Cape Cod

Ok, my pictures aren't that great. And I really need to do something about the smudge on the top of the pics. But the Cape is very picturesque, especially my in-laws. :)

Beach pebbles - yes, this is what we ran on






















Skipping stones on the beach

































A perfect skipping stone




Beautiful Heritage Park - scene of the wedding




















Here comes the bride

Back in the swing of things...and the swing makes you tired for sure.

So it was back to work as usual on Monday after the flight and it was sure tough as ever. The chaos of the weekend caught up to me about 2pm at my desk where I started dozing off. Kind of like one of those dozing off fits that you have in college/high school where all of the sudden your eyes close and you do that kind of "nap jerk", which Kirsten does EVERY time she is falling asleep, which is usually within seconds of her head hitting the pillow...there aren't many things I am good at but I would LOVE to be good and falling asleep immediately after my head hit the pillow. Anyway, it was pretty bad to the point where I was sure that someone saw me, but at least didn't say anything.

We were scheduled to swim on Monday night but I made the call...no way...I want a nap or just to relax. So relax is what we did. We ended up making Lasagna for the week (mmm leftovers!) and some banana bread to quell our sweet teeth (yes that is the plural) as well. We called it an early night, of course Kirsten called it earlier than I, and headed to bed. For whatever reason I always have to let Kirsten go to bed before me...well okay that isn't entirely true...it is just she goes to bed at 9:30pm and I can't reason with myself to even start thinking about bed until 10pm (seems like a good cutoff no?) I mean I try and try and try but just can't. Especially when sometimes we get home so late that we end up eating at 9pm or close to it that I can't justify eating within an hour of bedtime (eating by 7pm is my ideal time, but alas our schedule is definitely prohibitive of that at times, more often than not!). So I do the best I can and am usually in bed by 10:30 with my lovely wife ;)

But back to the lecture at hand...(Gratuitous Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg reference). Tuesday morning I was greeted with a groggy sense of physicality and haze that people normally pay for, but was simply just fatigue and general lethargy, so sleeping in was the call, only after we both had gotten up and gotten ready to ride, but alas the bed was saying "Look at me...I am warm, cozy, and will rejuvenate you for the day ahead...sounded like a good deal to me! Kirsten agreed and it was back to bed until 7:30 or so, pretty late for the both of us! I ended up knocking out 2100 yds at the pool near work and felt sluggish but was glad I got the swim in (which is what I need the most work on!) with the intention of heading down to Hains Point for an afternoon ride, meeting Kirsten down there of course.

It takes me so darn long to get there from work that by the time I made it down (6:15 or so) Kirsten was done with our intervals! So it looks like I was riding solo for this one. The first two loops were fine, the intervals are way harder by yourself than with the help of the Peleton, so much so that sprinting a lap with them was less taxing than a 5 minute 100% effort. But I plugged away every lap my mouth getting dryer and dryer from the heat and low humidity. It was on the 3rd lap and final interval set that I noticed the wind had picked up significantly. I mean it was howling and blowing me side to side...in my face the entire way and made everything exponentially tougher...but it was what I was looking for. A friend of mine in the early spring was riding with us and was pushing into the wind on the sprints and taking it easy with the tail wind...after I asked him why (Duh...because it is HARDER!) my mentality changed all of the sudden. From that point on I made it a point to do all my intervals and hard efforts into the wind...it can only make me stronger mentally and physically right? So that is what I did...but also told myself since we were running long in the morning that a brick wasn't going to happen. The ride back was even hard with the wind blowing me around.

Ended up running into one of my friend Paul's friends Pam who is a die hard cyclist. She told me about a local Criterium race they are planning in downtown DC for the fall and then I exchanged information about Endure24 of course...have to get the word out! She told me Paul was in town so we talked about doing a recovery ride on Sunday and ending at a coffee shop to make it easy. Always good to see old acquaintances out on the road. So it was left overs, Family Guy, and some of the office before hitting the hay pretty early for the long run in the morning.

So this was our first long run of the year and we were kind of dreading it, but in a sick sick way I was looking forward to it...it would be a test of my body since I have been having aches and pains here and there and the first long run since my knee problem in October. Kirsten gave you the run down in her post below, the more I think about that guy running between us the more I get mad about it...but best to keep your cool...I mean he was running with his hand in his pocket...and a hoodie in the blazing DC Summer....anyway, the run was pretty unventful but reminded me of what these runs felt like back 2 years ago when we were training for Ironman Florida...sweaty, hungry, blistery, slimy, salty, humid, aching, and slogging along at the end...and we do this for fun? Ummmmm....maybe...I forgot...what are we talking about again? Oh right...We made it back in one piece but I could see Kirsten's mental state deteriorating as we were coming back towards the 14th street bridge. I tried to be encouraging but at the same time just let her be, I mean she doesn't have the nick name "K Dog" for nothing! Stretched out after a well deserved shower and that seemed to keep the tight hip and knee at bay and is a definite part of the routine now.

Work was a good call since I could just sit down the entire time and not have to walk around as it was pretty painful for a while, but I was also ravenous! Nothing could satisfy my hunger and I ate all day long. Lasagna leftovers were the right call for lunch, mmmmmm. We then headed out for a 2500 yard swim at DC Tri Club Masters, which sadly may be coming to an end soon. The swim was pretty rough as my back was actually sore/tired from the run. That long of a run and keeping good form takes its toll one way or another...but we managed to make it through the entire 2500 in about 50 minutes or less which seemed pretty fast, but I was proud I didn't quit and I was even more proud that Kirsten tacked on 400 at the end to make it 2000 total since she got there late due to work and delayed metro rail! She impresses me daily with her determination and drive...how can you not admire her! I know I do...constantly ;)

Anyway, nothing special last night besides some needed rest but I couldn't sleep very well and kept waking up every hour and staying awake for 15 minutes every hour...don't feel tired, but wish sleeping through the night was possible. I guess being a light sleeper is good if the cats ever find another mouse in the house! The ride this morning was nothing special, but I did snap at TJ, which I felt bad about afterwards. We wanted to do a recovery ride so I wanted to keep my effort moderated at a certain level. Kirsten was happy to draft off me since I was going a little harder than she wanted to go, but wanted to stay with me (LOVE YOU!) and a couple other people jumped on the back of the Chad train for the morning workout. The first couple laps were awesome as I was maintaining a low wattage but still cruising at 22.5-23mph with a low Heart Rate as well. I was feeling good and then on the 2nd lap TJ jumped on board and went straight to the front and right in front of me...well I lost it and started yelling at him "NO NO NO NO, I AM DOING A MODERATED EFFORT AND DON'T WANT TO DRAFT OFF ANYONE!!!!" He didn't respond immediately so I got pretty irritable again and yelled again in a justifying sort of way...well sorry TJ...I just had a workout in mind that I was trying to stick to it and I didn't want any variables in the work out other than weather related. I wasn't biting on any of the surges he was doing and surely didn't want to draft off anyone. So anyway, sorry again...next time I will be nice about it ;)

So anyway, I am pretty pumped about the Mountain Mama Century this weekend. The weather looks perfect temperature wise, the scenery is going to be awesome, and ever since the Tour of California we did in February when we climbed the beyond category climb of Mt. Hamilton I have been yearning for more mountain climbs...well this weekend should satisfy that urge given the route profile of the Mountain Mama Century. More after the weekends conquests are over!!! Onward and Upward (with a lot of downward too on the descents!)

Long run Wednesdays

We set the alarm for 5:30 and for once we actually got up and forced ourselves out the door. A few minutes late, but earlier than usual nonetheless. On task for the day 1 hr 40 min. We decided to head out toward National airport on the Mt. Vernon trail. We filled our water bottles and each took a gel for the road. I did not eat anything beforehand. Chad had a clif Mojo bar. This is the first thing I will change next time. Must have calories before we start.

Anyway, off we went. And about 6 min into the run a guy runs between us, brushing us both. He was a young black guy, red sweatshirt (hood up), black cargo shorts and black leather high top sneakers. And he smelled like maybe he was homeless. Or he hadn’t washed his sweatshirt in a long time. My first thought was that he picked our pockets, but my credit card was safely zipped into my fuel belt and Chad didn’t have anything valuable on him. And then about a block away I realized my gel was gone from my back pocket. I didn’t check very well, but I’m guessing I didn’t leave it at home. It was sticking out and would have been clearly visible to anyone. Oh well, not a major loss.

I was actually a little chattier than Chad going out. We kept our HR in zone 1-2. Finally we turned around at 50 min. My mood started to slide and things started to hurt. I probably should have taken the gel when Chad offered it. I had a blister forming on my right pinkie toe and it was painful. I was trying not to adjust my stride, but every footfall made me wince. But before I knew it we were running up Capitol Hill, my HR skyrocketed to 163 (from about 152) and there was just 10 min left.

Every time we had to stop for a light I was getting light headed. Can you say Bonk? And then, finally, we were home. I was actually as sweaty as Chad. And I weighed 114.8 – probably 4 pounds lighter than I should have.

