No end in sight

Here is a brief run down of my last 3 weeks.   Post Wildflower has been 2 weeks of no activity beyond walking (horribly sick, ears totally clogged, like having ear plugs in.  Major congestion.  Wicked phlegmy cough).  Then last Saturday I got smacked in the head very hard by a softball. Very painful at the time but did not pass out.  Sunday was a sprint tri. (500, 12, and 4)  I went in to it not having done any exercise and having been sick for 2 weeks and not having slept well for 3 nights in a row. But I absolutely rocked it.  8:13, 41:02, and 36:59. Sunday night I started to feel a headache, but thought maybe I was just dehydrated from the race.  I'm not that great at hydrating for shorter things and I sweat a lot, even when it's cool out, which it was.  Monday my head was hurting a lot and then nausea hit.  Still went swimming though (I'm stubbornly stupid) and things felt really good while swimming, until after showering and nausea returned with headache. Had to go home from work i felt so shitty.  Felt like a bad migraine.  Tuesday was manageable, although still pain.  Felt better in the evening though, and biked 11 miles, felt ok while biking.  Wednesday wasn't good during the day.  But got out in the evening for a 5 mile trail run that was pretty good.  Thursday I went to the doctor.  Antibiotics for sinus infection, nasal spray for allergies and congestion. A different asthma inhaler for races.  And the possibility to get a cat scan if I wanted. Not going to get one.  Can't afford it (no insurance) symptoms are indicative of possible concussion, but nothing is scary, no vomiting, loss of consciousness, no memory issues, no change in behavior.  

I was given strict orders not to work out until I'm better.  And I cried sitting there in the doctors office.  (Then, 2 days later, I had to say goodbye to Kevin for 2 months, and an hour later go to a memorial service for my grandmother.  When it rains it pours?)

I have no idea when I'll be "better."  My head still doesn't feel right.  My ears are still plugged up from sinus crap.  Occasional cough.   I was already nervous about having enough time to get my mileage up to be ready for Canada.  If I miraculously feel better by the end of this week (unlikely), can I do it in 11 weeks?  And I feel like I'm losing everything I've spent the last 7 months working on.  

Wildflower

It's been over a week since I "competed" in one of the toughest half-iron distance triathlons in North America.  I've put competed in quotes since really the only person I was competing against was myself, but I was there.  I swam 1.2 miles while trying to avoid being whacked in the head.  I biked 56 miles over hilly terrain in the sun and ran 13.1 miles.  Ok, I walked a big portion of it.  But I ran most!

Quick Overview of Results
Total time: 7:27:57 (Got saddled with a drafting penalty of 4 minutes. So real time 7:23:57.  Probably while going uphill...since I was never drafting but did get a little close to some people while going uphill.  I don't think you can really draft when you're going 6mph.....)
Swim: 36:23 (woohoo!)
T1: 8:24 (not woohoo)
Bike: 3:58:55  (Yeah, just under 4 hours!)
T2: 4:43 (not too bad)
Run: 2:35:32 (wanted to get under 2:30 but considering circumstances and course, this is ok)


Age group: 49 out of 72 ( +5 who didn't finish)
Gender: 295 out of 420
Overall: 1447 out of 1807 (+ approx 50 who didn't finish)



And it was one of the best weekends of my life.


Transition set up

- Had to find bar ends for my aerobars.  But race officials were super nice and friendly and helped me find some of the small ones that would fit.  Also had to ask for a new cap! That was my one item I forgot.  Not too bad in terms of forgetting something, as I was able to find one pretty easy.  Sarah was great with helping me set things up in an efficient way. 
-Sunscreen.  Lots of it.

-Had time to kill so I watched the pros start with Heidi.  And then the first few men's waves and then headed back to get suited up.

(The Pros showing us how it's done)

-Took way way way too long to get my wetsuit on.  I was cutting my start time close!  Downed a gel fast and grabbed my letters, ripped off the envelopes and read them as I walked to the start.  It meant I had to stash them on the side and didn't get to keep them, but they were perfect.  Wonderful encouragement just when I needed it. 



Swim
-My wetsuit chafed my neck.  I could feel it from the first stroke.  It's a week later, it's almost healed.
-Arms felt good.  Swimming with so many people did not.  It's unlikely I'll be able to get over that before Canada.  And Canada is a mass start, not wave. 
-Managed to haul myself up out of the water and walk/jog to transition.  And got my wetsuit to my waist by the time I got there.

