#my mile split on a good day is 14 min

[fairylightsinthemist]

Reading HoH and I know I wouldn’t survive just based on all the running they had to do

[misslisterkeepsajournal]

1831 Thursday 29 September

8 35/.. 11 ..

Lay awake from seven imaginary love making to Lady S de R [Stuart de Rothesay]

Fahrenheit 66°. now at 9 1/4 - fine but dull, thickish morning - autumnal - Italian skies would be more smiling - breakfast at 9 40/.. - paid the bill, and out at 10 35/.. - walked along the pleasure walks to the cliffs - very pretty little bay shut in, East, by Ballard hole a large chalk head with a sort of needle rock close a head of it called old Harry, - and West by Peverel point - talking some time to the old artilleryman, 50 years in the service, who lives in the bombproof hut close to the edge of the cliff where there was a battery during the war - and then walking a little westward talking to an old man who was holloing to his son getting stone below at the bottom of the cliff - several boats carrying this stone up to a considerable stone yard in Swanage - too hazy to see Xst.chch. [Christchurch] Tower or distinguish the Isle of Wight - but got peeps of the Xst.chch. [Christchurch] cliffs - the cliffs here to the west very curiously stratified in thin strata stone and clay, looking ribboned - sometimes the strata rather curved?

Old Harry Rocks [Image by John Tomlinson, CC BY-SA 2.0]

Tilly whim a famous quarry going down to the bottom of the cliff 1/2 mile or a mile westward from the battery hut, - but not worked now - the whole of the hill (called Crown down) west close above the town full of quarries belonging to different proprietors - went down into one of the deepest quarries, 110 feet deep - stone dragged up a very steep inclined plane on little sledges by a horse turning a windlass - some very deep, bad, muddy slippery steps alongside the incline - went down them thinking this safer than trusting myself on one of the sledges - went by candle light to the end of the shaft the men were working - they were just gone to dinner - could not stand upright - flat indurated rather shiny dark clay roof - could get at no name for this clay but ceiling - very dry - merely a little moisture in one little spot not enough to drop - the bed of stone here about 2 1/2 feet thick - it is thicker in some of the quarries and there one could stand upright no part of this shaft more if so much as 4 feet high - only 1/4 hour going up and down and being in the bottom - bought a largeish specimen of petrified wood the men had brought up from the bottom - glad to have seen this quarry, tho' finely dirtied in scrambling up and down - the stone is a very fine hard conglomerate of shells so broken and compacted by hard pressure? that no one species is distinct? much great quantities of this stone went to London for paving till they got it to such a price that Yorkshire stone was used instead, and now the London market is almost lost for Purbeck stone-

Very comfortable after all at my little Ship Inn - could have staid another day - off at 11 50/.. - wild, stone walled country - up and down not good road - at 1 1/4 stopt at the gate of Corfe Castle 7 miles from Swanage - Corfe a mere village large handsome enough looking church, but had not time to think of seeing it - found a man waiting to walk about the ruins with me, to explain them as he said - it was in an old gateway, now split in 2, and one 1/2 leaning forward (from Cromwell's mining) that Edward the martyr was said to have been assassinated - in the opposite corner of the castle yard and where we now saw some asses feeding was the stable from which according to my guide Edward was said to have been fetching his horse - 1/2 hour among the ruins - very considerable covering the whole top of the hill - the range of hill abutting on each side of it said to be of the same length - that westward not being 100 yards longer than the other -

Corfe Castle [Image by Tallguyuk - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0]

Asked the guide, a shoemaker, about walking to Lulworth Castle - no carriage road from Corfe - could have a cart - 7 miles - determined to walk and take my man with me - Cameron chose to go - we should have had magnificent sea views had the weather been clear, but too hazy to get more than a peep of the great white fantenil head of the isle of wight, and, could only just distinguish the Xst.chch. [Christchurch] Cliffs and Swanage - ought to have seen all the shipping off Spithead and Xst.chch. [Christchurch] Tower - very fine view of Poole harbour and Brownsea island and the little dots of islands near it, but the town of Poole indistinct - great Orme's head and St. Adlam's race (i.e. St. Aldhelm's head) cross seas there and very dangerous - 1/2 way is Bonn's folly a sort of old gateway that we passed - close to the road and at a distance above Mr. Bonn's house, the Grange, a good looking house, and nice place embossed in wood, at bottom of the valley below us - Mr. Bonn lives by himself said to have no woman to do anything for him but the gardener's wife who cooks and does all - but he has a yatch - not popular, tho' member for corfe? too severe about game, yet willing to screen and help out smugglers -

At 4 1/4 entered Lulworth Castle a square solid mass of building (15 yards square?) between 4 large round towers that seem merely tangents to the 4 corners of the square - a complete basement story projecting 3 or 4 yards all round the castle - good deal of good forest timber about the castle - beautiful peep of the sea thro' a sort a large natural cleft in the cliffs from the dining room windows - large, good house - some handsome rooms furnished at least 1/2 century ago - silk and satin hangings - the duke of Gloucester, Sir Robert Peel, and lastly the French royal family hired the house - the latter much liked - made handsome presents to all the young welds, and gave handsomely over their wages to all employed - very good to the poor - very small scattered village - picturesque little parish protestant church very near the castle - great no. [number] out of every generation religious - priests monks or nuns - 2 of the present Weld's sisters are nuns at Clifton near Bristol -

Lulworth Castle after restoration in the 1970s [Image by Nilfanion - Wikimedia UK, CC BY-SA 4.0]

Cameron tired and thirsty stopt a minute or 2 at the little Inn (Weld's arms) to get her some warm ale to drink - myself took a little warm weak vinegar and water and the guide a pint of ale - 1/2 hour seeing the castle - off from the Inn at 5 - and at the Inn at Wareham (6 1/2 miles good) at 6 40/.. - the latter 2 miles on the great high road from W- [Wareham] to Dorchester (distance between them 16 miles) - from Lulworth to the great Dorchester road at 1st over mooreland a moor, then over recently enclosed land - could see nothing the last 2 miles - and nearly ridden over twice by drunken yeomanry cavalry returning from Mr. Bonns where the Miss Bonns had presented them with their colours and made much admired speeches, and given an elegant cold collation - found many of the corps at the Inn here - each to have a glass of grog at the expense of Mr Bonn? and by and by to have a dinner - their cheering and noise most boisterous while I was at tea from 7 to 7 3/4 -

Then wrote pencil travelling notes of today and settled accounts - came to my room at 8 20/.. 8 1/2 - wrote all the above of today till 10 25/.. - and prepared for my cousin perceived him just gently come at Corfe - great deal of rain during last night  - rain for about 1/2 hour before arriving at Corfe and for a few mins. [minutes] afterwards then cleared and fair (with the exception of a few heavyish drops 1/2 hour from Lulworth and again on leaving the Inn there) all the rest of the afternoon and evening - as we neared Wareham, the road betokened the recent fall of a good deal of rain - Fahrenheit 68°. now at 10 1/2 p.m. the Wareham church clock is this instant striking 11, and at Swanage I was 1/4 hour too late -  

Reference: SH:7/ML/E/14/0123 - SH:7/ML/E/14/0124

[near-wenatchee-wa-blog]

Near Wenatchee WA

Wenatchee, WA

Wenatchee, WA, is a lovely mountain gateway. In fact, hikers love to be in this place. It is also the agricultural area of the Columbia Plateau. In this place, the economy is primarily coming from forest and agricultural products. I like the downtown area because it is pleasant to look at. The recreational opportunities are just amazingly high. Six years ago, my family decided to move to Wenatchee because of my job. We had to give up our life in Mississippi and moved here. However, we enjoy every moment of living in the country. It is such an awesome place to live. Overall, there is no regret.

NuClear Building Maintenance

The Nu-Clear Building Maintenance takes pride in giving their customers 100% satisfaction. The services that they render are residential window cleaning, commercial window cleaning, janitorial cleaning, pressure washing, and gutter cleaning. I guarantee that they are professional and fast. They get the job quickly, but they pay attention to details, which are a good indicator of a cleaner who can help you do a solid job. They already have built their reputation for being the best window cleaning service not only in Wenatchee but also in the nearby areas.

Warriors bounce back to salvage split with Wenatchee

It was not a good day for pitchers here at the Tausick Way softball field Saturday in NWAC East action. Walla Walla Community College and Wenatchee Valley combined to lash out 51 hits, including 11 home runs, and score 50 runs as the Knights and Warriors split the East Region doubleheader. Wenatchee bombed five home runs in game one, used a six-run sixth and held off the Warriors 14-12. Read more here

I have been keeping up at Union-Bulletin for news about sports. Warriors bounced back to a salvaged split with the Wenatchee. Kaileigh had a grand slam during the first-in of the game last Saturday. The Walla Walla CC and the Wenatchee Valley combined to lash out 51 hits. It includes the 11 home runs. The score of 50 runs when the Knights and Warriors split the doubleheader in the East Region. I like the fact that Wenatchee had five home runs in the first game. I really hope for a more excellent result. I know that I will always be updated.

Walla Walla Point Park in Wenatchee, WA

Walla Walla Point Park in Wenatchee, WA is such a nice place to be in. The Walla Walla Point Park is located in the city of Wenatchee. It is 70 acres park, so it is a vast park, and there are plenty of restrooms and picnic shelters. It is perfect for a family picnic. Whenever you have a special event in the family, you can use this place as the event area. There are sports game courts such as volleyball court, tennis court, and others. There is also playground equipment. It is nice for kids too. You can go swimming if you want, and have fun. Just enjoy the place! The place is open from 6:00 A.M to 10: 00 P.M. If you want to have a reservation, you can do so. Just call (509) 661 4551.

Link to map

Driving Direction

57 min (37.5 miles)

via US-2 E

Fastest route now, avoids road closure on US-2 E due to roadworks

Walla Walla Point Park

1351 Walla Walla Ave, Wenatchee, WA 98801, USA

Take WA-285 S and WA-28 W to US-2 E/US-97 N in Douglas County

17 min (7.6 mi)

Follow US-2 E to N Chelan Ave in Waterville

26 min (21.8 mi)

Drive to Rd 3 NW

15 min (8.1 mi)

NuClear Building Maintenance

402 Marilyn Ave

Wenatchee, WA 98801

[goodguidanceptc]

Louisville IM Race Report October 14, 2018

Welcome coaches, training buddies, close friends and masochists/insomniacs. As with prior race reports, be warned that this post contains STRONG LANGUAGE. Here goes:

Abstract:

Read the Athlete Guide. Always. Miserable cold and wet conditions. Water temp warmer than air temp, wetsuit legal. Absurd Swim (shortened due to aggressive current); T1 was all about gear choices; Adequate Bike under demanding conditions; T2 was also all about gear choices; Tough Run. Two key takeaways: 1) Read the Athlete Guide; 2) I haven't quite properly calibrated in-race fueling.

Total race time result = 10:18*

* Under grossly dis-humane weather conditions and my own flubs, that is a good result...with which I am completely unsatisfied. A no-surprise, well-managed bike and a somewhat uneven run (matched stand-alone marathon result). Feel free to stop reading now.

Pre-Race (aka: “the Dumbening”)

I cannot emphasize strongly enough: no matter how many races you’ve done, how confident you may be in knowing the procedures, the timing, the places, etc... read and re-read the Athlete Guide.

So although I cannot provide details, just know that I--through my own dumbness--was told to acquire my timing chip in T1 after an official manually noted my swim start time, while standing on the dock to jump into the Ohio River. Clearly communicated in multiple places: check-in closes at 5pm Friday. 

Brief rewind: woke up, standard pre-race breakfast, uneventful gear check and load bottles onto bike, walked over to Swim in. Shoulda found an IM staffer then, but didn’t think. Just didn't think it through; too cold and pre-race- process oriented. Got a little tunnel vision to get to the front of the self-seeded “1-1:10″ swim line. 

Announcer: The current is so strong, some of the pros were struggling to get up river. Swim shortened to .9 mile, in other words an Olympic distance. Race delayed. 

Some squats to stay warm, chat up some folks in line, never once thought to go  get my chip before passing though that big black arch.

Swim (:18 min or 1:18/100 pace)

I swear to you by all the barge traffic and catfish whiskers in the Ohio River, there is no way I was in that river for 18 minutes. More on this in T1. Feet first into the river, sight that first buoy and...

Ever look through a kaleidoscope? Or imagine a Disney version of puke from a flying whale?  The view from my goggles was: 

[Kayaks + swim caps + buoys]

X

(river current exceeding posted speed limits) 

= 

flying Disney whale puke (as I imagine it rendered)

Just utter chaos. I aimed for the big wall, hit the metal steps and out. To quote one of my training partners, “My hair barely got wet.”

T1 (9:20)

Up the steps and skipped the peelers. Rationale: stay as warm as possible as long as possible. Jogged to changing tent, quickly passed the clumping “under 1 hour” swimmers, grabbed a chair near the exit.

Decision time on what to wear and how much skin to cover for the bike. I went with 100% coverage. Socks, thermal legs, long sleeves, gloves, balaclava. Plastic bag under the jersey and five of those little hand warmers hunters use (squeeze and shake for 6+ hours warming) in my back jersey pockets.

Out to bike rack, unhook and... it’s find-my-chip time. Found an IM staffer who radioed multiple people before finally sending me past the Bike Out arch to where the chip folks were.

I.  Stood. There.  Forrr -- evv -- errr. 

Trying to alleviate my own frustration and anxiety, I literally put my head in my hands and made Hulk sounds.

Now, even in my adrenalized and hyper-performance-oriented state, I remember that I brought this shit on myself. So any expectation of special treatment, expedited problem-solving or what I call the lack of a “hop to!” by IM staffers simply cannot be criticized.  This crapola? All.  On.  Me.

Furthermore, I'm grateful. (Check prior race reports, if you must. OR just trust me when I say that...) I thank all the volunteers and cops and EMTs and Traffic Management and general staff within earshot. No matter what speed I’m biking or running. Seriously. I’m all about appreciation.

All that said, Swim and T1 times are clearly inaccurate. Although IM staff noted the time of day I jumped into the water, another IM staffer wrote my time on a clipboard when they activated my chip and yet another other IM staff told me they’d estimate my T1 time. But I didn’t know precisely where to go in T1. So I lingered.

[So again: read the Athlete Guide.]

