Today, Meg and Jen awoke to ride on Vashon island to find themselves transformed into slug-a-beds.
We could not get out of our princess and the pea bed let alone ride the 45ish miles of hills. So, today was an unintended day of rest and super-fun-family day spent with Lucy, Papi, and Grandma Flowers/Lis/Marty/Grando/Momo (can't decide what she wants to be called).
The lesson to those who might be reading this, in other words our parents and the other authors, every now and then....you just don't have what it takes and you have to follow your body. Our bodies were headed directly into our mattress.
When Meg did Coeur d'Alene two years ago....she had some moments about this far in to the training where things were getting difficult and she was really tired...and that was without a 5 month-old in the house. So, we are trying to be gentle with ourselves, knowing that we are way ahead in terms of our biking mileage and we feel strong.
Tomorrow, however, we run....14 miles. Slug-a-bed be damned!
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Friday, May 30, 2008
Righteous Ride!
It is entirely possible that today's ride was the most incredible of our journey to Madison yet. The sky was blue, temps hovering around 70 degrees, the scenery gorgeous and the riding company was OUTSTANDING. At one point in our 40'ish mile ride we rode past Fern Ridge Lake, which to swim in is frightening, but to ride by is incredible. The water sparkled like diamonds and sail boats looked like magic toys floating on the crystal water. It was GORGEOUS!
We saw tons of crazy-fun farm life, lots of pretty grass fields, strawberry fields (sing along if you like), vineyards, clover fields....it goes on. It was amazing. This sort of beauty makes one so thankful for the strength and desire to ride the country rodes.
Rides like today make me so happy to be on the journey to Madison. It was a remarkable feeling to ride hard and end feeling strong, euphoric (adrenaline is a phenomenal gift!), and so excited about the rest of our training. It is true that we are frequently tired, and probably more frequently hungry, nevertheless every single workout we feel stronger, more empowered, more thankful for the strength that is growing in our hearts, minds and bodies, excited and truly delighted in our decision to take on Ironman Madison. My god. What a ride this is! There is no better time than today. There are no better people to do this with. Ant there is no better opportunity than today.
Tomorrow we rest'ish....wink.
We saw tons of crazy-fun farm life, lots of pretty grass fields, strawberry fields (sing along if you like), vineyards, clover fields....it goes on. It was amazing. This sort of beauty makes one so thankful for the strength and desire to ride the country rodes.
Rides like today make me so happy to be on the journey to Madison. It was a remarkable feeling to ride hard and end feeling strong, euphoric (adrenaline is a phenomenal gift!), and so excited about the rest of our training. It is true that we are frequently tired, and probably more frequently hungry, nevertheless every single workout we feel stronger, more empowered, more thankful for the strength that is growing in our hearts, minds and bodies, excited and truly delighted in our decision to take on Ironman Madison. My god. What a ride this is! There is no better time than today. There are no better people to do this with. Ant there is no better opportunity than today.
Tomorrow we rest'ish....wink.
Spend, spend, spend....
Three biggies accomplished today!
1). Signed up for the STP ~1 day (this is Seattle to Portland bike ride for those of you 'not in the know') www.cascade.org This is something one should only do once. But it'll be my 2nd. Because I am not normal. Briefly, it is a 200 mile 1 day ride that is not very pretty nor is it entertaining. However, it does give you bragging rights and much admiration so what can you do??! :) It is a day that begins ridiculously early and is a seemingly never ending cycle of "bike-grab food/drink-eat/stretch while in line for the port-a-potty to pee and reapply butt balm". But, I'm doing it with my sweetie and what we know how to do best is make all things fun. So I expect it'll be fun! And a total confidence builder for race day!
We'll drive down to PDX the day before and leave Lucy with my parents who are also watching our nephews!
2). Signed up for the Tour de Blast http://www.tourdeblast.com/ which is an 82 mile round trip ride through the Mt. St Helens blast zone climbing up 4,200 ft to the Johnson Ridge Observatory. I have done this before...however it snowed at the top and we didn't see blast zone or Mt. St. Helens because it was so crappy out and sagged down because our hand were so cold I couldn't shift or use my brakes. Let's hope for a nicer welcome to summer this year!!
This will be super fun because the McBrelfson's get to play! We get to play in portland on friday all day AND stay in a hotel room (reminiscent of chicago!) AND go on a great ride!!! And Jen and I will get to spend time with my brother and sister in law and nephews!
