Monday watery blues

Biked Sunday.  Practiced the "full circle" drill - I've stated it before - the idea of clips on your bike allowing you to use muscular force throughout the complete pedaling circle - not only do you push down on the pedal, you pull up on the pedal as well, allowing each leg to power through the complete pedaling cycle.  

To note, this really works your thighs - right above your knees.... it gets very tiring very quickly.  I could only concentrate on that for short periods at a time, but it is amazing the speed that you pick up.  I added 2 - 3+ mph on average - over 20 miles, that is quite a time savings....

Ran this evening.  It took about 10 minutes to get over the aches and pains of recovering from yesterday's bike ride.  Knees and thighs were complaining the most, but seem to give up after the 10-minute mark.  After that it wasn't smooth sailing, but certainly no more difficult than normal runs.

Ultimately, not too bad - went to where the in-laws used to live*.... the run turned out to be a 5k.... I'll have to stalk the old place more often.....

Still at an 11-minute mile pace..... I thought I was doing better than Saturday, but the pace remained the same - had to stop at street lights due to rush-hour traffic, so I guess that added up to the stop I did in the middle of Saturday's run.

*Hey, the food there was great, too...... again, that pattern!!!! Have to channel Freud soon....

Runs can be,,, mmm mmm.... Odorlicious!!!

Ran this morning (Saturday).  As I started off, decided to run down to 13th and Kentucky Ave SE, to see where the new Fresh Fields - type store is being built....  Found that running is more tolerable when you have a goal in mind..... took me about 16 minutes to make it there, but couldn't find where the store will be built.... didn't even get past the Safeway in the same area - amazing how this stuff is tucked away amongst the houses in the neighborhood.....*

The run was just shy of 3 miles - how do I know?  There's this great web site, map my run, that allows you to calculate the distance you run.

It's odd,  my ability to breathe directly corresponds to the odors I pass...  some perfumey flower causes wheezing, but a block later I'll be able to breathe (relatively**) easily again.  

Here's what little wisdom I've learned the hard way these past couple of months...

1. Don't run down streets on their garbage day....
   
2. Don't inhale when a diesel bus/truck passes....
3. The smell of Bacon makes your mouth water, even when you're parched....
4. Keep one eye on the ground in front of you, no matter how fascinating the world around you seems to be.....

That last is one for the books..... I was lucky enough not to fall flat on my face (must be those strong thighs....) - tripped over something (didn't turn around to figure out what it was....), fell forward and caught myself with one leg just before the point of no return....  And then resumed my stride as if nothing had happened.  A guy with a stroller nearby turned at the noise, but I was already recovered before he had a chance to witness my folly....   I'll just consider it an unexpected strength exercise - "leap forward until one leg catches all your weight, do a deep knee bend then, as strength fails, hop to the other leg and repeat once"....

*Come to think of it, last week I ran around the location where the new Harris Teeter will be built in NE... seems my runs are beginning to have a theme....

**Hey, I'm running, there is no easy breathing....

The (less-) Dreaded Swim

The swim is getting better.  I still have the issue of taking about 15 - 20 minutes to warm up, though, and become comfortable in the water.  After the first lap or two, I begin to get the panicked, can't breathe sensation that has become all too familiar.  

However, I was first in the slow lane, and one of my fellow draggers, Tom, followed right after me when I began to swim.  He was kidding me and complained that I was swimming too fast for a warm-up after I finished my second lap, breathing heavily.  

Perhaps that is a big part of the problem, I don't actually start at a slow pace.  I tried to start slower today, but think it's the initial panic kicking in and I want to get to the end as soon as possible.  Still will take a while to get over that panic hump.... however, I did get over the panic about 12 minutes into the swim, so I could be slowing down, some.  

Or, I could just be a distance person.... I find that about 25 minutes into the swim, I feel I could go forever.... maybe I am better at endurance than short and fast since I grew up playing soccer, definitely an endurance sport (with a ton of sprints thrown in.....)

Today was pretty cool.  After an initial warm-up/drill session, they removed all the lane lines (those things that float to keep you from running into the guy in the next lane....).  It's amazing how they keep the waves of all the swimmers down.  I thought they were just there for the "stay in your lane" reason, but it turns out they are also there to diminish the turbulence..... So I've had my first open-water-simulated swim.   Very choppy, but I didn't feel any issues (especially since I could see the bottom and push off from the wall every 25 yards - and there were no snakeheads..... ok, not an open-water-simulated swim, more like a choppy-pool simulated swim......).  We swam for 30-minutes non-stop like that.  Can't complain.  Again, though, I swam about 10 minutes, got out of breath, switched to back-stroke for 25 yards to catch my breath, but then went without a hitch for the rest of the swim - I could breathe and didn't have pain in the shoulders or anything - could have kept going if I didn't have to brave the traffic to get back home.....pretty cool.....

