Events for 2012, None after 12/21/12

In 2011 I got my feet wet with a few races.  In 2012 I'm looking forward to participating in more races, performing better because I'll have prepared for the races, as well as participating in a few races just because they're fun atmospheres!

I'd like to throw in two or three more 10K's as well as at least one more half marathon.  There are a few that are the same weekends as major bicycle races (which are quite fewer), so I'll keep my eyes open for future races.  

I've targeted races that I think I'll be really serious about, others I'll just show up and run.  The races in blue font are races I'll take seriously, but not train for specifically.  Those in red are things I'll train for specifically and make a real shot at accomplishing one of my time goals for the year, or a PR.

1. 1/7 Sabino Canyon 5K
2. 1/14 Great Expectations Academy 5K
3. 1/29 Old Tucson Trail run 4 Miler
4. 2/18 Duathalon 2 mile run, 17 mile ride, 2 mile run 
5. 2/25 Rangar Del Sol Relay
6. 3/4 10K with no name, SAR
7. 3/? Lucky Clover 5K
8. 4/28 Tour of the Tucson Mountains (bicycle)
9. 5/12 Nogales Bicycle Classic
10. 6/2 Tucson Downtown Night 5K
11. 6/9 Colossal Cave 5K
12. 7/8 Run with the Roosters 5 Miler
13. 7/21 Breeze Through the Trees 5K
14. 8/4 AZ Dirt Hog 5K XC
15. 8/12 Tombstone 10K
16. 9/22 Catalina Park 10.35 miler
17. 10/14 Great Pumpkin 5K
18. 10/21 Everybody Runs Half Marathon
19. 11/17 El Tour de Tucson
20. 11/22 Thanksgiving 5K
21. 12/9 Tucson Marathon
22. 12/15 Vail Jingle Trail 5K

Now I really like to just wake up and know what I'm doing that day, without thinking.  I don't like schedules, don't like to remember what's going to happen next Thursday. 

That's one more thing to get over, one more change in my new lifestyle!  Especially since I'm doing two sports, being organized is paramount.  So, as I've shared before, I'm developing an excel spreadsheet to manage everything.  It's a bit ugly, but it works.  Not only do I make sure I get planned down time, alternate intensities appropriately, but when I'm actively training for an event, I can click on the distance in the main book and it takes me to a brief description of the workout for that day.

Here it is.

 
Now of course, since the last day of the existence of this planet is 12/21/2012, I've not planned anything after 12/15!  That gives me a week of eating pork rinds and mainlining Oreo ice cream cakes.  

So Happy to Let Myself Down in 2011!

2011 brought me more change than a clever sign can bring a bum.  I figured that by this stage of my life I'd be "stable."  I'm glad I failed to meet my expectations!

There were drastic changes in my life, personally, physically, and even professionally this past year.  A lot of the changes just happened, out of nowhere.  Some happened gradually, developing as minor changes occurred.  Some were direct consequences of specific decisions made.  

In the past year my wife's parents and my parents moved to Tucson (I live about an hour's drive south).  Before we saw them maybe once a year, now we see them at least once a month, if not more!  That's pretty sweet. I got to run a lot with my youngest daughter over the summer and my relationship with my oldest daughter really got stronger this year.  We never had a bad relationship, but just sometimes rub each other the wrong way.  I changed some behaviors I had with her, and communicated my desires for a better relationship.  It helped!

This was really the year of the bicycle.  In October of 2009 I bought the first bike on the left.  At the time it was a huge investment, $300!  But, I couldn't run because I was too heavy.  At the time I weighed about 265 pounds.  I quickly outgrew that and purchased the white bike in the middle.  I put about 5,000 miles on that bike and decided to really take the plunge.  I sold my guitar equipment to finance the purchase of the last bike on the right.

 

In January of 2010 I was down to 240 and decided I'd train for a 73 mile "race" (really a charity ride) that happened to be on my 38th birthday.  I had never ridden more than 33 miles at that point and completion of that distance was a scary thing.  As the time grew closer, I knew I could make the distance (I'd done it a few times), and I developed a time goal of 5 total hours.  My wildest dream was to finish in under 4:30, earning a "silver" medal. 

Then, fourteen days before the race I tore my right hamstring.  I strained it running and it tore by kicking my leg out trying to keep the dog from running out of the door!  Now the whole thing was in doubt.

