Cough, Cough, Type

Well the cold is back and of course it is at the worst time. I have no energy and a constant cough. I forced myself to ride last night thinking that I could sweat it out a little. But this morning my head is as stuffy as ever. I knew my training goals for this week were a bit lofty. Hopefully I can shake some of this before sunday.

To answer back on Grog's comment, I plan on letting my wife totally run her own race. Actually, the way the race is formatted, once I drop in for the swim, I probably won't see her until the end. I asked her last night how she felt about the race and she said that she is not worried about it. She thinks that she will be more nervous as the day approaches but right now she is ok. Her biggest concern is doing all three events. She knows that individually, she could easily complete each discipline, but linking them all together is where she is worried. In her mind she knows that she could always walk any portion of the run section. And I have to admit, her walk isn't just a stroll. Her walk speed is probably just a step below her "jog".

Five days left.

How do I feel?

My friend asked me how I feel about the upcoming triathlon and I thought it would make a good blog topic so here goes. 

I feel good!...............

Seriously, I feel very good about it. I'm in good shape for a tri this short (400m-12M-2M) and I feel very strong on the bike. I always seem to peek after my race season. 

During the race season I was able to get my weight down to 175lbs. I thought that this would be my answer to my lack of performance problems on the race course. Well it wasn't. And actually I felt somewhat sluggish all season. After the holidays I jumped back up to 186. 

Now through much healthier eating and more productive training, I'm back down to 180. I think my body likes this weight. I don't feel heavy, I feel muscular. I've never been stronger on the road bike and I'm able to keep up with the "fast guys" for quite a long period of time. I know part of the reason for that is also because I'm riding Smarter when I'm in a group but my conditioning helps. I still have a spare tire around the waist, but I know that I'm like a hundred sit-ups away from looking like Mathew McConaughey with his shirt off ................yeaaaaah right.

I think I'll finish well in the tri.

My wife on the other hand doesn't really mention the race. When I asked her last night if she was going to run today she said "oh, I don't know". I didn't say anything. I'm just going to let her do her own thing. I honestly think though that if I hadn't prepaid for the race, she, at this point, would have no problem with saying that she wasn't interested in doing it.  So I don't know. Maybe she will surprise me.

Countdown

Well the countdown to the triathlon starts today. It is only 7 days away. My training schedule, hoping everything goes as planned, is as follows. 

Tuesday- mountain bike ride. 

Wednesday - run 3 miles

Thursday- possible road ride

Friday- run up to 5 miles

Saturday - easy road ride

Sunday - Triathlon

We will see if I'm able to stick to the schedule. It's a lofty goal for me with everything that's going on at my house. On top of it, one of my kids is sick. I hope my wife or I don't catch it before the race.

Saturday Road Ride

Well I went down to Fort Myers for the Saturday road ride. I've done that ride several times before and it's ok. It can be so blistering fast that there is no hope in hanging with the "A" group, but today the hard core guys were saving it for their sunday century. I finished near the front of the group with 40.9 miles completed and a average of 20.6 mph.

The thing I don't like is that the ride is a 40 minute drive south of me so round trip you're looking at an hour and twenty minutes in the car for a 2 hour ride. My normal sat. rides I'm able to Ride to the ride. It's a great feeling because you can jack up your total mileage going to and from plus you arrive totally warmed up. 

I love the saturday rides. They are my meter stick to which I compare myself to some of the best road riders in the area.

Gentle reminder

As my sister informed me that she is ultra competitive and then reminded me that She beat me out of the womb, I feel that it is my obligation to tell her that she is also winning the race to be OLD!!!

I do feel bad about this and I have to say that age is a state of mind. 

BUT,.....YOU ARE OLD FIRST!!!  NAH!  NAH!  NAH!!

Brain Damage?

My brain is just wired in a completely different way then my wife's. 

