Thunder Road

Loud roared the dreadful thunder, the rain a deluge showers.  -- Andrew Cherry

Apparently Andrew Cherry was an Irish dramatist (so sayeth Wikipedia).

He could also be the local weatherman the last few days.  Not digging the weather here...not at all.  Monday evening I got to stand in the cold rain watching a middle school soccer game.  Rain and storms on Tuesday meant a long trainer ride, followed by a treadmill run.  Last night I could hardly sleep - in fact, around 3:30 am, I was fairly certain our house had been hit by lightning the thunder was so loud - the house was reverberating.  Given that there were going to be storms all day today, the plan was for me to go to swim this morning, rather than plan on the open water swim at night...that and the fact that each of my daughters was supposed to be in a different place at the time of open water practice.  I woke up thinking - crap, I'll be really mad if I drive down to swim and the pool is shut because of thunder & lightning.  But there was no information on the websites, so I drove down there - remembering halfway down that the pool where masters is held is grounded, so the weather is irrelevant.  Silly girl - but hey, it was 5:15 in the morning.  You can't expect perfect clarity out of anyone at that time of day.

So the lightning is thwarting my attempts to practice open water swimming, plus the fact that all this rain is putting the river at flood stage/unsafe for swimming, and then there is this little train accident upriver that dumped a bunch of oil in the river...

Yeah - looks like it will be who-knows-when before I get to attack that little OWS monkey.  Stupid monkey.

And as much as I love my trainer and Trainer Road, I really would be happier on the road.  And running in thunder storms, torrential rain, and tornado watches just doesn't seem safe to me.  Thunder Road is so much cooler as a song than a training condition.

I'm whining.  I know.  I'm turning into one of those old people who complain about the weather no matter what the weather is - I hated the snow, now I hate the rain.  And undoubtedly, I will...on at least one occasion...go on about the heat this summer (although that is my least unfavorite weather condition).  :)

What a Difference a Year Makes!

All of us every single year, we're a different person.  I don't think we're the same person all our lives. -- Steven Spielberg

The Richmond Tri Club Sprint was my first race of the 2013 season (see race report)...and this year my tri season started with the same race.  What a difference a year makes!  Not only did I improve in all 3 segments, but I felt really awesome about the swim and the bike.

2013		1:28:13
Women 106/161	Age Group	19/22
Swim	11:41	21/22
T1	1:52	8/22
Bike	42:53	14/22
T2	2:00	16/22
Run	29:49	16/22
2014		1:23:32
Women 70/162	Age Group	14/26
Swim	9:37	15/26
T1	1:58	8/26
Bike	41:18	10/26
T2	2:01	18/26
Run	28:40	17/26

I took off nearly 5 minutes and moved into the middle of the pack, both in overall women and in my age group.  And since it's a race, making improvements in time is very important.  But something else - I felt good about both the swim and the bike, which is not something I could say last year.  I did get passed a bit while swimming, but I held my own in the pool - I didn't need to hang at the wall, I swam straight down the black, and I cornered right by the buoys, meaning I got into the wild, clawing, groping fracas that happens at the turns.  Speaking of groping, I think I may have made a few new "friends"...

As far as the bike, I was able to stay in aero on Freyja for pretty much the whole race, except when turning, etc.  It wasn't totally comfortable - that's something I really need to work on this summer, but I felt very confident in aero, which is really cool.

The run was fine - maybe a little disappointing, compared to how well everything else went.  My stride didn't feel good until after the first mile or so...I felt like I was short-striding it off the bike, not surprising, but for much longer than normal.  I guess I shouldn't be shirking my brick workouts, huh?

Other cool things about today's race:

• My whole family volunteered at the race, they were rocking the water station.  
• One of my blog readers introduced himself to me in real life - hey Rick (or Rich? - sorry, I'm not good with names)!  Nice to meet you and I'm glad you like my blog.  
• Between being more involved with the tri club and Masters, there were lots of folks out on the course who knew who I was and cheered for me by name.

The tri season is off to a good start!

Changing Seasons

Every season, for me, it's like starting from scratch again.  -- Usain Bolt

The season is finally changing - the long winter seems to be over and the very short season of spring has arrived in the mid-Atlantic.  Look at these beautiful flowers that I saw this morning at work.  I know summer will be here soon, but I'm going to enjoy this while it's here.

My work season is changing.  My sabbatical is technically coming to an end as the spring semester wraps up.  Of course, I still have this summer without teaching responsibility, but that's the case every summer, so this week is the last true week that is extraordinary.  I have had a wonderful spring, accomplished a lot (although not as much as I would like), and have been refreshed, which is the whole point.  With summer comes more writing, but also some class preparation and other work.

