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!!!

Moving

If you haven't noticed the full title of this blog, take a look:

TriAl v2006.

Pretty easy to recognize that this blog has an expiration date. There was a lot of thought that went into that title. I intended to blog for one year - for my first journey to Ironman.

Now that the calendar is rolling over to 2007, what should be done with this blog? The zeal for posting to this blog has not been there. The creativity hasn't been there either. Honestly I have not convinced myself that I want to continue to consistently blog.

But regardless, I am starting anew.

I'm moving out.

Or at least I thought I was. I even set up another blog elsewhere. But there were some things I was not able to do at the other site. And besides, I would feel bad if I made you all change your links, bookmarks, bloglines, et cetera. Therefore I am staying put here in my corner of blogland.

But this place may get a bit dusty as I will probably do some remodeling. And yes I will need to change the title of my blog. So if there are things you liked or did not like about my corner of blogland, speak now or forever hold your peace.

To all: Have a great 2007!!!

Moving, Part 2

I have already confirmed this rumor to a few folks.

But I am moving.

I mean I will be picking up my stuff and moving down the freeway, oh, about 120 miles to C-Bus. And, holy crap, I am going to be gone by next week?! I begin a new job, a new career, and a new life in four days. I am not quite sure what should be going through my brain as I will be meeting new people and new challenges while leaving good friends and family. The magnitude of the situation has not sunk in, especially since my stuff will remain in my current abode for a few more weeks. (I will be living the life of a nomad for a while and I will not have my own computer either.) So I guess right now I am going to be publicly stoic.

Wow. This (or this, or this) was a great way to start the year. But moving certainly is another way to start the year with a bang.