Good and Bad June 16, 2008
Posted by postalblue in Cycling, Running.add a comment
I had a kick-ass weekend that ended poorly. Here’s the quick and dirty.
Friday was my cycling off-day, but Hal Higdon’s guide called for a six-mile run. I got up early and got the run in. Done. It hurt a bit because of the heat, but it wasn’t too bad. Besides, my runs after rest-days are always a little bit more painful than you’d expect.
Saturday was an on-day for both cycling and running. I was on-foot by eight for an eight-mile run and averaged 8:30 per mile. It was probably the easiest eight mile run I’ve ever done. I don’t know why, either: I felt like I was floating. When I got back to the house, I stretched for a little while, rehydrated and saddled up for a thirty-mile ride out to Yellow Springs. It was mostly flat, but my legs were pretty dead from the run (go figure) so there were a few unhappy struggling bits. I did, however, make it home before noon with an average of 19.5 or so. The sun came out as soon as I set off on the bike and the temperature instantly jumped ten degrees… so that may have had something to do with the fatigue.
FYI – I slept SUPER well on Saturday night.
Sunday was ride-only, and despite my soreness, I wanted to get a long ride in. I loaded up the bike with two water bottles, a power bar and two gels and hit the road. I took the trail down to the Corwin Peddler, near Waynesville, and then hopped off the trail and onto the Buckeye Challenge route. Middletown Road packs a wallop, but I made it up the thing and kept on chugging until my Garmin read 30 miles… at which point, I promptly turned around. Sixty miles on the day with that “monster” climb in the middle. Not bad.
I’m going to make a concerted effort to tackle the Middletown climb at least once a weekend. I like it better than the John Bryan climb, not because it’s shorter or less steep, but because it has no terrifying switchback at it’s base. If I’m ever going to get over my horriffic-crash-inspired fear of descending, it means I’m going to have to let myself go down some real hills… and Middletown looks like one I could get used to. Gotta do it sometime.
Oh yeah, and the bad: Sunday afternoon, our basement flooded, which means my entire room got soaked and I’ll probably need new carpet, etc. Fun stuff!
Whirlwind June 10, 2008
Posted by postalblue in Life.add a comment
The past week has been a mess. My sister is moving has moved to New York City and I was nominated to drive one of her car-loads full of stuff out there. The Giro ended on Sunday. I spent all day Tuesday and Wednesday doing some development work. Wednesday? A nine-hour drive to Doylestown. I spent all day Thursday in Reading, where I met the entire Slipstream team, Tyler Hamilton, Jason McCartney and a handful of other riders before the start of the Reading Classic.
Friday, my dad and I helped my uncle get his house ready for my sister’s graduation party. We mulched, trimmed, built a brick wall and generally worked our arses off in record heat. Yeah, Friday sucked.
Saturday was basically Friday Part 2. Dad and I went back to Pete’s and did MORE work. It was even hotter.
Sunday was nuts. Dad and I got up at 5:30 AM to take a train into Philadelphia for the start of the Philadelphia International Championship. That was a blast, but I don’t envy those riders having to ride up the Manayunk wall in 105-degree heat.
We were back in Doylestown by noon and back at Pete’s by one. Kara’s party started at three and was over around nine. I was asleep by nine-fifteen.
I was numb on Monday because I got a call from work. They told me I’d be returning to Newport News for another six-month stint. Someone kill me.
Today, I loaded up the car and left Pennsylvania. Nine hours later and I’m back in Beavercreek with my dog and my trusty computers. And my bike. It’s been a whole week – I can’t wait to hit the road tomorrow!
I should note that despite all of the randomness over the past week, I haven’t missed a single mile of my running program.
ALSO, go see Kung Fu Panda.
Busy weekend. June 1, 2008
Posted by postalblue in Cycling, Life, Running.add a comment
This past week (and weekend) have been super busy. It was my last week on the project in Newport News, so the team had a big send-off for me at Buffalo Wild Wings on Wednesday evening. Thursday was dull, though, I did have a rather important interview with a super cool company that shall remain nameless, so I was on pins and needles from lunch until 6 PM.
After the interview, Andy (my supervisor) and I hit the road for one last night out down in Virginia Beach, which, it turns out, is infinitely cooler than the News. Anyway, we went out for a few drinks and then got up early the next morning for some beach time before I flew home.
Then things got a little crazy. I walked in the door on Friday, dropped my bags and hit the road for a 5 mile run (8:32/mi.) before showering and eating dinner. I got up on Saturday morning and went for a short ride (27 miles @ 19.4 mph) and then spent six straight hours working on my website before going for another run – ten miles this time at 8:24/mi.
Whew. As soon as I got home, we (the family) watched Into the Wild, which was awesome. I’d love to do that some day, minus the tragedy.
I took my time on Sunday morning because my legs were still pretty drained from the ten mile run. It wasn’t until about noon that I actually hit the road (on my bike) but I managed to turn in a respectable 35 mile ride, averaging 19.6 miles per hour.
All told, I think I’ve burned something like… 550 + 1100 + 1100 + 1700 calories in two and a half days. Not too shabby.
Tomorrow’s an ‘off’ day, which means I only run and my run is short: three miles. But I’ll probably get so bored around mid-afternoon that I won’t be able to keep myself off my bike and I’ll sneak in a light twenty or twenty-five. Even though I really should just chill for a day. Hmm.