Finally, the sports season is changing too - triathlon season starts for me this coming Saturday with the RTC Sprint and will wrap up four months from today with IMLOU.  It's also the beginning of open water swim season - and I'll be honest with you, that OWS monkey has managed to find his way back into my mind.  I'm quite nervous about getting back in the river.  It's cold.  It's fast.  And it's been since last September that I've done this.  I know I can do it...I think.  Probably.  Right?

I'm looking forward to triathlon season - I have a lot to prove this year...to myself, not anyone else.  This season is the time to build up, to cast away stones, and finally to dance with joy as I meet my goals.  To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven!

To everything - turn turn turn

There is a season - turn turn turn

And a time to every purpose under heaven

A time to build up, a time to break down

A time to dance, a time to mourn

A time to cast away stones

A time to gather stones together

To everything - turn turn turn

There is a season - turn turn turn

And a time to every purpose under heaven...

Back in the Saddle Again

Saddle your dreams before you ride 'em.  -- Mary Webb

Vacation is over and I'm back in the saddle again - literally - and chasing my dreams.  Realizing how close I am to Raleigh, and then Muncie, and then Louisville, I realize that I better get my butt on my bike...like everyday.  Don't get me wrong, I loved my vacation - it was incredibly relaxing and fun...just what a vacation should be, but it's been about 2 weeks since I did any serious training and I have 10 days worth of extravagant food and drink hanging out on my hips.  I got in a nice longish run yesterday (7+ miles) but it wasn't easy, and I woke up for an early morning trainer ride this morning.  Tonight back to Masters - hopefully I can still swim, y'know?  Or at least not drown.  Hopefully I don't get moved back a lane, since I fought so hard to get moved up!

Anyway, I'm back and I'm ready to work hard until IMLOU.  Well, actually, until OBX Marathon too.  Then I may just lay on the couch for a few months.  ;)  But I'm not ready to think that far ahead.  One day, two workouts, at a time.  Step by step.  I will be ready to rock this summer.

VACATION!

A vacation is what you take when you can no longer take what you've been taking. -- Earl Wilson

Yep.  I can no longer take what I've been taking.  It's been a helluva long "spring" - a million snow days, a lot of writing, more than enough stress about placing my article, calf cramps for the marathon.  Finally it's spring break and vacation is imminent - like T - 6 hours imminent.  Too bad I'm not packed yet - that's a stress all in its own.

And even more fun - guess what is also stressing me out?  TRAINING!  I freaked out completely last night - what happens if I come back from vacation and I've forgotten how to swim, or gained 15 pounds, or can't ride my bike up hills anymore (oh, wait - been there, doing that)...I don't want to spend vacation counting calories or on the treadmill, but I can't be a sloth for that long either -- not and expect to come back and ease right back into ye olde training schedule, right?  It didn't help that I ran into one of my swim coaches this morning who gave me a hard time for not making it to Masters this morning - although she let up when I explained I hadn't packed yet.  ;-)  When I get back, it's 6 weeks until Raleigh, less than 3 months until Muncie, and just over 4 months until IMLOU.  Yikes!  (Oh, and one week until my first triathlon...RTC Sprint.)

I'm hoping that once I'm actually on vacation, rather than anticipating vacation, I'll be able to put this stuff aside and enjoy myself until we're back.  And then get back with the program.  That's the plan.  And I'm medium-good at sticking to plans.

When you looked at me, I should have run

But I thought it was just for fun

I see, I was wrong

And I'm not so strong

I should have known all along that time would tell

A week without you

Thought I'd forget

Two weeks without you and I

Still haven't gotten over you yet

Vacation, all I ever wanted...

Vacation - had to get away

See you on the flipside.  Let's hope I still remember how to swim.

Speed Bumps?

Every journey that is successful has culs-de-sac and speed bumps. -- Peter Guber

I'm less than 2 months out from Raleigh 70.3...and I have been experiencing a very weird sensation.  Last year the entire season was a big lead-up to Patriots Half.  That was my season, my A-race, my ultimate goal.  Now I have a half coming up shortly and it's just a speed bump.  It's not my season.  Now, sure - it's a big deal.  Heck, it's a 7-hour race and I need to finish getting in the miles (especially time in the saddle, now that spring has sprung...not to mention facing that open water swim monkey again).  And I have goals - I want at least one of my two 70.3's this year to go under 7:00.  I believe I can - maybe more likely at Muncie...given the course and given that it will be that much further into my IM training.  But boy it'd be cool to go under 7:00 at Raleigh...never know what conditions will be for any given race, so I want to rock all of them when I can.  But it just feels like a little bump in the road on the way to Louisville.

Strange.  Going 70.3 miles used to seem like the impossible.  Now it's a long training day.  A long training day where I respect the distance...but holey cow, what a mind shift.