A little Endurox for recovery and some yummy banana bread for breakfast. At work I nursed Gatorade all day. I’m not looking forward to the next long run. But hopefully by next Wednesday I forget about all the pain. Some anti-blister power in the socks will probably help. And I will eat at least one gel and drink some Ensure before we start.

Airlines, Weddings, and IM training...are they related...sort of..

So the weekend started off mundane enough. Kirsten was leaving for Boston to go wedding dress shopping with her sister before meeting up with me to head out to Cape Cod for my Cousin's wedding. Friday morning she rode into work and I did my first brick of the year (Kirsten did as well, but not her first). We did intervals on the bike, which were frickin HARD, more so than sprinting for 3 miles around Hains Point. I guess when you are pushing on your own with no one to draft it gets a bit challenging. I headed home and Kirsten to work. When I got back I headed out and ended up doing a 40 minute run. I felt insanely good and wanted to go further but talked myself out of it.

Work was uneventful and I took off slightly early to get a swim in at Hains Point, where Kirsten met me as well to get a swim in. Then it was off to the airport for her. I spent the rest of the evening just watching TV and relaxing on the couch. When Kirsten isn't around I get pretty bored so I was longing for her to be there of course. Her flight ended up getting delayed and she ended up not getting into Boston until after midnight...geesh...all these delays lately. I know money is tight and Airlines already operate on a thin margin but to not have any back up plans, to not have a crew standing by when Pilots reach their maximum flying time on the clock? I mean come on...people are going to start driving everywhere now if this keeps up. I mean Kirsten and I could have driven to Boston in the amount of time it took her to get there. Rediculous...but I digress

I woke up early and met up with a buddy to do a quick 60 mile ride on Saturday before I had to leave for the airport. My legs were definitely feeling the brick and intervals the day before. I blasted up hills a full 2 cogs higher than I usually do and felt pretty strong even though I was tired. The last stretch to the half way point I cracked a little but expected it a lot earlier than before. Finished the 2nd half of the ride pretty strong and felt good. Got home and was salty again, guess those salt tabs are needed now!

I showered up, watched some of the Time Trial for the Tour De France, and cooked myself a healthy stack of pancakes and some coffee, I was treating myself to a bit of heaven really! Watching Carlos Sastre win the TDF with an awesome Time Trial performance was pretty cool. I headed off to the airport afterwards in a pretty good mood overall and ended up in some traffic on the 295. Time was tight but I wasn't sweating it at all and just was placated the entire drive up. Bob Marley was playing off my ipod so maybe that as something to do with it ;).

I get to the airport and get through security no problem only to find out my flight is delayed a bit so I take a spot on the support column across from my gate and start listening to the ipod and people watching. That is something I like to do at airports and think about where people are going, what their back stories are and just wax philosophical in general, especially when I am listening to my ipod. Apparently there was some sort of scuffle at the ticket counter because a segway cop showed up with a couple others and talked with the gate agent and then went over to the bar I was sitting next to and talked to someone. The whole time I could have cared less and just kept listening to my music while I watched others speculate and stare as to what was going on. It strikes me as amusing when people think it is entirely their business what is going on when they have no involvement what so ever. It is like our local neighborhood list serve for the Metropolitan Police Department in DC. People are always asking "I saw cop cars at the corner of 4th and Independence this morning...anyone know what happened?" I mean...really people...it is over with and you have no vested interest in the outcome of whatever was going on...was it your drug stash that the person was arrested for? Probably not...so why be concerned. Needless to say it was like a car wreck on the side of the road with people gawking and hushing to each other looking at the cops etc. They talked to someone behind the big sign in the picture below and I didn't even make an attempt to see what was going on...because I am not a gawker and I don't even slow down to see the "accident" on the side of the road...because I know traffic would move much easier if I didn't stop and rubberneck! The picture below was of the bar where the suspect was being questioned! It was perfect for my buddy Eric since he likes rum and the tropics so much!



So boarding time comes around and everyone does the mass cow herd into the boarding area like they always do, however I wasn't on Southwest, I was on Air Tran so we all had assigned seats with designated boarding zones. I stood back and laughed at how everyone was jockeying for position when their zone hadn't even been called yet. First off a couple to the left of the doorway tried to sneak in with the zone 1 passengers...the gate agent stopped them and said they had to wait for their zone...they tried to argue, but to no avail. I shook my head and chuckled a little. Apparently they were a zone pretty far back since I even got on before them...what were they thinking!? So then there was another group of people that were to the right of the podium, which was to the right of the entry door, and trying to get through the door by going BEHIND the podium and have the gate agent check them in...the gate agent again told them to go around the other side and get into the line. They tried to argue just like the other couple but eventually succumbed to the rules and went around. I mean people...YOU HAVE ASSIGNED SEATS...it isn't like someone is going to steal your seat...geesh...

Then to add to the chaos another gates announcements were being funneled through our Gate's PA system. So they were announcing additional zones to start boarding but would announce the flight before the zone...people in our gate area weren't listening at all and started darting around everyone standing around (at least those standing around knew what was going on) and I watched this one young business woman getting all flustered to get around the crowd only to realize that it was the wrong announcement and get all pissy that she couldn't board. Again...I shook my head and started cracking up, what is it that makes people so self important that they get mad at others for their mistakes? Also, why the need to be first on the plane...it isn't going anywhere...and it certainly isn't going to leave without you when you are standing right there ready to get on the plane!!! I thought to myself...take it down a couple notches people...relax...and just go with the flow, freaking out about it isn't going to solve anything. After being amused at the entertainment I was watching I was on my way to Boston.

Got in a little late to Boston and headed downtown to meet up with Kirsten and her sister, fiance, and Mom for dinner. Kirsten and Michelle were successful in getting her a wedding dress, which apparently is champagne in color, and they had picked a pretty good place for dinner. I had a minor freak out since I didn't know my way around Boston from the Rental Car Place but Kirsten and Jeff knew that I would need a beer either way. Smithwicks was waiting for me at the table when I got there, but not before Kirsten gave an all out sprint to catch up to me on the street in front to guide me to the parking garage then were parked in. With the crosswalk reading 1 second left and my light about to change and lose her she jumped into the car, WAY TO GO SWEETIE! The Smithwicks was well deserved and tasted pretty good. Apparently though, the kitchen was having major problems with their printer and had no "Oven" so the food took a long time. It was good when we finally got it though.

After that we were on our way to Cape Cod which wasn't as bad a drive as I thought. I guess if you aren't on the Cape on Friday night it isn't worth going since we didn't hit any traffic. But man...the drivers on the road to get there are maniacs!! Speed limit was 55 and they were flying by us at 85+!!!! The cape is also a very dark dark place and my mom had told us repeatedly that the B&B was hard to find...that was an understatement...first off Google maps on my Iphone kept changing the zip code of the address and ended up guiding us 10 miles out of our way...then my dad said he would wait out front to wave us down when we drove by...well...he was standing BEHIND A TREE!!!! We never saw him, and with every few landmarks around he said "We are after the something or other that has a Gold Lettered sign...well EVERY SIGN ON THE CAPE had a gold lettered sign...and standing behind a tree doesn't help at all! After literally 7 times passing the place and a significant blow up by me as the driver at 11:15 at night (read major expletives and frustration at Google maps and Cape Cod) we finally went down the road at literally 2mph creeping along looking for my dad...Kirsten finally saw him and we got into the B&B and hit the hay as fast as we could. It was a nice place and I keep forgetting to get pictures of the places we go...oh well..

The breakfast at this place was AMAZING, it was literally 3 courses and started off with HUGE blueberry muffins, then strawberry belgian waffles, then bacon, sausage, and an egg thing of sorts...it was filling. My family headed off one way and Kirsten and I went to check out a local beach and places to potentially run. We found this nice long beach that was covered in cobblestones and most beaches are in the NE corridor. So we headed back to take a nap and change for the run. Ended up getting in an hour run on the stones and beach and it was challenging, but I felt better afterwards for sure.

We got back just in time to get ready and depart for my cousin's wedding. It was at a nice park and the rain held off just in time to finish the ceremony, although there were some well placed thunder claps in their vows...haha. The reception was nice and small but definitely confirmed that Kirsten and I made the right decision with getting our pictures done BEFORE the ceremony as the reception started at 5pm and the wedding party didn't get to the reception until well after 6:30. Definitely liked doing the pictures before hand better and we suggest that to ALL future wedding parties...hint hint..Tyler and Suzanne... :)

It was pretty interesting though since this was the first wedding I had been to that had a crazy aunt at it. I didn't know who she was (it was a very small wedding too) but she started off by dancing to a slow song...by herself...but dancing as if it was a fast song...definitely comical to see. But then we realized that the dress she was wearing was in two pieces and with every move a little more than we wanted to see was showing. Her moves were definitely reminiscent of convulsing and it got to the point where when she would get on the dance floor, everyone would get off the dance floor...whew! Overall it was a nice reception and I got to dance with Kirsten a bit here and there and even got to dance with my 2nd cousin Abby, for being so young she is a pretty good dancer...I had to let her lead because compared to her I didn't know what I was doing!

