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I can barely wait. What a treat that awaits after the Racine Half Iron. More big screen, Moulder. Yum.
I got sick this week. Really sick. So sick I was in the office for a total of 1.25 days and I’m only just now, 6 days later, starting to feel relief. This virus is a doozy and I’ve felt like such a wimp being taken down in such swift fashion. It’s been so bad that I haven’t drank coffee or exercised in 6 days, I’ve been practically bed-ridden and I’ve watched more episodes of bad online TV than I dare to admit. This has been so not fun. Don’t even talk to me about how behind I am at work now, too.
The thing is, I pride myself of the fact that I’m a pretty damn healthy person. In fact, I wasn’t sick all winter-long (not even a sniffle) and I think it’s been a good full year since I’ve had a cold. It’s easy to get cocky. And it isn’t easy to be kicked in the ass with a mother of a virus. Not only did I get sick, but I got sick hard. I had a fever, horrible cough and congestion, body aches, fatigue.
It hit me shortly after my long run on Saturday. I completed 20 miles. This was only my third 20 mile run in my life (my first two during my Madison marathon training in 2006) and it was tough, but I did it. It was a progressive run meaning I had to run miles 1 – 17 at 10% below marathon pace and then ramped the final three up to marathon pace. I was beat by the end, I barely pulled out the 10-minute mile finish for the last mile (although, ironically, I did have a few random 9:30s thrown in throughout the run earlier by accident) and I immediately hit the sack to rest after the exertion.
That night, I was coughing, but I thought it was due to allergies. There was a lot of pollen out during the run. We went to a party that night. I was feeling pretty tired. We didn’t make it a long night. Then, Sunday morning, I knew something was up. I was just EXHAUSTED. I finally dragged my butt to the grocery store and that’s when I knew I was sick. I couldn’t focus. I felt terrible. I stumbled through the store and, when I got home, I hit the couch and lived there for the remainder of the week.
The worst part has been the cough. It’s so deep and raw that I’ve felt like there have been shards of glass in my chest. And coughing this hard for this many days has left me sore all over. The congestion has been pretty bad, too. At one point, I couldn’t even Neti Pot because my nose was so stuffed up. I also had a fever for four days — something that never happens to me. This has been crazy. On Wednesday, I finally went to see the doc (love on-site health care at work!) and he confirmed it as a nasty virus and I was on the verge of a sinus infection. He gave me Codeine cough syrup to help me sleep and a prescription for antibiotics to fill only if the congestion & sinus pressure got worse in 48 hours.
The good news is, it hasn’t gotten worse. Wednesday was probably my worst day (although, ironically, that was the day I went into work). I stayed home again on Thursday and managed at half day at the office yesterday. I did have to break my plans for the weekend. I was supposed to head up north to a cabin with a bunch of my tri-buddies for a training weekend sprinkled with much Memorial Day play. It’s really broken my heart to cancel the trip. I was so looking forward to it. But I knew my buddies didn’t want my germs up there — and I need the weekend to rest more so I that I can get back into shape for both work and training (my first tri of the season is next weekend at Buffalo!).
But still, the fact that they are all up there and pontooning and drinking mojitos without me makes me really sad. It’s even sadder because James is in Duluth with other bike racing buddies this weekend for a four-day stage race. I’m essentially home all alone this weekend with all of my friends out of town. Boo Hoo.
The plus side, if I have to look at it, is that I have peace and quiet within which to rest and recover. I also have some time to get the house in order (it’s been a mess because I haven’t done a damn thing since I got sick). Maybe I’ll treat myself to a solo movie. I can’t remember the last time I’ve had this amount of time to be all by myself.
As for training, I’m hoping this virus doesn’t set me too far back for Grandma’s. I was supposed to have both a 10 mile tempo run this week and a 16 mile slow run today. Neither are going to happen. I just hope my fitness will get me to my 22 mile run next weekend with a few easier jogs before then. Keeping fingers crossed.
