Thursday, May 30, 2013

School winding down - why don't I feel free yet?

Today was it. We shed ourselves of our adolescent bonds and should now be smelling the sweet breeze of freedom. Oh sure, we have to go back tomorrow, finish some paperwork, then leave mid-day, but it won't be much at all. Anyone worth their salt has been working ahead where possible to get it squared away long before the last minute. So, barring any last-minute surprises, it should be a half-day of work.

Why don't I feel free?

Reality hasn't sunk in yet? That often occurs. If you release on Friday, it feels like you are working right up to the following Monday when you sleep in. Then it's real. Until then it's just another weekend.

Is it the race coming up Sunday? Maybe. I don't feel like I can relax completely until that is over. There are a lot of moving parts at the moment, what with school ending, San Francisco on Tuesday, probably the worst thing I could have done was sandwich the race in between. But I did, and it's done, and I'm going. That's that. It'll be hard to rest until then though.

Could it be I'm not sleeping right now? Maybe. Sleep has been pretty broken over the last couple of weeks - stress, of course. I'm hoping I get some laying around time the next two days. That will go a long way to relaxing me. Things have had a way of popping up lately, one on top of another, so rest has been just out of reach. That's when I get most frustrated about it. Anytime I feel like a nap in the next day or so, I'm taking it. May have to make a sign for the upstairs room, though.

So I decided I needed to run again today after school. This wasn't as easy a call as it might seem. On paper it made total sense - it's three days out from the race, I'm short of running miles, I could run easy, and 5 miles would be just fine. The only problem was my legs felt thick, sore, full of lactic acid. They're tired, and they told me so. I really needed to take a day off, they screamed. Too bad. I had to run.

So I started out with a lie on my lips: "You only have to go three miles." Yeah, right. I knew the second I started I'd do five. Maybe I didn't want to, maybe it wouldn't be fun, but I would do it. About a mile and a half into it what do I see? Strunk. STRUNK! And he was RUNNING! I rubbed my eyes, totally in disbelief. Of course I had to assure myself I wasn't dreaming, so I turned back toward Parkview with him. I had to ask questions only a Strunk would be able to answer - never know, this could have been some kind of pod person, and alien impostor of sorts.

He shared that he's been working a lot of hours, and training is almost non-existent. Five to ten miles a week running max is the current standard. I understand he has college to pay off, but I hope he finds time to take care of himself. It's important.

Swam tonight with Allen, Josh, Robin, and Galloway. I have to say, Allen is looking good - REALLY good. He was up-and-down the lane all night long. There was very little stopping either. What seemed an impossibility a year ago is very quickly becoming a reality. Those of you who haven't seen him lately... you're going to be surprised.

Short ride tomorrow. Got to get one more run in, maybe Saturday morning?

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Tired, and with good reason

Lessee... rode Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Ran Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. Swam Sunday. Lifted Monday and Wednesday. Four doubles in five days, and one triple in there to boot. While it isn't nearly as much as I used to do, I'm not as young as I used to be. I'm tired.

I ran 5 after work, as quickly as I could get ready. This wasn't the optimum time by any means... it was nearly 90 degrees and stuffy, and the temperature was still climbing. There wasn't any other way to get it done. Roy was coming to my house at 5:15 to ride, so I had to get it when I could. I didn't push at all - I knew better. The ride would be hard enough. Last night wore me out, and the wind was still pretty stiff from the south.

After the run, I had a little bit of time to drink some fluids and try to recover a bit. Not very long though... perhaps 20 minutes, then it was time to get on it again. I dreaded the idea of getting to Huck's - I just didn't have the gas. I promised Roy at least 20 miles; after that, we'd just have to see how it went.

I didn't feel too badly until we got to the north side of Mitchell, just as the rollers on Rabbitsville Road end and you are out in the open for the first time. The wind was harsh again, and I could feel in the pit of my stomach that if I pushed too much longer I would bonk. Roy bailed me out. He asked me repeatedly if I wanted to turn around. We decided to ride to Highway 60, then reverse. That would give us close to 26 miles.

The way back was much easier - MUCH! I would even call it enjoyable for the most part. It was still a little warm for my taste, but I can't say we suffered. I even held 18 mph going up the cut.

Once the ride was over, all that was left was the lift (and eating supper). I opted to lift first so I could get it out of the way. My ears were echoing in the tell-tale dehydration mode. Even the light lifting session I had before me was going to be a challenge, or so I thought. I was able to control my heart rate, and I didn't have to cut any lifts. Got it all in, and the exercise day was done.

Tomorrow I run, then we swim at 8. That's the plan!

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Rough but glorious ride

First off, let me state my baby got her driver's license today. I can't believe it. I just can't. The weird thing is, though she is the most responsible person I know on this entire planet, I'm more freaked out about her driving than I ever was about her older sister. It's the baby thing, I know. I'll get over it.

Man, did the wind howl all day long! Which of us riders didn't occasionally peer out a window, shivering inwardly at how awful the impending ride was likely to be? I know I did. And why not? Winds of 20+ mph steady and gusts over 30? What's not to love? The only question was in which direction would it blow at the time of the ride.

We left the church right on time. There were 7 of us... Allen, James, Scott, Galloway, Miller, John T., and me. Whether it was work related, T-ball related, family related, or kidney stone related, riders were missing. We endeavored to persevere.

It didn't take long to feel it - a strong blast from the south the moment we turned into it. Man! My mind was already working this conundrum. On the one hand, it was much too windy for the weaker riders to do individual time trials. On the other hand, the lateral nature of the winds made pace line work very dangerous to newbies. What was the better way to go?

This was the point at which I got a little selfish. I'm leaving on vacation next week and won't get to ride at all. I wanted to be sure to get a good workout tonight, and since I couldn't foresee how things would shake out, I opted to do something different (stupid). On Meridian, north of Highway 60, at the 4-way stop headed up to DNR, I turned right. If you're following that, you know I headed right toward Rottweiler Ridge (okay, they're not Rottweilers, but that had a ring to it). My plan was twofold - check out the current dog situation, and (more importantly) get myself to the ending (starting) line faster. That's right, I was going to time trial out to the start.

The first part went about like I thought. three big and aggressive dogs came out and were all over me. The owner was there, and three times I called out, "Call off your dogs!". I eventually got through and on my way. Important note: though none bit me, one kept diving in obliquely from behind as one might if he was going to bite. The other kept me from breaking loose by herding from the front. It was great teamwork, and I respect that, but even if they wouldn't bite, the odds of getting a group through there every week without someone taking a spill are remote. That's off the table as far as I'm concerned.

The second part, the time trial, fared better. I wanted a hard workout. If the winds favored me, I would get it at a higher speed. If they didn't, I'd get it at a lower speed. Either way, I would get it. So, heading down the long lane to an uncertain fate, I met DfO. He apparently hasn't gotten the memo on the new start and path, but I set him aright. Or at least I tried. Had I not taken this chance path, he would have missed us tonight. We'll see next week.

Anyway, I explained what I was up to, and offered to pull him to the next road where he could meet the guys. I never intended to crush the way out - I still had to ride hard back, after all - so the 23-high I started on shouldn't have been too hard for DfO. I don't know if it was or wasn't. I don't think he stayed on very long, and honestly, I didn't look. I never know what his mindset is, and I had a plan anyway. I was sticking to it.

For the first half of the ride, it was somewhat of a wash with the wind. I can't say that it was holding me back that much, it was more the turbulence I was experiencing. There was a strong lateral component, and with my wheels there was a great deal of buffeting. I stayed down, but it was disruptive.

The second half got much worse, and my pace really fell off. Of course there is a slow altitude gain going this way, and that in itself makes it harder, but I really struggled heading into Bromer. From that point on it was a breeze (hah!), and the pace came back up. My elapsed time was 27:15, or 21.9 mph. And I was proud of it.