And if you are ever in that situation--which I guaran-frikkin-tee you I will NEVER be--I recommend you DO NOT stop to ask questions. Continue until you happen upon the chip folks. Worst case: you miss them and back track... the biking equivalent of going back to get dropped nutrition.

Bike (5:43)

While I definitely did not feel myself relax heading down River Road, I did feel a certain familiar comfort. I’d ridden this course a few times so even in the cold, wet wind, I was pretty confident I could manage the bike.

In the spirit of gratitude, whether passing or getting passed, I try to say something positive (looking good, go git some, stay strong).

Even on a hilly course, I ended up pacing with a few others. I try to be sensitive to any ‘gamesmanship’ (I’m not trying to get in your head competitively) but I'm definitely chatty. And the cold and wet just invited comment, even if only to distract from the misery.

Stick out and first loop was uneventful other than the number of people shivering on the sides of the route. Second loop had more than a few cars on course that seemed patient and considerate (relatively, IMO) but still required careful negotiations.

A FEW FIRSTS FOR ME

BLINDING ANGER. I admit I might have been “kicking the cat” but I’ve never experienced this on course.

On the back side of the loop, in the narrow stretch of blacktop through the small neighborhood just after the long descent out of La Grange, there’s short, steep descent with a well-marked/painted “BUMP” before a short, steep uphill. I’m a technically strong and confident cyclist so getting through here on the first loop was a piece of cake. Second time though, there was a hefty pack of windbreakers weaving(!) across the entire width of the road. Despite shouting “on your left” repeatedly and loudly, I had to brake. On an uphill. Dropped my chain. Nearly fell. Unclipped.  All in the tiny 8ish yards of that short ascent. 

What did I do? Stood there trying to get my chain back on and swearing profusely that dickhead bucket-listers with fucking no fucking business fucking leaving their fucking strip-mall periodontist practices should fucking learn to handle their goddamn bikes.

As I passed them on the descent towards the hay-bale bullseye, I gently advised them about blocking, race etiquette and having some goddamn self-awareness. In my defense, I averaged very nearly 20mph that day. And when I accidentally felt somebody too close as they passed, I always apologized. In retrospect, I’m sorry I was that guy right then. 

PROFOUND SOLITUDE Stay with me as I get a little bing-bongy here... At the split to repeat the loop or return on the stick, most folks (the fat part of the bell curve) go left for their second loop.  I was returning on the stick. 

Suddenly I was not saying or hearing “on your left” or listening for the difference between aero wheels or a passing car. 

I was alone. Like the guy in that Robert Frost poem. Miles to go before I sleep. And miles to go before I sleep. And the mental chatter started. Cold. Grey. Wet. Stupid. Wasteful. What ego on you, chump. Clips from Moby Dick, Chapter 96. Burning ship, drove on to some vengeful deed. Gloom. There is a wisdom that is woe; but there is a woe that is madness. ee cummings A Leaf Falls. 

[Stop wasting your time with this race report. Go read some actual writers.]

Even my mantras had abandoned me. I may have started singing or rapping something from my training playlist to shut down the negative chatter. And that’s about when I realized how well I was managing this bike leg. I think that’s called a paradox.

DON’T BLOW IT NOW Somewhere along one of the last ascents, I realized that I’d dressed properly! Coach Robbie’s advice for plastic grocery bag was spot on. Sure the toes and fingers were cold, but functional. Ears and neck felt okay and core temp was a non-issue. I wondered if I’d taken enough calories (thought: probably) but come on! I’d handled some real shitball conditions pretty well. 

T2 (8:49)

Pulled off everything soaking wet except kit shorts. Replaced with dry thermal long-sleeve top, dry hat, dry gloves. Run belt, bottle, dry socks, shoes. Go.

While neither T1 or T2 were very fast, I really didn’t linger in the warmth. I remember thinking, “Take two deep breaths, make this decision and move it.” In other words, time was spent actually changing clothes.

BTW, Transition volunteers? True Guardian Bros. Can’t thank em enough.

Run (3:58 aka: avg 9:03/mi)

Two MAJOR joyous moments within the first mile:

1) As we’d pre-planned, my unbelievably awesome wife told me I was 18 minutes behind a podium slot. She told me later that I barked, “FUCK!” Regardless, I steal a kiss every race.  Better than a GU and just as sweet. [Yes she reads these. Wink!] 

2) Coincidentally, she was standing a few feet from Coach Robbie (C26), who I recognized but accidentally called Mike (his podcast co-host who I knew was on course). I think I shook his hand? Or maybe just shouted a happy shout?

So those two intercepts helped make the first 25% of the run all good.  I kept turning down the pace because, as Coach Robbie has said, “your legs are lying to you.”

Then all that good ju-ju abandoned me like buoys on the Ohio River on the backside of the first loop.

I’d dropped my Infinit before finishing the entire first 24oz bottle. Why not stop and get it? I got no good rational answer. Ditched hat and gloves and actually rolled up my sleeves. My legs and shoes were soaked. (Walk-peeing wasn’t doing me any favors.) 

I felt better once I had another bottle from my Special Needs bag, but by then I’d already burned my biscuits (another C26 gem) so I was well below my planned and expected 8:40/mile pace.

I may have even cried a little. Apologies to extremely helpful volunteer who graciously ignored a grown-ass man losing his shit. I KNOW i was talking to myself, “It’s all in your head. Move it.” and other more terrible words.

The last 25% in-bound was an exercise in utter stubbornness. Coke Gatorade Coke Gatorade Coke Gatorade and tons of verbal self-flagellation to keep going. I sincerely believe I passed two guys in my AG out of pure self-loathing.

The Fourth Street Live finish lived up to the hype. There’s photographic evidence that I actually smiled as I crossed and nearly collapsed (again, super kudos to the volunteers). I was wheeled straight to medical, shivering and borderline shock-ey. Broth, blankets, checked vitals (core temp too low). As planned, Susan brought me multiple layers of dry clothes. Changed. Got my mental shit together after finding out I’d finished 16th. Gold star to Al V., the med tent massage therapist. Another Guardian Bro.  Limped home.

OVERALL RACE GRADE: PASS

As with prior races, IM-LOU yielded incremental improvements in all racing phases. As I said at the top, this was a good result, with which I am completely unsatisfied.

Am I one of the guys at the pointy end of the bell curve? Clearly yes. 

Did I KQ? Unequivocal NO. Not even close.

There is clearly opportunity for additional incremental improvements to all five aspects of my racing:

Swim pace was an anomaly. 3x/wk in the lap pool could be improved by 2x/wk in endless pool.

Bike power was lost due to shitass Garmin tech. But from what I remember, I was mostly high Z2 with relatively few power spikes given the course and conditions. I definitely managed the bike with patience and smarts.

Run suffered due to fueling strategy that is just not... quite...perfected. And again, deplorable conditions.

Fuel strategy. I over corrected from IM-AZ (early run GI problems). Calories, liquids (no solids) and delivery method feels right. Timing around T2 needs tweaking.

Transitions were what they were. MY dumbassery in T1 was offset by my smart gear decisions.

See you in New Zealand in March, 2019!

WITH GRATITUDE FOR...

I’m very grateful to my lovely wife Susan and my wonderful kids, Peter and Veronica for their support. Susan, you are my salvation.

I’m grateful to have the expert professionals Coach Klebacha and Coach Sharone and the entire Well-Fit staff and athletes who generously share their wisdom.

I’m grateful to my inspiring and impressive training partners, including but not limited to the TriFam, the Well-Fit Elite Team (too many bad-asses to list but special GOLD STARS to LIZ and LAURA) and other triathlete rockstars like Nic, Dana, Andrew, John, James, Tony, and all the Pauls and Mikes.

I’m very grateful to anybody willing to excuse my terrible smell, deplorable language and barbaric sounds during training.

Maximum gratitude to Well-Fit, FFC, UIC, Whitney Young, Get-A-Grip, Live Grit, Fleet Feet, the Lakeshore path, Louisville Landsharks.

I’m grateful for Crushing Iron (C26), Matt Fitzgerald, Joe Friel, Training Peaks, Scott brand bikes, Apple, Ironman.

Thank you to all the on-course maniacs cheering and making signs and wearing all sorts of crazy outfits to show love and support. For strangers exercising.

Special thanks and appreciation to Bernie Mc for the most amazing on course support. Extra special Top Marks to Bernie!

I’m grateful that I’m able to race triathlons. Thanks for reading.

[gobigorgohome2016]

Fitness Check: Tobacco Road Half Marathon

Race weekends are so weird. I will never understand how time can move so quickly, yet so slowly, in the span of 48 hours.  

Today I raced the Tobacco Road Half Marathon in Cary, North Carolina.  Everything about this weekend seemed to embody the dichotomy of fast and slow.  

I arrived in NC early Friday afternoon, around 11 AM.  I think this race was first on my radar because my teammate, Andie Cozzarelli, lives in Raleigh and mentioned it to me the last time she raced the Indy Monumental Marathon.  My main motivation for choosing races this year was to choose ones where I could win money.

In the past chasing cash has scared me, because I have been afraid of the gnawing anger / frustration / embarrassment / resentment when the race doesn’t go the way I had hoped, and I don’t win the money I had anticipated.  There is also a factor where trying to win money, and then losing it, makes it feel more real, and scary in a way.  Which is something I need to confront.  

Friday was a lot of fun. Andie and I went for a run, watched approximately 30,000 episodes of Friends, then went out to dinner at an Italian restaurant in downtown Raleigh.  I had possibly the best seafood risotto I have ever tasted, paired with a delicious red wine.  Afterwards we watched more Friends.  What I love about my Haute Volee teammates is that they have pretty seamlessly filled the gap that was left after college during racing weekends.  Whenever Andie and I are together we run, do a little bit of work, watch some tv, eat, and talk to the point of exhaustion – just like my college days with my roommates.

Saturday I joined Andie for the end of her long run, then we headed over to the cutest coffee shop I have ever seen for a volee meet up.  A friend of mine who I hadn’t seen since high school lives in Raleigh, and we got together for lunch at a Japanese restaurant.  I ordered pho, solely for the reason that this time last year I went out to dinner with the ZAP Fitness team in Jacksonville and ate pho before running a PR.  

After parting ways with my friend, I took an uber to my hotel.  One of very few perks of Dave traveling all the time is that he can hook me up with Mariott hotels when I am out of town.  I was able to have a suite with a kitchen.  By the time I checked in at 2 PM, I only had 3 hours before the expo closed and I had to pick up my packet (no race day packet pick up).  I still needed another short run, and the expo was 2.5 miles away, so I naturally ran there.  Except, there was no sidewalk.  So I ran on the shoulder of a super busy and scary road.  #fail

By the time I got back to my hotel, I was pretty exhausted.  Even though I had really done nothing in the past 24 hours, I also felt like I had done everything.   I still needed to find some groceries, because I had already eaten the pre-race breakfast I had packed.  #secondfail

Grocery stores were really far away, but, Instacart exists in Cary!  Many struggles and 45 minutes of indecision later, I finally place my order for 18 larabars (literally), yogurt, two blood oranges, a box of instant oatmeal, 3 bananas, a beer, a dark chocolate bar, two kombuchas, and a small carton of orange juice.  Why did I order 18 larabars?  Well, I either could choose to pay $10 for delivery, or reach a certain threshold for free delivery.  18 larabars it was.  

I watched Loyola upset Tennessee, then excitedly got ready for bed because I was SO TIRED.  I had no idea the race was at 7 AM, which meant a 4 AM wake up call.  I turned off the lights at 9, but then COULDN’T FALL ASLEEP.  Normally, sleeping the night before a race is not a problem for me.  I wasn’t even thinking about the race, I just couldn’t fall asleep once I turned out the lights.  First the room was too hot.  Then I had to switch around my pillows.  Then I had to go to the bathroom.  Then the room was too cold.  Then every single person who walked down the hallway sounded like an elephant.  Then I started my period and was having cramps (seriously, my last 10 of 14 races I have started my period within 24 hours of the race.  It’s bizarre).  I remember looking at the clock at 2 AM and thinking to myself, just get 90 minutes of sleep.  

Even though I didn’t get a good night’s rest, I woke up feeling pretty good.  I had my breakfast and watched MTV.  I’ve had to give up coffee before races because I don’t think it does anything for me.  Instead, I drink green tea.  I packed a hand-made tea bag of roasted green tea that I bought in San Francisco for my morning cuppa.  

My friend, Tim, picked me up at 5 AM to head over to the start.  You know what’s cool about racing competitively?  You accumulate friends all across the country who are willing to do things like drive out of their way to pick you up.  

The next part is pretty standard:  talk with your runner friends while waiting for the start, use the porta potty 30 times, run warm up, do drills, take off clothes, pee in the woods because the porta potty line is too long, do some strides, get nervous, gun goes off, fall into rhythm.

Funny story:  the Tobacco Road is a crushed gravel trail. Basically, this race weekend was the most type B weekend of my life.  I had no idea it was a trail race because I didn’t read the website.  Honestly, I probably wouldn’t have done the race had I realized, but fortunately “trail” meant a nice crushed limestone / hard-packed dirt, tree-lined path.  

The course elevation map looked hilly.  I thought the race was going to be hilly.  Then people told me, no!  the course if very fast and flat!  I have determined that when you have a race in your hometown, you decide it is either the hardest, hilliest race in the country, or the flattest and fastest. Well, this race was neither.  The first 2.5 miles (and subsequently the final 2.5 miles) were moderate rollers, while the middle miles on the tobacco trail were long, gradual inclines / declines.  There were a few areas that were more treacherous than others, but nothing worse than that random gravel path we had to run down at the Trials.  

