Brad usually rides on Sunday with a group that he really likes. They ride like they're in the Tour, fast, in a pace line, in their funky cycling clothes. This Sunday Brad had a bunch of work he was trying to get done before he went. You could see the stress bunching in his neck as he was rushing to get said work done and go riding. When I piped up with, I'll go riding with you *GASP*, he seemed to relax. He was going to get his training in, although it was with me, and get his work done. My only request is that we not do fifty miles, or 40 for that matter. I have never ridden more then 26 or longer then 2 hours on my trainer. Oh, and we keep it at a pace that I can maintain. He happily said yes, got the work done and spadexedly suited up and got the stress out not stressed out.
It was cold on Sunday so we had our layers on, got our water bottles and hopped on the bikes. Bonni misses being on the open road. She loves it out there and wishes I was a more willing rider, I keep promising her someday, Bonni Blu my beautiful bike, someday I will be. Yes, my bike has a name, doesn't yours, my wetsuit is named Delilah! Anyway, Brad is in the lead, of course and we warm up a bit through our subdivision. Great so far, we get to Hull Street, which of course makes my heart race like a maniac because it's so busy and it's four lanes of sheer hell, unclip at the light, and wait until it's red in both directions and we cross. Phew! We made it. Now we're in Foxcroft. Foxcroft has some nice little inclines, I started shifting just to make sure my gears were working. Out to Woolridge Road. Thankfully, it isn't busy. That is a killer road when it is. We turned onto Otterdale which eventually turns into Duval. Duval has nice rolling hills. Then on to Skinquarter. These are all fairly rural, and we got even more rural to the point where I have no idea where we are.
Brad takes us on this one road where he says "by mile 13 or so there is a mile long climb, it gets pretty steep at the end. IT'S GREAT!" Have I told you I think my husband is a little "pazzo"??? He's scary when he gets that enthusiastic about something that non-enthusing. You'd think he's discovered a way to turn water to wine. So we start on this road, and sure enough the climb starts, and I am doing okay. The hill is getting steeper, I am working through the gears on my middle ring. Wow, I am through all of those gears, there must be something wrong with my bike, they went too quickly....I am going to have to switch to my little ring soon. Okay, now this hill just plain sucks. Holy smokes, I am in my little ring and working the gears until it happens, I have no more gears left. When I hit the last one, I panic a bit. Now, this is when the little man in my head starts starts yammering away at me. Starts making fun of me, calling me an old lady for having to use my Granny gear, "and you're not even at the top of the hill yet. What chu gonna do now, hahahaha, weak, you are weak, you are a Granny, I know Grannies that ride better then you, to say that you are a granny insults Grannies!" Didn't I tell you he's mean? Yes, I did want to get off of the bike and start walking the damn thing, but you see, I hate giving in to that mean little guy, so I stick it out. I start focusing on my technique, making sure I am pedaling a full stroke, not just mashing my down stroke. I am making progress. I tell myself I could always get out of my saddle and ride standing up if I had to, but I would rather not. I want to sit and get through this hill, hmmmm maybe that little man is making me masochistic. I see Brad waiting for me at the top, I think I have some maniacal smile on my face, and I probably would have bugs stuck in my teeth if it were summer. Which would probably be a good thing to have that source of protein. I had no intention of riding so long that I would need to bring some sort of nurtrition on my bike, but guess what, we were!
When I finally got to the stop sign and met up with Brad, he starts giving me options, none of which I like. Nope not at all. "well we can turn right and go this way, blah, blah, blah, or if we go left and then right we can go that way, blah, blah, blah, and if we go right, then right again, blah, blah, blah. I think he thought I was listening and carefully weighing my options. But he never said, You wait here, I will finish the ride, get my truck, pick you up and have a cup of coffee and a sandwich in the car for you. (I was going to say one of those angry Whoppers they have out now, but what kind of an athlete would I be if I admitted I ate things like that, or wished I could at least, it's a good thing I don't like Burger Kings French Fries) So I snap out of my dream sequence, look at him and say, I don't think I can do more then 25 or so miles" His incredulous stare, I so wished I had taken a picture of it because he rarely looks at me like I am mentally challenged, but this time he did, said it all. When he slapped his, Better be careful with your words Bud, she looks like she's liable to snap if you say the wrong thing, look on his face, he cheerfully replied with "Oops, well it's a little late to keep us in that range" I feebly responded, "Could we keep it around 30?, The Whopper dream bubble popping above my head, raining down all over me in sad little droplets. To which he smiled and said sure.
Did I mention after that point in the ride he stopped updating our mileage to me? Before I'd get mile markers, not so anymore, which lead me to believe that the little cuss was lying about keeping it at thirty. Anyway, onward we ride, like Knights into the Crusade. I am drafting on Brad, and he's sputtering away about how I should be on his tire. I laugh, beat you to that idea hahaha! I am on your wheel, thankfully he doesn't see me almost take him out by almost clipping his back tire. I think we were going past the llamas on the farm. Fascinated I was, fascinated. It's not like you see llamas on your average, everyday farm, so of course I had to stare. But then I thought, well if I lived on Robious Road, I would see llamas everday if I had to drive on it because there is that farm that has sheep and llamas on it, so that idea doesn't really hold water. As I am debating with this idea, I look down for some reason and HOLY COW (or llama depending on the farm you're passing) I hit my brakes and steer to the right without going in the ditch that is considered the shoulder on this road. Amazing, I didn't kill Brad or me. Better not tell him that just happened.
