 but I was in zone (120 - 170) 35 of the 45 minutes I was in the water and we did have to stop once in a while to hear what to do. When I got out of the water I felt great!
Off to the locker room for shower #2 and a change into biking clothes which includes this awesome shirt I got when I rode my last metric century. In fact, the shirt is at least a small part of the reason I did the ride. At the bottom it says "Like a Fine Wine, It Gets Better With Age". The front has the same design. T2 was probably about 30 minutes.
I rode 19 1/2 miles on the multi-use trail which in parts is heavily used by families and strollers. My speed was not what I was looking for - not even close. My max speed was 19 mph which was good but my overall speed was only 12.5 mph which is way slow. I'm sure it is due in part to having to slow down for people and for numerous crossings but still - I'm not thrilled with my time.
I was, however thrilled that I got out and did that little brick. When I got home it was sunny and warm and beautiful and I felt sunny and warm and hopeful. I have a sprint distance Tri on Sept 17. This will be my 2nd time doing this event. The first time was in 2000 (stop me if you've heard this one!) and it took me 2.5 hours. I was almost the last one in. I was horribly under trained and on a Schwinn Varsity 10 speed. But here's the thing. IF I DON'T DO SUBSTANTIALLY BETTER THIS TIME I WILL FLIP OUT! Really. I need to do better.
So here are 2 biking questions for you people.
1). What single thing is the most important to help me improve my biking speed over the next 2 weeks? Cadence? Speed? Time in the saddle? Hills? What would you do? The course on this Tri is pretty flat - very flat compared to most of the terrain I bike.
2). Shimano 105. Good enough or just no good? If you have an opinion please let me know. There is a bike I'm interested in and the top of the line model has Shimano Dura-Ace components and sells for $4400. The bottom of the line has the same frame with Shimano 105 components and sells for less than half of that. I can see that the price differential is reflected in the cost of those parts but the question is, for a non-pro is 105 adequate or are they really inferior?
Tomorrow is back to work but then we get to hump day just 24 hours later. Ahhhhh...... I will use Hump Day Miscellany to tell you about my trip to San Diego although I'd like to wait until the photos come back. I do have photographs of the world's most expensive, and possibly tastiest, pancakes.
I am flying down there, renting a car and staying in a hotel all so I can go to a pancake breakfast at 8 AM and meet all the people who were on the trip and hear all about it. I forgot my camera! Drat. I'm about to eat a couple of the world's most expensive pancakes and I won't even be able to take a picture of them. Perhaps I'll stop on the way and pick up a disposable camera.
In other news - I looked at my workout stats and I have all ZEROS for month to date - arrrgghhh! I pussed out on my swim this morning. Bad, Bad, Bad... must not do that any more. Wednesday I had on my HRM and the best I could do was 155 and I was only in zone for 20 of the 50 minutes of the workout. Must.Work.Harder. So, more swims, harder swims, expensive pancakes, life story revealed, Happy Labor Day Weekend!
I did not get into to my first choice but I did get accepted to the University of Miami. No way was I going to a school where people wore bikinis all the time. Not with my fat ass. I decided to take a year off, reapply to better schools (in cooler climates), work to save up money and go to Europe to put those 4 years of high school French to use. Little did I know that no self respecting Parisian will converse in French wis ze ugly Americahn.
To finance the trip I got a job at a plastic bag factory. It was right near my house and it paid really well - $3.65/hr! I took that job a week before I graduated but it was a 6 PM to 6 AM shift, 3 days on and 3 days off at that time. Sometime after graduation they switched to a standard 5 day midnight to 8 AM shift. So - #2 is true. And Bolder - folding plastic bags all night in a hot factory is very memorable. Not a great memory but I will never forget the feel and the smell of having plastic dust up my nose 8 to 12 hours a day.
In June or July of 1974 I boarded a plane headed for Paris. I had no idea what I was doing. Far be it from me to read books or actually learn something about traveling before I took off. My worried Mom stepped up and found a local person who had a daughter living in Paris who needed a roommate so arrangements were made for me to go live with her. We had nothing in common and she didn't really want to spend time with me - she just needed someone to share the rent. Fortunately, on the plane on the way over I met a guy from Germany. While in Paris he wrote to me and asked if I wanted to come hang out with him so a month after arriving I took off to spend time living on a houseboat on the Lahn River.
While I was there an American girl named Bernie showed up and we decided to hitchhike to Amsterdam. We stayed at a Youth Hostel that would give you free board if you went down to the train station every day and passed out leaflets directing young tourists to the hostel. One day I got picked up by the police who didn't arrest me but they did frighten me and warned me not to solicit at the train station ever again. So #1 is false and Dori and Greyhound both get the honor of the right guess for the wrong reason. I didn't actually get arrested and I dare say that passing out leaflets for a Youth Hostel isn't really more sexy than passing out political leaflets.
Since you were both equally right and wrong I will happily make you each a mix CD with whatever style of music floats your boats and makes your workouts more pleasurable, assuming you are part of the iPod generation. If you would rather listen to a book or some Fresh Air let me know because I can accommodate that request as well.
I finally went home in November of 1974 partly because I was out of money but mostly because 21st CenturySister had been in a rear end accident and was suffering a ruptured disk and she wanted me home. At first I resisted the idea of going come because I had started to fancy the idea of staying overseas, blowing off college and becoming an ex-pat (Nixon had just been booted out of office) but then I felt loved and needed and off I headed to airport. Having arrived at the train station a little late I ran on to a train going the opposite direction I needed to go, missed my flight and was delayed a day but I did get home. By the way - back in those days if you missed your plane they just put you on one the next day - no charge even for a cheap ticket.
By then I had applied and been accepted to a couple of colleges including my first choice which had given me deferred admissions to start in February of 1975. Off I went and because I was SO OLD (all of 20) I barreled through college in 3 and half years and got accepted to graduate school at UC Berkeley.
During my first year I met a man who really, really liked me. He was good looking and fun and I was lonely and stressed. We dated for 8 months which were characterized almost exclusively by going out to a local bar, getting pie eyed and shooting pool. I was a pretty decent shot in between the second and fourth Vodka and Tonics. The man was a full on drunk and there was a fair amount of abuse in that relationship but my Mom had been an alcoholic so it all seemed pretty normal to me. When he wasn't drunk he was fun so eight months after meeting we started cohabiting and the following summer we got married.
By then the partying had taken a huge toll and in addition to that I wasn't that enamored of the studies I was doing. A PhD program in science is somewhat like a marathon or an IM in that you really need to want it bad to finish and by that point I really didn't care much about it. If I had had my wits about me I would have done what another guy in my lab did and switched to exercise physiology but alas, I was a total mess. My self esteem was in the gutter and I didn't really know who I was. I quit graduate school. So #3 is sad but true.
Not to worry, though. That not so great marriage resulted in me having 3 very fine children who I adore so I believe that the trajectory my life took was perfect. The ex has been sober for almost 10 years now which is a very a good thing and my kids are perfect. Herky jerky as my life has been it seems to be working out just fine.
Thanks for playing!