Stage 15: Indians Fever

Race day is almost here. Thanks for the support and encouragement. I have a pretty good idea why my hip and knees were bothering me and it had something to do with some extracurricular sports. I have been silent for several weeks as I have angonized over continuing to pursue a Boston qualifying time.

I have decided to toe the line and just run however I feel. If I crash and burn at mile 13 then so what. If I decide to start walking at mile 6 so what. And if I somehow manage a PR well, then...I don't know, I guess I'll be really really dumbfounded and I guess elated.

At the start of the year I had a Plan B to get to Boston. That was to run the Rocket City Marathon in December. Well Plan B is no longer in effect as I have to start thinking about Plan A for 2008. A few of you may already know this: shortly after 12 noon on September 10, 2007, I registered for another go around at Ironman Wisconsin. So I was not about to continue my 2007 season into December and get going with 2008 in January. My brain needs to get a little more time away from training. And whether you like it or not, another season of sporadic blogging is in store from yours truly.

So that's some old news and some new news. And in the exciting news, has anyone been watching the Cleveland Indians? Because of them I am going to sleep later than I should, ingesting more bar food than I should, and consuming more rally beers than I should. But WOW what a ride!!! It's Tribe Time Now!!!

Stage 12: DNF, DNS, DNT

Let's make this short and sour.

Something was not right in my hip and so my Saturday run was cut short. I basically shut it down after five miles, but I still had to stagger another 3 miles to the car. It's Thursday now, and still a little sore.

I can't imagine any realistic scenario where I run a sub 3:10 marathon in a little over three weeks. As I see it now I have three options:

DNF - Did not finish. Go out and race. Give it what I can and if I blow up, so be it. But will I pay the price and be hurting for months?

DNS - Did not start. Shut down the running now. Rest up. Come back when the body and mind are ready to go again.

DNT - Did not try. Run the marathon but force myself to dog it. Ugh not sure if I can have that mindset.

Anyone have anymore options?

I don't know what it is. The marathon gods must really hate me. This is my fifth attempt at a marathon and my fifth time getting hurt within spitting distance of race day.

It's gone from SUCK to BLOW!!!

And I'm out....


Monday: 2.5 mile run easy run
Tuesday: No workouts
Wednesday: 3 x 1 mile, 1 mile warm up 1 mile cool down
Thursday: No workouts
Friday: Sand Volleyball cross training
Saturday: 8 miles
Sunday: No workouts

Weekly Totals:

* Swim: 0 meters
* Bike: 0 miles
* Run: 15.5 miles


Preview of Stage 13: Decision time?

Stage 11: Taking Inventory

I really don't know what's going to happen on October 21st. I'm lacking in confidence right now. A lot of it is a total lack of structure in my running "plan." I feel as if I am cramming for a final exam. While that might have worked in school, I can't think it will translate well in marathoning.

I ran somewhere close to 20 miles on Sunday. I'm not sure how to rate my run. I had some good miles in the middle of the run. I ran low on fuel at one point. Tried to run through a "side stitch" at another point. Had a bear of a time finding a porta-potty. I must have hit a few wrong buttons on my watch because not many of the numbers made sense. So I have no real idea about pace or even time. So that adds up to more negatives than positives huh.

Okay so a quick inventory of things.

I have another 20 miler planned for a few weeks. Maybe I will bump up the mileage on the long weekend runs in between.

I seriously need to do some tempo work asap. I want to be able to tell what 6:50, 7:00, and 7:10 minute miles feel like.

Maybe I can squeeze in a 10 mile mid week tempo run.

Oh so much to do. So little time.


Monday: 5 mile run up tempo in the am/4 miles easy in the pm
Tuesday: No workouts
Wednesday: 4 mile run easy in the am/5 miles with hills in the pm
Thursday: No workouts
Friday: Volleyball cross training
Saturday: No workouts
Sunday: 20+ mile run

Weekly Totals:

• Swim: 0 meters
  
• Bike: 0 miles
  
• Run: 38 miles

Stage 10: Calm Before the Storm

9/11. I know I'm a day late, but please let us not forget.




IM IW 07. Awesome job out there, athletes, volunteers, support crew. I'm sure it was an amazing day. I am inspired by all your reports.

This is going to be a quick post.

I decided to recover a bit. I remember the last time I was training for a marathon. Right about this time I tried to squeeze in as many training runs as I could and I ended up hurt. During my run on Friday, my legs just did not have it so I bagged the long weekend run and decided I would just gear up for four big weeks. This is what I hope to do the next six weekends:

Easy 20 miler
Solid 12-15, possibly after a ride
Race 20k
20 miler
10 miler
Marathon


Recap of Stage 10:

Tuesday: No workout
Wednesday: 5.5 miles easy on the track
Thursday: No workout
Friday: 6.5 mile run
Saturday: No workout
Sunday: No workout

Weekly Totals:

• Swim: 0 meters
  
• Bike: 0 miles
  
• Run: 12 miles

Preview of Stage 11: Let's get it on. Four big weeks till marathon taper. I can do this.

Stage 8 & 9: Conditioning

Just got back from the SF Bay area and a little R&R. August was a tough month at work and that break was absolutely necessary. So let's recap the workouts from the last two weeks.

Stage 8:

Monday: No workout
Tuesday: 6.5 mile run
Wednesday: 6.5 miles on the track
Thursday: No workout
Friday: No workout
Saturday: 2:45 trail run - 16ish miles
Sunday: 20 minutes on the bike trainer

Weekly Totals:

• Swim: 0 meters
  
• Bike: 6 miles
  
• Run: 29 miles

Stage 9:

Monday: 45 minutes on the bike trainer
Tuesday: 45 minute Zone 3 run - 6ish miles
Wednesday: No workout
Thursday: 2 mile easy run
Friday: No workout
Saturday: 8 mile trail/hill run
Sunday: No workout
Monday: 3 hour run trail -18ish miles

Weekly Totals:

• Swim: 0 meters
• Bike: 15 miles
• Run: 34 miles

So there's a lot of things that are keeping the hamsters running in my brain. (By the way, anyone remember the show Herman's Head? Back then I didn't think it was half bad.)

1.) Gawd has it been hot out there. After my last track workout, I took my socks off and wrung them out. While in California, I wanted to run a little more, but when the mercury hits triple digits, you have to respect that heat. I was staying in San Ramon, but one day I went out to Berkley. There must have been a 30 degree difference in temperature. Now I normally don't care too much about the weather - I actually like running in the heat, but I know on my marathon race day in October, I won't have heat. Chances are better for snow and I wish I could train and acclimate to that.

2.) I have thrown out my training plan and now I am pretty much winging it. Call my a heretic, call me nuts. Once again I am off marching to my own drum beat. I'm sort of okay with that. I will admit this improv training is a little nervous, but I need to trust myself.