We finally make a turn that brings me back to a road I recognize, and my heart does a little dance because I know we're getting closer to home. We keep riding, and get back to Duval. This is when Brad proudly announces, "We're in the home stretch baby, we have only 10 or so miles left to go" Yay for ten miles, excuse the sarcasm dripping from each word. Whopper dream bubble, whopper dream bubble, where for are thou??? Why did I just imagine that?? I am hallucinating, medic, medic. But hey, I realize snapping out of my stupor this is sort of down hill, I am feeling kind of okay on this part. We are plowing up and down these rolling hills, I am trying to keep pace with Brad and do for parts of it. We get to Magnolia Green, my husband smiles at me and tells me we can make it, we are almost there. We are riding Woolridge at this point, I tell him to go on ahead, I am riding at like 14mph now, gone is the 20 and better MPH, gone is the okay, I'll just keep it at 18 mph, gone is the I refuse to drop past 16 MPH, I will settle for fourteen, unless I am on a hill. I caught up to Brad, who I know was slowing down for my benefit, and draft a bit up that long, slow incline out of Foxcroft to our subdivision. We get to Hull Street, cross again, and now I know I am home. My legs are screaming, I have cramping like I did during the NYC triathlon. By the time we round the corner to the last little hill to our house, I am wondering if I will even have the strength to unclip my shoes in the drive way. But I zip up the hill, hit the brakes, and pop off of my pedals. Getting off of my bike, my legs feel like rubber bands, I am shaky, I need food, nutrition.
Brad glibly announces we went for 38.5 miles, see, around thirty miles! So close, I kept my word. Then he sees that look I give him, that I save for announcements such as those. If any of you saw me finish at Bear Creek you know the look I mean. I must have scared him into servitude, because after that he made me a Sesame Chicken Lean Cuisine and brought me a huge glass of ice water.
Did it erase the look, well sort of, did it erase the 38.5 miles, I hope not, Brad said we burned over 3500 calories on the ride, did it erase the memory of the ride, nope, my rear still was sore. Will I go again if he asks me to next weekend if he doesn't make his usual ride, well of course, now you're getting the look I save for just such an occasion, I still have 17.5 miles more to add!
Monday, January 12, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
Dogma to help the two hours pass
No not religious Dogma, but Dogma definitely helped me through my first two hour plus ride. I don't know if you are a fan of Kevin Smith the director, but he is definitely one of my favorites and his movies, though rough around the edges language wise, are some of my all time favorites as well. Where Mel Brooks (another of my favorite directors)subtly insinuates in his movies, Kevin Smith, and his characters state, particularly when it comes to sex. Anyway, Dogma is my absolute favorite Kevin Smith film because of how cleverly he weaves the bible and commonly held dogma into a contemporary story. So I grabbed my husband's Christmas gift from me, his I-touch, that has Dogma downloaded on it, a water bottle and me and headed out to the trainer in the garage. I would like to train on the road for two hours, but right now I need to get my confidence on the bike, plus I have one hellaciously sick child in my house presently too, so to the trainer it was. My husband swears plenty of people use their trainers successfully to train for the bike portion of their triathlons, but I think he is just trying to make me feel better.
I started in an easy gear, and every fifteen or so minutes increased the gears to make it harder and harder while trying to keep the same cadence. By the time the movie was over, I was a sweaty, rubbery legged mess. But somehow it made the time pass faster, or so it seemed.
The other reason I am training on my bike so hard is because my husband got me involved in another one of his hair brained schemes. I swear he is the Lucy Ricardo of racing in my life. I must be his Ethel. But his new Vitameatavegimin moment is we need to do the MS 150 bike ride. Of all the crazy, what the heck are you thinking things to do....He formed a team even, Team Domestique, and now I have to do it. Two absolutely amazing friends I have made through racing have actually signed on to ride. Signed on to ride for two days, 75 miles each day. What the hell are we thinking here? There will be a really great group of people involved, some nice lodging, supposedly fabulous food, and a neat end destination in beautiful, colonial Williamsburg which I love to visit, but 150 miles???
Brad swears it will be fun, but like I said to him, he has a pretty unusual concept of what might be fun. Riding a bike for 150 miles is not fun! Fun is hanging out with people you like, fun is going on vacation, fun is staying in a nice hotel, fun is eating great food celebrating life with good friends surrounding you and being thankful for the health you have. Maybe like an MS 150 Bike ride with Team Domestique....
I started in an easy gear, and every fifteen or so minutes increased the gears to make it harder and harder while trying to keep the same cadence. By the time the movie was over, I was a sweaty, rubbery legged mess. But somehow it made the time pass faster, or so it seemed.
The other reason I am training on my bike so hard is because my husband got me involved in another one of his hair brained schemes. I swear he is the Lucy Ricardo of racing in my life. I must be his Ethel. But his new Vitameatavegimin moment is we need to do the MS 150 bike ride. Of all the crazy, what the heck are you thinking things to do....He formed a team even, Team Domestique, and now I have to do it. Two absolutely amazing friends I have made through racing have actually signed on to ride. Signed on to ride for two days, 75 miles each day. What the hell are we thinking here? There will be a really great group of people involved, some nice lodging, supposedly fabulous food, and a neat end destination in beautiful, colonial Williamsburg which I love to visit, but 150 miles???
Brad swears it will be fun, but like I said to him, he has a pretty unusual concept of what might be fun. Riding a bike for 150 miles is not fun! Fun is hanging out with people you like, fun is going on vacation, fun is staying in a nice hotel, fun is eating great food celebrating life with good friends surrounding you and being thankful for the health you have. Maybe like an MS 150 Bike ride with Team Domestique....
Friday, December 26, 2008
You know our Half Ironman is in less the 16 weeks don't you Danielle?