My plan had been to start at 5:45 effort and make adjustments as necessary.  Fortunately we warmed up on the first mile of the course so I realized that 5:45 effort was going to be significantly slower, because of both the wind and the hill.  My first mile was ~5:52 (I think).  I had overheard eventual race winner talking on the line with someone and make plans to go for 73ish min.  My plan was to let her go, then reassess the situation at 4 miles and figure out what I needed to do to catch her.  Meanwhile, within the first mile it became apparent there was going to be a struggle for second.  A woman was right with me, and surging hard to try and drop me.  

photo cred:  Andie.  Taken ~2.5 mi into the race before the wheels fell off

A big goal of mine this year has been to compete more.  To be honest, I don’t love this situation.  I am very comfortable running alone.  I don’t love to do battle at the time (of course if I come out on top I’ll tell you otherwise).  So, every time she made a surge, I went with her and then put in a surge of my own.  I did this 4 or 5 times before dropping her for good, around the 6 mile mark. Splits that I remember:  3 miles, 17:30, 4 miles:  23:04; 5 miles:  28:50, 6.6 miles:  38:00. The way back was a death march of sorts. I’m not sure what happened. Certainly the way back had more long, gradual climbs, which are not as easy for me as steep hills (they never have been; I think it’s just the way my body is built and the fact that I grew up training in the dunes).  Also, I definitely thought the wind was in my face on the way out, but it turns out it was most certainly in my face after the turnaround (there was talk of a shifting wind conspiracy.  I would have to agree).  

Something I noticed during the race was that I was far less concerned about where I was on the course because my only goal in the short term was to stay in 2nd place. I knew that I was gaining on first, but I was also on the struggle bus myself.  There was a very real feeling at mile 8 of just get through 1k at a time.  

Final finishing time: 1:17:43.  

Am I happy with that? No.  To be honest, I am pretty disappointed.  But, I also realize I am incredibly fortunate to be able to say that a sub-78 minute half marathon is a “disappointment,” especially when I earned enough money to cover a student loan payment, a car payment, and a couple weeks of groceries.  It’s also a matter of perspective.  When I was training for my PR marathon, I ran a 5 mile road race 7 weeks before Twin Cities. I ran 28:45 and was beyond ecstatic with a new PR.  Today, I went through 5 miles in 28:50 and still had 8.1 miles to go.  7 weeks out from the trials I ran 1:17:19 on a course that was flat and didn’t have gravel.  To quote Brene Brown, the middle is messy, but that’s where the magic happens.  

I have had quite a few setbacks recently.  It’s hard to acknowledge setbacks, but also not allow them to let you feel like you’re spiraling out of control.   

My coach reminded me today that I strive way too hard for perfection, when all I have to be is good.

Regardless, I asked Coach Dean if I could set up an appointment with him this week, because I think a mental game tune-up never hurts.  

Even though I consider myself a highly Type A person, I did a whole lot of Type B things this weekend:

-have no idea I was running a trail race

-have no idea what time the trail race started (there was a point in time where I banned myself from running 7 AM races because it requires waking up at 4 AM…)

-wait to get my bib number until the last possible minute, then get stuck running down a highway

-forget to grab my gels when I went to the starting line

The great thing, though, is that none of this bothered me.  I think there was a point in time where I would have freaked the f*ck out if any one of these things happened, let alone all of them.  

So, what would I have done differently?  Absolutely nothing.  77:43 is where I’m at right now.  It’s not the worst place in the world to be, that’s for sure.  I wish I was faster, but all I can do about that is keep working and making the right investments into my training.  

[noble-pro]

Fulham 10k part of the City Run Series

On Sunday 17th November 2019 I took part in the Fulham 10k with adidas #cityrunsLDN. This is the first time I have ran any of the city runs series, as all the events have always clashed with other races. When I found out the date for Fulham 10k did not clash I immediately wanted to do it, and it turned into a #runhappyteam meet up. The Fulham 10k closes a huge year of running and pacing, having paced New York two weeks ago. I was offered a place to pace 45 minutes, so was happy to lead the 45 minute #funbus. This is the 20th event I have paced this year, and the 83rd time I have been an official pacer. As always I got my kit ready the day before, to make sure I had everything. We were given an official top to run with, which had our race number on. I wore my #letsdothis tee to the race, and originally got my place with them. As an official pacer I was given a different top to wear at the start. I arrived at 07:45 as I was told to meet by this time. It was a cold and early start, and when I arrived it was very quiet, the bonus being there was no queues for the toilet. The event village was on grass, so although there was lots of space, it was a little muddy. There were lots of good meet ups, with lots of friendly faces. It was great to see my Brooks #runhappyteam as always. I then went to meet up with all the Pacers before we were allocated start zones. As the 45 minute pacer I was positioned in the middle of wave A. When I got there I had a large group form around me, so when I got everyones attention I started the first, and most important job of a pacer. I gave everyone a brief of how I would be pacing, trying to settle some nerves and build confidence. I always like to have a laugh and joke at the beginning, and get everyone smiling. It is always good to have a big engaged group of runners at the start. It wasn’t long until we got moving and we were off. The target pace for a 45 minute 10k is a 4:30 min / km, or a 7:14 min / mile. I set off around 7:15 pace to ease us into it. The first km was wildly out and said we didn’t get to it until 5:10, which I knew was wrong. I thought this might just be because we were running around Chelsea FC. I made sure I told everyone that we were on pace, and I hit mile 1 on my watch in 7:16. I increased the pace slightly to be around a 7:10 pace, as this is usually what is needed. With a flat fast course, with wide roads on the whole I was confident with my pace. I didn’t see 2km marker, but 3km was bang on time. I came in 7 seconds ahead of schedule. We ran strong and at 5km it was the timing mat, so the first marker that could be relied on, we came through at 22:28, that’s 2 seconds ahead of target and perfect pacing. There was water in cups here, but I didn’t get any as I couldn’t get across to it. The group around me did amazing, and I spent the next 5km just encouraging everyone to keep going. I decided to pick up the pace slightly, and so ran a slight negative split. I wanted to come in around 44:45, so increased a couple of seconds per km. Half the markers were missing, and the ones I did hit were not good. I passed 6km in 26 mins. The difference between 5km and 6km being 3:30, or a 33 min pace (the course record is 32 mins something). I knew this was out but had confidence we were ahead because I ran faster than desired pace and we were ahead at half way. It became a bit tight in some places where the road narrowed, but this did not impact the overall pace. At 8km we passed in 35:38, so 22 seconds ahead of target. I didn’t think we were that far ahead, but knew we were on target. I didn’t see 9km, and followed the long road to the finish. At the this point I told everyone around me to pick up the pace. My job is done for most at this time and it is the moment you start giving all you have left. Here I watched most of my group disappear ahead of me. Such a great group.   Towards the finish I got nervous as I thought we should be seeing the finish line, but it wasn’t there. I could have ran faster, but didn’t want to run too fast, and instead stuck with the pace. I had been ahead at all the markers and was running faster than desired pace. But when I did see the finish I knew I wasn’t going to make it on time. I finished in an official time of 45:15. My watch recorded 200 metres long. I am frustrated with the course markings, as if they were more accurate I would have adjusted accordingly. When the markers are saying you are ahead of schedule, and watch saying your are running perfectly, then there is nothing you can do. I could have ran faster, but then finished much quicker. Even an accurate or late marker towards the end would have been enough to pick up the pace at the finish. Although I was / am very disappointed with the course, because it means so much to me to get the pace right, I am happy that my job is done. At the finish I had dozens of people come up to thank me, all of whom got under 45 minutes, and all thanked me for my motivation and pacing. This is what matters to me, that I could help people hit their time. I’m just gutted for those behind me who should have got under too. The course was great, and the support and atmosphere was spot on, a really enjoyable event, so not all bad. Of course I am gutted that my last pacing of the year finished this way. What frustrates me most is there was nothing I could do. The only way I could alter this would have been to intentionally run 30 seconds too fast, and get luck at the end. I have ran lots of courses that are long on my watch, some a couple of miles long, but I adjust to markers, these were some of the worst I’ve seen in a long time. Splits, desired pace 7:14, kept it nice and consistent. Overall I enjoyed the event, and I would do it again. I think the series is great and good to see people getting their gold medal for doing the whole series. Read the full article

[massachusettsnhst410-blog]

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[400hurdler]

Triathlon Training: Days 2-4

*****Day 2: Saturday 7/29/17****** Warmup: foam roll, leg swings, static stretching. I usually don’t do a real warmup before going on runs, just some quick legs swings and stretching.

Run: 1.5 miles in 15:07. Half mile splits - 5:00, 5:01, 5:06. Satisfied with this run, legs felt pretty good just a little tight the first few minutes. Had I done a running warmup I don’t think I would’ve been as tight and would’ve run a tiny bit faster. Cool down: wog 5 minutes, foam roll, static stretching.

Strength: 15 body weight squats 3x10 squats (not deep) 45# 3x4 push press 45# 3x3 barbell curls 45#

*****Day 3: Sunday 7/30/17***** Wu: the usual - foam roll, leg swings, static stretching. Run: 1.76 miles in 18.02 (10:14 pace). Everything felt good on this run except for the (vegan) Ben & Jerry’s sitting in my stomach. Next time I will not eat the entire pint before a run, even if it was 3 hours before. Cool down.

Core: 30s on 15s off Crunches Russian twists Bicycles Penguins Plank Bent leg donkey kicks 30s each leg Straight leg donkey kicks 30s each leg Repeated 1 more time (2x in total)

******Day 4: Monday 7/31/17***** Ate a big dinner of vegan “chicken” teriyaki at 5:30, tried to run at 8, this was definitely not enough time to digest as I did not feel good at all and barely made it a mile. Literally felt like I was gonna throw up. Plus the humidity was about 90%.

Warmup: the usual

Run: 1.0 miles in 10:08. Was planning to do 1.5 miles at 9 min pace but ya know - dead. NEED to go grocery shopping to get good food!

[chokemeseokjin]

for that ask thing... do em all... all 170... do it 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀💀

