Life at 100

I read somewhere once that cyclists take sadistic pride in the agony of riding.

After this week's workout, I am going to go a step further.

Cycling is one of the most painfully miserable things I have ever done... and I've birthed 3 children, run 4 marathons, completed a Half Ironman Distance Triathlon in 90+ degree heat, and run the SF Half Marathon, which is a bit hilly.

I know my own pain experience is pretty diverse, and yet, cycling is fixed firmly in the top of that list.

That's partly because I have found a new form of torture. 30 second intervals. Holy Misery, they were awful. Thankfully I had a companion.

He's significantly faster than I am.

We warmed up together, chit-chatting. I tried not to get intimidated. I knew that once our intervals started we wouldn't be cycling together any more because this guy is probably the fastest guy I know on two wheels, and I am a mom of 3 kids who's run a few marathons, half iron, yada yada and oh by the way I do have a bike.

We did work out a system to ride together, uh, sort of... but if we're looking for an analogy of what the acceleration was like...

It was like chasing a Nascar (Car) on a Pinto (pony)...

Nothing in my memory is as painful as those 30 second sprint intervals in full sun chasing a Galacticly Bada** Egyptian Gentleman. 

And here's the catch that our ride really drove home. He was an amazing cyclist. And he was suffering and spent by the end of the ride.... 

Intervals are always going to be painful. No matter how many years I ride, no matter who I ride with on any given Tuesday... riding at 100% is always going to be hard.

It doesn't get easier - you just get faster.

Bet that applies to running...

In fact, I could apply that theory to life... parenting, nursing school, and relationships. They don't get easier. If you are working at 100% effort, it's going to hurt.

Of course, you can only maintain that level of intensity for 30 seconds. It's an excruciatingly painful but minuscule percentage of time in your workout. 

So the next time you consider giving 100% to your life, just remember, it's going to hurt... and that you can't maintain that hurt for more than a few minutes. It takes a team to get 100% out of life. The theory of pace-line is that you work 20% less when you have a cyclist in front of you blocking the wind/cutting a 'hole' in the air for you to draft in... I call it riding in the pocket, though I'm not sure that's technical.

Basically, even if you are a world champion, you can't expect to do it all on your own.

rephrase - 

I can't expect to do it all on my own.

My plan these days is to get my kids to pitch in 10% each, I'll push myself and put out a solid 60%, Desi (our #bestdogever) will put in her standard 2%, and the rest comes from the love and support of the people in my life who give me the help I need to pull it together, both on the bike and off.

Together my team is tip-top, riding at 100%.

Prioritize Post Workout

The most important thing to do after an endurance activity is to drink.

The most important thing to do after an endurance activity is to consume protein.

The most important thing to do is take an ice bath..

s'ok. I'm gonna jus' lay down on my floor and take a little nap now. Wake me up after there's a consensus on what to do "first" after a 57+ mile bike ride in 2000% humidity.

It's All in a Name

"I had one of the Three Sisters once. It was in January, with Monika & Merlin. It was long and hard, but not as crazy as I feared."

And that's really why it's important to pay attention to what you are saying.
And who you are saying it to...

Cos a cyclist in Richmond would have known that the Three Sisters is a series of hills. But a friend who doesn't ride was included in that conversation, and for a minute there, the whole conversation was not what she thought it was....

This weekend it was confirmed: If you are on a bike, and a hill has a name, that is a bad thing.

Proper Hydration Should Start the Day Before

Today's lesson is a cautionary tale about a cyclist, a 50 miler, and a few important details that should never be overlooked.

"Proper hydration starts the day before, not the morning of..."
"When in doubt, drink a little more early in your activity."
"Don't change all your nutrition in one day."
"Masters swim at 6:30 p.m. followed by a 50 miler the next morning is probably not a brilliant plan unless you are going to meticulously hydrate in between." < ~ and I so didn't...
"Even if you are feeling perfect and fierce for the first 25, you probably should take it easy if the humidity is typical for a Central VA 4th of July and you're not adapted to it."

On one hand, I had the best 25 miler yesterday. I felt strong and amazing. I noticed I was sweating a freaking LOT, but the wind created on the bike is pleasant when one is sweating and it whisks the moisture away before it becomes a nuisance.

In theory.

I noticed early in my ride that my jersey was completely soaked through. This is my favorite jersey, and I don't normally notice that sort of thing. Still, I had 2 full bottles on board, and was doing well. Wait, why were they full still at mile 5?