Let my start by saying that her running partner did not show up the other night because she was sick. My wife did not want to run alone so she came home, picked up our boys at her mom's, and while there, took a brisk walk around the block at their house. They did do what we call the "big block" but it's still probably less then a mile. Not quite what I would call "Training". When I questioned her on it and dutifully reminded her that the triathlon was a mere days away (11 to be exact), she seem almost unconcerned. Not the type of unconcern that someone has when they train for an event every single day for 6 months and they decide to sleep in an extra hour instead of doing the saturday road ride one month before the actual event. NO, this was the type of unconcern that a person might have if they were just doing the event for the experience, not worried about how they finished, and just happy to be involved, meet new people, and content in the idea that they completed the entire course.

WHAT?!?!?!.... I try to stay calm. I breathe deeply. I repeat my calming mantra, "These pretzels are making me thirsty, these pretzels are making me thirsty."

After I relax, I'm able to analyze the whole situation and start to focus not on what I perceive as the problem (why doesn't she take this seriously...at all), but on my own possible issues. Why can I not "just have fun"? Why is it the competition that makes it fun for me? Even on club rides, the fun is in going faster then the other guy. Trying to drop him or blow him up. Beating someone up the only hill on a road ride. First one to a stop sign. I compete, that's how my brain is wired. Maybe it's second child syndrome, growing up always trying to do better then my sister who is older and naturally got all the "good stuff" that kids find important first. All I know is this: If you put a turd in a bag. Write first place on the bag. Then I'll race you for it!

Is this weird? Am I broken? I think the people that I most hang out with are the same way. That probably just reinforces the bad behavior.

Well they say the first step in problem solving is identifying the problem. Baby steps. I betcha I'm cured first!.....sorry, that slipped out. 

Rain out

Well the tuesday night ride got rained out as far as I'm concerned. It was raining with thunder at my house at 5:00pm and the storm was moving south. The trail is 45 min. south of me, hence no ride for me. Once the rain blew through, I was able to get in a 2 mile run. I did it in 17:21, which is an improvement for me since my last run. I haven't heard from my wife yet to see how her run went.

Staying the course

Well the training for the upcoming triathlon and 12 hour race continues. Yesterday I took a day off but tonight is our tuesday night ride which usually turns into an off-road hammer fest. My friend made sure I was coming and has sort of taken me under his wing so to speak by training me and giving me constant riding criticism. This guy is a good friend and a great coach. I'm glad he is helping me and I know I will improve if I just listen and do what he says. That's the hard part. Fighting off the laziness. I need to also plan a run this week.

On the other hand, my wife has slightly increased her training for the triathlon. She has been riding the trainer at night at least one day a week and she is supposed to run tonight. The plan is 2 miles (which is the race distance). I know that doesn't seem like a lot of preparation, but considering that she almost never rode or ran before, it's definitely a step up. I also think that she is starting to realize that the race is only 12 days away. She only wants to finish, but I think she also might want to do better than her friend. I hope the experience triggers some sort of actual interest and that she continues to train and exercise.

Weekend

Well the week ended with some cold and rainy weather. I got my saturday morning road ride in but unfortunately picked up a drywall screw in the back tire about 3 miles from home (at the end of the ride). When I pulled out the screw, the remaining hole was too big to just replace the tube and ride home. There goes a fifty dollar tire. I had to call for a pick up and ride home. Totally sucked.

Sunday morning was our club "fun day" for new riders. We had a great turn out of club members, but due to the frigid temps, high winds, and scattered rain, we had very few new riders. Oh well. We did have plenty of food for the pot luck lunch.

No ride tonight.

Making a Comeback

Thanks for the tip on the airborne. We have used it in the past as well. I do feel better today. If the weather permits, I will probably ride tomorrow. I also have our clubs new rider day on sunday which we are hoping doesn't get rained out.

The Cold is Winning

Well a serious head cold has instantly taken over the house. We had a rain day at work yesterday, so I came home at 11am, ate lunch and then slept until 4pm. My wife is sick as well and got home by 1pm. We all ate chicken soup for dinner (which I don't like), and went to bed early. I feel better today but I still suffer from a majority of the effects of the cold. Hopefully I'll be well enough to ride by tomorrow.