I wasn't there long before James, Miller, and John T. rolled in. They'd met DfO, he'd told them I was out there, and they laid out a hard segment or so heading out. "For a while", is the way John T. put it. Shortly after came Galloway and Allen. DfO and Scott had turned earlier and would not be partaking in the festivities. I watched Allen finish the first segment of 337 and knew he was struggling... his cadence was high and he was just crawling into the wind. You had to be out there... it was brutal.

Galloway had no intention of trying to ride too fast, and Allen didn't want to ride fast at all. Galloway coerced him into trying to stay on his wheel, and in short order they left. Poor Allen... it seems wherever he trains, someone puts a hook in his nose and drags. He must wear a sign that says, "beat on me".

Now it was decision time. We would pace line, and everyone could pull as they felt, though a 2-minute interval seemed to be the consensus. The idea was, 2 minutes, unless you wanted more.

John T. started us out, followed by James, Miller, then me. I chose last for a variety of reasons, not the least which being I wanted to see what happened when James came on. By my calculus any one of the three guys in front of me could kill me, especially after my ride out. James was the biggest threat of course, so I didn't want to have some big pull, kill myself, then get dropped before I could recover. Selfish, maybe, but smart.

John T. about dropped me from the jump. It took me a while to get on Miller's wheel, and even then I was struggling at first to maintain it. We were already over 28 mph and climbing. The wind was helping some, but I certainly wouldn't call it a clean tailwind. It was coming from our 8 o'clock position and gusting. That made drafting very difficult, because the best place to be was to the right of the guy in front of you. Unfortunately everyone was hugging the edge of the road. The effect was no one got a good draft.

After a strong pull John T. tapped, and on came James. He did what I thought he would... he took it right back up. 28, 29, 30... and leveled out. He was on perhaps a minute when the unthinkable happened - Miller pulled off to the left. He'd lost the wheel and had lost hope of catching it. It was decision time again... I was struggling to hold my place as it was, and now I had something like 20 yards of space (and that's a far way to go at this speed) to cover to get back, and the strongest guy in the group is up there. There wasn't time to think, there was only time to do. "One of the top three most competitive guys in Lawrence County..."

I did it. Somehow or another, I made it. I wanted to get there before he turned around and saw a gap - I didn't want him to know there ever was a gap. I hoped John T. and Miller were still on back there, but I couldn't look. I had to focus forward, to stay glued to the wheel in front of me. There was no margin of error now.

About 30 seconds after I closed the gap, he slid off to the left. Though he didn't tap, I knew what it meant - I was on. As he eased back, I called out, "I'll ride in the middle to give you more options!" By that I meant I would stay in the middle of the lane. That would allow him to find a draft somewhere behind me more easily.

We powered through Bromer, picked up speed on the other side, and blasted up the first hill. After my 2 minutes were up I tapped, and on came James. Again, he popped it right back up, and we stair-stepped down toward Pumpkin Center. I was feeling better and better - in fact, I was fully recovered by the time of my first pull in Bromer. So after James's pull, I was on. I finished the staircase, pulled through Pumpkin Center, then as the road bent north, my time was up.

This was perfect timing, because the way the wind was blowing, I would have a tailwind to help me jump back on. James powered us to and over the drop into Lost River valley. We caught Allen and Galloway right at the top of the hill. I called, "On your left!", an homage to our new logo. "Show-off!", shouted Galloway in return.

Through the bottoms we sped, James in the lead. About halfway across my turn came up. We'd gotten up to 37+ mph on the way down the hill, James let the speed slowly bleed down to 27, and when I took over I began to build it back up. I knew the left-hand bend before the bridge would be nearly directly into the wind, and I wanted some momentum going into that section.

"I'm off!" What? Again, the unthinkable. James had popped. This was completely self-inflicted, of course. He wasn't on the P5, and his frame was sitting in the breeze the whole ride. He'd also pushed his segments. We'd come too far, and he'd worked too hard to let it end like that.

"Get on. We'll take the hill easier then jump back on it." I urged him to get back on my wheel. We held a steady pace up the hill, then I slowly built the speed back up to 28 or so. I held it a little longer than before, getting through the set of low rollers before handing over for the final climb (hey, I'd had two of the three).

James did great - we topped at 20 mph, though he'd held it above 25 for most of the way. At the top he pulled to the left again, and I couldn't tell if it was a tap-off or riding the fastest line. I figured it was time for me to be on, so I went on up.

Over the top, three or four hard pedals, coast for a 3-count, then hit the pedals again. I took it to 28-29 and held it there. I wasn't going to tap again, no matter what. I figured James would bust by me at the break hill, but he didn't come. I expected it again as we neared the halfway point, but he never came. I finished the ride in 21:13 (official time), a scant 4 seconds from my personal best time, and 7 seconds from the all-time pace line record. James came in a bit later at 21:37.

Miller and John T. had coupled up, and they came in a minute or so later. Galloway came in right on their wheel, followed by Allen a couple of minutes later.

What a ride!

It turns out Scott had held some good speed on the way back over 21 mph. Great job! I'm going to have to ask Galloway again about his ride - I can't seem to remember what he told me. It's late and I'm tired, so I apologize. I'm sure he told me, I just didn't write it down.

Miller and John T. couldn't tell me their times. Both of them own Garmins, but nothing, nada. It was fast is all I know.

Allen said he did well for 7 miles, then fell off. Not bad for a guy who has ridden 5 of the last 5 days.

I did a little calculating. My ride totals:

21:13 for 10 - 28.2 mph
49:00 for 20 - 24.5 mph

THAT makes the workout an unqualified success. If you take into account my heart rate info, I was at 95% of max in portions of the ride. Yup, that works.

Here are the numbers.

We ran 3 miles after. I almost got out of it, but Allen was adamant about it. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I was even running with Miller and Scott, that is until they busted it at the end. For the record - my Garmin said I was under 5:30 pace at some point (kick anyone?). I was left in the dust by some guy who said 5:40 "is pretty much my max speed".

Disagree.

Wendy's was great! Sorry for those that missed, we missed you. I'll miss you all next week when I am in San Francisco. I'm betting the weather will be perfect, too...


Monday, May 27, 2013

A very busy weekend

There hasn't been a lot of down time these past three days. Other than the nap I took this afternoon, it's been pretty much go all the time. Here is a quick recap of the weekend.

Friday
I didn't exercise. It's a good thing. I left work and headed over to the park to help set up for the Duck Derby. I didn't have anything strenuous to do, mostly just gopher work, at least until the event actually started.

A lot of the details seemed to get made up on the fly. For instance, I didn't know I was supposed to hold a bucket and beg for money out front. That got added at the last second. I was glad I was in costume though - most of the guys had some kind of something on. Plus the kids really dug the Batman cowl.

The actual belly buster contest was anti-climactic. Of course I got robbed on the scores - c'mon, I threw a reverse into a belly buster, easily the most acrobatic move of the event. Two 8's and a 9? Please. I do have to give it to the winner though... that was a clean, flat hit off the high board. No argument, that was the winner, pure and simple.

Haley and I did a beautiful synchronized dive as a bonus. You saw the pics yesterday, I won't repeat them.

Saturday
That was a 44-mile ride followed by a 5-mile run. John T. and Galloway passed on the Huck's stop (Galloway hates to stop, John T. had to get back in a hurry), but the rest of us enjoyed a time of fellowship in the pit stop. The run afterward wasn't too tough. The day, which had started rather cool, had warmed to an almost uncomfortable level by the end of the run. Worked out pretty well.

Sunday
The Lean Steve got off right on schedule. First swimmer (me) hit the water right at 3 o'clock. It was a wetsuit affair, so times were pretty good. I did a mile under 24 minutes and felt great. I think Rand also completed a mile. Beyond that, distances varied.

The one major event of note in the swim was Allen making it all the way to the buoy and back unassisted. That's a major milestone, in case you don't know.

The ride was 25 miles. I thought we might be pushing our luck, but we weren't. We got off slightly before the scheduled 4 o'clock start, and with a little pace work in the middle, we were able to hit our numbers. The group did fracture a bit here and there (it always does), but I don't think anyone was crushed by the ride itself.