I do think I am going to venture out and be active today. A nice, easy bike ride by myself should be okay. The weather is nice and I haven’t been on my 27-mile Mahtomedi route in a while. And if I’m feeling better by Monday, I may even head out for a 60 miler. But we’ll see about that. I’m also going to attempt a shorter 5 mile run tomorrow. Very slow pace.
So, there you go.
Happy Memorial Day, ya’ll. I hope you’re having a more healthy and enjoyable weekend than this little girl.Cadillac Man the movie
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It’s gross and scary and I couldn’t tear my eyes away.
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Out of desperation, I’ve stapled gels (that couldn’t fit into my pack) onto my belt.
Tonight I’m relishing that sweet exhaustion from a tough workout. It was actually quite a lovely day when you consider I slipped out of the office early for a spa treat compliments of a popular social networking site. A 90 minute massage is nothing to sneeze at and I’m glad I took the time to participate in the outing with other members of my team. It was even a decent massage. I was expecting more of a “fluff and buff” from the fancy spa we went to out in the suburbs. (Not to be a snob. But I am a snob. Especially when it comes to a decent massage.)
At any rate, the massage was nice. And right afterwards, I headed out to join some members of my team for a Thursday evening ride. I didn’t get to ride either Tues. or Weds. (nights we have regular rides) – so I was jonesing for some bike time. The weather was perfect, too. 70s and sunny. Absolutely lovely. We had four of us total and I did begin to get nervous. The three cats I was about to take off with are all super-strong. I was by far the weakest rider and i knew it would be a challenge.
And, it was a challenge. I was at threshold for much of the ride. I fell back on a few hills. But I did my best to keep up and I felt pretty good about my effort. When we pulled into the cafe after the 37 mile ride, I was shocked to find we’d averaged over 18 mph. That was with all the stop signs and everything. Honestly, many times when I looked down at my computer, we were going between 20 and 23 mph!
Towards the end of the ride, my calves started cramping a little. At the very end, my ankles and feet were cramping, too. I think the results of my massage and a bit of dehydration were taking effect. But I felt super good having completed the ride.
We all hung out after — once again, I devoured a Birchwood turkey burger post ride.
And now I’m home and ready for bed and basking in the comfort of a good massage, a hard ride and a full tummy.
Sometimes life is really, really good.Dark Streets trailerMad Max 2: The Road Warrior dvdrip Bodyguard: A New Beginning ipod
Okay, I should have waited 30 minutes. Here are the results:
Total Time: 1:34:40
158th out of 332 total participants
35th out of 156 women
10th out of 27 in my division (women 35 – 40)
Run 1: 24:54 (8:18/mile)
T1: 1:04
Bike: 42:55 (18.9 mph — based on what I think was actually a 13.5 mile course and included a 2 minute pause)
T2: 0:56
Run 2: 24:54 (8:18/mile)
Notes:
- WEIRD that my run times were exactly the same (although, Run 2 would have been slower had it not been for my angel)
- Also, you should probably take 2 minutes of my bike time because of the train. Although, looking at results, Michelle (ironically, the chick I was chatting with at the start) was in 9th place in my division and finished 2 minutes 40 seconds in front of me — meaning, I still would have placed 10th in my division after all.
- I’m happy with 10th in my division even if it only contained 27 peeps total. I still think I did pretty well and I LOVE a top ten finish.
- I’m only slightly bummed that my 2 minute delay on the bike might have likely kept me out of the top 15 female bike times. :(
Okay. Over and out…
[my race report is below]
The results aren’t online yet and I wasn’t in the mood to stick around and wait for them after the race today. I really just wanted a cup of coffee and nap so I headed home.
That said, I think I had a pretty decent race.
As I’ve repeated everywhere, I wasn’t in the mood to race this morning. Not that I’m ever “in the mood” — racing kind of sucks because it hurts, but I do love the thrill of it. And going into this morning, I just didn’t feel a sense of thrill. I didn’t have teammates to participate with. I hadn’t trained in my aerobars. I’ve been uber-marathon focused so multisport has taken a bit of a back seat and, of course, there is the weather thing.
