Recovery Weekend in the Pacific Northwest

Leisurely Bike Ride to Outskirts of Bellingham

I rode a wee bit along Hwy 542- aka Mt. Baker Hwy. One day I'd like to do the hill climb up the mountain! Funny... cannot see Mt Baker on the road, as it's obstructed by foothills, but had some fabulous views of the Canadian Cascades- including Whistler and Blackcomb Mountains- site of the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Easy Run Along Whatcom Creek

Had an easy morning run along Whatcom Creek, a wonderful salmon stream and estuary through the center of Bellingham. I love that the lower falls are right in the center of downtown. I've never seen the creek so low! The tide was out, which was part of it. Last time I was in Bellingham, I saw a harbor seal at this location, but none this time.... probably since it's not salmon spawn time.

I Rock! I Biked 122.3 Miles Today!

One hundred twenty-two miles is a long way. Before the ride, I was curious: what did that equal to in terms of driving distance? First, I checked Googlemaps and verified how far it was to drive from my place in Arlington, Virginia into Delaware. Not far enough. For a 122 mile bike ride, I may as well have biked to just past the New Jersey state line. It was not the sort of thing I wanted to have in my head as I embarked on my bike ride. Having failed to complete my 110-miler both times I trained for Ironman, I was a little apprehensive. However, despite the long distance, several other factors were in my favor. The weather was going to be a little cooler than it had been, I was ready to implement "lessons learned" from my 110-miler, and the route was going to be relatively flat.

The route was broken into 2 loops: a 49 miler and a 73+ miler. The first loop was potentially the easiest 49-mile ride I've ever been on. The weather was highly cooperative, the terrain was easy (just flat enough--- too flat would have been a challenge unto itself), and Susan kept me company for a bulk of the ride.

The second loop was largely a repeat of the first loop, just in reverse. As a result, it was a great chance to see the front runners heading out for loop #2 as I came in, as well as see those coming in after me as I headed out for more. Company is always welcome.

I rode with Siri for about the first 10 miles of loop #1 before she dropped me. For the rest of the second loop, I was alone. For a long stretch, I did not even see a sag vehicle. It got rather lonely. I kept telling myself that during Ironman, I'll be largely alone, so may as well get used to it.

Although the temperatures stayed in the 80s, the humidity was rather high. I kept hoping that it would begin to rain, but not a repeat of the stormy weather from the weekend before. Alas, no rain.

Around mile 90, I was much relieved to see Roy and Linda with their sag-mobile. Cool drinks, munchies, and good cheer. Fabulous! I caught up to Siri at that point, who assured me I'd probably see her again during the last 32 miles. She was feeling a bit nauseous. She must have finished strong, as I did not see her again until the ride was over.

The final 32 miles had their ups and downs. By and large, I was ready to get off my bike. Strangely, I feel like I was more mentally tired than physically tired. I started to have tears of joy stream down my cheeks when I hit the 113 mile point. For one, I had reached a new milestone in terms of distance on my bike (previous record was 112 during IM 2006), secondly, I had made it past 100 miles during a training ride, a new first, and lastly, I had less than 10 miles left to go! I could do it!

Several vehicles passed by filled with Team Z'ers during those final miles. A memorable vision was of Ed, standing on the passenger seat of his truck as he drove by, with his body poking through the sunroof, announcing he had cold water for me. There was only about a mile or two left at that point, but I was thrilled to see him and Talia. I came up to them and said, "I don't believe I'm actually going to finish this f***ing ride!" I was so thrilled!

Team Z friends and BBQ awaited at the end. Yee ha! I did it!

I earned recovery week this go-around for sure.

19+ Miles I Ran... 1 Month to Ironman!

Ah! The last uber-long run before Ironman! This weekend I had project manager training scheduled for all day Friday and Saturday. That left me with a dilemma: when do I knock out my long run? I needed to go about 20 miles (4 hours). Do I wake up super early Saturday morning? With a need to eat 2 hours before running and class time starting at 8am, an early Saturday run was not reasonable. Running after class Saturday afternoon/evening did not make much sense either, as my recovery time would be short before the 120 mile bike ride on Sunday. I elected to run Friday night after class. I decided that in some ways, it was more like Ironman prep. After all, I'll run the marathon portion of my race at the end of a long day, as the sun sets into darkness.

I thought I may wind up running point-to-point, starting from Crystal City and take Metro back when my run was over. Plus, being prepped with the Metro back option enabled me to have a back-up in case I found myself in trouble.

I started off running 9 minutes, walking 1 minute. I did that for the first hour of my workout. However, my right knee began to plague me. I've felt some minor discomfort in it the past week. It was not pain, per say, but I have had knee problems for long enough that any sign of a problem sounds off alarms in my head.

I backed off to a run 4 minutes, walk 1 minute approach. That was very doable. The knee discomfort subsided and I was able to cruise along. I worked my way up into the National Zoo. I debating continuing on northward, along Beach Drive into Maryland (and taking the Red Line Metro back), but with the sun setting and venturing into lesser familiar territory, I elected to venture back on Connecticut Avenue toward downtown.

I stopped in Dupont Circle to purchase more Gatorade. A kind panhandler opened the door for me, so I couldn't help but give the guy a buck. Hopefully soon he finds better days.

I continued on toward the National Mall up to the Capitol. So much action along the Mall! I guess it's that time of year.

The summer solestice helped keep daylight for a bulk of the run. One obvious benefit to running in the evening: it gets cooler as the run progresses on. It's nice to only have to deal with heat at the beginning, when one is not yet tired. The cool evening air was much welcomed this go-around.

Rather than continue on around the Mall again, I decided to run back toward Crystal City. It was getting dark, but the Mount Vernon trail is well-travelled in that section. I felt safe along it.

I was moving along well until about mile 17.5. My knee failed on me. OUCH! Without wanting to do more harm, I stopped running immediately. My legs cramped up on me too, so needless to say, I was forced to walk the last 1.5 miles. Ugh! At least I could walk. Upon returning home, icing the knee was in order. Luckily I have all day Saturday to recover before the 120 mile bike ride on Sunday.

Other than the knee mishap at the end, I was happy to have gone nearly 20 miles on my feet. One month from today is the Ironman. Healing those knees will be a top priority. I can do it!

Mind over Matter?

This weekend's training schedule called for a 110 mile bike ride from Boyce, VA. I was rather stoked about the prospects of completing a 110-mile bike ride in training. During training for Ironman two years ago, I failed to complete our 110-miler (actually 112), on the Lake Placid Ironman course. I was suffering from some serious knee pain and had to bail at about the 85 mile point. As I've been (knock on wood) healthy this go-around, I foresaw no problems being able to finish the ride.

The ride was actually two-55 mile loops. The first loop was rather scenic, biking through towns such as Stephens City, Middletown, and White Post, all quaint towns with antique shops and the like. In between the small towns, we passed apple blossom orchards. The terrain was not too challenging. My first loop went really well.

I did manage to do one dumbass error. I am such a klutz. On one of my many bathroom breaks off to the side of the road, I crossed and slipped through a cattle grate. My right leg fell all the way through, witnessed by Carol. I have a lovely scrape and bruise on my leg as a result.

Anyway, we returned to the cars for our second loop. I replenished my supplies, and was ready to hit the road. The next loop crossed into West Virginia. I was feeling pretty good, but the heat and humidity was building up fast. The sun was beating down on my head through my helmet. The ice in my Accelerade melted rapidly and began to get warm. Warm Accelerade tastes nasty. So, I found myself primarily drinking water. I developed a headache, first signs of dehydration. Not good.