The run was also right on time. Right away three shirtless guys took off from the front (Miller, Josh, IronBill). Two of the guys were just strolling, one of them was hanging in there. It couldn't (and didn't) last forever... in the third mile, the real runners laid down the hammer, and the pretender was left in their wake. For my part, I want to point out my Garmin said I went 5:57 at some point in the run. I'm sure that was the third mile as I tried to get back onto their wheel. Miller claimed they couldn't have gone too fast, because, and I quote, 5:45 "is pretty close to my max". I almost spat diet coke out my nose when I heard that one. Try 5-flat, Miller.

Today
We started today with the run. Five miles from Parkview, then we moved to Lighthouse. Dan met Allen and me, and we had a very easy ride out and back. Nothing too descript about it.

Pace line tomorrow!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Just some pictures

It's late, I'm tired, so how about I just post some pictures of the weekend (so far)?










Thursday, May 23, 2013

Something clicked, maybe

I don't know what's gotten into me. Maybe I'm motivated by better-than-expected results at Terre Haute. Maybe the confluence of stars is favorable at the moment. Whatever the reason, I've been running harder.

Wednesday my plans were changed by Roy. He wanted another ride, and since I needed another ride to make my weekly goal of 150, I agreed. I didn't want to lose another run, so my plan was to run first. I went out at 4 for a 5-miler. What started out as an easy run became, within 200 yards, a pretty hard run. The first mile was slightly under 7:30 pace... I wound up running the whole thing in 36:27, which of course means the pace really dropped from there. Not that this was fast running by Miller standards, but it's faster than I've been getting on a daily basis.

Roy and I left from my house, taking our time into southwest winds towards Huck's. Dan couldn't make the takeoff time, but I hoped he'd drive down to Huck's and meet us there. I needn't have worried. About halfway down the Amish Super 2 he passed us, with Sally in the passenger seat. Right about the place Burrises go off pavement he unloaded his bike, and we continued on to Huck's.

The night turned gorgeous. For the 2nd day in a row, what had looked in the morning to be a washout day turned into a near-perfect day to ride. Maybe we held only 15 mph. Maybe we sat at Huck's a little too long. It was great, and I don't apologize.

Coming into today, I felt the push from yesterday. It was over 3.5 hours of training, and I felt a little drained. Still, 5 miles would have to be run. How would it go?

Faster than yesterday. This time I wasted not a single step. I was on it from the go, and mile 1 passed in under 7 minutes. Mile 2 was 13:33, so clearly I was accelerating. In the end I ran 33:05, one of the best runs I've had all year. Definitely not easy running, but I didn't feel pancaked.

I suppose this is the way it goes when I run alone. I still have to be careful... it's so easy to blow a calf anymore, and it's always on my mind. However, if I can push it like this more often, who knows... maybe I'll someday be able to run a respectable leg of triathlon...

Oh! Got my invite to the Nationals! 

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Subdued and Unglued

Two riders rolling slowly uphill on the return leg of a ride. The weather had been unexpectedly clear and bright, though storm clouds were gathering unseen.

"Why did you pull seven minutes?!", said the first, outrage barely contained.
"I didn't want to get dropped", was the indignant reply.
"But you DID get dropped!", the first challenged with a chuckle.
"Take THAT!" - a hammer fist to the upper chest threw the first off-balance and into the weeds.

Roll back two hours...

The storm system that devastated Oklahoma yesterday was scheduled to roll east through Indiana today. The outlook for a ride in the evening looked grim in the early morning hours as line after line appeared on radar. Indeed, for the early part of the day it looked as if the worst would come to pass.

Then, as if by magic, the skies cleared, for good as it turned out. This was a most unexpected and pleasant outcome, and the ride went on as scheduled. Even better, the winds took a more southerly (and favorable) direction. It promised to be an easier ride.

Most of the guys had raced over the weekend. Kathy joined us too, as did DfO. Bartley returned this week, so though the numbers weren't large, we had a smattering of talent top to bottom. It would make organizing a pace line a little harder if all went, harder still if they didn't.

I didn't care if I went hard tonight - I mean, if challenged I knew I would, but it wasn't something I felt I needed. My neck and back are still quite sore, a sure sign I haven't recovered yet from the race. John felt pretty much the same, so we agreed to ride in a single group tonight and just go a bit easier.

Allen must not have liked our pre-ride discussion, because he tried to navigate to the rear of the line, I suppose in anticipation of being dropped. I wasn't going to have that. Jimmy was taking the first pull, Allen could take the second. In this way we would see what these guys could hold, and the rest of us could restrain ourselves to an appropriate pace.

Both guys held a 24.5-25.5 mph level for their pulls, which was slightly slower than the number we kicked out ahead of time, but hey, it was merely a target. Jimmy pulled a little over 2 minutes, but Allen pulled nearly 7 minutes. I was behind him, and the feeling I got was he was punishing himself. This later proved to be false, as his reasoning was he didn't want to get dropped by tapping off in Bromer. In the end he had a nice, long pull that ended when he topped the first hill west of Bromer.

I took over, and since we were stair-stepping downhill, I let the speed go upwards of 27 high. Sam asked me how long I would pull. Since Allen had gone long, I figured I needed to go shorter than I normally would to be certain everyone got at least one pull. So I went 2 minutes on the first. Sam came on and did the same speed I held, then came John. He carried us into and through most of the Lost River bottoms before handing off. His speed was similar to Sam's and mine.

Jimmy took over for the Lost River climb, and he tried like crazy to hold 20 mph. He dropped to 16.9 at the top, and broke Allen in the process. DfO had dropped before then, so now it was Jimmy, me, Sam, and John T.

After topping, and after letting the speed come back up a bit, I got the nod. There were maybe 2 miles left now, and I decided then they would be all mine. I took it back up to 27-mid, then pushed hard on the last climb. I dropped slightly under 20 on the top, then laid down and immediately took it back up.

I figured it right. Now it was me, Sam, and John T. I knew if I held pace somewhere near the end John T. would make a move. I didn't figure Sam was strong enough to cover - his cadence on his pull was too high for the speed he was getting, which told me he could stay with John. He was doing a good job hanging in there with me, but that was about all he had. I held 28-mid, saving just a little, hoping for a shot at John when he went by. With less than a quarter to go he went by, but I couldn't jump on. He opened a little, I started to even it up, but there wasn't enough room left to catch him. I eased up and coasted through. My official Strava set that at 23:33.

Jimmy wasted no time working on Allen, bringing us back to the beginning of the post. I won't say Allen was on the verge of tears or anything, but he clearly wasn't enjoying the chiding. For my part, I wouldn't be so hard on him (not because I'm afraid of him BTW). Sometimes you take your shot. Allen has ridden well all spring. If he wants to push a long pull, I say more power to him. Sure, he may get dropped, but he may also get stronger.

It always comes down to what you want out of it. I could time trial every week, and it would help me race better, but for me the pace line is about being able to hit higher speeds, speeds I couldn't hit on my own. However, if Allen's motivation is to be a better rider, there is certainly more than one way to get that done. On top of that, triathlon riding is about being in aero for long periods of time at speed.

We skipped the run afterward, which surely made Kathy angry, but it couldn't be helped. I have to be careful with my calves, which are always a problem after this series of races (Indy, BMS, TH). If I feel I need to take it easy this week, I will.

Wendy's was good, great even. The baby screaming at the top of her lungs wasn't so hot, but we had a good time regardless. 

Monday, May 20, 2013

Trashed

That's how I feel. I am totally trashed. I guess I took the whole 1-2 punch from the weekend a lot harder than I thought. The 5k on Friday, the triathlon on Saturday... I'm getting too old for this.

The sore I feel in my neck, back, legs... yup, it was pretty much a maximum effort. Thinking back, even on Tuesday's ride I was hitting a high heart rate. 172 is close to my max, and on a bike your max heart rate is not easy to get. Point being, that was a pretty tough effort on the ride Tuesday. Make that three race efforts in a week.

