PLANNING and OBSESSING.

Today was my last "long" workout, about 40 miles of cycling during which, I'm happy to report, my crank did NOT fall off. During the 40 miles, I did a lot of thinking, mostly planning for the race. I've done a lot of training and have had a chance to try out lots of different things: what to eat, drink, and wear. So here's my plan:

First, I'm leaving the race wheels at home. They're tubeless, and I'm not as confident about changing those as I am a tube. My road wheels will be fine for my purposes, and I have my trusty Kevlar Hard-Case tires on them, and I can carry several tubes in less space than I can carry several tubeless tires.

Nutrition: I'll be wearing my Diablo hydration pack, which holds 64 ounces of fluid (Nuun) Not only does the fluid stay colder in this pack, but when it rests against my back it feels cool. I've tested it on every long bike I've done and many of my long runs. Every fifteen minutes, I'll drink some of my Nuun. On the hour, a drink of my Carbo-pro, which will be in a squirt bottle on my bike. On the half hour, solid food, alternating between two fig Newtons and 4-6 pringles. The goal for drinking is 20 ounces every 10 miles, and at least 400 calories per hour. I'll be carrying the Fig Newtons and Pringles in my bento box, with spares in my hydration pack, along with a tube of Noon.

To wear:

After the swim, I'll change into my Terry Clincher tank. I heart this tank - it's got a high neck and a single strap between my shoulder blades in the back, and a nice, loose waist with three large pockets across the back. I'm wearing it with my She-beest sprint shorts, which have a kind of lower waist in front and shorter inseem. They're pretty comfortable. I'm going to wear them with my favorite socks.

The Run:
For the run, I'm going to take along gels, an inhaler, and ecaps. I'll drink water from the aid stations, a gel every 2-3 miles, and ecaps on the hour. I'm considering carrying a bottle that I'll fill up from time to time so that I don't have to stop at every aid station. I'm still thinking about this. I'm thinking about getting one of these "Nathan" belts. I've run with waist packs before and liked them. Given the choice, I prefer not to carry things in my hands when I run.

For the run, I'm going to change into my Patagonia Active Top and Moving Comfort Peak Fitness Shorts, both being very soft, wicking, and comfortable thing I've ever worn for running. The shorts are great for gals like me who lack Inner Thigh Clearance. The entire inseam is cotton lined.

Of course, it goes without saying that I'll be wearing the pink uber-sexy Injinji toe socks...which are just so insanely sexy it's a shame they have to hide inside my New Balance 767's, which are the best long-run shoes for me, stability with cushioning.

Round out the ensemble with Msr GarMEAN and his heart strap, so I can keep an eye on my heartrate throughout the day and well as my pace. I just hope GarMEAN can last that long on a charge. We'll see. I have a bike computer but it doesn't seem to be properly calibrated.

OKAY. So much the stuff I have control over...NOW for the weather forecast, according to Intellicast, here's the current forecast for Louisville 7 days from today:

I also used "MAP MY RUN" to do a profile of the run course. There's a bit of a climb at the out-and-back turnaround. You do that part of the course twice. Otherwise, it's mostly flat.

that's enough obsessing for today, I think. Time to start cleaning. Sweet Baboo comes home tonight!

...

BIB numbers.

Bib numbers for Ironman Louisville are posted. Including folks I know that will be there... Edited from time to time

Sweet baboo, 1539
Ricky V, 1975
the Lone Ranger, 974
Kevin 231
Bones Mackenzie, 1227
"Wingman" aka "Sharkbait," 1709
Iron Snoopy 84
Moose 1603
Mary Sunshine, 2051

Oh, and mine: 1540

Did I forget anyone?

I woke up in my messy bed today with a penny stuck to my left breast. I hope that's lucky.

...

Tired, I am. Yes.

I went for a swim tonight and felt like bricks were attached to my arms. I barely finished it, I was so tired and bored. While waiting for Pirate to show up for the swim, I nodded off three times, so I finally went and got in the pool to wake myself up.

This morning I got up and ran 7 miles, faster than I usually do, but that was pretty much it for the day.

As the day went on, I got more and more tired. I finally took the kids outside to work, which was good for all of us. As one of my students stood up to walk outside, he whined, "I'm tired. They made me run a mile, Miss!"

And I said, "Hmmmph. Lightweight!"