I came upon Holly and Kerri, who were out there sagging, at about mile 80. They helped to cool me down by icing my fluids and putting ice down my back and sports bra. It helped cool me down. I knew I had about 5 miles to go to the next rest stop, so I'd press on until there and re-evaluate my status.

I slowed down a lot and made it to the rest stop, but I was not feeling too well. I went inside the Shell Station and the air conditioning seemingly shocked my body and I began to feel faint. Carol took one look at me and instructed me to stop my ride. I was bummed at the prospect of failing to once again complete my 110-miler, but I was not exactly keen on having heat stress either. That would be a real problem.

I had also heard that a supercell thunderstorm was rapidly heading our way. That sealed my decision to hop into Roy and Linda's car (the ultimate sag vehicle) and head back to the Team Z tent.

As we drove to the tent, the storm hit. I found a few Team Z people huddled

under the tent, holding onto the supports, trying to prevent the tent from blowing away. (Ok, holding onto a metal support structure during a thunderstorm- probably not the best plan.) I saw Chris Wren getting pummeled with rain runoff from the two tents. My body temperature began to drop rapidly though. I began to shiver and was advised to warm up inside the Team Z trailer.

After the storm passed, and the remaining cyclists returned, I heard varying stories. Some biked through it! A number of them huddled into a vacant barn. A local saw Carol and invited her to hide in his shed. Siri, Alex, Andrea, and Bruce hid under a bush! (Ok that was a little crazy too.)

I had planned to camp that night in Luray, where we were slated to swim and run the next morning. Another thunderstorm was coming and the prospect of getting wet once again was not appealing to me. Carol and Carrie invited me to crash in a hotel room with them and I gladly accepted.

Hotel rooms were hard to come by, however. After a few phone calls, Carrie found this place called the Best Value Inn. Sounds good to me. Frank also requested a room there.

I drove Carrie's car (since I have a good sense of direction) through the thunderstorm to Luray. We discovered that the place was actually called the Cardinal Inn. I declared that their motto could be "Commit Cardinal Sin at the Cardinal Inn". Actually, the place wasn't as seedy as I am making it out to be. It was out of the weather, so already it was a better alternative to camping. On wet ground. With more potential thunderstorms.

We got cleaned up and elected to go to dinner at the same restaurant we visited during our last trip to Luray. We talked about seeing a movie as well, but it was getting late quickly and we were all beat. So, just dinner it was. Then time to go to sleep.

Sunday was an open water swim followed by a 12 mile run.

The water was about 78 degrees, a bit too warm to wear a wetsuit. Many people did though, but I think I would have sweltered had I worn a wetsuit. Besides, not bringing one was one less thing to cart around. I swam about 1-1/2 miles and definitely noted how much slower I was sans wetsuit. Part of that was certainly the "lack" of race mentality as well. It was fun to get in the water.

Afterwards was time to run. I decided from the get-go to only do 2 hours, which would be about 10 or 11 miles. I ran largely alone, getting passed here and there by teammates, or seeing each other do out/back runs. I ran from Lake Arrowhead park to downtown Luray, enabling me a chance to run on the greenway in town. More importantly, the greenway runs parallel to Hawksbill Creek. The creek was highly inviting. I dunked my head in it and rinsed off my arms and legs. It felt good to cool off.

I ran back toward the lake, but largely ran-walked back. It seemed to be an elevation net gain on the return. It felt warmer than the 74 degrees shown on the thermometer (probably because the sun was beating down) and my legs were just beat. It had been a long weekend.

The next week is the largest volume of training, then it's taper time. I'm looking forward to it.

Some final notes:

1. Best wishes for a quick recovery to Jana. She crashed at about mile 10 of the bike ride and I came upon her, face down, in the middle of the road. She went over her handlebars. She suffered a fractured cheekbone and some tissue damage in her shoulder. She is at home resting. Sore, but fundamentally all right.

2. I need something to protect my head from sun while on the bike and means to keep Accelerade colder. I bought some Polar bottles, insulated bike bottles, which will help.

Empty Nest

I won't dwell on the details, but I was forced to euthanize my cat, Socrates, on Sunday. She was staying at the PetSmart kennel during my travel to St. Louis and to New Hampshire and something was amiss on Sunday and she was rushed to the emergency vet. It seemed that whatever it was, was neurological. The saddest part, was that I was unable to see her in her final hours.

She was such a good kittie. I adopted her from the SPCA in New Orleans in April 1997. She and I had an immediate connection when I first laid eyes on her. The day I brought her home was the morning of the Chalmette Crawfish Festival, and I remember my friends McKinney and Chris coming to my pad pre-festival and decided to name her Socrates. No, she's not named after the philosopher, nor is the pronunciation the same. She was named after Socrates Street, in Algiers Point, my neighborhood at the time. So, her name was pronounced SO-crats. Odd, but it stuck.

She absolutely loved people. She was purring until the very end. She frequently was chatty and seemed to respond whenever I needed an ear to listen.

Life moves on, but I cannot help but feel that my home is an empty nest. I miss her.

Mooseman.... or....

Devil Man? Mosquito Man?

This weekend I ventured up to New Hampshire for my sixth half-iron distance triathlon, the Mooseman Triathlon. A couple people commented to me that in the midst of Ironman training, this race should be a piece of cake. I replied that going 70.3 miles under my own power is never a "piece of cake".

Technically, the race was slated over a recovery weekend. Additionally, the temperatures were forecast to reach 95 degrees. As a result, I intended to dial it way back on the bike. After all, the next two weeks are slated to have the highest mileage volume for our entire Ironman training schedule. I certainly did not want to mess that up, nor did I want to wind up with heat distress.

I drove to New Hampshire on Friday with Susan and we arrived in town early enough to preview the race course. It was hilly, but doable, along the level of difficulty of some of the easier rides we've done this season. There was one hill, known as the Devil's Hill, which reached a maximum of 15% grade. Lucky me, I would have to face it twice. Fortunately, although it was steep, it was relatively short and was early on in the course loop.

I elected to camp at the Moose Village for the weekend due to close proximity to the race and it was cheap. Besides, several events in conjunction with the triathlon festival were held at the Moose Village, which was convenient. It was actually a girls' summer camp. (Obviously, the camp is not in session quite yet.) Myself and David Gearin were the only ones from our team staying there though. Everyone else seemed to think we were nuts to camp before a half-iron triathlon.

Friday night, I joined Leslie, Susan, Andrea, Ed, and Talia for dinner at the rental house they were staying at. Fabulous dinner of chicken, pasta, and.. wine. Too bad I couldn't imbibe in too much wine since I had to drive back to the Moose Village, and had the upcoming race looming over my head.

Upon my return to the Moose Village, I found David and saw that he was having a bit of difficulty putting up his tent. He'd never put it up before, and I guess my camping experiences came in handy as I was able to figure it out rather quickly. He repaid the favor the next morning by replacing my rim tape and new tires on my bike for me, as a result of last weekend's debacle.

Saturday was the olympic distance triathlon. There were several people from Team Z racing. As always, it was fun to cheer. I noticed that my legs were tired, however, likely due to several factors, and I primarily sat back to rest up. Not good when my legs were tired before my race.

I received another outstanding gift from my Secret Pal. I am fairly confident I know who it is, but who knows. I may be completely thrown off. Regardless of whoever it may be, the little goodies I frequently receive are very well appreciated!

After Saturday's race, I picked up my packet, headed to the store to find something super cold to drink, and ventured back to the Moose Village. A pre-race pasta party was held there, and I dined with David, Kitty, Jeff, Christy, and Suzanne. Post dinner we campers ventured to the bonfire on site and indulged in s'mores.