One thing I think we can say about Tuesday's ride for everyone concerned - of the six guys that raced Saturday AND did a time trial, all suffered during Saturday's ride. Seems to me we may have some data points. Lesson? No more time trials the week of a race. Seems obvious, but somehow we overlooked it.

Stormy weather threatens tomorrow's ride. We'll have to be careful for sure. Oklahoma was smashed by this weather system today. Somehow, the thought of being caught out on the course by a 2-mile wide tornado seems less than desirable.

Off to bed. School will come early tomorrow!

Sunday, May 19, 2013

The Price

I won't lie. I can barely hold my eyes open at the moment. It's been pretty busy today, and as we are now half-past 9, I feel sleep overtaking me.

It's no surprise. I didn't sleep much at all last night. Stress dreams were the main culprit, but I'd add a few chigger bites, a very sore shoulder, and a slight sniffle to it. I just tossed all night long, especially after 4:30, when I was pretty much up for good.

So our run went a lot better than expected, not only for me, but for all the Terre Haute competitors. Of course we didn't go fast - we seldom do on Sunday morning - but the complaints of soreness were pretty tame. What was far more noticeable was the heat. It warmed considerably over the last week, and humidity has crept up, too.

The heat was obvious again during the afternoon ride. Jimmy was good for it this time, registering his second Sunday ride of the year. We even had the opportunity to ride with Allen and the ever-talkative Lester, who joined us a few miles into the ride. Allen couldn't wait to grab all the attention, and in grand Galloway fashion clipped into his pedals and immediately fell over into the gravel. I snapped a photo, and though it is hard to see much, I think it captures the moment anyway.

We arrived at Huck's, got our refreshments, then were greeted by Claudia and Judy. They were out on a 60-mile ride. More power to them, I couldn't have done it today. I was totally out of gas.

I was forced to go back to work (someone has to pump out those BMS 5k results!), and as soon as I got home, mowed grass. I finished just as darkness fell. And that, ladies and gentlemen, is a wrap!

Run, maybe a ride tomorrow. Pace line Tuesday, if the weather holds. 

Saturday, May 18, 2013

Great Expectations

It's been a very tense and active few days since I last posted. School is ending, ancillary activities are kicking up, and it's been late when I've gotten finished on most evenings. For that, I apologize. Hope to do better soon - with vacation right around the corner, that should be easier.

This morning six intrepid Lawrence County athletes ventured out west to ply our fortunes on the vast plains of Terre Haute. That may be *slightly* hyperbolic, though I would argue only slightly so. What was on the line?

  • John T. was doing his first EVER triathlon. How would his open-water swim be with a swarm around him? Of course he can ride and run, but what happens when we put it ALL together, including transitions? Was there any chance to unseat Rand's dominance of T1/T2 glory?
  • Roy has improved tremendously over the last year, and on top of that he now owns a top-of-the-line Kestrel. They's fast, boys and girls, and he was in a particularly good position to use it. Could he put enough on the bike to hold off Jimmy in the run?
  • Miller, though in great shape, has not spent a great deal of time on a road bike this year. His time trial Tuesday was solid, better than he could have hoped for realistically. Would it translate into a great ride today? Could he close down the gap between himself and IronBill sufficiently to allow his superior running to overtake him? Would he run well off the bike?
  • Jimmy has his hands in everything right now, so anything said about Miller's biking goes double for Jimmy. Of course his running, swimming, and transitions would be fine. The whole trick was to bike hard enough to be close to Roy. A big gap could prove fatal.
  • Rand is fit - fitter than he's been in a long time. His time trial Tuesday was pretty darn good. All the pieces were in place. Could he pull together a keeper?
  • IronBill recently suffered a shoulder injury, so swimming was a huge question mark. The cooler, wetter winter/spring cut back the number of days riding early, so conditioning is not the same as last year. Finally, running speed is at a record low. Could he ride fast enough to create a gap between himself and Miller that would survive the 1-minute differential in running speeds?
Let's see the results!
To see a larger version, click on the picture.

As you peel through the results, hopefully you can get a clear picture of what happened. 

Yes, John T. did have an outstanding day. He did very well for the first one.

Roy dropped 10 minutes from last year, though he came up short of Jimmy. Outstanding day regardless. 

Rand is still the king of transition.

Miller had a good day, but couldn't make up enough on the run to overtake IronBill. 


As for the loot, well, here are the winners. That's not to say the guys that didn't get loot are losers. They're just not winners. ;)

John T. not only took 3rd in his age group, he won the "New Triathlete" award as well. Two trophies on the first day? A first place in a division? Sounds like a natural to me!

Miller got 2nd in his age group. He missed 1st by only 30 seconds, and the difference was the swim. He gave 3 minutes to the first guy, and it came down to time in the water. Miller is a good swimmer when he has the time to train for it. 

IronBill was 1st in his age group, beating Frank Troiano. That's definitely a feather in the cap - the guy is no slouch. This was totally unexpected to say the least. 


Race Synopsis:
Terre Haute has gone to self-seeding on the swim. Athletes submit their prospective times during registration, then they are seeded accordingly. I entered a time of 11:30, which is the time I ordinarily approximate. Apparently this made me an "elite", so I was given the blue cap. This designation meant I would go in the first wave, a "mass" start of 23 swimmers. 

Swim
This is a hard thing to write about. On the one hand it was one of my harder Terre Haute swims because of the crowd I was in, my sighting, and my inability to develop a rhythm. My whole thought process as I swam was "I am pushing too hard, and the bike will suffer/oh well, it's done now". On the other hand, I had my best time there in years, coming in on my watch at 9:15! That's "standing-on-the-mat" finished, not standing up in the water either. I couldn't believe my eyes. Apparently the weight lifting has improved my swimming. I guessed it might, but hadn't seen the results yet in a race. Luckily the shoulder didn't bother me at all. 

T1
Took too long trying to put on sandals. I should have just run barefoot. It would have taken me to my best ever time if I had. Oh, well. 

Bike
This was tough today, and not just for me. Everyone was commenting how hard it was to hold speed on the way out. It wasn't like it was windy or gusty or anything. It was just hard. I hit the turn at 32:30 (approximate time), which should have given me a 1:05 or more on an out-and-back course. Instead I dropped almost 2:30 from the next half. Finish time was much faster than I expected going in. I'd hoped for 23-24 mph, but I didn't expect it. 

I did have one fellow that made it interesting. I caught him in the second mile of the race, probably from an eighth mile back or so, and we had a back-and-forth going for most of the way. It wasn't tight; I would pass him, put a stretch on him, then he'd come back and pass me. The gap would open, I would close and pass, put another gap on. 

What I noticed was he was very good on the flat stretches, marginally better than me. I was much better on the technical portions, particularly in the rollers. He tended to pedal down the steeper hills, a totally foolish thing to do, and I would catch him every time. Unfortunately the race finished with a long flat, and he reopened the original gap. So... our rides were a wash. 

T2
Not the fastest guy in transition, but not the slowest, either. I couldn't believe how rubbery my body felt at the start. I could hardly move at all!

Run
The major disadvantage of being an elite starter is the lack of people to chase. There simply aren't enough bodies close to you make you feel you have that imminent kill right in front of you. I feed off that, so it was harder to focus on the run (and to some extent the bike as well). One fellow went by me, hard, and I mean like 5:30 pace hard. I didn't for one nanosecond even consider the possibility of keeping up with him. Good thing; he ran it in 27:40!

Still, there were things to keep me going. First and foremost, I felt I need to keep under the 7-minute mark to be sure of beating Miller. When I saw him on the bike I felt I had 5-7 minutes, which should have been enough. Nothing is ever guaranteed though, so I just kept on it. There was a reward for it. I was able to take two more spots, the second one on the back side of the lake. I'd just about given up hope of catching the guy, but right as you end the long straightaway, right at mile 4, he looked back. I was 75 yards off him, slowly closing, but running out of time. The look on his face told me everything. He then started shaking out his arms, and I figured he was toast. I knew if he was slow going up that sharp first climb, he was mine.

