Wow...that was the hardest yet...but luckily the last one!!!

It seems I only post after our long runs lately...maybe it gives me a jolt of mental energy to pour into something else other than training and my wife of course ;)  But mostly I think it is just to get the damn negativity of what just happened off my chest!!! 

Well as Kirsten has informed you all, I am in Charleston WV for our annual Managers Conference.  I got here after an 8 hour drive (including an almost 2 hour delay 1.5 hours into the trip) but the scenery on the way out was beautiful and the changing trees kept my mind occupied...until hour 6 or so...then I was ready to be in the hotel...it is a long drive by yourself.  The week itself has been pretty boring with presentation after presentation from our corporate staff and some guest speakers.  Mostly it is stuff they have covered in the past 4 conferences I have been to and honestly it is repetitive and I found myself rolling my eyes alot...especially with the presentations that had no bearing on the topic they were supposed to be discussing...seriously...WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT!!!!  Some of it made no sense at all...hence the eye rolling.  

We had a guest speaker that was the former team captain of the New England Patriots in the 80's, Brian Holloway.  That was pretty cool...but he was the motivational speaker (see Kirsten's reference to his quote below) but at the end I felt more like I was ready to head out onto the field to play some FOOTBALL and make some TACKLES, rather than motivated.  What are motivational speakers supposed to motivate you to do anyway?  They pump you up and say they want to change your life...but really...what are they trying to motivate you to do?  I just don't get the "speakers" circuit and the "toast masters" type stuff...I actually spend more time critically analyzing how they are qualified to "speak" about the topic they are talking about rather than what their message is...the message I got from Mr. Holloway...you have to be a playmaker in business...the analogy to business I am not sure of...so we are supposed to tackle our customers and taunt them after the tackle...or throw a hail mary into the elevator and do a little dance afterwards?  Hmmmm....if you can't tell I am being facetious here ;)  It was a good break from the boring presentations but the fees and merchandise (i.e. books, signed footballs, diva status) these individuals command just puts me off more than motivates me.

Anyway it was way better than listening to a lawyer drone on about sexual harassment in the workplace...it was more exciting than watching concrete dry...completely!  So because this conference is mostly for our project managers to familiarize them with our corporate policies and procedures and resolve consistent problems with reporting, financial, and HR related issues the group I work in (Business Development) got to have today (Wednesday) off.  Today was more of a breakout session for Accounting, Human Resources, and each Division of the company, so we didn't really have to be there for any of that.  One of my coworkers decided to go hiking in a state forest 20 minutes away while others didn't know what they were going to do.  I had an agenda and the day off was a welcome blessing to help me fulfill that agenda.

As Kirsten noted below...we had our last long run scheduled for this week.  The last 2.5 hour run until we run the marathon at Ironman Arizona.  Being without each other to motivate on the run would be difficult, but we knew we could do it...if we could each just get out the door 366 miles away from each other ;)  I have been able to get all my workouts in so far which I have been happy about.  50 minutes on the dreadmill on Monday night (the sun doesn't rise until almost 8 here and it has been in the low 30's at night), got to the YMCA to swim on Tuesday morning (was even there at 5:45 if you can believe it!), and then got my trainer ride in last night.  Then there was the 2.5 hour run today which I am about to get to!

I woke up around 8 am and headed down for breakfast. Met up with my co worker for a chat over breakfast and then headed up to the room to do some work.  Got about 2 hours worth of work in after talking to Kirsten (told me what she posted below about her run) and catching up and then got ready to run.  The weather report had proved inaccurate the both times I checked it and then ventured outside but I was weary because of the wind today.  The route I followed looked something like this  which I ended up doing twice with a little more to get the time in.  The route went from the hotel to the River, up the River North to the turnaround, then all the way down to the next turnaround then all the way back up to the 1st turnaround then all the way back down to the 2nd turnaround again.  The wind was against me going north but with me going south. 

The one thing I noticed after running into the wind and then with the wind at my back and subsequently at my face again on the way back after the first lap, besides being super thirsty immediately from the dry and cold wind (and not hydrating after the hot and super sweaty trainer ride last night) was that my pace wasn't fluctuating that much.  Even into the wind I was averaging around 7:50mm and with the wind I was doing 7:40mm with a very minor Heart Rate fluctuation into the wind.  It was extremely interesting as I noticed that weather has such little impact on elite triathletes or athletes in general.  Was this what they experienced?  Who knows...but by the start of the 2nd lap I was getting desperately thirsty and didn't want to go through all my bottles before the last hour hit.  I was overdressed for the long stretch south since the sun was blaring and the wind was at my back.  I was regretting what I was wearing, but as soon as I turned around to run into the wind...I was dressed perfectly.  It was a mixed blessing being dressed that way but exacerbated my dehydration for the long stretch with the wind at my back.  My mouth was dry and I could feel it in my legs.  

