I have not been neglecting my training though. I'm logging 2-3 hours a day during the week thanks to trying to bike commute. 4-6 on Saturdays and at least 3 on Sundays.
I'm feeling pretty good. My butt hurts. Its rather painful when first sitting down on the saddle. And then it settles in and I don't notice it much. But for some reason the left side is feeling more "bruised" than the right. My seat is on straight. So I must do something that's a bit different on the left than the right.
I actually think I might be feeling a bit better than how I did with close to the same amount of time before my first marathon. I was resorting to quite a bit of advil and tylenol to help me sleep at night. I've only had a couple days the last month or so that I felt like I really needed some advil. That doesn't mean things don't hurt. They do. My knees. My hips. Maybe they've just been hurting so long it doesn't even register anymore. Hard to say.
All of this cycling though has me looking forward to finishing that 112 miles in Canada and then packing up my bike, for a long time. I do like biking, but I don't love it, and I do really like my road bike, but the passion isn't there. What I do love is bike commuting. And I love riding my bike along the coastal trail late when the sun starts to dip in the sky. But I'd rather be on my commuter. Yes, my 14 year old heavy hunk of metal. Maybe it suits my personality better than my road bike. True it's slow, but it's comfortable. I can haul a lot of gear on it. It keeps on working year after year. It's low maintenance and dependable and cheap. Sounds like a good relationship to me. My road bike is finicky. It's designed for performance, not comfort. I'm limited in how much stuff I can transport with it. It needs a lot of attention. It's expensive to maintain. I worry about leaving it locked up outside. I bet you can imagine all too well the type of person that might also fit both of those descriptions. Who would you rather be friends with?
My swim is feeling smooth. Managed to get 3000 yards in on both Tuesday and Thursday this week. In about 55 minutes or so for each. My swim is probably the only workouts where I'm done and something does NOT hurt. But it's also the most booooooooooooring. I think once I'm done with Canada, and I'm in Kodiak and needing activity so I don't turn into a blimp, that I will get a waterproof mp3 player. It will be worth it. Right now, it's good for me to have to occupy my mind while swimming, since there won't be headphones at Canada. I am not restricting myself on my bike rides and runs though. There is only so much torture I can take. Solo rides and solo runs with no one to talk to and seeing much of the same scenery is a different scenario than race day. I'm going through quite a few Radiolab podcasts. I learned about color last weekend. This week it was about stress. Love Radiolab. I also reserve Wait Wait Don't Tell me for workouts. And now I have new audiobooks. I'm pretty stoked. I will finally finish An Echo in the Bone, by Diana Gabaldon. I read about halfway through when it first came out and then I just stopped. No clue why. Particularly now that I'm listening to it and I'm wrapped up in the story once again.
And I'm reading again.
The one unforeseen consequence of Kevin heading to Europe. No more nightly chats. I first stopped reading when I started dating Micah. And then I kind of got back into it but not fully until Kevin. My 30-60 minutes that I used to spend reading before bed was replaced by computer use. Worth it at the time, but not without cost. So I'm rather glad I've returned to flipping pages, although sometimes I have to set a timer so I go to bed before it's too late!
In other news the Mayor's half-marathon went well.
I felt good about it. I definitely pushed it and I don't think I could have run it much faster. Good day all around.
Tomorrow is the XTERRA Hammerman triathlon. I'm doing it as a team event with Gavin riding the bike. So I get to do my two loves, swimming and run. The swim will be great open water practice. And I just love trail running, period. Race report to follow.
Sunday is a 5 hour ride. My longest yet. Then the following week I get to drop it back a bit to 3.5 hours. Then another 5 hour. And finally the century. And then it's just two more weekends of moderately long rides and....RACE DAY!!!!! I am excited.
Most of my long runs are 2 hours, a few a bit longer and then the weekend before race day I'll do the Big Wild Life Half. I need to take it easy, and the best way to do that is to do it with someone else. Otherwise I'll race it. I'd probably get close to 2 hours, knocking time off of my Mayor's time. But this would not be very beneficial for my legs. So I am hoping to run it with Krista. Or walk it with Kate. We shall see.
Not a lot of time left.
But I don't have the days counted, and I keep forgetting how many weeks are left. The only count down I have going is the 10 days until Kevin returns. One thing at a time. Still not sure which one I'm looking forward to more. It's a tough call. I've been waiting almost 7 weeks to see Kevin again. I've been training for a year for this race. Not an even time comparison. And completely different events.
Oh man, and I went up Mt. Marathon too. And the Clendaniel Mile. And Dad was here for almost 2 weeks, and I've been bike commuting from upper o'malley while I'm dogsitting for a month, and I had to say goodbye to my kitty Zuma.... There's just too much to write about it all.
Clendaniel mile - 7:13. Yeah. I'm rather pleased with that one. Ok, that's an understatement. I'm superbly satisfied. Nearly 45 seconds off of last years time.
And I'm at 144 this morning. Trying to hold on to that. Massive amounts of cookies are disappearing into my mouth. But meals are healthy, balanced and moderately portioned. Not feeling guilty for the cookies. I love them and I've earned them.
Working on my nutrition plan for race day. I'll get to test some of it out this weekend for the 5 hour ride. Picked up Hammer Solids. Hoping they sit well with the tummy. Carbo Pro has been good for me so far. And the Hammer Gels are working too. Will have to decide what to put in special needs bags and transition bags.
Bottom line: I'm entering the home stretch. I'm excited. I look good. I feel good. I'm happy.