I toughed it out, literally.  I did my best effort and I finished in 3:45 and change!  It was an intensely emotional event for me, ranking with the most powerful single moments of my life to date.  I was literally overwhelmed during the latter third of the race, thinking about all of the changes that had occurred. 

That was it...I was hooked on racing. 

A few weeks after the bike race I participated in a Warrior Dash...kind of.  I limped through it really.  My hamstring was a bit touchy, but that promised to be too much fun to pass.  Plus, I had purchased entrance for my wife and oldest daughter (youngest was too young last year).  My cousin and brother-in-law joined us and we had a blast.

This past year I bought my wife a bike!  It's pretty much awesome to be able to ride together.  My dad bought a road bike.  My father-in-law bought a road bike.  My cousin bought a road bike.  My uncle bought a bike, then got my other cousin and aunt involved in riding.  My mother bought a bike.  My sister bought a bike.  My other sister already had a bike, but started riding more.  My brother-in-law bought a road bike.  How crazy that we're now a biker family!?!

One big change just happened yesterday, I sold my motorcycle.  I've been trying to sell my motorcycle for a while. First, I never get to ride it, second it's expensive, and third, none of my gear fits anymore!

However, I'm still a biker!  The picture on the left is in the summer of 2009 with my mother.  I went on a day trip with my parents to the top of Kitt Peak.  It was a great ride!

Over the summer I hoped to get into running shape.  All I did was suffer injury after injury.  Once I got all of that straightened out (for now), I was able to participate in two 5Ks, a 10K, and a half marathon.  In addition, I participated in El Tour de Tucson, the 111 mile leg.  In fact, if you throw out the first 5K, all of the events happened in a six week stretch!

My brother-in-law not only sponsored my participation in El Tour de Tucson, he participated, after only riding for about 3 months!  My oldest daughter and father joined me in the last 5K, which was a pretty cool experience also.

The thing that I'm surprised by most is how much of a family event all of this has been.  Not too much when everybody's got their own busy schedules, but on race day.  We all go to the race together and participate in some form.  Then we engage in some good people watching and spend the remainder of the day hanging out.  It gives us a fun, common experience.  I never would've guessed!

As I near 100

I don't know exactly when I'll hit the 100 pounds lost, or if, for that matter, I already have.  It's truly irrelevant because my original goal was never to lose weight.  But as I near the point where I weighed myself at my heaviest, which was after about two months of diet and exercise where I'd lost a very measurable amount of weight, I thought I'd share some things that I've noticed, learned and experienced.

Originally I started blogging to chronicle those very experiences.  But, now, in hindsight, some things are quite different. 

There is nothing special about me, save one thing:  I can pick a great wife.  That's the only thing I have that is truly superior.  I'll spare the details, but the point is, she's helped me a lot just by being supportive and patient with me.  I also mention it because there is no secret to losing weight.  This isn't something that just works for people in group A and if you've tried to lose weight and failed you're in group B.

In this post I'd like to share what I believed help make this attempt successful.  I'm not going to suggest or advise people on things in particular, I'm not an expert at all, but rather just share what worked for me in a general sense.  Also, I'd like to remind you that this is in hindsight.  I didn't know these three things would be important before I started.  But after talking with people and thinking about how things played out, I think these three things were key.

I think I was successful because of three major things.

1.  My goal was simple, appropriate and approachable.

My original goal was simple:  I wanted to be healthier and more active.  I wanted to run, always loved it. I wanted to feel better.

I had tried other motivations like looking better, getting recognition in contests and so on.  But the truth is, while I'm as conceited as the next guy, I'm not really motivated by those things.  The push wasn't strong enough to last more than a few months at the most.
 
2.  I had an easily executed plan.

My plan was to exercise every day I worked.  So, no exercising on the weekends or holidays.  But if I worked, I'd get up early and do something.  At first this consisted of just walking a few miles, though they're very hilly and even now are exercise for me.

After a few weeks I began to sprinkle in a little running here and there.  Not only was I way out of shape, but I was so heavy (started running at about 290 pounds), that it was murder on my body.  I'd run in the morning and could barely walk the rest of the day, knees looking like balloons.

It was only at this point that weight loss began to become part of my thinking.  And this time, opposed to previously, the weight loss was in support of my original goal, to be healthier and more active.