OK LET’S DO THIS

1: How tall or short do you wish you were? I wish I was like 5′6″ tbh i’m too tall2: What’s your dream pet? (Real or not) fucking dragon mate3: Do you have a favorite clothing style? I like kinda cute pastel shit but not really girly? does that even make sense?4: What was your favorite video game growing up? Nintendogs?5: What three things/people do you think of most each day: My gf, bees and flowers6: If you had a warning label, what would yours say? Approach with caution, cries easily and afraid of loud noises7: What is your opinion on Mo being unfaithful to Jimin? Unsurprising and relatable (ily)8: What is your Greek personality type? [Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric, or Melancholic] IDK9: Are you ticklish? incredibly pls don’t touch me10: Are you allergic to anything? I’m lactose intolerant so… yeah11: What’s your sexuality? bi bi bi12: Do you prefer tea, coffee, or cocoa? tea i am a brit after all13: Are you a cat or dog person? B O T H14: Would you rather be a vampire, elf, or merperson? vampire fam that’d be so cool15: Do you have a favorite Youtuber? either Dan and Phil or Tomska, Dan and Phil are one in my head ok shut up16: How tall are you? 5′10″ :)))17: If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? Evie bc that was what i was going to be called and I would prefer it,,,,18: How much do you weigh? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!] idk fam19: Do you believe in ghosts/spirits? kinda?20: Do you like space or the ocean more? S P A C E FAM THE STARS ARE JUST !!!!21: Are you religious? nah22: Pet peeves? When ppl walk really slowly in the middle of the fucking pavement23: Would you rather be nocturnal or diurnal [opposite of nocturnal]? nocturnal24: Favorite constellation? gemini obviously where my hoes at25: Favorite star? Kim Seokjin26: Do you like ball-jointed dolls? the fuck are they?27: Any phobias or fears? the dark n clowns28: Do you think global warming is real? yes???29: Do you believe in reincarnation? yeah i guess I do30: Favorite movie? Super 8! Pls watch it! support my kids!31: Do you get scared easily? yes like seriously easy32: How many pets have you own in your lifetime? 233: Blog rate? [You’ll rate the blog of the one who’s asking.] BEST BLOG EVER 10/10 WOULD LOVE UNCONDITIONALLY FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE AMEN34: What is a color that calms you? Pastel blue35: Where would you like to travel and/or live? Japan and Hawaii! 36: Where were you born? hospital in my home town37: What is your eye color? very blue38: Introvert or extrovert? introvert39: Do you believe in horoscopes and zodiacs? I think they’re interesting but the ones in magazines n shit are bullcrap40: Hugs or kisses? hugs pls41: Who is someone you would like to see/visit right now? my gf :(42: Who is someone you love deeply? ur mum43: Any piercings you want? more on my ears and maybe my nose44: Do you like tattoos and piercings? yes!!!!45: Do you smoke or have you eiver done so? i have yh46: Talk about your crush, if you have one! how to describe min yoongi,,,,47: What is a sound you really hate? metal being like dragged along something u know what i mean48: A sound you really love? kim seokjin when he gets lines :))))49: Can you do a backflip? no i’m not jungkook50: Can you do the splits? nearly lol51: Favorite actor and/or actress? I lov Andrew Garfield with all my heart 52: Favorite movie? u asked this already but I’ll chose another one soooooooo um Breakfast Club bc i am a white girl53: How are you feeling right now? sleepy54: What color would you like your hair to be right now? same colour it is now tbh55: When did you feel happiest? sleeping56: Something that calms you down? watching youtube videos specifically gaming ones idk why but it’s rlly calming57: Have any mental disorders? [Only ask this if you know the user doesn’t mind!] probably lmao58: What does your URL mean? i want. kim seokjin. to choke me. ok? are we clear? 59: What three words describe you the most? a fucking loser60: Do you believe in evolution? yeah61: What makes you unfollow a blog? posting rude/mean stuff or just if I don’t enjoy their content anymore, i don’t mean any harm or anything lol62: What makes you follow a blog? if it’s pretty/memes63: Favorite kind of person: nice people who’re funny and caring and actually give a shit about me and other ppl, not just themselves64: Favorite animal(s): meerkats, giraffes n bees65: Name three of your favorite blogs. @oh-no-its-mo​ @jinsasleep​ @taechy​66: Favorite emoticon: i’m on my laptop!!!! the sparkly heart!67: Favorite meme: um idk? the in tarnation one is p funny atm tho68: What is your MBTI personality type? fuck i can’t remember the rarest one i know that for sure69: What is your star sign? Gemini, come fight me70: Can your dog roll over on command, if you have a dog? no jfc she wont even sit when i ask the hoe71: What outfit out of all your clothes do you like to wear the most? denim mini skirt thing, tights n some cute top 72: Post a selfie or two? no73: Do you have platform shoes? i am tall enough74: What is one random but interesting fact about yourself? I hate potatoes 75: Can you do a front flip? no jfc76: Do you like birds? yah77: Do you like to swim? I’m baically Rin tbh78: Is swimming or ice skating more fun to you? Swimming i have no balance 79: Something you wish didn’t exist: donald trump80: Some thing you wish did exist: free traveling 81: Piercings you have? 5 in ma ears82: Something you really enjoy doing: writing and dying83: Favorite person to talk to: my gf84: What was your first impression of Tumblr? yo it was awful i was superwholock bullshit asshat i still hate myself for it i’ve been here too long85: How many followers do you have? 983!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WHY86: Can you run a mile within ten minutes? FUCKING HELL NO87: Do your socks always match? no88: Can you touch your toes and keep your legs straight completely? yes89: What are your birthstones? emerald 90: If you were an animal, which one would you be? dragon91: If a flower could aesthetically represent you, what kind would it be? oh fam a fuckin scabious they’re the shit92: A store you hate? superdrug93: How many cups of coffee can you drink in one day? i had 6 one day it was a mistake94: Would you rather be able to fly or read minds? flyyyyyyy95: Do you like to wear camo? yes sir96: Winter or summer? summer97: How long can you hold your breath for? i can swim a length of the pool underwater98: Least favorite person? donald trump99: Someone you look up to: is it cheesy to say namjoon?100: A store you love? the fat ass topshop on oxford street101: Favorite type of shoes? cute ballet flats102: Where do you live? LDN 103: Are you a vegetarian or vegan? If so, why? bacon104: What is your favorite mineral or gem? i just thought of that fucking goat meme bye105: Do you drink milk? no i would die106: Do you like bugs? some107: Do you like spiders? small ones108: Something you get paranoid about? e v e r y t h i n g109: Can you draw: a little tho i’m sure others would disagree110: Nosiest question you have ever been asked? idk fam i haven’t rlly been asked one111: A question you hate being asked? is ur hair naturally that colour112: Ever been bitten by a spider? no113: Do you like the sound of waves at the beach? yah114: Do you prefer cloudy or sunny days? sunny!115: Someone you’d like to kiss or cuddle right now: my gf jfc how many times have i answered with that 116: Favorite cloud type: penis shapes ones117: What color do you wish the sky was? pink118: Do you have freckles? yah 119: Favorite thing about a person: their laugh120: Fruits or vegetables? fruit121: Something you want to do right now: sleep tbh122: Is the ocean or sky prettier? sky123: Sweet or sour foods? sour? i dont rlly like sweet stuff much124: Bright or dim lights? in between aaaaaye125: Do you believe in a certain magical creature? unicorns i read a book when i was little that convinced me126: Something you hate about Tumblr: drama and ppl caring too much about shit that dont matter127: Something you love about Tumblr: making friends and seeing ppls amazing art!128: What do you think about the least? what a weird question um idk slugs?129: What would you want written on your tombstone? fucking finally130: Who would you like to punch in the face right now? Saitama? to see how much it would hurt131: What is something you love but also hate about yourself? my entire being132: Do you smile with your teeth showing for pictures? i dont smile at all if i can help it133: Computer or TV? computer134: Do you like roller coasters? sort of135: Do you get motion sickness or seasickness? motion yess not sure about sea136: Are your ears lobed or attached? attached137: Do you believe in karma? yes138: On a scale of 1-10, how attractive would you say you are? a strong -4139: What nicknames do you have/have had? El, Ellz, Petra, Sharpay, bitch, hoe, shut up ellen140: Did you have any pretend or imaginary friends? yeah141: Have you ever seen a therapist/shrink? nope142: Would you say you are a good or bad influence to others? Good most of the time143: Do you prefer giving or receiving gifts/help? giving!!!!!!144: What makes you angry? rude people145: How many languages do you speak fluently? two146: Do you prefer boys, girls, and/or non-binaries? anyone who’ll have me tbh147: Are you androgynous? no148: Favorite physical thing about yourself: my eyes?149: Favorite thing about your personality: i guess i’m kind idk150: Name three people you would like to talk to right now in person. my gf (again), Jess and Ellie151: If you could go back into time and live in one era, which would you choose? dinosaurs, i would make them my children152: Do you like BuzzFeed? their snapchat thing always makes me laugh153: How did you meet your spouse/girlfriend/boyfriend/partner? [If you have one.] through this god damn website thanks to pepekwan,  romance at it’s finest kids154: Do you like to kiss others’ foreheads or hands for platonic reasons? yes155: Do you like to play with others’ hair? yes156: What embarrasses you? literally everything157: Something that makes you nervous/anxious: again, literally everything158: Biggest lie you have ever told: i’m straight 159: How many people are you following? too many160: How many posts do you have on your blog(s)? 46,715 JFC161: How many drafts do you have on your blog(s)? none162: How many likes do you have on your blog(s)? 1,758163: Last time you cried and why: i can’t actually remember 164: Do you have long or short hair? medium!!!!!!165: Longest your hair has ever been: nearly to my waist166: Why do you like, dislike, or have neutral feelings about religon? never really affected me tbh, people can believe what they want to beleive as long as they’re not hurting anyone/ pressuring anyone to believe in it too167: Do you really care how the universe and world was created? not really no168: Do you like to wear makeup? yeah u dont wanna see me without it169: Can you stand on your hands or head for more than thirty seconds? no?????170: Did you answer the questions you were asked truthfully? yes I have ur welcome Mo ily

i didnt check this so sorry if there are mistakes lol 

[initforthelongrun2019]

Another Lockdown, Another Challenge

During Lockdown V1, I decided I would set myself a challenge; to run 30km on my teeny tiny rooftop. I didn’t write about this, because it was extremely uneventful and I don’t want to relive those painful memories.

For Lockdown V2 I wanted to set myself another running challenge, one which was a little more exciting this time, so I took it upon myself to complete the David Goggins 4/4/48 challenge. For those of you who don’t know, David Goggins is an ultramarathon runner, ultra-distance cyclist and triathlete. He was also a United States Navy SEAL; his list of achievements and accolades goes on.

In order to complete the 4/4/48 challenge, you must run four miles every four hours, for 48 hours. In theory, this sounds pretty simple; each run is a mere 4 miles (or 6.5km); nothing compared to the distances I was running last year. But like with most races or challenges I do, I knew that I shouldn’t underestimate quite how difficult this could be.

I started the challenge at 2pm on Thursday. Prior to this, I woke up at my normal time and swam for 30 minutes, followed by one hour of Pilates later in the day. This is not too different to my usual routine, other than the fact I would normally do a more active workout first thing in the morning. I had lunch at my normal time of 1pm, and set out to do the challenge just one hour later. A summary of each of the 12 runs can be found below, but note that as I got more tired, my memory started to fade. Initially I wrote notes after every run, but at around run number 7, I kind of gave up on everything!

Run #1 Thursday 13 August, 14:00 Distance: 6.52km Pace 5:46/km Time: 37m 40s

I felt a lot of pressure with this run, not because I was worried about the challenge, or the distance, but because I had to get back in time for a virtual event I was doing at work at 3pm that day! So I set off at a quick pace, knowing I needed to leave enough time to shower when I got home. I felt strong, although my stomach felt a little off; eating at 1pm was far too late and, on reflection, I should have had my lunch much earlier. All was well, and I was even happier when I saw my boyfriend Gareth, ride up on his motorbike. I thought he was coming to cheer me on; turns out our dog had run away – possibly running after me – and he couldn’t find her. All thoughts of the challenge went out of my head and I ran off down one of the side roads in an attempt to try and find her. Luckily, all was well and he managed to locate her before I did, and so I carried on with my challenge. But this threw me off a little, as I had planned to run 3.2km in one direction and come back the same way so that I didn’t have to keep checking distance; after this I just ended up running around in circles and everything felt a little chaotic. Not the best start. After the run I came home, had a smoothie and a protein bar, and carried on with work, before my next run in just over three hours’ time.

Run #2 Thursday 13 August, 18:00 Distance: 6.57km Pace: 5.51/km Time: 38m 24s

This run was relatively easy, and relatively uneventful. I did a different route to the first one; I hadn’t actually mapped out any routes prior to this which was probably a mistake, as I had to keep checking my distance on my phone. Looking back, if I were to do this challenge again, I would set out some clear 6.5km routes beforehand; enough to keep me interested by having the option to do different routes, but which would allow me to be able to concentrate on the run itself, rather than always looking at the distance. Those of you who know me will know that I don’t run with a watch (I tried for a brief period of time but soon sacked it off), so I constantly have to pull my phone out of my pocket to check my Strava, which gets a little tedious. As soon as I came home I jumped in the pool (which proved to be a life saver throughout this challenge), and had a sandwich with another protein bar – and some peanuts for extra energy. My legs were feeling stiff already; I was surprised they were feeling so achey so soon, but I hadn’t really rested prior to the challenge, and I didn’t have much time to stretch after the first run. Luckily after the second run I had a little more time so I prepared my clothes for the 10pm and 2am runs, in an attempt to make those late night and early morning runs as smooth as possible. I also rinsed off my clothes so that I could wear them again at some point during the challenge, but I’ll be honest; this didn’t last very long and more often than not I was running in very sweaty clothes. Nice.

Run #3 Thursday 13 August, 22:00 Distance: 6.51km Pace: 6.06/km Time: 39m 40s

Gareth joined me for my 10pm run, as I was a little worried about running in the dark alone. We ran straight up and down the highway (the same route I intended to take during the first run), which was a little boring, but it meant that we could easily keep track of the distance and, more importantly, it was one of the few places which was well lit at that time of night. I’ve always been a morning runner and I don’t really enjoy running at night, but it was nice to have the company and, it was also nice to be able to run with my mask under my chin and to not get any disapproving stares from passers-by. As all of my trail gear is still stuck in Hanoi, so I had to improvise and purchase a torch; the only one I could find was some large industrial sized one, but it helped, as there were a few places along the way where it would have been too dark to run without one. I came home, jumped in the pool, dried off and climbed straight into bed.

Run #4 Friday 14th August, 02:00 Distance: 6.5km Pace: 7.24/km Time: 48m 11s

This was the run I was dreading the most. I’m not sure if I managed to sleep, my legs felt achey and I was worried I wouldn’t wake up to my alarm; I had a similar feeling to when you have to leave early to catch a flight at the airport! I had decided to run within the grounds of my apartment block, as I didn’t really want to run alone in the dark at that time of the morning. Also, as we are on lockdown, I thought I might look a little suspicious heading out at that time in the morning, so I took myself and my massive torch over to a small road just opposite my apartment, and set off running up, and down… and up…. and down… The only good thing about this run was the fact that I didn’t have to wear a mask. I came home, showered, drank lots of water and soy milk, and climbed straight back into bed.

Run #5 Friday 14th August, 06:00 Distance: 6.5km Pace: 7.42/km Time: 50m 30s

Surprisingly, this was the most difficult run so far. I thought that after getting the 10pm and 2am ones out of the way, I would be feeling positive about the day ahead. I thought wrong; I felt exhausted when I dragged myself out of bed at 5.30am, as once again I didn’t really sleep properly; a combination of achey legs and worries that I’d sleep through my alarm. I peeled on my running clothes and headed out but my legs didn’t seem to want to work, and shortly after starting my run, I had to stop to walk. The entire run consisted of run-walk-run-walk, but I figured it was better to keep moving rather than stop to rest. I also wasn’t so worried about my times here; during the previous two runs I wanted to finish quickly so I would have time to sleep, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep much during the day so it didn’t really matter. I did, however, want to complete all of my runs in under 60 mins, so I did always have this at the back of my mind. I was very happy when this run was over; again I jumped straight in the pool, and then treated myself to a coffee, a protein bar and a banana. I don’t normally eat breakfast and I wanted to try and continue with my fasting during the run, eating only between the hours of 1-9pm, but I soon realised this was a silly idea, and making sure I was fuelled and energised would help to get me through. I stretched in the pool and when I got out I foam rolled, which was exceptionally painful, but I knew it would be worth it. I did actually manage to sleep a little, just under an hour, but it was very on-and-off; not good quality sleep at all.

Run #6 Friday 14th August, 10:00 Distance: 6.5km Pace: 6.49/km Time: 44m 23s

After the disaster that was run number 5, I thought all of my runs would consist of running and walking, but again, I was proved wrong. Somehow I managed to find my legs again for this one and I ran the whole route. As I was running, I mentally split my runs up making them more manageable; the next two would be the afternoon ones which should be reasonable, then I had the dreaded night time ones, then, finally, the last two which should be relatively easy as the end would be in sight. I came home, jumped in the pool again, and then had a very early lunch of a vegan cheese sandwich, a protein bar and some soy milk. By this time I was feeling very hungry, but I knew that I shouldn’t snack too much as it would impact on my ability to run. Instead, I stretched, and went to bed again to try and catch up on sleep; I managed around 30 mins on and off. I was very happy that I’d reached the half way point and feeling very optimistic about the second half.

Run #7 Friday 14th August, 14:00 Distance: 6.54km Pace: 8.44/km Time: 57m 7s

I don’t remember much about this run, to be honest. Looking at the pace, I expect it was another one which consisted of lots of walking, as this was my longest one so far. I found it fascinating how the runs could affect you differently at various points throughout the day; I always expected my 2am one to be the slowest, but in fact, I had many more which took much longer to complete than that. I was definitely also very worried about the 2pm runs because of the weather; but for once, it was on my side, and Thursday’s cool weather followed through in to Friday. At this point in the challenge I realised that it was definitely reflective of what you experience when you are out on the trails; you find your energy at different points and sometimes, when you feel like you have no energy at all, you somehow find your legs and off you go.

Run #8 Friday 14th August, 18:00 Distance: 6.51km Pace: 7.00/km Time: 45m 36s

Gareth planned to run this one with me but then we had another pet related mishap; this time in the shape of a cat. We set off running together, and I warned him that I might not be able to run the entire thing, but we were stopped sooner than expected by a group of ladies who clearly didn’t understand the social distancing rules, and wanted us to take photos of them on their bicycles. I carried on running and let Gareth catch up; until we came across a lady who was trying to rescue some orphaned kittens nearby the river. Gareth stopped to help but I kept on running; I felt terrible but I hoped that Gareth would explain my reasons why. I managed to run the entire route; the same as my 6pm run the previous day; albeit at a much slower pace. When I got home, it was time for dinner. Another cheese sandwich, with a protein bar. Again, I was tempted to overeat due to a combination of boredom and lack of energy, but I resisted and instead, went to bed, where I didn’t sleep, but at least I was out of the vicinity of the fridge.