The easy thing about camping is calling it an early night. By the time the sun goes down, there's not much else to do besides crawl into the tent. With a backpacking tent, there's no choice but to be horizontal. And being horizontal results in falling asleep.

Since we were so far north, the sun rose at 5am, making it easy to wake early. I got dressed, ventured into the dining hall for breakfast, and made my way to the race. Parking was quite limited, and with two bikes (mine and Carol's) I did not want to walk far.

TIME TO RACE

The water temperatures were rather chilly. But with my pre-race swim the day before, I discovered that it was easy to adapt. Besides, the water quality was ideal. It was clear, tasteless, and calm. A real treat to swim in. The fabulous conditions paid off as I had my fastest swim pace ever in a race, finishing the 1.2 mile swim in just under 38 minutes.

As I mentioned earlier, my plan was to take it very easy on the bike. As my legs were tired pre-race, and knowing full well I have two weeks of tough training ahead, I saw no reason to "race". I was passed by everyone and I just kept telling myself that "they" aren't Ironman training. Additionally, the last thing I wanted was a heat disorder. I found myself consistently drinking fluid. As I only had Accelerade to start, I was beginning to consume too many calories and began to feel a little bloated. At the next aid station, I grabbed a bottle of water and began to alternate drinking water and Accelerade which seemed to work well.

The road conditions were poor. Several people on rigid tri bikes felt tremendous soreness in their upper bodies as a result. As mentioned earlier, the course was hilly, but doable.

Although I was following my race strategy and staying well-hydrated, I could honestly say I was not having fun. I wanted to quit so badly, but told myself I wouldn't as long as I was fundamentally all right. I guess I pressed on to test my comfort zone boundaries. I had mixed emotions as I finished the first loop. On one hand, it was great to see the support of Team Z and others, and yet I dreaded heading out for a second loop. I truly was not sure if I would make it.

Upon reaching the Devil's Hill the second time, I elected to walk up it. I decided it was not worth frying my legs. Trust me, I was by no means the only one walking up that hill. I then continued on, biking in full sun. It was hot. I wound up going through 6-1/2 bottles of fluid and only had to pee once.

I was rather happy to get off the bike. I biked an average of 12.9 mph, the third slowest pace out of anyone racing. Oh well. Like I said, I purposely dialed it back. A lot.

At least my legs were relatively fresh. The limiting factor on the run was the heat. The run course is two out-and-backs, making it fun to see everyone. I was doing fine run-walking. However, as a kind gesture, people were hosing us down to keep us cool. Yes, it felt great, but eventually my feet just got waterlogged. I could feel the blisters form. Ouch. Needless to say, that effectively ended my running and I was forced to walk the rest of the way.

I walked for a while with a woman named Susan, a Team in Training participant from Long Island. And with about a mile to go, we were joined by Siri. Approaching the finish line, Susan began to run with one of her TNT teammates and shortly thereafter Siri and I ran to cross the finish line together.

It was my slowest half-iron ever. I cannot complain given the conditions and considering my training schedule. I am glad to have finished the race without incident. And now I have two tough weeks of training to look forward to....

Pictures from the weekend can be found here.

Count 'Em- 1, 2, 3, 4 Flat Tires!

Today had a 70 mile ride on the schedule. I thought not much of it. After all, with Ironman training, my perception of a long ride is a little skewed. After biking 100 miles last weekend, a 70 mile ride seemed like cake. On top of that, the ride was going to be on relatively easy terrain. No problem.

Last night, strong thunderstorms came through the Metro area. As a result, many of the roads we were biking on were heavily laden with debris. Early on, I was biking with Harriet and Kitty when I mentioned to them that it would be a miracle if we exited this particular stretch of road unscathed. It was a virtual obstacle course from the debris.

I guess I should have eaten my words.

About a mile or so later, both my front and rear tires blew out. I only had one tube and one CO2 cartridge with me. Great. I began to change my front (having not immediately noticed my rear was also flat.) Diane, who was sagging, pulled over and was able to give me a second tube and let me use her pump. To save time and get some tire changing practice, Carol offered to change my rear. (She had some challenges changing a flat of her own in Lake Placid last weekend.) Ed also caught up to us and handed me over a third tube in case I flatted again. (Flat tires tend to come in multiples.)

Not five minutes later, my rear tire blew again. I was with Carol and Pam at this time, but I insisted they continue on. Diane saw me pulled over to the side of the road again. In the midst of the chaos, I managed to lose my cap to my wheel skewer in the grass. Diane proceeded to look for it, while I changed my tire. I found the culprit: a staple embedded in my tire. I used my tube from Ed and my only CO2 cartridge.

Diane and I were unable to find the cap to my skewer, so I was forced to temporarily stop riding until I got a replacement.

I rode in Diane's car for a period of time. Carol was briefly lost, so we helped her get back on track and rejoin others. We eventually met up with Ed who was able to give me a replacement cap and I was able to resume riding.

About ten or so miles later, my front tire flatted again. Great. I was alone and out of tubes and CO2. I tried to call Ed and Susan on my cell phone and wasn't able to get hold of either of them. Bill Hall came upon me and was able to hook me up with both a tube and CO2. I think he sympathized with my plight and offered to change my tire. From the looks of my tube, I got a pinch flat. UG.

Bill put me back in business and I continued on. By this time, I was tired, very dirty, and just ready for the ride to be over.

I was alone, with about three miles left in my ride, when I heard a branch cracking. I looked up and behind me, and saw a branch, about 3 or 4 inches in diameter fall directly behind me. I about had a heart attack. That was a close call. Had it fallen on my head, it would have knocked me out cold. I could not help but panic a bit. Tears began to stream down my cheeks. That was just too close for comfort.

Was karma haunting me for not taking the ride seriously enough to start?

Needless to say, I was thrilled when the ride was over.

Upon checking my front tire later on, I am surprised I did not flat a fifth time. A sizable gash was in it, exposing the tube. I made it a point of order this evening to order new tires.

I am glad it is now recovery week. Ya-hoo.

Lake Placid Training Weekend

Most people in the Washington D.C. Metro weekend head off to Ocean City, Reheboth Beach, or the Outer Banks for Memorial Day weekend. Those of us training for Ironman? Head to Lake Placid for a long training weekend on the course. Besides, the Adironack Region is absolutely gorgeous, so no complaints.

After a noneventful drive up Friday with Timra and Bruce, we joined the team for dinner. I had a wee too much wine, which probably was not smart given the long run scheduled for the next morning. Ooops. It was good though.

Upon finishing dinner, we headed back to our rental house to rest and prep for the morning run.

Saturday Morning Training Run

Our training schedule called for 12 miles (or 2 hours). However, due to project manager training for work, I knew I would not get in my 18 mile run scheduled for the following weekend and elected to do it while we were in Lake Placid. I started my run earlier than everyone else to knock out the extra miles. I first did a couple of laps around Mirror Lake before joining Timra and Bruce to run the course.

Everything was moving along smoothly. I felt strong on the run. It was fun returning from the out-and-back on the run, enabling me to see the rest of our team.

However, about 2:30 into my run, I ate a Clif Block, and it immediately came back up to haunt me. Great. I spent the next few minutes dry heaving. Hmmm. I otherwise felt all right, so I'm not quite sure where I went wrong. In retrospect, I think it was a culmination of small things: wine the night before, inadequate sleep, different water... In many ways, I'm glad it happened to force me to rethink my plan come race day.

Needless to say, I primarily walked the next 40 minutes.

Upon finishing the workout, I got cleaned up at our rental house and then returned into town to join everyone for lunch at the Lake Placid Brewery.