3.) By the way I have recently turned off my watch. At my last track workout, I was running my quarter splits too fast and got my panties all bunched up. I ended up having a terrible and unproductive workout. So all my runs since, I have not cared about my pace, my distance, and to some degree my time. Yes I will turn the clock back on, but I needed to get a grip.

4.) My legs are in good shape, primarily from a lot of biking. But the rest of the body has not yet been conditioned to running long distances fast. I believe I have the ability to hit my mark, but if I don't it won't be because my legs aren't strong enough. As a matter of fact, I think my brain has been slowing me down. The last two weekends I have bumped up my long runs quite a bit. I've gone from 15 miles a week to 15 miles in one run. And all the little discomfort and fatigue that are associated with running long are sending too many signals to my brain. I need to condition the entire body and the mind. Seems like I do a lot of rewiring upstairs. Sigh... if only I could just flip my brain off for a little while and just run hard.

5.) IM WI 2007 will be here soon. This race obviously has some significance to me. I wish I could be there in person. Next Monday will be interesting. I hope I can break away from work to register online. Part of me is hoping I don't get in. That part of me is worried about the right heart rate zones, about miles per hour, about my run pace, about how many gels to eat, about being anal with the training again. That part doesn't care about the chills of anticipation in the water, about the uneasiness of flying down Garfoot Road, or the euphoria of seeing the golden statue on top of the capitol building. What to do.

So to all the IM WI racers out there (way too many to list here, but they know who they are)
Kick Ass!!!

Stage 10 preview: For this week's workouts, do I gear up for a 20 miler or recover? What about both?

Stage 7: A New Hope?

First great job to to IM UK folks, like Charlie. Those of you at IM KY or IM Canada, like Mike, kick some butt!

Let me state this now: I do have a passion for my job and my career that I knowingly chose. But I am still adjusting to this new busier, stressful lifestyle of mine. It really has left me with a little less brain power at night, so my blog posts are lacking my creativity. Sorry about that folks. But I do want to continue to be held somewhat accountable for my training and will continue to throw up some ramblings here. This disclaimer is being written because a few days ago while I was watching Star Wars: Episode IV, (yes you read that correctly, I was on the trainer) I had some ideas for a Star-Wars-opening-credits-esque post. But it's Friday morning and I haven't come up with enough material.

So anyway, what did I do last week in terms of my training? Well maybe I am back on track and maybe there is still some hope for me.

Monday: No workouts
Tuesday: No workouts
Wednesday: Run 5 miles - 3 miles of hill intervals
Thursday: Bike 42 miles mostly flat with a good wind. Our group still averaged around 20mph for the entire ride.
Friday: 1.5 mile open water swim
Saturday: 13 mile run. Pace for the first 6 miles were too fast. Ran most of the rest about 30 seconds slower at a more comfortable pace.
Sunday: 30 minute easy trainer ride.

Well I've really followed my marathon plan to a T. HA HA. I'm not even sure I've done any of the recommended workouts on any given day. So here's what I am planning on doing from here on out.

I've basically got about 8 weeks or so. First let's pretty much scrap the speed work. Let's focus on volume and more importantly pace. The weekly run volume will come up, and I'll build up to maybe two or three 20 milers or three hour runs soon. I am going to try to get runs in four times a week. I also want to drill the 7:00 minute pace into my legs, my brain, my lungs. I want that the be almost second nature. My run schedule has changed so that I can have some company on my runs. Thus no more TUE/THU runs. Let's try to run MON/WED/SAT and another day.

So I am still hopeful I can have a successful marathon in October, but it's going to take a lot of focus these next few weeks.

And now, the kicker: I can barely manage training for a marathon and I am strenuously considering IM WI 2008. I have been thinking the last week or so that maybe it is possible to do IM without obscene amounts of volume. Am I out of my mind? It's probably not as far-fetched as I think. I've already got a base, right? Anyone want to join me? Or rather, does anyone want to go to Madison to sign me up? Pretty Please?

Weekly Totals:

• Swim: 1.5 miles
• Bike: 50 miles
• Run: 18 miles

Preview of Stage 8: Back on track?

Stage 6: Crazy

Great seeing all the CTC peeps at the GCT this past weekend.

As for me, what a crazy week....

Monday: No workouts
Tuesday: No workouts
Wednesday: 4 miles easy
Thursday: no workouts
Friday: no workouts
Saturday: no workouts
Sunday: 7 mile trail run

Weekly Totals

• Swim: 0 meters
• Bike: 0 miles
• Run: 11 miles

Uh oh...Is the plane to Boston getting grounded??? Running less than 20 miles a week and still running a marathon. That's crazy....

Preview of Stage 7: A new hope?

Stage 5: Take It Easy

First off, one more thing about the Sweet Corn Challenge. Cliff, I also would love to see a profile of this year's ride as well as previous years' rides. Unfortunately I don't have one. But according to Papa Louie, there was just under 5,000 feet of climbing for his ride. So a fair estimate would be to double that for the 100 mile ride and we get about 10,000 feet of elevation gain. For reference, the famous 120 mile Triple Bypass has 10,310 feet of climbing. Hmmm, who would have thought a ride in NE Ohio could have as much climbing as a ride in Colorado.

In Week 5, I once again fell short on my workouts. I feel really bad about missing my run on Sunday, but hopefully it will help me in October. So last week I sent in my registration for this and then my left shin starts complaining. Now I'm worried about full blown shin splints. I am feeling my way through this, trying to balance not going too hard or too long. I think I have the conditioning, but I need to somehow get that running volume up. My current thought is to try to squeeze in as many short 20-30 minute runs as I can throughout the week. My legs need to get used to 26.2 miles of pounding.

Monday: No workouts
Tuesday: No workouts
Wednesday: 3 x 1200 (4:22/4:33/4:43) w/ RI = 400 jog, 1 X 1600 up tempo (7:24) , 6 miles total
Thursday: 40 miles, avg 23+ mph, 30 minute run off the bike
Friday: 3 mile run easy
Saturday 4 mile run easy
Sunday: No workouts

Weekly Totals

• Swim: 0 meters
• Bike: 40 miles
• Run: 16 miles

I do have several things I would like to write about, but quite frankly I don't have the mental energy tonight.

Preview of Stage 6: Life is a box of chocolate...

Stage 4: Sweet Corn Challenge

One hundred five miles...

Hill after hill...

The sun and the heat...

The humidity...

The rain and the chill after a passing shower...

The flat tire...

Why was I struggling so much?

Maybe it was the endless hills.
Maybe it was from the tubing and camping the day before.
Maybe it was the fatigue from work.
Maybe it was the lack of conditioning.
Maybe it was my poor preparation and attention to nutrition.
Maybe it was my stubbornness to attack every hill.