We got up pretty early the next morning to drive down to Providence, RI and catch a flight back to get to work. After having more than enough time before our flight and stopping for Dunkin Donuts in the terminal we got to our gate to find out there was an earlier flight to Baltimore and ended up getting the last two seats on that flight and got in early. It was a whirlwind trip for sure but was fun and the Cape is definitely someplace I would like to visit again sometime soon.

More to come tomorrow with a training update and pre Mountain Mama run down. This post is a little long as it is ;)

Anyone else need a nap?

One thing about IM training – you are always tired. Your legs never feel fully rested. And we aren’t even into full-on training yet. I’ve had to take quite a few days off in the last couple of weeks to recover both physically and mentally. Recover from what? I don’t know exactly, but I’m pretty sure total200 took a lot out of me. As did the fact that we’ve been bike training pretty steadily now since last December. Total200 was really my peak after all that build. Now we have to get back on the build band wagon to hopefully peak in November.

We are in terrific bike shape right now so I am questioning our plans to do a 3 or 4 centuries before October. We are doing Mountain Mama this weekend – a wicked 102 mile ride that will take us over several mountains in Virginia, West Virginia and Maryland and over 13,000 ft of climbing! Yeah – bad ass. But I want to be as fresh as possible in November, not burned out before October 1 even hits.

But alas, these bike adventures are part of what make training so fun. So for now I will brush aside my worries and we’ll make the long haul to Monterey, VA.

Alpe D'Huez or Working Out? Let me see...

So things have been relatively slow at work...actually painfully slow to the point where I jumped online to watch "The Office" online for a little while to burn some time. I surely couldn't watch the Tour since that was reserved for wednesday night "Guys Night". But time went by SO SLOW Wednesday that I thought the world was stuck in molasses. Monday through Tuesday were pretty uneventful.

Kirsten and I went to the DC Tri Club Masters swim practice on Monday night and got in about 2900 yards. I felt pretty good but not as strong as I had a couple months ago before the summer chaos started up again. It was the first time swimming in the indoor pool in a long time as well. After about 1800 yds I could feel my breathing become labored and getting a full breath was pretty hard. I am allergic to chlorine for sure since if i don't wear the nose plug I get pretty stuffed up for 24 hours afterwards, so swimming indoors probably has the same effect on my lungs. If you don't believe me even the CDC says that it is plausible and a FACT! I managed to finish the swim though and even lost track of the yardage and wanted to swim more...so I guess that is a good sign!

Tuesday morning was the usual ride down at HP and again we didn't feel like riding with the group so I suggested riding some tempo efforts to get used to the sustained stuff Ironman training requires. Kirsten was in a pretty bad mood again when I picked it up slightly but we talked it out and she seemed to leave the workout in a better place than she started (hence her posting below!) She ended up going to dinner with a bunch of her girlfriends that night so I got to make dinner for myself. Burritos...oh wait...aren't we running tomorrow...oh well given the time I had it was the easiest thing to make. But the next morning, same result as before! A DC Tri Club couple came over to take a look at my old wetsuit and they ended up buying it for the guy for 100 bucks! Woo hoo...selling old gear is awesome!

We were both tired when we woke up on Wednesday morning and we still managed to get our butts out of bed but not until 7 am and then decided only to run for 30 minutes. It is funny how the more entrenched into endurance sports you get the more a 30 minute run seems like a waste of time. But we still got out there and got it done, plus I had to get back to the house...I won't say why but you can probably guess... So Kirsten had her Dining for Women group that night and we had planned a "Guys Night" watching Stage 17 of the Tour which was the infamous L'Alpe D'Huez stage. I left work a little late since I had nowhere to be and when I got home I saw Eric standing there with a 12 pack of guiness, chips, and a confused look as he rang the doorbell and squinted to see if anyone was home...looks like I left work a little TOO Late!

The guys trickled in slowly and we finally got the tour started around 7 or so (thank goodness for DVR) but the recording alone was 5.5 hours long!!!! Kip came and went quickly since the massive storm that opened up while we were watching the tour started flooding his basement and a couple guys came late. The pizza, beer, and chatter about pro cyclists and what was going on that stage was nice to have. Male bonding is always good, we just need to make sure when they have the ladies nights we have the guys nights from now on. The stage drug on and we finally finished it at 11:15pm or so. Everyone was beat since we all get up at 5 am to workout. It was funny to see everyone fade around 10pm and I thought at one point I heard snoring...it could have been me for all I know!

After cleaning up I got to bed around midnight and was totally wiped out. Woke up in the morning and did not even want to get out of bed and in fact...didn't. Figured I would try to run at lunch and then we would bike Friday morning and we would swim that night. Well none of that happened. I lost all motivation to run at lunch and I picked Kirsten up to swim but we decided we needed to run but then once we got home with our new Framed Pictures (Pictures coming soon!) that I picked up at lunch, instead of running, we decided not to do that either. Oh well...we ended up hanging around for a bit and then went over to Christopher and Rachel's to have some awesome tiramisu from Cafe Roma for Rachel's birthday. It was a quiet evening with them and Jake and Shelly and was fun. We were still beat though and headed home and to bed.

I woke up around midnight or so to total silence and darkness...oh yeah...I forgot they were doing electrical work in our neighborhood and notified us that the power would be off from midnight until around 6am. What I forgot about is that without electricity we don't have a ceiling fan or A/C!!! It got a bit hot but not unbearable in our room, but just hot enough to make me uncomfortable and not be able to sleep. I was tossing and turning, nodding in and out of sleep for about 5+ hours until the power came on...right in time for my cell phone alarm to go off...DOH! Again it was a struggle to get up but we did and got on the bikes around 6:30am or so.

The workout was pretty hard and it was my first workout back with my power meter (I loaned the computer to a friend for his run at Ironman Lake Placid) and I found myself trying to hit high numbers and in fact didn't have the workout right at all. What I thought it was and what it was were completely different and I wondered why I felt pretty toasted ;) It was a tough workout but confirmed to me that I need to test my power pretty soon as I am sure it has gone up a lot since last August when I tested last (and had a properly working power meter!).

Kirsten was riding into work so we parted ways, both with the full intention of doing our first "brick" of the year, well my first brick anyway. Kirsten ended up on the treadmill at work for 20 minutes, of which I am proud of her because I can't get myself to run on a treadmill to save my life! I got home, made a pit stop and went out wit the intention of going about 30 minutes around the Capitol and back. Once I got to the Capitol I felt so good I just kept going...I literally had to talk myself out of running to the Washington Monument (which is 6 miles round trip) and ended up running for about 40 minutes or so total and felt GREAT!

So it was a good workout this morning and I got into work late because of it, but it was totally worth it. Got in late and found out my boss isn't here so I could have come in even later...but I wouldn't have done that ;) Now we get to fly to Boston for my Cousin's wedding on the Cape of MA. Should be a good time but with all the traveling etc. a tad stressful as well. More to report after the weekend and hopefully will have some pictures as well!

Chad

Confessions of a true grump

Ok, I admit it. I’ve been grumpy at just about every workout lately. A notable exception would be the trail run. Trail runs make me sooo happy! We didn’t push the pace, in fact we took most of the down hills as recovery. Maybe therein lies the key to all my happiness. Keep it steady, keep your chin up and just get it done.

As to the root of my grumpiness – I don’t like to be grumpy just for grumpiness’ sake. But it is hot out – all the time. We are increasing our mileage. We are doing all our rides at faster than race pace (my race pace that is). And our runs have been less than stellar due to our desire to sleep in on the weekends. And swimming – well, we’ve been busy so that hasn’t been going that great either.

And I know we are tired because we both fall asleep on the couch a lot. Welcome to IM training. And therein lies the reason for grumpiness. I may consider doing all my recovery workouts solo, or at least sticking to my guns and making them recovery workouts, not camouflaged hammer fests. There are probably some other changes I can make to keep the pressure at bay on days when I really don’t need to be having a breakthrough workout.

We’ve got four more months of training ahead. We have to keep it fresh, make it fun, and take the ups and downs in stride. We are going away for a wedding this weekend and then the organized centuries and training weekends start. I’m sure the training groups will change somewhat as IM Canada participants start to fade out soon, then IM Wisconsin, and finally IM Florida. And then it will be the few, the proud, the silly for signing up for an IM in late November!

Have fun out there!
K

PS

Sunday: trail run – about 9 miles in 1hr 23 min; 2000 m swim
Monday: bike commute; swim 2900 yds
Tuesday: tempo bike 24 mi; 1hr 30 min

48 Hours and a lot of work!

So Kirsten gave you her account of Saturday's frustration fest (alliteration is good!) and it is funny how our spurts come at opposite times.  While she has a "somewhat" frustrating weekend, mine was relatively good and gave me a confidence boost to my fitness, mental strength, and overall conditioning which all culminates into the start of our formal training program....TODAY!  I just wish I could rub some of my positive results and mental state to Kirsten sometimes to bring her out of her funk.  But I know over time she will get out of it just like I did a month or so ago.  We are both in great shape for the time of year and for all we have been doing.  Now we just need to put the pieces together and we will do great.  I am confident she can/will be competitive in her age group this year and will far exceed her expectations.  I just hope she believes in herself as much as I believe in her ;)

Friday evening consisted of a 2000 meter swim which made me sore for the rest of the weekend but was a necessary evil.  We hadn't been going swimming consistently for over two months since right before the wedding and the last 3 weeks we have had something going on Monday or Wednesday and couldn't get to the pool at all.  So this was the start back up of our swimming regiment and it is always a bear for the first couple weeks.  