That's where I caught him. All that was left was to lay down enough hurt he wouldn't want to respond. Step one: talk to him as I passed him. "Great job! Keep it up", I offered when I went by, controlling my breathing. If there was any life left in him, it passed at that point. I never felt any pressure from behind the rest of the run. It was only 21 second in the end, but anyone who runs 5ks will tell you 21 seconds is another zip code. 

For all my concern about training, injury, and anything else, this turned out to be the best finish I ever had in this race. Part of that is because the numbers are so down, but I have to tell you, the quality was there on the front end. There were some truly outstanding times today! On top of that, this may be my best time (it will take me time to look it up). I had a great race, even though I had no reason to. Gaining over 2 minutes in the swim is the main reason. I guess I did something right over the winter!

Conclusion
It is always a great time when we gather as a group and do an event. Scott Bartley also came in a support capacity, and he took a number of pictures (I hope to see). I'm sorry Steve Black didn't make it; shoulder injury kept him from participating, then he doubled down and worked today (BOO!). It didn't matter. It turned out to be a great day anyway, and I think everyone had a good time on some level. Some got great results, some found weaknesses to address, but I think we all enjoyed one another's company.

PS
The Terre Haute triathletes strutting around in their team gear make me think Allen has the right idea on this jersey thing. 

Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Sore Belly

Man, my stomach hurt after school today. It could be I've eaten too many egg sandwiches lately. I think I'll alter the diet a bit and see if things get better. I sure don't want this to be a regular thing.

Ran a slow 5 miles a bit later. Dan and I hooked up in the second half of the run, and it was a nice jog. Perfectly fine by me... last night was another hard effort (did you see the pulse from last night's ride? 172 is pretty close to my max). My legs were really tired this morning too, made worse by lack of sleep.

Saturday is the Terre Haute Triathlon. We are taking a pretty good crew over there, though I am very upset Steve Black won't make it. Since he's hurt, he's decided to work. Boo! BOOOOOOOO! It was half the reason I was going.

Last night showed we'll have some interesting competitions. Roy and Jimmy, Miller and me... going to be tight races both ways. It'll be John T.'s first triathlon. Rand is looking pretty fit, and his ride last night proves it. It'll be the first race on some new bikes for some of the guys. What will the weather be like? How will it all shake out?

Ah, that's the fun, I guess. We'll have to wait and see.

I'm taking tomorrow completely off. I'll be at the Boys and Girls Club at 6 to help with ducks, then over to BNL pool at 8 for the swim. All welcome!

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Windy Time Trial.

One of my favorite movie quotes come from "The Terminator". It goes something like this:

"That thing is out there. It doesn't eat. It doesn't sleep. You can't reason with it, you can't bargain with it. It doesn't feel pain, or pity, or remorse, and it absolutely will not stop - EVER! - until you are dead."
Tonight, that thing was the wind.

All day long I monitored the conditions. Early on it looked like a dream come true - strong southerly winds mean fast rides. Sure, the results would be tainted, but it sure would be fun! Look, the wind was going to blow anyway... might as well be in our favor, right?

In our dreams. Of course by afternoon the winds shifted and became more west than anything. This changes everything on a time trial course that runs SE to NW. This meant strong resistance all the way, and to make matters worse, the gusting nature of the winds guaranteed turbulence as well. No matter what, a time trial would be challenging.

I wondered what the other 7 riders would want to do. To my slight surprise they opted for the time trial. I didn't want to make the call, personally. The wind would expose the weaker riders, wearing them down prematurely. I didn't want the responsibility for it. It had to be a call made by each individual.

With that decision made, the only thing left was to order our start. John T., ever the proponent of self-seeding, finally got his way. Everyone lined up according to their belief in their own fitness. Jimmy, Rand, Allen, Roy, Miller, John T., IronBill, and James was how it shook out. One minute intervals between riders was the arrangement, and the hope was there would be a minimum of waiting at the finish.

To that end we were successful. As far as the self-seeding, we did okay. It was close enough we only have to make minor adjustments for next time. Let's look at the order of finish:

1. James - 23:31 - 25.5 mph
2. IronBill - 23:48 - 25.2 mph
3. Miller - 25:25 - 23.6 mph
4.John T. - 26:22 - 22.8 mph
5. Rand - 27:22 - 21.9 mph
6. Roy - 27:44 - 21.6 mph
7. Jimmy - 28:48 - 20.8 mph
8. Allen - 29:34 - 20.3 mph

First, I think everyone should be commended for doing the ride - it wasn't an easy one. Consider this time on the low end of your ability, because there was plenty of resistance and turbulence out there the whole way. In places it was a dead-on headwind, others a very strong quartering headwind. Wind speed was a steady 15-20 with gusts of over 25. That's not a small amount of wind.

Personally, I had only one goal - to not let James catch me. I figured he would be much stronger in the wind based on the bulk of training he's done, but if I could hold some speed for as long as possible I had a chance. Surprisingly I did okay. I had my aero helmet, which hurt visibility but did make me more aero. Of course I felt the wind, it was everywhere, but I wasn't going to let it keep me from trying.

I caught John T. just west of Bromer. We were heading into the first hill as I drew into him, and I passed him just over the top. From there I started looking for Miller.

I saw no one for a while. It was beginning to look as if I wouldn't catch Miller, as I couldn't even see him. The helmet blocked my view enough that I couldn't see far anyway. I just kept pushing.

Soon I came into view of a rider. Was it Miller? I had to look for an orange jersey, but all I could see was white. Who had on white? Was I seeing the color correctly? I'd have to get closer. Going up Lost River hill I finally ID'd the rider as Allen. I passed him near the top, and skipped on.

The next rider up was easy to pick out - Rand's blue jersey was unique on this ride. I figured I'd get him before the end, and I did, catching him near the base of the final climb. I passed him as the hill began it's slow rise. After topping, I drifted to the center of the road due to helmet visibility, and I could swear I heard Rand shouting at me to get to the right. Granted, there was a great deal of wind in my ears, so it was hard to make anything out, but I definitely heard the car horn as the car went by. That was my bad for sure.

I hit the final stretch, finished the course, then quickly turned around. I wanted to see the gap between James and me. I narrowed it a bit, down to 17 seconds (from 21 last week). We both held over 25 mph, which I am quite happy about given how bad the conditions were for the event.

We did a 3-mile jaunt after the ride, then a late dinner Wendy's. The manager was earnest but barely ept. We did eventually get our food, and it was a good meal. The hour was late, and we all sped home to our families.

Great workout, boys!

Monday, May 13, 2013

Quick post

This will be a quickie because it is so late-

Ran 5 tonight with a largish group - over 10 runners! First-timer Tommy Heatherly joined us. Yay Tommy! You might recognize that last name... yup, it's John T.'s son. The evening was perfect for running, and it was a good time.

After getting home (rather late), I did the supper thing then looked at my phone. Jimmy was at the club and needed help marking ducks. So I headed over there to lend a hand. We were numbering them, and with 10,000 to do, the work was definitely far from over when I arrived. I did 526 ducks in just over an hour, which is sure to be a Strava record if I submit it. Everyone was in awe.. they even gave me a trophy.

It was a plastic duck with a #1 on it.

Pace line tomorrow night, meet at Allen's church. Looks like a time trial, depending on the weather at start time. 

Sunday, May 12, 2013

Don't panic, a bit of a pause

No, I haven't stopped writing again. I've just been very busy again. The last three days have been a blur in many ways.

Friday was the final day of ISTEP for me, and I really don't think I need to go much beyond saying there were plenty of things to do at school, and honestly, when I got home I fell asleep. After that it was family stuff. Simple.

Saturday started with a ride. I will give my compadres major kudos for sticking with the plan It was cool, only 50 degrees, overcast and slightly threatening rain. Not one single man faltered. The seven of us struck out for God's country to the south.