Also, Because of the size of my bike frame, I was packing a 24 oz and a 20 oz bottle. Both were filled with the NUUN/Coconut water mixture I'm fond of drinking. However, 44 oz is probably not enough, when considering that by mile 10 I was probably already down 2 pounds (32 oz) of sweat.

Driving to the ride I realized I was missing a handful of equipment.
Typically before I leave my house I bring a 16 oz bottle of water to drink on the way over, my sunglasses, a clif bar cut in half to eat as I'm mounting the bike, and the route.
I had none of these things. I found a spare random "sampler" bar in my bag, and ate half. It was about 95 calories.
Fortunately, I have friends who had a spare pair of glasses & a handful of Bonk Breakers to bring on the bike.

Starting the ride I was down 16 oz, 35 calories.

Since my breakfast consists of 1 small banana (90ish calories), those 35 calories are fairly critical...

I felt really great though, as I said, for the first 25.
And then we turned and had a fierce climb. Followed by a long slow climb that goes a while. Followed by a few pesky climbs. And by the time we turned off the last of the climbing roads, I was dry heaving on the bike, and down to a few swigs of water.

and I wasn't sweaty.
At all.
But I clearly wasn't hot, because I was covered in gooshflesh....

At mile 42ish I had a wave of dizziness wash over me that almost took me off my bike. I could barely keep it upright. My legs, back, arms, and chest were cramping.

At mile 45 the route passes a gas station, and I pulled into the lot heaving like I'd just done a hard sprint. I'd barely been rolling at 10 mph. The Good Dr & British Gentleman were with me at the time, and I said, "I don't have 20 minutes left in me" and shocked myself when I said, "Dr, can you go get the car?"

He handed me a $5 and sent me to buy a drink while he pounded at 22mph back to the start.

I drank 32 oz before he arrived to get me.
And another 10 oz with him before I could even get in the car.

Oddly enough, or perhaps, not odd at all, I felt pretty good after rehydrating myself with about 64 oz of fluids, and my mind started wandering. I questioned whether or not I could have finished the ride.

And then I came to my senses.

No, I could not have finished the ride. I might have fallen off the bike, or worse, caused an accident in the pace line. What I needed was air conditioning, liquids, electrolytes and more liquids. More miles would have been a fail.

This just proves that even the most thoughtful athlete, educated and practiced in the ways of hydration, can have a day that reminds of them of their mortality. Happy 4th of July weekend, and be safe out there in summer heat.

The Deep Blue

As usual, riding trumps running for another week. I'm relegated to PT exercises and strengthening the weakened area. I can't be sad though. One of the weak areas has been my brain, and today I had the most perfect ride. ~mojo~

50 miles. Perfect Weather. Exquisite Company. Beautiful Route. It all came together.

As I was sitting at coffee afterwards, sipping on the deep nutty roast that I enjoy for my post ride drink, I realized that pneumonia is a fading memory.

When I first crawled out of bed in April, my workouts were like pair of crisp new jeans. They were uncomfortable, but I still made them work. I had to, they were all I had. They didn't fit quite right, they weren't the correct length. They hadn't molded to my shape. The blue was too deep.

And each ride or swim I finish washes a little of the blue out of them.

The crispness fades, and they become softer and more comfortable. I slide into my ride like a girl shimmying into her favorite jeans. With a quick snap and a zip, I can enjoy the way they fit across my tightening muscles. The length is about right. The break-lines are where they belong.

I do not have to fight with my workout anymore. I can stretch out and enjoy it. I can say yes when I'm invited to go for a ride.

It is a glorious feeling.

~enjoy the ride~

If Runners are Weird, Cyclists are Crazy

Cyclists are all deluded.

All of them.

I’m being darned serious here.  One thing I find most entertaining about this is that they’re the first to tell you, “Runners are weird”.

Roadies casually schedule 3, 4, 5 hour routes for a Saturday morning like it’s nothing. They start at o'dark thirty. They are constantly talking about driving to the mountains to climb XYZ mountain on their bikes. They insist that there is a fierce camaraderie found in “suffering” together on hills.

A runner would never say that sort of thing....

The gear is weird too. Tough to argue with me on that point. After all, it takes a confident man to shimmy into a Lycra and spandex blend and walk around in shiny white shoes that tap on the blacktop. Clickity clickity clip.  Also, there are very few folks who look good in spandex. Even professional athletes aren’t all that sexy when squeezed into bike shorts.