(I hate this picture....)

T1

-But I need to see if I can cut the legs of my wetsuit so that it won't take me forever to get it off.  Forever.
-More sunscreen.
-Almost 9 minutes.  9 freaking minutes. Waaaaaaaay too long.

Bike
-Seriously, I'd say the first 3 miles of the bike were a bit of a blur.  I didn't even register going up that first nasty hill. 

-And I felt good. 
-I felt great!
-I was cruising pretty good, battling a headwind for a while.  Some bad cross winds for a stretch. But  just steadily moving along.  I celebrated every mile marker.

-Nasty Grade came.  Tried to take it easy.  I believe this is when I fell in love with my bike all over again.  So glad I have a road bike and not a tri-bike.  I passed a lot of people.  Yes, you heard that right. I, Slow Glo, passed people going up a hill. 
-Unfortunately, on the super steep downhill on the other side of Nasty Grade, I realized my heart rate had gotten pretty high, and it wasn't going down.  And my chest hurt. 
-But I was still pedaling strong.  Although my neck and back were killing me, as I knew they would, from aero. 

(To be honest, I didn't even register going up some hills)

-Rolled into the park and saw runners shuffling along.  I started to think about trying to run and just about psyched myself out.
-That last downhill was scary.  Long.  Steep.  Other cyclists.  And runners.  Lots of braking.

-oh yeah, did utilize 2 port-a-potties on the bike.  I was drinking as much as possible.  I think I went through at least 7 bottles.  I wasn't counting, I just kept drinking and refilling.  I discovered that the white chocolate macadamia nut cliff bars are absolutely delicious. 

T2
-Managed to remember how to unclip my shoes to dismount and not trip or fall over.  Success.
-Bike racked, helmet off, shoes off, inhaler used, water belt on, hat on.  Look around dumbly because you feel like you're forgetting something important...and off!
-Oh yeah. Forgot to down a Gel. Shit.
-Didn't have enough with me.  Powerbar Gels(what's on the course) make my stomach sick.  I was already feeling a little nauseous.  This was going to suck.

Run
-Trying to get into a rhythm.  Heart rate crazy.  Breathing crazy.  Hot. 
-First couple miles go ok.  Haven't had to walk yet.
-And then we hit the hills.  And while walking I realize I'm not in great condition.  Dehydrated and underfueled and breathing is rough.
-Walked all uphills.  Jogged all down.  Tried to run flats, but a few I had to walk.
-Until about mile 6.  And things felt good.  Had gotten a bit more fuel.  Rehydrated.  Head was feeling better.  Was getting doused with water at every aid station.  Some had hoses which was wonderful.  The volunteers quickly caught on as I was pouring cups of water over me and helped out.  Great volunteers.  My attitude was positive and upbeat and I was ready to take on the rest of this race.
-Stopped to use the bathroom.  If I'd just had to pee it wouldn't have been an issue.  But it wasn't.  I was a second too late to be first in line and I ended up waiting 5 minutes.  5 minutes!  But I felt much better afterwards.

-Saw Fred at the top of the pit.  He had warned us about this hill the night before.  Psychologically it's gonna be killer he said, because you're going downhill, and you'll hit the turnaround point, and you'll have to go back up what you just ran down.  What he didn't say was how long it was.  A mile long downhill.  It's a curvy road.  I kept thinking "When the f*** is this hill gonna end?"  And after each bend in the road it just kept going.  But I'm a trooper running down hill so I just kept rocking it.  Hit the aid station at the bottom.  Got soaked again and started the walk up.  Powerwalked that m****f**** hill and then kept on running. 

-And I felt pretty good for the rest of the run.  That same last steep downhill to the finish for the bike was hard on the run but I just kept picking up the feet and trying to breathe.  And then I was there....

FINISH
...At the finish.  And I heard them call my name, and say Anchorage, Alaska and I "sprinted" in to the finish.

And got my medal.  And almost fell over my own feet.  And saw the TNT staff.  And then tried really hard to breathe right.

For almost 30-45 minutes. 

I headed down to the transition area to pack things up but I had to walk up and down the aisle at a snails pace trying to get things under control.  I'd already used my inhaler.  Nothing else I could do.