It's a 44-mile circuit from Parkview to Huck's and back. We played with some slight variations to help alleviate the affects of the NNW winds. They weren't overly powerful, so no one fell completely apart. Scott, new to riding, was ready to be off the bike by the end, which is totally understandable. Jimmy was starting to feel it too. Everyone else looked fresh even to the end.

What followed was a 5-mile run. Scott obviously recovered, because he took right off and pulled the pace the whole way. Roy gave chase, but by mile 3 or so was beginning to give way. Rand looked really tough. The rest of us held in there. Jimmy had a meeting at 12:30, so he did only 3 miles. We all ran 3 together, then a few of us went on and finished the 5. It was a great training session.

The rest of the day I spent with Leisa just knocking around. There's no one I'd rather spend time with. We capped the day by watching "Django". I will give it a solid "meh". For a Tarantino movie, I was disappointed. It dragged on too long, too.

Then we come to today. We started the morning with an easy 5-mile run, which went smoothly. After that, I went to the gym and lifted. Yes, the shoulder is still hurt. There are things I can do, and things I can't. I will continue to try to rehabilitate for the time being, but this appears to be headed down a surgical path. Not during the summer, probably during the late fall or winter. I don't want to miss tri season or cross season.

Roy had planned to ride with me today, and we had a great plan. Too bad he had to bail. I had to come up with a new plan, and quick. I decided to head southeast, not because it was smart - the strong WNW wind actually made it foolish to do so - but my thinking was it might be better to have an easier way out today so I would be tempted to go longer. Once out, I would do whatever it took to get back, and I knew it. I know, it's a stupid way to ride, but hey, whatever mind game gets you on the bike is a good one.

I got to Mitchell quickly as one might well imagine. It was obvious to me that I could best take advantage of the prevailing wind by getting on Highway 60 and heading east to Amy's Birds. From there I could turn south, hit 337, then turn SE again and head to Livonia. Maybe from there I would go to Saltillo or maybe Hardinsburg. I'd decide when I got there.

Turns out I did neither. I was making terrific time on 60, so I checked my watch. It was Sunday afternoon, traffic was light, why not take it all the way to Campbellsburg? I could stop and get a sandwich, then continue on south on Saltillo Road, hook into 337, and continue on. Seemed like a good idea. I flew down 60, easily averaging over 20 mph sitting up. Sure, I knew it was awfully quiet. Sure I knew it was way too fast and way too easy. I just let it go anyway.

I had my sandwich at the truck stop in Campbellsburg. I was able to slip some texts out to Leisa assuring her I was doing fine (ATT is spotty there), then it was time to roll again. I decided I wanted to go ahead and ride to Salem. I hadn't done it in a while, and the going was so easy. Might as well. I could either take 56 back to Livonia or 150 to Hardinsburg. I'd decide when I got there.

I hit Salem right at 33 miles. Of course doubling back would give me 66. That would've been a good ride, but I was hoping for more. It was 10 miles to Livonia. Hmm. From Livonia it's 13 miles to Huck's. From Huck's it's 22 miles to my house (through the Amish Super 2). I was coming up with 78 miles with this path. I had hoped for up to 80. Sounded like a plan.

The two drawbacks became immediately obvious - hills and wind. I'd never taken 56 out of Salem before, but I'd guessed it would be hilly, at least until Livonia. It was, but not overly so. The wind at times was vicious. After I got home I checked - it had been clocking over 30 mph at times today. I believe it. I'd call it a steady 15 with gust around 30. My front end kept blowing around, buffeting, and yes, at times on downhills it worried me a bit. Too bad. I had a guaranteed 23-mile stretch into before a break (Huck's), so the only thing for it was to hunker down and go.

It was hard, I won't lie. That's not to say I didn't enjoy it. It's a pretty stretch of road, with plenty to look at, and in spite of everything I was able to keep decent speed up. I finally got to Livonia, then turned onto 337. This part went fast, not because it got easier, but because I've ridden it so much I automatically segment it into smaller, acceptable pieces. Before I knew it I was rolling into Huck's.

Another quick stop, another barrage of texts, and I was back on the road. Every stop reminded me how cool it was outside, especially now that I was riding into the wind. I kept telling myself I'd soon be off this road, headed north, and the wind would ease.

Boy was I wrong.

The second I turned north the wind intensified. What was a WNW turned into a NNW, and buddy let me tell you that's a very significant point. Now I was looking at 19 miles of tough left. It seriously put me to mind of Steelhead, that's how bad the wind was. Amish country was to be no fun at all today. It got a bit better after I turned east, and by the time I was headed north into Mitchell, I had some cover. There were still some bitterly bad patches left, but none of the ride was left as wide-open as Amish country had been.

So in the end I rolled in with a bit over 78 miles. The average was a little less than 18 mph. I don't care. Today, that was a good ride.

Course and splits.

Run only tomorrow. Pace line on Tuesday!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Hard(er) running

Once again, it was a struggle to decide what to do tonight. I want, no, I NEEDED to ride, but there wasn't a clear path to doing so. A combination of weather and timing issues just kept it from happening. Instead, I had to settle for a run, lift, and swim.

First came the run. I felt pretty good, a bit more confident after Saturday's run, and tried to extend the legs a bit on the run. This wasn't by any means an all-out effort, but I did want to build up some triathlon pressure. That's what I call it anyway... the way I push in a triathlon I can best describe as pressure. Anyway, it wound up being a good effort - 35:21 for five miles. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't overly hard either.

I got some dinner with Leisa, then headed over to the gym. This left me a little concerned, because that shoulder hurt BAD! I want to feel like I'm getting better, and I suppose in some ways I am, but it sure is slow progress. I can't see going to the doctor. Doesn't mean I won't, I just don't want to.

Finally came the swim. This was the acid test, of course. If it went well, I'll sign up for Terre Haute. If not, no way. Good news, it all went well. In fact, I'd say I feel better after swimming a bit than any other time. So I'll be heading to Terre Haute.

Allen told me James had added his Tuesday ride to Strava. I made an account last year at Mike's request, but I haven't paid that much attention to it. I decided to lay this past Tuesday's ride in, mainly to get an accurate time for the section (I messed up my watch at the start). Turns out I was a little slower than I thought, but still way ahead of what I hoped to get. I also rank #2 on the course after James (Greg Sheppard has now been bumped to 3rd). James gained 21 seconds of the distance, also more than I thought. Oh well, I knew he was better. I'll have to work harder!

If you're interested!

Shirt progress is... progressing. We'll need to get a head count on Saturday and discuss preferences. Should be plenty of time to hash it out.

Saturday, 8 AM, Parkview. Ride 43, run 5.

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Resuming training and jerseys

Once again, rain threatened as school ended today, causing me pause. I wanted to ride a little bit, but the way the weather was popping up (north-to-south), my normal route would be risky. I would be riding away from building weather until the turnaround, then riding back into quickly diminishing conditions.

Fortunately for me, the decision was made for me. House chores had to be done, so a ride that didn't have to happen didn't happen. It's fine, as we'll be out on Saturday morning. I might even sneak a little in tomorrow or Friday. Either way, I'll get my miles. Bet on that.

We did run tonight, 5 miles at 5:15. By "we" I mean Scott, Jimmy, and me. It was a little more brisk than normal, but we had after all dropped the dead weight of Miller and Rand. It sprinkled on us a bit, nothing serious (if you discount the lightning that would have made any Denny disappear instantly). 

I've been complaining a great deal about my shoulder. It hurts, in a knife-like way. It is getting better, but good enough to swim at Terre Haute? I don't know yet. However... I have nothing to complain about in comparison to two of our friends. 

First is Galloway. His knee is in bad shape. If I understand correctly, he tripped playing golf. He quipped that "34 years of running culminated in falling at the golf course"... I dunno. The immediate thought that occurred to me was there are probably more people dying on golf courses than people on runs. I don't have any data to back that up, but my gut tells me it's probably true. Anyway, it may be a while before Tim can get back out there.

The other person is Steve Black. The price of avoiding a dog on a bike ride tonight was a 3rd degree separation of his AC joint in his shoulder. Surgery will happen tomorrow, but obviously he will be out for a while. That's really too bad. I was looking forward to seeing him next weekend at TH. Can't see that happening now.