All the water fountains I found weren't working and I was a bit irritated but was on my last leg so toughed it out.  I found towards the end the harder it got the harder I pushed myself (which I hadn't done before and is a good sign I think).  Finally at mile 16 I found a working water fountain that was on the high road above the river path...IF I HAD ONLY KNOWN EARLIER!!!!  I got a shot of energy after gulping down a huge amount of fountain water and trudged on.  The fountain was right at the street to go back to the hotel but I still had to get 20 more minutes and 3 more miles...so I trudged on determined to work through the pain.  I ended up running up to the first bridge you pass under and found it was a perfect turnaround for pace, time and distance.  

I finally got back to the hotel and was elated to be done with my last long run!!!  At least of that length ;)  I got into the lobby and the owner of our company saw me and the conversation went something like this - 

Lilly - "What meeting are you going to dressed like that!?" She is a funny lady.  

Chad - "A meeting with the River" 

Lilly - You were running eh?

Chad - Yeah

Lilly - How far did you go?

Chad - 19 miles

Lilly - What is that?

Chad - Oh that is my fuel belt for water

Lilly - "You needed four bottles of water!?"

Chad - Running 2.5 hours I needed to drink something!

Lilly - You drank all of that?

Chad - Yup and a little more

Lilly - You have NO FAT ON YOU AT ALL (she proceeds to grab where my love handles used to be)...AHHHHHHH  you are all wet!

Chad - It is warm out there running in all this

Lilly - ewwwww, go take a shower!!!

And then she walked off...hahahahha  It was pretty funny....the whole time I just wanted to sit down though....even though it was a short exchange!

So the run was a success...2.5 hours for a total of 19 miles...and to think only 7 more miles and I would have done a marathon ;)  Thank goodness it is over though because being alone and having to do it in a strange city in challenging weather made it all the more tough...but I am sure I will appreciate it on race day for sure...as will Kirsten based on how her run was this morning as well...Like Brian Holloway said yesterday to us and Kirsten said below..."You will find more times in practice that you want to quit then in an actual game"...the next stop is the game....bring it on IMAZ!!!

Now...on to a hugely long day of presentation after presentation after presentation tomorrow...literally we have 21 presentations going on tomorrow alone!  I am thrilled ;)

The Long Run

The forecast for the last couple of days has not been pretty: wind, rain, cold. And the forecast for Wednesday morning was 32 degrees with rain/snow mix and 15 mph winds. I considered postponing the run until Thursday because although it is supposed to be colder, it should be less windy and dry. And then when I checked the forecast last night before going to bed lo and behold the precipitation had vanished and the skies would be clear.

So it is that I got up at 5:10 am for a 6 am departure time. The temperature was 43; the winds were stiff but not too bad and the streets were dry. I drank my strawberry flavored ensure, mixed my Gatorade and mentally prepared for the hours ahead. I decided that I would run as much as I could outside, planning to be in the Rosslyn vicinity at 1 hr 30 min in order to duck into my office to refill my water. I did a lap around Hains Point, turning around when I got to the end since the wind was pretty fierce on the backside (as it always is). I didn’t want to waste any mental energy on things out of my control. It was dark and lonely. After turning around I saw two people, but otherwise, I was the lone soul in the dark. Sunrise was 7:32 and by the time I got to Georgetown the sky was getting lighter and the number of joggers and bikers (and traffic!) brightened the morning. I crossed over the Key bridge and did a lap around the Roosevelt Island and then headed to my office as I was totally out of fluid by that point.

I decided to finish the run on the treadmill to make sure I kept the pace steady and could concentrate on hydrating. So the last 38 minutes I drank a sip of water every 3-5 minutes and kept the pace at 8 min miles. I was never so glad to hit stop when my watch showed 2 hrs 30 min.