Since Kirsten ran to work on Friday morning I decided I should run from the pool to home to get it in, even though I knew the next morning was going to be a hammer fest on the bike.  I was going to run at lunch but as usual I procrastinated and the temperatures here in Columbia were about 95 with a heat index of 100...not so good for running you think!?  The run back from the pool was pretty good.  It was definitely hot and I was sweating like I usually do.  I refilled my bottles a couple times on the way back home (while Kirsten drove in the air conditioned car!) and felt good towards the end.  I got home just in time as I was ready to be done it was so hot.  In total it was probably about a 6-7 mile run but having not trained with a Heart Rate Monitor or watch for the past 3 months I wouldn't know ;)

After that it was a great sleep and then early to rise to get our bike ride in before the heat of the day got the better of us.  TJ decided to join us and got to our house with 10 minutes to spare.  As is customary the past couple of months, I was on my bike in the street ready to go before Kirsten and TJ...once again "I" was waiting for them ;)  We met up with everyone at 7th and Independence, and it was Laurel, Phil, Andy, TJ, Kirsten, and I.  From the get go I could tell it was going to be a rough one as Phil and Andy were going hard from the start.

I was even having trouble keeping anyone's wheel on the way out.  Once we hit the uphill out of Georgetown though and dropped into MacArthur Blvd. it the hammer dropped more than I knew possible.  Going into the ride I had a high level of confidence based on how my legs felt during/after the Total 200, so I figured I could hang but still wasn't feeling that great.  TJ led out for a while and we took turns pulling.  When I got to the front finally I realized that Kirsten wasn't there and neither was Laurel.  It was the boys hammering away like we were building a mansion.  I was hurting on my pull and the humidity was unbearable (even for 7am) to the point where i was soaked from head to toe.  I didn't last long at the front and dropped off and let Phil and Andy go while still keeping them in sight.  It was at that point I realized TJ had dropped off after his pull, whether to wait for Kirsten and Laurel or not I wasn't sure.  I climbed up Mountain Gate with Phil and Andy in sight but lost them as I concentrated on getting up the hill since I wasn't feeling the greatest.

I got to the top of Falls road shortly thereafter and Laurel was waiting for all of us.  She hadn't seen Phil and Andy, turns out they got lost after Mountain Gate.  I ducked into the woods to water some trees really quick and Kirsten rolled by only to yell out KEEP RIDING!!!!  Seems she didn't want to stop figuring we would catch her anyway.  We rolled out and ended up going all the way out River Road, but I had a feeling TJ and Kirsten went the back way.  We would meet up with them anyway though.

The trek out River Road was intense to say the least.  I was sucking onto Laurel's wheel until we hit some of the hills and she dropped back.  At one point I was about 200 meters behind Andy and Phil and just didn't have it in me to catch up to them.  I just leaned on my handlebars and plugged away like a time trial and realized I was actually starting to reel them in.  I was starting to feel better as my legs were coming around from the run less than 12 hours ago.  Eventually I broke mentally and didn't feel like catching them but we ended up regrouping at the T intersection.  We decided to go back the back way (does that make sense?) to meet up with Kirsten and TJ if they went that way and sure enough we saw them going the other way.

It was at that point I started feeling really really good and the confidence from the weekend started coming into play.  I started hanging with Andy and Phil and took my fair share of pulls and hitting the hills pretty hard with little effect on how I felt.  We even got into some jostling on the hills and during each others pulls.  It definitely makes you  a stronger rider when you mess around attacking each other on the long rides.  At one point I thought I went to hard and decided it was enough.  The route backwards was just as hilly if not hillier than the regular way, although I thought it was mostly downhill!  I let Phil and Andy pass and said "Wait for me at the top..." to which Phil replied..."If I don't make it tell Kirsten I tried..."  hahah  they didn't get too far ahead until I upped the tempo to catch back up.  

We made it back to the BP Station where Kirsten and TJ were refueling and we all could tell Kirsten was visibly frustrated.  Phil, being the blunt person he is says "What is wrong with you?"  Ooops...guess he isn't married!  She was frustrated with herself as you can tell from her posting below.  Phil tried to recover and offer some positive advice but Kirsten was already in the dredges and the only thing getting her out was a shower at home and the ride to be done!

We ended up hitting every hill possible on the way back and went up Mass. Ave which is a pain in the butt hill late in the ride.  I was hanging onto Phil's wheel with Andy right behind me wondering when Phil was going to drop the hammer again leaving me struggling.  We got to about 15 meters from the top and all I hear is "Click!" and Phil starts hauling butt...then Andy from behind me goes "DON'T LET THAT GAP OPEN UP!!!"  I tried my hardest and he didn't get too far ahead but I surely didn't have it in me to catch up to him...he got the jump...and the King of the Mountain Points on that one ;)

Overall the ride was good and confirmed my confidence of being able to hang with the faster riders in our group (albeit on a shorter route of about 60 miles).  My legs were a little tired but it was hot enough for me to be salty once again by the time we got home.  Good thing we were done for the day.

After that we brought some stuff over to Eric and Christal's to sell at their garage sale and it was a great afternoon of just hanging out, chatting, and being with some good friends.  Kirsten and I headed back and while she napped for the rest of the afternoon I did some mundane stuff around the house before we headed out to the D.C. United Game.  This was our first game of the year and it was kind of depressing to go to RFK Stadium which is truly a memory of old.  The stadium was built in the 60's and hasn't changed much since.  DC United are the only team to play there now and the miniscule amount of fans that come out make the stadium a bit depressing, along with the architecture, concrete, and jumbotron that isn't quite so jumbo.  Their opponents made quick work of the United by scoring two goals and completely controlling the United's offense and defense.  They looked out leagued and outclassed completely.  The 2nd half was better with the United taking control more but throughout the first and 2nd half's the United kept getting an insane amount of penalty calls.  The beers that Kirsten and I made up for the lack of excitement in the game though and went straight to our heads since it was so hot and we had an early start to the day and had eaten pretty light for dinner.

Sunday morning we were up early again to get a trail run in at Rock Creek Park for about 1:20 or so with Marianna and Andrea.  The morning was hot and humid already at 7 am so thank goodness we were running in the shade on trails.  My legs weren't feeling the best after the bike and run the day before (or 24 hour period if you will) considering how hard they both were.  So it was going to be a test.  The pace up the hills was set by Kirsten and was blistering as usual since she is a mountain goat up the trails.  I mean you don't take 1st place in the Spring Trail Running Series if you aren't a mountain goat to begin with!  I was wondering if I would even be able to finish the run given the pace she was setting.  We eventually evened out and the route was completely shaded and a welcomed change of pace from the usual National Mall route or the Anacostia River Route.  Both of which offer little to no shade and brutal conditions even that early in the morning. 

At about 45 minutes in I started to feel great again.  I found it odd since that is what happened the day before on the bike.  Felt like crap the first 1/2 or so but then felt insanely strong the last half.  I wasn't going to complain but it is weird to say the least.  We did a short sting on Beach Drive to stop off at the water fountains and bathrooms and Marianna picked up the pace quite a bit on the road.  I surged up to run with her until we got back on the trail again.  It was at that point that I started feeling really good and was setting the pace.  After awhile I dropped the pace off to regroup with Kirsten and the other ladies since this wasn't a race ;)

Kirsten said she felt good the entire run and it showed in her stride and her attitude, I was happy she was happy.  Trail running always puts her in a good mood.  All four of us were completely soaked to the bone.  The last 30 minutes of the run my shoes were sopping wet from the sweat and were sloshing with every stride.  Welcome to Summer in DC!

We got back home,  jumped in the shower and then made some pancakes and coffee to recover....mmmm pancakes!   They were mighty tasty and Kirsten did a good job mixing up the batter.  We also got to use the new griddle that goes over the gas stover that we got from Norma and Kevin (Thanks!) and it worked awesome and cooked the pancakes up in no time!  It was then that I passed out on the couch watching the tour (a long one too going from 6:30 am until noon!) until we left for a swim at about 2:30.  The day was hot and the car thermometer indicated 101 degrees when we pulled into the pool parking lot.  The pool was as crowded as ever but swimming outdoors is always nice.  We knocked out 2000 yards which wasn't as tough as Friday evening, but the disparity of skill levels in the pool creates it's own challenges ;)

We finished up and socialized a bit with some acquaintances at the pool and were off to the store to stock up for our Endure24 meeting at 6pm!  It was more a group dinner than a meeting which was fine with me.  We had Kabobs fresh of our grill, lots of veggie salads, and other healthy foods which was awesome!  We did get a lot accomplished and some things for the race in order and decisions were made as well that is going to make this WAY better than the 24 hours of booty, which is Lance Armstrong's Foundation bike ride for charity...a 3 mile loop?  Talk about being bored to death!  So we are well on our way to getting this race underway and can't wait to start doing all the up front stuff and seeing it all come together...it is going to be a fun process and even more fun to see it all come together successfully!