Mmmm, there are certain sweet nothings my husband whispers to me that send shivers rippling down my spine and cause a bloom of sweat to form over my skin. The line, You know our half Ironman is in less the 16 weeks wasn't necessarily sending the kind of shivers I like following a sweet nothing being whispered. But it is the truth, we have less then 16 weeks to prepare ourselves for this race.
My husband is ready I think. He goes out on his hellaciously long bike rides with his fellow spandexed buddies. He typically rides for 40 plus miles. Me, I have been hopping on the trainer and riding for an hour and a half. I might be covering 24-25 miles. Then I follow it up with a half hour or so run right now. I need to get myself back into the pool. I know I can swim a mile, I need to add a quarter of a mile to that. Those words sent me into such a panic, I keep telling myself I cannot miss a day of training. Today I did core work and yoga to build my muscles to be up to this task. Not nearly enough, not nearly enough training. Where am I going to find the time, how is everything in my life going to get done?
I keep thinking to myself, why did I agree to this? Why? I mean it's one thing to think you can do a sprint triathlon, heck that's nothing really, you're done in around an hour and how many minutes. A Half Marathon, shoot that's nothing more then a training run anymore. A full marathon, I want to make that a yearly event in my life. An Olympic distance triathlon, yeah, I can do those too. Not nearly as scary as I had feared, but now we are talking about a race with Iron in the title. We're not talking about something where you're going to see a tremendous cross section of weights and abilities. We are talking about something that you can qualify for Kona with. The mother of all triathlons, the holy grail for Pete's Sake!!! Ugh, what am I doing??? I have only done one Oly to Brad's ten thousand!
Maybe, while the sweet nothings I like were being whispered and I started to shiver, my husband threw in the "Let's do a Half Bits" (his nickname for me but that is a blog for another day) And in my delirium from those whispers I like, I choked out an exasperated yes I'll do it, sending shivers down my husband's spine and the bloom of sweat across his skin because those are the sweet nothings he likes to hear....
My husband is ready I think. He goes out on his hellaciously long bike rides with his fellow spandexed buddies. He typically rides for 40 plus miles. Me, I have been hopping on the trainer and riding for an hour and a half. I might be covering 24-25 miles. Then I follow it up with a half hour or so run right now. I need to get myself back into the pool. I know I can swim a mile, I need to add a quarter of a mile to that. Those words sent me into such a panic, I keep telling myself I cannot miss a day of training. Today I did core work and yoga to build my muscles to be up to this task. Not nearly enough, not nearly enough training. Where am I going to find the time, how is everything in my life going to get done?
I keep thinking to myself, why did I agree to this? Why? I mean it's one thing to think you can do a sprint triathlon, heck that's nothing really, you're done in around an hour and how many minutes. A Half Marathon, shoot that's nothing more then a training run anymore. A full marathon, I want to make that a yearly event in my life. An Olympic distance triathlon, yeah, I can do those too. Not nearly as scary as I had feared, but now we are talking about a race with Iron in the title. We're not talking about something where you're going to see a tremendous cross section of weights and abilities. We are talking about something that you can qualify for Kona with. The mother of all triathlons, the holy grail for Pete's Sake!!! Ugh, what am I doing??? I have only done one Oly to Brad's ten thousand!
Maybe, while the sweet nothings I like were being whispered and I started to shiver, my husband threw in the "Let's do a Half Bits" (his nickname for me but that is a blog for another day) And in my delirium from those whispers I like, I choked out an exasperated yes I'll do it, sending shivers down my husband's spine and the bloom of sweat across his skin because those are the sweet nothings he likes to hear....
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Bear Creek and the Magic Bus
There are some things you do and you wonder why. This morning, when my husband woke me up before six so we could go freeze our heinies off and trail run for 10 miles, I questioned the wisdom behind my Yes to this race.
Let's rewind a week, I went trail running as practice for the race. We got invited by the people we were doing the race with. I was having a fabulous time. The run was great until mile 6 or so. I tripped and broke my fall with my face. I still have the remnants of a black eye as the reminder of it. But I have to say, the people we ran with were just wonderful and I enjoyed the run even with my face plant, swollen side of my face and subsequent black eye. I still have bruises down my thigh as well.
Anyway, fast forward until today. We all met at Primrose School. One of the people we were going to the race with said we could all ride on the magic Primrose School little bus because she owns that Primrose School. There was a flurry of pre-race emails from all of the people we met because each of us volunteered to bring something. Jay brought bagels and bananas, Erik brought this yummy Irish bread, John brought coffee from Starbucks, and I brought an Italian smooshed sandwich for us to eat afterward.
We got to Bear Creek State Park a half hour before the race started. The ride there was sooo much fun, we ate, drank and joked around. I have to admit I was pretty nervous, Jim made the comment about falling three times last year and my stomach lurched. It snowed last night, so the ground was all covered with white, it was so pretty. We parked, got out of the bus after a bit and decided to hit the loo. There were three porta potties for the 150 runners. The lines moved quickly, I got in one, sat down and the thing tilted backwards. It reminded me of a scene from Jackass. I was scared the thing was going to flip and got out in a hurry. I got out and did a quick warm up with Brad. We came back from the warm up and lined up.
The race started and it was a herd of people running along this narrow trail. We were all clumped together save the really fast people up front. Brad was towards the front with Erik, who is the fastest trail runner I have ever seen, Jay, a man who has this obsession with bananas, Jim and John. Deb and I lagged back and really decided to take it easy during the race. I chatted with Mike, another Tri Club member for the longest while until he ran ahead, he was in front of me, and chatted with Deb for the rest of the race pretty much. We had the best time. Right off the bat we hit a creek crossing, I was thrilled I made it across without getting my feet wet. It was one of many, and unfortunately my feet did not stay dry. Did I mention it was around 30 degrees?
