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?

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!

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...

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!

Just some pictures

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

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! 

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.