This morning? I really wanted to stay in bed and watch movies with my dog. (I’d say dogs plural, but Tryna really doesn’t like to watch movies. ;)
But, I knew I had to do it. James had a time-trial this morning, too, so I wasn’t about to be a wimp if he was racing today. I got my gear together last night. I got up early for some pre-race granola and soy milk. I loaded up my car and I was off.
The race was nice and close. It was relaxing to know I didn’t have to be at transition at the crack-ass of dawn. In fact, packet pick-up started after 7:30 am and race time was 9am. I didn’t even leave the house until around 7:30 and I was at the site by 7:45ish.
Parking was starting to get tight. But I’m glad I took my time this morning. The extra sleep and relaxed morning was worth a less than optimal parking spot and less than optimal transition spot. As I unloaded and prepped my bike, I did encounter a problem with my back wheel’s tube. When I unscrewed the valve to check the air pressure, air started just streaming out. I’d replaced my tires a few nights ago but kept my old tubes. This back one had officially had it. So, I needed to swap it out. By this time, it was around 8am and I was thankful I had a full hour before the race start because I did want time to test out my aerobar riding skills. I proceeded to change my tire and I got more than a couple of “do you need help?”s from the men that would pass. Given the early hour and my independent spirit, this annoyed me. I couldn’t see they were being kind. All I could see was, “what??!! you don’t think a girl can change her tire?”
Of course, it was the back wheel which is always a bit of a struggle for me to get both on and off. AND my new tires are super-stiff so getting those on and off are a challenge, too. But I was fine. I could do it. In fact, I DID it. But not without this older man and his son, who were hanging out in the truck next to me, watching me the entire time. I was getting paranoid. They continued to watch and ask me (a few times) if I was okay. The older guy even told me my lights were on (yes, I know — my car radio was on, too — I was listening to it. But he also gave me a mini-lecture on a dead battery after that. Ugh.) It was about the third inquiry when they asked (again) if I was having problems while I was attempting to put my back wheel on. “I’m fine,” I said in what I knew was an exasperated voice. But then I went a step further, “But I feel like you are staring at me.” (I know, I’m not nice.)
I pulled my bike around to the side of the car where I could have more privacy. I got my back wheel on and when I came back out, the guys were gone.
In transition, I found a nice wide spot. Not optimal because it was closer to the run in and out, but space is nice. And transition does seem so much easier when you don’t have to deal with the whole swimming thing. One pair of shoes, your helmet and bike. That’s it. I took the bike out for a little warm-up. I felt fine in position. I dropped the bike off, got my chip, got body marked and then headed to a ginormous port-a-potty line that took about 20 minutes to get through.
By that time, it was about race time start. There was a big group walk to the start line. The air was crisp. I wasn’t sure if I was dressed approriately. I settled on my biking jersey, arm warmers and tri shorts. I took my knee warmers and wind vest off at last minute. I was certainly chilly during the walk to the start and as I waited for my wave (Women age 35+ were dead last) to start.
I met a sweet woman while waiting. She asked me about the bike team and racing. We talked about multisport, too. And then it was race time and we were off.
Right off the bat, I knew I was aiming for staying in the upper 150s as far as my heart rate was concerned. I was curious how fast this would give me in terms of pace on the course. The first 3 mile run was a challenge, but I felt good. I ran averaging my heart rate between 154 and 158. Some women did pass me. I know I’m not the strongest runner. But I also knew this was a C race for me, too. It’s important for me to test and learn in this environment for future races. Not only that, this was also the first leg. I still had to both ride and run again.
There was one woman in particular that passed me and I kept trying to catch her on the course. She had an Ironman Bike Ride bike jersey on and she was my rabbit. I never did catch her on the run course, though.
The 3 miles went pretty fast. It was hillier than I’d expected. We were already at bike transition and I felt I transitioned fast although I did have to trade my ball cap for my helmet. Probably faster if I wouldn’t have worn a hat at all. Oh, well.