Run #9 Friday 14th August, 22:00 Distance: 6.51km Pace: 8.51/km Time: 57m 39s

I was DREADING this run; I was sore, I was tired and I was irritable. Gareth joined me again and we ran the same route as the night before, albeit at a much slower pace. We began with power walking and I set myself goals along the way; for example, I told myself I would start running when I got to the next lamppost and then start walking again at the next visible landmark. It gave me something to focus on; something to aim for, and it definitely helped. All the way through the run I was craving things I couldn’t have; particularly a can of full fat coke. I never ever drink full fat beverages, only when I’m running do I crave this type of sugary goodness. But unfortunately, Hoi An is a sleepy little town and things don’t stay open very late, especially during lockdown. So I had to make do with a blended watermelon juice when I got home, which was great, but not what I was looking for. I wasn’t even tempted by the pool this time; I peeled my clothes off, jumped in the shower and climbed straight in to bed.

Run #10 Saturday 15th August, 02:00 Distance: 6.5km Pace: 8.47/km Time: 57m 7s

I have nothing much to say about this one, other than it was horrible. It began by setting my alarm for 2.30am, rather than 1.30am, which shows just how tired I was. Luckily I’d asked Gareth to set his alarm too, and was startled when I heard it ringing out at 1.45am. I woke up feeling panicked and exhausted, but I still managed to peel myself out of bed. It took just under an hour but it felt like it lasted for a day.

Run #11 Saturday 15th August, 06:00 Distance: 6.5km Pace: 8.25/km Time: 54m 49s

The end was in sight, but this still didn’t give me much motivation to carry on. By this point I was feeling both mentally and physically drained, but I started to put myself back into a positive headspace and reminded myself that I had a coffee, a protein bar, and a dip in the pool to look forward to at the end of it. I did that throughout every run, I made sure I had something to look forward to at the end of it, so that it would motivate me to push through at a quicker pace. It worked, a little, but I was still glad when this one was over.

Run #12 Saturday 15th August, 10:00 Distance: 6.5km Pace: 8.50/km Time: 57m 27s

Run number 12! The final one! I did kind of want to end on a positive note, with a super-fast, strong run, but I knew the moment I set off my legs – and even my mind – weren’t having any of it. Gareth joined me and we mostly power-walked, but I was determined to run at least some of it, so I applied the same mentality as I did to the previous 10pm run, and set myself milestones for running. It seemed to take forever and I could’ve easily let it go on much longer, but I was determined that my final run of the challenge wouldn’t take me past the 60 minute mark, and it didn’t. The past two days of cool weather had subsided and by this time, the heat of the sun was brutal. I was extremely burnt after this race, and the pool was even more welcoming than it had been previously. I was so happy to finish; I was looking forward to a cocktail, I was looking forward to not having to wear a sports bra – or any bra for that matter – for the rest of the day, and in particular, I was looking forward to the fact that I didn’t have to run for the rest of the day!

[bloggingwithmir]

Recap Day One

After coffee and a workout, it was imperative that I figure out what I am going to eat before the work week begins. I have five 12hr shifts ahead of me which makes it difficult to run to the store, make elaborate meals, or much of anything really. I become a complete potato after getting home 14hr later. I’m sure many can relate to this feeling but can’t let it hold me back. What I aim for with my food is super simple yet filling. 

In terms of meals I hope to make... going to piece together some of the odds and ends from the previous week that are still sitting in my fridge. Thinking of carrots, cucumber and hummus, an orange and oatmeal for work. Most importantly, I have a freezer full of homemade turkey soup and chicken & dirty rice which will be dinner for the next few work nights. Making dinner after work is usually quite the feat so having this already done is great.  

Workout Details:

10 mins cardio warm up

Treadmill, 14% grade, 4.5mph, 0.63 miles total

Goblet Squats

20x20lb

20x15lb

20x10lb

10x1 each leg, holding 20lbs, split-leg squats 

20x2 each leg, donkey kicks

10x3 w/ 15lb each hand, stiff leg deadlift

20x3 or 4... lost count, glute bridges

10 mins cardio cool down

Treadmill, 14% grade, 2.5mph, 0.40 miles total

I finally got down to visit my apartment gym. Surely is small but hey, it’s better than nothing. A few cardio bikes, treadmills, free weights, a bench or two, some arm machines, bosu balls etc. The work gym will be miles better but for a few days a week, I will survive at home. I wanted to just check out the lay of the land today so I didn’t go in prepared. Just got my heart rate up and got my sweat on. I haven’t “worked out” in a long time. It felt good to just ease back into it by doing some cardio and lower body exercise and try my best to get comfortable again.

Day of Eating

Morning: Coffee w/ milk, balance pills

Lunch: Cucumber sandwich (multigrain bread, cucumber, mayo, cheese, s&p)

Dinner: Two scrambled eggs with hot sauce and a orange 

2.5L water 

Since I have to be in bed so early for the week and had a late lunch, there wasn’t much of an intake today. 

Day one down, 89 more to go. 

[lleodavis]

2017 HITS Palm Springs “Ironman” Race Report

It’s been on my bucket list to do an Ironman distance race for some time.  After completing the half-distance race at this location in 2013 with a friend (Carlos), we both agreed to come back for the full distance the following year. Unfortunately, it was not to be for either us.  Carlos succumbed very quickly to cancer.  One month he was my training partner, and the next he was gone.  Around that same time I was overtraining, and ended up with PF. I rolled over my entry to the following year and vowed to complete the race next year for Carlos.  However, a year-long deployment to Afghanistan meant a 2nd straight DNS (Did Not Start).  In 2016 I dedicated the 2nd half of the year to the goal of finally finishing this particular race for Carlos, for myself, and all my friends who had supported me in pursuit of this goal.  Instead, I made a series of little decisions that resulted in a DNF (my first and only).  Fast forward again to 2017, and you can begin to understand the importance of completing not just any Ironman, but this particular race.  

 This year I’d have company on the long course with my good buddy Freddy as I had convinced him to upgrade to the full in 2017.  He may or may not have been drinking at the time but I was happy he agreed as Freddy and I trained all summer and fall.  Diana was also back to improve on last year’s first-time half-distance finish. The three of us departed after LA traffic cleared up on Friday and arrived in time to hear the RD’s mandatory race briefing.  The course had changed back to the flat route that it was years before.  I was disappointed, as last year’s route through Box Canyon, while difficult, was beautiful and a great way to break up the monotony of farmland surrounding Lake Cahuilla.  Another new wrinkle was that there would be two different transition areas, but we were starting and finishing at the lake.  Otherwise, the course was 2 laps in the water, 4 laps on the bike, and 4 laps on the run.  Some of my friends can’t stand loops; however, when trying to conquer a new distance or keep track of your pace, the confidence of knowing the terrain makes racing strategy and adjustments easier.  After the participant briefing we quickly set up our things in T1 and took off for our hotel. Despite a few beers and a soak in the hot tub I found sleep elusive most of the night.  Perhaps it was race anxiety.  Nevertheless, I had been banking sleep all week, and woke up at 0500 feeling well enough and got things going.  

 We arrived back at Lake Cahuilla a little later than desired (~0615), and had less than 20 minutes to get into our wetsuits, tires pumped up, and make any last-minute adjustments. This would later factor into my bike ride as I had failed to premix my electrolyte powder (Tailwind) into the water in my water bottles.  Instead it was left in the back pocket of my bike jersey that I would put on after the swim. In no time at all it seemed as if we were being kicked out of transition and towards the water.  The water this year was perfect: low 60s and calm. After last year’s low-to-mid 50s water temperature we were bracing ourselves for the worst.  I later said to Freddy and Diana that what we were most worried about turned out to be the best part of the race experience.  There were less than 200 participants combined between the half and full distance this year.  I’m sure last year’s cold water temps and 20+ mph wind gusts through Box Canyon discouraged a lot of folks from coming back.  Too bad for them, but good for us as it meant a whole lot less people at the swim start.  Freddy, Diana, and I were almost ready to go when we spotted a photographer and got a group picture.  About 30 seconds later it really was go time and Freddy and I were out of position for the start of the race.  However, this would prove beneficial as we didn’t have to fight as many people while swimming, staying on the very outside of the pack for the first leg.  We stayed parallel to the shore going into the sun. I had just purchased a new set of ROKA mirrored goggles which worked perfectly without any fogging, leaking, or pressure marks on the face.  The buoys were a combination of small and tall yellow cylindrical and orange triangle, shapes spaced about a tenth of a mile apart.  Except for the fact that we were in fresh water instead of salt water, I’d describe the course as perfect racing conditions.  

Given how great the swim conditions were I was free to focus on my strategy, which was as follows: 1. Stay relaxed as long as possible, 2. Stay as long as possible (maximizing distance per stroke), 3. Follow through with every stroke, and 4. Kick only as much to keep your hips up (I’m not a strong kicker).  This would be key as I didn’t want to race against the pink hats (half distance male racers), but stay focused on my own strategy.  When I turned the first “L” of the first lap I caught my time as ~17:53 and thought, wow I hope I can maintain that.  A quick check of my technique and breathing, and I realized, yes, I think I can.  Having made the turn with the sun at my back I could see better the line of buoys and realized they curved to the left.  I decided to do what I usually do in the ocean and focus on the target farthest away, which took me away from the closest buoys but put me on a more direct path to the last buoy.  As a result, I encountered only one other swimmer.  He was alternating between breaststroke and freestyle.  During freestyle he kicked way too much and would be faster than me during that portion, but then I would pass him during breaststroke.  After a couple of times of leapfrogging each other, one of his kicks caught my forearm and I got pissed.  While any type of stroke is legal in triathlons it’s really inconsiderate to do it in close proximity to anyone.  Still, I’m pretty sure I caught up to this guy and he was swimming away from everyone else so he could do his own thing.  I quickly went back to focusing on my preferred swim mechanics and was happy to realize we were close to the final turn (for him).  I finished the first lap (1.2 miles) in about 36:13, which I realized would put me on a crazy PR if I could double that.  As I come from a trail running background a quote popped into my mind, “It’s not about who’s the fastest, it’s about who slows down the least.”  I set my mind to not slowing down and getting my time under 1 hour and 15 mins.  The 2nd lap was easier going back into the sun as it was a little higher, and there were very few swimmers in front of me.  I found myself trying to catch up to a few of the swimmers ahead of me, and slowly but surely caught up before the 5th buoy and other end of the lake.  I’m not sure if it was because I swam a more efficient route (I’m better than average at sighting), picked up my pacing, or if they were tiring.  When I turned the “L” for a second time at ~55:26 I knew I had slowed down some, but I was going to push to the finish.  I again lined up for a straight shot on the final buoy and had not a single swimmer in front of me as they again stayed closer to the buoy line.  The only difference on this final leg was that I encountered a little bit of debris in the form of twigs, but nothing like the kelp that one encounters on a regular basis in the ocean.  Last year at this point I was fighting wind and chop in the water.  My hands wouldn’t properly close to catch the water on my stroke and my ears were starting to hurt despite the neoprene cap with chin strap. What a difference a year makes!  This year I was passing people at the end instead of getting passed.  When I stood up from the water I was at 1:14:33 and ran up to T1 for an official time of 1:16:05.

I was 12th out of 37 full-distance participants on the swim.  Not bad considering I used to be in the bottom 25% on the swim. Normally, I would compare against my age group and gender, but there were only 4 of us dudes aged 40-44. However, for those of you that love metrics (like I do), I maintained a really strong swim cadence for me (27 strokes per minute avg) throughout, even pushing to 29 SPM to finish.  By comparison, on my last three long swims (2 miles, 2.4 miles, and 3 miles) the stroke rate was 24 SPM avg.  

I averaged 150 bpm heart rate, max of 174 bpm, which put me right in my Zone 5 heart rate, yet surprisingly I felt like I could have gone another couple of miles.  Maybe not at the 1:48/100yd pace that I averaged, but certainly another mile or two would have been easy.  Perhaps I’ll eventually get to that 10K swim I’ve been saying I’ll do one day.  

T1 was about half the time as last year.  I took my time first eating a macadamia nut cookie from subway and drinking some water, then toweling off, mainly my legs as I wanted to keep my socks somewhat dry. Moisture-wicking socks are more effective if they’re mostly dry to begin with.  I zipped up my bike jersey over my tri suit (which had my nutrition, a 2nd spare inner tube, and my phone), grabbed my aero helmet, and took off. Total time 5:28.

I immediately felt better on the bike portion compared to last year.  I was in far better shape after the swim this year and knew for certain I was a better conditioned rider.  The route was 4 loops starting at Lake Cahuilla and ending at T2 only 2.6 miles away.  One of the things I did throughout this ride was do math aloud.  112 miles minus 2.6 miles is 109.4 miles.  Divide that by 4 and that’s 27.35.  Divide that by 2 and each length of a lap is about 13.66 miles. Break down the lengths of each turn. Ok, that length was X miles..  so many miles until the next turn.  Ok, my last 5-mile split was 19.9 mph..  let’s see if we can keep it above 19 mph avg for the next 5.  I mean really, when it’s you and there are only so many other riders you have to find things to occupy yourself.  I’m pretty sure I sounded like a less gifted “Rainman” out there at times (definitely, definitely a good rider) until things got worse, and then I switched to cursing out loud at times.  My goal for the race was under six hours.  I had completed two half-distance tris where I was able to maintain 20 mph for 56 miles and did that without race wheels.  However, since then I had bought super light, super aero race wheels and figured that they would help me combat the ever present wind that is inevitable in the Palm Springs area.  If you were to have any doubts about whether or not there would be wind in the Coachella Valley, pay attention to the ever- growing number of wind turbines on the West end of the valley.  They’re growing like tumbleweeds in the Mojave Desert.  So the answer is, wind is always a factor, but at least for the first couple of laps it wasn’t that bad.  Excuse me for saying it again, but certainly not anywhere as bad as last year. The course also had only a combined 1080’ of gain/loss this year.  Nothing like the sustained 3% avg climb for 12 miles through Box Canyon with 15-20 mph wind gusts.  Yet monotony has its own price to pay.  Later on we’d later comment that we missed the hills as the change of pace gave us a chance to coast on the downhills.  Granted, that is coming from 3 individuals who have completed 100K or more distances who value the variability that hills provide.  The course reminded us a lot of a trainer ride where there is no such thing as coasting.  I would like to say that I knew exactly how fast I did the first 56 miles, but I mistakenly forgot to turn off auto pause for the bike portion of training.  Moving time was about 2 hours and 51 minutes, which, despite the short breaks I took to grab water bottles of Heed (the electrolyte drink from the aid stations),  I was well on the way to a 19 mph avg finish.  Now let’s talk about where I F’d up.