Chad is in West Virginia preparing for his own run. He has a relatively free day today to work on a proposal so he was going to wait until the conditions were a little more conducive. He listened to a motivational speaker yesterday. Some former pro football player that said you will have many more instances of wanting to quit in practice than in the actual game. Indeed, that’s why our training workouts have to be tough to mentally prepare us for game day. And then all we’ll want to do is strive for the finish line rather than give up. Can’t wait! Our friend TJ is on his way to Panama City Beach today for IMFL. Can’t wait to cheer him on Sunday!

Update for Tuesday

Paul and Sarah and I did a lot of walking and people watching on Sunday and then they helped cook a meal that Chad and I would never venture towards. Maybe. We bought the best filets Safeway has to offer and some Alaskan King Crab. When I found out they catch the crabs, pull their legs off and throw the bodies back in the water I didn't want to have anything to do with them. Environmental concerns aside, I did try it. I can do without crustaceans in my diet. The filets were delicious and I'm thinking I should add more red meat to my diet.

Chad sent an update from West Virginia. It's cold and dark. This morning he went swimming at the local YMCA - it was dark when he started and after an hour of swimming it was still dark on his way back to the hotel. I am super impressed with his determination, particularly since he did a treadmill run last night after dinner. I guess the start of the countdown to race day has got us both scared. I did a hill run yesterday at lunch and then swam in the evening. It was one of the most frustrating swims thanks to the fact that I was sharing the lane with a guy using fins that was much faster than me. And then a woman wanted to share our lane but I was lapping her every 100. The other guy got out after about 10 minutes - he couldn't go a length without having to pass one of us - and when the woman switched over to using a kick board so that I was catching up to her every lap we split the lane. That was good for about 5 minutes when a woman asked to jump in. She was only a little slower than me and then the kick board was replaced for the breastroke. I will admit I touched her feet a couple times waiting to pass and she definitely hit me at least twice with her arms in her attempt at breast stroke. When she finally got out I didn't say goodbye. At least I figured it is good race simulation, though hopefully I'll find some fast feet and be chasing rather than getting caught up in the melee.

Now I'm mentally preparing for tomorrow's run. Stay tuned for updates...

We are lame

We had big plans to ride 4 hours this morning. But at 6:15 am when we woke up it was 44 degrees out. That's cold enough for me that I'd rather stay inside. Unfortunately, with the Marine Corps Marathon today we really couldn't postpone our departure and still ride outside. So we elected to sleep another hour and do a trainer ride. Do you see a pattern here? Too bad the rain kept us inside yesterday. At least we did do a 20 min brick after the 2 hr trainer ride. I then walked a couple miles with my brother and Sarah to check out the various monuments, memorials and the White House.

We have next weekend for another chance at a hard, long ride outside. And that's about it. We'll be in San Diego the weekend after and there is NO WAY I am bringing my bike for a 3 day trip. It's not worth the hassle. And it's the start of our taper. The weekend after is the last weekend before the race so we'll have to see how it goes, but if we really want to stick to our taper plan the ride shouldn't be more than 60 miles. Chad already said no when I suggested we could do an easy century. I'll admit today I got a little nervous. Especially since the trainer ride and brick felt so terrible. But even though we did not do a lot of bricks, we did a lot of tough workouts this year. We'll need to channel some confidence in the weeks ahead.

Stay tuned... I'm alone this week while Chad is at a work conference in West Virginia. I'm determined to swim 3x and to get my long run in on Wednesday morning. Since I'm alone I get to go to bed at 9 pm!

Bring out the trainers

The weather has definitely taken a turn for the worse so Monday night we dug the trainers out of the closet and set them up for our first indoor bike ride of the season. Tuesday the alarms sounded and only I actually got out of bed. I did a relatively easy hour ride and took the evening off to go shopping! My lovely sister and future brother in law got me a gift card to one of my favorite stores, Ann Taylor Loft. Combined with a 20% off coupon, I was able to find exactly what I was looking for: new black pants and dressy cords for work. It was exactly the kind of break from training and talk of triathlon that I needed.

Wednesday morning the temperature was 44 degrees, the wind was rocking the trees, and the sun wasn't going to rise for another 80 minutes. So we turned off the alarms and rescheduled for an evening run. Chad and I left home and work at about the same time and ran towards each other, eventually meeting right around the Jefferson memorial. We decided to add some hills to the run so we headed out to the Custis trail which is perfectly rolling. After about an hour 15 it was time to turn around and head home and a few minutes later I realized that my heart rate was getting a little high. I dropped back a little bit, keeping Chad within visual distance. We ran through the Georgetown water front area and up to the Lincoln. We both had to take a bathroom break and then headed onwards. It was about 1 hr 52 min into the run and starting up again hurt. I really needed to drop the pace back and focus on getting some skip back into my step. Eventually it came back and we were running about 8:30 min miles. That was definitely up from the sub-7s we were holding up to that point, but our average over the whole run ended up being 8:06 min miles. That's not bad for 2 hrs 24 min!