Yet my faithful companions (IronSis Cas and no-longer-a-century-virgin Marie) and I...

We kept riding.

Maybe it was the constant barrage of f-bombs from my mouth.
Maybe Ironman really has honed my mental toughness.
Maybe I am in better shape than I believe.
Maybe I drew strength from my fellow riders.
Maybe it was the allure of sweet corn and a hearty meal at the end of the ride.

But in the end...

We made it.

I rolled into the parking lot exhausted.
My legs were spent.
My spirit battered, yet somehow unbroken.
That was one of the hardest rides for me...

Ever.

And looking back now, all the maybes are irrelevant.
It doesn't matter how or when or what.
All that matters is:

"I did it."


~

Weekly workout:

• Monday: 1600 meter swim
• Tuesday: Off
• Wednesday: 7.5 miles, hill repeats. ~3:30 up and down intervals
• Thursday: 7.5 mile trail run
• Friday: Off
• Saturday: 2 mile run
• Sunday: 105 mile bike

Weekly Totals:

• Swim: 1600 meters
• Bike: 105 miles
• Run: 17 miles

Preview of Stage 5: Week 4 was a recovery week of sorts. But going forward, the looming question remains: "Where are the runs?"

Stage 3: CIT OLY

First off, congrats to all the Lake Placid Ironmen and Ironwomen. Great job - Cliff the inspiration, JenC for an awesome debut, Matt - happy trails - the tri community will definitely miss your experience, your knowledge and sense of humor, Rob R for another sub 12 IM, Dave for a 10:40 IM debut, Paula, and all the CTC tri club foks.

I barely want to write about my race because it pales in comparison to the stories those folks will tell. But I'll give it a shot.

Believe it or not, this past weekend was just my third ever Olympic distance triathlon. I can not really explain it, but I just do not race a lot. Maybe long course racing may suit me better than I thought. Yeah this contradicts what I said a few months back, but the way training works for longer distance races - many smaller races leading up to one big race for the season - maybe I can't totally write off being a long course guy. Or maybe my brain is just too ADD.

Let's start with the numbers from and then I'll break it down for you.

Swim: 32:00
T1: 1:34
Bike: 1:09:10
T2: 1:22
Run: 44:55
Total: 2:29:01

You know I was talking with a friend of mine after the race and I said: "You can't compare apples to oranges" because she was comparing two totally different races with slightly different distances. So now I'm about to sort of do what I just told someone not to do. Ugh. (Sorry Jen)Anyway, Last June was my second OLY tri ever. But it's all I've got to compare with and these two races are actually petty similar in more ways than you think. The first number is this year and the second number is last year.

The swim: 32:00/29:44. I've regressed. Not a shock there considering last year my average weekly swims were more yards than I have done this entire year. But I haven't slipped too much considering we had a pretty long uphill climb from the beach to transition.

The bike: 1:09.10/1:17.48. The good news is that I shaved almost 8 minutes off my bike time. The bad news:"The issue on this race day was that the aero position was not comfortable enough to be sustained for 40 km. This led to wide variances in speed and intensity throughout the day." That is what I wrote last year and, you know, this year, different bike, same comment. I'm not surprised because both my bikes are set up for road and not TT riding. Hmmmm, am I getting another bike?

Run: 44:55 (7:33/7:21/13:56/7:23/8:39)/43:53. This year's time is a little off of what I hoped for and I'm a little bummed about being a minute slower than last year. It is what it is: it means I need to run more.

T1: 1:34/1:10
T2: 1:22/0:58

Okay, I need to hustle it up in transitions. That's almost a minute.

Even though my total time was faster this time, I am a little bummed because I believe I am faster than what my time reflected. And I'll say it again: I need to run more.

I would like to pull a little more from last year's report. All right this is what I wrote last year:

"Sunday was a chance to race with and cheer for other Tri Club members. It was a good day for the club as all the other Club members took home some hardware. Finishing towards the back of the age group was certainly humbling..."

This year I'm with a different club, but I still had a blast. That is just one of the many reasons I tri. Feeling the vibe with other friends before the race, giving and getting high fives on the bike and run, comparing post race notes with each other, these are a few of my favorite things. I am even luckier to get to see friends from both my former and current tri clubs. I spoke with a few friends yesterday about racing and they echoed a similar refrain. This feeling of commraderie is really hard to describe to those who have never experienced it. Just look at WIBA '07. One amazing women's solo ride to IM becomes a weekend party for 70 in just one year.

So as I straighten my neck tie and return to work, I think about the next time I am out there racing and training with some new friends, or tri brothers and sisters I've known for years, and in a moment of zen ask myself: "What more would I want?"


Weekly totals:

• Swim: 2400 meters
• Bike: 70 miles
• Run: 17 miles

Preview of Stage 4: I gotta have more runs. And maybe there will be some changes...

Stage 2: Feeling...

WIBA was such a nice retreat. I got away from my everyday life for a while. It was not easy coming back. I really don't know what to write about so I'll just recap last week's workouts.

Monday: I was a still little tired from WIBA, but I got in a nice, easy 1.2 mile open water swim. I followed that up with a pretty good 4 mile run.


Tuesday: I was still a little tired from WIBA. I really didn't have much in my legs and contemplated bagging the speed work for an easy run. But... I sucked it up and did them.


11:06.03 warmup
3:17.61/Rest Interval = 4:06.26
3:22.46/RI = 4:10.16
3:00.31/RI = 4:53.74
3:00.72/RI = 4:43.44
8:26:84 Cool down.
TOTAL: 50.07.57


Those first two, I ran more than a mile without realizing it. (The "track" is about 1.0534 miles, I think)


Wednesday: I was still a little tired from WIBA. I rode a few miles. My intention was to ride a ten mile loop that had a few rollers. I was good, except for one descent at the end - a curvy hill, not closed to traffic, and it ends right into a busy straight. A few miles of warmup and cool down plus two loops.
TOTAL: 25 miles.


Thursday: I was still a little tired from WIBA. Honestly I don't remember what I did.


Friday: I was still a little tired from WIBA. So I rested.


Saturday: Trail run. I ran about an hour and 45 with a friend at a Zone 2 effort. I finished my run with her and tacked on a few one mile pushes. I can't totally trust the mile markers at the parks, but I think I saw a leading 5 on my watch after those pushes.
TOTAL: 15 miles


Sunday: I hammered over 32 miles with my former coach. We are probably both in better shape than we will admit. There were a few short stretches where we were pulling each other at 25-27 mph. Not bad for a few out of shape fellas. I wanted to tack on an hour run, but I went in to work instead. Bummer.
TOTAL: 32 miles

Overall Totals for Week 2:

• Swim: 2000 meters
• Bike: 57 miles
• Run: 23 miles
  

Preview of Stage 3: This will be a no intensity week as I plan to race in an Olympic Tri on Sunday.