On the bike, I had to immediately get around a lot of slower people on slow bikes. It was then that I spotted Ironman Bike Ride chick riding right in front of me and I passed her on the first hill out of the park reserve. The rest of the bike ride was like that. Lots of back and forth between me and the Ironman Bike Ride chick. I’d pass on hills, she’d pass on straights. This did have me lamenting my bike just a tad because I wonder if I’d be faster on a TT bike. Ms. Ironman Bike Ride chick had a TT bike. I felt stronger than her, but I just couldn’t kick up that same speed on the flats (note: this is an often occurance on the bike leg — those bikes do pass me quite a bit. Although, that said, my favorite is passing peeps WITH this equip and still being faster. Hah.)
Ironman Bike Ride chick did eventually pass me strong enough to make it stick. I used this opportunity to suck down some water. I noticed that I was averaging a 157 to 162 heart rate on the bike leg (weird, I always thought my heart rate was higher on the run). But I just powered as much as I could because I know this is my strong suit.
Then we hit the train. Yes, the train. The race was intersected by a train and there we were, backed up and I was right next to Ms. Ironman Bike Ride again. We joked a bit. By this time, we were talking. She noted that she just couldn’t shake me.
We were stopped at the train for about 2 minutes. Wouldn’t be great for my overall time, but it was a nice opportunity to drink and recover. Although, when we got to go again, damn if my calves didn’t scream a little.
It was a lot of the same back and forth with my new friend. She did catch me on one hill and said, “Yay! I made my goal. I caught you on at least one hill.” It was funny and motivating.
The bike leg of 12 miles took a little longer than I’d estimated. The hills on the course in addition to the wind slowed things down a bit. Although, I don’t know my speed yet and didn’t set my computer. I did manage to take my feet out of my shoes on my bike as I approached transition and it was fun to run to my spot in my bare feet — and it was certainly faster than running in bike shoes. I transitioned fast again and was out for the final 3 mile run.
Right away, I noticed it was hard to get my heart rate back up to where I wanted it. It seemed to want to stay around 151 – 152 even though the effort felt more intense than that. I didn’t take in any nutrition except for a Gu prior to the start and I wonder if that had anything to do with it. I kept telling myself, “Only three miles, push it.” I felt my pace was strong. But again, it was hard to get myself up past 154 or 155.
With about a mile left, Ms. Ironman Bike Chick was upon me. “Hah! I finally caught you!” she said. I told her I had thought she was way ahead (I had). She mentioned that she couldn’t catch me on all the hills (even on the run). We started running together and she told me to push it with her the final leg. I could feel how much stronger than me she was, but she wouldn’t let me back off. Soon, I noticed my heart rate was 158 – 159. So, THIS is what it takes to get back up there??
It was super hard, but my little nemesis / angel was dragging my ass that final mile of the course and not letting me back down. Each time I’d even consider slowing, she’d tell me to pick it up. She’d tell me to bring it in. She’d tell me to let my strong legs pull me up the hill. Sooooo super hard. I wanted to quit, but I didn’t and she even got me to sprint towards the finish. Gahhh…
Andrea is her name. She’s 46 and damn strong and I thanked her for coaching me through. There is no way I would have run that strong at the end if it weren’t for her.
At the finish, we ran into a few more girls (including the woman I met at the start). A number of us were all together on the bike and it was fun to chat about how much we all pushed each other. It’s also satisfying to know other notice you in the same way you notice them in terms of competition on the course.
So, it ended up being a very good race. I’m beat. I’m tired. But, thanks to Andrea, I left it all on the course.
Not sure how I finished. My watch says 1:35:14 but I didn’t turn it off right away when we cross. Then there is the 2 minute stop for the train that I don’t know if we’ll get credited for or not. I guess we’ll just see when results are up.
The race itself was fun. The Lake Elmo Park reserve is a lovely place for a race. There were wetlands and wildlife and hills. So, it was both scenic and challenging. It also didn’t rain on us, so while the temps were cool, the weather was just fine. In fact, I run faster when it’s cool and it turned out that I dressed perfect for the temps.
So, there you go. My first duathlon is complete. It was a great experience and I’m so glad I didn’t actually stay in bed instead to watch movies with the dog. Especially since I can do that now — and have a strong race under my belt.Crazy Eights Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets movie download Red ipod
I have a duathlon tomorrow morning.