There are exceptions to that rule. There are always exceptions. But I am The Rule, not The Exception.

Sprint Tri '13
Suffering

Oh yes, Cyclists are a different breed. They perch on saddles constructed of a 2 inch plastic triangle covered in a sliver of leather for hours of hot sweaty fun and think nothing of it. Really, on that note, sane people shouldn’t mess with cyclists. They clearly have a pain tolerance higher than the average bear. Or woman, for that matter.

Many Cyclists I have encountered enjoy dishing advice to people they perceive as “noobs”, even if the noob isn't really a noob... The best advice I ever got was last summer, regarding cadence.  “You are pedaling too hard. You need to spin more in a circle pattern, and pedal in a lighter gear. But not too light. So basically pedal hard enough, without pedaling too hard.”
Gosh. Thanks.

Also, they are very big into safety. As they should be. This sh*t is scary dangerous.

So, safety advice like, "wear a light" is responsible and everyone should listen.

Safety advice like, “Let’s all be safe out there today” is less brilliant.

Or, other safety advice that is critically important:  “Don’t forget to grease the crease”.  No, there will be no further details here. #tacos

Frankly I don’t know why anyone does this sport.

It seems nothing but trouble. "Mechanicals", "Chaffing", "Cars" are all part of the repertoire.

But let's not dwell too long on Cars. They are scary business. To me it seems that cars hate cyclists because they believe that roads are for cars and cars only. My inner therapist thinks they hate cyclists because bikes scare cars, or do they scar cars? Could be either one, really.

I notice in my area that the roads that have bike lanes are in terrible areas for cycling.

The roads that have fewer cars, and are thus logically more appropriate for cycling, have only about 3 inches of “extra” road on the other side of the white line so when one does encounter a car, it’s always a cozy experience. Often these roads are hemmed by 8 foot ditches on either side which makes sharing difficult for even the best intentioned driver or cyclist.

15K '13
Kicking A**

By far though, the strangest part of this sport is in the territorial boundaries between the active people who do it and the active people who do everything else. From where I'm perched on my 2 inch plastic triangle, Cyclists and Runners don't mix all that well.

Weird, right?

Runners hate cyclists because Cyclists hate runners because Runners hate cyclists because...

Of course, from what I’ve seen of them, Swimmers are bright enough to stay out of the mix.

Probably besides they know they’re superior to the cyclists and the runners.

~enjoy the ride~

Titled "also known as the post where I acknowledge that it might be time to rename the blog"

"Are you a Runner who does Triathlon, or a Triathlete who runs?"

Huh. My gut instinct was to proclaim, "What the F$(# kind of question is that? I'm a runner who cross trains... "

But the truth is that my answer kind of shocked me. "I think I'm a former marathoner, who's now a Cyclist who does Triathlons so she can still run sometimes because she loves it."

(it's ok if you didn't follow that. I'm not 100% sure I followed that either)

In the last year I have been plagued with injury & illness & injury. I'm sick of it. I'm tired of not getting anywhere. Maybe running is too hard on my body. <~ it hurt me to type that.

I went to the Witch Dr this week. He gave me good news.

I got permission to race on my injured leg this weekend... he's "cautiously optimistic" about it.

So while the news wasn't terrible, the news wasn't great either. The damage wasn't able to heal in 5 weeks of rest. I really want to ask "If I took a few months off running and put my efforts elsewhere, do you think I might get better?"to see what he says. I'll be asking that question next week.

So I probably need to rename the blog. But I don't want to, and probably won't, because it's my identity... it's my voice.

You know how I always profess:
runners are weird

I have to ask, Are cyclists weird too? Cos if they're not, how in the world could I possibly fit in with them?

The Rules according to Velominati

There are rules to the bike written by The Velominati.

I like them. They're a little like my GBA Rules of Running.

GBA Running Rule #1 - If you're not sure you can run without a top, in just a sports bra, don't.
GBA Running Rule #2 - Don't.Die.Under.A.Car.

So, the rules of GBA go into Triathlon as well...
Tri Rule #1 - Don't.Drown.

Some Velominati High Points include

Rule #5: "Harden the F*ck up"

and

Rule #9:  "If you are out riding in bad weather it means you are a badass. Period."

but my favorite Velominati rule is the one that explains how many bikes one should own, and how to calculate that with advanced math. I love math. It's so pretty. I'm serious. Stop laughing.