The herd finally started thinning out and we all fell into our own paces. It was probably the longest ten miles of my life though. We went up and down and up and down and up and down. It was really tough. At one point I got to live a penguin's life. I fell and skidded on my belly like a penguin on the ice. I thankfully didn't get another black eye to match what's left of the one I have, but do have a whole slew of new bruises all over my legs and tummy.
Deb and I were doing great, until we hit this really mushy spot. It got mushier and mushier as the race wore on, and in the muck there was a root or rock, something. I tripped over it and rolled my ankle badly. But it was weird, there was this stabbing pain all the way up to my knee. I had to stop running and try to walk it off a little. It hurt when I walked and figured I would keep running. We had around 5K to finish and I was truly over the race after that. So plod on I did, it was the pits. It hurt particularly to go up hill, so I had to walk a lot of my uphills. I started recognize where I was after awhile so I knew I was close to the end. Holy cow, by the time I finished, my knee was aching so badly I was limping. But finish I did, in 2 hours and 10 minutes. It would have been at least 5 minutes faster if I weren't hobbling the way I was. I still managed to come in fourth in my age group, still managed to get to the buss. Still managed to have a fabulous time on the way home and dole out my smooshed sandwich.
Deb said to me as we walked to the bus, I am never doing that again, and at that time I heartily agreed. Ask me if I am going to run Bear Creek again after my knee stops hurting, I just might, or I just might go along for the ride and the food and the company...
Let's rewind a week, I went trail running as practice for the race. We got invited by the people we were doing the race with. I was having a fabulous time. The run was great until mile 6 or so. I tripped and broke my fall with my face. I still have the remnants of a black eye as the reminder of it. But I have to say, the people we ran with were just wonderful and I enjoyed the run even with my face plant, swollen side of my face and subsequent black eye. I still have bruises down my thigh as well.
Anyway, fast forward until today. We all met at Primrose School. One of the people we were going to the race with said we could all ride on the magic Primrose School little bus because she owns that Primrose School. There was a flurry of pre-race emails from all of the people we met because each of us volunteered to bring something. Jay brought bagels and bananas, Erik brought this yummy Irish bread, John brought coffee from Starbucks, and I brought an Italian smooshed sandwich for us to eat afterward.
We got to Bear Creek State Park a half hour before the race started. The ride there was sooo much fun, we ate, drank and joked around. I have to admit I was pretty nervous, Jim made the comment about falling three times last year and my stomach lurched. It snowed last night, so the ground was all covered with white, it was so pretty. We parked, got out of the bus after a bit and decided to hit the loo. There were three porta potties for the 150 runners. The lines moved quickly, I got in one, sat down and the thing tilted backwards. It reminded me of a scene from Jackass. I was scared the thing was going to flip and got out in a hurry. I got out and did a quick warm up with Brad. We came back from the warm up and lined up.
The race started and it was a herd of people running along this narrow trail. We were all clumped together save the really fast people up front. Brad was towards the front with Erik, who is the fastest trail runner I have ever seen, Jay, a man who has this obsession with bananas, Jim and John. Deb and I lagged back and really decided to take it easy during the race. I chatted with Mike, another Tri Club member for the longest while until he ran ahead, he was in front of me, and chatted with Deb for the rest of the race pretty much. We had the best time. Right off the bat we hit a creek crossing, I was thrilled I made it across without getting my feet wet. It was one of many, and unfortunately my feet did not stay dry. Did I mention it was around 30 degrees?
The herd finally started thinning out and we all fell into our own paces. It was probably the longest ten miles of my life though. We went up and down and up and down and up and down. It was really tough. At one point I got to live a penguin's life. I fell and skidded on my belly like a penguin on the ice. I thankfully didn't get another black eye to match what's left of the one I have, but do have a whole slew of new bruises all over my legs and tummy.
Deb and I were doing great, until we hit this really mushy spot. It got mushier and mushier as the race wore on, and in the muck there was a root or rock, something. I tripped over it and rolled my ankle badly. But it was weird, there was this stabbing pain all the way up to my knee. I had to stop running and try to walk it off a little. It hurt when I walked and figured I would keep running. We had around 5K to finish and I was truly over the race after that. So plod on I did, it was the pits. It hurt particularly to go up hill, so I had to walk a lot of my uphills. I started recognize where I was after awhile so I knew I was close to the end. Holy cow, by the time I finished, my knee was aching so badly I was limping. But finish I did, in 2 hours and 10 minutes. It would have been at least 5 minutes faster if I weren't hobbling the way I was. I still managed to come in fourth in my age group, still managed to get to the buss. Still managed to have a fabulous time on the way home and dole out my smooshed sandwich.
Deb said to me as we walked to the bus, I am never doing that again, and at that time I heartily agreed. Ask me if I am going to run Bear Creek again after my knee stops hurting, I just might, or I just might go along for the ride and the food and the company...
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Honey, is it supposed to hurt this much??
My husband and I are running in the Bear Creek ten mile trail run this next weekend I think it is. We haven't been doing any really heavy training, especially with Thanksgiving being this past week. So when Brad was invited by Jim, a really nifty guy, with a fabulous wife, to join a group of people trail running this weekend Brad said we'd be there. We were running trails in downtown Richmond. Jim had a route set up along the North bank trail, across the Nickel bridge (which actually costs like 35 cents to cross anymore but no one is willing to change the name to reflect the increase)the Buttermilk trail and across Belle Isle (which I swear you can feel the spirits of the people who died there in that Confederate Prison camp). It's neat running in downtown, you get completely swallowed up by the trails, the trees, the foliage, and suddenly you aren't downtown, in a city, at least in your mind anymore. It is really something.
