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Dodged a bullet Thursday, February 2, 2006 I caught a bug yesterday. I'm not sure if it was something I ate, or if it was something I picked up from one of the kids at school, but I had what eventually felt like the flu: I had no appetite, I ran a fever, and my whole body ached. I struggled through a full day of teaching, including several of the more challenging classes, and dragged myself to seminar. I had to call off coaching for the evening, and was promptly in bed asleep after I ate dinner. I woke up this morning feeling about 90%, and after a solid breakfast and a good run to school, I took some DayQuil and got on with life. I'm feeling fine now, and I should be good to go for Sunday morning's race. I'm glad my body was able to kick this thing, because I can't afford to take time off from anything right now - teaching, training, etc. I was happy to get an hour in on my bike this afternoon, but I'll need to get a lot more time in this weekend. I just hope the weather forecasters are wrong and that we don't get any snow.
Rankings are out now. For some reason (maybe because I'm a Pennsylvania resident) I'm not ranked in the Mideast region, where I did all of my racing last year. I did finish second in the 20-24 age group nationally, garnering a USAT All American Honorable Mention. I was less than a point away from first, a margin I probably could have made up had I raced at Mideast regionals and finished high. I'm aging up to a tougher age group this year (the winner of last year's short course Nationals was in the 25-29 age group) but I think I can keep pace with them, especially if my training continues to improve.
Not a great weekend so far Yesterday was really long. I taught all day, went to hang out with some of the teachers and student teachers at Charley's after work, and then spent the rest of the night at the museum. By the end of the camp-in, I was exhausted and my lower back was screaming. It was all I could do to make it back to my room before I collapsed.
The weather today has been miserable. It rained from the time I woke up until sundown, and now it's snowing and starting to accumulate. It was in the mid-30s all day, so there was no chance I was getting any training done outside. I've had too many really bad experiences being wet and just above freezing. The only good thing about the weather is that it gave me the opportunity to sit down all day and get work done (such as this project for my dad).
Steelers win! Steelers win! Time needs to slow down just a little bit. The days and weeks are flying by way too quickly. That's all I have to say about that. It was ugly, it was mostly uneventful, but the Steelers pulled it off. It was a pretty good party, too... drinks, more food than anyone could eat (two kinds of homemade wings, chips galore, multiple salsas and cheese dip), good company and a championship to top it all off. Earlier in the day, I placed second in my first 5K of the season, so it was a good day for Pittsburgh athletes.
This morning was rough. I did get in 9 miles running today, all told. I'll get on the bike tomorrow, I swear...
And now, I lose Our field instructor says, "Some days you win, and some days you lose." I lost today, many times. The morning was reasonably uneventful, but I had a very short lunch because of line duty, and then all manner of craziness broke out in the afternoon. For some reason, I had a mental lapse and kept the post-lunch class five minutes too late. The next class was off the wall and wouldn't take turns being different roles in one of their games. During my third afternoon class, a kid kicked a loose electrical outlet and somehow sparked a very small fire in said outlet, which thankfully went out on its own. We had the electricians, who luckily happened to be in the building at the time, come and fix it right away. Still kind of scary, though. My last afternoon class, although I love the kids, was really rowdy, and we had to spend some time talking about following directions. I ran home from school as usual, but I wasn't done racking up points in the L column. I wanted to ride outside (because I have tried without success to get myself on the trainer indoors) but it was too cold and I had to bag the workout. My arm started to really hurt where I had hit it while dunking on a seven-foot rim. I also made the final decision to not work at camp this summer, something that I've been spending a lot of mental energy on recently.
*sigh* I think I just need to go to sleep and start over tomorrow... except that tomorrow might be the longest day ever. Lovely.
Longest day ever I might have had longer days in the past... but I can't remember them. OK, maybe last Friday was longer. But today was long, nonetheless.