*for even more information on the dreaded snakehead fish invasion, click here.....

Rain, Rain, Go Away, I'll wait to run another day....

Finally stopped raining today, after a long, wet weekend until finally tapering off Tuesday....

Didn't do the bike / run I was planning to do on Sunday - the original forecast was for the rain to begin on Sunday evening, but the prognosticators kept pulling it forward - to Sunday afternoon, morning, then, finally, Saturday evening.  I hadn't heard the last change, and expected to have a good, cool morning for the bike/run, beating the rain and traffic.  Boy, what rain did we have Saturday night!  All day Sunday - heavy starts and stops to just light mist - it kept coming in waves, finally flooding about an inch in the back yard.  It did the same thing all day Monday as well.  

The Potomac is running quite high - I can see Roosevelt Island outside my window at work, and can imagine how muddy it is right now - most of the trails are probably unpassable.  My first group run with the team was there - I ran around the island's outer perimeter trail with Coach Brian.  

When my guy was younger, you could only get to the island by a low dike that would be covered during high tide and, of course, days like this.  They had school field trips that were called off due to flooding.  The island is now accessible by a taller pedestrian bridge.

The island is quite an amazing piece of land, considering it's urban location.  Planes landing at National Airport route right over the island, so you can hear a fairly continuous roar of jet engines above, about a couple of minutes apart at the most on days when that is the prime landing path.

After 9/11, when the airport was closed for an extended period of time, the island was eerily quiet.  I'm sure the birds and other animals there were confused about being in real nature.... probably got laryngitis since they didn't have an excuse for a break every few minutes.....

Another day, another run...

Ran today.  I'm trying to figure out a way to keep the runs interesting, since I'm running faster and can't just run to the same location and do a full timed run that way - makes it seem a lot longer.....

It takes about 15 minutes to get to the mall.  Got there today and ran around the Capitol on the way back home.  Some day I'll run down the mall, but that's not a short-term goal.

I've tried to time my runs (or at least looking at my watch) by the number of songs played on my ipod.  Right now I look after three songs - thinking that would be about 14 .... er.... 12 .... er.... 11 minutes*.  Ok, only 11 minutes, still have some scheming to do to keep all this interesting.....

The run itself was fine - minus the perfume of the budding evils among us.  To most, it is a beautiful odor that wafts among the many blooming flowers of spring.  To those like me, it is malodorous omen of collapsing sinuses and teary eyes..... sneezes soon follow and I lose the rhythm of the run....

Anyway, no cramping arches.  My back ribs cramped a little, think it was from the bike ride yesterday.  Had to walk twice to let that pass, but pass it did.  Going downhill near the end of the run, had pain where 8 years ago I had a stress fracture.  Briefly panicked, but remembered that bone breaks usually heal stronger than the original bone (so they can break around the original break, not in that exact spot, probably), but the pain stopped once I began walking and didn't start up after that.  Probably just a cramp.  

I'm trying out new shoe laces (yes, only the best - you can even get laces to streamline your time - no kidding.....).  They are these weird elastic bands that you cinch at the tongue of the shoe.  I've tried it on the right shoe, and on last week's run, my arch cramped up, so I think I may need the tightness of real tie-up laces.  Right now I have the right shoe with these weird blue laces and the left shoe with the normal white laces.  Probably looks pretty silly on the run, especially since I haven't trimmed the blue laces yet, and they plop all around as I run.  They make the shoe much looser on your foot, so I think I'll remove them and go back to the troglodyte solution**.   

*Note to self..... get longer songs.....

**Well, not really, since cavemen didn't have shoes, much less laces.  More like archaic.

Ah - Spring is Here (choo!)

Wednesday I ran.  Probably too hard, since, after only 36 minutes, my face was beet red.  But the warm weather doesn't take as much out of your lungs as cold weather does, so I've noticed I tend to run faster, thus suffering from malfeasances other than the shortness of breath that normally ensues. Such offenses include cramps, red face, moving too fast, and, worst of all, having to run further in the same time-frame (when I'm ready to turn back..... I know I've gotten to a point that usually takes 10 minutes to reach, and see that only 6 or 7 minutes have passed, very disappointing - now I've got to run even further!!!).....