Anyone watching Le Tour? Anyone? Bueller?

Stage 1: WIBA

I am back from WIBA. MOOO - YAH!!!

Our hostess, Iron Wil, definitely knows how to throw a shindig. I didn't get to meet everyone, or chat with old friends as much as I had hoped to, but it was Fun with a capital F.

Well I'm not really going to to a play-by-play of the whole weekend for you because every other blogger who was there will be writing about WIBA. I spent a good chunk of time with Steve-I'm-wearing-nothing-at-all. So go there for some hilarity.

I'll give you a few snipets from my brain:

• Okay maybe Bubba and I were separated at birth. We were being mistaken for each other all weekend. I had several people remark about my leg so my calling card is on the right.
  
• History repeats itself. Driving to Madison, Ferrah played in the rain again. Not unlike the last time I was in Madison. Once on the course, for whatever reason, my brake pads were rubbing against the rim. Not unlike the last time I rode the course.
• People can be really cool.
• I was at the back of the pack and was fortunate enough to get motorcycle support, by another rider's husband. How cool was that.
• I went dashing off to catch Wil who missed a turn. Two drivers heard me screaming, pulled up next to Wil at the bottom of the hill and got her attention.
• I was glad to finally meet Triteacher and Serra. All the best to you two and I'll hope to see you the next time I am in Dairyland.
• Okay C-Town peeps, Bolder does exist. But for whatever reason, he is good at eluding the camera lens.
• Thanks to the locals who made a lot of this happen. Stu, RobbyB, Thomps, and Heather Haviland for stopping by and riding with us.
• And everyone else at WIBA: Pharmie, The brothers Andy and Chris, Snickers girl Tricia, John, Erin, Gavin, Leslie, Jaret, Sherry, Howard, Marty, Coach Mike, Jennifer, I know there's more.., but best of luck at IM WI and beyond.
• All right this isn't an awards ceremony, so no thank you mom, dad, the Good Lord Above...
  

So let's put out some numbers from my first week of marathon training.

Monday: This was my recovery day coming off a long ride on Sunday.
Tuesday: Missed workout. Athena once again demanded attention so I had a 12 hour work day, which had nothing to do with the fact that I wanted to leave things in order before a six and a half day hiatus from work.
Wednesday: Mini tri. I went for an easy open water swim of maybe 1100 meters. That was the longest swim of the year for me at that time. Following a really long T1, I went for a 12 mile bike at Zone 2 cruise tempo. I came back in for a quick T2 followed by an high zone 3 up tempo 6 mile run. The day ended with a 15 minute cool down run.
Thursday: 2.6 miles of a zone 2 run.
Friday: Swim stroke analysis. I was in the pool for an hour. Total distance was probably about 1000 meters. I hit Lake Monona a few hours later for a quick 30 minute swim. That distance was probably 1200 meters. Next up was a 30 minute run. I threw in a 5 minute push. I covered about 1500 meters during that push. I will estimate my run total distance as four miles.
Saturday: 10 minute open water swim. 72 plus miles on the bike.
Sunday: 13 mile run. My legs did not quite have it, but I went out with the lead dogs. We checked out some of the old IM WI run course. I really don't know my total distance as I ran extra because of the historical detour, but I stayed in the shade of the bike path on my way back from Inspiration Point, ran through State Street and then around the Capital and then down to the Terrace. Gosh those sights are something else as I reminisced about last September.

Totals for week 1:

• Swim: 3300 meters
  
• Bike: 85 miles
  
• Run: 27 miles.

Preview of Stage 2: I've got some 800 repeats on Tuesday, a mid distance tempo run on Thursday, and a long run of 15 miles, probably on Saturday. I'll try to throw in a swim and a few bikes rides.

Whew, I'm pooped. So who's in for WIBA '08?!!

Prologue: Roots

My dad told me this proverb: When you drink water, think about where it's from. No it's not a warning about drinking tap water, rather it was a reminder to think back to where you came from.

So what did I do before my first week of marathon training? I went back to (Akron) Ohio...

Saturday I went back to some old trails for about a seven mile run. I've run the Towpath ever since I started running in high school. The first half was way faster than I should have ran. The mile markers were off, but I'm guessing, or rather I'm hoping I was hitting sub 7 minute miles. On my way back I met up with my Iron Sis Cas for an easy run back. I was a little timid with this run; I had not run for 10 days because of my knee. I could tell it still needs a bit of strength work, but I'm not terribly worried about it.

Sunday I checked in with a 50 mile ride. My legs were a little tired from the up tempo part of my Saturday run. This ride started with two people. We picked up another rider on our way to meet another rider. Surprisingly we picked up two more riders at the parking lot then we set out to pick up yet another rider. After a few miles we picked up still another rider. We all wanted to get something different out of our ride, but for about half an hour we had a great little impromptu group ride. That was fun randomly meeting folks from my old riding group. I stayed out a little longer than everyone else. I wasn't going to miss out on climbing a few hills. Toward the end of my ride, I went by the familiar Hale Farm and up Oak Hill. There are some locals that will not climb that hill because it is so steep. It's probably about a 20% grade, but it is short. The tough part comes in the form of a false flat that continues on for maybe one and a half to two miles more. It hurt, but I had to do it for old times sake.

What else reminded me of my "roots." I stopped in to my sponsors from the last several seasons.

I stopped into Ritchie's Sporting Goods to reload on some tech shirts and shorts. I think every pair of running shoes I've ever purchased was from there.



I also stopped in to Eddy's bike shop for a look at some new Treks. This is where I bought my first road bike.

Okay now it's time for some announcements.

Congratulations to my Iron Sis TP who got married this past Saturday. And good luck in Colorado.

Congratulations to Josh on his new baby girl. I'll bet she's already running six minute miles.

Happy Birthday to TriSaraTops!!!


Preview of Stage 1:

The three key workouts of Week 1 of the FIRST plan are a couple of mile repeats, a six mile run with two miles up tempo, and a long 13 mile run. Well I will squeeze these in some where but the highlight will definitely be WIBA. That's a lot of volume for me, so let's hope I can make it through in good shape.

Start Me Up

Okay folks, my Boston training is trying to get off the ground. Unfortunately I haven't had much consistency in my training. Some weeks I can get out and train regularly, others, not so much. Regardless, I have decided to use the FIRST training plan for my marathon. Let me rephrase: I have decided to create my marathon plan based on the FIRST training plan. That should formally start July 1. I do not have every workout on every day planned. I am pretty sure I will need to adjust my training days on the fly.

There are a few things to note.

1 - I chose that plan because it gives you the three key run workouts and everything else you can fill in on your own. What I do not really like is that there does not seem to be any distinct recovery periods. That is why I am using their framework and making it my own.