I was doing ok after a while, but I had to get my bike out of the transition.  And all my stuff.  Loaded it up in the backpack and I hauled my bike up a flight of stairs.  And boy am I glad I ran into Bobbie at the top.  As I triggered another complete closing of the airways by walking up the stairs and then seeing people I know trying to congratulate me.  But got it calmed down.  And she told me where the team was, which was great.  Finally sat down.  Got more food in me.  And eventually started to feel remotely like a human being again.  And it was fun.  Really fun to be hanging out with everyone and enjoying the scene.

So I had my first real asthma attack.  Not really wanting to do that again.

And after watching everyone come in and cheering....we get to walk up that big hill to get back to camp.  With heavy transition bag and bike.  yay!  But I made it.  Went super super slow. 

Showered first, before anything else.

Then ate dinner. Best brownie ever. 

Drank 2 beers.

Felt drunk (woohoo!)

Went to bed.

And in the morning I packed it all up, said goodbye to some of the most amazing people ever, and rolled away.

And I only sunburned two symmetrical strips on my back next to my Jersey.  Yay for weird tan lines.

And that cough I had, that I was almost over before the race, turned into a raging sickness.

I'm still sick.  I haven't worked out since race day.  Mucus mucus everywhere.  Chest, nose, sinus, ears.   If I knew I'd get this sick for this long, would I have still done it?  Oh yeah.  No question.

Now it's time to get refocused.  101 days.

Canada here we come!!!!

Where did I put that packing list!?!

I'm not sure where to start.

My plane leaves in about 10 hours. 


Here are a few negatives:

I have pretty much all my packing to do.

I am wired like an Energizer bunny.  Unlikely to sleep.

I am worrying about every little thing.

Always nervous about packing my bike.

I don't think I can get to Fresno in time for my return flight home.

I still have a cough.  I'm on my 4th super huge glass of water for today trying to wash it away.

Here are some positives:

Last few workouts have been ok.  Legs are tired but they have 2 full days of rest coming up. 

Was under 39 minutes for my last swim on Monday.  Fairly positive I can break 40 for the race.

Set a PR for a 5k during the Heart Run on Saturday!!!!! 25:09

I had a great dinner with friends last night.  I have wonderful notes to read while I'm gone. 

Kincaid trails were runnable this morning, so I didn't have to run the same boring coastal trail or on the roads!

I had an unexpected but pleasant surprise of getting to see Kevin this last weekend. 

I reached  my goal race weight. 


And I'll adress that one. Because it's both a positive and a negative.

Why would that be a negative Glo?  Because I'm afraid I've lost it too quickly and I'm concerned about that.  I didn't plan on reaching my goal race weight because I didn't think I had time to get there. 

I am about to say something that I never ever EVER would have imagined myself saying.

I might need to eat more.

I haven't really been that hungry.  I'm eating 3 healthy meals and some snacks.  And I am always eating after my workouts, and I normally time them right so that they are after I've eaten something too. 

I cut out ice cream at Lent.  It's a trigger food.  I have one bowl, and then another, and then maybe find something else, etc.   I haven't had any since Lent started in February.  Easter was a few weeks ago.  I gave up chocolate after spring break.  It too is a trigger.  I have been staying away from sweets and have only had a few beers for the last few months.

But maybe it's not so bad.  I've lost 15 lbs since Valentines Day.  That's 10 weeks.  So I guess it's ok.  But at this rate I'm going to need a few new shirts that fit better, and maybe pants.  Even if I do gain some of it back after Canada.   

But maybe I should add some more calories in.  I stopped tracking what I was eating (weight watchers points)  I figured my weight was doing well, and I was eating a pretty balanced diet. Lots of fruit, vegetables, lean proteins, whole grains, a lot of water, and no junk (except gold fish crackers.  They remain my one vice).  But I suppose I might want to see where I'm at.  This last week has been fairly hectic and stressed.  My mom leaving for Nana's funeral, making sure Nayyer was doing ok, Kevin being here, (not actually a stressor but an added event that isn't normal) and being sick. 

So I guess I just need to not worry about it. 

But I'm worrying about everything.  It's one of the few things I'm exceptionally good at.

What I should be focusing on is how wonderful this trip is going to be.  Sunshine.  New people.  A challenge unlike any before.  And hopefully, if it all goes right...that feeling of accomplishment that is unlike any other. 

So that's my focus.  This is going to be great.  And I CAN DO THIS!

Time to start planning the 2012 Clendaniel Mile

Well, I caught a bug.