If there’s one adage that you should always follow, it’s don’t do anything new on race day.  That includes nutrition.  That includes making sure whatever bottles they’re handing out will actually stay in your bottle holders.  That includes making sure your stomach will accept what you’re putting down. That includes making sure there’s enough calories to keep your body going.  Well, I learned that the arrowhead water bottles that they were handing out are likely to slide through my bottle holder because they’re TOO SQUEEZABLE and you’ll have to keep riding until the next aid station in 13.66 miles! I learned that if I’m rushed in the morning I should remember for the LOVE OF EVERYTHING GOOD TO STOP AND ADD THE TAILWIND ELECTROLYTE MIX IN YOUR JERSEY POCKET TO THE WATER BOTTLE THAT’S ALREADY FULL OF WATER.  I learned that waiting to eat your shot blocks, or your ingenious snickers with almonds bar until it’s much later in the day, it WILL BE TO LATE BECAUSE you’re going the distance AND for speed.  And why or why didn’t you just use the same stuff you did in training? Yeah, those wonderful homemade sandwiches (sometime with PB&J, sometimes with Nutella and ohney) that you used with the OFFICIAL UNCRUSTABLE SANDWICH CUTTER sealed up nice and easy inside of individual sandwich baggies.  NO, you had to get all fancy and stupid with the “I ONLY NEED ONE HAND FOR SHOT BLOCKS AND THEY HAVE CAFFEINE WHICH WILL MAKE ME FASTER.”  

Anyway, mistakes were made again.  At least I didn’t lose my vision this year.  OH, on that subject, I stopped twice at aid stations to remove the visor from my helmet and completely wash my face.  The interesting thing is that sweat only accumulated in my left eye twice, which resulted in my closing my eye for a few minutes until the eye generated enough tears to flush it.  Later on when I started the run, that same left eye was just slightly blurred.  I’m thinking last year’s vision problems were a combination of factors, but perhaps the key one might just be the amount of salt taken into the eyes.  I’m a very heavy sweater and I was thankful that while it did get hot at that point, I wasn’t grinding up Box Canyon with both wind and sweat to irritate my corneas. But back to the 3rd lap.About halfway through, the wind patterns did change as it was the hottest part of the day.  I started slowing down on my 5-mile splits, and when I finished the 3rd lap (about mile 84,) I decided I needed to sit down for a minute and drink more fluids. I moved my sorry self over to the curb and sat down and thought, what’s wrong with you.  This is about the distance you stopped last year. Certainly you’re better than this. You’ve gone through dark times on the trails.  You once were counted out and then got up and hiked all night.  Your legs still work?  Ok, get your ass back on the bike and slug it out. I’d like to say that things got easier after that, but at that point the damage was already done.  I could feel both lower quads start to cramp when the leg was fully extended.  Being the problem solver that I am, I decided if my quads weren’t going to cooperate, then I use more hamstrings.  Well, that worked well enough for a while.  The aid station support was actually at the half-distance turnaround.  At that time of day only the porta potties remained, and they had moved all support 1/3 mile up the road to the full-distance turnaround.  When I pulled in and swung my leg over the seat I immediately felt my hamstring cramp up.  Not like someone gave me a Charlie horse, no.  This is the scream-out-loud, don’t-fall-over, don’t-pass-out kind of cramp that comes with dehydration, electrolyte imbalance, and high intensity exercise in heat. It’s a special kind of pain, and honestly, I was glad no one else was there to see me.  It took about 30 seconds before I stopped clinging to my bike, afraid that I would drop my baby, and moved it over to the bike rack that was thankfully still there, and slowly lowered my butt to the ground trying to stretch out my right leg.  As I sat there watching my leg quiver uncontrollably, I again turned to dark thoughts.  In times like those you try to fight away the negativity, but inevitably fear of failure creeps in.  The idea that I could DNF on the same race two years in a row was lurking, and I quickly turned to assess my options.  I had remembered to bring my black “fanny pack” which had a variety of “when things go wrong” options.  I quickly took a salt pill, Advil, and salt chewable (digests the quickest).  I also finished the other half of Tailwind and sat there.  People I had passed were riding by now, one actually asked if I was ok, which was appreciated.  I kept massaging my hamstring and quads, hoping to bring them back to life.  I needed less than 14 miles to get back to T2 and walk things out.  I started psyching myself up.  Carlos would keep going if he were here.  There was a one-armed guy that did the half.  You still have use of ALL OF YOUR LIMBS.  Get your ass moving.  Slowly at first, and take it mile by mile.  Use one leg, just keep going.  I managed to pick myself up and get moving.  I shifted to the small ring up front to test things out on the bike. That seemed ok.  Luckily the wind was now at my back or crosswind.  No more aero, just let it push you.  I saw that Freddy, who had been about 5 miles behind me earlier, was now nearly caught up.  Made sense as I spent about 15-20 minutes sitting on the ground at the last 2 aid stations.  As I slowly pedaled my way back to T2 I started thinking about how the salt tablets would affect my digestion.  I still had a marathon to get through, and remembered what it was like to walk the last 3.5 miles at LA Marathon with double leg cramps, or trying to finish the last 2 miles at Silverman 70.3 in 2014.  It’s one thing to have confidence in the face of the unknown.  It’s another thing to have experienced pain and know that if you’re going to finish that there will be no easy way.  To quote the movie 300, “This will not end quickly, you will not enjoy this.”  But again, I was letting the negativity creep in.  I thought of the 400-lb sumo wrestler that did LA Marathon each year. He had power walked it in 8 hours. If he could do that at his weight, certainly I could as well.  When I finally finished the total bike time was 6:54:35, a 16.2 mph avg.  I finished 20 out of 37 finishers, which was very surprising to me considering how much time I had spent on the ground.  I also had an average cadence throughout the entire ride in the low 80s, even when I was cranking out 5-mile splits at 19+ mph, which is very unusual for me.  I’d like to say what my average HR was, but it cut out on me very early in the ride.

When I got to T2 I asked for help dismounting.  I had someone hold my bike at an angle so low it was only 1 foot high.  It made it a lot easier not to test my hamstring by having to swing it high over my seat again.  The volunteers sprang to work and took care of everything else.  They racked my bike for me, they went and got my T2 bag that I had dropped off at T1 at the start of the race, they were kind enough to take my helmet to my bike and get me fluids.  I felt like it was a VIP experience.  At the time I didn’t think about how unusual that was for a race, but when you only have 37 full distance finishers (don’t know how many started) and it’s getting late in the day, a half-dozen volunteers makes for an amazing transition area.  I’m curious to hear how T2 went for the half-distance racers, but I thought it was amazing.  I sat there slowly changing my shoes, putting all my bike stuff back in my bag, and before I knew it, someone had taken that away too.  Freddy soon showed up and I was so very happy to see my friend.  I could tell he wasn’t having that much fun on the bike.  I knew at this point forward Freddy would be ahead of me.  I really didn’t care that much anymore about beating Freddy.  I had hoped to at least push him on the run, but I knew I didn’t have the legs anymore for sustained running. Nevertheless, we headed out together to walk the first mile of the run. Time in T2 was 14:43.

The aid stations on the run were the opposite of the aid stations on the bike.  I will make it a note to write the RD a note saying can we PLEASE, PLEASE have bananas on the bike course.  Anything besides Heed and water.  But I had been promised a cornucopia of fruit and snacks at every run aid station.  At this point that was my primary mission on the run.  Get to mile 2 and eat high-sodium and potassium foods; whatever I could stomach. Knowing that my stomach would be imbalanced from having so little solid food on the bike and then adding a bunch of salt I figured I was in for a tough time.  Getting to that first aid station and assessing how much I could take in would be everything.  I grabbed a handful of pretzels, green grapes, Ruffles potato chips, and bananas, taking my time to chew each as thoroughly as possible.  From my experience on the Backbone race earlier the year where I took in too much salt, I knew that from that point forward, the ability to take in fluids and nutrition would determine if I were doing run-walk intervals or walk-run intervals.  I asked how far until the next aid station, and was told about 2 miles. I wanted to eat more but was having trouble keeping down everything I had just subjected myself to.  Walk-run intervals it would have to be.  At that point I was really happy that I had put my jacket in my T2 bag instead of my special needs run bag (which wouldn’t be available until about mile 6), as the sun was already setting behind the 10,000’ peaks of the San Jacinto Mountains at 1600.  The run course was 4 laps along the neighborhood roads and leading back to the lake.  There were three total aid stations, with the first and third ones being the turnaround points for each lap.  It was a completely unexciting race course for the initiated among trail running. The best thing I can say about the course is people driving by and honking horns, yelling at us to finish strong, and of course seeing everyone else out on the course.  Considering how empty and quiet the bike course was, this was constant noise by comparison.  I won’t complain about the course design, but it had occurred to me that it would be cool if we ran around the lake at least once.  Of course, the problem with that is running in the dark, or getting lost.  No, they designed a good race course for people who, like me, would be shuffling along in the dark for hours.  We were like zombies; mindless, in search of nutrition, driven by the need to keep moving but forgetful in our purpose of why we existed.  Some of the runners were pure joy to encounter as they overflowed with positivity and encouragement.  I tried my best to do that with every runner, as I believe in karma.  And when it wasn’t returned, I sometimes said a small curse under my breath and wished a small curse upon them.  I wasted my precious breathe in my state to wish you well and you ignored me.  The race gods will strike you down with FURIOUS ANGER for having not honored this sacred code among endurance athletes.  But, like a cat’s memory I moved on to the next thought in front of me.

One of the pretty things about the run was that we were one day short of the super moon.  Although the course provided us with head lamps, we really didn’t need them to see.  The moon was gorgeous and the night was far from dark and full of terrors.  No, the head lamps were so that we could be seen among the cars trying to pull in to their gated communities.  It didn’t happen very often, but sometimes I’d have to check for a vehicle waiting to turn.  That section of the road was the long, boring part of the race that I came to dislike, even though that’s where the most encouragement happened.  I preferred running near the lake, which, at above sea level, radiated both humidity and air that was warmer than the desert air around us.  During the 2nd lap I discovered they had chicken broth, and forced myself to keep taking that in, knowing it was loaded with sodium.  For real, a bowl of that stuff and you’ll have almost your entire recommended sodium for the day.  For us ironmen, it was just something to keep us moving.  I stopped taking in solids for the most part during the 2nd and 3rd laps.  The ability to digest food meant losing blood from the limbs, and I wanted to keep the walk-run intervals up.  At least ¼ mile of each mile I would run.  At one point during the start of the 3rd lap I ran for a half mile and that made up for walking the entire first mile.  By then Freddy was 3 miles ahead of me, and I was realizing I would be out here for too much longer.  I started stopping at the aid stations to sit down for just a minute to get off my feet.  That hot foot that had started developing on the bike in my right foot was starting to come back.  Truthfully, I had done more trail running than road miles, and even though I had a thicker shoe than the Vibrams I trained in, I could feel my feet swelling up and getting angry with me.  I decided to switch to a very pronounced heel to toe stride with less pronation to ease off it, and that seemed to keep it from getting worse.  

When I got to the start of my fourth and final lap, I ran into Diana, who was back from finishing her race and driving back to the hotel to freshen up.  She had her jacket, beers, and vegan food for Freddy and I and was getting ready to catch us crossing the finish line.  I was so very pleased to see her.  Between Freddy and Diana they’ve pulled me through some very, very long races.  They know what motivates me, when I’m not myself (I stop talking), and when I just need to be told to “stop being a little bitch” and keep moving.  Ok, they didn’t really say that to me.  She told me she was proud of me and that I just need to keep walking and that she would see me soon.  6.7 more miles and I would be an Ironman.  About a mile into the last lap I saw Freddy.  He too offered up encouragement and told me, “I’ll come get you if that’s what it takes!”  I let him know it wouldn’t take that, and to be ready when I got to the finish line. I started running more after that. In fact, I caught up to a few people, passed them, and stayed ahead for the next several miles.  At this point I wanted more energy, so I switched to orange slices and water.  I love simple sugars, and with less than 10K to go, I didn’t want to waste time trying to worry about the next lap.  No, at this point it was finish time.  I noticed on my 4th lap that about half the runners had cleared out.  Those of us who were left were mostly walking. You’d think that the tall skinny guys would have finished or the really old folks would be last, but there was no rhyme or reason to those who were behind me or in front of me.  When I got to the turnaround point I sat down again, this time for a few minutes.  My right foot was flaring up again, angry from the run-walk intervals I had switched to. I decided to not push injury and just speed-walk the last 3.3 miles.  I could average a 16 min/mile pace on flat ground with no problem. Less than an hour to go.  I stuck with the oranges and water, making sure to thank everyone still out on the race course for their support.  I have volunteered very few times, but I’m always extremely appreciative of those who take the time to enable us to do crazy feats of endurance, or masochistic behavior (depending on your point of view). With about a mile to go, Diana found me heading in.  I was able to forget about everything for a while, which was nice.  We got to compare notes on how the race had gone, and I was pleased to learn of her finish and Freddy’s.  We kept messaging Freddy to let me know how close we were to finishing. Once we got about 500’ out Diana ran ahead to join Freddy, and I got to muster enough strength to pretend that I was still a runner and not some poser who was out here pretending he was a triathlete.  I crossed the finish line just a little after 10:30 pm, over 15.5 hours after I started. It was the longest marathon I had ever done, and the first in which I started in pain.  In the end it took me 7:03:12.  By comparison, I’ve down a 50K with 4000’ of gain/loss in 90 less minutes. I finished 35 of 37 overall in this category, clearly the hardest part of the day/night for me.  