I’ve never done a duathlon before. Kind of weird after all the years of multisport now (is this my 5th season?). I’m not actually sure how hard to go out on the run for the first leg. It’s 3 mile run / 12 mile bike / 3 mile run. Not a 5k effort, but I feel like I should go hard.
I also haven’t ridden in my aerobars all season. How bad is that? James just put them on for me tonight and I was too lazy to go out and try them. So, after all the amazing base I have from Texas and the recent riding, I feel like I’m going into tomorrow a little green. Hopefully, I can ride around a little prior to the race and warm up.
And — it’s only a C race. Just a season warm-up. I still have 13 miles to run on Sunday. I need to squeeze in a swim as well as some Yoga. Then there is all the real-life stuff to mix in.
The truth also is, I’m not really motivated for tomorrow. I think the weather has me a little lethargic. It’s cold. It certainly doesn’t feel like the start of the tri season and I can’t believe I’m seriously considering race in a bike jersey and shorts tomorrow, but even that might be a little chilly.
One final note, I pulled out my race belt to pack it up and I found my Turtleman number from last August’s race still attached. The Turtleman number that I DIDN’T use because my gear was locked in my garage from that crazy storm and I had to squander up used gear and race all ghetto. Ahhh, memories…
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Man, it’s about friggin’ time. Of course, I’m sitting inside watching America’s Funniest Home Videos and on my laptop. Slightly pathetic. But I did get out for a lovely 2-1/2 hour coffee ride with the club today. Honestly, it’s been at least 3 years since I’ve been on the Sunday Coffee Ride. Not sure why we stopped going. It was one of my first entrances into group riding. I still remember that first one. It WAS my first group ride. I fell on the way there at a stop sign because I couldn’t clip out of my pedals and I was all scraped up and embarrassed and didn’t want to ride because I was scared. It’s amazing to think of it now and how mornings like today ARE my zen time. Something that scared me so much 6 years ago is such a relaxing pleasure now — just goes to show you.
Today was our official kick-off coffee ride for the season. Tracey, the owner of the Bwood, had scones and coffee for the group pre-ride. James and I got there early, for once. In time to enjoy some treats before heading out — at least until I realized I’d forgotten my helmet. How do I always do that?? Forget something?? Lucky, Tracey also had a helmet I could borrow. Thank goodness.
The coffee ride route isn’t my favorite ride through the cities. But the pace was good — a perfect recovery from yesterday’s long run. I got to chat with a lot of peeps and we had a few challenging hill thrown in there to keep us honest. I think we averaged around 17-something mph for the 2.5 hour ride. Although, to be honest, I never looked at my computer to see how far we were going. It’s nice to have a ride where you just don’t care — you’re just there.
After the ride, we hung out at the cafe and had lunch with teammates. We finally had to get our butts in gear at 1pm. We needed to grocery shop for the week and do chores around the house.
As for yesterday, my 18 mile progressive run was a challenge — but a good one. I was supposed to run at 10% below Marathon Pace for the bulk of the run and then increase pace the final 30 minutes and finish the final 10 at MP. The goal for this was 11-minute mile 10% below pace with MP @ 10-minute mile but I actually ran at an average 10:30-minute mile pace and finished the final 30 minutes at 9:30. I think I am going to finally rethink my MP goal. But I need to do the math.
I will say, I was SORE after this run. We went out for dinner at a wine bar with some peeps in the evening and after 3 hours of hanging out, eating and drinking wine, my legs were stiff and could barely make it to the bathroom — let alone to the car. Then, this morning, getting out of bed was it’s own challenge. Going downstairs really hurt. But the ride loosened me up and I feel much better now.
So, next week is my first multisport race of the season! It’s the Oakdale Duathlon: a 3 mile run, 12 mile bike, 3 mile run. I guess that means I should put my aerobars on my bike and practice TT position.
Okay. I’m headed outside now. Night, ya’ll!Beauty and the Beast on dvd Pootie Tang download Problem Child 2 film
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