3.  I kept it to myself, kept it low key.

There is a small scene in John Steinbeck's The Pearl, where the natives are talking and the conversation grows boisterous.  The men are bragging, become full of themselves and their language grows to match how they're feeling.

Kino, if I remember right, thinks to himself that if he speaks his intentions, he'll certainly betray them.  I have found this to be very powerful and true of me.  I certainly can be full of myself, but am usually well-intentioned.  However, I find that if I speak my intentions, I am somehow relieved of the obligation to follow through.

It's similar to someone that says, "I'll be honest with you," or, "I'll do my homework today, I promise."  Most of the time, the people are true in their sentiments, but later their actions drift away from their intentions.   It's just human nature.

The point of it all is, I didn't mention anything to anybody about being healthier for the first month and a half.  I'd say that I went for a walk, or maybe that I was exercising.  I'd share with a friend that I wasn't going to eat a double quarter pounder with cheese today because I wanted to be smarter.  But those came up in natural course of conversation.  I never looked to share news with someone for a while.  I had to own it before I could share it.

There are other factors, of course.  My cousin had started losing weight before I started and I was able to use him as a resource.  I have friends that are athletes and I pick their brains time and again.  My grandfather exercised every work day.  He'd get up at 4 am and lift weights and go on a run.  Unfortunately I never really got to know him as an adult, but I remember how he'd go about his business.  But I had him as a role model.  These made things easier for me.  I didn't have as many things to figure out, no doubts that it could be done.

While I'm doing a lot more now than exercising every work day, and at the moment I'm aggressively cutting weight (for the first time), my goal is still to be healthier and more active.  Right now I'm chasing a weight because it will help me ride and run faster...and I want to race!

A picture is worth one thousand words...so...

I hope you find this informative and encouraging.  The key to losing weight for me is this:  The goal is to be healthier, the weight will follow.

Too Early, Again

Today was my first half marathon.  I had a great run, really enjoyed myself as I promised myself I'd do.  I was able to keep a good pace and relax, not worry about anything and just run.  Fantastic day.  Here's how it went.

2:00 AM:  I wake thinking, "Alright, if I'm doing under 8 minute miles before mile 10, I'll slow down.  Just finish healthy, uninjured and soak up the experience of your first long race."

3:45 AM:  Both (me and my wife's) alarms ring.  I shoot out of bed.  FINALLY time to get up.  I brush my teeth, eat a banana, cliff bar and protein shake.  On the way out the door my father-in-law asks if he can tag along.

5:00 AM:  We arrive at the location where the buses drive the runners to the start line.  It's cold, but I don't have to wait long before the bus (probably 50 of them) open up for us.  I was surprised they were school buses, and mine was from Nogales School District, about 80 miles south.

My wife reaffirms that I am going to be done by 9 am and wishes me luck.

5:45 AM:  The bus pulls into the start-line staging area.  The race information said there were ample heaters, and there were...if it were May.  12 heaters for 2,000 runners on an exposed hill top, all dressed for a run, in 30 degrees with a breeze.  The portable bathrooms were all zip-tied shut...adding to the excitement.

I huddled around a heater wishing I'd brought some warm wool socks and shoes.  I wore toe shoes for the run, but we had drop-bags that the buses would take to the finish line for us.  I now know how penguins feel. We all huddled around the propane heaters, the body of people spinning and moving to maximum wind protection for its members.

6:15 AM:  The woman in charge of the half-marathon start line comes to our heater area and says we can re-board a bus.  The bus is about 1/4 mile down the road and I trot over there thinking how nice it would be to sit down, remove my shoes and rub my feet warm.  I get to the bus and they're leaving.  PSYCH!

At this point I decide to just move around to keep warm.  I was ready to start the race right then!

6:40 AM:  Time to load the drop-bag, which for all practical purposes means, get naked in the wind.  I load the bag, toss it in the bus and warm up.

7:00 AM:  I leave with the second wave of people.  The first mile was 7:05, way too fast.  A pair of ladies mention the same and point out a group in front that they think will provide a good pace for them.  I decide to stay with them and see how it works out.

We pass people, people pass us as we run down towards Tucson.  I listen to them talk some more before chiming in.  After a while I'm in their group.  They're from South Dakota, traveling for their annual tropical winter run, which they said was terribly disappointed this year (the weather only they meant).