Overall, I finished 26 out of 37 finishers.  Considering the downward spiral of cramps, nausea, and moments of sitting, I’m shocked I finished where I did.  I was thrilled to have finally finished for the night.  Not for the pride of accomplishment, but because I wanted my bed. I wanted to be resting.  I had threaded the needle between pushing my body just fast enough to avoid throwing up and succumbing to cramps for nearly 8 hours. Not exactly the most fun way to complete your first ironman distance race, but I’m already thinking about how to improve and getting another shot at it.  But mostly, I’m just super thankful to my friends who were there to see me through this, yet again after doing stupid stuff on race day.  Super thankful that we get to share in these moments and keep going.  People wonder why I’m so faithful to this particular race.  I’ll tell you, it’s not the race, it’s not the place, it’s the faces staring back at you when you finish.  May you find those moments in your life too.  

[mayankblog]

Mars Mission: It’s about time

Astronauts land on plain; collect rocks, plant flag

Houston, Monday, July 21—Men have landed and walked on the moon. Two Americans, astronauts of Apollo 11, steered their fragile four-legged lunar module safely and smoothly to the historic landing yesterday at 4:17:50 P.M., Eastern day light time.

Neil A. Armstrong, the 38-year-old civilian commander, radioed to earth and mission control room here “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed”

This is an excerpt from the front page of the July 21st edition of the New York Times in 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first landed on the moon. With the Apollo 17, Gene Cernan and Jack Schmitt were the last men to land on the moon on 14 December, 1972. From Wikipedia

the Wrights made the first sustained, controlled, powered heavier-than-air manned flight at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, four miles (8 km) south of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903.

In a span of sixty-six years we went from learning how to fly to landing on the moon. After the Apollo 11 mission, ten more men landed on the moon in a span of three years. In another article, in the same newspaper and on the same day, titled ‘Capitalist Moon or Socialist Moon’, Harry Schwarts argues that although the race to the moon was pitched as a test between two ideologically based economic systems—that of American capitalism and Soviet socialism—the triumphant United States moon program was as socialistic in its central direciton and financing as its rival Soviet effort. What really stood out to me though were the author’s concerns about the ownership of lunar resources. He writes

It can be taken for granted that tomorrow’s lunar world will have mines, factories, hotels, newspapers, radio and telivision stations, and probably even professional sports teams like the Mets and the Jets.

He then goes on to write about the difficulty in answering questions about ownership of these resources because nobody owns the moon. To say that his optimism and concerns were misplaced would be understating it to epic proportions. If someone born in that era, watching these missions live, were to find out about the state of space exploration in 2017, they’d think something seriously went wrong with our species. Perhaps another devastating war broke out and tied up all of our resources. As for myself, born in 1990, growing up reading about these incredible achievements, it was quite surprising to learn about the dates of these events. Those achievements appear important not just in their significance but also because of their accomplishment with technology of the sixties.

There’s an important lesson here when trying to predict the future. Technological progress is not guaranteed. Knowledge is often lost. And lessons from history, forgotten. But the most important one is that people, and the entities that they comprise, respond to incentives.

Here’s an excerpt from a speech by John F. Kennedy about going to the moon on September 12, 1962

We set sail on this new sea because there is new knowledge to be gained, and new rights to be won, and they must be won and used for the progress of all people. For space science, like nuclear science and all technology, has no conscience of its own. Whether it will become a force for good or ill depends on man, and only if the United States occupies a position of pre-eminence can we help decide whether this new ocean will be a sea of peace or a new terrifying theater of war.

For all the rhetoric about being at the frontiers of science and exploration, the key incentive for the U.S. to go to the moon in 1969, was a hedge against existential risk. Once the cold war ended and the risk went away so did the incentive. As is evident, since then NASA’s budget as a percentage of GDP has gradually declined.

It’s in this context that I watched Elon Musk’s latest presentation on the progress made towards his ultimate goal of making human beings a multi planetary specie. Here’s an excerpt from the very beginning where he answers the question of ‘why’.

I’m going to talk about what it takes to become a multiplanet species. Just a brief refresher on why this is important. I think fundamentally the future is vastly more exciting and interesting if we’re a space faring civilization and a multiplanet specie than if we’re not. You want to be inspired by things. You want to wake up in the morning and think the future’s going to be great. And that’s what being a space faring civilization is all about. It’s about believing in the future and thinking that the future will be better than the past and I can’t think of anything better than going out there and being among the stars. That’s why.

There isn’t any apparent near existential risk to motivate a human landing on Mars. Simply, Elon Musk wishes so. And believes he has a shot at solving not only the technology, but also, equally importantly, the cost problem. For a fantastic and detailed view on the motivation behind this mission, you’d do yourself a favor by reading this long piece by Tim Urban. There are many challenges that are needed to be solved for such a mission but a fundamental one is that of cost. And the above linked article does an excellent job of describing the role and the difficulty in achieving reusability of rockets—a key aspect in reducing cost—and the progress made by SpaceX. The main point of the latest SpaceX presentation was about further solving the cost problem. In essence it wants to replace the Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy and Dragon with one spaceship, the aptly titled BFR. This will allow SpaceX to focus all of its resources on the one spaceship that will eventually go to Mars. According to Musk some key requirements for a such a mission are

Reusability and cost

A lightweight spaceship

An extremely efficient engine

Perfecting propulsive landing

Very high launch rate

Automatic rendezvous and docking

Refilling in orbit tied to cost effective reusability

The entire presentation is worth watching for details on each of these aspects. In classic Musk fashion he ended the presentation with another aspirational but not completely improbable proposal: to travel the Earth using the same rocket, and to most places on Earth in under 30 minutes. In that part of the presentation, shown only for a split second I noticed this personally relevant slide: ‘Delhi to San Francisco: 40 min’.

It’s imprudent to make predictions about the future based on current rate of technological progress without considering the forces of incentives at play. SpaceX is trying the solve this problem by aligning their economic incentives and mission statement. If they succeed then it’s possible that in my lifetime I too will be among those fortunate to witness another great milestone in the march of human progress. And be inspired by watching the delayed but live-for-people-on-Earth broadcast about the Mars landing. Where

The sky is blue during dawn and dusk, and red during the day.

[marianaeq]

Day 1

6/21/17;11:30pm. No hunger pains. 21 hours in. Coffee, tea, acv, and water. Only. Going to decrease my aerobics, weights, and yoga to only one hour to maintain energy.

Day 2:

6/22/2017; 8:00am. So far only restlessness and sore legs. Still no hunger pains. I’m realizing that I barely allowed myself to eat to begin with. Also told my mom about it. So, that’s a weight off my shoulders. 12:02 am: Slight headache around noon but went away. Time seems to move faster. 3:27pm: realizing smoking is the only time I feel my body the most. I mean, always knew that, but it intensifies the emptiness. 6:25 pm: bubble water saves me from being hungry since it makes me feel bloated and bleh. 7:44pm: hunger pains initiated.

Day 3:

6/23/2017; 6:30am. Called out- on pay day. Woke up feeling like I was dying. Trapped in a hot room dehydrated and empty. Couldn’t even zip my mom up. Feeling weak and have a settled headache. Grabbed water, served some coffee ,and smoked a bowl. Read a few posts to remain motivated. Haven’t worked out or yoga’d since Day 1. Since I called out maybe I’ll do some of that. I feel a little better but couldn’t run around for an 8 hour shift without fainting. Can’t call my doctor for a note either. On a later note, I’ve been a lot happier. Only sour today. 12:36pm: headache wore off. (No meds at all through this process). Sparkling water with cut fruit and chewing on ice is super fulfilling. Going to work out soon. 6:58pm: worked out for an hour and realized I should stick to simply cardio right now. Found myself almost giving up but continued research and preparation. I feel okay. Just weak. Very weak. But it’s apart of the process and why I gave today to rest. Minus my intense work out over cardio that has left me utterly defeated. 9:10 pm: Got a boost of energy and was able to do low cardio ( 10min run). Which actually got me sweating and feeling good again. Hopefully this prolongs until tomorrow. 9:30 pm: my mom keeps asking me if I ate- even after I consistently remind her. She’s working with me but I don’t know if she seriously forgets or keeps thinking I’ll budge.

Day 4:

6/24/2017; 8:57 am. Definitely a more energetic day! Woke up and actually got ready for work. Feeling a little weak but that’s normal. Feeling grumbles here and there but nothing major. No headache. Feeling really good. 11:03am. I decided to track my steps here at work to see how much I walk and half way through my shift I’ve accumulated 7 miles. I definitely feel less bad for not being able to work out today. 1:21 pm: my legs are restless and sore. Can’t wait to lay down for a while. 4:55 pm: Elaborated why I’m doing this fast to my mom and she seems a lot more understanding and supportive. Which is so essential right now. She even wants to attempt herself. Of course I’d only allow her to do a few days at most because she didn’t prepare for it. Oh yeah, cramps are definitely a thing now. 8:44 pm: probably shouldn’t mix things- oh well. Mom is actually supportive now which provides motivation. Slight cravings. But shortly faded. Realizing the hard part isn’t giving up but returning. Just the texture is horrid currently.

Day 5:

6/25/2017; 11:23 am: Dreams are becoming more dramatic, mysterious, and vivid. Woke up multiple times through out the night courtesy of my pups and each time felt more light headed. My heart was racing astoundingly at one point but practiced my breathing and it subsided. It may have no correlation at all but I’ve come to find that when I don’t have my fan on while sleeping I wake up feeling hthe worst. I have a headache but using my previous remedy of weed, coffee, and water I’m feeling okay. Just need to get my wits together. It’s my only day off so I have to record how long it takes for my headache to subside post waking up. 11:54 am: headache gone. Feeling a little weird though. 12:10 am: feeling better. 9:00 pm: Broke fast. Binged. Heavy.

Day 6:

6/26/2017; 9:28 am: Worked off 1300 cals in today’s morning work out. Waking up energetic and ready for a full blown cardio work out to work off that binge was amazing. Even spent about 10 mins in the sauna cause that’s all I had. Definitely going to continue working out and merely eating less than the cals I lose. I can’t completely stop eating because I can’t stand the lack of energy when I love intense work outs too much. So I’ll split them. Days I don’t work out, I fast. And days I work out, I don’t. Which will most likely be weekend fasting and week work outs and low cal intake. I’m going to continue tracking and making this a weight loss journal.

Day 7:

6/27/2017;1:05 pm: probably the hardest day so far. Emotionally. I feel mad and annoyed. Smirky comments aren’t settling and I want to unleash on everyone. Want to take my meds. Want to be back on my meds. Anyways. Haven’t worked out today, already 5 miles in at work, and haven’t eaten anything.

Day 8:

6/28/2017; 7:42 pm: work was good. Actually maintained a good mood all day. Then hit the gym for a couple hours. Concluded with a shower, yoga, a few hits, and now relaxing in bed. Fasted today. It’s been a little over 24 hours since my last meal and this wasn’t even planned. Truly didn’t feel the urge to eat. A little grumble here and there but nothing crazy. Fell into my substance whole again last night. At least I feel good today and strong. Might snake on some ice while I watch this movie this call it a night.

Day 9:

6/29/2017;7:47pm: becoming more and more aware of my binging. What I binge on over other things and how much I do and why. I’ve even started questioning drinking and when to eat and not eat..everything is calories and exercise and fasting and binging and it’s all so much..and it’s crazy how it’s all in my head sometimes. Oh well..having a nice night tonight regardless and I’ll be back to means tomorrow.

Day 10:

6/30/2017;10:02 pm: I ate and drank quite a bit today but I feel confident. Probably the drugs. I’ll be back tomorrow x 2.

Day 11-12

7/01/2017-07/02/2017; 1:44pm: fat ass. Total fat ass. What a hard passed 4 days. Fasting starts tomorrow until Thursday. And working out.

Day 13

07/03/17; 10:41 am: I have to take this more seriously. I’m definitely smaller than when I stated but I’m staying stagnant. Woke up feeling tired but motivated. I could be so much closer to my goal if I stop having set backs. One month of seriousness. No binging, no excuses.

Day 14

07/04/17; 11:42 am: back on my meds! I’m eating now and plan on being at the gym for a few hours so I gotta fuel. Going to start forgiving myself about the little slips and realize this is the smallest I’ve ever been and I should be proud.

Day 15-16

07/05/17-07/06/17; 8:23 pm: got a weee bit too drunk last night and ate little to nothing. Same today, just snacks. No meals. Haven’t worked out in a few days. On vacation now..

Day 17

Must re-motivate myself! Just did an hour swim and about to start my day with some coffee and hydrate on water all day. Going to restrict myself heavily. Spent the last 12 + days maintaining my weight and that’s not the goal. Must refocus. I got this!

Day 18-21

N/A. Starting over.

Day 22

07/12/2017; 7:00pm. Successful day! Ate something this morning was able to run 5 miles without stopping once, put in work on the restraints and weights + swam about 10 laps to cool down with some 10 minute sauna time. I feel pretty darn good. Plus! I didn’t binge. I did have a second serving for dinner but it was already pretty low cal. And still able to reach my goal weight soon! It’s been a real roller coaster with my battle with binging this experience. I’ve never binged like this and I must say I think it was due to the fast. I hate to get my body right again and then I couldn’t stop!!! But I’m back from vacation and I have confidence! Hopefully it maintains.

Day 23

07/12/2017; 9:17pm. Worked off a good 1000 calories today during my work out. Added with the calories from running around at work all morning. I was pretty set to have a high calorie intake day. But still managed to stay in the positive. My current weakness: almond roca dark chocolate. It was on sale 1.60 as oppose to the original 8. Nowww I know that’s no excuse to have idk 6 little pieces throughout the day.. and a vanilla ice cream cone. Still in the positive though and no serious binges! Just couldn’t resist the little treats. I’m regaining my self everyday. I’m just becoming more forgiving with myself.

7/13-7/17

mentally fucked up- not gaining. Working 10 days straight, currently on day 6.

[prohealths]

Weekly Workouts + Why I’m Switching Things Up

Hello, hello!

So, guys, I’m happy to report that a whole lot of working out happen last week. Woohoo! I managed to fit in SIX (!) workouts, which I’m pretty sure is a PR since becoming a mom. Haha!

Ok, so after barely working out since the New Year, I was starting to feel cranky/stressed, and I know exercise keeps me sane, so I knew something needed to change. I wasn’t making it to CrossFit all that much, so I looked into joining a local gym where I could work out on my own. So far, it’s made ALL the difference with fitting in some more workouts. Now, I just swing by the gym for a quickie workout after I drop Quinn off at school or before I pick him up. I love high-intensity runninng workouts, so I’m typically in and out within 30-45 minutes, and I’m really loving it so far. It’s also great because I can share my workouts on Instagram and CNC, so, hopefully, you guys will get some good ideas for workouts too! With that, here’s a recap of last week’s workouts!