Looks to be a good couple weeks coming up with a guys night on Wednesday, with Poker maybe, but stage 17 of the Tour De France definitely.  Stage 17 is the infamous L'Alpe-D'Huez that has determined past Tour De France Champions.  As you can see from the picture...the route is relentless with 3...yes 3!!!!....beyond category climbs in ONE STAGE!  With the finish at the top of the Alpe...brutal...but will separate the men from the boys for sure!  More to come as the week goes on!

Riding out the demons

I'll let Chad give you his take on today's ride. But here's mine. 6:30 am departure from the Hill; 4 men, 2 women. No warm up - right into it. We get about 10 miles in and there is short but steep ascent and then a nice descent that takes you on to the long straight away that is McArthur Blvd. The men hammered the ascent and even if I could have kept up, they all have at least 15 pounds on me and would have lost me on the descent. I could see them in the distance, getting further and further away.

Behind me Laurel was having a tough day due to her asthma. I thought about slowing to wait for her, saw the guys pulling even further ahead and decided to push ahead as best I could. I'm not sure at what point I started to get angry. But it had something to do with feeling guilt for not waiting for Laurel (I'm generally open to slowing up for someone) and frustration that I lost the guys so early in the ride.

So when we get to the top of McArthur, where it meets with Falls Road I see Chad ducking into the woods and Laurel waiting in a driveway. TJ was right behind me and Phil and Andy had gotten lost in a neighborhood that we ride through for extra hills. Split second decision to keep riding. I was riding by myself anyway, so I yell to Laurel, "I'm gonna keep riding. See you later". And off I go. I wanted to keep my HR averaging about 150 - once it got above 154 I could feel my legs resist - still tired from Total200. (I know, I know, could you stop talking about it already?!) At one point I looked behind and saw a lone cyclist in the distance. I had a feeling it was TJ but I wasn't about to stop and wait.

TJ eventually caught up to me and again I made a conscious choice - tell him sorry, I'm riding out the demons and I'm not very good company or just keep riding. I kept riding. I had a feeling he was riding out his own worries. Or maybe he's been married for 12 years and he knows when a woman needs some alone time. Haha!

As it turns out the other 4 did the same loop as us but in the opposite direction so we did see them at one point. And at the BP where we stopped to refuel they came in a little behind us. Apparently they'd been discussing my anger. But they didn't understand the root of it - mere frustration that I couldn't hang on. It's a bang to the ego, seriously. I won't be doing any racing until mid-September this year so I have until then to get dropped every weekend.

But what was really going through my head as I was rolling up and down River Rd was the wanted ad I would post on the DC Triclub forum.

Wanted:
Strong female cyclist looking to podium in her age group for cycling partner. Must be willing to start at the crack of dawn. Strong hill climber preferred.

But for me it's not about the man-woman thing except that I happen to ride with a bunch of strong male riders. So really, a more appropriate ad:

Wanted:
Cycling partner looking to get a 5:45 bike split at fall ironman. Early risers and hill climbers preferred. Any one looking to start a ride after 8:30 am need not apply.

Now in all seriousness, my husband is probably spot on for the job. Unfortunately, he's just a tad faster than me. And in a group of guys he has an ability to power across a gap that I lack. And he's a mountain goat.

So anyway, Phil right away asks me what I'm angry about. And you know that also riled me up. If I was a man that didn't wait and I just kept riding you'd be like, dude doesn't want to stop. But because I didn't stop, I'm angry. So what if I really was?!

I won't hash and rehash. Let's just say that I'm gonna keep doing the ride with the same people and my goal is going to be shorten the gap until one doesn't exist. Lofty goal, I know. But you have to start somewhere.

Total ride time: 3 hrs, 55 miles.

More on recovery

Here is what my week looks like:
Monday – swim 1000 m (20 min)
Tuesday – easy run 6.1 mi (49 min)
Wednesday – easy bike 21 mi (1 hr 15 min)
Thursday – bike commute (1 hr total); easy 1 hr walk in the evening; 20 min swim
Friday – easy run 6.5 mi (54 min), easy swim 2000 m

The run today was horrible. It was 80 degrees by the time I left my house at 7:30. Unfortunately I didn’t look at the thermometer or I would have at least brought fluid, if not decided to skip the run altogether. And by the time I was really ready to quit, the office was only a little further than the nearest metro. I was running pretty slow – even walked a little. And I took just about every short cut I could find. My run to work is about 6.9 miles and usually takes about 55 min. So you can see today I was not having a good day.

The HP pool was packed when we got there at 6. And it was 90 degrees out (in the shade). I almost bagged the swim; with 6 or 7 people in each lane and none moving without disparate swim speeds. But we ended up getting in and after the first 800 m things cleared out a little and the rest of the swim was nice.

The perfect ending to a Friday. I brought my pasta salad and a beer out on the porch to eat while I waited for Chad to come back from a run. After the second mosquito bite I decided Tour de France would be better company. So let me rephrase that first sentence. Pasta salad, beer and a brownie. The perfect ending to a Friday!

Out and then Back again...and remember...only you can prevent dopers!

So the news was dropped this morning that a THIRD rider has tested positive for EPO at the Tour De France...so dissapointing, but somewhat expected don't you think?  The cycling culture is so deep with doping in it's history all for a small bit of glory.  But with the doping controls in place, WADA, and race organizers not taking it any longer do the riders actually think they can get away with it?  As the drugs change so do drug tests, so why risk it?  In this day and age if you are caught your career is pretty much over, no matter what you do, no matter what you say.  No team (aside from Rock Racing) will pick you up again and your stint in cycling is done.  So why risk it?  For the glory?  Or because cyclists are masochists do they just take the path that leads them to "If I fall...then I am going to fall hard"?

Who knows...and frankly it doesn't matter.  As long as the guys I admire (not look up to necessarily because role models SHOULD NOT be professional sports stars) are keeping it clean and accomplishing their wears with good old hard work and natural ability I will continue to watch and follow cycling.

So back to more mundane things...I left for a work related site visit at a Government facility in St. Louis.  It was a quick trip and I would have left in the morning if a flight would get me in early enough, but because it wouldn't I had to leave Tuesday night.  I got in and drove the hotel with every intention of running the next morning having mapped out a route.  There was even a park a block away that was a mile around and I could do fartleks if I wanted to.  The area didn't look too bad, just old.  St. Louis kind of reminds me of DC sort of with the row houses etc.  But it isn't a bad place from what I could see and was right on the river.  It was definitely flat though.  I ordered delivery from this local pizza joint (it was either that or the world famous Lee's Fried Chicken place...the lesser of two evils?) and definitely overate with 10 wings, a salad, and a calzone.  The food was pretty bad but then again I will eat anything, but it was unsatisfying at best. 

I started dozing off shortly there after while locked in the dungeon of the Holiday Inn Express.  Kirsten's call woke me up.  She was asking if she was supposed to call me or I here, well considering I was dozing off I don't think it mattered eh?  ;)  Her call was welcome but sleep was yelling at me.  So we said our goodnights and I was out.  I woke up to my alarm fully intending on running...but I guess not intending enough since I kept hitting snooze and just had NO motivation to get out on the road.  I ended up oversleeping and rushed out of the hotel not having even eaten breakfast (my favorite meal!).  I figured after the previous nights spoils and terrible food going without breakfast wouldn't kill me.  

The site visit was HOT HOT HOT, but not in the good way.  It was literally 95 at 10am and we were walking around outside and up on the roofs of buildings.  I was glad I hadn't run since I was sweating like I HAD just run!  We ended up getting done about 4 hours earlier than they said we would and I headed out to catch the early flight home from San Diego...(Movie Reference) but yeah got a flight that got me in at 9:30 versus 1am...much better.  I had just missed the 2:30 flight though...DOH!

Got home at a reasonable time to chit chat with Kirsten and snack on some awesome pasta salad she made.  Then it was up at 5:45 to get out and work out!  Waking up was rough.  I felt like I had been out drinking the night before but hadn't.  I was very tempted to stay in bed but felt the need to get out there so got up with 15 minutes to get ready.  Kirsten was knocked out and there was no way she was getting out there.  It was a rough start but got out on time...AGAIN!!  So how many times of being on time does it take to erase the memory of everyone saying I am chronically late?  Rhetorical question people!!!

The ride felt like it was going to be rough based on how asleep I still was and how I was feeling.  Not having any Heart Rate Monitor, Bike Computer, or other training gear makes it hard to see where you are at, but I have to admit I kind of like it.  It is nice not to be bound but my devices, but then again it is difficult to monitor the slight effort changes for tempo etc.  You get to know your body pretty well though and after the Total 200 sometimes you just have to ignore the data and just go with how you feel.  Yes I know I dropped out at mile 170 but that had more to do with hydration that it did pushing myself harder than I had in the past and what I thought was possible.  But I digress...the group was fast and determined this morning.  

