Race Day Monkey Mind May 21, 2007
Posted by anton in : Race Report , 1 comment so far” 2:15! Not now…! try and get more z’s idiot…
2:35…ugh!
What’s..oh, the cat.
Is that the wind?
3:15..oh, just get up! Bathroom…Now! Man I hate my gut on race morning…
‘Can’t stop addicted to the shinndig…’
tea…bagel…peanut butter in here somewhere.
Bag…pump…Jeepers, I hate having to leave my bike there overnight…
what? Oh tea kettle…sugar…
Time? 4:00, lets go…no sense sitting here…
Dark…go slow…4:00 am cops around…might be grumpy.
Whoa…man I love the beltway this time of day…alone…sweet.
Cable?…Pod… did I forget the Pod? Oh there..In the jack…Oh perfect! ‘Sleepless’ Oh, This has GOT to be CRANKED UP!
Right exit… Greens…No traffic…..Here…cool only a few folks here…at least the Vols are up..Porta-john?
‘Help you sir?…porta -john officer…go ahead…but come back..Yes Sir!” Man …that’s security…
T open yet?…wait till sunup…man those folks waiting in line to get into the T..The land of the wrapped too tight…
Time?…got everything? …Body marking..Whoa! she’s cute…’Why yes I do need marked…ah, 53′ Nice smile…
Where’s my rack again?…’Hey.’ ‘Allo.’ From OZ…Did he just call me mate?..that’s a roj on the Oz.
Oh my gawd…’Bob?’ ‘Man nice to see ya’ ‘Back in the fray?’ Damn, he looks fit…Tape…Tape…lessee…two gels on the top tube…bottles
on..helmet. Shoes 1…Shoes 2 Damn..wetsuits in the Element…oh well short walk…Yeah…young enough to be my daughter…Suit…Body
Glide…oh neat…there’s the banana! ‘Good morning and welcome to the Columbia Triathlon'’…Vigo sounds wide awake. wrist band…oh ‘Yeah
I’m supposed to be here…’
T looks good..time to go..’good luck Bob!’ …’Good on ya mate.’ THAT got a smile out of OZ boy..’The last suit you’ll ever own’…nice…better
than my old one. RAIN! ‘Be safe out on the roads we’ve already had a few accidents…the roads are slick.
‘Neon green caps in the water!’ 5 minutes…ho…not bad..warmer that the last time.
‘Ready greens? GO!’
Stroke….breath…calm down…breathe,breathe,breathe…GET OFF! God Buddy plenty of room..crowd someone yer own size…sight… breathe
First turn…geez I gotta pee…sight..breathe..get the heart rate down…’burning down the house’ next turn…whoa…little off..heading for the
woods…better sight..stroke…breathe….sight..not bad…last bouy…exit?..where? ok…sight…pull,pull,pull.kick…blood in the legs…up, pull,
peel..move left pull it off here while it’s still wet…Damn what is it…75 bloody yards to the bloody rack?
There…shoes, breathe,helmet, Oz boy gone…Bob not yet… drink, bike off..out..man this is like cyclocross,mud,slick..up the hill…mount…
Go…calm..get the flow…drink…up…’Left’…’Whoa,whoa,whoa hold your line!’ 22,24,29,32…love hills…ohohohohoh…two wheel drift…MAN it
IS slick..up up up…breathe…don’t hammer up..you’ll trash yourself..THAT’S some road rash…she is going to be hurting in the morning!…use the downs..free speed…Sun! Alright!…Why is it still raining? ML ..she
up yet…9:00? Yeah she’s up…’Left…left…left. NO NO NO… ON your left! Motorbike…Cop? Oh…the pingers… I’m cool….Ha! Pinged those
three guys who’ve been drafting the last 5 miles! Gel…hungry…drink…Last up hill!….down to the T…go go go.
D-line…off, run, Man that grass is slick…like the road…Rack it,Helmet,Succeed! drink shoes on…out of the T..get the feel…not bad..Well if
you had hammered the bike it would suck…first hill…walk a bit…man! I’m walking faster than these folks are running up!..drink…relax…flat
and down…free speed. Water…pour it…I always forget how hilly this course is…This guy talking to me?..oh man…not a chatty cathy…’Dude if you can talk like this…you’re not working hard enough!’ That’s better..see, he can go faster…’Hey Bob! Good Job!’ Man…he’s looking rough. Hill and dale hill and dale…I remember these guys…they all passed me on the bike!…ouch,ouch,ouch…man my neck hurts…what’s he, 23? ‘Come on lad! last mile is down hill…free speed.’
There’s the lake…Oh cool..great blue…home again,home again, jiggity jog…last crest,sweep to the finish…oh, there’s the picture guy…finish line…phhhht…”
The Race Card May 6, 2007
Posted by anton in : Race Report , 1 comment so farThree weeks..three races. Sometimes training for long events can be drudge…for those of you who do…you know what I’m talking about.
The, what seems to be endless, miles. This workout followed by that workout followed by that workout followed by…yada yada yada.
It was sort of feeling like that for me recently so I decided to pull the race card. Training as normal, with some sort of athletic dust-up on the weekend to make things more lively…and fresh..and make all the bloody training seem worthwhile. Sort of like a marriage.
G.W. Parkway Classic 10 miler on April 22nd which I’ve already written about.
Pikes Peek 10K. Last week
Frederick Half Marathon Today.
I mean, I have to get in a longish run on the weekends anyway, why not do it with a few thousand others that help break up the gerbil wheel?
I’ve done the GW many times and it’s one of my fav 10 milers…maybe because that’s where I set my 10 miler PR (1:13 flat)
Pikes Peek. You get to see a big section of Rockville Pike…get it? Down hill and fast…as I am fond of saying..a bowling ball could set a PR on that course. Also the site of my 10k pr (42:20)..always a gas..or at least produces gas because the post race food is just stellar. Really good chop. Nothing super to report this year…perfect weather and just go like hell from point A to B.
Today was my first time at the Frederick half..they run a full at the same time. I know the course,because having lived in Fred-neck for twenty-four years, I’ve run the course or parts of it many times…forgotten how hilly it is! Beautiful clear morning…windy. I knew where the wind would be blowing, and always blows from…so in those sections I tucked in behind the biggest guys I could find and drafted…letting them plow through the air leaving them when we changed direction and caught wind blowing from my six. Smart racing. I’m happy with today’s results…as really I am with any race result… Imagine…I’m 52 (USAT 53) and I’m still able to do this…cool. Nineteen forever.
Two schools of thought here…One is don’t race too often, because it may have an adverse affect on your goal races…everything you do today has an effect on what lies downstream…which is true.
The other school says..race often. I like this …and have tried to follow it when I could…a few years I didn’t because I wanted to just focus on my key racing and see how that worked…wasn’t nearly as much fun! This is about fun…if it’s not fun for you…stay home get fat and die early. Myself…I’d rather race have fun…and die early! At least the quality of my life will be better while I got it. Beats TV.
Speed work…hate it. Do it sometimes…but it’s just so much more fun to race often and use THAT for the speed work. Never been much for speed anyway…I’m fast twitch impaired…and it’s not my world view…Laid back is better…speed kills…at least your knees.
Next bruhaha…Columbia Triathlon on 5/20…an Oly.