SUNDAY

At-home workout

I set a timer for 20 minutes and then performed 60-seconds of each exercise (2 rounds).

MONDAY

CrossFit at Salt Shack

TUESDAY

Solo workout at Norwell Athletic Club

Wearing:Ghost Crops from Brooks Running // Reebok Nano 7.0 

A. 1-mile run on treadmill

B. 5 rounds: 10 Burpees 10 Box Jumps 10 Calorie Row 10 Split Squats (each leg) w/ KB #25 10 Strict Press #55 10 KB Swings #25

WEDNESDAY

Rest day

THURSDAY

Solo workout at Norwell Athletic Club

A.

Run 800 meters

21 Dumbbell Thrusters

Run 400 meters

15 Bent Over Rows

Run 400 meters

9 Dumbbell Split Squats (R)

9 Dumbbell Split Squats (L)

Run 400 meters

15 Bent Over Rows

Run 400 meters

21 Dumbbell Thrusters

Run 800 meters

B.

3:00 Walking Lunges on treadmill (incline 6.0, mph 1.5)

30 Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts

2:00 Walking Lunges (incline 7.0, mph 1.5)

20 Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts

1:00 Walking Lunges (incline 8.0, mph 1.5)

10 Dumbbell Romanian Deadlifts

FRIDAY

CrossFit at Salt Shack

A. Skill

Muscle Ups or Ring Dips

2 attempts to Establish max unbroken

Perform 25% of max Every Minute for 8 min

B. Metcon

EMOM20

Odd: Row 175/150M

Even: 30′ DB Lunge (50/35)

This workout was WAY HARDER than it looks!

SATURDAY

Partner WOD at Salt Shack

100 KBS (53/35)

10 Push Press (135/95)

90 Wall Balls (20/14)

20 P. Cleans (135/95)

80 Air Squats

30 Pull Ups

70 Cal Row

20 P. Cleans (135/95)

60 V-Ups

10 Push Press (135/95)

The post Weekly Workouts + Why I’m Switching Things Up appeared first on Carrots ‘N’ Cake.

Weekly Workouts + Why I’m Switching Things Up syndicated from http://ift.tt/2krk6T3

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HUFFPOST HILL - Students Excited For 'Reading, Writing And Aramaic' Curriculum

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Betsy DeVos was confirmed as the next secretary of education after Vice President Mike Pence Broke broke a tie by bursting through a tired Falcons secondary. Departing from centuries of democratic tradition, Donald Trump handed government transparency activists a victory by publicly saying which foe he wants to ruin. And Kellyanne Conway said the Trump administration has “a high regard for facts,” recalling Trump’s recent statement that, “Facts is an example of somebody who’s done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice.” This is HUFFPOST HILL for Tuesday, February 7th, 2017:

GOOD LUCK FINDING DOCTORS TO LIVE IN RURAL REPUBLICAN DISTRICTS - A+ gaslighting on the Orwell quote. Seung Min Kim: “Overlooked in Donald Trump’s campaign crusade against illegal immigration was his vow to crack down on legal immigration, too. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), a reliable Trump ally, is taking steps to execute that part of the president’s immigration vision — and it could provoke a showdown between two competing ends of the GOP: the working-class populists led by Trump and the establishment Chamber of Commerce wing. The outspoken, 39-year-old Cotton has written the first in what may be a series of bills to revamp the nation’s immigration system. Cotton will start off with legislation being unveiled Tuesday that will dramatically slash the number of immigrants who can obtain green cards and other visas every year.” [Politico]

ANOTHER TRUMP NOMINEE DID HYPOCRITICAL THING THAT DOESN’T MATTER TO ANYONE ANYMORE - Parents, how are you talking to your kids about the collapse of our institutions? Ryan Grim: “President Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Department of Labor, Andrew Puzder, employed an undocumented immigrant as household help, Puzder has informed members of the administration and officials in the Senate involved in his confirmation process. Hiring undocumented workers has sunk nominees in the past, particularly when it reflects directly on the scope of the Cabinet position. But Trump transition officials told Puzder that the previous rules for vetting and strict ethics no longer applied. ‘The view in the transition was that’s the old model,’ said one GOP official involved with Puzder’s nomination. Asked for comment, a White House official forwarded the request to a spokesman for Puzder, who provided a statement on his behalf:  ‘My wife and I employed a housekeeper for a few years, during which I was unaware that she was not legally permitted to work in the U.S. When I learned of her status, we immediately ended her employment and offered her assistance in getting legal status. We have fully paid back taxes to the IRS and the State of California and submitted all required paperwork.’” [HuffPost]

THE WHITE HOUSE IS A LOUSY OMBUDSMAN - And here we thought Liz Spayd was a disappointment. Adam Peck: “Late Monday night, [Sean Spicer] shared a typo-riddled list of 78 terrorist attacks the administration claims went uncovered since 2015. A cursory investigation by ThinkProgress into the list found a minimum of 17,467 stories written by U.S.-based publications about the 78 unreported attacks…. It is certainly true that some attacks garnered more attention than others. Several of the attacks included on the White House’s list ― the nightclub shooting in Orlando, the coordinated attacks in Paris, the airport bombing in Istanbul ― were major international stories that dominated the news cycle for days.” [ThinkProgress]

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DEVOS-EST WITH THE MOSTEST - Great news for people hoping to incorporate “you can’t divide by zero…unless you’re Jesus” into our math curriculums. Rebecca Klein: “Vice President Mike Pence cast the deciding vote Tuesday for President Donald Trump’s pick for education secretary ― the first time a vice president’s tie-breaking vote has been used for a Cabinet confirmation. Betsy DeVos garnered a 50-50 tie from senators, with all 48 Democrats in the chamber and two Republicans voting against her. The vote came after Democrats held the Senate floor for 24 hours straight, in hopes of pressuring another Republican to join their side.  DeVos has weathered a particularly controversial confirmation hearing. Her nomination inspired intense backlash from parents and teachers on both sides of the political aisle. After Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and Susan Collins (Maine) announced last week that they would be voting against DeVos, other Republican senators faced a barrage of calls from constituents urging them to similarly flip. Protests sprung up around the nation, also taking issue with DeVos’ seeming lack of qualifications for the job.” [HuffPost]z

The Andrew Carnegie for people who think Jesus wrote pterodactyls: “Betsy DeVos has personally donated $115,000 to the current crop of Republican senators since 1980. Those lawmakers received more than $950,000 from the full DeVos family over the same period. The family has further donated $8.3 million to Republican Party super PACs in the past two election cycles. And those numbers only scratch the surface. During her confirmation hearing, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) asked DeVos whether it is true that her family had donated $200 million to support the Republican Party going back over the years. ‘That’s possible,” she answered.” [HuffPost’s Paul Blumenthal]

HAR HAR HAR POLITICAL VENGEANCE HAR HAR HAR - We’re so screwed. Sam Levine: “President Donald Trump threatened to ‘destroy’ the career of a Texas state senator after a Texas sheriff accused the lawmaker of getting in his way by promoting asset forfeiture reform. ‘Want to give his name? We’ll destroy his career,’ Trump told Sheriff Harold Eavenson of Rockwall County, Texas. Trump’s comment was met with laughter and Eavenson declined to give the official’s name. Trump made the remark during a listening session with county sheriffs at the White House. Eavenson is in line to become president of the National Sheriffs’ Association in June, the Dallas Morning News reported.” [HuffPost]

TRUMP’S DISAPPROVAL EDGES UP - Between being sheltered away in a mansion while wearing a bathrobe and his widespread unpopularity, our president is fast becoming a Dr. Seuss antagonist. Matt Shuham: “Disapproval of Donald Trump’s performance as President reached a new high on Monday in Gallup’s daily tracking poll. The tracking poll, which averages results over the previous three days, found that 54 percent of respondents disapproved of Trump’s performance in office, while only 42 percent approved. On Jan. 22, two days after his inauguration, respondents were split 45-45 percent on Trump’s performance. Trump’s net approval rating in the Gallup poll dropped 8 points during his first week in office, though the gap between approval and disapproval has never been higher for Trump than what the poll currently reflects, a 12-point spread.” [TPM]

Two middle-aged rich guys went kitesurfing, and one of them was Barack Hussein Obama. There’s video, thank God. [HuffPost’s Alana Horowitz Satlin]

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE GREEN PARTY ON ALL ITS SUCCESS - It’s a good thing Trump and Clinton are so similar. It makes the buyer’s remorse easier. Michael McLaughlin:  “The Army said Tuesday it will abandon an environmental study of the Dakota Access Pipeline and grant a permit that allows its completion, according to Reuters and CNBC.  Army Deputy Assistant Secretary Paul Cramer revealed in a letter to Congress dated Tuesday that the service planned to grant an easement allowing Energy Transfer Partners to build a section of pipeline in a bitterly disputed federal waterway. The decision follows an executive action from President Donald Trump that sought to resume construction on the 1,172-mile oil pipeline despite objections from a Native American tribe living near its path in North Dakota and a halt ordered by former President Barack Obama last year.” [HuffPost]

TRUMP SAYS ONE THING, DOES ANOTHER, PT. 235,119,451 - Aaron Blake: “The list of 78 allegedly underreported terrorist attacks released by the White House late Monday includes 14 references to attackers either belonging to or pledging allegiance to ‘ISIL.’ If ‘ISIL’ doesn’t sound so familiar, it’s because the terrorist group is most often referred to as ‘ISIS’ or the ‘Islamic State.’ While all three refer to the same group, there are differences in terminology — especially between ‘ISIS’ and ‘ISIL’ — which we’ll get into. What’s most notable here, though, is that President Trump actually prefers ‘ISIS.’ And what’s more, he regularly attacked former president Barack Obama for using ‘ISIL’ — the same acronym his White House is now apparently okay with using.” [WaPo]

IT’S ALMOST AS THOUGH TRUMP WANTS MORE MURDERS - It’s weird that he keeps saying this stuff. Tom Jackman: “Trump told the sheriffs, ‘the murder rate in our country is the highest it’s been in 47 years.’ He blamed the news media for not publicizing this development, then added, ‘But the murder rate is the highest it’s been in, I guess, 45 to 47 years.’ The country’s murder rate is not the highest it’s been in 47 years. It is almost at its lowest point, actually, according to the FBI, which gathers statistics every year from police departments around the country.” [WaPo]

MELANIA AND DONALD TRUMP ARE MADE FOR EACH OTHER - This recalls the time Michelle Obama launched a billion-dollar line of designer carrots. Tom Hamburger: “An attorney for first lady Melania Trump argued in a lawsuit filed Monday that an article falsely alleging that she once worked for an escort service hurt her chance to establish ‘multimillion dollar business relationships’ during the years in which she would be ‘one of the most photographed women in the world.’ The suit — filed Monday in New York Supreme Court, a state trial court, in Manhattan — against Mail Media, the owner of the Daily Mail, said the article published by the Daily Mail and its online division last August caused Trump’s brand, Melania, to lose ‘significant value’ as well as ‘major business opportunities that were otherwise available to her.’ The suit said the article had damaged her ‘unique, once in a lifetime opportunity’ to ‘launch a broad-based commercial brand.’” [WaPo]

Thank goodness we’re growing closer with the Assad regime: “The Syrian prison was known to detainees as ‘the slaughterhouse.’ Behind its closed doors, the military police hanged as many of 13,000 people over the course of four years before carting out their bodies by the truckload for burial in mass graves, according to a new report issued by Amnesty International.” [AP’s Sarah El Deeb]

IT’LL BE DIFFERENT THIS TIME, BABY. YOU’LL SEE - Paul Ryan wants you to forget the seven years of broken promises about an Obamacare “replacement” and believe the newest one. Susan Cornwell: “The U.S. House of Representatives’ Republican leader said on Tuesday that legislation to replace former President Barack Obama’s signature healthcare law would be completed this year, trying to dispel the idea that the party is retreating from its campaign promise to dismantle Obamacare quickly…. Trump and congressional Republicans campaigned on a promise to scrap the 2010 healthcare law. But they are struggling to agree on a replacement for the law, which has enabled up to 20 million previously uninsured Americans to obtain health coverage.” [Reuters]

Thirty-five percent of Americans don’t understand that the Affordable Care Act and “Obamacare” are the same law, because nothing matters anyway.

BECAUSE YOU’VE READ THIS FAR - Here’s a bison being set free.

SEAN DUFFY IS SUCH A GOOBER - LOL, good thing Dylann Roof never posted on the internet or anything and was just “one off” in his mass murder. Amanda Terkel: “Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) vehemently defended President Donald Trump’s ban on refugees and travelers Tuesday, arguing that terrorists who come from the Middle East are an existential threat to the United States and totally different from white domestic terrorists, who just commit ‘one-off’ incidents that the government can’t do anything about…. Duffy claimed that people on the left were manufacturing outrage, saying there was plenty of blame to go around. ‘Look at Gabby Giffords. The Marxist, who took her life, a leftist guy, and now you see violence and terror in the streets all across America, burning and beating people with Donald Trump hats. The violence you have to look in, you’re trying to use examples on the right,’ he said.” [HuffPost]

Also, we’re going to start referring to Kevin McCarthy as “The thinking man’s Sean Duffy,” for reasons that we could articulate but would rather just keep visceral.

COMFORT FOOD

- Donald Trump quote or Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soap quote?

- A visual history of presidents wearing bathrobes.

- An interactive map of local linguistics.

TWITTERAMA

@LukewSavage:  [Donna Brazile eats printout of Sanders email list] “There...we have added his power to our own.”

@CassieGrimaldi: Betsy DeVos is a great lesson to young women that if you work hard, someone’s rich dad will pay to confirm Betsy DeVos as sec of education

@blakehounshell: So the weird thing about CNN’s jihad against Kellyanne Conway is that Jeffrey Lord, Corey Lewandowski, etc. were literally on their payroll.

Got something to add? Send tips/quotes/stories/photos/events/fundraisers/job movement/juicy miscellanea to Eliot Nelson (eliot@huffingtonpost.com)

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