Shaming Myself

As a way to shame myself when I look at the blog I am posting my times from last year's Boise 70.3
Swim- 1:04:07
T1-5:20
Bike- 3:40:40
T2- 5:54
Run- 2:54:21
Total Time: 7:50:22

Back in the Saddle, Again?

While I have yet to actually pay the entry fee for Boise 70.3 I have visited the sign-up page nearly 10 times in the last few days. I have filled out all of my information. I have typed my initials in the box to represent my signature acknowledging I understand I could drown during the swim or drop dead of a heart attack while getting my finisher photo taken. These risks are well known to me and, quite honestly, don't really take up too much of my thought process.

What does take up whatever lobe of the brain creates worry is the thought of failure. Not that I could fail much more than I did last year. Finishing less than an hour before the cut-off time isn't something to shout about, I feel guilty wearing the finisher hat sometimes.

Logically, I know that swimming 1.2 miles in white caps isn't the easiest thing to do when you have a fear of drowning stemming from a childhood incident. Logically, I know that walking a half marathon with an inured knee in less than 3 hours is pretty God damned good. Logically, I know that I finished before the cut-off time and am therefore a finisher. My mother has always told me that some things in life are worth doing half-assed, but if it is something you want to do then you better put your all into it and do it up right.

2009 was half-assed.

I approached my training half-assed. I approached nutrition half-assed. I approached my knee injury half-assed. I approached the race half-assed.

The theme for 2010 is full-assed.

During my run today I had an epiphany, I will probably never be a top 10 age grouper until I am in my 60s and I have to be okay with that. God (or whoever gets to make the decisions) has blessed me with good humor, good looks, good brains and several marketable skills, God did not bless me with elite athleticism. I just have to be okay with that.

If I can muster up the courage today I will once again visit the Boise 70.3 site and put in my credit card number.

Je suis fatigué

I am tired. Really tired. Maybe tired isn't the right word, although I could have crawled under my desk and slept for hours this afternoon. Maybe listlessness. Maybe lethargy. Maybe swine flu. Okay, probably not swine flu, but definitely exhausted. I'm trying to decide whether or not it's over training (I can cross that out without much deliberation), sickness coming on, lack of sleep (8 hours isn't enough?), or some kind of energy tape worm. Usually I'm able to jump out of bed at 5 a.m., now I begrudgingly roll out at 5:45 if I'm lucky. By the end of the day I question whether or not I should even drive home due to my semi-drunken state, in feeling only not actually drunk at work. Jim says it may be because I'm not eating enough. If I could actually imagine eating more food I might explode, the mind is willing but the body is another story.

Stats for today:
500 w/u
4x25
3x (4x75) on 20 sec rest, 100 kicks between sets. I could have done the fourth set easyily on a normal day, there were moments where I questioned if I was going to just give up the ghost and drown myself.

Knot Stretching

You can take that homonym either way you read it. I went and did some tempo work tonight, one mile into it my left foot started to send shooting pain messages up my leg. I finished as much as I could and came home to stretch. I first used the stick, an item I wished I'd created and made money off of, but it was both really cold and was pinching my hairs on the upper leg (no, I don't shave above the knee for reasons such as blonde hair, baby fine hair and really what a waste of time to bother with it) so I moved on to the foam roller.

Holy shit.

I know what is causing the pain in my foot and possibly other regions of my body. I had knots up and down and side to side on my quads. At one point I was rolling up on the roller, hit a knot and nearly winced to the point of tears.

The loud and clear message given to me during my torture session was make sure you stretch sufficiently after each run and bike. No more half-assed pulling my foot up behind me as I lean against the light pole at the end of the run and calling it good. I can only assume if I continue with such technical and thorough stretching I'll be in a world of hurt and unable to complete this race.

Today's workout stats:
Warm up, ran 4x600m at nowhere near the required 8:50-9:15 pace--more like a 9:45-10 with 400 easy jogging between.

I felt very "heavy" today as I ran. I had breakfast for dinner (toast, eggs and bacon) and then went running 2 hours later, I felt like I had energy, which was awesome, but the energy was paired with a lumbering feeling.

Monster Cookie Ride

Quite possibly the dumbest name for a ride, but a lot of fun nonetheless. The Salem Bicycle Club puts on a well organized, if not completely packed, ride. My only complaint is the lack of road awareness so many of the riders have. There were packs of people riding two, three, often four riders across taking up the entire lane. I'm not sure if they realized the 62 mile ride was not going to be on closed roads, I would have thought the cars whizzing by would have tipped them off to that. Trying to pass was near impossible, even with a loud "on your left" warning. My favorite was the group of four riders inching up this hill, taking up the pavement from the center yellow to the white of the shoulder. Two of them turn around, make eye contact with the group I was in at the time--the group trying to haul ass up the hill, and they stay right where they were. Blocking the entire lane. Wait, correction, they may have slowed down actually at that time.

About 40 miles into the ride my legs turned to lead. Heavy lead tonnage. I went from averaging 19-20 mph to probably 15 or 16. I could barely just spin the pedals at one point. I was tired. My legs were tired. My back hurt. But I finished strong.

To finish off the day the Blazers lost. Meh.

Vancouver Lake Time Trials

Last night was the season opener of the Vancouver Bike Club's Vancouver Lake time trials. It's a 10 mile flat out and back near the lake, goes out to Frenchmen's Bar to turn around and back to the Port of Vancouver. I've never time trialed before so I was apprehensive about what to expect and as to what my performance would be. We got there plenty early so I could sign up and do any paperwork they may require. Luckily, it was as simple as signing my name, given the $1 and getting my bib number. The weather was questionable, black clouds rolling in from the coast and sun breaks intermittently just to the north. As it turned out there was only a slight spit as far as water from the sky went. Or maybe that was the guy ahead of me? I had a great time and don't know if I did well or not, but since you only race yourself (I know that is the idea, but still...) I think I did okay for my first time.

My time was a respectable 33:46 (take about 5 seconds off for my entirely f'ed up turn around at mile 5) .

Bad Runner Party of One, You're Table is Ready

I'm starting to believe my genes have not predisposed me to being a good runner. Good being an objective term, of course.