2 - I am not much of a morning runner. I'd much rather have my workouts at 19:00, than 7:00. But this month I have been setting my alarm clock way earlier than I need to get up. I am trying to get my body awake earlier in the morning and even squeeze in some short morning runs before work. I feel so much more comfortable running and working out at night that I am going through some adjustments, like not sleeping enough. We'll see if I can make this experiment a success.

3 - With the early workouts, I will probably do some two-a-days. Hopefully this will get my running volume up a little. I think I will also do some bricks this year - maybe.

4 - I think the key to this plan is proper intensity. Now this is where it gets tricky. Get this: recent 5k PR is around 20 minutes. Recent 30k PR is around 2:10. Ummm, those paces are not too far off of each other. If I base my training off my 5k times, my expected marathon pace will be way too slow. So what I intend to do is base my training off my EXPECTED marathon time and back calculate. So this has me running some pretty fast intervals and tempo runs. Can I handle this? I don't know. But I figure I'll give it my best.

All right, so now some other news: I got through a sprint tri a few weeks ago. I'm hoping I can write a short report sometime. This past weekend was a DNS. After what I thought was a good week of training - 8 mile run, 30 mile bike than 45 mile bike on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday respectively, my old nemesis is back. That's right the trick knee is aching again. I can't seem to figure out what caused it. But what is worrisome is 1 - the biking seemed to aggravate it and 2 - it does not seem to want to get knocked out by a little anti-inflammatories. I am going give it a few more days; I'm keeping all my fingers and toes crossed.

Lastly: WIBA - I'll be there and hopefully I can be more than just a cheerleader.

By the way, does anyone think I can go and do Steelhead half IM just on a whim? Yes I may be that crazy.

PS - Great job to all the Ironmen and Ironwomen this weekend.

It's About Time

It's been about a month since I mentioned anything about training here in my corner of blogland. So what have I been up to?

Earlier this year, the plan was "race to get in shape." I got in a 3 mile run as part of a biathlon relay, a bike-run biathlon, and then a 10k run on three consecutive weekends. Those three "races" were good workouts that got my brain thinking about racing again. I also realized that I need to properly warm up before the gun goes off. In these shorter races, my engine really seems to need about twenty or thirty minutes of solid work before it gets into a good rhythm. So let's hope I can stick to that in my upcoming races.

I've got my first tri of the season next weekend. It's a sprint tri. I have ignored the swim all year. Let's hope I can survive the water to get to the bike and run. This week I wanted to get in a little speed. I got home from work stepped in the shower and contemplated bailing on my run. However running has always been good therapy for me. I thought about hitting the trails, but that would have been a bit of a drive. Instead I drove ten minutes to Beekman Park - one of my new favorite places to run. I will be planning my own workouts this year and I got some inspiration from E-speed and her 800s. Here's what I did:

10 minute warmup
Run 800, jog 400, Run 400, Rest X4 with negative run intervals.

Here are my numbers:

3:18/2:04/1:30/3:00
3:11/209/1:28/3:00
3:05/2:37/1:23/2:59
2:54/2:41/1:13 ---

I would have liked to have kept those last two jog intervals closer to 2:00, but I had some loose shoe strings.

If you try this set out, I would love to know what you think about it.

Wednesday night I wanted to get in an up tempo bike ride in. I am trying to find some good places to ride so I posted my route on my club forum. I got no takers. I even promised to have a couple extra bottles of Gatorade Endurance. Oh well - just Ferrah and me, 33 miles, with the computer saying 19+ mph average. I planned my route so near the end of the ride I would have about five or six miles without stop signs, traffic, or turns. Here I could get in the aerobars, put it in the big ring, have a slight tailwind, and crank...I think Ferrah liked it.

Work has been extremely frustrating of late and it has negatively impacted my training - long days at work and sleepless nights. Well the rest of this past week of training went the hell as my allergies blindsided me Thursday. Miserable was an understatement. I tried to get to sleep early, but I had the Cavs game on in the background. Every few minutes I would wake up to hear LeBron scoring another basket. After midnight and two overtime periods, I was now wired as LeBron carried the Cavs to within one game of the finals. I was so tired, I woke up an hour after I was supposed to be at work. Luckily I have some flexibility at work.

WIBA 2007, who's in? I'll be making the pilgrimage.

Was it me or was this post Faulkner-esque? Okay last thought for today. I have yet to sign up for my "A" race, but this upcoming week will mark twenty weeks from race day.

Time to get formal.

And Go Cavs!!!

Infidelity

Dear Ferrah,



I don't think there is any easy way to tell you what I'm about to say. I haven't been spending much time with you recently. I know last year when we entered into our union, we laid out grand plans of racing crits, time trials, and even spending long weekends on rides out into the hills and countryside.

But things have changed quickly in my life. My job has taken me away from my, no our, favorite training grounds. And I've had to adjust to a new lifestyle. But there is another thing, and I don't know any we to make it sound any better. There is another woman in my life.

She came around just a couple of weeks after I started my new job. We started out as coworkers. I tried to keep as much distance between us as possible. But unfortunately my boss paired us together. I was responsible for getting her up and ready to work in the hospital. It started innocently - checking out her curves, finding out which of her buttons to push. One thing led to another and next thing you know...

That trip to Vegas, was all about her. All those nights working late, yes, they were with her. And unless I leave my job, much of my time at work will be with her. We had our big debut last week. But there is still so much that I need to know about her. In a few months, she'll be ready for even bigger challenges and yes I am in charge
of her development.

So Ferrah, I still love you. Last week when you and I drove an hour to Granville for some hills, I came to the realization that you are still my passion. I no longer have any feelings for her and I know it will take time to regain the trust that I have broken, but I am willing to do whatever it takes. Long weekend rides, races more often, I'll even try to put on those new Speedplay pedals for you. Please accept my sincerest apologizes.

I was wrong and I am sorry.

----

Athena,

I am taking my life back. I'm escaping your Siren spell. In a few more weeks, you're going to be on your own. See you later, bitch.

----

For Immediate Release -

9:00 EDT Thursday, April 26, 2007

Columbus, Ohio - A goddess has descended upon the radiation oncology department at RMH. At a ribbon cutting ceremony earlier in the week, revelers caught a glimpse of the future of cancer treatment in central Ohio. New equipment, appropriately nicknamed Athena, will be in clinical use in less than two weeks. A Varian Trilogy linear accelerator (linac) was outfitted with on-board imaging (OBI), cone-beam CT (CBCT), and respiratory gating equipment. In addition, ExacTrac, image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) equipment from BrainLAB places Athena in a pantheon above other linacs. Radiation therapy patients will benefit from the goddess of wisdom and war, which will give the radiation oncology staff a plethora of options in the fight against cancer. According to one of the medical physicists in charge of "appeasing" Athena: "The new equipment will be able to allow us to deliver radiation more accurately and more precisely. We will be able to plan and deliver radiation with tighter margins. This reduces excess radiation dose to normal tissues and ultimately allows us to provide better care for our patients. I can not wait to see all that Athena can do." Many cancer patients in central Ohio are thinking the same way and are eager to catch a glimpse of the new goddess in town.