Tour at the Olympic Center

Lunch at the Brewery was good, but whew! They are slow! I finally was served my lunch about 15 minutes before we were due to head on the tour. Needless to say, I had to rapidly wolf it down.

I set up the tour for our team. This was my fourth trip to Lake Placid and I felt like I have never really visited the town. My previous visits have all revolved around Ironman. With the amazing Olympic history in the town, it was nice to be able to step away from triathlon for a bit and be a tourist.

As many know, Lake Placid has hosted the Winter Olympics twice, in 1932 and in 1980. In fact, prior to hosting the Olympics, Lake Placid was not much thought of as a winter sports haven and was largely just a summer resort. Melville Dewey (creator of the Dewey Decimal System) was a prominent member of the exclusive Lake Placid Club, and invited 40 or so of the members up to Lake Placid for a winter visit. It was successful, and shortly thereafter, he was a lead to convince the Olympic Committee that Lake Placid would make a wonderful Olympic host city.

Lake Placid is arguably most famous for the Miracle on Ice, when the Americans beat the largely favored Soviet Union in hockey, 4-3. During the tour, we learned a lot about the game. Our guide was there in the stands and painted a vivid picture of the game for us. We were able to walk onto center rink (no ice at present) for a group photo.

At the end of the tour, we were able to experience virtual reality of bobsled, luge, alpine skiing, and hockey. It was a little cheesy, but fun nevertheless.

Afterwards, I walked Main Street for a bit, joined a few others for dinner at Down Hill Grill (yeah for salmon burgers!), and went back to the rental house to rest, rehydrate, and regroup. Sunday was going to be a long day.

Sunday 100 Mile Bike Ride

The primary reason we select Lake Placid as our Ironman locale is because of the relative proximity to Washington D.C., and the opportunity to train on the course. The course is one of the more challenging, but highly scenic. In my last 10 or so years of bike riding, I've come to discover that the scenery in a ride is directly proportional to the challenging climbs. That is certainly the case when it comes to the Ironman Lake Placid course. It's beautiful, but can be a doozey if ill prepared.

The ride conditions were nearly ideal. Our first loop, we skipped the out-and-back portion of the course to make the ride total distance about 100 miles, versus the 112. I rode with people here and there, but was largely alone. Although I like the socializing during our rides, come race day, chances are I'll be alone, so may as well get used to it.

My nutrition plan was staying on track and I felt good finishing off the loop. We were able to regroup at the cars and head out again.

A lot of people got flat tires. Bruce's tire failed him on the first loop. (It sounded like he was long overdue to replace it anyway.) And heading into Jay on the second loop, Siri, Tim, and Carol all flatted.

I took it perhaps a little easier than I could have done, mostly wanting to feel strong at the end and getting through the miles without incident, especially given how I felt the day before.

I was riding with Bruce into the out-and-back, where we stopped at the gas station in Wilmington to refuel. I was rather sick of fruit punch Accelerade by that point and went for some lime Gatorade and he elected to eat a sausage biscuit. Feeling strong, I mentioned that I would dive completely into Mirror Lake upon successfully finishing the ride.

Coming out of the out-and-back I was alone once again, but it allowed me to entertain myself by loudly singing the theme to Superman. I felt like Superman and knew deep down I'd finish off the last 15 miles strong. I hope I have that same feeling come race day.

It was rather windy heading back toward Lake Placid. The prevailing winds are from that direction, however, so I'll likely experience the same conditions during the race. There are some tough hills heading back in. My speedometer is not working at the moment, so I'm not sure how slowly I was going, but it probably was at best 8 mph. (It got out of adjustment when I cleaned my bike and hasn't been the same since.)

When I hit about 90 miles, I was very happy to realize that I felt far stronger at the 90 mile point than I had during our 90 mile ride a few weeks ago. In fact, my ride was going better than any ride over 70 miles in two years. It was very much a confidence boost.

I'll admit, however, I was fading a bit. Heck, it was a long day. Katie and Stephanie passed me by in their vehicle. I must have looked a little rough around the edges as Katie suggested she wipe me down with a towel. She then filled my bento box with Life Saver gummies. Those were outstanding!

The end is near once one sees the markings on the road for the named hills.... in order... Little Cherry, Big Cherry, Mama Bear, Baby Bear, then Papa Bear. I think the Cherry hills are named due to their proximity to Cherry Pond (pure speculation), and then it's just the Three Bears. Papa Bear is the hardest degree of difficulty of climb on the course. It's not nearly as challenging as some of the hills we do during our training, but it definitely hurts a bit at the end of the second loop.

I was stoked finishing off the second loop. I think I shed a tear. Or two. Or five. I finished, immediately stripped off my jersey, and dove into Mirror Lake. It was pretty darn cold, but honestly quite fun to dive on in.

I'm quite pleased with the overall success of the weekend. My confidence level is definitely higher than it was two years ago. Less than one month until we start tapering....

Pictures from the weekend are found here.

Two Months Left to Go

There's two months left until my Ironman in Lake Placid. Now is an opportunity to reflect on what's going right and what needs a bit of tweaking.

Two years ago at this point I was struggling a bit. By this time we had our 100-mile ride. I made some critical nutritional errors that day. Additionally, my 100-mile ride had seemed to come out of nowhere, as for the bulk of April my training had been put on hold due to military training. One advantage I've had this time, is no military training. I did struggle with the 90-miler ride we had recently. I am hoping the 100-mile ride scheduled for this coming weekend goes well to alleviate my concerns.

Running is going fairly well. Two years ago my running suffered substantially. I virtually skipped all Monday night runs to rest. I was consistently plagued with knee pain. This time, I'm nearly pain free thanks to orthotics, lessons learned, and strength training prescribed by Kerri, the PT Extraordinaire.

My swimming has markedly improved. I feel comfortable in the water and have complete confidence that I can do the swim just fine. Two years ago, my confidence was lacking quite a bit.

I feel like I've found a nutrition formula that works for me. Finally. I made critical nutritional errors during my Ironman two years ago, and suffered from hypokalemia (which I'd never heard of prior to my diagnosis), placing me in the ER. I won't make that mistake again.

If the race was tomorrow, I probably could finish it, but it wouldn't be pretty. The next month is going to be a lot of volume in training. My biggest week will have over 20 hours of training.

After that, will I be ready for the Ironman? Definitely.

A 16-miler in the District

Technically, this past weekend was a recovery weekend. However, because I was unable to do my scheduled long run the previous weekend, I elected to do it this past weekend. Besides, I was not racing the Columbia Triathlon. I figured the olympic distance triathlon would take me about 3 hours, so why not run about 3 hours?

Saturday morning was picture perfect for a run. No humidity, not a cloud in the sky, temps in the 60s.

I elected to run from my favorite stomping grounds at Roosevelt Island. From there, it's easy to cross the Key Bridge, into Georgetown, and then onto Rock Creek Parkway. I ran along Rock Creek (busy on the trail given the weather) into the National Zoo. With the beautiful morning, several animals were out and about. I got to see the lions and tigers.

After zipping around the zoo, I exited in an unfamiliar location and found myself exploring the Cleveland Park neighborhood a bit before I eventually made my way to Connecticut Avenue. The run upto Conn Ave was a bit of a challenge, and I forced myself to run it as much as I could. I am weak when it comes to running hills (both up and down). Because the Lake Placid run course is quite hilly, it's about time I work on hill running.

Connecticut Avenue took me back through Dupont Circle and into downtown. I ran along K, H, and F Streets (crossing roads when the lights were in my favor to avoid stopping) toward the Capitol.