Rule #12:  While the minimum number of bikes one should own is three, the correct number is n+1, where n is the number of bikes currently owned. This equation may also be re-written as s-1, where s is the number of bikes owned that would result in separation from your partner.

so, meet "n". I was going to give her some bada** street name that suits her bada** war colors, but to be honest, I finally decided "n" works best. She's a machine, not a flowery creature. She appreciates the simplicity of the letter. It's also the symbol for the element Nitrogen, which is an inert gas. You really need a catalyst to make N do anything exciting, and that's ~hopefully~ where I come into play.  So, I had great plans this week. I was going to go pick her up today, ride tomorrow. Except that I think it will take too much out of me to do that. So... ~sigh~ I'll have to wait. Not that I could have ridden her or anything anyway.... maybe it's better I didn't go pick her up...

so N. Nitrogen. n+1.

You know, on a poetic note, without N, there is no life.

also, as an aside, without N, I'm not sure there are explosives but that's neither here nor there...

8 Days Till Tomorrow

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow if I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

Tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

That’s probably true, by the way. Tomorrow I will feel better... but I probably won’t feel well.

Today I got out of my apartment of almost 4 hours. It took a 2 hour nap to recover from it, but that’s just a detail. It happened. I got dressed and everything.

I know that it’s going to be a long time before I’m where I was...

They don’t know what “got” me, by the way. Lots of badbadbad stuff got ruled out. I’d like to say it was the Bat/Pig Flu, right T?, but the truth is, it was probably just an opportunistic pathogen that was in the right place at the right time that led to a series of events that no one, not even The Good Dr, could have predicted.

In short, I owe my life to a Md at Patient First.  After I left her office, she said she was bothered by my condition and kept thinking about me. So she called to check on me right as everything in my life kinda took a badbadbad turn. 

I try not to think about that too much...gives me nightmares.

SO anyway, moving on to running stuff. In 8 days I went from being nearly marathon ready, to knowing that when I run again, I will be starting over from scratch.

In some regards, don’t we all wish we could do that? If you could go back to when you started running and start again with all your current knowledge, don’t you think it would be easier?

In others, I know it will be frustrating as all heckfireandshoot.

What do you mean I can only run XYZ pace for Y amount of time before I collapse into a pool of misery?

Also, let’s visit with the idea that I had finally gotten this whole bike plan down pat. I was cycling on my MTB so that when The Season started on the Road Bike I would feel fit and ready to roll.

Wheels f’in DOWN; I was going to be FIT.

Only, I’m so.no.fit.n.anything.

I’m weak. So weak that writing this has made me tired, and I think I’ll go get ready for bed. It’s 4something pm.

But that’s okay. It’s going to be fine, because tomorrow when I wake up, I will feel better.

because it sounded fun

I was talking about my weekend adventures and I got a good chuckle out of Hot Ironguy's response to my Sunday mileage:

"13 in the morning, and then another 31 in the afternoon?! WOW. What are you training for?"

It made me think...
What am I training for that required so much endurance this weekend...?
um, nothing.

I did it because it sounded like fun.

And it was fun. mostly.

To clarify:
The running was not fun. Yep, I said it. I am training for a (race) and the running was miserable. I felt sluggish and off pace. Oh wait, I was sluggish and off pace. 

The "other stuff" I did this weekend, i.e. the Kona adventures on Buttermilk & Belle Isle, and the Trek adventures on the roads that seemed to cover half of Virginia... well, they were fun.

When I was on the Kona, I felt free. I could do whatever I was capable of, and while that didn't exceed anyone's expectations, I knew there would be no self censure to come with the final results. Whatever speed I did would be enough, and besides, I expect to get dropped on the more technical aspects of the trail. After all, I've only ridden her a handful of times.

As for the Trek... well, that was the first time I've been on the road since Thanksgiving. I almost felt I could do no wrong. almost.

When I was on a bike, I was completely relaxed and enjoying the moment.
When I was on a run, I was not.
Whiskey. Tango. Foxtrot.

I am a runner... right?

I think I need to figure out where my head is at right now so that I can be ready for my spring race.  As long as I do the miles, my body will be ready. But my head needs to be here, or the miles are going to suck. a freaking lot.

I never used to struggle to have fun. It used to just happen. Whether I was alone or in a posse, I could find a way to savor the miles of my training plan. That fun was how I knew my place in the world as a galactically bada** runner.