The wind had definitely picked up and we were both freezing by the time we got home. I must not have drank enough because I think I was having some dehydration induced nausea later. Same thing happened last week so I will try to be more careful about taking in more fluids. We've got 2 more long runs on the schedule and then we can take down for taper.

My brother and his girlfriend are coming to visit us today. As it turns out, it's a rainy, windy day. Perfect for sleeping in and doing a trainer ride. Unfortunately Chad's trainer broke right away so we had to take turns doing an hour ride and now I'm at home waiting for Paul and Sarah while Chad gets in a long swim.

Roast pig

Yes, we did ride to Sugarloaf (again) yesterday. It was a cool morning, barely 50. And although it eventually warmed up to 60, a constant breeze and plenty of shade kept us cool - cold! - through all of the ride. Joe C joined us for this one and we all contemplated stopping to get something warm to drink but the pain of getting back on the bike after a thorough warming up kept us pedaling away. The sun was glorious and the views were nothing short of spectacular. All around it was a good training for Arizona. It was windy enough to provide stiff opposition both up and down hills. And that combined with the cold made a tough mental workout.

And to celebrate our accomplishment (after a nap on the couch), our friends Eric and Christal hosted their annual pig roast. They were up starting the fire and getting the pig ready when we rolled by on our ride at 7:30 am. After a long day of cooking, it was finally read to eat around 7:30. It was delicous! So were the 7 layer dream bars Amy and Greg brought. There were two fire pits going in the backyard since it was such a cool evening. It was probably low-mid 50's, but since it is our first cold weather of the season it was quite delightful. Both Chad and I brought our beanie caps and hung out by one of the fires. I know how to pick realestate - the s'mores were brought to our fire pit and after starting a major sugar high Chad and I headed home a little after 9. What a great fall day.

A long time coming?

No the title isn't in the negative connotation of course...just meaning I have been remiss is posting to the blog since my love's return from Sudan.  Time has gotten short (especially with the shortened daylight hours) and training time has gone through the roof.  Mentally it is getting tough to get all the workouts in and get all the hours in that are required...but Kirsten and I are motivating each other when the other is faltering...which is GOOD!

It has been a rough road back for Kirsten from her trip to Sudan but I think she is a lot further along than she thinks she is (or takes credit for that is).  She has been motivated to go to the pool in the evenings without me, which unfortunately is necessary as I find too many reasons to not swim in the evenings and am better about swimming during lunch.  But she has really been pouring on the workouts lately and making sure that she is getting the volume in she needs.  She is also showing amazing resiliency with each workout as well (contrary to what she might say) with regards to her speed and efforts.

This morning was a perfect example of her resiliency.  On tap was a 1:10 run, or roughly about 10 miles with a 20 minute set that is pretty much as hard as you can sustain for 20 minutes.  After her first over 2 hour run since August, the hard bike yesterday morning, and her swimming for the 2nd time this week last night...she was ripe for a lighter day of training.  Yet she powered through the run this morning and I was impressed!  

After some hooing and hawing this morning before leaving about wanting to fall asleep on the couch if I dilly dallied any longer we got out the door 10 minutes later than we wanted but still within reason.  We started out at a casual pace but she wasn't being very talkative the majority of the run (an indication of her displeasure of being out there?).  We headed out towards the Washington Monument at about a 8:15-8:30mm pace and made a quick bathroom stop for me about 20 minutes in.  She was debating going out on her own so she could run her own pace but didn't want to run alone and decided to stick it out.  I was feeling better after the break and as we approached the Jefferson Memorial she broke off down a different trail and ended up in front of me by a good margin before we crossed the bridge into Virginia.  It took me almost the full mile of the bridge to catch up to her and she had picked up the pace to 7:45mm, guess she was feeling good!