Trail running is fun, and totally different from running on the road. You are so busy trying to stay vertical, and not trip over something, at least I am anyway, that it takes your mind off of the fact that you are running.
When we started running this morning, it was a nice pace. We were looping around, going back and forth, this way and that. It felt we kept going from point A to point B and back again. Indecision is an awful thing! But foraged on we did until the pack started to break apart and I felt like we were actually running somewhere and not stuck on a treadmill from hell. You had the speedy guys, running like we were on a flat surface, you had some runners just a bit behind them, and those of us who were the caboose on this train. After the first two or so miles, the lead pack waited for the rest of us to get there. Then we started up again, part on the road, about a mile or so, then back to the trails. We were all trotting along happily, and over the misleadingly named Nickel bridge, which reminded me eerily of the 59th St. bridge during the marathon, it's all uphill I swear. After the top of the hill, we looped around and back to the trails. Again, we broke into the groups and started speeding up and down the hills of the trails. Then it happened. Someone in my group fell. A really, really nice woman named Jan. I liked her a lot when I met her this morning. Anyway, she bit it big and went down. We all stopped to help her, but she waved us off and told us she was fine, only her pride was hurt. So we loped along again. It was pretty treacherous and I wondered how people mountain biked the trails. I would have been flying off of the cliffs, crashing as I hit the huge rocks and chunks of concrete, but these trails are really cool and makes me wish I could ride my mountain bike well, but I digress. Where was I, oh yeah, we were all running along after Jan fell, we hit a particularly steep down hill, all covered with leaves and then the next thing you know Craig, another super nice guy we ran with, wiped out. If you have never seen a person who is 6 foot, 8 inches tall fall, it is something. It was a jangle of arms, legs and wham. So we all stopped to make sure he was okay, which he was. Besides a bruised ego, he had a cut knee. Okay, we finally meet up with the rest of the crew. Jim was kind enough to have a rest station set up for us at mile 5. He had Gatorade for us, which was really so nice, but that's what you'd expect from him. Did I mention he is genuinely nice guy?? If you're reading this Jim, you are you know!! It was at this point I decided I had to use the restroom. As luck would have it, there was a Port-O-Potty. I went to it, blessed it with a giant sign of the cross to drive out any demons of grossness I could, held my breath, and went it. Grandma Tav would have been proud, I put toilet paper on the seat so if I accidentally touched it while I hovered, I wouldn't get germs. Now if I just had that giant purse of hers with the stolen packets of sugar and wet naps in it to wash my hands with, I would have been set! Okay, back to the run.
We take off again except we split into two groups. One group, the smart group, the group with my fellow fallees, went on the road trail. Me, I hadn't fallen yet, so I didn't think anything of saying, I'll keep with the trails and my husband. Trot, trot, trot, look at me. I am keeping up with the big boys, trot, trot, trot. Brad kept turning around to talk to me. It was nice, like when we run on the road together. As we started to go up a hill that was peppered with rocks and roots, it happened. *Insert the music from Psycho here* I'm going down, I tripped over a root, but this other root is sticking out like a spear, and I am coming down on it. Thankfully it was more horizontal then vertical. But I thought I impaled myself right through my left boob. That hurt and I grabbed at that root and my boob, but wait, I wasn't finished falling yet, duh. KABLAM!!!!!! *insert Flintstone style bonk here* Hold on a second, if my hands are grabbing my boob, what's breaking my fall????? My face of course!!! As I lay there and pondered the meaning of life, the mathematical substance behind the theory of relativity, the space time continuum, my husband is standing over me trying to make sure I am alive. Here come two other trail runners, inquiring as to my status. I hear myself say I am okay. But I swear I feel like someone else is saying it on my behalf. Brad runs to catch up with the rest of the group after making sure I didn't split my head open, which it felt like I did, to tell them what happened. I, on sort of wobbly legs and an ever spinning head, start walking and wiping off the dirt from my face. Thankfully there's no blood, but enough swelling underneath and on top of my eye that I am catching it with my peripheral vision. I get to the group and everyone looks at me with gaping mouths. Yep, I must look good. So they go on ahead and Brad and I let me walk for awhile, getting my legs underneath me. We walked about a half mile, and started to run again. We ran across Belle Isle, feeling the tortured spirits around me, and to the parking lot. Jan was there still, the road group beat us back. I told her I fell for her because she actually fell twice while we ran and I felt badly for her. It was the least I could do.
I got in the car and viewed the damage. Yikes, I look like I have been in a fist fight, yeah but you should see what the other guy looks like...Hahaha. That's when I quipped, Honey, is it supposed to hurt this much, to myself. Hey, I wasn't going to be the best at anything today, I might as well be the best out of everyone who fell. And that I was, no one even came close to the damage I did.
Listen up Jim, I am not wearing a helmet next week. If I can do this sort or damage today just training, I am really looking forward to what I can do next week!! A personal worst and bodily harm, wow, how can I refuse??
Trail running is fun, and totally different from running on the road. You are so busy trying to stay vertical, and not trip over something, at least I am anyway, that it takes your mind off of the fact that you are running.
