Teetering on the Edge

I am so tired today. I have been for the last 3 days. It's like everything I've done over the last month is finally catching up with me. I have a feeling that this is going to become a regular thing in the coming months. My workout load this week is 14:45 (almost 15 hours). I bailed on a bike ride last night as I was so tired. I couldn't face getting on my bike and physically exerting myself--I had intervals to do to top it off so it would have been a really hard workout. I was so tired I was tripping over my own feet. I feel like that this morning too. I can't wait to get home to go to sleep. I know I could easily put my head down on my desk and fall asleep no problem. Probably not a good idea. Very tempting, but probably not wise. At least I only have less than 3 months of this left. That's a good thing and a bad thing I suppose. The good thing is that after July 23rd, I can finally sleep in. The bad (or scary) thing is that in between me and those sleep - ins is an Ironman. But, I think I am starting to get my head around it. We're going down to LP in 4 weeks for a training camp with our coach so by that point, I hope to have a good handle on the race--especially the swim. That is my biggest fear. But I think I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. As usual.

April Showers Bring on A Meltdown

I thought we were going to get lucky this April and maybe have rain during the week and relatively nice weekends. But noooooooooooooo, we had a great week but as soon as Saturday hit--RAIN. Not a downpour (which probably would have been worse) but a steady shower. Made for a VERY unpleasant 5 hour ride on Saturday. Well, I *should* have ridden 5 hours but by the time I was on my 4th loop and I got close to the car, I was done. I couldn't feel my fingers or my toes. My extremities were soaked & cold. I was uncomfortable & dehydrated--riding in the rain makes it very hard for me to stay hydrated for some reason--I think it might have had something to do with the rain pouring down my face, but I'm not sure. Anyway, I managed to ride 4 hours and 7 minutes before I completely lost it. I was shaking like crazy when I got back to the car. I had to get in the car and turn the heat on full blast and put my hands on the vents for about 10 minutes before I got any feeling back into my fingers. I realized afterwards that I had another pair of gloves in the car that I could have changed into. But at that point, I had enough. Sunday was no better but at least my run was short (1 hour and 20 minutes) so I wasn't too soaked by the time I got home. It didn't really start to rain hard until after I got back (yay!). It looks like this weekend will be much of the same. I have a 5 hour and 15 minute ride followed by a 30 minute run. I think I have to work on some kind of plastic bag bootie cover so my feet don't feel like I've gone for a walk in the lake with my shoes on. I also have to work on my hydration. What a disaster that was. I had more than enough to drink with me, I just didn't drink it. Too busy focusing on how crappy the ride was I guess. Oh well, at least I know I"ll be able to practice that again this weekend if the weather holds up!!

Tri For A Cure Donation Form

I think I have finally figured out how to post this form here. If you would like to make a donation, you should be able to drag a copy of this form on to your desk top. Print it out and either mail or fax it in to the attention of Mark Brogno. If you can't drag it on to your desktop, please email me at phaedra03@mac.com.

Thanks!

Just breathe.....

Ok, for "kicks" I decided to take a gander at the Ironman USA website to look at the "Race Countdown" clock. Why I do this to myself I don't know. It said 93 days! 93 DAYS?!?!?! That's just over 3 months. It only seems like yesterday where there was 199 days left!!! ACK! I have that sinking / scary feeling in the pit of my stomach right now. I think the thing I am most concerned about is the swim. Actually I KNOW it is. I'm sure I'll start to feel better about that once I actually get out in to open water (which I will be doing at the beginning of June...bbrrrrrrrr!!!). At least that's what I keep telling myself.