We got onto the Mt. Vernon trail towards the Memorial Bridge and the sun started to rise behind the Capitol and Washington Monument, it was breathtaking as always and it is moments like that that make it worth getting out of bed that early to start the day off right with the one you love ;)  You could see the weather systems demarcation line to the North of us as well since it was dark and cloudy to the south and clear blue/purple/night sky to the North of us with the cloud line fully marking the weather line.  At this point I let Kirsten lead the way with 7:50mm.  She was clocking along doing well and then we got back to the Lincoln Memorial where we decided we would start the 20 minute set.  I told her she was doing well and that I was starting the set and she said "see you at home..."

I started the set and built into the pace/effort that I would settle into for the long haul.  Wouldn't you know it....every single stop light on the mall possible I hit and had to stop and wait to change due to rush hour traffic flying through the intersections!!! At the first point of every stop I turned to see where Kirsten was and she was no more than 50-100 yards behind me...she was rocking it!  And so it went the entire way back home with me getting stopped at every light.  She would later chide me and say "See if you ran my pace you wouldn't have had to stop at every light!!"  So true my dear...so true!

I hit the 20 minute mark about 6 blocks from home (thank goodness) after a rough pull up Capitol Hill and trotted the last 6 blocks in as a cool down.  Once I got to our block sure enough Kirsten was right there about 1/4 mile behind me clocking along!  I had averaged 6:48mm for that 20 minutes and figured Kirsten was in the 7-7:05mm range...a SOLID EFFORT!

Although she said she didn't want to speculate as to what her pace was I could tell that her sprits were a little higher and she was just as proud of herself as I was proud of her for her efforts.  If her Wednesday workout was a mental breakthrough...I would have to say today's workout was a physical one!!  Good job Kirsten!  

Now for the first of our last 4 century rides tomorrow....legs don't fail us now!!!   At least tomorrow we will get richly rewarded with our good friend's annual pig roast two blocks from our house...good food, friends, and more food!!!   More on the weekend...after the weekend is over!  The home stretch is almost here!

Breaking through is hard to do

Why don't breakthrough workouts feel good while you are doing them? Why is that only later, with perspective and hindsight do you realize you had a great workout? One of those workouts that will make you tougher, stronger, faster? And I don't mean in the "if it doesn't kill you it will only make you stronger" theory. Breakthrough workouts are hard and they are usually long (what workout isn't long when training for IM?), but ultimately they provide a mental and physical boost that will make your next workout that much better. I'd love to have a breakthrough workout every time I sweat, but it's the mental aspect that leaves much to be desired so often.

Let me tell you about the latest long run. Two hours and ten minutes. By myself. Totally solo. And in the afternoon, my least favorite time to run. But there really wasn't any getting out of it because we slept in; still recovering from that cold. I left work a little early and ran across the Key bridge to the C&O Canal. I love running on trails - the packed dirt makes for less pounding, but you have to work harder in other ways. Dirt (and other "soft" surface trails) absorb the impact of footfall and spread it out across a wider surface, whereas asphalt and cement allow you to push back and conserve energy. And trails have roots, rocks and uneven surfaces that force you to use more of your body to maintain balance and form. So while the trail aspect of the C&O made the run more difficult, mentally I was focused and enjoying the terrain. I hit the C&O at about 6 min in and decided to run out 45 min before turning around to head home. I ended up hitting the end of the trail at exactly 1 hr 20 min and proceeded along the Rock Creek Parkway towards the Lincoln memorial. At about 1 hr 30 min I go to the memorial and felt my legs burning; I just wanted to stop. I did stop for a second to refill my water bottle and when I started again I convinced myself it was just mental. No way I should be that tired after 90 min. I shortened my stride and increased my cadence.

And before I knew it I was "racing" someone along the mall, closer and closer to home with every step. And then I got to the top of Capitol Hill and again mentally I was ready to finish, but I looked at my watch and saw there were just 10 minutes left and I celebrated by putting my head down and concentrated on maintaining the pace. I hit 16th St at almost exactly 2 hours 10 min and walked the 1.5 blocks home. I was spent. I put it all out there.

After a quick shower Chad was kind enough to give my legs a massage. My stomach was upset for a while afterwards, as it sometimes is after a hard run, but I made some scrambled eggs for dinner and had a high-calorie recovery drink (not Coke!) to renew my energy. It hurt to go down the stairs. I was still dehydrated by the time I went to bed. This morning I woke up, tired and groggy and sore. And if Chad had hinted at sleeping in I would have been grateful to keep him company. But we got up and I went downstairs - and it didn't hurt. Sure, my legs are tired, but they don't have the OMG I ran more than two hours and can't walk feeling.