When we started running this morning, it was a nice pace. We were looping around, going back and forth, this way and that. It felt we kept going from point A to point B and back again. Indecision is an awful thing! But foraged on we did until the pack started to break apart and I felt like we were actually running somewhere and not stuck on a treadmill from hell. You had the speedy guys, running like we were on a flat surface, you had some runners just a bit behind them, and those of us who were the caboose on this train. After the first two or so miles, the lead pack waited for the rest of us to get there. Then we started up again, part on the road, about a mile or so, then back to the trails. We were all trotting along happily, and over the misleadingly named Nickel bridge, which reminded me eerily of the 59th St. bridge during the marathon, it's all uphill I swear. After the top of the hill, we looped around and back to the trails. Again, we broke into the groups and started speeding up and down the hills of the trails. Then it happened. Someone in my group fell. A really, really nice woman named Jan. I liked her a lot when I met her this morning. Anyway, she bit it big and went down. We all stopped to help her, but she waved us off and told us she was fine, only her pride was hurt. So we loped along again. It was pretty treacherous and I wondered how people mountain biked the trails. I would have been flying off of the cliffs, crashing as I hit the huge rocks and chunks of concrete, but these trails are really cool and makes me wish I could ride my mountain bike well, but I digress. Where was I, oh yeah, we were all running along after Jan fell, we hit a particularly steep down hill, all covered with leaves and then the next thing you know Craig, another super nice guy we ran with, wiped out. If you have never seen a person who is 6 foot, 8 inches tall fall, it is something. It was a jangle of arms, legs and wham. So we all stopped to make sure he was okay, which he was. Besides a bruised ego, he had a cut knee. Okay, we finally meet up with the rest of the crew. Jim was kind enough to have a rest station set up for us at mile 5. He had Gatorade for us, which was really so nice, but that's what you'd expect from him. Did I mention he is genuinely nice guy?? If you're reading this Jim, you are you know!! It was at this point I decided I had to use the restroom. As luck would have it, there was a Port-O-Potty. I went to it, blessed it with a giant sign of the cross to drive out any demons of grossness I could, held my breath, and went it. Grandma Tav would have been proud, I put toilet paper on the seat so if I accidentally touched it while I hovered, I wouldn't get germs. Now if I just had that giant purse of hers with the stolen packets of sugar and wet naps in it to wash my hands with, I would have been set! Okay, back to the run.
We take off again except we split into two groups. One group, the smart group, the group with my fellow fallees, went on the road trail. Me, I hadn't fallen yet, so I didn't think anything of saying, I'll keep with the trails and my husband. Trot, trot, trot, look at me. I am keeping up with the big boys, trot, trot, trot. Brad kept turning around to talk to me. It was nice, like when we run on the road together. As we started to go up a hill that was peppered with rocks and roots, it happened. *Insert the music from Psycho here* I'm going down, I tripped over a root, but this other root is sticking out like a spear, and I am coming down on it. Thankfully it was more horizontal then vertical. But I thought I impaled myself right through my left boob. That hurt and I grabbed at that root and my boob, but wait, I wasn't finished falling yet, duh. KABLAM!!!!!! *insert Flintstone style bonk here* Hold on a second, if my hands are grabbing my boob, what's breaking my fall????? My face of course!!! As I lay there and pondered the meaning of life, the mathematical substance behind the theory of relativity, the space time continuum, my husband is standing over me trying to make sure I am alive. Here come two other trail runners, inquiring as to my status. I hear myself say I am okay. But I swear I feel like someone else is saying it on my behalf. Brad runs to catch up with the rest of the group after making sure I didn't split my head open, which it felt like I did, to tell them what happened. I, on sort of wobbly legs and an ever spinning head, start walking and wiping off the dirt from my face. Thankfully there's no blood, but enough swelling underneath and on top of my eye that I am catching it with my peripheral vision. I get to the group and everyone looks at me with gaping mouths. Yep, I must look good. So they go on ahead and Brad and I let me walk for awhile, getting my legs underneath me. We walked about a half mile, and started to run again. We ran across Belle Isle, feeling the tortured spirits around me, and to the parking lot. Jan was there still, the road group beat us back. I told her I fell for her because she actually fell twice while we ran and I felt badly for her. It was the least I could do.
I got in the car and viewed the damage. Yikes, I look like I have been in a fist fight, yeah but you should see what the other guy looks like...Hahaha. That's when I quipped, Honey, is it supposed to hurt this much, to myself. Hey, I wasn't going to be the best at anything today, I might as well be the best out of everyone who fell. And that I was, no one even came close to the damage I did.
Listen up Jim, I am not wearing a helmet next week. If I can do this sort or damage today just training, I am really looking forward to what I can do next week!! A personal worst and bodily harm, wow, how can I refuse??
Friday, November 14, 2008
Running like a girl and other bits of training
When last I wrote, I was recovering from the NYC marathon. It was truly an experience. I told my coach, I think she was sending hypnotizing mind waves through the phone as we talked, that I would consider doing the Marine Corps. Marathon in DC this October. I know she was, otherwise WHY would I agree to such a crazy thing??? I have until next summer to reneg. We shall see about it.
Anyway, my husband and I are signed up for technique classes all off season long through Endorphin fitness. We finally made it to a running class on Wednesday night. I loved it. First of all a bunch of my running buddies from my previous class were there. Brian, Fred and Tom are a hoot to run with. Second of all, it's outside so you don't have to worry about overheating. It was a perfectly chilly 48 or so degrees on Wednesday. I actually was pretty frosty, then we did our 10 minute warm up. It was really nice. I got to hear Fred's stories about the Ironman he and his wife did the same weekend we ran the marathon. Fred you and Charlotte are such BEASTS and I mean that with total awe and admiration dripping from every pore!!! Brian ran the NYC marathon too. So we got to chat about that. Funny, I never could talk while I ran before. I think running for almost 5 hours of my life put my lungs into a totally different category of functioning. My legs too. I was like 10 mins of running???? Really now, I could do that with both legs tied behind my back, hahahaha! There'd be a sight for sure.