I explain that I'm a new runner and my goal was just to finish in under 2 hours and have a good time.  We were clipping the miles off at 7:30 or so for the first four miles.  I felt great, hardly working.  I only worried about cramping or have my muscles reaching muscle-failure at mile 10.  I expressed as much.

Stacy, the stronger of the two today, said, "This isn't hard for you?"

"No."

"Then you can tell us stories to distract us."

So I did.

When we got to the second aid station I decided I'd get some water.  I grabbed a cup that was half full of blue powerade.  I watch Cynthia and Stacy drink their water, then proceed to dump my powerade all over my face.

"How do you drink while running?"

"Fold the top, like a funnel."

Lesson 1 learned.

Lesson 2 was about pace.  We ran and kept watchful eyes on our pace, sub-8 minute miles was their goal.  The two wanted to finish in under 1:44.  I felt great, so just went with them seeing how it would play out.

Around mile 7 I started hurting.  My feet were getting sore.  They usually do around mile 8 or so, as I've not done a lot of running really.  Each time I run a new distance they really hurt once I get past my previous long run's distance.  I also had a blister in full bloom on the bottom of a toe.

Around this time Cynthia dropped out.  She said she was ok, but fell off the pace.  Another runner that had fallen in with us complimented the steady pace, though I suspected he'd not stay as he was laboring.

I mastered drinking while running and was able to pick up a few Gu's or Cliff Shots along the route. At mile 9 I felt ok, not over-doing it and getting that too hot feeling.  But my legs were getting quite tired, my blister was obviously beyond the point of a blister and my feet were complaining at me.  We kept the pace at under 8 the whole time.

At the 11 mile mark Stacy said she usually picks up the pace but said she didn't have it in her today.  So, I left her pushing ahead.  At that point it dawned on me that there was a good chance my family wouldn't yet have arrived at the finish line.  I thought of how they'd be disappointed, especially my wife.  My first road bike race I finished an hour and fifteen minutes before expected.  So, this was old hat.

What happened next surprised me.  We came to our first "hill."  It was a fairly light incline and short, but all of these people that had recently passed I reeled back in.  Pays off living in the middle of lots of big hills I guess!

I labored through the next mile and a half, teetering on the point of getting too hot.  When I saw the finish line I sped up and left those around me behind.  It certainly was NOT a sprint, I didn't have enough left for that.

I finished in 1:42:15, unofficially.  At about this point in time my family was leaving their vehicle in the parking lot and beginning to walk towards the finish line.  My wife was disappointed to not see me finish, but it was really good to see them all.

Here's a post race picture.  I'm happy to have Oreos in my hand!

After the race I was on cloud 9 for a few hours.  My feet and blister really hurt.  The muscles in my feet are so painful now that walking is only done when 100% necessary.

I had a great time, loved the run and can't wait to do it again!

Are you new?

What a weird day.  I put on a pair of pants this morning and they were tight!  I've been doing lots and lots of core work and I know that can actually cause your stomach to pooch out a bit.  Yeah, that's it!

The pants got comfy quickly and I finished dressing.  I walked out of my bedroom when my wife commented on my fancy new clammin' pants.  I looked down and the pant leg was a good 2 inches above the top of my shoe!  How did the pants shrink that bad?!?!  This is the second time this has happened since September.  The pants went in the always growing Donate Pile.

On the way to school my daughter and I were talking about compliments, how we appreciate being noticed, but aren't motivated by acknowledgement and how they make us feel awkward.  Ultimately, we agreed, we'd prefer to not be noticed.  (She's being recognized at school for academic success tomorrow.)

This morning I was walking around campus and some boys asked about my exercise program, saying that I looked like a stud.

At lunch a long time friend of mine said, "Wow, I can really tell how great of shape you're in."

During the afternoon I was in the copy room.  An office aid, a senior girl, asked if I was a new teacher. It's not a huge school, 1200, but not small either.  I'm pretty charismatic and well known.  It was a weird question.

"I've been here longer than you have," I said.

"Have you always taught seniors or something?"  she asked after finding out I taught math, thinking that maybe she didn't know me because I taught upper level stuff.

I informed her that I've taught everything.  She couldn't figure out how she didn't know me.

"I used to have a huge beard."

"Oh, I know you."  She said it as though she knew who had the big beard, but that person wasn't me.

I showed her a picture.

"Whoa...it is you!  That was you?  You're ... how ...  whoa!"