Chad has not posted in a while, but he also did 2 hours 10 minutes. It wasn't his first long run of the season, and it wasn't his first solo long run, but he says it was hard. So maybe it wasn't breakthrough, but it is motivational. After all, if he did it, I had to do it. Got to keep up with the Jones'!

Home sick

Both Chad and I are playing hooky. But not in the fun way. I think he's even more sick than me. Sorry honey!

Here's a product review for entertainment:

Coke, diet Coke, Pepsi (it doesn't matter which) = Great recovery drink

We drink about 1 soft drink per month except after long rides, especially one like Sunday. An ice cold coke (generic term) does wonders to recharge your batteries. All that yummy sugar and caffeine can mean the difference between passing out wherever the ride ends and surviving the drive home. Or staying awake long enough to eat lunch before passing out.

Ok, we're bored. Staying home sick is no fun.

Pictures from Poolesville

Finishing the weekend strong

I caught a cold from someone at work so I rested up by not working out on Friday to be fresh for a long weekend of training. I don't have to work today!!

Saturday was a relatively short ride out to Falls Road (40 mi) followed a little later by our longest swim of the year 3500 yds. While the swim felt long for both of us and we were definitely tired at the end, our arms and shoulders stayed in tact and we're motivated to bring it up to 4000 yds this week. I personally am motivated to swim at least twice during the week before attempting another long swim over the weekend. Doing just two swim workouts a week is not going to cut it. I can't keep up with Chad unless I use my flippers. He has gotten so fast!

Sunday TJ met us at our house for an epic Sugarloaf ride. We rolled at 7:30 am in crisp air - barely 52 degrees when we started. But the ride was gorgeous. The foliage is definitely out and the reds and yellows on some trees made us all smile and enjoy the scenery. Our legs however were feeling the hills. 95 miles of up and down. It was worth it though. Despite how tired we feel after a ride like that, it's always motivating to put it in perspective. Was last weekend's workout harder than yesterday's? I don't know. Mentally it definitely was. Physically - I'm just not sure.

One rather remarkable thing about the ride is that I got the hiccups on Independence Ave on the way home. They were making me laugh hysterically, which is very hard to do while riding a bike and trying to maintain a straight line. I finally had to pull over take a deep breath and get control. Sort of.

Chad and I did a 30 min brick. He was a true champ, staying back with me since I couldn't breath very well. All the snifling and sneezing may have wracked havoc on my diaphragm so I couldn't take a full breath. Lots of hyperventilation and a side stitch kept my pace to 9 min miles almost the whole way. After about 25 min I finally started to feel a little better and was able to run it home at a decent pace. St. TJ met us on the way back carrying sandwiches and chips. Perfect!

Here are some pics from last weekend's epic ride. Notice there are no pictures of us actually working out. You'll just have to take our word for it.

In Stride – the Long Run

Last night we had a great opportunity for a last minute get-together with our friend Rob who is in town from the Boston area. Poor guy thought it was warm here. We had delicious meals at Paolo’s Ristorante, a great place on Wisconsin Ave in G-town. Rob and I had the pork special and Chad had the salmon special. We ate too much, too late. Oh, but it was good.

This morning Chad and I embarked on a long run. He had 90 min on his calendar but decided to run about 1 hr 45 with me since I had a 2 hr run. I need this run to get me back to pre-Sudan fitness. It wasn’t pretty, especially since both of us were feeling the late night and dinner. But eventually we got into a groove and I tried to keep pace with Chad as much as I could. As it turns out the average pace was about 8:15 minute miles although we were doing sub-7s at some point. Of course, my last 15 minutes alone were probably averaging 9 min miles. I was tired and as much as I wanted to stop running, I really needed this run. So now I’ve done it and all I have to do is get to 2 hr 30 min in two weeks. Chad and I should both do a couple more 2 hr 30 min runs before we start our taper Nov 9. Which will be one month away tomorrow.

Sunrise was beautiful. We got going around 6:10 am and by the time we were on the Mt. Vernon trail, about 30 min into the run the sky was a beautiful array of pinks and purples. We’ll have to remember cameras on one of these runs. Sunrise was officially 7:11 am today. The temperature was about 52. P-E-R-F-E-C-T running weather. Other than the fact that all the darkness makes it hard to wake up in the morning, this is a great time of year for training.