After a full day of teaching - in which I decided I was not going to lose again, and I didn't - I booked it to seminar. That got out really late, and I got home with just enough time to throw on my track warmups and go coach. Dinner had to wait until that was over. I definitely appreciate being able to eat before 7:00 PM a lot more now.
A day of ouch I'll be happy if I can walk in the morning, much less drag myself to school. I put in about 12 miles running, all told, a good chunk of it going really fast on the track tonight with Matt. We motored through four sets of 2 x 200, 1 x 800 (~35 sec 200s, ~2:20 800s). The last half mile was beyond difficult. I made the decision a couple days ago not to return to camp this summer. This was a really tough decision, but I think securing my first job - something that is of top priority - will be easier if I am not there. I've discovered a few people already who are really bummed about it, and although I knew some people would feel that way, that doesn't make it any easier to deal with. Different kind of hurt, but painful nonetheless.
I really need to do something about this aversion to the trainer. I cannot keep scrapping rides simply because it's unpleasant out. I'm going to be in bad shape for race season unless I get myself back on track now, get my mileage in, and keep up with my bike speedwork. I will change some things starting this weekend.
Head case Sometimes I wonder about myself. I finally managed to force myself onto the trainer this afternoon, something I should have done for the entire past week, and it ended up being much less agonizing than I thought it would be. I'm actually kind of mad at myself for being such a wimp, because I even did a tough workout today and felt pretty good. Hopefully that will break me out of this mental funk I'm having about the bike, and I'll be able to log more hours from now on.
It probably also helped that the Olympics were on, and I was watching the xc-skiing part of the nordic combined event while doing my cruise intervals. It's hard not to be motivated when the world's best endurance athletes are competing on TV.
Familiar territory Back to being tired. I have no excuse for the past three weeks or so of lackluster training, so I'm trying to step it up a bit. I've gotten myself on the trainer twice in two days, and I haven't minded it too much. Good sports to watch while spinning: speed skating, downhill skiing, snowboard halfpipe. Not-so-good sports: pairs figure skating. I also almost blew my own doors off yesterday on a tough tempo run. It was difficult to find a good pace this morning. I've created the points rules for Epic Camp. It should be pretty close, down to the wire to see which one of us wins the informal competition. I will post the points rules shortly before Epic Camp begins. Just under two weeks until the fun begins.
I started teaching my own unit today at school. I'm doing volleyball skills and lead-ups, and since today was all lower grades (K-2), we played with balloons all day. I was surprised at how excited the kids were to play with the balloons, and things went quite well.
Where are my legs? I've reached a new level of tired, combining high-mileage running with (finally) hours on the bike. I'm going to have to get to bed early tonight to catch up on my recovery. The weather finally broke - for the moment, anyway - and I was able to ride outside this afternoon, which really helped my motivation. I can tell that I haven't been on the bike very much this year: my legs are not performing the way my brain wants them to perform. It's still fairly early, but I'd like to feel a little more confident in my legs.
Normally I dislike Vanentine's Day. I got some awesome loot from the kids today, though... can't complain too much about loads of chocolate.
I like this feeling
I've got a familiar feeling in my legs now: hard-core fatigue. Matt and I put in some time at the track tonight, running some longer intermediate-pace intervals. They were tough, because the pace is not that much slower than what we do for 400s and 800s but we dragged each other through them. For what it's worth though, they felt easier tonight than they would have at this point last year, so we're in pretty good shape.
New mile PR I brought my mile PR down by just over 12 seconds this morning, to 4:38.61. It was pretty painful, but I'm certain I could go faster with mile-specific training. Maybe I'll get around to that some day. I also got an hour in on the bike with my new Specialized tri shoes. They are absolutely fantastic: they fit like a glove, they feel like slippers, the carbon sole is super-stiff and the shoes are super-ventilated. I can't wait to ride them outside.
This is going to sound silly, but I really dig the Exxon-Mobil commercials where kids are immitating olympic athletes. I guess it appeals to the kid in me, who still dreams big from time to time about racing at the highest level.
