We had a race last weekend - the GA Veterans’ Triathlon in
Cordele, GA. It’s a great little
sprint, except for the overabundance of gnats (cheap, easy protein if you want
to put a positive spin on it), and about an hour from the house. The course is flat and relatively easy
to navigate. All in all, it’s a
great race for beginners.
I have been training for this race (when don’t I?) although
not nearly as hard as Joe has been.
But then, I don’t have an Ironman in four weeks. My hamstring is finally healing so I’ve
been slowly adding some speed work back into my runs. I actually swam 3000 yards on Monday just to see if I could. Joe was swimming in the lane with me at
the base pool and that’s what he was swimming so I figured, why not. That’s the longest swim I’ve ever done, even more than what
I’ve done for my half-Ironman races.
Yay me! I’ve been
continuing my bike trainer rides, but feel like I’ve been losing ground. I can’t hold the power/numbers that
I’ve been able to before. On
outside rides, I can keep up with most of the folks I normally do, but I feel
weak. Hmmm. Perhaps a bit of overtraining you say?
I’ll ponder that on my next ride.
Since the race was Saturday, I decided to take Friday as a
pseudo rest day. Like most days, I
took Beau for a walk after I got the second shift, aka, Josie on the bus for
school. Yes, our kids are already
back in school. They actually
started back on the first of August, significantly shortening our summer break. Anyhoo, since I’ve been trying to cut
down on my transition times, I figured I’d walk the dog in my running shoes,
but without socks. I’d broken out
a new pair since my last race and wanted to be sure they were broken in enough. I slathered my feet with Body Glide (a sports lubricant for
all you non-tri peeps) and away we went.
My feet felt fine for the first two miles and then, my heel
started to hurt. Sure enough, when
I pulled my foot out of my shoe, I had a nice blister on my heel. I had rubbed it so raw before it
started to really hurt that the skin was just barely hanging on; the blister
had long since burst. I was still
a half of a mile from home. Uh-oh. Not a great way to get ready for a tri
that was going to be in a lake with all kinds of who knows, well, I didn’t want
to think about it! Walking hurt
too much, but running wasn’t too bad.
My running shoes are designed for running on the balls of your feet
(YAY, Newtons), something I already do when I run, but not when I walk. Who knew it would make such a
difference?
 |
| Back to my pink Newtons - the blue ones were no bueno! |
I cleaned out the raw spot when I got home, slathered it
with triple-antibiotic ointment and hoped for the best. In the morning, I put a strip of
moleskin on it, not knowing that moleskin is not waterproof. D’oh! I then put on socks and resigned myself to the fact that I
was going to be adding a couple of extra seconds to my transition to put them
on before heading out on the bike.
Bummer.
Many of our triathlon group, the Crazy Joes, raced with
us. I love when a bunch of us race
together! I truly enjoy the camaraderie,
the smiles and hugs, the sharing of nerves and advice and smiles, and yes, even
the good-natured ribbing. In
typical team mom/team cheerleader fashion, I even offered to drag a friend
across the finish line, despite my lifting restrictions. That’s what teammates do for one
another. At the end of the race,
we joyfully welcomed a few new triathletes into the fold, something always
worth celebrating!
 |
| Love when we get to race together!!! |
Two thirds of the way through the swim, as the moleskin
gently peeled off of my heel and floated away, I knew this wasn’t going to be
my best race. Ah well. I did better than I expected. I ended up third in my age group and in
the middle of the pack for the entire race. Joe wanted me to “push as hard as you can on the bike!” I pushed, but not “as hard as I could”
because I didn’t want to bonk on the run (non-tri people translation: fall
apart, barf, cramp, all of the above). I ran comfortably on the run, so again, I guess I
didn’t push as hard as I should have.
Oh well. My life is a
series of seconds and thirds, so why mess with a good thing, right? I’m okay with that, and besides, who
wants the pressure of always having to defend one’s title?
Joe, on the other hand, rocked it! He was 4th overall and won the masters’ category
(non-tri people translation: the old folks). He then proceeded to put us all to shame by cycling the
sixty plus miles home. I repeat:
he has an Ironman in four weeks and the rest of us don’t. Oh yeah, and this was a “C” race for
him. Seriously – a “C” and he
comes in fourth overall.
 |
| My view as I left the tri to go have lunch with friends. :-) |
While I didn’t plan any big races this year (it’s Joe’s
year), I have several friends that did.
Always the team mom/team cheerleader, I have offered to go on training
rides with several. And that was
why I got up early on Sunday. I
wasn’t about to do my usual Sunday twelve-mile run before church since the
blister was still oozing, but biking didn’t hurt my heel. Cori and Roo were riding forty
miles. My bike time was what
really hurt me the most during the race, so I decided to add an extra ten miles
riding up to the bike store and back.
Cori got necessary training
in, Roo got to go on a nice easy ride (for him) with his lovely girlfriend, and
I got to do some hill work. A
win-win for everyone!
This is Slow-mode for Beau!
Since I was ready to go a little early, I decided to take
the dog outside to play a few rounds of fetch. Beau loves the exercise and attention and I love watching
him run. Actually, he doesn’t just
run, he gallops! He even sounds
like a horse when he charges across the yard at full tilt. He’s so incredibly fast and fluid and
beautiful when he runs. It’s just
so effortless for him. But… he’s a
sprinter! After about six to ten
ball tosses and gallops around the yard or a 2 mile run, he’s pooped… until the
next round. He is not an IronDog –
not yet anyway.
 |
| It oozed for two days - ugh. |
Anyway, I let Beau out and proceeded to follow him out. And that’s when the patio door
attacked! We’ve got it on a spring
closure, but I can’t quite get it to close just right. Sunday morning, it closed just right –
right on my ankle, slicing it open.
Fabulous! While it wasn’t a
large or deep gash, it was right by the already open blister. Can you say, “ow”?! Well, the ride must go on so I cleaned
it out (I’m getting very good at cleaning out my injuries.), swathed it in
gauze and headed out. Thankfully,
like the day before, it didn’t hurt too much to cycle so I was able to get in
my fifty miles, even surprising myself by getting almost all the way up “the
big hill” in my big chain ring (non-tri people translation: harder gears).
By Sunday night, I was pooped! I told myself I’d take a rest day on Monday. When I was doing the EN Outseason, I
really needed those rest days with all of the insane workouts I was doing. Monday’s rest day was really just going
to be so that I could let my ankle/heel, well, heal.
I dutifully got the youngest on the bus and then took the
dog for a short walk and as I walked, I thought. I thought about why I dislike rest days so much. I think the reason I dislike rest days
so much is it means I have no excuse for not cleaning the house. Somehow, workouts seem like a good
excuse to not clean the house. Not
that I don’t clean my house; you know I do. I just don’t like to!
I think it’s because I have a touch of ADHD. I get too distracted when I clean and then wonder why the
toilet still has toilet bowl cleaner in it four hours later and why the shower
door is covered with a fine dusting of Barkeeper’s Friend. But hey, I did find that pattern I was
looking for.
After I got home from walking Beau, I cleaned the
floors. I folded laundry. I put away laundry. I cleaned up the kitchen. I cleaned the toilets, sinks, and
shower. I was sweaty and I was
antsy! And so, I looked longingly
at my bike and made a decision.
I’d just get on and ride for thirty minutes. Thirty minutes became a full hour workout with intervals. I rationalized that I needed
to do this because I was going to take my bike in to get a small repair
done and I might not get it back for the next day’s scheduled workout. Uh-huh. That’s what I told myself.
So much for my rest day…
No comments:
Post a Comment