3). Signed up for our bikes to be shipped to Madison for the Ironman!!! Woohoo!!! We are really going! And the super duper bonus is that we don't have to unassemble our bikes!!! The will travel AS IS! And, with a bag as well! (ha! we'll show those ridiculous airlines and their checked baggage rules!)
Much accomplished, much money spent to do so!
1). Signed up for the STP ~1 day (this is Seattle to Portland bike ride for those of you 'not in the know') www.cascade.org This is something one should only do once. But it'll be my 2nd. Because I am not normal. Briefly, it is a 200 mile 1 day ride that is not very pretty nor is it entertaining. However, it does give you bragging rights and much admiration so what can you do??! :) It is a day that begins ridiculously early and is a seemingly never ending cycle of "bike-grab food/drink-eat/stretch while in line for the port-a-potty to pee and reapply butt balm". But, I'm doing it with my sweetie and what we know how to do best is make all things fun. So I expect it'll be fun! And a total confidence builder for race day!
We'll drive down to PDX the day before and leave Lucy with my parents who are also watching our nephews!
2). Signed up for the Tour de Blast http://www.tourdeblast.com/ which is an 82 mile round trip ride through the Mt. St Helens blast zone climbing up 4,200 ft to the Johnson Ridge Observatory. I have done this before...however it snowed at the top and we didn't see blast zone or Mt. St. Helens because it was so crappy out and sagged down because our hand were so cold I couldn't shift or use my brakes. Let's hope for a nicer welcome to summer this year!!
This will be super fun because the McBrelfson's get to play! We get to play in portland on friday all day AND stay in a hotel room (reminiscent of chicago!) AND go on a great ride!!! And Jen and I will get to spend time with my brother and sister in law and nephews!
3). Signed up for our bikes to be shipped to Madison for the Ironman!!! Woohoo!!! We are really going! And the super duper bonus is that we don't have to unassemble our bikes!!! The will travel AS IS! And, with a bag as well! (ha! we'll show those ridiculous airlines and their checked baggage rules!)
Much accomplished, much money spent to do so!
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Talk Show Hosts and Training
It's official. I have decided. If school fall through I am going to become a talk show host. Seriously, these people are the bomb. Whoever thought up this idea (was it Sally Jesse or Donahue?)? It's brilliant! The only thing I love more than the idea of being a talk show host is having my OWN PERSONAL microphone....or maybe a crew of people to manage my collection of microphones.
For those of you who don't know this about me, I have a huge affinity for projecting and amplifying my voice with microphones. Yes, I know....I don't need one....ever. But I love them. I love them like I love the idea of hosting my own talk show. So how does this dovetail with training you ask? Today, on a 30 mile ride I watched all the talk shows I could find. This is the beauty of having a gear-head for a wife (Trina loves the gear!), she gets me everything we could dream of so that on rainy, dismal NW days we can train indoors....and watch talk shows. And so, when I'm training, when it's raining, I am indoors. And when I'm indoors not having to negotiate traffic and crazy people, I realize that training and going to school is hard. Not hard like making a fancy sauce for a lovely pasta dish, but hard like knowing you have to schedule a root canal and you can't afford the meds to get knocked out during the procedure so you schedule it w/o the meds because you know it has to be done. It's that kind of hard. And while I love a good challenge (believe me I DO!), I always like to have a back up plan. Today I realized my back up plan is becoming a talk show host. The only question is what type of host would I be? I'd like to think that you all immediately envisioned a high-femme Ellen type. I love the idea of starting every work day with a little dance, followed by stand up and a little time on the mic. Is that too much to ask?
But since this is 'training tales' I'll get back to the task at hand. Training is going strong this week. Last week we began adding hill intervals to our training. We run hills one day of our three run days, and we added speed intervals to one of our rides. It's amazing what a little variation in the speed department can do! It's also really emotionally rewarding to run hills and ride like a speed demon! Yahoo! I look forward to adding more speed work to the runs...but for me this has to come slowly because of shin splints and GI business (I won't go any further I promise). But the speed will come. It's funny to think about speed work. We're planning to complete a 140+ mile course in one day....let's face it...there's no quick way to the finish line.
PS: Would it be over the top to use a mic in the classroom?