C is for cookie... It is COLD this weekend: today topped out at just above 20, with wind chills below 10 all day. Tonight's going to be frigid as well. This is typical weather for all of January and much of February, though, so I'm not complaining too much (although I wish it had happened earlier) - we've had an unbelievably mild winter. I got an easy 5-mile jaunt in today and also put in another hour on the trainer. I am truly enjoying watching the Olympics while on the bike; the cross-country skiing is pretty fantastic. I watched Italy blow everyone's doors off in the 4 x 10 km relay. They are superb athletes.
After wondering where they all were hiding, I finally spotted some Girl Scouts selling cookies across from the Border's today. I made a beeline for them and picked up a box of my favorites, Thin Mints. These cookies are one of my kryptonites: I would probably do all sorts of things just to get some. Fortunately, most of the time that only involves forking over $3.50. Thin Mints are an endangered species around me, though: the entire first bag survived for a mere 9 hours, and that's only due to a good deal of self-restraint.
EC T-minus 4 days: Sick day I started feeling bad last night, and didn't feel any better this morning, so I took a sick day (I'm allowed two at each placement) to recover. I'm miffed, because the weather's supposed to be decent today and I wanted to ride outside. I also feel bad about missing a day when I'm supposed to be teaching my own unit, but the rest of this week is going to be long, so I want to be as healthy as possible going into tomorrow. Epic Camp starts on Saturday, right when the weather takes a turn for the basement: it's going to get cold cold cold this weekend, before warming up again during the week. That means a few rides are either going to be inside, or I'm going to have to suck it up and just deal with temps below 30 degrees. I've got a 50-miler scheduled for Monday, and I think that's just going to be a very cold day on the bike, because you really can't make up 50 miles on the trainer.
I guess I will use the rest of today to get work done and make sure I'm getting plenty of rest and fluids. Maybe I'll watch a movie, too...
EC T-minus 3 days: Points Competition As if I wasn't stealing enough from the real Epic Camp already, I've also adapted the points system to suit our training. Certain distances will earn points that we will accumulate throughout the 8 days, with the highest total at the end being crowned the Epic King (or Queen, if Kelly wins - not that I'm worried about that *wink*). Epic Camp: Ann Arbor 2006 Points Competition
Daily Minimums
Daily Bonus Points
Swim:
Bike:
Run:
Special Events
I will post a running total of my points, and hopefully will get enough updates to post points for Matt and Kelly as well. Matt and I will be doing most of Epic Week together, but Kelly will be in Georgia with the U of M cycling club, so I will be relying on phone and e-mail updates from her. Even though this is techincally a training week, and we're certainly not going to be racing in any of the workouts, the points competition will give us a little extra motivation to put the miles in.
EC T-minus 2 days: Sinus issues
I got my workouts in today, but my sinuses are not feeling good at all. I've got myself doped up on Sudafed tonight, and I'm hoping I will be functional in the morning. Fortunately, I'm not planning on running in to school, so I should be able to survive the morning. Whether I make my ride and run in the afternoon, however, is another question altogether.
EC T-minus 1 day: TGIF I suspect that taking four Sudafed at a time is not exactly the recommended dosage, but I really had to kick this sinus problem today. So far, I've won: I felt a little pressure this morning, but being wacked up on pseudoephedrine seems to have done the trick. I felt just fine on my run today, so that bodes well for the start of Epic Camp.
We'll be kicking off the camp bright and (way too) early tomorrow with a long run starting at 7:30 AM, followed by some time on the bike. I'm excited - and a bit nervous, admitedly - about seeing how far I can push my body. I'm really hoping I can ride myself into shape (as opposed to riding myself into the ground) over the next week, and that I'll be able to stay on the bike once I get back into the swing of teaching. I'm starting off the week with sore legs from the past few days at the track, so I'm going to have to be vigilant about getting enough recovery.