Suddenly my shoulder feels a lot better.

Jerseys
I've done a little digging. Here's what I know:
  • Jerseys cannot be nylon; polyester is fine, or polyester blends
  • We could all probably pick up jerseys for as little as $30-$45
  • Terry Mullis would set up a screen for $50
  • We would pay $3-$5 for each jersey screened
  • If 10 guys buy jerseys, that would make the cost around $40-$55 per jersey
Now maybe there is a way to do it cheaper, and maybe there isn't. I leave that research to others. However, and this is the important part... I need to get some idea of what an order would be. By that I mean a commitment to purchase. Can we get 10 shirts? More? Less?

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Prologue and Opening Time Trial

Yes, it's finally here, officially. Riding season is upon us!

I was chomping on the bit all day, excited over the prospect of hitting the road with the gang again, doing the ride, then enjoying the Wendy's afterward. If only the weather wouldn't get in the way!

There wasn't anything to worry about - the weather held fine, in fact even breaking completely into azure blue skies and perfectly cool middle-60 temperatures. Other than a slightly annoying NE breeze, we couldn't have asked for a better opening night.

I wanted to get 50 miles tonight. The weather is iffy the rest of the week, and if I was able to get 50 tonight, it would be added to the 50 I already have this week. That would make sneaking in a couple of shorter rides between rain events much easier.

I got to the church and on the bike by 5. That gave me 45 minutes to ride 13 miles. Why 13? Because the measured distance of the ride from Allen's church was 37 miles. Not that we'd actually done that yet - but we had figured it up based on the parts we did ride. I was confident in the prediction, so I went with it.

The route was unusual - I went down 60 east toward Salem. The reason was simple - that road runs southeast, parallel to our 337 time trial course. I figured it would give me a good idea of how rough the wind might be. It turned out to be a non-factor as far as I was concerned. Sure, 60 is more shielded by trees than 337, but I didn't think it would be all that strong a wind either way.

Results.

Rolling back to the church I was greeted by John T., Allen, Jimmy, Roy, Scott, and ultimately James. James. He's the wild card this season. As a Cat 3 rider, he definitely qualifies as the big dog. If it came down to a throw down, he'd be the one to watch.

We rolled out easily down 337. Scott seemed to be doing well for his first ride. Conversation was easy, and the usual discussion of what we would do ensued. Jimmy seemed determined to do a light pace line, and since there was no opposition to the proposal, it was accepted as the plan.

John and Roy broke away from the main group, and I decided to ride up and warn them about the big dog on the course (not James). Thankfully the dog wasn't out, and we made the county line without incident. After a couple of minutes the others joined us. This was when plans changed.

James had arrived riding his new P5 outdoors for the first time. It really is a beautiful thing to behold. Everything about it screams speed. Naturally James wanted to test that speed, and a pace line of 22 mph wasn't going to do it. The talk began to suggest he would give us a head start and then catch us. We discussed how long he would have to wait to be able to catch us at the last second.

Things were beginning to get messy. I had suggested Scott stay on the back for the entire ride; Jimmy wanted him to begin rotating through the line right away. I felt really uncomfortable with this, but didn't want to argue the point. Another part of me screamed if someone else was willing to go hard, so should I. I didn't want to interfere with his ride, but I sure wanted to see how I would compare.

James made it easy. Calling me his "Minute Man", he planned to give me a one-minute head start. It made sense. He was trying for 26 mph average, I was hoping for 24. We were giving 5 minutes total to the others, (I gave 4, James 5), and with luck we'd all finish together. Though I'd always rather chase, being chased would give me a great incentive to ride through pain. I made up my mind to do my best.

The Jimmy group took off. Right away, Scott was in trouble. It's hard to get that front tire up there snug in a line when you have the sure knowledge if you screw it up you're going to wreck. He soon fell off the pack. Roy, a much stronger rider this year, dropped back to try to pull him back in. As valiant as the effort was, it was in vain. Roy was forced to bridge the gap alone, a monster feat, and rejoined the pack. Scott was on his own.

I blasted up the Amish stretch, hitting almost 28 mph in places. I didn't dream I might hold off James for the entire ride. My goal was to hold him off as long as possible until the inevitable. So I cranked it harder and harder. The quads burned, my breath exploded from my chest, and still I went on. Into Bromer the wind was more noticeable, but once turned NW again, the difficulty subsided, and I accelerated into the first hill. Still no James. Over the hill, through the rollers and down the staircase, I kept the pressure on. Still no James. Past the Pumpkin Center turn, angle north, and I thought I heard James talking to me. A quick check of my shadow to the left revealed no James. I was hearing things.

John took a long pull. When he was done, he handed to Roy for Lost River. What a pal! They ground it out, topped, then were in the final stages of the ride. Other than Scott, no one had been dropped. Even Jimmy, for all his fears, was still in the mix. It wouldn't be long now... who would win the first sprint?

The rotations continued, and Jimmy had the bad luck to wind up on the last pull before the sprint. The path was now laid for the most experienced opportunist remaining - John. With Jimmy giving it all he had, it was an easy few pumps of the pedal to overtake and pull away from Jimmy in the stretch. Victory #1 goes to John.

I dropped down into Lost River Valley and tore across the plain. I hit Lost River, not with the intention of holding high speed, but hitting it with some momentum. I would use that to get as high up as I could before the real work began. Over the top, I was ready to get back up to speed. I was soon back up to nearly 28 mph as the rollers began.

Only one hill remained, and still James hadn't caught me. I toyed with the idea of looking back, but you should never do that. He would either catch me or he wouldn't, but I wasn't going to give him psychological energy by appearing weak. Maintaining focus straight ahead, I pushed forward.

The last stretch wasn't especially fast, but it did maintain that 26-28 mph average I toyed with for most of the ride. In the end, James didn't catch me; in fact, the gap had remained right at the minute for the ride.

I didn't get an official watch on the ride, but my watch said 7:04 when I started the trial and was 1:27 when I finished. That's 23 minutes. James had the same time as it turned out. Needless to say I was very, very happy about that ride. I'd hoped to ride 24 mph, but smashed that time.

I hold no illusions; James is the faster rider. That I could compare favorably to him in any way is pretty exciting to me. I'm also in a bit better shape than I thought I was.

Results.

We all went to Wendy's afterward, and for once I wasn't the recipient of the "Worst Service" award. That honor went to Scott, who finally sat down long after John finished his meal.

We discussed shirts. Check out the design.

The two big debates revolved around being respectful and what color shirts to order. We also wrestled with what wording should go on the banner below.

Have a suggestion? Forward them to me!

Sunday, May 5, 2013

All Indoors

I hate the trainer once warm weather arrives. It's a necessary evil in the winter, and in some ways I even like it then, but by now I really resent having to resort to it. But what else could be done? Rain at 55 degrees is pretty rough if you don't have the proper gear (I don't), so I can't imagine any other way to go.

I picked a long movie - Lord of the Rings, Return of the King (200 minutes running time) and set to work. I had to get 20 miles, I would have liked 40 miles, and anything above that would have been gravy. I set the drink cycle to every 10 minutes, kept the speed between 18-20 mph, and let it run.

After an hour and twenty minutes my drink ran dry. So, pausing the movie, I got off for a stretch and to replenish my drink. While I was at it I ate a granola bar for energy. Five minutes later I was back on and rolling.

The nice thing about this movie is there are several long and intense action sequences. It's amazing how quickly 10 minutes can go by during such a sequence, and since that's how I segment off a long trainer session, the selection of movie is critical. So on a trainer rating scale I give this movie 10 out of 10 speeds.

I reached my limit at about 160 minutes. My seat wouldn't take it any more, and my toes were beginning to burn. My legs and lungs were fine, but there isn't much you can do to adjust your seating position on a trainer. I took it until I couldn't any more, plain and simple. That worked out to 50 miles, which was beyond what I hoped to get anyway. Sure would have like 60 though.