The first lap I did a tempo sprint along the backside of Hains Point for about 1.5 miles or so and then pulled ahead of the group to do a full tempo lap of 5 miles and it took the group the full lap to catch up, which i felt good about.  Then Phil started getting agitated with the group since no one was taking the bait he was dangling sprinting out ahead of everyone.  He was frustrated that they were perfectly content to sit in the group and draft off everyone.  He took off once we hit the bathrooms on the back side and I followed suit.  It ended up just being him and I way ahead of the group and it took a lot to catch him so I sat on his wheel for a minute or so catch my breath (as much as you can at 28mph) and he saw me and then dropped off for me to lead the way...it was rough....we finally reached the next bathroom as the stopping point and I was breathing heavy and felt like puking I had pushed so hard.  We got over the bridge and Phil wanted to go again, I didn't think I could do it but I let them go again and then decided to suck it up and it hurt just as bad.  This time I let them go to easily and couldn't catch up, I could only keep the same distance but my legs were hurting like never before.

We were blowing apart the fast group between Jessie, Phil, and I and even though I was hurting it was feeling pretty good.  Everyone else would lag behind or not take the bait which was fine with us.  So I tried to stick at the back the rest of the ride to recover some and even the small loop wasn't much of a recovery since Phil and Jessie kept baiting people...after about the 4th time baiting I think people got the hint and the entire group got into the sprint.  It was a bit hairy and I had to dodge a couple people here and there but got to about the 3rd position back from Jessie and Phil and just cut it short to the bathroom stopping point.  I was toasted at that point and can't remember the last time my legs hurt that bad on the bike.  

I definitely worked my butt off on the bike today and it was good to back to some normalcy after a short business trip as well.

Time to rest

Chad is out of town for work. I’m focusing on recovery. 1000 m swim on Monday night. Tired. I barely made it through the usual run loop in the morning (6.1 mi) in 49 minutes on Tuesday. Tired. I got about 30 minutes into an easy bike ride this morning and decided I was tired. But I forced myself to do at least an hour. I kept telling myself something about working out the lactic acid so that next week will be easier. I didn’t have the heart to go into my core strength routine this morning either. But no excuses – I’m tired!

I see no reason to jump right into a century this weekend as Chad suggests. T200 was tough and I’m exhausted. I’ll take it day to day this week and focus on getting back into routine next week. It’s about time we sat down and looked at our IM training plan anyway. July 23 will be four months out. That’s a good point to start picking up the run and swim training and doing bricks. Ugh. I’m tired just thinking about it.

Enjoy the R&R
-K

Rookie Mistakes, or just forgetfulness?

Well, as my lovely wife gave a pretty good debriefing as to how her Total 200 went down (which she totally rocked and wiped up the asphalt with her blazing determination and grit) I guess it is time to tell my tale of woe and despair ;)

I didn't sleep well on Friday night due to our downstairs neighbor deciding that his radio needed to be on at 3 in the morning.  The sound resonates up the house supports and into our bedroom floor and into our bed (which is on the floor) and I am such a light sleeper that it woke me up and I couldn't sleep.  Needless to say given the enormity of the day ahead I went downstairs and stomped my feet on the floor to hopefully give him the hint.  That didn't work so I started thumping on the floor with my heel to no avail.  Frustrated and reticent I went back up stairs to try to get back to sleep.  Overall it didn't effect me too much, but still was irritating none the less.

So we were up and at it at 4:40am ready to tackle 200 miles without skipping a beat.  For the umpteenth time that I can remember I was ready to go way before Kirsten and TJ (who spent the night at our place due to the early start).  I rolled over to Eric's for the start and TJ and Kirsten showed up a good 10-15 minutes after me...I have been on time or early for the last month or so...see you can teach an old dog new tricks!  I was anxious to get going and jittery to get the show on the road.  I was feeling good, hydrated, and strong for the day ahead.

We rolled out pretty easy until the first hill out of Penn Ave. and it was a long train of riders behind us.  Eric asked if I could make sure everyone was together for the first couple miles since he couldn't see because he didn't have his contacts in....WHAT!!!!  Apparently bathroom renovations got some dust in his eyes and they were all messed up...great to know the leader of this whole thing was riding blind...LITERALLY!

But I digress, from the get go three riders hauled butt out of DC and blew through stop lights while we kept the group together and I stayed near the front, avoiding the multitude of riders that hadn't ridden in a pack before or were on their tri bikes riding in their aero bars behind other riders...no no no!  Once we hit that first hill...it worked itself out to what the groups were.  We eventually caught up to the first group (because 10 people working together always goes faster than 3) and dropped virtually everyone else.  I was well hydrated and peeing lots on the way out which was good considering the day and heat ahead of us.  At the first rest stop we topped off and were ready to go as the first group and us merged together and was at the rest stop about 2 minutes total...maybe...we took off and the pace was blistering from the get go.

Out of the rest stop the hills start in again and there was a sizeable gap opening up between a couple riders I was behind and Laurel yelled out to me "CLOSE THAT GAP CHAD!".  I knew if after a couple minutes Marc hadn't closed the gap and guy behind him hadn't closed that gap it would only grown and we would lose contact with the group.  So I pulled around them with Laurel on my tail and closed the gap quickly to avoid losing contact.  After that it was a hammer fest of epic proportions.  The group remained pretty much intact until we left the 2nd aid station at mile 50 or so, but was hauling butt.  We were easily pushing 27 mph on the flats and pulling up hills at 20 mph.  Even staying on the back I was working to keep in contact and thought for sure my legs were going to be shelled if I kept that up.  I took a couple pulls during that time and felt great overall considering the amount of work I was doing.  

At the 2nd rest stop I was commenting about if we were going to slow it down slightly and Andy said "On that last pull you were hauling butt, so I don't see what you are complaining about!"  Shortly after that the 2nd group rolled in and we jumped on our bikes to put the pedals to the metal literally.  Again we were hammering hard and the miles were ticking by VERY VERY fast.  Before no time we reached the 3rd rest stop right before the Solomon Island Bridge and were off before we could blink again.  We got an escort over the bridge luckily since there isn't much of a shoulder and it is only 2 lanes wide.  The escort stays behind us with their hazards on until we are safely on the other side.  One story was one of the later groups was going over and an agro driver behind our escort laid on his horn and then proceeded to go AROUND the vehicle into oncoming traffic...again...driver on cyclist violence at the risk of a bit of safety for us a cyclists.  Come on people...that 5 minutes isn't worth yours or our lives.

So around Mile 80 one of the stronger riders Maurice started to crack and fade back.  I started backing off a bike fearing I would follow suit on the 2nd half of the ride only to lose Maurice all together.  He said he was cramping bad and if he was hurting...I knew the pace was fast.  It made me feel good though to know I was hanging with the big boys.  I kept in contact with them until about mile 88 or so and decided to save myself a little for the long haul back.  After awhile I saw Eric and Clint in the distance and decided riding with them would be better than riding alone.  We took turns pulling and I had some hard spots but felt like I was in a good place and my legs weren't tired at all.  We finally pulled into Point Look Out park ready to take a 30 minute break for lunch.  I downed a diet coke, sandwich, chips, along with some other foods, but I should have really been drinking more (more on that later).

So we let the lead group go out on their own (4 guys) and hammer away while Eric and I got another group together of about 12 riders.  We were getting a good pace going on the way to the next aid station when the 2nd law of Thermodynamics started to take hold (The law of Entropy).  Within about 20 miles we got about 10 or more flats.  With all the debris on the roads it wasn't a surprise but considering the temps had increased exponentially to about 95+ it was probably a result of the asphalt being so hot and making everyone's tires a little more supple and prone to slices and punctures.  Alexi was first and we stopped at a gas station to wait for him.  10 minutes later we were on our way.  Next up was TJ's flat where we decided that stopping every time was going to get a little ridiculous (after waiting for about 20 minutes!).  We decided as long as there was one other person there we would leave them behind.

We rolled across the bridge the other way again with another escort and I was feeling good and my legs were strong as I pushed it slightly up the bridge ahead of everyone else.  As I was passing Kelzie I noticed that her back tire was flat (she got a bad flat earlier that resulted in a screw actually screwing INTO her rim!).  I told her and the people behind her to be careful on the descent as a result.  We rolled into the bike shop and I probably should have drank all my bottles and one extra since it was getting pretty hot and my shorts were starting to get salty again.  But I was still peeing so thought I was okay.  Turns out I should have listened to myself.  I doused myself with the iced sponges they had the rest stops (great thing to have Eric!) and was ready to go again.  TJ meanwhile was in the bike shop getting a new tire and replacement tubes and the group wasn't going to wait for him.  I didn't want to lose contact with the group so Kirsten stayed behind and I took off wanting to be with the biggest group possible to ensure I didn't blow up.  Besides riding alone and the time all the flats had taken up, everyone was itching to get back to some pizza and beer!