Anyway, we warmed up, and went back to our two coaches. One is my coach, HI BRENDA, I know you're reading my blog so I though I'd give you a shout out. And the other was a very nice guy named Bob. I think it was Bob, I could be wrong, but I think his name was Bob. He had an Ironman hat on and an Endorphin Fitness sweatshirt, so I know it wasn't some random guy who decided to teach the class. Some hobo with nothing to do but make a bunch of people sprint around like idiots.
To get back to my original thought there, we went back to the coaches who had us line up on one end of the football field. We were practicing our form tonight. So we had to remember to not slouch, lean at our ankles, and land on the middle of our foot. Kind of like the ball of it, but not on your toes. Not unless you want a world of hurt. We had to balance on one foot, things like that, all to drill the proper form into our heads.
It was so cool out there, and I was feeling awesome. All of my running buddies were around, my husband was next to me and Brenda was one of the coaches. The perfect storm in my running world. Brenda had us running 50 yards practicing this or that drill regarding our form. I was all focused, and really trying. I wasn't intentionally running in the front of the pack of the 15 in our group. I was just trying. But I was out in front, cause the next thing you know I hear my husband's noisy sweatpants swooshing for all they were worth and another person busting it on my other side. Fred and my husband were trying to catch me. Hmmm, must be a male testosterone-y thing, you were being housed by a girl! Oooooooooooo, you want some ice for that burn boys????? That was it! It was ON BIGTIME. Brenda got laughing she saw what they were up to. Then Tom threw himself into the mix, I should mention Brian is running the Richmond Marathon this weekend so he was just doing many, many laps to our technique drills. I had my I know I Run Like A Girl Shirt on that I wore to the Marathon. When the guys were busting it to keep up with me, they started to tease me about how I ran like a girl. It was all in good fun, I do believe I heard a bunch of admiration when they teased me. At one point after many, many 50 yard drills, Brenda and Bob had us run the inside, grassy perimeter of the track. I took off, and was eating up the weather. It was perfect for me, I couldn't overheat if I tried, MS be damned, you will not touch me tonight!! It felt so good, then all of the sudden, as I was in my happy place and feeling sort of invincible, the peanut gallery of male runners started cat calling to me. BWAHAHAHAHA! Run, run as fast as I can, you boys can't catch me I'm like the gingerbread man!!!!!!!!
After that lap, we did what seemed like ten thousand more 50 yard drills. Each time the bunch of us getting faster and faster. I think our coaches loved it. We were so enthusiastic, laughing, bantering, it was AWESOME! I had so much fun, I can't begin to tell you. The only disappointing thing was we didn't get to do the barefoot striders. Too cold and the grass was sort of wet, so maybe next week. Unfortunately Brad won't be there, boo!!!! I love running with him. But my other buddies will. We are trying to plan a get together with a glass of wine or beer and the spouses and/or girlfriends too. I would love it.
We swam a bunch yesterday, that was my other bit of training. Actually, we did weights, it is absolutely hysterical to watch me bench press anything, then we road these nifty new bikes they have at Am Fam. It has a screen, you pick a course and you race other riders. We did a couple of miles of that, then we hit the pool. I did 30 full laps, which makes for 1500 yards. It felt really good. Once I found my rhythm I could have kept going. I didn't though, I hadn't been swimming in a bit, so I needed to remember how I would feel the next day, being today. My shoulders hurt and my lats, but that's good. Means I was using proper form and the right muscle groups as I pulled through the water.
I think I forgot to mention that my coach wants me to qualify for the Boston marathon this year. Is she nuts???? The marine corps marathon is a qualifier for Boston. That would mean me running the whole thing in like 3 hours and 30 minutes. It took almost 2 hours longer to do for NY, will a year of training really be enough to do that I wonder???? Where she get that type of faith in me, I have no idea!
I am training for a 10 mile trail run. Brad entered us in the Bear Creek 10 miler in a few weeks. It is supposed to be wickedly hairy and I am guaranteed a personal worst! That's what a group of Brad's triathlon friends said about it. I am so excited, the people we are going with (another group of really fun people), a personal worst, you can't beat that with a stick, or beat me at running clinic when I am running like a girl....
Anyway, my husband and I are signed up for technique classes all off season long through Endorphin fitness. We finally made it to a running class on Wednesday night. I loved it. First of all a bunch of my running buddies from my previous class were there. Brian, Fred and Tom are a hoot to run with. Second of all, it's outside so you don't have to worry about overheating. It was a perfectly chilly 48 or so degrees on Wednesday. I actually was pretty frosty, then we did our 10 minute warm up. It was really nice. I got to hear Fred's stories about the Ironman he and his wife did the same weekend we ran the marathon. Fred you and Charlotte are such BEASTS and I mean that with total awe and admiration dripping from every pore!!! Brian ran the NYC marathon too. So we got to chat about that. Funny, I never could talk while I ran before. I think running for almost 5 hours of my life put my lungs into a totally different category of functioning. My legs too. I was like 10 mins of running???? Really now, I could do that with both legs tied behind my back, hahahaha! There'd be a sight for sure.
Anyway, we warmed up, and went back to our two coaches. One is my coach, HI BRENDA, I know you're reading my blog so I though I'd give you a shout out. And the other was a very nice guy named Bob. I think it was Bob, I could be wrong, but I think his name was Bob. He had an Ironman hat on and an Endorphin Fitness sweatshirt, so I know it wasn't some random guy who decided to teach the class. Some hobo with nothing to do but make a bunch of people sprint around like idiots.