I need to get back to my roots. I need to remember how to relax and just be. Of course, the more I think about it, the less it will happen. By the way, I suspect that's true of a lot of things in life.

This week I'm going to get out with a buddy of mine who does the "fun" part of running better than anyone I know. It'll be like running therapy for my running mojo.

~savor the run~

Stare Climbing & Cross Training

I've lived in Richmond for 12 years.

Twelve.

And today was the first day that I really REALIZED that this James River Park System everyone is so excited about, is something to be excited about. Not sure if I should be embarrassed about this or not.

I'm going to stick with, "or not", cos embarrassment lends itself to awkwardness, and I'm too bada** today to be awkward.

Yep. It was like that.

not a terrible view...

I've always been an outdoor girl, but I'm not a hiker. I rode horses & ran road races, but neither of those things brought me to the JRPS. I ran past the park system parking lots. I ran near the parks themselves. I ran beside little strips of brown trails cut into the grass, without any knowledge or understanding that I was looking at single track.

So the thing is, if you get a mountain bike as sexy as my Kona AND are galactically badass AND ride it on trails in RVA with Gentlemen of the Roads Trails #GoTTrails, eventually you're going to have to go play in the JRPS.

PLAY is so seriously the RIGHT WORD.


That was a
FREAKING
AWESOME
way to spend almost 2 hours of my life.

I mean, it was a pleasant way to pass the morning, if you like riding a mountain bike over a fallen tree log/jump the size of a small pony!

ok ok... albeit a small sleeping pony... but why worry about semantics now? It was a pony sized jump. And it only took me 2 tries... the first one, yeah, well there may be a slight bruise... AND did I mention it ONLY took me TWO tries!

And after that, I tackled some rocks, a ditch, a few trips through the skills park, and some other silliness, and I wasn't too terribly timid. I did a lot of it. I 90% rode and 10% walked my bike through the sticky spots. Sticky spots are narrow and slick or too steep and I was in the wrong gear and couldn't get to the top... I mean, it could have happened that way.

TGL called back, "Just Keep Going and Don't Look Down!"

That's What She Said we echo'd from behind.

Considering I've been mtb on *this* bike for only a few rides, and only been mtb for a few weeks longer than that, I was pretty stoked about how I was doing.

I'm not sayin', I'm just sayin'

And then...

TGL had a brilliant plan to carry our bikes up a flight of stairs to get to the Buttermilk Trail. Kona isn't particularly heavy or anything, but the stairs never ended. -->

Our instructions for large portions of the Buttermilk Trail included TGL's wisdom:
"Shift your weight back, lean forward, and Don't Look Down".
That's what She Said we echo'd from the rear.

At one point though, I got stuck. I stood there on my bike, frozen in space, staring at a treacherous looking descent, and I couldn't move. Like a deer in headlights I watched as the others took the hill. TGL took on the role of the professor, but even then, I just couldn't do it. Maybe next time. I was having a cleat issue/clip issue, which dissolved my waning confidence in the moment, but I can't blame the equipment.

I blame the lack of experience. And the only way to get experience at this, is to do epic shit...

Well, seriously though, I think in order to really enjoy mtb I need to learn to let go and just be. There's a level of self trust that has to happen in tandem. I'm not very good at being in the moment, I'm an over thinker by nature, but sometimes mtb gets me as close to just being as... moving on.

The buttermilk trail was mad crazy FUN. Obviously someone with a LOT more technology than me made that video. 

This isn't me, but
this IS SO what I did today.

From there we rode elsewhere and it's very very possible that I RODE MY BIKE DOWN A FLIGHT OF STAIRS TODAY...
my new wise feme mtb hero, who's name is too cool for words aka Fear-dra, yelled out, "It's just a flight of stairs GBA GF, you can do it!"
as
TGL called, "Just go for it, keep your eye on the finish line and don't look down"
That's what She Said I echo'd as I rode my bike down a short flight of stairs....

and this too.

Our ride ended with a race against the clock, bolting at top MTB speed (so, not relatively fast, but loads more fun than road riding because there was mud flying EVERYWHERE) back via the Fire Roads to drop me at the sucktastic beige minivan so I could go to my 13 year old's birthday party on time...

BEST DAY EVER on a bike.

I like this Cross Training so much that it's starting to interfere with my running... er, and training... um.

~Savor the Ride~