Wired

This past weekend was a filled with social races. Saturday morning was my alma mater's commemorative Hudson Relays. I wanted a good long warm up on this windy and drizzly morning, so I ran a five mile lap before running four different legs. Each leg was about half a mile and those legs really tightened up afterwards. By the way, my team - the alumni - lost yet again. We did not get lapped which seems to be our battle cry. Sunday morning I joined up with a former tri teammate and we entered a biathlon relay. We both knew we were out of shape so I ran the three mile leg and he rode fifteen. But I wanted to be at the Hinckley Du, to see some old CTC and Team ER friends. So if you haven't read them yet, check out the race reports from TriEric and DaisyDuc. They are seriously at the top of their games.

The weekend was topped off by catching Wired to Win. Pretty good show. And it fits in very well with my current mindset.

I'm wired a certain way. And I've known that for a long time. I don't know how to run 5k/10ks. I am not a time trialist on my bike. I am not even really a long course kind of guy. Go figure.

Somehow I am perceived to be "fast." So I can run quarters on the track pretty "fast." Or my Ironman or marathon times were "fast." But in races that are like standards for "fast" (ie 5k run) I'm really not that fast. I haven't been wired to deal with that kind of intensity for that kind of duration. I'll bet you would have never guessed my career 5k PR is only a 19:01, which I ran at my second to last 5k race in high school.

I'd like to get faster and I believe much of that has to do with rewiring my brain. I know how to run as fast as I can. I just spent a whole season running as far as I could. Now I need to find the threshold right before the pain sets in. A few years ago, a friend of mine said something that makes more sense to me now: "To get better at racing, get out and race more." By golly, I think I've found a little experiment for myself. I need to go out and race more.

Well I have a framework for my Boston Marathon plan (yeah I did say I would talk about my marathon plan, but it has not been meshed with my schedule. I've got some great ideas nonetheless.) and from the looks of it, I probably won't start on that plan until June sometime. So until then I'm going to try to step out of my box and try to get in some races in the next few weeks.

Fire up the neurons. It's time to rewire again.

A Brick?

Okay, things got busy at work as we were trying to prepare to showcase some new equipment and technology in our department. I'll still be busy the next few weeks as we move towards using everything clinically.

All right, quick training recap:

April 12 - Z2 60 minute trail run on the southern edge of Lake Mead national park.

April 13 - 20 mile ride with my team. It was supposed to be at a social pace, but we rode at a good Z3 effort.

April 14 - Brick. 16 mile Z2 ride followed by 70 minute Z3 run with TriEric and an IM WI sister.

April 16 - 3 hours of volleyball. You should have seen the sprained thumb I got. One week later and I still have trouble gripping a pen.

April 17 - 35 mile Z3 ride around Hoover Dam. No not the one in Nevada, but the one in C-Bus.

April 18 - 8 mile run; 2 mile warm up, 5 x 1 mile repeats, 1 mile cool down. I was not quite ready to hit the track so I ran around an intramural ballpark at The OSU. Unfortunately the coeds playing sand volleyball threw me off my plan and my mile splits kept dropping each time.

April 19 - 35 mile Z2-Z3 ride with some folks from my tri club.

April 21 - 45 minute Z3 trail run at Highbanks, my new favorite park. Followed by a 2 hour birding hike with a friend.

April 22 - 2 hour Z2 trail run back at Highbanks. Plus I got in an 20 minute open water swim later in the day.

Did anyone notice anything?

Yes I did a brick for the first time since, ohhh, maybe 2004? Why is this significant? Well I'm thinking of bringing the brick back this year. I am going to run a fall marathon and am gathering some training programs. I was talking with a teammate of mine a few weeks ago. She mentioned how well the bricks seemed to help her runs especially around mile 20 of the marathon.

So the fire is lit. I am really eager to get out and train. And with the weather being so perfect for Ohio, I am doubly eager to train. I am training more now than I have been since last summer. It's also becoming consistent as I am finally settling into some routines. But let's hope I can continue to check myself; I still have about six months till my race and there's no need to over do it. Next time, I think I'll discuss my thoughts on my marathon training.

Vegas Recap

I am back from Sin City. Yes I did spend some time in a few casinos and I did win a few bucks at the blackjack tables. But here are a few pictures of some of the other things I did. You'll have to excuse some of the poor photography of some of the images below. A little handheld digital camera can only capture so much.

Cleveland covered in snow.
This was taken in February 2007.

The near no-hitter.
I have some other pictures stuck on my camera phone.

Red Rock Canyon.

Sunset over the Red Rock Canyon area.

Venus over the Red Rocks.

Climax.
I am a physicist and a geek so it's not much of a surprise
that I went to the Atomic Testing Museum.

The museum included a gallery of atomic bomb explosions.
This image is from AtomicArchive.com.

Hoover Dam.
There are public restrooms on top of the dam itself.
Where does the water go when you flush?

Hoover Dam intake towers.

Hoover Dam Spillway

Hoover Dam Generator.

A bridge is currently being constructed just south of the Dam.
It should alleviate traffic problems, but the view of Hoover Dam will not be the same.

After touring Hoover Dam, I drove over to the Lake Mead area. I was disappointed that I needed to pay to drive around the lake, and refused to pay the toll. It made me realize how fortunate NE Ohioans are to have a free national park in their backyard. Luckily I found a trail to run before entering the park. It was an old rail line. You can see one of the tunnels in the left of this picture. By the way, the ankle felt fine. So you are spared the gore; unless you want to see this again.

Boulder Basin.
Part of Lake Mead.

Las Vegas City Lights from Red Rock Canyon.

The trip was a much needed break from work. But now I'm back and ready to go again. I'll try to post my thoughts on this past weekend. And as a teaser, it involves me and a brick workout!!!

On the Move

This post will be a bit scatter-brained - just like I am feeling right now. Training took another back seat last week. I got in a total of, er, 2 hours of workouts last week. Why so little training? Well I wanted to make up some time at work so I could go to the Jake for what was supposed to be a baseball game. I can't believe I was one strike away from seeing a no-hitter (not the nine-inning version, but an official game nonetheless.) I can't believe I sat through three snow delays. Yes snow delays. I guess that's what I get for going to a ball game on Good Friday.

Just an aside, I'm not sure why I like watching baseball at a ballpark. I've never picked up a bat and faced a pitch. So maybe it's the statistics of the game. Or maybe it's just the belief that something special will happen on a warm summer night under the lights. Whatever the reason, I like it.