Sore throat hit me on Sunday morning.  Extremely painful for 3 days.  Yesterday it lessened in intensity.  Started to get a bit of a cough.  Today it still hurts but isn't as bad as it was.  Still have the occasional cough, which just makes that sore throat feel lovely.  I've been doing my best to get extra sleep, extra fluids and extra vitamin C.  I don't know if it's helping, but at least it makes me feel like I'm doing something.  8 more days to get better.

I had a great run yesterday.  The Heart Run is this Saturday.  My friend talked me into doing it.  It's a 5k.  He asked me what I thought my time might be, to see if maybe we could run together.  I had to think a little.  How fast can I run a 5k?  I guessed 27 and then said maybe if I pushed it I could do 26.  So for my short run yesterday I ran a mile warm up to the coastal trail, then 1.5 out to the mile marker just past that first parking lot, so you have to go up the earthquake park hill and up a little bit past it.  Turned around and bombed back down the 1.5 and jogged the last mile super easy.  So it wasn't a full 5K because I'm missing the .1 or whatever...but my time was 25:35.  Never ever ever would I have thought I could run at that pace.  It was super hard.  I was breathing really heavy, huffing and puffing in my asthmatic way.  But it felt good.

It may not look like much to some, but that's a significant improvement over the last year.  I don't think I've ever broken 9's for more than 2 consecutive miles.

And today I weighed in at 147.6.  Which is just about where I was last week.  Which is great.  I was trying to hit 145 before the race but this is still a lot lighter than where I was in February.  So I am very very pleased.  And the body fat% said 25. The lowest it's ever been.  Which means I've actually lost some fat this go around.

And I've officially lost 60 lbs since 2007.

60.

There are people I meet now, that can't imagine that I ever weighed over 200 lbs.  "But you're so active!"  Well, I didn't used to be!

Our family should be getting ready for the Clendaniel Mile pretty soon.  An annual running event our family does.

This is me running it 3 years ago.  Probably at about 195.  I had lost quite a bit between 2007 and 2009, and then I went back to school.  And gained a lot back.  A lot.

For many runnings of the Clendaniel Mile I would be extremely happy if I could get my time close to 10 minutes.  For one mile.  I think Joyce and Zareena are about to lap me here.  

Last year I ran it just under 8.  And I just about cried with joy.  

No clue how this year will unfold.  I'm more fit, I weigh less, but my breathing still holds me back.  The legs are willing, the lungs are not.

I'm doing things I've always wanted to do.  I have always wanted to be someone who ran regularly, who bike commuted instead of driving.  I always wanted to be someone who hiked up mountains for hours.  I never really shared that much with anyone.  You look at someone who's pretty overweight and not active and you don't think that there greatest desire is to run a marathon.  

I know that I really need more time to fully prepare myself for my Ironman.  Another year of training and I'd probably do fairly well.  Especially on the bike.  But I don't know when I'd have the opportunity to do one in the future.  The timing was right for this fall.  And even if it takes me 16 hours and 59 minutes to finish, I'll have finished.  And I'm going to finish.  

And I'll be broke.  I won't have a job.  And I'll be heading out on a new life adventure.  They say doing an Ironman changes you.  Let's hope it's for the best.  

On a side note...I would really appreciate little notes or letters to open up and read the morning of my race.  I won't have any of you with me in person, but a few words would be very welcome.  Don't have to write much, just a little.  Hand it to me in person this next week (I leave super late on Wednesday night) mail it to me, or email it.  I can't think of a better way to start the morning.

The Last Long Brick

I stayed out late last night.  That's right.  I didn't get home until 11pm.  Sometimes I really wonder about the person I've become.  Is this who I thought I'd be when I was back in high school where I'd stay up past 1 and wake up at the very last minute to get to school and then sleep 11-12 hours straight on the weekends?  Is this who I thought I'd be when I was in college and waking up before 10am was an extreme challenge and the night life didn't start until after 10 pm?

I never would have dreamed that I'd be asleep at 10 almost every night and up before 7.  Saturday and Sunday too.

I'm not complaining, I love it!  As I sit here at 7:30 in the morning after a leisurely hour of drinking coffee and goofing around on the internets I am perfectly content.

It was fun to stay out with my friends though.  I hadn't joined in on post-climbing revelry in quite some time.  Partly due to trying to stick to the budget, partly because I have a hard time not eating too much pizza and screwing up my nutrition/diet, and partly because I just get tired and am ready for bed at 9:30.  And also because I'm not really drinking these days and it's hard to sit there with a pitcher of absolutely delicious beer in front of you and abstain.

But it was worth it.