We headed out and shortly there after Laurel informed us that she had forgotten her bottles at the last aid station...uhhh...HELLO!  Eric passed off one to her and said "You better make due because we need you to help pull the group!"  It was shortly after that things started to fall apart...someone else got a flat (I don't remember who) and then about 2 miles later...it happened...I got a flat...DAMMIT!  I only had one tube since I gave Alexi a tube and the stem was shorter than I needed.  Luckily Marc and Clint had stopped for me and Marc had a valve extender otherwise I would have been out of luck with out another tube.  After a hissy fit for getting a flat we were on our way and I was leading out Marc since I knew he was hurting.  He apologized for not being able to help out but I wasn't too worried about it and didn't mind since I knew he was in a bad place.  We ended up dropping him on one hill and he motioned from a distance to press on.  Shortly there after was when I started to not feel so good.

Slowly Clint pulled away and the going got tough...but I pressed on.  I tried to drink and eat but wasn't reacting to well to the gel flask I had brought.  Granted the gel that it was filled with was a good 1.5 years old and even refrigerated I started to question it's viability since everytime I took a shot of it I felt sick.  I trudged on and eventually caught up to Kelzie who got another flat and expected her to pass me sooner rather than later.  She and another rider started to catch up to me when I waved to one of the support vehicles to pull over.  I needed ice water BAD! It was lonely and tough those 14 miles or so.  I was riding with Kelzie and the other rider for awhile after that when finally Kelzie pulls up to me and says "I know you are on top of this...but the entire back of your jersey is covered in salt."  To which I replied "That is probably why I am feeling this way." and thought to myself "I am obviously not all over it..."  

She and the other rider pulled away as I limped into the the rest stop and was ready to call it quits.  I didn't feel like eating or drinking anything and knew I was in trouble...I sat down in the shade and waited to shrug it off.  One of the volunteers brought around ice water soaked towels which I put on my head and it felt AWESOME.  I tried to eat a PBJ and everything was just disgusting to me.  Kirsten rolled in shortly after and didn't realize what a bad state I was in.  I decided that I would press on and started to feel better right before we left.

I took off with the 2nd group (Eric left with the lead group, not the 4 guys though) with Kirsten and Kip, TJ, and others.  I was pulling for awhile but then started to dry heave...dropping far back and then catching up again.  It was a frustrating process since my legs, even with the hammer fest the first 1/2, felt absolutely fabulous.  They felt strong and ready to go, but my body was having none of it.  I easily close the gaps the I let happen in front of me, but from the waist up, my body was having none of it.  

I pressed on only to find the group stopped at the corner gas station at the turn.  We were about 10 miles out from the next rest stop and I couldn't go on.  I rested on the sidewalk out in front of the gas station and my HR was racing and wouldn't come down.  I started to dry heave again and couldn't take anything in, water or otherwise.  I knew at that point I was done.  I couldn't drink or eat and my stomach had shut down.  Not good and with 30 miles left I would have put myself in the hospital.  Kirsten was impressed that I actually made the call and said she didn't want to have to take me to the hospital if I continued on.  She called Christal and I started feeling better just due to time and resting.  I jumped in the van and just wanted to be home.  

Kirsten and TJ finished the ride extremely strong and I wished I could have been there to help them along.  Kirsten always impresses me with her determination and drive, which is one of the things that always attracted me to her.  She is on a totally different level sometimes but I guess we both are en total, but over the past month not at the same time.  Which is good since we can help the other out when we are in not such a good place (i.e. me helping her last weekend and her helping me this weekend ;)

All in all I was somewhat disappointed since my legs felt great to the point where after 170 miles they aren't even sore or the slightest bit tired.  Which tells me they are in great biking shape.  I guess considering the brake neck speed of the first half of the ride and how my legs feel I can't be too disappointed, but need to listen to myself a little better when I think I need to drink and eat.  The after party was great and we I was feeling pretty normal after we got back to Eric's place.  I grabbed some pizza and headed home for a shower.  Just as I was leaving TJ and Kristen showed up at the house.  They didn't even go to Eric's and just wanted to shower up first, I don't blame them.  

Sunday was a eatingfest with brunch at Tunnicliffs and tons of left overs that I ate while Kirsten was at Book Club.  We were both pretty pooped and slept like Logs on Saturday night.  I feel great today and want to take another crack at the 200 miles (even though I did finish 2 years ago) but I guess I will have to wait another year...I guess patience makes the heart grow fonder...but I don't think anyone can ever be fond of 200 miles...or can they?

Total200

After a full day of recovery I’m ready to rehash Total200. It was tough; physically and mentally I was ready call it a day several times. We started by meeting at Eric’s house (2 blocks from us) at 5:30 am. We rolled at about 6. I’m not sure. I haven’t uploaded my data yet. There were about 36 men at the start and 4 women. I’ll kill the suspense now by saying that all four women finished.

We rolled around the hill and then south east out Pennsylvania Ave. The group got broken up by stop lights and then I dropped a bottle and got even further behind. The lead group was long gone now so I tried to find a few people to ride with, including our friend Paul. And then we saw TJ on the side of the road fixing a flat. Paul stopped and I decided to slow down and let them catch up. They never did and just about every other rider that was lagging passed me so I decided to join two of them rather than ride on my own. At the aid station there were a few people milling about, the lead group having long ago pulled out. I listened to a former marine make some bossy statements about how to ride to finish, linking my name in the statement as the only other member of the group that had done the ride. I decided I didn’t want to be bossed around and let them roll out of the station, hoping that TJ and Paul would roll up. I waited and I waited and when a volunteer rolled up in his car saying they were several miles behind and that I should just go, I did. I rode the next 26 miles by myself. And when I got to the aid station I joined up with a few others (no marine, thankfully). TJ caught up and we worked together to get to the next aid station. I found myself being a little bossy, suggesting that we each take 2 minute pulls so we keep the pace and everyone gets a chance to rest. Otherwise we’d end up with one guy, pulling a good pace initially but then dropping off. And with all these type A’s, the group would crack because someone would get sick of riding in the back and move up with fierce determination, only to fade after a few minutes and the whole thing would repeat.

And then we picked up a few more at the next aid station, getting an escort across the Solomon Islands bridge. And again we got a group going, trying to keep the 2 min pulls. But we were going through town with a naval base and there were lots of lights and stops. I was feeling very strong. And then we finally got out to the open road and we pushed the pace. There were two riders ahead and I pulled in front and pulled us along. And we caught the other two riders who joined our pace line. And then we slowed to take a left on Route 5 and something happened. My heart started pounding; my HR went from 152 bpm to 220. Normally I would say that is a malfunction with the watch and transmitter unit. But the pounding made me wonder; I backed off the pace, letting everyone get ahead of me. My HR slowed to 215, then 210 and we finally pulled into the park. When I rolled up to the picnic group all I could think about was ice in my jersey and a cold drink down my throat. I figured it was dehydration and heat that was getting me.

After about 5 min my heart stopped pounding and all of the sudden my HR dropped to 90. Normal. I ate a PBJ sandwich, hit the rest room and then decided it was time to roll with the big boys. It’s about 25 miles to the first aid station on the way back. We had a good pace group going and then TJ got a flat. Mark and I stayed back with him, finding the shade of a small tree to keep somewhat cool. The temperature was getting into the 90s and we were all feeling it. We finally got rolling and up over the bridge to the aid station. Luckily the stop was at a bike shop so TJ was able to get a new tire and replenish his CO2 and spare tube supply. The lead group was ready to roll but TJ asked if I would wait with him and I did. I probably should have rolled and let him catch up with the next group, but I used the time to drink some extra water, bring my body temp back closer to normal. Finally after about 30 minutes we were ready to roll. By this time a larger group had assembled and we went out together. Somehow our friends Kip and Robert had energy like you wouldn’t believe. They pretty much pulled us all to the next aid station. And that’s where we found Chad, hot and miserable sitting in the shade. The number of bikes on the back of the van was up to three and another car had two bikes on it.

We stayed at the stop for a few extra minutes to let Chad recover. Then he, Alexi, Robert, Kip, TJ and Garth and I rolled out. We had to keep the pace down to stay together; we took turns yelling at Kip, who took off like a bat out of hell everytime he was in the front. At one point we realized we were losing Chad and decided to pull off the road at about mile 170. We stopped at a Citgo and luckily at this point Chad realized he was too dehydrated to continue. Everyone else rolled and we called Christal for van support. None of us wanted to go with Chad to the hospital if he continued; thankfully he realized himself he shouldn’t go on and we didn’t have to get into a fight about it. Once the van pulled in I tried to haul it to the next aid station so the guys wouldn’t have to wait too long. An ambulance spend past me, then a fire truck. And I was a little worried about my friends that were about 7 minutes up the road from me, and about my husband, who was in a van somewhere up the road from me. But then a few minutes up the road I saw the firetruck pulling out of a neighborhood. At least I had something besides the miles I was riding to think about.

At the aid station I tried to eat something, got a little more ice in my drink and after a minute was ready to roll. At this point I was not hungry for any food, particularly anything sweet. I was forcing myself to drink, knowing I needed it. And I munched on a few chips, hoping the salt would help. I even ate a soggy cookie. Needless to say it was all pretty gross at that point. But we had just 20 miles to go!!