By this time I finished my work and was leaving, walking down the hall with this girl following, nothing better to do than share her discovery by pointing and commenting to anybody that happened to be around.

She stopped to discuss her realization with someone and I made my break away only to be stymied by running into someone that needed to talk to me.  The girl caught up ...  the two talked about me and then another person walked up and joined the conversation.  The funny thing is, the other two never knew me as fat.  So they really didn't understand the girl's shock, but out of politeness tried to match her enthusiasm. That was almost like watching a sit com and almost made it worth it.

After school I went to the gym to renew my membership.  The front desk lady said, who never says boo to me, said I was looking good.  After that I saw some friends who were roller blading.  I stopped to ask when the ER trip was scheduled.  Rachael rolled over, socked me in the arm, and said, "Whoa, you've lost a lot more weight!"

What had I been talking about with my daughter this morning?  How's that for ironic timing?   The only compliment that really bothered me though was the one from my friend at lunch.  It made me feel super awkward.

In other news:

• I'm not sure what the news on the scale will be tomorrow morning, though I suspect it'll be higher than last Friday (just a hunch).  I'm half way through the one month weight loss competition with my cousin and of course two weeks into my two month program.  Things are going well.  I feel good.
• Sunday I have my half marathon.  I just want to finish in under 2 hours uninjured.  I'm going to have a good time and enjoy the views!
• My oldest daughter asked to run a 5K with me, so the following Saturday we're doing one!  That's way cool. 
• My dad really wants to run a marathon.  My younger brother has taken up running.  My dad said it would be cool for the three of us to run a marathon together.  I agree...that'd be cool.

With all that said and shared, I hope you enjoyed reading and stay safe!

Ah, Routine and Decompression ... and Selling My Babies

I owe anybody who has been around me for more than 30 seconds over the past three weeks an apology. 

I'm sorry.

There you go.

I've been so amped up, cranked, nervous, tired and excited that I've been unusually emotional.  Too happy, too mad, whatever. 

I feel better now.  I've hatched out my game plan for the next six months and had a typical, comforting and wonderful run this morning.  I got up, worked on the jump rope for a few minutes, did my routine of lunges, squats, pushups and crunches, then hit the road for a 6 1/2 mile run.  My ITB ached a bit here and there, but I found that if I kept the pace between 8 and 9 mm, it was fine. 

There is a stretch on this run that is pretty tough, climbing about 300 feet in just under a mile.  It felt good to work hard on that hill, not having to worry about saving anything for the bike ride later. 

I've got my half marathon on 12/11, and will run it without a time goal what-so-ever.  I realize that I just don't have the running base I need.  So starting this week I'm base building and will do so until mid-April.  I should have a conservative accumulation of 500 miles running by that time, building distance slowly three weeks consecutively, then tapering off for a week.  I'm excited about it. 

During that time I hope to drop my remaining weight and be ready to just chew up some miles running.  Also, in April I'm making a serious attempt at qualifying as a platinum cyclist (which means you get to line up at the front of the line and other cool crap). 

That brings me to this.  I'm going to sell my babies.  I love playing guitar.  I haven't played in MONTHS AND MONTHS.  The past few times I played, it was for perhaps 10 to 20 minutes.  It sucks because I have slowly collected dream equipment.  I'm now ready to sell that equipment to buy a better bike. 

That's a bitter sweet thing really.  On one hand I'm very sad at the prospect of selling my guitar-stuff.  I love that "stuff."  On the other hand, though, I'm at a different stage in my life now.  I don't sit around drinking beer and making loud noise all day anymore.  I don't spend hours and hours trying to master certain phrases, or work on timing or scales and dexterity.  Instead I work on hill climbing, sprints, lactate threshold and so on. 

Enjoy your Thanksgiving! 

Just 80 Miles Until Beer and more blister pics.

I now have until December 11th to run a half marathon.  To date, 8 miles is the farthest I've run.  So at this point, I'm just going to try and complete the half marathon.  I originally had a 1:45 goal in mind, but that'll be for another day.  I just want to get to the date without injury and complete the event without injury.  Then, I can work on a better base.

I'm actually very excited about building my running base.  :D  Can't wait for the routine.  I can't wait to execute a plan and see it come together.  I can't wait to have less of these (they're now 8 days old):

Note:  The blistered obtained running are nothing compared to the blistered obtained riding.  It's like real estate, location location location.