We start our Tuesday Pace Line rides on, well, Tuesday. We are going to do our first one from Allen's church. Start time is the regular 5:45. Run afterward? No one has said.

Saturday, May 4, 2013

One America Festival, Many Firsts

Let's start right off with the Garmin results.

Ok, now that you've had a moment to review them, consider the total distance - 13.29 miles. Hmm. Garmins notoriously under report distance on a run. This one is nearly two tenths over. How could that be?

Corral W.

I started in Corral W. That's fourth from the end, and let me tell you, I could see the end very clearly. I got there as the gun went off for the race (a long trek to the end of the start!), but I need not have hurried - we didn't move for several minutes. In fact, it took 24 minutes to cross the start line. That left a heap of people, chiefly walkers, between me and the finish line.

I briefly considered attempting to be the very last person to cross the start. Why not? I knew I couldn't make any serious time. Why not go for the whole experience. Then, just as quickly, it struck me that out of 34,000 runners, I couldn't be the only one to have the same thought. The image of me fighting it out with someone else over the privilege of being last seemed too absurd even for me, so I pressed forward.

As we nudged in fits in starts towards the start, two ladies behind me called to me, "You obviously don't belong in this corral. How did you wind up here?" Now part of me wants to think they were looking at my ample calves to make their assessment, as it does seem to be the measure of a man anymore. I'm not sure. I would at best describe myself as non-descript in that particular group - no one around me was overly obese or old - so I don't know by what measure I was judged. I played it down, stating I didn't get my time in (technically true; I was under Steve Black), and normally I would be forward.

"How forward?", she pressed.
"A."

There were other comments after that, I downplayed the whole deal, but yeah, it was an ego boost per se to be picked out of a crowd that way. Especially sinceI don't see myself like that.

I thought maybe I would have a shot at spotting Dan during the race. His yellow hair and height combination would at least give me a chance, if I could properly judge where I might come upon him. This was tricky, because it hinged on when and if he should begin walking. His plan was to walk after 3, then run/walk the rest of the way. Judging by our relative starts, I figured (accurately as it turned out) he had between a 15-20 minute head start on me. If he ran all the way and maintained a 9-minute average and I maintained an 8-minute average, I wouldn't catch him at all. If I could be 1.5 minutes per mile faster, I would catch him in the last few miles, assuming he didn't walk. If he walked, I could pass him anytime after about 5 miles.

I looked for a while. After about 5 miles the serious searching stopped. The crowd was the main reason. The crowd was thick enough my first zig-zag mile was 8:30ish. How bad was it? My Garmin tripped long before the mile marker came up. Ask yourself, "when's the last time my Garmin hit a mile before the mile mark?" Answer? Never. Garmins always measure short. I was doing some serious overdistance to get that kind of result. It never changed for the entire race.

Sure, I would scan the crowd every now and then when I would get a break, but more often than not I had to keep my eyes on the ground right in front of me. There were too many people around to get lazy about my positioning.

Morgan and Jake were out there too, both on their first mini-marathons. I would have loved to have stumbled upon them, to join them, but it would have only been through the wildest luck it could have happened.

Turns out I passed all of them, probably on the track based on our finishing times. I finished in 1:43:48 (unofficial), Dan in 2:17 and change, Morgan and Jake in 2:21 or so. I was at the Indiana Running Co. tent for around 10 minutes before Dan walked up. We were there another half hour before Jake and Morgan showed up, but they had been slightly lost for a bit. The great news was all three of them ran the entire race, totally unexpected given the injuries and interruption to training all experienced.

I will cop to two heinous acts of Tom Foolery perpetrated by one Steve Black on today's course. Twice he knelt to the ground, much to the horror of the crowd. First came the bricks on the track. Steve had been watching the jumbo-tron, and noted the men doing push-ups on the bricks. He decided then and there to do something different. So, upon arrival and after checking for a clear spot, dropped to the ground and log-rolled across the bricks. The second time was the finish. Once again, after checking for a spot, he hit the ground and rolled across the finish. Should make for a great finish photo!

I did manage to see Miller, Roy, Jimmy, and Denny before they had to leave. Jimmy did not make the 1:30 (would have been surprised if he had), which is kind of sad because we've both done it for so many years. Guess that training thing I once heard about works? I didn't get any other details before they were gone.

There were many other Bedford and Bedford-area runners there, and it seemed all were universal in the feeling it had been a great day. Many had PR's, including Sandra, Charity, Arlene, Danny Leach, and a few others I can't recall at the moment. I would have liked to stay longer, but we were all under dressed and starving, so we left.

Dan, Morgan, Jake, and I drove down to Bloomington and grabbed lunch at Buchetti's(sp?). Three Chicken Badda-Bings and a specialty calzone later (courtesy of Dan Dyke) and all were satisfied. It was a perfectly lovely experience from beginning to end, and though I had dreaded the event all week, I'm so glad I went. 

Thursday, May 2, 2013

Numbers all around

Four - that's the number of senior girls on the track team.

Three - that's the number of sweeps I saw in their races.

Two - I saw at least two personal best times.

One - The number of races I really wanted to see but was forced to miss.

This night featured three events stitched together back-to-back. First was the senior night track meet, which I didn't want to miss. It started at 5:00. Then there was the packet pickup/pizza fill up at Mr. Gatti's at 7:00. Finally, there was the adult swim session I promised to hold at 8:00.

It was fun to watch the track meet, and I didn't even mind having to set hurdles. The girls are getting healthy, and I even got to see a couple of decent (if unlikely) prospects for next cross season. Morgan Benstin looked good in the mile compared to the fall, and she even out kicked Carrie Flinn. That was amazing, and great news... we have to find someone to replace Shelby Bennett. Danielle had a nice win in the 400, our girls looked great in the 800... I gotta tell you, in the last two meets, our distance girls have done the job.

Off to pizza! Once again, it was a good time to get to sit with my friends and chat, if only for a short while. I picked up the packets I needed (Steve is staged in W!), ate some pizza, then shot out to the swim.

Allen, Galloway, Josh, and Robin met me there. Robin is looking really great in her swimming, and Allen went sans flippers for everything but his kicking set. Bravo! He even accepted Robin's request for a rematch, though he knew he couldn't win. Ah... he has patience. While we were busy congratulating Robin, Allen swam 25 yards and immediately turned for another 25. He almost made the full 50 without stopping. That's some progress!

At home again, I find myself contemplating tomorrow. W, huh? I don't know that I will ever be able to find Dan, as separated as we are. I know I won't make any effort to run hard to do so. It's going to be a very surreal experience back there, but it sure won't be fast. For that reason, I'm thinking of going ahead and getting my final 25 mile ride out of the way. It's not as if an easy ride is going to hurt that run... 

Wednesday, May 1, 2013

The Outs

I'll start with the biggest out - Comcast was totally dead for hours tonight. It's a bit past 10 now, and it's just now come back up. Hate that.

Started the workout today with a short ride of 20 miles. It's supposed to be taper, so I didn't want to overdo it. It went okay, except for the corn on my little toe. It hurt awfully! It felt like someone was standing on my toe and grinding it. Every single crack in the pavement sent shockwaves through my toe. I really thought I might have to call Leisa to come get me. The thing is, as bad as it hurts sometimes, there is no real damage being done. For that reason, I just ignore the pain and go on. It was pretty hard to do tonight.

When I got to the run, Miller noticed my new shoes. He scuffed the left one. Jimmy made a move to scuff, so I offered him the right- and he nailed the corn. I screamed like a Burris headed for corn. I would have admitted to anything in that instant. I recovered immediately, and like a Gary realized I was such a wuss.

We did an easy three, and that was that! However, and this is one good thing that happened... I made the jump from Jimmy's pacer to joining Dan for his race. Let's face it, I could never make the 1:30. Miller can, and he will do a great job pacing Jimmy. I will run a more relaxed pace with Dan. I hate it that I can't do it, but I can't, and that's that.

Next two days off?