And so was waking up early even though I wanted to keep sleeping.  Because I am soooooooooooo slow getting started in the mornings, I can waste hours with my coffee and computer and slowly getting my act together for the day's workout.  And I had a very important workout to get in before 3pm.

30 mile bike followed with 8 mile run.  The last long workout before the taper.  A chance to test out the nutrition plan and to see how everything is going.

I'd spent some time on Friday mapping out 30 miles that wouldn't be super flat.  It is a challenge to find decent hills that aren't crazy with traffic.  It's hard for me to get over to the hillside where the good hills are, and I always feel a bit nervous while riding on the roads up there anyways.  So I ended up with the ol' standby of the road to Kincaid and the last bit of Dimond that winds around past the Jodphur parking lot.  There was more flat than I wanted but it wasn't too bad.  When I got home it turned out to be 31 miles.  Oh well.

I also mapped out 8 miles of running that would get me a few hills.  There aren't a whole lot of hills from my house and I wanted to be able to put my bike in the garage.  So I ran around in circles and went up and down the same hills a few times, but it wasn't so bad.  Up the hill from the coastal trail to Forest Park twice, up west high hill twice and up from the lagoon to the Parkstrip once.  It ended up being a bit over 8.5.

The time I was hoping to make for the bike was 2 hours.  Avg of 15 mph.  I nailed it almost spot on, finishing the 31 miles in 2:03.  Spent 4 minutes transitioning (bathroom break and putting bike in the garage, so I feel ok about that time, a little long but not too bad.)  The time I was hoping for my run was 1:30.  Crushed it with 1:23.  And that was even with the extra half mile.  I was feeling good enough that I was able to push the last half mile pretty strong and even "sprinted" the last quarter mile.  Total time 3:30 which was exactly what I was hoping for.

So yeah, I feel pretty damn good about myself right now.

And it was windy.  Gusts at 22 mph.  It slowed me down from 22 mph to 14 mph on one particularly flat stretch.  (I think maybe the wind was at my back for that 22....)

Oh yeah, I installed my new bike computer so I have data again!  Which tells me that my slowest speed was 6.8 mph while going up some hills...and max was 35 mph while going down.  The wind seemed to always be pushing against me when I was going down hill.

My stomach did alright.  I followed the plan I'd mapped out for nutrition.  A couple twinges of the stomach but it settled down and didn't really bother me.  Mostly it would be if I drank a bit too much water at once.

My neck gets super sore after about 20 miles of riding :(  Not sure what I can do about that.

My legs finally settled in to feeling like legs on the run and not like stiff rods that I was trying to bend and move as if they weren't actually part of my body.  Only took 35 minutes.

I have no concept of my speed when I start out.  It feels like I am running slower than slow.  The whole time I felt that surely I was running 11 minute miles or even slower.  I was hoping I was close to the pace I wanted but it feels so slow.

And my feet!  There is only one thing that I am looking forward to from the heat on race day.   My toes not going horribly numb from the cold.  It does not feel good to run on frozen feet.  At one point it felt like there was something in my shoe, so I stopped and took it off.  Nope.  Nothing.  Just those weird sensations you get as your feet slowly start defrosting.

So pleased with how this workout went.  When I finished and was walking it out a bit before heading in for my shower my legs felt so much better than they ever did after one of my long runs for my marathon last year.  I'm starting to feel that maybe I'm making a bit of progress.  And I slept ok instead of tossing and turning from being so freaking sore.  My legs are definitely groaning this morning as I tackle the stairs, but it's not unbearable.

So now I just have to take those distances, almost double them, and swim for 40 minutes first.

Piece of cake.

Maps for this brick workout....bike map and run map

Enough With The Whining Already!

I was supposed to do my benchmark ride last weekend.  But I wasn't too thrilled about trying to find 50+ miles of pavement to ride in Anchorage, and there was no way I was going to try and put almost 5 hours in on my trainer inside. 

So what's a girl to do?

Ride somewhere else of course.  

So I packed up my bike in a brand new too-expensive-why-do-I-keep-spending-money-on-my-bike bicycle case and flew to Kodiak for a weekend with Kevin.  

And I was blessed with beautiful weather.  No wind, no rain, and the sun was shining.  Perfect conditions for heading out on a 62 mile bike ride.  And I needed something to do while Kevin was working anyways.

It was hard, it was fun, it was painful, it was liberating, my neck hurt, my back hurt it was the hardest physical test of my body that I have done since those last 6 miles of my last marathon.  And it was wonderful. When I finish one of these things I can't describe how amazing I feel.  