Two problems

Well I was gathering my gear for the tuesday night ride and noticed a strange jagged line on the back of the stem on my hardtail. I ran my finger over it and sure enough, Cracked! Not a big deal, but will need replacing. Also my wife and I have seemed to contract head colds simultaneously last night. So, let the misery begin.

Recovery Day

I feel great! I've always been able to recover quickly, but I haven't had any soreness or other issues which is usually what happens. I went to bed early sunday night and got plenty of sleep so I wasn't even tired on monday. My butt was a little rough which I didn't notice until I did a recovery ride on the trainer last night, but that will heal fast. I do say that for me, using a supplement such as Sport Legs (which is what I used) or enduralytes from Hammer prod. is definitely the way to go. I took 4 at the beginning as per the bottle instructions and then 3 every hour after(roughly every 25 miles was what I looked for). I did experience some minor cramping in the top in my thighs (quads?) at about the 58 mile mark, but I just kept my effort steady and shifted to an easier gear and pedaled through it. Anyway, for a long ride, I think the stuff is worth it.

I plan on doing a ride tonight if it doesn't get too cold. We'll see what happens.

Personal Best

Ok, I decided to do my first century ride today. I planned it last week but have had no time for any century specific training and actually didn't ride at all during the week. But the ride went well and I am quite pleased with my performance. Due to some errors in following the course map, I only ended up with 90 miles. But I averaged 18+ mph and finished in 4:48:00. 

I started out riding with what I would call the "A" group and hung on for all of 18 miles with an average speed of 24mph. We took a right turn and I didn't get out of the saddle immediately, which was my mistake. They took off and shot me out the back like I had dropped anchor. I rode mile 18 through 58 by myself. I was trying not to let the second half of the 100 mile group catch me. At 58 miles I hooked up with a strong guy and we rode together for about 20 miles when we decided that due to the strong headwinds, we would wait for the rest of the group and get some help fighting the wind. It worked well until a second map reading error in this group cut out about 3 more miles. 

Finally finishing the ride, I was very satisfied with the way I felt and performed. That was the longest distance I've ridden at one time. I'm glad I did it and I'm inspired to add more base miles.

Pick your battle or fight for every scrap?

So we had a computer glich several days ago that I erroneously attributed to a forwarded email that we received from a friend of a family member that also uses our computer. Even though The glich was not caused by said email, I still, as king of my castle, decreed that we will no longer be accepting forwarded emails from anyone that I felt may unknowingly send us a virus or other problems attached to their emails. Coincidentally, 98% of the forwarded messages that turn out to be religious in nature, or chain letter types come from these people.(please note that I take a special pride in "breaking" the chain)

Well once the decree was nailed to the computer desk(figuratively), Hell began to slightly break loose. I was immediately asked if My friends (including the one that sends the interesting porn) were to be included in this new law? "Absolutely not! My friends know exactly what they are sending!" was my reply. That's when a larger chunk of Hell broke free and I decided that my brief reign as king was probably over for that night.

After talking with my trusted and "all knowing of everything computer" IT guy,(my title for him, not his), we both agreed that there is a possibility of a greater percentage of malicious content being attached to seemingly non-threatening emails such as prayer chains and "amazing picture" type emails.

That's when I decided to revisit the discussion armed with that newly found "factual" evidence. I think it took all of 1 minute for the discussion to turn into something slightly uglier and I had to remind my beautiful wife that I was just making her aware of new found information and not looking to fight. I also had some examples of the lack of computer savvy of some of the email senders (ie: emails about attachments with no attachment, emails with all the forwarded info but the actual forward not included, emails with just a closing sentence but no content). 

I don't think my wife is really interested in the stacks of hard factual info that I have accumulated in support of my original decree. I will now allow all forwards entrance to the castle without prejudice. Firewalls and anti virus protection be damned! All I can say is that I am secretly planning the ultimate "I TOLD YOU SO!!"