Today, Sunday, I rode the new bike for the second time.  It's like my new Mini - great traction, tight turns, fun to ride, but not much shock absorption.  By the end of the ride, when I was beat and leaning too much on my arms, I missed avoiding a pothole and and felt the impact through my wrists to my shoulders.  Ouch.  Not too grand for riding on the great lumpy streets of DC.  The streets are getting better, but have a long way to go to be acceptable for the capital of our nation. Quite a long way.  The ride was a good one, though, overall, but the hour I spent didn't quite match up to the tri distance, so I've got to find a longer course.  Once I get the bike rack squared away on the Mini , I'll consider joining the team on their Sunday rides...  In the meantime, I've gotten better clicking in the new shoes - didn't fall, but it isn't second nature just yet.... Only had to stop a couple of times during the ride, so didn't get much practice.  That's the joy of getting up early, though, to avoid the traffic - works like a charm!

I pretty much ran myself ragged, and wanted to end the ride by charging up the hill of the Capitol.  Here's a difference I then noticed between road and mountain bikes - there are only two cogs in the front derailleur - you don't have the tiny little cog to make it easier to climb uphill.  I kept trying to get in a lower gear until I looked down and counted - I was in the lowest gear!!!  Yet another disappointment.... However, I made it up the hill, and, in fact, rode up an average of 9 mph, which is far greater than on the mountain bike, and didn't feel I had to stand up on the bike to keep from faltering.  Quite impressive, (hey, I'm trying to keep encouraging my consciousness - every little bit helps.....)

As an aside, this week at work I had to squat/lean over to look at someone's laptop screen, placing my hands on my thighs for support.  First thing I noticed was the strength in my thighs... wow, muscle has returned - amazing!  After that I had to keep finding reasons to squat to confirm the thighs were still hard - that it wasn't some sort of weird reaction to a vaccine received as an infant or anything (like mebbe thighs swell up once every twenty years, then recede.....)  It's kind of like a sore tooth or invisible bruise - you have to keep poking it to see if it's still there..... definitely something I'm probably going to have to add to the morning checklist - brush teeth? Check.  Wallet?  Check.  Keys?  Check.  Thighs hard? Check.....

A New Bike (or.... Woo Hoo!)

You may think, (for those following closely - though how can you follow closely if I only post once every couple of months - but that's for another session.....) a new bike now?  Why, yes, kemosabe, I have delayed this a month (0r two) beyond initial plans, but what is procrastination for, other than to - er ... um.... - procrastinate?

Last Sunday, I finally bit the bullet (and, ahem, did my American part to curtail the recession by waiting until pre-season sales had mostly ended and spent my promotion money for the third time, I believe) and bought a new bike.  I went to the local independent bike store, Capitol Hill Bikes, got fitted by some laser-measuring machine, and tried out three different frames. Unfortunately, the frame that was on major sale was a bit too big for me, so I bought the second one I tried, a level lower than the massive sale one, but cool nonetheless.   A Specialized Ruby something-or-other.  It's blue.  With lighter blue stripes.  And carbon frame.  And has two wheels, brakes and shifters, for those looking for technical information.    

Anyway, I got new clip-less pedals (Speedplay pedals and new road shoes) for road bikes (very different than my SPD off-road mountain bike pedals/shoes) and - um - oh, yeah, a free water bottle.  Cool.  I looked for a new helmet, but the store was getting a new shipment in the next week, and the pickings were minimal.  Wanted a new computer (that's what they call the simpleton odometer/speedometer/timer clock you attach to the bike), but forgot after sweatingly mentally calculating the amount I was spending already.... Went shopping at Eastern Market (down the street) for dinner ingredients and gifts (a great weekend jaunt for anyone visiting DC) then went back to pick up my bike and ride it home on the new shoes and clip-0ns.....

First thing I noticed on the quick 2-mile ride home was the speed (maybe that's because I wasn't wearing a helmet......) - it was much faster than the mountain bike.  I beat my car-ride home, too.   Hmmm, a good sign.