My first metric century.  100 kilometers.  4 hours and 40 minutes.  Which brings me to an average pace of 13.3 mph.  Nothing to write home about but not too bad for me.  And I was still pushing 15 mph on the flats as I came back in to town at mile 55.  I had a low cadence, not sure what it was but it felt comfortable and my heart rate felt good.  I'm trying to come to terms with being a grinder.  

The elevation profile isn't quite as challenging as Wildflower.  Basically I need to double the elevation gain, but stretch it out over more miles.  But I think it was a pretty good test for what I'll be facing in 3 weeks.

And my new cassette seemed to be ok.  I had some challenges with it when It was first installed, made some weird vibrations but it's running smoothly, except for in one gear, but whatever.  I can deal with it and it's not hurting my bike in any way and having the bigger range for going up those hills was absolutely critical.  At times it was still really really hard to keep pedaling but it was much better than how it used to be.  Definitely very happy about that.

And my ass is feeling pretty good.  Hooray for expensive saddles.  

My only mistake was leaving behind some of my fuel!  I think I could have had a much better time if I'd been properly fueled!  I didn't bonk, but I could feel myself dragging.  I did at least get a whole lot more liquid than I normally do, thanks to my aero bottle.  Another yay!

So.  Really.  Overall I have to say it was a great ride.  

And I was well overdue for a post that was almost whine free.  About damn time for some positive.

It's two days later and I'm still riding the high of having accomplished this challenge.

(This photo does not do this hill justice.  A mile long.)

(The clouds rolled in for the second half of my ride.  Sunshine and blue skies on the way out, clouds and then rain on the way home)

(oh yeah!)

Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should

I worked extremely hard on my eating this last week.  And now I'm embarassed for my ranting and raving last Tuesday. 

I am now under 150.  Not much, but there.  Yesterday it was 148.4 and today 149.6  I'll even it out to 149 and call it good.  (I should be strong again and not hop on the scale until next Tuesday, I think it's doing me good.)

I should be more pleased, excited, ecstatic.  But I'm kind of just meh about it.  I think because I'm working so hard and it doesnt appear that I'm losing any fat.  My body fat % (according to my scale) when I was 160 was in the 26 range.  10 lbs lighter I am still in the 26 range.  Did I lose 10 lbs of muscle?  Or just 10 lbs of boobage.  (Yes, the girls are definitely smaller.  I was filling out a 34 B well, but I'm seeing a little gaping now)   I shelled out the money for an expensive scale so that I could try and measure my body fat %.   But if it doesn't work what's the point.  I feel a bit slimmer at 150, but not that much difference from 155. 

It's just numbers, it really shouldn't matter much.  I should be focusing on how my body is feeling.  And unfortunately, it's feeling a bit worn down.  I made a big error last Wednesday. I went to a core conditioning class at the rock gym.  One of the exercises in the circuit was pull ups.  Well, I can't do a pull up, so I did let downs.  Too many of them.  My arms are still recovering.  Although I believe they are still recovering because I continued to rock climb on Friday and Monday.  Not only are they still recovering, but I really screwed up the inner part of my left elbow.  I could not swim Monday night, it hurt too much.  I almost wanted to cry.  I can't be dealing with this now.  24 days to race day.  I think it is feeling a little better today, but it is hard to tell, as almost all motions throughout the day don't bother it.  I will not try to swim until next Thursday (A week of no swimming!).  I did test it on the bike yesterday for a short 30 min spin because I really want to get my super long bike ride in this weekend while I'm in Kodiak seeing Kevin.  It doesn't seem to hurt.  So I'm still packing up my bike (a good test run of flying for the race and reassembling) and we're finding long stretches of ice free road. 

My legs are also feeling a bit worn down.  I'm supposed to run today, but I think I'll give myself a rest day.  It's the hardest thing to do, but I know I'll be stronger in the long run (no pun intended) if I let myself recover from these hard workouts.  I haven't missed a workout in a long time.  I may have shortened some, but I've still done a little for each scheduled day. 

So here I am.  24 days to race day and feeling a bit burnt out.  Wonderful.  But we'll muddle through it all somehow.  I'll take these next two days for resting.  Ride Friday, finish through this next week strong and then I'm letting myself take the 2 weeks of training before my race at a low intensity.  I'm not going to gain anything by going hard, I'll only wear myself out.  I hope it helps.