In yesterday's El Tour de Tucson (can read about it here) I didn't kick butt...I got my butt kicked.  I expected an eye-opener.  While it's technically a charity ride, there is a clock and there are timing chips involved...so to me, it's a race.  It's my second race, and first of this distance.  

I learned a lot, much of it will translate directly to running.  I think I could easily exchange the word ride for run here.  First, I need to make more use of the miles I ride.  I've not ridden empty miles, but I need to make each workout more focused on its goal.  Second, I need to try and make each long ride a negative split.  Third, I need to shorten the distance and increase the intensity and maintain that intensity as I rebuild the distances.  So, eventually I'll be riding the same distances, but at a faster rate.

I believe my original plan of spending the next two months on strength and condition, not specific to running or riding is on target. 

On a side note:  The best sign I saw at El Tour de Tucson yesterday was "Just 80 Miles Until Beer." 

I said, "Well, I better hurry then!"

Running Workouts and Injury

Until a few months ago running was the workout, at least in my reality.  Sure, you can have long runs, short runs, hilly or flat runs, even running in sand.  But mile repeats, tempo, hill repeats ... really, I thought.  That's insane.  A running workout is like ... a swimming swim? 

Hello, Department of Redudancy Department, hello.

I started doing a few of these workouts before I had a sufficient running base built and got injured.  I'd take a few weeks to heal and try again with similar results.  I just wasn't ready physically or mentally.  Physically I didn't have the flexibility or strength, certainly not the mechanics.  Mentally I didn't have the experience to say "UNCLE," and not feel like I was wimping out!

Then I had a major injury, not releated to anything like this (stepped in a hole on a trail run and injured my hip and knee).  The time off and the subsequent SLOW rebuilding while paying attention to a specific injury did me a lot of good actually. 

Now I have the base and the experience.  I know how to gauge my exertion and have a general idea of my pace.  I know how it feels to quit a run after 3 minutes of running.  I know what it feels like after 40 minutes.  Regarding pace, I don't know how a 7:00 mm feels different from a 7:30 mm, but I know how a 7:00 feels different than an 8, or 9 and 10.  That's good enough for now. 

Before this morning, though, I only suspected I knew as much about pace.  Today I wanted to shoot for sub-8 minute miles for my mile repeats.  A friend of mine suggested I try them opposed to 400 or 800 repeats after reviewing my previous injuries and how they occurred.  So, I rolled out of bed at 4...well, 4:10, I hit the snooze button, did my normal calestenics routine and then a mile warm up, three mile repeats and a mile cool down. 

The splits were 7:42 (overall drop in elevation, but biggest single hill of the three miles), 7:52 (reverse of the first mile), 7:24 (greatest elevation change and all up hill).  The last mile didn't actually feel like the fastest, but maybe that's because it was uphill.  (There was a timed 2:00 break between the repeats.)

You may wonder:  What do I have to say about running workouts now?  I love them!  I'm excited about them.  I can't wait to get better at them and learn more of them.  I'm excited for what changes they'll promote and I love how I feel after finishing one. 

Ain't the honeymoon great?  How long until I wake up at 4 am and sarcastically moan, "Great, more mile repeats!"

But after several months of barely running at all, it's fun to run hard! 

I'm learning so much ... how dumb could I really be?

I'm 38.  Between the ages of 26 and 37 I was pretty much exercise free.  The exercise I've done in my life before last spring was the sort that involved a little running here and there, hitting the weights now and then, and playing a little basketball or something.

In the next 60 days I have a 111 mile road bike race and a half marathon.  So now not only do I have a mapped training plan, it's two activities.  At the end of every day the past two weeks, I've wondered, "Can I really manage that workout tomorrow?"

Sunday I ran a 5K race, my first, and was very sore Monday.  Monday I went on a 32 mile hilly ride with a friend that's not a serious rider.  I knew the pace would be easy, but didn't know how I'd feel.  I know a 5K isn't much, but I ran really hard and haven't run hard in months!  I almost backed out of Monday's ride.

Tuesday was a real time crunch.  I had about an hour of light in the afternoon.  So I decided to do intervals (on the bike).  Three miles fast, then cruise over the overpasses.  I did 20 miles this fashion and was toast.

Wednesday morning I did NOT want to get out of bed.  I went on a short 2 mile run, then hit the gym for some upper body work.  Wednesdays I teach two classes for the community college in the evenings, so even without a long work out, it's a draining day.