For those of you who don't know this about me, I have a huge affinity for projecting and amplifying my voice with microphones. Yes, I know....I don't need one....ever. But I love them. I love them like I love the idea of hosting my own talk show. So how does this dovetail with training you ask? Today, on a 30 mile ride I watched all the talk shows I could find. This is the beauty of having a gear-head for a wife (Trina loves the gear!), she gets me everything we could dream of so that on rainy, dismal NW days we can train indoors....and watch talk shows. And so, when I'm training, when it's raining, I am indoors. And when I'm indoors not having to negotiate traffic and crazy people, I realize that training and going to school is hard. Not hard like making a fancy sauce for a lovely pasta dish, but hard like knowing you have to schedule a root canal and you can't afford the meds to get knocked out during the procedure so you schedule it w/o the meds because you know it has to be done. It's that kind of hard. And while I love a good challenge (believe me I DO!), I always like to have a back up plan. Today I realized my back up plan is becoming a talk show host. The only question is what type of host would I be? I'd like to think that you all immediately envisioned a high-femme Ellen type. I love the idea of starting every work day with a little dance, followed by stand up and a little time on the mic. Is that too much to ask?
But since this is 'training tales' I'll get back to the task at hand. Training is going strong this week. Last week we began adding hill intervals to our training. We run hills one day of our three run days, and we added speed intervals to one of our rides. It's amazing what a little variation in the speed department can do! It's also really emotionally rewarding to run hills and ride like a speed demon! Yahoo! I look forward to adding more speed work to the runs...but for me this has to come slowly because of shin splints and GI business (I won't go any further I promise). But the speed will come. It's funny to think about speed work. We're planning to complete a 140+ mile course in one day....let's face it...there's no quick way to the finish line.
PS: Would it be over the top to use a mic in the classroom?
I heart swimming!
Jen and I completed our training plan for the remainder of the training which feels great! I love a plan to follow. My plan for training is to get up and go in the early morning....like be at gym at 6am. This allows me to get my workout in prior to Jen needing to leave for work/school. I really hate getting up so darn early, but what I know about myself is that I work out MUCH better in the morning. I don't do well with the workout hanging over my head....feels oddly threatening. I figured this would be a good way to ensure my workouts---get used to getting up early M-F for work out or work. In order to do this I have to get up early enough to either a). feed lucy if she wakes up or b). pump enough for Jen to feed her while I am working out.
Anyway. Enough on the logistics. Today I was to swim and do a speed run. My swim rocked! The swims are feeling good and I am remembering when I got to this place last time in training. Where the swims just plain feel good. The most relaxing and least intense of all the training. Meditative. I felt like a little fish slithering through the water...or a stingray as Jen has suggested. :)
The run was on treadmill. We are doing our midweek shorter run (4 or 5 miles) as some kind of speed workout. In my training last time this was supposed to be the 1st/last miles at a regular pace and the middle 2 at 90% of max heart rate. Now that is just frickin' insane people. Jen said I always looked like road runner taking off. I always felt a mix of "who-can-i-punch?-and-oh-shit-i-am-going-to-trip-and-get-the-f*#%-out-of-my-way". I decided this approach is completely unnecessary. So instead all speed workouts are "runner's choice". Today I started at a 10min./mile and then gradually speed up over first mile to a comfortable 9min./mile. For the middle 2 miles I increased my speed every quarter to half mile, ending at a 7:30min./mile pace. The last mile was done at 8:30min/mile pace. It felt great! Yay! First decent run in a long time!
Things to do: work on nutrition, make bike transport arrangements, get new bike computer installed, get new swimsuit.
Anyway. Enough on the logistics. Today I was to swim and do a speed run. My swim rocked! The swims are feeling good and I am remembering when I got to this place last time in training. Where the swims just plain feel good. The most relaxing and least intense of all the training. Meditative. I felt like a little fish slithering through the water...or a stingray as Jen has suggested. :)
The run was on treadmill. We are doing our midweek shorter run (4 or 5 miles) as some kind of speed workout. In my training last time this was supposed to be the 1st/last miles at a regular pace and the middle 2 at 90% of max heart rate. Now that is just frickin' insane people. Jen said I always looked like road runner taking off. I always felt a mix of "who-can-i-punch?-and-oh-shit-i-am-going-to-trip-and-get-the-f*#%-out-of-my-way". I decided this approach is completely unnecessary. So instead all speed workouts are "runner's choice". Today I started at a 10min./mile and then gradually speed up over first mile to a comfortable 9min./mile. For the middle 2 miles I increased my speed every quarter to half mile, ending at a 7:30min./mile pace. The last mile was done at 8:30min/mile pace. It felt great! Yay! First decent run in a long time!
Things to do: work on nutrition, make bike transport arrangements, get new bike computer installed, get new swimsuit.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Week 11...13 More!
So excited to be blogging! Today Meg and I had a fabulous workout...a mini-triathlon in and of itself. We started with an hour swim.