After I got home, went to move my bike computer from the mountain bike to the road bike, but got tired of trying to fit the 8-year-old technology on the cool new bike, so gave up.  Not to mention the fact that the wire kept getting in the way - as a smaller person, on a smaller bike frame, it gets frustrating wrapping this wire, meant to accommodate the largest bikeframes out there,  around the fork of the relatively tiny bike.  I decided to bite the bullet again and spend the extra $20 for a wireless computer.  Got that and a new helmet Saturday, attached all to the bike and was ready to roll come Sunday.   I'll save for a rainy day the two plus hours it took to get through the do-it-your-selfer issues that arose during that time.....

But, as a candidate for Miss Procrastination, wouldn't you know it, it was raining Sunday morning, so I didn't take the bike out, just took the option of sleeping in (after much consternation, of course)............

Well, by the end of the day I couldn't stand it anymore, and took Ruby out for a spin..... just around the block, as dusk was near settling in, but a good ride for the first time out on this new bike/pedal system....  How long you ask? It was a short ride.  Not just around the block for those keeping track - more like around the neighborhood - but around the newly-real-estate-agent-adjusted Capitol Hill neighborhood (to raise home prices by simple fact of a name - not the historical boundaries.)  A few miles.....  Ok, I was out for only 30 minutes and didn't quite make it around the new Washington Nationals Baseball Stadium - next weekend I'll ride around that, maybe.....

Anyway, first thing I noticed was the new helmet I bought - the strap, (there are two to three types of systems out there - the one I bought with some kind of dial system) when I first looked up in the proper bike position,  the plastic dial hit me right on this little bump in the back of my skull - causing a sore spot from the start..... It fits fine standing straight up, but with your head cocked forward in a riding position, hits the wrong spot for me..... what a bummer.  Not an expensive helmet, but disappointing at any rate.  I'll donate this one and get a new one.... It fit like a glove in the store.  I have an older helmet I can wear for the time-being, but you should change out helmets every five years or after a crash, and this one was about 7 years old (no major crashes).

The second thing was the new shoes/pedals.  I'm used to the mountain bike pedals, and had a hard time getting the cleats clipped on to the pedals on this bike - just a matter of practice, but.....    I was stopped, for the first time since I got on the bike and had to put my foot down.... at the top of a hill, with cars next to me and a busy intersection crossing my front..... as I was waiting for the light, I heard one, then two bikes pull up and stop behind me - regular commuter bikers - normal street clothes while I was decked out in cool biking gear (10-years old, but only the most hard-core would know the difference) and this cool road bike and cool shoes/cleating system...... The light turns and I start off on my right foot, (which was still clipped to the pedal) and proceeded to lean right and put my left foot on the pedal - the road shoes are smooth plastic bottoms - very unforgiving of a missed cleating - and the foot slid off and I faltered - the bikes behind me couldn't move due to the traffic in our lane and had to wait for my movement.... I brought the foot back up, barely keeping balance on the bike - wobbling all around - and slipped once again, but had better control of the bike to ride just with the right foot - whew..... and moved off so everyone could go about their merry way......  Ugh, I could feel the scorn of the bikers behind me - "yeah, spend all that money and can't even ride the darn thing - HAH!!! YUPPIES!!!!" - (I know, cause I've been there.....).  Once I got the thing moving and foot in the cleat, I took off, anywhere to be away from the scorn..... and went around the block again so I could figure out the darn new system - it is much less forgiving than my other shoes - I pretty much had it under control after the 30-minute ride, though it will take some time to get used to.....

My left hand was also tingling from the new position at the end of the ride - again, a practice / positioning problem.  I believe after my Century 8 (0r was it 9? - 1999) years ago, I lost feeling in that hand for a few days, so I just need to take care and pay attention to the way I position it on the new handlebars.  Since I'm not used to doing anything correctly, I just need to focus more on the correct location, since road bike handle bars are positioned to prevent such issues.....

The tops of my thighs are a little sore, even from that short ride, and my legs a bit wobbly, but the average speed was quite higher than on my mountain bike and my knee doesn't hurt at this point - we'll see next weekend when I do 20 miles, just to make certain.  If I have problems, I'll take it back to the store for re-adjustments.....

So, I'm ready to start preparations for the bike portion of the Tri!!!!!

Note:  For anyone interested, there's this weird song I downloaded from I-Tunes a couple of years ago, Ruby Blue by Roisin Murphy.  Since my bike's called Ruby, it keeps coming to mind when I think of riding it..... Here's the song, as some fan did to the musings of Jessica Rabbit..... It might become my theme song during training (at least bike training.....).....