Upon reaching the Capitol, I ran back along Independence Avenue to make my way back toward the car. Around this time my feet began to hurt. I have quick laces on my shoes, as most triathletes do, but they are not exactly conducive to allowing foot expansion. Needless to say, my feet felt like they were getting squashed in my shoes. So, I started to walk.

For the last four miles, I walked quite a bit, but I built myself to running more than not during that time. I made it 16 miles on my feet. For next weekend's run, however, I am going to nix the quick laces and go with traditional ones.

A Soaker on Skyline and a Swim

Return to Skyline Drive! Last month when we were there, we encoutered sleet. This time was fog and rain. All of us were prepped with red taillights mounted on our bikes and ready to go. Entering the fog was like some sort of eerie Stephen King movie. I mentioned this to Dave Lett as he passed me on the uphill climb and he replied, "Yeah, bet you did not even notice the bear that's been following you for the last 20 minutes!" Ha ha.

The fog was so dense at points, the visibility was perhaps 10 to 20 feet. It made for an interesting day, as we were not sure what to expect up ahead. I laughed with Katie Sleep as it was her first visit to Skyline Drive (ever.... in 18 years of living in the DC area!) and she was not able to check out the scenery!

Decending was rather frightening. Many of us held a death grip on our brakes. It was one thing (ok, lots of things) to be chilly, soaking wet, have very low visibility, wet roads, and rain pelting the face, but then to hit an unseen deer or something else on top it all! Uh, no. At one point, many of us passed a deer, standing on the side of the road, looking at us like we were absolutely nuts.

The conditions were honestly rather dangerous. Ed commented post ride that he was almost surprised (ok, thankfully happy) that no one crashed.

Despite the unfavorable conditions, I refused to let my spirits dampen. I had a decent ride. My shoulders were a little sore as I held the death grip on my brakes. (At least my massage the night before helped alleviate that.) And my feet were so chilled, they literally hurt to walk on post ride. They took about 30 minutes of warming in the car.

So, rather than drive all the way back to the Metro area, only to return on Sunday for a swim and run in Luray, Carol, Pam, Carrie, and I decided to spend the night in Luray.

We had originally planned to visit the Luray Caverns, as none of us had ever been. However, by the time we got cleaned up and fed, the day was rapidly escaping us. We decided to walk around the cheesy Spring Festival going on in town. We also stopped at the outdoors store in town and talked with one of the owners for quite some time, who is also a triathlete. (He easily guessed we were by overhearing our chatter.) We also spent an extended time at this coffee shop, where the couches were so comfortable, we debating staying there for the night rather than the Best Western.

After dinner (crab cakes, yum!), it wasn't long before all of us called it a night.

Sunday morning started out with a good Southern breakfast (Virginia ham, grits, the works...) before heading to Lake Arrowhead for our swim. The morning was chilly. (It is May, right?) The water was a brisk 68 degrees, but still warmer than the air temperture at 56 degrees. I swam about 1-1/2 miles, before it was time to get out.

The training schedule then called for a 16 mile run. I had been ill for most of the week. The weather was threatening to rain. I felt like I pushed my limits quite enough for the weekend without a long run in the cold wet rain. As a result, I wound up taking a pass on the run. I'll make it up during the week or during this coming weekend. I am adjusting my long run schedule anyway due to conflicts.

Overall, successful weekend, but it sure is nice to be at home, in my pajamas, and out of the rain!

Seeking out the Blair Witch

Ninety miles is the distance from my house in Arlington to Baltimore and back. That is what the weekend training schedule called for. Whew!

The weather forecast was going to be favorable for a day on the bike. Good thing. The day was going to be challenging enough.

We started out from Riley's Lock along the Potomac River, about 30 miles from Washington DC. It's one of our more popular starting points, but we were going to visit unchartered territory.

For the first 10 or so miles, the ladies were all together before we all became spread out, following our own individual paces.

I was riding with Carol at about the 15 mile point, when I got the sinking feeling we were on the wrong route. I knew we were supposed to head toward Point of Rocks and I had seen the directional sign toward the town a ways back. Our road had changed names too, which is usually noted on our cue sheets. However, I still saw our support vehicles passing by in my same direction, so I must have been on track. Alas, no. People started to come back as 99% of us missed an unmarked turn. Yes, we were supposed to turn on the road toward Point of Rocks. By this time, I had biked about 8 miles out of my way. Ug. As if 90 miles wasn't long enough! I did find out later that we would be able to take a little short cut at the end of the ride, shaving off 5 miles.

At least the detour helped regroup everyone, albeit briefly. It was nice to have some company.

From Point of Rocks, we continued to the town of Jefferson, then into the town of Burkittsville. Burkittsville ringed a bell. Again, I was alone with Carol. We agreed. It's where the fictional Blair Witch came from! Burkittsville was a quaint town actually, population 171. Only a small part of The Blair Witch Project was actually filmed in Burkittsville. Most of the scenes were filmed in Seneca Creek State Park, near Riley's Lock. Several residents of Burkitsville were interviewed for the film, claiming they had heard of the Blair Witch. However, the Blair Witch was completely fabricated by the film's producers, the town of Blair never existed (supposedly the town's former name), and several landmarks shown in the film do not exist.

Nevertheless, our pass through Burkitsville was a nice diversion and perhaps made us bike a wee bit faster, just in case the Blair Witch was in fact lurking about.

The next section of ride took us through Arnoldstown, Picnic Woods, and Bidle Roads to the town of Middletown, the northernmost reach of the ride. By this time, Carol and I had joined up with Andrea and Christy. The pair of us leapfrogged the two of them several times for the remainder of the ride.

I struggled a lot through the second half of the ride. It was rather windy outside and we either had head winds or cross winds seemingly nonstop. It began to take a toll on me mentally.

The last 10-20 miles of the ride I was absolutely drained mentally, physically, and emotionally. I actually cried twice during the ride. I began to question my reasons behind training once again for the Ironman. I refused to quit, however. I felt like if I quit, I'd let myself down and let down Carol, Andrea, and Christy.

My struggle came from several factors. For one, my shoulders were completely sore. Painful in fact. I am long overdue for a massage, and have that scheduled for Friday. Another is allergy season. It's the reality of May in this region. My body is almost sickly. Lastly, I worked at the vineyard the day before. Standing on my feet all day prior probably did not help.

Needless to say, I did manage to finish the ride, but truthfully, I wanted to crawl into a hole and hide upon finishing. Collin grabbed me a Coke. I think he read my mind knowing exactly what I was craving. The Coke definitely perked me up.

Afterwards, I stopped at Chili's To Go for a much desired steak and mashed potatoes dinner. Dessert was in order as well. I ordered the most decadent dessert I could find on the menu: some cake with caramel and chocolate and ice cream. I brought it all home to enjoy with a glass of wine. Eight hours on a bike is a long time.

Then I just crashed. Hopefully the next long workout goes better. My mom mentioned that my blog entries sounded a little depressing as of late, so my goal is to have a happy report next go-around.

Life's a Beach - The St. Anthony's Triathlon

The St. Anthony's Triathlon has long been on my to-do list. First off, it's a huge race. Several friends of mine have done it, mostly through Team in Training. My aunt (Linda) has egged me on to do it for some time, as she lives in St. Petersburg, Florida, where the race is held. This year was the 25th anniversary of the race. I thought it would be a perfect opportunity. As a bonus, Timra offered to drive my bike to Florida (thanks much!!) and the race happened to coincide with recovery weekend, so I would not miss any long bike rides. Best of all, I would be able to have a weekend away in Florida on the beach.