IM effort in training

Here are some pics of the bike mechanic in action. Please excuse the jungle that is our back yard in the background. We are ironman training. In December our "honey-do" list is going to disappear!

Our weekends have been flying by. Even when we it appears we don’t do much, somehow the days pass and we have accomplished so little. Unless you count naps on the couch and training hours. Saturday I took the morning off training in order to rest before our big brick planned for Sunday. While Chad rode for almost 3 hours, I cleaned bathrooms, washed and folded laundry, started trading out summer for fall/winter clothes, and various other little chores that we never seem to find the time for. We had lunch together and turned on the TV and were both soon fast asleep. But we did get up and going in time for a 3000 yd swim at Eastern Market. We did 3000 yds on Thursday also so this is a very good breakthrough for both of us. I am still swimming quite slow so I brought my fins in order to speed up some of the sessions. Chad wasn’t happy about my speedy 100’s, but he did keep up.

Saturday evening we cooked mashed potatoes, chicken and squash. Real comfort food -Yum! And we were early to crash in order to be up and at ‘em early. We were supposed to be out the door and on the road by 6 but the woman we were carpooling with called at about 5:55 and was just getting into a taxi. Chad and I were both disappointed that for once we were would have been on time to a workout with TJ. But alas…

Our workout plan was two loops of the Eagleman bike course in Cambridge, MD on the eastern shore, followed by a run. The plan was to refuel at the cars before heading out on the second loop. The first loop was incredibly tough. It got off to a bad start when TJ led the group out the wrong way. I recognized it wasn’t right and yelled out that I was going to follow the cue sheet. Chad and Kathryn followed TJ and I went out according to the route map. Almost immediately you are hit by head wind. And then there is a little break and then again, you hit head wind. One stretch of road is 12 miles and the headwind is relentless. I was trying to keep my average speed a little over 19. I figured at times I’d be able to push faster when there was a tailwind. But into the headwinds I tried to keep my speed above 18 mph. My heart rate was manageable but I tried pushing it further in order to catch up to the other three, who I assumed were several miles ahead of me, having taken a “short cut”.

At one point I saw a sign that said detour, bridge closed, but I thought I’d check it out – you never know if a road is passable by bike. It turned out to be almost 2 miles out of the way and as I turned around (you couldn’t get over the bridge) I saw Chad riding towards me. And a little further back was TJ. Turns out they were not able to follow the route they started on and had to turn around. The whole time I was pushing to catch up to them they were pushing to catch up to me!

I made it my goal to stay within visual distance of Chad the rest of the way and I succeeded, though it wasn’t easy. While he was probably riding at 75% effort, I was getting close to my max. When we finally made it back to the car (after almost 3 hours of total ride time) TJ decided he’d a) had enough; and b) he needed to get back home for family obligations. Our late start foiled his double brick. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the first to pull out. Chad had already declared he’d had enough. My coaxing was not enough to convince TJ back into the ride, but somehow Chad was able to muster the mental fortitude to take one for the team. And so after a 20 min break we rode back out into the headwind. He flatted about 40 min into the second loop and I happily hung back and held his bike while he did a quick change. And then we started and next thing I know he is so far ahead of me he is almost out of sight. We were back on that 12 mile stretch of road and although I was keeping my speed over 18 mph, it was hard. Mentally I was tired of the wind. And we hadn’t even hit the worst part – Egypt road. An 8 mile stretch where the wind is both fierce and relentless.

After we made a turn Chad slowed down and we road together for several miles. He was starting to fade so I pulled for a while. And then when we did make it to Egypt road he found a second wind and I happily drafted for several miles. Just when I thought I could ride on my own I would fade back and Chad would have to slow to pick me up again. And then we finally reached the turn and I knew we had less than 10 miles to the car. I felt rejuvenated and we took turns pulling again until we made one last right turn that gave us a wonderful tailwind. We pushed it back, going 23+ and then dragged ourselves the last couple miles through some back streets and to the park where we started. Chad had started coughing from allergies and who knows what else about half way through the second loop so a transition run was out of the question for him. And I was so ridiculously tired that I convinced myself to run and then decided not to.

That was by far the toughest ride I can remember doing. My total ride distance was about 109 miles, give or take a few because my bike computer is usually a little off. I know at 102 miles our time was 5:20. But then it took us so long to go those last few miles… I think my total ride time was 5:50 or so. It was a decent effort up to mile 100 for sure. I can only hope we don’t feel like this after finishing the bike course in Arizona. Or else it’s going to be a long and disappointing day.