Thursday I had a 40 mile "tempo" workout on the bike.  I agreed that I would not drop below 17.5 mph on the bike.  On flat ground that's no problem.  But, look at the elevation profile.  When I showered Thursday night, I had crusted dry salt that made my eye brows and temples white.  It was awesome confirmation of the effort I gave.

This morning I was supposed to do an 8 mile slow run.  It's my first run of what I'd consider a significant distance since June.  I was anxious and didn't sleep well.  I wasn't sure how I'd feel but with the races around the corner, I had to stay on schedule and give it a shot.

I wanted to keep around a 9:30 pace or so and did a pretty good job.  I had some new vibrams to break in (second pair of toe shoes).

Where I live is hilly, even if you avoid hills.  The first mile is down hill and I did it in 9:01.  Legs felt good, sore left calf had no problems.  Second mile had a climb in it and was 10:11.  I felt great, like I could do this pace all day, even with dead legs from riding.  The third was 9:56 and at the end of mile 4 was a turn around.  4th was 9:30, and 5 was 9:45.  I labored on mile 6 and started thinking about some things that make me angry.  Normally, if I run or ride, or work mad, I'm very efficient.  But this time, I realized, I thought of those things in that fashion because I was tired and didn't have the resistance to reframe the situation appropriately.  Mile 7 had the hill again and was uphill even without the climb, 11:01.  I felt good again and decided to make the last mile my best, at 8:57.


Did I mention I got up at 4 am to do that run?  


That makes for a little over 100 miles going into the weekend.  I have my long ride tomorrow, maybe.  It's going to be a minimum of 85 miles.  We'll see how it goes.  

One thing I'm learning is that dietary advice regarding weight loss is totally useless at the moment.  I eat as much as I want as frequently as I want.  Those people write magazine articles about diet and exercise aren't performing 2 hour tempo workouts on a hilly course.  


I saw a shirt the other day that really captured the sentiment I've had lately, especially on rides like Thursday and mornings like today's. It said, "Nobody says, let's play triathlon."  While I'm not participating in a triathlon, the sentiment was dead-on!

Why Training is Different Than Exercise

El Tour de Tucson is just about 40 days away.  I've not had a significantly long ride in almost a month due to various issues.  My mileage is still ok and my rides are strong, but I'm concerned that I've not properly trained. 

Three weeks after the 111 mile race is a half marathon.  I've had exactly one run where I pushed pace and or distance since June due to injury.  I had a great 5K race over the weekend, but two days later I find myself very sore.  I need to get tempo, speed work, hills and long runs in, and fast.  

And if there's one thing I've learned in the past year it is this:  Fast doesn't happen.  You can't rush progress because you can't rush rest.  I'll do my best between now and then, eat well, rest, stretch and recover with great focus and devotion.  Each workout will have a stated purpose that will be the focus.

The thing is, I want to reach my goals NOW.  I want to qualify as a platinum cyclist and I want to run the half marathon in 1:45.  Is it going to happen?  Yes.  This time?  Well, that's why it's exciting isn't it?  That's why training for a race is different than just exercising to stay in shape.

Big Plans

Big Plans:  I always have them.  I'm going to do this and this and that.  It's going to be G R E A T!

Last week my workouts got pushed back and one day's plan bled into the next day.  The end result is that I didn't end up taking a day off, making this week a little tough.

My plan Friday and Saturday was to get in a long, hilly ride Friday afternoon and Saturday morning to get my first trail run since June.  The combination of events, and just the trail run itself, were to be a HUGE test for my **healed** leg.  (The pain is now only in the hip abductor area and could just be bursitis.)

Friday was Home Coming at the high school.  I had to go take my truck to the dump after school and before the ride as I needed it Saturday morning.  Home Coming festivities made it tough to get out of work at a great time.  The end result is that I didn't even start my planned 40 mile ride until after 4:00.  It's dark shortly after 6pm.  Guess I'd see if my new lights worked. 

Windy conditions further slowed my proceedings, compliments of some tropical storm.  Where I normally breeze along a 6 mile stretch of road at 18 to 20, with a few down hills hitting 35, I was struggling to stay above 12 mph.  I was gassed by the time my direction turned to be perpendicular to the prevailing currents. 