Now recently my swims have been feeling great, smooth, fast, tireless, and other great swimming adjectives. Apparently, however, that was so last week because this morning I had forgotten how to swim. My head was moving all over the place, my hips (which you should know are made of stone) were not even rotating as miniscule-y as they normally do, my hands were entering at bizarre angles, and I kept getting other people's hair caught in my nose clip (yes people, a nose clip...i keep all the orifices plugged during the swim). It was really just wrong. Meg and I were splitting a lane and I kept thinking, "she's kicking my ass, swimming like a freaking sting ray (you thought I was going to say dolphin...but that was just too obvious). Anyway, 30 minutes in we decided to do some 50 meter sprints. This seemed akin to asking our 5 month old to do a series of crawl sprints given that she doesn't even turn over yet. Remember, I had forgotten how to swim!
The sprints went well, I remembered how to swim, yada yada yada, we got out of the pool. Yeah, I know, a lot of story build up for a really awkward and disappointing punch line.
Next we were off to our 1 hour spin class...with Jeoff (clearly a gay boy because what straight boy spells Jeoff with an O?). He was AWESOME! It was seriously like Queer as Folk meets American Flyer or Breaking Away (whichever 80's cycling movie you prefer) meets A Chorus Line! This is the only spin class with three acts, people! This guy is a true performer and a kick ass trainer. And, let me just share that the class was full of all his wanna-be 'fag hags' (which i say with all the love, respect, admiration, and campiness that both fags and hags deserve)...so much fun! Anyway, he was as you would expect of a white, gay boy trainer in his late 30's....super-buff, cut, tan, fun salt-n-pepper spiky hair, great dancer, and high high energy! The music was great...Cher (of course), club music (unrecognizable to this 38 year-old once-lesbian-identified queer girl and mommy), and a sweet 80's rock mix. He began the class, or should I say his opening number, was dancing through the rows of the 20 of us, bouncing up and down, and pouncing onto his spin bike with the agility of a puma, and then proceeding to pedal in a way that can only be compared to the blurry circle that is the Roadrunner's legs.
And with a Meep Meep....we went from 0 to 'oh-my-god-i-fucking-want-to-die-but-he-is-so-fun-that-i-want-him-to-like-me-and-be-my-best-friend-so-i'll-keep-pedaling-even-though-my-power-bar-is-going-to-make-an-uncredited-appearance' in 60 seconds. The class was great...I left wetter (from sweat) than I was when we were swimming. And, then came our mistake. We thought that his performance meant he was nice, kind, perhaps humble and would maybe even be polite to someone paying him a compliment. What made us think this? We are part of many queer and straight communities....we've seen boys like him before. He was performing, performing Jen...and now the performance was over, AND SCENE! He could not have been less interested in our feeble attempt at becoming his best friend and the worst part is, I (a pseudo-intellectual, doctoral student, with a penchant for words) said "funnest" in a sentence. All we could do was shamefully leave the spinning theater and hold onto the genius that was his performance.
Then we ran for 20 minutes....no great stories...I partially blame Jeoff for my lack of creativity during the run.
Tomorrow....we rest...actually Meg works, I take care of Lucy, and the parents arrive on the scene. Until then...
Now recently my swims have been feeling great, smooth, fast, tireless, and other great swimming adjectives. Apparently, however, that was so last week because this morning I had forgotten how to swim. My head was moving all over the place, my hips (which you should know are made of stone) were not even rotating as miniscule-y as they normally do, my hands were entering at bizarre angles, and I kept getting other people's hair caught in my nose clip (yes people, a nose clip...i keep all the orifices plugged during the swim). It was really just wrong. Meg and I were splitting a lane and I kept thinking, "she's kicking my ass, swimming like a freaking sting ray (you thought I was going to say dolphin...but that was just too obvious). Anyway, 30 minutes in we decided to do some 50 meter sprints. This seemed akin to asking our 5 month old to do a series of crawl sprints given that she doesn't even turn over yet. Remember, I had forgotten how to swim!
The sprints went well, I remembered how to swim, yada yada yada, we got out of the pool. Yeah, I know, a lot of story build up for a really awkward and disappointing punch line.
