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.