EC Day 1: Rough beginning This has not been the greatest start to what I expect will be a huge training week. For reasons unknown to me, I didn't manage to fall solidly asleep until after 2 AM last night, and I was up before 7 to prep for my long run with Matt and his friend Emily. Needless to say, I was pretty shelled when my alarm went off after what seemed like half an hour of sleep. When I woke up, the right side of my face felt like it had been beaten with a crowbar, and the left half of my nasal cavity felt like I had left it in the Sahara for a few months. Add a headache and sore legs into the mix, and you can see why I might not have been overjoyed at the prospect of a long run. I suited up anyway, and after discovering that my Fuel Belt no longer fits on me at all (how did that happen?), I headed out.
The run, in a word, was miserable. I felt pretty bad, and on top of that, almost got frostbite in my fingers because of inadequate gloves. I borrowed a second pair of gloves from Matt and toughed it out, logging almost 11 miles. I was knocked flat on my back when I got back, though - the training had seriously screwed with my system, and I half-drowsed through the early afternoon while watching cross-country skiing. I had skipped riding with Matt after the run - I'm told the 20 mph wind on the way out was really brutal - and was considering not riding at all, but I managed to get myself on the trainer after dinner. I logged a tough 25 miles, including 30 threshold minutes (Q1 workout), watching possibly the best trainer movie ever, Gone In 60 Seconds.
EC Day 2: Better... but not much This morning was another attempt at a long run before having eaten anything, and this time I couldn't quite make it. I had to cut the run short to keep from collapsing out in the middle of nowhere in sub-20 degree temperature. I ran just over 7 miles, and have rarely been more happy to be finished with a workout. After some rest and a trip to Crisler Arena to watch the women's basketball game, I had dinner with my grandmother and her friend who were in town, and then I jumped on my trainer to put in another 25 miles on the bike. I really hope that this will be one of the last times I ever have to get on that wretched thing: it's noisy, it's not fun, and I really dislike going nowhere when pedalling. I wanted to hit the daily minimums today, though, so that I have a little breathing room later in the week if I feel really tired and need to scrap a workout.
My left knee is pretty much useless right after getting off the bike. I'm not sure what that's about, but it is incredibly painful and tight for a minute or two after stopping. I can't remember it being like that after riding outside, so maybe it's just a trainer thing. We'll find out tomorrow when I attempt a 50 mi/5 mi brick.
EC Day 3: Living up to the name It's a good thing I ran this morning, because I obliterated my legs in the afternoon on the bike. I put in 56 miles, but the temperature was a brutal 18 degrees with the wind chill. I probably spent way more than 56 miles' worth of energy trying to keep warm, and still almost ended up with frostbite on several fairly critical body parts. My legs started working like they know how to ride a bike after about 15 miles, but then stopped working so well 50 minutes later. I really struggled after that, riding low in my gear range. Tomorrow opens with a 6:30 AM track workout, since the building is closed in the evening. I will assess how I feel after lunch, but I may push my 65-mile ride back a day and either ride shorter or just recover some more. If I do ride, it'll probably be on my road bike, not on my TT bike.
Kelly has removed herself from the points race. The Georgia trip is climbing mountains on the bike, and she doesn't think she'll be managing any more runs or swims. They're climbing Brasstown Bald tomorrow - the only hors categorie climb in the continental US - so I don't blame her. I'd put all of my energy towards cycling too!
EC Day 3: Easy(ish) day I ran twice today, opting not to ride in the hope that my riding muscles will recover and be strong for the rest of the week. The day was not a total pushover though, because I ran this week's Q1 workout at 6:30 AM at the indoor track. It was pretty tough - I dislike mornings in general, and I also dislike running before eating anything. I muscled through it though, and it wasn't as bad as I had feared. I used the rest of the day to get other stuff done (like laundry!) that I've been too tired to do so far. Tomorrow's gonna be big, I can feel it...
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