So I went from the blustery cold snow of C-town to spending a few days in Vegas. Anyone have any suggestions as to where to go and what to see while in sin city?

This evening I drove out to Red Rock Canyon. Beautiful. One parking lot was open till 21:00. So I sat out there tilted my head back and looked overhead at all the stars I haven't seen in a while. Boy was Venus shining bright tonight. I'll try to put some pictures up after I get home.

Unfortunately, there was a little damper on the evening. I tweaked my ankle while jogging along the trail. It feels like I stretched that peroneal tendon again. I got some ice on it tonight and I'm really hoping it will be fine tomorrow. I guess I ought to take it easy nonetheless, but I've got some training this upcoming weekend with my new team. I've also got a little 5k race to run on Sunday. One of these days I'll start on my way to Boston.

Hmm, I'm out of thoughts right now. Thank you. Please come again.

Hammer

I think my legs may still be quaking. What was supposed to be a casual thirty mile ride turned into much more than that.

Last Thursday was the day for Ferrah to make her C-bus debut. I brought my bike into work as a reminder to my coworkers that I was leaving earlier than I normally would. I did not think anyone cared as I was at work earlier than normal to compensate. The ride was the first official Thursday Night Ride for COTT. This would be a ride with entirely new faces for me. Well some faces I had seen before at races and social gatherings. And surprisingly I was recognized as well from previous races.

The plan was to leave promptly at 18:00 for 30 miles or so. A few of us were ready to roll, but at 17:59, our leader was no where to be found. A quick call and, oops, we were at the wrong parking lot. So we busted our butts for 2 miles to meet up with everyone else.

Now with a crew of about fifteen intrepid riders, we set out. As is common in group rides, the packs started forming early. Having my share of testosterone, I went with the leaders. I had nary a clue where we were or where we were going. I did remember to stuff a cue sheet in my back pocket just in case. Unbeknown to our seven man breakaway, the lead rider was using an inappropriate triptik. About 19:15, the sun was sitting low in the sky. We were about 24 miles or so into the ride and we were still traveling away from our starting point. I knew something was wrong and had to say something.

At the next turn, we stopped and examined the situation. We were indeed off course. The lead rider had been using a 45 mile route as opposed to 30. The cell phones came flying out of the back pockets. Calls were made. Rumbling and grumbling arose. One cyclist whipped out his gps hoping to plot a route to our destination. Several motorists were stopped in hopes of getting directions. I pulled out the cue sheet and believed we could get back on course. No one had a headlight. Darkness was quickly coming. And on a cloudless night, the cold would arrive soon as well. After a quick consensus, we had to set the wheels in motion again. Since I had the best guide to safety, that meant I was now at the front and pulling the train.

Time to bring out the hammer.

For about the next hour, it was the steady buzz of six cranks with the occasional click of gear shifting. We were fortunate to have a nearly full moon shining down upon us, as if to say, "I've got your back." I had given my arm warmers up to a young lady, so I was a tad chilly, but I've been cold before. Finally we made the last turn and caught sight of the first park entrance. Now it was just three of us who had to cover the remaining two miles to the other parking lot. So when we pulled in, the park ranger gently reminded us to remember to get back before the sun went down. We were truly grateful for her patience with us.

What a ride.

I know that I should be trying to keep my workouts in a steady zone 2 or zone 3; after all I am in pre-base right now. But it is nice to know that my cycling is evolving and I am becoming a stronger rider. That night I was keeping steady cadences around 100 rpm. And I was moving at 20+ miles per hour. By golly I might have some hamstrings, or at least I've built some neuromuscular connections.

In spite of everything, is there anything else or anywhere I would want to be? Probably not. I can't wait to do it again...

As I mentioned last time, things around here are changing. I wish I could devote some time to producing quality posts here, but quite frankly right now I ought to write what I can when I can. So guess what I have for you tonight? Recent workouts!!! That's right!!! I'm slowly getting back in shape.

Saturday indoor cycling:

10 minute warmup
12 minute high cadence 120, 125, 130...160, 130, 125, 120 rpms; 39/23.
14 minute lactate ladder 50 secs off-10 on, 45 sec off-15 secs on...0 secs off-60 secs on, 5 secs off-55 secs on, 10 secs off-50 secs on, 15 sec off-45 secs on; Off = 100 rpms, On =120 rpms; 53/19
20 minute time trial - high Zone 3 to zone 4 effort; 100 rpms, big ring
12 minute seated climb, zone 3 effort 85-90 rpms; 53/19
With climbing block, 3 minute thresholds: 1 minute 100 rpms, 53/18, 1 minute 100 rpms, 53/17, 1 minute 100+ rpms, 53/16, 5 minute recovery - Repeat this set 5 times
5 minute cool down.

I may be out of shape and carrying some extra weight in the wrong places, but I got through that workout all right.

Sunday:
This was a swim clinic with a local tri coach with some racers from my tri team. I swam more at this clinic than I had since the Super Bowl. Yes it was my first time in the pool in, oh, six weeks? Angela used to be on deck for some swims that I went to four years ago. It was quite a boost to hear her say how much my stroke has improved since those days.

Sunday night, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday:
I got my forty hour work week in with two days to spare. Oh wait, I still have to go in to work tomorrow? Ugh.

Wednesday:
I left work around 18:30 and then I found a 1.054 mile path around some OSU ball fields on my way home. These numbers are hot of the presses, er, wristwatch.

7:35
1:00
1:49
1:48
1:49
1:46
1:00
1:47
1:48
1:47
1:44
1:00
1:49
1:46
1:37
1:38
1:00
2:04
2:06
2:18
2:14

These are quarter mile intervals. The 1:00 minutes represent the approximate time I took to cover 0.054 miles as a slight recovery. The last four splits were cool downs.

All right the last thing I'm going to do tonight is jot down my possible schedule for the season. I figure if I make my schedule semi public, then someone will hold me to it.

April 15 - Hinckley Buzzard du or bi
April 28 - Hudson Relays
April 29 - Presque Isle Time Trial??
May 6 - Flying Pig half marathon pacer??
June 10 - Wendy's International Sprint Tri
July - WIBA part deux??
August 5 - Huntington Sprint Tri
August 12 - Greater Cleveland Tri
September 16 - Portage Lakes Tri
September 22 - 200 mile challenge
October - Columbus Marathon
December - Huntsville Marathon

I've left off the random 5k runs and road races, crits, and TTs. Oddly enough only two races are local. That may change. Okay you've seen the list what else do I need?

All right time for bed.

Return

I'm back!!! Anyone miss me? I definitely missed all you lovely folks in blogland.