Next we were off to our 1 hour spin class...with Jeoff (clearly a gay boy because what straight boy spells Jeoff with an O?). He was AWESOME! It was seriously like Queer as Folk meets American Flyer or Breaking Away (whichever 80's cycling movie you prefer) meets A Chorus Line! This is the only spin class with three acts, people! This guy is a true performer and a kick ass trainer. And, let me just share that the class was full of all his wanna-be 'fag hags' (which i say with all the love, respect, admiration, and campiness that both fags and hags deserve)...so much fun! Anyway, he was as you would expect of a white, gay boy trainer in his late 30's....super-buff, cut, tan, fun salt-n-pepper spiky hair, great dancer, and high high energy! The music was great...Cher (of course), club music (unrecognizable to this 38 year-old once-lesbian-identified queer girl and mommy), and a sweet 80's rock mix. He began the class, or should I say his opening number, was dancing through the rows of the 20 of us, bouncing up and down, and pouncing onto his spin bike with the agility of a puma, and then proceeding to pedal in a way that can only be compared to the blurry circle that is the Roadrunner's legs.
And with a Meep Meep....we went from 0 to 'oh-my-god-i-fucking-want-to-die-but-he-is-so-fun-that-i-want-him-to-like-me-and-be-my-best-friend-so-i'll-keep-pedaling-even-though-my-power-bar-is-going-to-make-an-uncredited-appearance' in 60 seconds. The class was great...I left wetter (from sweat) than I was when we were swimming. And, then came our mistake. We thought that his performance meant he was nice, kind, perhaps humble and would maybe even be polite to someone paying him a compliment. What made us think this? We are part of many queer and straight communities....we've seen boys like him before. He was performing, performing Jen...and now the performance was over, AND SCENE! He could not have been less interested in our feeble attempt at becoming his best friend and the worst part is, I (a pseudo-intellectual, doctoral student, with a penchant for words) said "funnest" in a sentence. All we could do was shamefully leave the spinning theater and hold onto the genius that was his performance.
Then we ran for 20 minutes....no great stories...I partially blame Jeoff for my lack of creativity during the run.
Tomorrow....we rest...actually Meg works, I take care of Lucy, and the parents arrive on the scene. Until then...
Madison or Bust
So far so good. Rain or shine, sleet and snow, GI business (if you get my drift), and scorching sun we are training as if our lives depend on it. Never before have I felt so committed to an event, well, except maybe graduate school, my first marathon, or getting married to my wife, but other than THOSE times, this is definitely the most committed I've ever been! You have to be intensely committed to take on an Ironman, don't you? Why else, in gods name, would someone commit more than six months of weekends, evenings, lunch breaks, and nights of sleep to endless running, biking and swimming? Don't get me wrong, this is a frolicking good time, but seriously, there was a life before Ironman...wasn't there? Didn't I once go to movies, take walks on the beach and enjoy leisurely weekends? NO? I didn't? Well thank god then that I'm finally doing something useful with my 'free' time. My life will now forever be broken into the 'before ironman' years, 'ironman training' and 'post ironman'. This journey is THAT defining for me.
Training is amazing. Every week I learn something more about myself and about my will to live. When you're out on a highway, on top of a steep hill, with cars racing by and rain pounding down, one really appreciates every breath we take. Well, that and that the brakes that were recently tightened. Sometimes when it gets hard I just think about the blessings that have come. The blessings that allow me to spend this much time swimming, biking and running. The blessings that keep me healthy and safe as I swim, bike and run myself straight to Madison. The blessings that have brought me to this path with some of the most phenomenal, fantastic women I have ever met. We are changing our lives with every yard, every mile, every revolution of our tires. Look out Madison.....here we come!
Cheers!
Here's to Madison!
PS: gotta love a good runner's high!
Training is amazing. Every week I learn something more about myself and about my will to live. When you're out on a highway, on top of a steep hill, with cars racing by and rain pounding down, one really appreciates every breath we take. Well, that and that the brakes that were recently tightened. Sometimes when it gets hard I just think about the blessings that have come. The blessings that allow me to spend this much time swimming, biking and running. The blessings that keep me healthy and safe as I swim, bike and run myself straight to Madison. The blessings that have brought me to this path with some of the most phenomenal, fantastic women I have ever met. We are changing our lives with every yard, every mile, every revolution of our tires. Look out Madison.....here we come!
Cheers!
Here's to Madison!
PS: gotta love a good runner's high!
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Time to Tri!
Hello!
Let the Mad Blogging begin! Jennifer and I are resting today in prep for a long run tomorrow. Our plans today include lots of yummy food and a matinee movie. Gotta go play!
Let the Mad Blogging begin! Jennifer and I are resting today in prep for a long run tomorrow. Our plans today include lots of yummy food and a matinee movie. Gotta go play!
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