Timing worked out well as my great aunt (Grace) celebrated her 90th birthday a couple days before the race. Although I wouldn't actually be there for her birthday, her son (Dave) and daughter-in-law (Sue) were still in town, enabling us to have a big family dinner Friday night. I naturally got the questions about triathlon. During our conversation, I discovered that Dave and Sue happened to be in Kona on vacation last October and got to watch Ironman there! The course passed right by their condo! They had no clue that the race was scheduled for that time frame and were surprised upon their arrival in Kona to see all the "Welcome Triathletes" signs. They loved watching the race and would like to return to volunteer. Of course they asked when I'm going to race in Kona, but I really don't think that's in the cards for me. Perhaps I can convince them to see me in Lake Placid?

Saturday evening I met up with Timra (after spending most of the day chilling at the beach less than a block from my aunt's house...). First we did bike check-in. With 4000+ racers, the transition area was enormous. Afterwards, I joined her, Casey, and their TNT team for the pre-race pasta dinner. The TNT dinner was inspiring as expected.

Race morning I arrived at transition, did the typical set-up, and then trekked over to the swim start. Helen had warned me that it was a bit of a hike to the swim start, but I never imagined it to be 0.82 mile. I forgot to heed to her advice to bring cheap flip-flops, so I was forced to hoof it barefoot. Oh well. At least the sidewalks were glass-free.

With several swim waves, the race start was spread out over two hours. Naturally, the ladies are in the latter waves. So, I had time to go for a swim, watch several swim waves start, meet some new Team Z'rs who also happened to be there, and hang with the TNT peeps. Literally, the first pro men's finisher came in before my race even started.

The swim was on the challenging side. The wave action was not awful, but I simply am not accustomed to swimming in water in motion, so to speak. That, coupled with the taste of salt water, made for an unpleasant swim. Silly me neglected to use Body Glide around my shoulders too, so I began to chafe on top of it all. Nevertheless, I did not suffer as much as some. Weaker swimmers began to hold onto buoys for dear life. Needless to say, I was very happy to exit the water. We had to climb a ladder to exit, when I accidentally took a huge swig of sea water. Ug.

The bike course was pancake flat as expected. My plan was to stay in Zone 2 the entire day, as it was technically a recovery weekend. So, I took it a little easy on the bike. The course was crowded with several turns, including two hairpin turns. Traffic was often 3 or 4 lanes wide. I leapfrogged several times with the girl who was racked next to me in transition. (I never got her name, but gathered it was her first triathlon overhearing her talk to a friend pre-race.)

Upon finishing the bike, the legs felt fantastic. My limiting factor on the run was the heat. I was experiencing cardiac drift, so I had to run on perceived effort. I ran the first couple miles with a woman named Beverly from Atlanta. This was her first workout since a bike accident where she hurt her tailbone. A fellow Ironman finisher, we traded some stories. The bike accident began to haunt her, however, so she urged me to go ahead. I heard pre-race that the run course was quite shaded. Not so. It was maybe shaded about 25% of the time. Even with a hat on, my head began to fry. At each aid station, I grabbed a cup of water to pour on the head and a cup of Gatorade to drink.

Coming into the finish, I saw Jenni Banks, who cheered for me as well as her TNT team. I was able to pick up some speed heading into the finish line. My aunt and her husband were there to cheer me on, and seemed more excited than me.

Now, post-race seemed to be a bit of a CF. As well organized as the race was overall, I was a little disappointed afterwards. I was handed some water, or what I thought was water. It was actually some imposter vitamin water. Upon consumption, I began to vomit. OK... stop drinking that stuff! My phone (and everything else) was in transition, so naturally I headed there first. What a long line! At least it gave me a chance to chat with Andy, a TNT guy from Philly, and Gary, a seasoned triathlete from St. Pete. I waited a good half hour (maybe more) to get into transition. Needless to say, grabbing food or a massage was sacrificed, as my mind was on getting to the finish area by the TNT peeps. Now, that was fun to watch the final finishers come in.

All in all--- fun race.

Swim: 33:26 (1.5K)

Bike: 1:22:20 (40K)

Run: 1:03:56 (10K)

Finish: 3:06:21

Would You Rather....? (Kinetic Half Iron Distance Race Report)

There's a game called "Would You Rather...?". After this weekend's Kinetic Triathlon Weekend, I pose the question: Would you rather race in the heat or in the rain? I did the half iron distance triathlon on Saturday, where the high temperature reached 85 degrees with essentially no shade relief. Sunday was the sprint distance triathlon, with a precipitation total of 2.18 inches for the day. In the game of "Would You Rather...?", neither option is favorable, but a player is expected which option he or she feels is the lesser of two evils.

Race morning started off at 3am to be able to meet Harriet at 4:30 and drive to the race. Harriet wasn't exactly keen on the idea. However, I tried to put a positive spin on the notion, by pointing out that the race was part of our training for Ironman. We'll need to wake up at 3am on Ironman race day, so why not wake up at 3am on a training day?

As I got ready to leave the house, nausea began to set in. Before long workouts, I sometimes have some sort of anxiety and essentially come on the verge of vomiting (or actually vomit), especially when I seemingly eat breakfast too rapidly beforehand. However, my stomach was still empty at this point, having planned to eat en route to be able to time finishing breakfast 2-3 hours before race start. As a result of the nausea, I sat back, slowed down, and regained my composure. My stomach settled down. At least this gave me an excuse to try some Tums. I had no stomach issues the rest of the day.

I met up with Harriet bright and early and we were able to zip on down to the race. I again tried to shed some light on the early wake-up as we heard horror stories regarding traffic from people who drove down the night before. We were able to fly down to Lake Anna State Park and get to the race in plenty of time.

The weeks leading up the race, air temperatures remained rather cool. I raced the sprint last year and swam in 56 degree water. Cold water like that hits the face like a ton of bricks, but I knew I could do it. Needless to say, the last couple days before the race, air temperatures began to rapidly increase, and by race morning, the lake was 65 degrees. Very doable. However, those rapidly increasing air temperatures would affect the race day itself. We hadn't yet trained in warm weather this season. After all, last weekend we were riding Skyline Drive in the sleet!

I was not quite sure what to expect in terms of race finish. This was my fifth half-iron distance triathlon, and first since Eagleman nearly two years ago. I have learned a lot since then, having been more disciplined about HRM training and stronger all the way around. However, this race was at the end of a challenging two-week build cycle (i.e. not tapered for it), and I knew the heat would be a factor. So, on one hand, I wondered if a PR was possible and yet on the other hand, I thought I'd be lucky to break 7 hours.

I was in the fourth and largest swim wave. Although I did a small warm-up in the water prior to race start (primarily to get past the initial shock from the cold water), it took me a bit to get into a groove once the race started. About 10 minutes in, I settled down, though, and truly began to enjoy the swim. Once I was in a groove, I was in a groove. I did not want to stop swimming. I swam wide to avoid people (and I just am a poor sighter). Actually, I swam a little too wide as when I was at the far end of the second loop, a safety kayaker flagged me down to redirect me back on course. Perhaps subconsciously I did not want to leave the water and was simply in my element?

As I left the lake and headed into T1, I was greeted by the usual sea of Team Z green. I felt great. I sauntered into transition to avoid a spike in heart rate. After struggling to get off my wet suit, I was ready to head out on the bike course.

The course was relatively flat. I'm glad there were enough hills to make things a little interesting, but it was certainly a flatter course compared to what we usually train on. I made a point to stick to a strict nutrition plan, of consuming Accelerade about every 10 minutes and either a Gu, Bloks, or Sport Beans every 45 minutes. The plan served me well.