To get back to my original thought there, we went back to the coaches who had us line up on one end of the football field. We were practicing our form tonight. So we had to remember to not slouch, lean at our ankles, and land on the middle of our foot. Kind of like the ball of it, but not on your toes. Not unless you want a world of hurt. We had to balance on one foot, things like that, all to drill the proper form into our heads.
It was so cool out there, and I was feeling awesome. All of my running buddies were around, my husband was next to me and Brenda was one of the coaches. The perfect storm in my running world. Brenda had us running 50 yards practicing this or that drill regarding our form. I was all focused, and really trying. I wasn't intentionally running in the front of the pack of the 15 in our group. I was just trying. But I was out in front, cause the next thing you know I hear my husband's noisy sweatpants swooshing for all they were worth and another person busting it on my other side. Fred and my husband were trying to catch me. Hmmm, must be a male testosterone-y thing, you were being housed by a girl! Oooooooooooo, you want some ice for that burn boys????? That was it! It was ON BIGTIME. Brenda got laughing she saw what they were up to. Then Tom threw himself into the mix, I should mention Brian is running the Richmond Marathon this weekend so he was just doing many, many laps to our technique drills. I had my I know I Run Like A Girl Shirt on that I wore to the Marathon. When the guys were busting it to keep up with me, they started to tease me about how I ran like a girl. It was all in good fun, I do believe I heard a bunch of admiration when they teased me. At one point after many, many 50 yard drills, Brenda and Bob had us run the inside, grassy perimeter of the track. I took off, and was eating up the weather. It was perfect for me, I couldn't overheat if I tried, MS be damned, you will not touch me tonight!! It felt so good, then all of the sudden, as I was in my happy place and feeling sort of invincible, the peanut gallery of male runners started cat calling to me. BWAHAHAHAHA! Run, run as fast as I can, you boys can't catch me I'm like the gingerbread man!!!!!!!!
After that lap, we did what seemed like ten thousand more 50 yard drills. Each time the bunch of us getting faster and faster. I think our coaches loved it. We were so enthusiastic, laughing, bantering, it was AWESOME! I had so much fun, I can't begin to tell you. The only disappointing thing was we didn't get to do the barefoot striders. Too cold and the grass was sort of wet, so maybe next week. Unfortunately Brad won't be there, boo!!!! I love running with him. But my other buddies will. We are trying to plan a get together with a glass of wine or beer and the spouses and/or girlfriends too. I would love it.
We swam a bunch yesterday, that was my other bit of training. Actually, we did weights, it is absolutely hysterical to watch me bench press anything, then we road these nifty new bikes they have at Am Fam. It has a screen, you pick a course and you race other riders. We did a couple of miles of that, then we hit the pool. I did 30 full laps, which makes for 1500 yards. It felt really good. Once I found my rhythm I could have kept going. I didn't though, I hadn't been swimming in a bit, so I needed to remember how I would feel the next day, being today. My shoulders hurt and my lats, but that's good. Means I was using proper form and the right muscle groups as I pulled through the water.
I think I forgot to mention that my coach wants me to qualify for the Boston marathon this year. Is she nuts???? The marine corps marathon is a qualifier for Boston. That would mean me running the whole thing in like 3 hours and 30 minutes. It took almost 2 hours longer to do for NY, will a year of training really be enough to do that I wonder???? Where she get that type of faith in me, I have no idea!
I am training for a 10 mile trail run. Brad entered us in the Bear Creek 10 miler in a few weeks. It is supposed to be wickedly hairy and I am guaranteed a personal worst! That's what a group of Brad's triathlon friends said about it. I am so excited, the people we are going with (another group of really fun people), a personal worst, you can't beat that with a stick, or beat me at running clinic when I am running like a girl....
Monday, November 3, 2008
The Devastation that was once my lower half
Yes, I might have survived, but it is not without a price. My husband and I were lying in bed this morning, taking inventory and comparing aches. We both thought we were doing pretty well. Then I made the mistake of standing up. I needed to go to the bathroom and make some coffee. So I stand up and just started to laugh. I think I looked like I was cross country skiing at first. Choo-choo, my legs were sliding back and forth and all I could do was try and get to the bathroom without wetting my pants because I was laughing at myself so hard. After 20 minutes, no not really but it felt that long, I made it. Sitting down and then standing up was another neat trick to master. As the day has progressed I have been stretching and trying to feel better. I think Brad is worse then me. He ran way harder then I did, so it makes sense he should be walking like he has a basketball between his legs.
That reminds me of the guy yesterday at the first aid station with his willy in one hand and a handful of Vaseline that he was rubbing all over his chafed "boys" in the other. He was cheerfully saying to these volunteers whose eyes were as wide as saucers, "Well now you can say you've seen everything!" I am sure there were some "things" on him those poor women didn't want to see!
I might not be blogging for awhile, or I might. I am taking time off from any kind of strenuous training for a bit. Sure I'll keep up with the running here and there, but I have earned a little time off before we start training for the half Ironman we are doing in April...
That reminds me of the guy yesterday at the first aid station with his willy in one hand and a handful of Vaseline that he was rubbing all over his chafed "boys" in the other. He was cheerfully saying to these volunteers whose eyes were as wide as saucers, "Well now you can say you've seen everything!" I am sure there were some "things" on him those poor women didn't want to see!
I might not be blogging for awhile, or I might. I am taking time off from any kind of strenuous training for a bit. Sure I'll keep up with the running here and there, but I have earned a little time off before we start training for the half Ironman we are doing in April...
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