Our other ride mate finished about 30 min after us and decided not to run also. So we headed to the nearest Pizza Hut for some lunch (dinner) before the ride home. With all the driving and riding it was a 12 hour day. We were pooped and in bed by 9 pm.

I have to say with all this training Chad is coming around to the concept of early bed times. While I feel bad he was so exhausted after riding more than 170 miles all weekend, I was secretly joyful (although the secret is out of the bag now) that he was as tired as me for once. Six more weeks of training and we’re done!

No Water, No Food, and 17.5 miles to go!

So after missing our long run yesterday morning after celebrating the first real morning of fall by sleeping in with the cool breeze blowing in our bedroom window (and then missing our swim for an Endure24 meeting), Kirsten and I got out the door this morning at 6:30am for our long run of the week.

Once again I turned off my alarm and slept later than I wanted, or maybe slept as late as I wanted...more likely the latter than the former...Kirsten has become an expert at getting me up and out of bed over the past couple of years...manipulation I will call it haha!  She has learned the way of the Lewis' and is extremely adept at guilting me into getting up.  So after departing an hour later than we wanted to, I had relegated myself to running 10 miles this morning and then running 10 miles at lunch...but as the run got underway I started feeling pretty good.  The temperature was around 52 degrees and for the first time since April I had to wear Knickers, a base layer, and a hat...ON A RUN!  I was dressed perfectly though as the wind was kicking around and would cut through my clothes with a typical fall chill.  

Kirsten is still getting into the swing of things so we took it easy and I was glad since it gave me time to get my head in the game of the run.  After our usual short break 20 minutes or so into the run I proposed running along the waterfront into Georgetown and back around reverse from what we usually do.  Fall weather and a change of pace was a great change!  It was at that point that I figured I could go 2 hours without too much problem since the weather was cooperating with our run.  Kirsten wanted to get a little longer of a run in so suggested we run our the C&O Canal trail for about 15 minutes and then 15minutes back.  We chatted as we ran out on the trail and it felt more like a fun Fall Run rather than a typical Ironman workout which was nice.  We parted ways in Rosslyn at the end of the Key Bridge since she needed to get to work (or was at work technically since we were right there!).  At that point I realized I would be getting in close to 2.5 hours anyway and was feeling pretty good.  I picked up the pace a little after we parted ways and just settled into a zone and turned off the world around me and just ran.

I got to the 14th Street Bridge and decided the run would be a little short so took a detour to end up at the Lincoln Memorial instead of halfway down the mall as I would have if I followed the usual route.  My legs were feeling great and a lot better than the week before.  I just kept plugging away and decided to run on the north side of the Washington Monument since there were some murals set up in front of the Natural History Museum that I had only seen the back of for the past week or so.  

As I was passing the Washington Monument I came across not one...but TWO people I knew!  I do have to say that even though I live in a large city, Washington DC is very much like a small town since you always seem to run into someone you know when you are out and about on a run, visiting a museum, on the metro, etc. etc. etc.  I ended up running into Kip who offered to run the rest of my run with me since he didn't have any real plan.  Then on the way down the slight hill from the monument I ran into Megan, but only for a brief "Hi...are you avoiding work!?" and then back to the grind of the run.  

Kip helped me push the pace and definitely pushed me up Capitol Hill near the end of the 2.5 hours.  We talked a bit about things and chatted back and forth but since I hadn't brought any water or food with me on the run I was starting to get a little thirsty (read cotton mouth) and my Heart rate was starting to top out on the hill and wouldn't come down after that.  Got home at around 8:50am or so and was going to be extremely late for work but at least we got the run in and I don't have to run at lunch anymore.  

It was good to knock out the run and not have to worry about it...only one more 2.5 hour run (even though today was 2:21) in the schedule before IMAZ but that one is going to be challenging since it will be during my manager's conference in Charleston WV, Kirsten won't be there, and it will probably be a lot colder out there.   The only good thing potentially is that the Wednesday I am scheduled for the run we are due to have break out sessions, which as of right now I am not scheduled to attend which means I can have the afternoon off to do what I want...and a 2.5 hour run may just be in the cards!

Stay tuned as Kirsten and I get ready for this weekend's race simulation on the Eastern Shore...clothes, nutrition, 112 mile bike ride, and a 10k run that will be exactly like race day...only without the swim ;)

More to come!