As I rode towards Pena Blanca Lake (to the left), I kept a close eye on the time, instead of my cadence or speed.  If I hadn't reached the turn around point of my ride by 5:30, I was going to have to abort the ride.  Cool surprise:  That agreement motivated me to move a little faster than normal on the big hills going to the base of the mountain.

On the return trip, coming up the biggest hill, I was a cyclist at the top obviously battling the same thing I had.  Instead of coming down that hill and fighting the next three hills, he turned around to return home.  I HAD to catch him.  It's a chase, though he didn't know it.

At the top of the hill there was no sign of him.  I kept my cadence high rolling around the corners and riffling down the hill.  Eventually I saw his taillight.  That thing was bright in the twilight.  I was gaining on him, creeping closer and closer.  As I drew closer I could see he had a nice bike, but tennis shoes.  Not a serious rider, so no feather in my cap there.  Matt and I talked for the next 4 miles or so.  We live just a few miles away and had a good talk up the very last climb before really being in the valley.

He was taking the more direct route home, but I wanted to extend my ride a bit.  The sun had already set, but barely.  I clicked on my lamps and raced with renewed focus.  I could clearly see my light on the street in front of me and was thankful I was on an empty street.

As I turned on my street my phone rang.  My concerned wife wondered if I needed a ride.  It's nice to be cared for. 

My legs were toast.  I averaged 16.4 on the 36 miles (the distance is different than mapped).  Usually when I go to the lake I try to stay above 15.  Most rides I try and stay above 18, but the lake is tough.  This route was almost 7 miles longer and contained a lot more climbing, not to mention the wind.  I was happy with my time, but exhausted.  I stretched, ate and dunked myself in a cool bath.

Out of the tub and I got dressed and headed to the school.  My daughter is in the band and I had to stay late after the game.  We got home at 11:00 and I was in bed by 11:30.  So much for an early night.  Saturday morning she had the SAT's, but instead of being there at 9 am, she had to be there at 7:45 and had to have some papers printed.  That meant I had to leave at 7 am.  No early morning run today.

After dropping her off and buying some oatmeal and fruit at the store, I returned home.  My wife has started a branch of Bountiful Baskets in our community and I had to help.  That's why I thought I needed my truck...like many things I think, I was wrong.

I finally started my run at 10:30.  The sun was HOT, time to go topless (Part of Operation Dirty Whore).  My hip complained a little at first, like usual.  It loosened up...good.  The trail conditions, though, they SUCKED.  This particular stretch of the De Anza Trail is maintained by volunteers. The summer monsoons knocked over several trees in the path and the weeds and grasses had choked out the trail.  I got lost so many times and everywhere were these weeds with stalks of goat heads.  My toe shoes had some Gollum obsession with them and collected them as precious things between the toes.

My stride broke down to this:  Stop, find the trail, clean the toes, run.  Stop, weave through throny mesquite growths, run.  Stop, climb over tree trunk.  Stop, find the trail, clean the toes, run.

Then my hip started again.  Stop, stretch, run.  Stop, find the trail, clean toes, run.  Stop, weave through throny mesquite growths, run.  Stop, climb over tree trunk.  Stop, stretch.

The end result is that I ended up walking quite a bit.  If I walked through the weeds no problems with the toes.  Plus, my hip was sore.

I completed the 5.5 mile trail run in 1 hour and 8 seconds.  I had hoped for 7 to 8 miles in a similar time.  But, I told myself throughout not to be concerned with time and speed, just to get out healthy and uninjured.  I did manage to avoid further injury (I think), but the speed was disappointing.

I am very happy to have been able to squeeze in those two work outs.  Turns out I may end up being "sponsored" in the Tour de Tucson by my brother in law, provided a wear a jersey with his company advertisement on it.  That's a SWEET deal.

I ended up collected 90 miles this week in two ride and three runs.  The runs were 4, 5 and 5.5 miles.  I didn't take a day off last week and was forced to take of Wednesday.   So, this week I adjusted properly to make Friday and Saturday work so I could have Sunday off to rest.

I'm super excited about riding in the Tour de Tucson and a little nervous about being ready for my half marathon on December 11th.  I've got a 5K race next weekend and a 10K race on Veterans Day.  The following weekend is the Tour.  There's an inaugural race here in my hometown on my daughter's 18th birthday that I'd like to squeeze in.

The riding is exciting right now, but after such a long lasting injury, the running is intimidating.  Time to remain cautious.