When we rolled out we decided to keep the pace manageable so we could all stay together. Route 4 has a lot of traffic, with several exit and entry ramps that are short and fast. A rumble strip divided the bike lane from the road and by this time all the salt and sweat in my shorts was making me pretty uncomfortable. Everytime we rolled over a bump or those rumble strips I was gritting my teeth. I couldn’t wait to get off my bike. And then with 11 miles left to go we hit the series of traffic lights. We hit every red light except for 2 I think. And as we were coming across the Penn Ave bridge I was thinking we could go bear right and hit Barney Circle. In actuality, you can’t. TJ and I ended up jumping the guard rail to get to the sidewalk. And we rode up 17th St right to our house. The time was 7:40 pm. Chad was still there, getting ready to go to Eric and Christal’s for the post-ride celebration. He looked so much better! And coherent.

We only stayed at the party for a few minutes. I was too tired to be social – all I wanted was to put my feet up and rest. All in all, I ended up with a ride time of about 10 hrs 20 minutes. Somehow the way back was actually faster than the way out. The splits were about 5:15, 5:05. But total ride time was about 12:40. That is a loooong day. Next year I might consider volunteering again. Then again, I might like to be a little more aggressive next year and try to stick with the lead group. First I need to recover fully.

Here’s a picture of Chad and TJ the night before, dressed in their IronMaiden best. Thanks for reading this long report. It was a long day; not succinct at all.

Unusual Musings...and lack of time!

First off there seems to be an awful lot of driver on cyclist violence in the news lately. Let me recap for those that don't know:

- Driver Takes out 50 Cyclists some of which were Bejing Hopefuls

- Drunk Driver Takes out Racers in Mexico

- Driver Goes Crazy in LA, Graphic Picture of the Cyclist Nose Injury

- Cyclist is killed by a garbage truck

Long ago at the most recent article I started wondering what my rights were as a cyclist and felt the responsible thing to do was to look up my local laws regarding cycling on the road (they are readily available online and are pretty standard from state to state). I was shocked to find out somethings such as riding two abreast is perfectly legal as long as you are not impeding traffic (i.e. cars can pass you safely), you don't have to ride completely to the right unless it is practicable, and you can take up a whole lane of traffic if you are riding the same speed as traffic or the lane is a substandard width (less than 11ft) and even the fact that riding on the sidewalk with a bike is ILLEGAL in some spots of DC. Of course there are some nuances but the bottom line is that Cyclists have exactly the same rights as cars and some rights that people who have licenses and drive automobiles just flat out don't know about. It is this lack of knowledge that I firmly believe is the result of all the Road Rage exhibited above, sans the last link of course.

Even as a driver and cyclist I was not aware of many of the laws regarding cycling, See an overview here, and now just shake my head at all the drivers that are just unaware and have a total disregard for cyclists on the road. While they are safe in their 1 ton vehicles we as cyclists are fragile when we get in a tiff with the internal combustion engine that is an automobile. The drivers above fail to realize this and I truly wonder what is going through their head when they slam on the brakes like that. Do they think we are able to stop on a dime, do they think we are going to harmlessly dodge around them, do they think we are going to bounce off their car like a rubberband? It is just beyond me when the rage and frustration with someone/something that has every right to be on the road and do what we are doing boils over to the point of full intention to inflict bodily harm (knowingly or unknowingly).

We even had our own incident this past Tuesday on our regular ride down at Hains Point. Granted Kirsten and I weren't riding with this group (thank goodness), but this is what was relayed to me and is eerily similar to the 3rd link above: A driver comes up behind the group of about 10 of our friends riding two abreast (two rows of five for those math challenged like me) and we are usually clipping along at 20mph or so. He started honking his horn crazily and then proceeded to pass the group within inches and pull in front of the group and slam on his brakes. Luckily everyone was on edge from the pass and coasting and kept their wits about them. Our friend Kip starts slamming on the car with his fist and yelling at the guy. The guy tries to get away from the group when another driver rides up next to the group and says "I saw that and I am a cyclist...that is bull shit!" The driver then goes after the offending driver passing him and weaving in the road to prevent him from getting away. Not sure what the resolution was but the offending driver's actions were unwarranted and completely unsafe. More so, what reason would he even have to behave like that when the group was riding legally and responsibly and he had more than enough room to make a "safe" pass and they were not impeding traffic? I just don't know, but these people obviously have issues that counciling couldn't resolve.

I just don't get it...not even remotely...people's lives are on the line and Drivers act like it is no big deal...they get frustrated with how we ride and we ride like that because of people like those above, purely for our own safety. The media depicts cyclists as individuals that disregard the law and blow through stop signs and stop lights...sure we do sometimes but I for one always slow down almost to a crawl to make sure it is safe and to let the drivers on the road that I am at least aware of the laws before I proceed and at major intersections I always stop. Even the police get it wrong sometimes when there is an incident as evidenced by this cycling law enforcement guide for DC Police. Even still it doesn't give someone the right to force you off the road, scare you, or make you run into their bumper (or worse rear wind sheild)...it is just wrong...So give us a little leeway when you see us out there, please.

Okay, I am now stepping off my soapbox for the day ;)

This week has been absolute chaos as far as time is concerned, I guess that is what we get for just sitting on the couch on Sunday afternoon/evening. Monday night Kirsten and I met with a financial advisor, free to us which was AWESOME! After picking up Kirsten from the Bowie MARC Station about an hour later than she was due to arrive thanks to an unannounced train delay, we finally got there to meet with him. We walked out of there knowing that while we have a significant amount of things to do to set ourselves up for the type of retirement we want, we are in a relatively good place for the age we are at. The one thing that came out of it is that we should wait on the house and put more money into our retirement right now while we can before we buy a house and have kids and expenses start getting tighter. Not what I know Kirsten wanted to hear since her recent addiction to perusing online real estate sites has become her sole evening activity ;) But we were glad to know that we could still live our active lifestyle and travel while still saving for a down-payment on a house and putting more money into our savings/retirement. All in all a good session I would say and I think eventually we will use him for our investments once we take some suggested steps over the next couple months. We got home around 9 or so and Kirsten was busy packing since this was the last night I would see her until late Thursday since she was leaving for Mississippi for work.

Tuesday was another chaotic day/evening as my Bottom Bracket on my bike started clicking again and I had to take it into the shop before our epic 200 mile bike ride on Saturday. Riding 200 miles with a click click click click every pedal stroke would drive me nuts! After the mechanic said it was just a loose skewer I felt like a complete idiot and took his word for it. But tomorrow would tell if it truly was! After getting to the grocery store and getting home after all that it was already 7:30 and I didn't even eat until 8:45 or so....where is all my time going!

Yesterday (Wednesday) I had to go with Eric to the Poolesville Park's Board meeting to make a presentation for Endure 24 a 24 hour bike race we are trying to put on in conjunction with Autism Speaks for charity. Everything went fairly easy and we were surprised after all the hell the National Park Service gave us when we submitted the permit for a location in one of their parks. We left the town hall with a smile on our faces and a tentative approval pending proof of liability insurance. All the folks on the board were VERY friendly and very small town, which made it a pleasure to be there. They usually host bike races there a couple times a year but we were surprised with the idea of a 24 hour race they didn't even flinch but offered up suggestions on the route options, locations to stage out of, and one guy even said he was going to challenge his son and his friends to the race! Bottom line, October 4th, 2008 in Poolesville Maryland one of the few 24 hour road bike races in the area will happen. And it will be so much better than that "other" 24 hour race that only has a 2 mile loop...ours is almost 10 ;)

After getting home around 8:30 or so and scarfing down some left overs, I moved on to caulking the guest bathroom shower since Kirsten's parents are coming into town tonight and the caulk needs some time to dry of course. It was a project we had tried to get to for the past 3 months and I finally did! It wasn't very easy given the layout of the shower and the crappy job they did before but I managed to get it done and hopefully it doesn't crack and prevents the water from getting in behind the tiles...I mean it is more about functionality rather than looks right?

So we are finally to today...Kirsten comes back...her parents come into town...and I still have to go to the grocery store, REI, and get my bike fixed...I almost took a "I have too much crap going on and work is getting in the way" type day...cough cough...but my conscience got the better of me and I devised a time schedule in my head to get everything done. It doesn't mean that I will...but at least I feel better about it. The morning started out pretty good and the ride felt a little tough, but the clicking in my bottom bracket was NOT the skewer as it turns out! Looks like I have to go back to the shop again...oh well. The ride overall was good and I pulled the strongest riders along at times and held on the back to get some rest at others. It was nice to know that on the last lap that I was in the group that broke apart the peleton and everyone else was far behind us. I even led a charge that broke apart the group further...the cycling is coming along well...now if I can get Eric to make me a RAAM rider I will be all set. Oh yeah and rumor had it, further confirmed by me actually seeing him and his employee (aka Laurel) asking me if I liked riding with her boss, that we were riding with John Kerry this morning...and wouldn't you know it...WE WERE! Crazy...but in DC...anything is possible ;)

Next up, tons of guests in our house for the weekend and a 200 mile ride should make for some good Blog updates this weekend...stay tuned to channel KNC!