It did get a little lonely out on the bike course though. I seemed to be passed an awful lot (and I passed maybe one person?) I kept trying to keep things in perspective and not let it go to my head. I was sticking to my plan and not worry about anyone else.

I did miss my tri bike though. As someone put it, my tri bike is on vacation in Florida. It is in Florida, awaiting me to retrieve it from Timra when I head down to St. Anthony's Triathlon next weekend. With the relatively flat course and the winds that picked up during the day, the course was well-suited for a tri bike. Nevertheless, I plan on doing Ironman on my road bike anyway.

At about the 20 mile mark, I was relieved to see some familiar faces. Dan and Roy were taking photos and also had Jill, Tom, and Linda in their company. Shortly thereafter, I approached the end of the first loop and saw several members from Team Z. Additionally, Talia, who was not racing, rode the course backwards and I saw her three times. Seeing friendly faces is uplifting.

As the winds picked up and the temperatures rose during the second loop, I kept trying to keep myself entertained. I was not going to let my morale slip. There was one section of newly paved road that was simply awful. It was soft, so the bike sank. It was rough as well, with tiny pebbles that kicked up as we proceeded. I began to loudly sing over and over, "This is the road that sucks; this is the road that sucks." I amused myself and just did the best to make light of the situation.

So, I averaged 14.8 mph on the bike. Although it was certainly on the slow side for me, I considered the bike leg a success, given my positive attitude, staying in Z2, and adhering to my nutrition plan.

I was not looking forward to the run though. It was hot. And by this point, I had given up hope of breaking 7 hours. The run course was three loops, which had it's pros and cons. I felt that the pros outweighed the cons, however, although I think I'm in the minority there. Yes, it sucked passing by the finish line twice prior to actually finishing. And spectators would cheer "way to finish" when I was actually only 4 miles into a 13.1 mile run. On the flip side, it was fun to see absolutely everyone from our team. When else do I get a chance to run with Chris Wren or Ryan Pettengill during a race, albeit briefly? And the multiple loops gave me a chance to look forward to seeing those that I knew who were still out there with me: Harriet, Carol, Kitty, Alex, Frank, Joanna, Andrea, Charlotte, Christy, Kari, Pam, and Kat. Some of them were having truly a tough day. One was Collin. At the start of my second loop, his third, he was in bad shape. I stopped to talk to him a bit, and let him know that this race was not worth winding up in the ER. I was relieved when a short while later, he ran up past me, having found new life. He looked so much better.

The one real complaint I had during the run was the lack of aid stations. Sure, they were out there, but not as frequently or well-equipped as they should be for a half-iron distance triathlon. I began to get a serious craving for pretzels and cream-filled cookies. Alas, I settled for oranges. Lots of them.

Swim: 42:47
Bike: 3:47:32
Run: 2:45:26
Finish: 7:21:56

Post race, I joined the crew in the tent for camaraderie. I saw Chris Wren chowing on some pretzels. A shadow was cast on them such that it appeared they were chocolate-dipped pretzels. I asked Chris if my eyes were serving me correctly, and John Mead concurred that chocolate-dipped pretzels would be M-O-N-E-Y. I guess I appeared crushed upon discovering they were just simple plain pretzels, as Chris then secretly went on a mission. Upon fulfilling his mission, he sent out word he was looking for me. Imagine my delight when Chris presented me with a chocolate-dipped pretzel!

Kudos to all those who raced with me on Saturday. I loved seeing your smiling faces and sharing a few laughs during the run and thereafter. Much thanks to Roy and Linda for your hospitality that evening. And lastly, big props to those who raced in the sprint on Sunday. I think after watching that, I'd rather race in the heat.

Hammer Fest at Hains Point

Time to drop the hammer at Hains Point again! I gaven't been out there for speed training since last year. It seems like the Whos-Who of Metro D.C. cycling is always out there. There's the peleton of roadies who zip on by. There's the casual recreational riders on fat tires. And there's us triathletes, somewhere in between. We traditionally are there Thursday nights for speed training.

It was my first visit out to Hains Point since The Awakening was relocated. Maybe a new sculpture will make a home at the foot of Hains Point?

I managed to top out a max speed of 22.4 mph, with an average of 18.1 mph for the whole workout. Maybe by the end of summer I can top out at 25 mph, with a 20 mph average?

Skyline Drive - The First in a Series of Three

Today was our first visit to Skyline Drive, the road that runs along the length of Shenandoah National Park (SNP). It was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps during the 1930s. Of course, since it is in a National Park, the views are fabulous. As cyclists, we ride there as it's the most challenging terrain local to Metro Washington D.C., allowing not only a chance to learn how to climb mountains, but also how to descend them.

Because of my bike fit on Friday night, I was curious. Would I have a successful day on Skyline Drive?

My first time out to Skyline Drive 4 years ago (pre Team Z), I started at Dickey's Ridge and rode from there. All the parking outside the park was taken, so I drove in the park until I was able to leave my car. That was my first visit to SNP. My car struggled with that initial climb. I rode solo that day, but a fellow cyclist whom I happened to be dating at the time (why didn't he take me out there for my first visit?) told me I missed the best part by driving the initial climb, rather than riding it on my bicycle.

I've since been out there several times. It's been a while since I've ridden it though. My climbing has considerably improved in recent months. How would I fare?

It's easy to get spread out on Skyline Drive. For one, upon entering the park, there is a fee. As a result, there's a time delay getting everyone through. Plus, with varying levels of riding ability, some are able to climb the drive faster than others. In reality, though, we are all relatively close to one another, but due to switchbacks, are out of eyesight.

I rode for the first two hours with Ann. I haven't had much opportunity to ride with her in the past for various reasons, but this gave us a great opportunity to chit-chat, giggle, and make the climb that much easier. She had to turn around at the two hour point because, well, that was what her schedule called for. Only those of us doing Ironman this year had to press on.

I was ascending for 2-1/2 hours when it was time to turn around. I made it mile marker 19. It was time to fly down the hills. However, by this time, it was rather chilly up in the mountains. And it began to sleet. Trust me, descending on a bike at 35 mph in sleet feels like razors against the cheeks. Once the ride was done, I nearly had to check in the mirror to ensure I did not have gashes on my face.

The return trip took an hour.

Despite the chill and sleet, I had an AMAZING ride. I kid you not, my legs felt fresh at the end. I was not tired; I was not sore. I had some very mild discomfort that goes with a 3+ hour ride, but other than that, I felt great! Score!

Post ride, we ventured to the traditional post Skyline Drive stop of the Apple House, a cheesy shop with useless Virginia-themed souvenirs, but the food is worthwhile. I ate a buffalo burger and fried apple sticks. Very good.

I have enough post-ride energy to show at the Sunday night recovery swim. The schedule mentions a surprise. I'm intrigued....

As the Sun Rises over the National Mall...

This Saturday was my first day working at Chrysalis Vineyard and had to be there at 10am. Yet, my training schedule called for a 14 mile run. What's a girl to do? The run would take about 2 hrs, 20 minutes, the vineyard was about a 45 minute drive away, and of course, I had to show up somewhat presentable. A dilemma. The answer was to wake at 3am, to eat and knock out a pre-run routine, then start running at 5am. I decided to run around the National Mall for safety reasons (well-policed and lit).

There's something poetic about watching the sun rise over the National Mall. I took photos of the Capitol pre-, mid-, and post-run to share in the experience.

The Cherry Blossom Parade was also scheduled for the morning. The pre-dawn run enabled me to witness the parade preparations, from the balloon set-up to the horse brushing to the color guard practice.