Redefining the Wedgie: A South Carolina Summary

HI Y'all...
The grind has officially begun again. No more sleeping in. I was up at 4:30 am this morning after having a week "off" (well at least a week of not having to get up so bloody early). South Carolina was a BLAST. What a GREAT bunch of people to hang out with for a week. And the scenery! WOW! We were in the north west corner of the state, bordering on North Carolina. Nothing but mountains surrounding us. It was awesome. As for the riding it was nothing short of spectacular. It was challenging but well worth it. I rode for 5 days and covered almost 400 km (gives new meaning to the word "wedgie" let me tell you). I had expected to cover a bit more but when you're riding up mountains, you can't exactly move quickly (that and I took a day off). For example, we were out for almost 5 hours on our first day of riding and we covered 120 km. That's going just under 24 km/hr. That's not *that* fast in the grand scheme of things. But, considering we were climbing a lot of the time, that's pretty good. We climbed up the Blue Ridge Parkway--that was the epic climb of the week. At some points I was going 9km/hr. At those points my HR was also at about 190. It was about 18 miles (29km) from the start of the climb to the top of the Blue Ridge. And to say that we started climbing right away is misleading. It was a lot of rolling hills and gradual inclines for the first 2/3 of the climb. The last 1/3 was the tough part. I think I averaged 13 km/hr over the last 7 km uphill. It was tough. What made it even harder was the fact that you couldn't see the end of the road as you were riding up switch backs all the way up the mountain. That was a little disconcerting. It really made me mentally have to tough things out and stay positive and focused. The worst parts for me were the desecents! I was PETRIFIED! I am ok on a straight downhill but throw in some slingshot like switch backs and I ride the brakes till my knuckles turn white and my hands cramp. My back wheel is COVERED in brake dust. But, I know I've become a stronger rider because of it. Lake Placid is going to seem *that* much easier now. And at least I don't have to deal with any switch backs on that course. Only a 10 km straight down hill. I shouldn't have a problem with that after last week!

I have posted some pics from the trip. I will probably post some more as I get them from the rest of the gang. That's Fred chillin' out in the Pimp Wagon. There's Gary and I with some serious helmet head at the top of Ceasar's Head. There is a shot of Gary and I after our first day of riding. There is a shot of half of the Gang (the other half had gone back to the cabins"). There is a shot of the view from Ceasar's Head and a shot of the cabin that was "home sweet home" for the week.

one more day

until we leave for SC! WOOOOOOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO! I am only at work for a half day tomorrow (technically--we'll see what happens. Something ALWAYS seems to come up when I try to leave early) and then I have to do a 2 hour run so I'll run around the park for a bit and then run home. We're going to leave tomorrow afternoon after my run. We''ll probably drive for 3-4 hours and then find a hotel and stay the night then get up early on Saturday and drive the rest of the way.

Did I mention that I CAN'T WAIT?!?!? I don't know what I'm more excited about--the actual trip or being able to sleep in for a week! Sad, especially since all I'm going to be doing next week is riding my bike for hours on end. And I'm excited about that. Riiiighhht. I think I need help.


Either way it should be a good time.

Blowin' in the Wind...

I rode outside for the 3rd time this year on Saturday. It was supposed to be a nice day (15 and sunny) but apparently the town of Bolton didn't get that weather update. It was probably about 6-7 out with a NASTY wind out of the west at 25 + /kmh. Oh ya, it was ugly. Our route was going to take us north a bit up some gradual hills and then west into the wind AND up a whole bunch more hills that weren't so gradual. To top it off, we were riding with Tara Norton (a professional triathlete) well, I shouldn't really say we were riding *with* her. Maybe for the first 2 minutes in the parking lot after that she became a speck on the horizon. The ride out was challenging to say the least. But not as difficult as the first time I rode that route. Now THAT was messy. The really fun part came when we got out on to Old Baseline road where there was absolutely NO shelter. There were several points where I thought I was going to get blown right off my bike. I had to ride my bike at an angle to keep from being blown over and to maintain control of my bike! Once we got back into the hills, we were a bit more sheltered to the wind wasn't so bad. At least we were going to have the wind at our backs on the way back. At least that's what I thought. Unfortunately by the time we got back on to Old Baseline Road on the way back, the wind had slightly changed direction and was blowing almost straight out of the north. So once again, I had to hold on to my bike for dear life. I don't think I have ever been so scared before! The wind was THAT strong. I almost went down when a gust caught my front fork. My hands were cramped by the time we stopped at Airport road. It was a bit of an adventure to say the least. But, despite the wind and the hills, I still managed to cover 82.7 km in 3 hours and 27 minutes. So, I was pretty pleased with myself. Sure my heart rate was in zone 3 or over for about 90% of the ride but, I perservered with little whining. It was good preparation for South Carolina. Speaking of which, this time next week, I will be riding my bike in the mountains! I'm sure by the time I get back I will have a new definition for the word "wedgie"