So what has been happening here? Over the past few weeks I certainly could have thrown up a post about the new job, new city, new nephew, new computer, pictures of some new places to run, new tri team, new tri club, the Arnold Classic, organic foods, how my boobs are flat from not being in the weight room, running 4 miles then next time out running almost 8, or the post you requested that I failed to complete.

But not a whole lot of settling down for me, that's for sure. I am not in any kind of groove. No regular workouts. No regular schedule at work. No blogging time. And plenty of unpacked boxes. Am I to believe this is the new status quo? Maybe. But nonetheless some sort of adaptation is necessary

Right now I don't have a plan, I don't have a coach, and I don't really have too much time to train either. What I do have is a little fire inside of me. Today brought temps above 70 degrees (Fahrenheit.) And now the pilot light has been lit. It is time for a return, not just to this little blog, but to that which I truly have a passion for:

Running

And so on this quasi public forum, I will make a declaration of intent for my 2007 season:

I will qualify for the Boston Marathon.

Tag

Sorry folks, I just have not been able to dedicate the time to blogland especially since I currently only have net access from work. But I've been tagged, and so I'll play along this time.

1. Describe a memory from your first triathlon ever

I could list several from the 1999 National City Bank Triathlon:
-Meeting a bunch of pros the night before.
-Not really knowing what to wear, so I raced in nothing but a speedo.
-Thinking I was going to drown while treading water for what seemed to be an eternity.
-Not having tinted googles and staring right into the sun every breath during the swim.
-Scrapping up my knee pretty badly climbing a cargo net out of the water.
-Tyring to absolutely hammer the bike.
-Getting caught for drafting somewhere.
-Trying to run and then dying on the first hill coming out of transition.
-Vowing to come back and doing better on the next one.

2. Describe a memory from your most recent triathlon

My most recent triathlon was actually a sprint tri one week after IM WI 2006. I remember not feeling ready to race until 10 miles into the bike course. But we all like to talk about the big events in our life. My IM WI 2006 recap was pretty thorough, so go ahead and check that out, again. I won't go over that since I'm short on time.

3. What's the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to you in a tri?

Leaving T2 with my bike helmet on. That was caputered on film digitally too.

4. What's the most thrilling thing that's happened to you in a tri?

I would say spending a cold, rainy, September Sunday in Madison and then being able to enjoy my last two hours of the run with so many friends out on the course.

5. What is something you discovered about yourself by doing triathlons?

Life is better when you are in pursuit of things you are passionate about.

6. What is The Big Goal that you're working towards?

http://theabr.org/RP_Cert.htm

Oh, wait you mean something like running a Boston Qualifying time. Yeah I hope I can get that in this fall.


I am going to take my little break from posting. Sorry tri-geeks, I wasn't able to finish my post on spandex, technical tees, and shopping yet. But hopefully it will be worth the wait. In some other news, I will not be able to call C-town my home for much longer. I realized this past weekend that there are some things and places that I may not do or visit again. But I've got enough memories to last me a lifetime.

Yeah, Cleveland Rocks!!!

Hiya!!!

No I am not dead, yet. No I am not abandoning the blogging either. And no I am not wallowing in sorrow over a lousy football game. And all this new blogger crap is driving me nuts. I was perfectly content with what I had. Well I'm trying not to be assimilated, but I'll bet resistance is futile. When I mentioned the thought of discontinuing to blog, it was not the whim of a madman. Rather I foresaw the lack of time and resources to put into a quality blog. I can blog from work, but big brother is watching. I would have to limit my posts on bike porn. I have not settled into a regular work routine, and I probably never will. On the flip side, I can eventually settle into a workout and training routine; and I am trying to do that. A new laptop is budgeted and an order will be placed this week. I try to celebrate new year's more than once too, so I am just warning everyone that I intend to take some time away from blogland until maybe a week after the Chinese new year. Let's let the dust clear. But you know this stuff is addicting, and I'm hooked. So maybe...

But...I do have some immediate news to share that offers preliminary excitement. I took a full day away from work on Monday. It really wasn't vacation because I had to see a number of medical professionals.

News from the cardiologist: you competed in an Ironman. I even looked you up on the website; I don't think I need to test you anymore. See me or another doc maybe once a year.

News from the physical therapist: ankle is stable and strong. It is still stiff with scar tissue from October. If you can tolerate the pain, work through it. Fire up the running.

MMMmm...Do I smell...Bacon....

Anyways, when considering whether or not to move out of my corner of blogland, I often wondered if people came to my corner because of the subjects that I wrote about. But I think there are enough people who stop here regardless of what I write about. Or maybe I've just got delusions of granduer. So I have a few posts that are snapshots of the last few weeks of my world. The posts are in the works but I fear I will only have time to finish one or two of them before they are no longer fresh and before I take my hiatus. So people, rock the vote and Choose your own Adventure:

1 - To read about The Scioto & Olentangy, RPAC, and Graeter's, reply in the comments with: I'm an Ohio-phile; tell me more!!!

2 - To read about tandem & ovoids, EDW, and ultrasound probes, reply in the comments with: I'm a science geek; tell me more!!!

3 - To read about spandex & technical tees, S/M/L, and shopping, reply in the comments with: I'm a tri-geek; tell me more!!!

Football

O-H!!!

First order of business: Click here for today's musical selection.

Next item: Football. I really love football. From watching last week's Boise State win over Oklahoma in overtime to watching my favorite pro team lose to my brother-in-law's team when the QB botched the hold on a field goal attempt. So I am absolutely tickled to be moving to an awesome football town. C-bus may only have a collegiate team, but damn are they fun to watch. And they could probably beat a few pro teams too. So Monday night, after nine hours of new employee orientation, I am going to plop down somewhere with a few friends, a few beers, and watch the Buckeyes bring another national championship in football back to my state and to my new hometown.

Business that has been pigeonholed: My appointment with the cardiac doc in December was pushed back yet again. Why does he tease me by setting up a date and then avoid me by canceling? My next date with him is at the end of January. And, damn it, we have got to have a serious heart-to-heart talk soon.

Old business: We were just talking about my love of football. So remember this? (Warning: image may be graphic in nature.) Three months later it looks like this.



Anyone want to make a diagnosis?

Okay, I'll clue you in.

The good news: everything is intact - no structural damage, no subluxation of the tendons, no ligament tears. The bad news: the scar tissue is still clinging to my ligaments like a good bacon-wrapped appetizer. MMMmmm. Those carrot and celery sticks look a little out of place in that picture.

So more home exercises. And I'm still waiting for my foot massage. Most of us like happy endings, so yes, a timetable for a return to running is being established. The running will be coming soon. Can not. Hold out. Much. Longer.


In case you haven't had your fill of TBDBITL yet, here's another clip (and some of their other stuff).


GO BUCKEYES!!!
I-O!!!