And there were moments where I absolutely felt like I had all of Washington D.C. to myself. The air was still. The Washington Monument glowed against the night sky. The World War II Memorial was dimly lit as if to whisper to me.

As the sun rose, the pink-and-white confetti dotting the sidewalks began to appear, as the cherry trees are now devoid of their signature cherry blossoms.

As a bonus, by 8am, my long run was done for the day and I was free.

I loved my first day at the vineyard. My job: pour wine for tasters. Simple as that. Thanks to Helen, Jenn, & Alisa for visiting there on my first day. Who's next?

The Conte's Bike Fit Experience

Ready for the weekend? This week I missed most workouts (other than swimming), as my mom was in town. Very fun to see her. And since she lives on the other side of the universe, it was no question to skip some workouts to be able to have the chance to hang out with her.

Will the extra rest pay off? We'll see when it comes to ride Skyline Drive on Sunday. Combine the extra rest with tonight's bike fit, and I should be ready to kick some ass.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the bike fit. I've never had one before. I knew naturally they'd take some measurements and adjust my bike accordingly, but not sure to what extent.

After long rides, I suffer from knee stress and lots of shoulder discomfort. I know that some discomfort is expected after a long ride, but I knew that I was in worse shape than the norm. Not good. So Conte's began doing measurements on me and the bike. I almost felt like I was visiting a physical therapist. They got my flexibility and my leg angles and whatnot.

The first adjustments were to raise my saddle and move it forward. I felt the change there instantly. As a result, I was more on my butt and definitely felt more at ease with my pedal stroke.

Next was alleviating the shoulder stress. We found that my stem was way too long and put one that was about 1/2 the length on instead. It allows me to place my hands on the hoods more (i.e. proper form), rather than on top of the handlebars as I typically have been riding. Also, my handlebars are way too wide, forcing me to reach out wider than my shoulders, so Conte's will be replacing those within the next 24 hours.

My pedal cleat positioning also forced me to tip my knees in toward my top tube while biking. There was a bit of a challenge to adjust my cleats, however. My cycling shoes are so old (over 5 years), that the cleats were rusted in and somehow permanently fused to my shoes. I never thought about cycling shoes really having a lifespan, but I guess they do just like any other shoe. He convinced me it was time for a new pair. The new shoes are sw-eet! We also put orthodics and shims in my shoes and they feel great!!

It took a while for me to experience my new shoes, however. You see, I use Time pedals. They aren't very popular, but I like them. Because they are less common, Conte's did not have the corresponding cleat for them. Hmmmm... So, in order for them to finish my bit fit and make me a happy person for this Sunday's ride, they ventured off to another bike store on a quest for cleats. Meanwhile, I got to hang out, read the paper, chat with Meredith (as she's the store manager for the newly opened Potomac River Running store adjacent to Conte's), grab a Clif Bar, talk on the phone.....

Anyway, I hope it'll all pay off. Certainly was a bit of a pricey evening. Will it all wind up shaving an hour (or more?) off my Ironman bike time??

Hooray for Recovery Week!

After Saturday's challenging bike ride and subsequent party for Holly's birthday, it was a bit of a challenge to go running Sunday. I met up with Carol for our 12 miler, which is a good thing to keep us both honest. My shoulders and knees were rather sore from the ride, which I think is largely due to bike fit. So, I'm sucking up the dough and going to Conte's next Friday for a thorough bike fit.

Anyway, our run was long and slow. We meandered from Bethesda, along Rock Creek. Carol put up with a wee too much whining from yours truly. The plan was to run 9 miles, then "race" the next 3 miles, as per the training schedule. Tough, but we do need to get used to running long on tired legs.

Needless to say, our 3 mile "race" did not go according to plan. Carol managed to "race" about 1-1/2 miles; me about 3/4 mile. The end of the run was uphill, which Carol impressively ran up. I tried, but my legs simply would not listen. In addition to massive soreness (no pain, which is good, just very sore muscles), something I ate did not agree with me. My stomach was rather upset.

Consequently, I was quite happy when the workout was over. Carol and I celebrated a successful weekend and went out for pancakes. We had to go on the semi-healthy side though.

Our ride schedule for the remainder of Ironman training was posted today. We've got some toughies ahead with some other twists and turns. Stay tuned...

The 70 Mile Ride

Ready for 70 miles? The ride for the weekend started from Culpeper. The route is known as Old Rag Views, with the ride start altered to give previews of the Culpeper Sprint Course. Several people had ridden the route last year and told tales of woe regarding the challenging climbs and whatnot. I knew it was going to be a long tough day. I was armed with my brand new large Bento Box and Aqua Joe so I was set to help sustain myself for the long road ahead. (Excuse the pun.)



The first third of the ride was relatively easy- gentle rolling hills. The homes we passed either seemed to be absolutely beautiful or serious white trash trailer homes. I never saw so many recliners, tricycles, and bench presses lying around the front lawns!

However, the latter half of the first third rapidly improved in terms of scenery. We biked parallel to the Robinson River, which was gorgeous. Additionally, the road we were on lead toward the rear entrance to the White Oak Canyon/Cedar Run Hike, one of my favorites. Because of the popularity of this hike, several quaint stores were lined along the road.

I was primarily biking solo for the first third, however. I had to stop momentarily a couple times to adjust my biking shoes and to shed a layer of clothes. Therefore, I was rapidly separated from the group. It was nice to great some smiling faces at the first rest stop.

Shortly after the first rest stop, we were in for a tough climb. I wondered if I was suddenly transported to one of the many challenging roads in Europe. Fueling this fantasy, I was biking with Jen Marquardt, who was wearing a real Chianti Classico jersey. I told Jen that she was inspiring me to crack open the bottle of Chianti Classico that my coworker Joni brought me, from her fall visit to Tuscany.

Susan (our ride leader) had told us that after this climb, we were to be rewarded with an awesome 4 mile decent. I was excited. However, my excitement turned into some disappointment, as the decent wasn't as thrilling as I anticipated. It was a net loss in elevation, yes, but an opportunity to fly down a mountain, no.

The views were rewarding, though. We were biking in the shadow of Old Rag Mountain. Although I was by myself again, the ride was rather enjoyable, given the scenery.

That is, until we approached Round Hill Road.

Round Hill Road was, in a word, challenging. There were a series of 4 climbs that stood like walls. We were forewarned about these hills as the toughest section of the route. However, I thought I heard in the route preview that this tough section was in the last third of the route; I was in the middle third. I nearly wanted to cry. Those hills were quite challenging and I thought that the toughest part was yet to come! What hell did I have to look forward to?

Needless to say, I was rather elated when I approached the second rest stop and discovered that the series of tough climbs was indeed the most difficult part of the course and it was already behind me. Yeah!

At the rest stop, I was able to rejoin with Carol, Joanna, and Kitty. We had all been biking solo through that tough section and were in need of support and companionship. Our spirits got lifted from the Reese's PB cups from the rest stop and the chance to socialize on our bikes. On top of that, the terrain was relatively kind to us.

We eventually got spread out once again, but by this time, the end of the ride was within sights. I saw Susan a couple times, who was providing SAG support. (SAG stands for support and gear.) I was counting down the miles to reach the end.

We all shared in a small victory dance upon reaching our cars. A tough 70+ miler was behind us. On top of that, it's the most challenging terrain we'll face though our Ironman training season. And it's in the past.

To celebrate, Joanna, Pam, Carol, Carrie, and I visited Dairy Queen enroute home. After a workout like that, we feel like we can consume any guilty pleasure without remorse. I embraced that notion, chowing down on a double cheeseburger, a chicken wrap, and an Oreo mint Blizzard. YUM!