The best laid plans

Well, got absolutely no riding in last night, and I'm not at all happy about it. I got home later then usual but figured that I would ride the trainer instead. Well before that could happen, I was faced with this ever growing mountain of laundry that has at some point during all our recent company, become the Everest of our bathroom. Apparently at some point, the finely tuned and oiled machine that is the laundry process at our house, has dropped a major cog somewhere. I'm also partly to blame for this. I'm no Martha stewart but I do know how to do laundry. So I carefully separate out a load of "darks" which coincidentally contains mostly my clothes, (I've been kindly "Asked" in the past not to wash my wife's laundry), and carry them off to the garage where the washer is. Drop them on the floor and search for the soap bottle. 

Well you may or may not know but nowadays, soap is bottled in a Highly concentrated form. A bottle 6 inches tall contains enough soap for like eighty loads of laundry. My wife noticed earlier in the week that we had half a bottle left so she bought a second full bottle. One of our well meaning house guests decided to wash some blankets and sheets that they were using when they slept here. I can only assume that this person only purchases the "old style" non-concentrated  style of soap because a bottle and a half later and we have the Cleanest two blankets and one sheet out there. (of course some various small items got washed as well) Needless to say, none of my laundry got washed last night and we now have Everest in the bathroom and Mt. Fuji in the garage. 

Well I was unhappy to say the least. Then I remembered that it was Thursday night. Grey's Anatomy night. This is the one and only show that my wife watches regularly on television. And of course it's a new episode tonight, so there will be no Tour de France dvds on the tv. So instead I went to bed and slipped off into an angry slumber on a calm, cool Tibetan night, under the shadow of Mt. Everest.

IT guy comes through!

Thanks for the time fix. I think it will work now. I will look for the bill.

What's up with the time?

The time that is listed for my posts is totally screwed up. It said this last post was at 3am?!?

Oh well. I don't know if it is something I have to fix or if it's the sites problem. IT Guy, get on it! ........Just kidding.

Too Busy

Well, real life is just too busy. We have finally seen the last of our house guests and visitors for a while. And last night I was just able to get dinner made and eaten by 8pm. Put the kids to bed and then both my wife and myself crashed and went to bed. Absolutely no riding of any kind.  did manage to cut the end of my fingernail off while making dinner. Of course it's the type of cut that both leaves the nail bed exposed, as well as has such jagged edges that it's bound to snag and tear off the entire nail before it can grow out.

I do have a rather lofty riding goal set for this weekend. I am not going to write about it yet because I'll feel like a turd if it doesn't work out or I don't complete it. Stay tuned.

I plan to finally do some training after work today.

Well the camping trip was a blast. I got to spend a lot of time with my boys playing and riding our bikes. Building the fire is also always a big hit. The boys are just awesome on their bikes. We rode a beginner trail at the park twice and the boys rode like they were born on a bike.

My wife's friends were fun and we enjoyed their company. My children just love their girls.  We also got a surprise from two of my friends who called at 8am on Sat. and said the it was pouring at the 12 hour race in Oleta and they were going to bag it and come camp with us. They showed up about 2pm, so I did get in a "real" ride. 

All in all, great trip, perfect weather, and great friends. Definitely a re-do!

On a different topic, rode our bike club's nighttime off-road time trial last night and got beat by one guy that was a little bit of a wake-up call. I just have to be on my bike more, no doubt about it. 

Yikes, that's COLD

Freezing temperatures (sub 40 degrees... come on, I live in Florida) have curtailed my riding. I did put the bike on the trainer and rode for a hour. The dvd's my wife got me for christmas truly help. I have all seven of Lance's tour victories. It makes the chore of riding the trainer so much more bearable.

We also leave for a biking/camping trip for the family today. We are tent camping so I hope the weather warms up. I'll give a full report when we get back.

New Years Day Ride

Well the big ride was cancelled. High winds and constant rain until 11:00 am Made everyone bail before it started. I was pretty disappointed but enjoyed the time playing with the boys and watching movies. Once both boys fell asleep on the couch around three for a much needed nap, I pulled out the trainer. I put in the 2000 Tour de France DVD and watched and spun for an hour. The dvd definitely made using the trainer tolerable.

The temperatures are dropping rapidly and rumor says we may see the 20's tonight so I don't think I'm going to go run. I've been fighting a on again - off again cough and I don't want it to gain a foothold. Maybe more trainer tonight.