I was so tired that I was all set to blow off my swim workout, which is actually yesterday's workout. Then Pirate called me and asked if I needed to swim. Um. Do I need to swim? Need to? Hmm.

Dammit, I guess I did. Which is why I was sitting falling asleep in the reception area at the gym.

Well, as I wrote earlier, my crank fell off Saturday at the beginning of what was supposed to be a 60 mile ride. As I've learned, the bad shifting problem I was experiencing is a symptom of such an event.

The Rockette was taken in to the bike doctor, and when I went to pick it up on Thursday, the guy said, basically, "As I was telling your husband, it doesn't look too bad, but there's about a 50 percent chance that it might fall off again. If it does, it will be within about the next fifty miles."

So let's break this down:

1. It's very possible that my crank may fall off again.
2. If my crank is going to fall off, it will be within the next fifty miles.
3. If it doesn't, it probably won't fall off.

Now, as it turns out, I've already gone 30 miles, and tomorrow, I'm doing another 40, so if it's going to fall off it will be tomorrow. If that happens, I'll have to have another put on. They don't have exactly the one I have, but they do have a DuraAce one that can put it on before I fly out Thursday morning.

I'm kind of nervous about this. Pirate says I should call a different Bike doctor and get a second opinion. I'm tempted because I'd rather fly out with a new crank on Thursday than with one that's already fallen off once. A crank that falls off is a disloyal part. I want loyal parts, parts that don't fall off.

Anyway. I'm not getting any less tired typing away, so I'm going to bed. Here's my workout for the next 9 days:

Saturday - 40 mile easy ride.
Sunday - 5 mile run, 1500 m swim
Monday - 0ff
Tuesday - 1000m swim, 25 mile bike, 4 mile run
Wendesday - Off
Thursday - Afternoon 3 mile run
Friday - 15 mile ride on part of the IM bike course
Saturday - 500 meter swim in the Ohio river
Sunday - Ironman Louisville

..

Things I Do When Sweet Baboo Isn't Around.

1. I return, time and again, to the house to get the things I should have brought to my workouts. Like bike shoes. And the wheels for my bike. Life without Sweet Baboo becomes a series of necessary checklists I have to consult before I do anything, because there's nobody around to say, "Did you bring your inhaler? Do you have your running shoes? How about your goggles? Did you bring anything to drink?"

2. Things eventually pile up all over the bed until I have to sleep in weird convoluted positions.

3. I stay up too late and fall asleep in front of the TV. I've decided this is because I really don't like the silence.

4. I don't eat well. I forget to eat, and reactively stuff a few things in my mouth when it occurs to me, and they usually aren't healthy things. I eat leaning over the sink, or in my car, instead of sitting down to a proper meal.

5. My life becomes engulfed in afterthought, instead of forethought, and I wonder around with the ever present thought in my head, "Now, why did I come in here."

6. The other ever-present thought in my kead becomes, "now, where did I put that?"

7. I talk to Mini-baboo too much. I think this burdens him.

8. I do things without really thinking them through. For instance, I might leave the ironing board up, pointing through the bathroom door, because it seems efficient and is near an outlet, and it's right there if I need it. If Sweet Baboo were around, he might ask, gently, "Are you sure you want to do that? That looks like something you might walk into stomach first in the middle of the night after going to the bathroom." (Because, indeed, it was.)

9. In fact there are piles of stuff everywhere, not just on the bed.

10. In fact, the bed is much less a bed than it is a pile of stuff under which I sleep. The covers get all weird and aren't tucked in and aligned properly, so that my feet stick out of the sheet and the blanket only half covers me.

11. I wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep. Since there's nobody else around I turn on the light and write dumb posts and emails read random Wikipedia entries.

12. I spend too much time on the phone (Sorry, Pirate) and waiting for the phone to ring.

13. I worry constantly about things, like when the bike guy says, "there's a 50% chance your crank might fall off again." Um, huh? Yeah. (More on that later.) I generally just worry much less when Sweet Baboo is around. When he's here, it's like a big bubble of protection is around me.

14. I get headachy, probably as a result of not eating or sleeping properly.

15. The night before Sweet Baboo is likely to return, I race around putting stuff in their proper places and getting rid of the piles of stuff all over the bed, so that the house looks as organized and neat and it should look for a proper human being living in a proper house. I also start making a real meal.

...

Calm, ready, and waiting.

So tonight I dragged out the PDF file of the Louisville course and Google Earth, and tried to do a virtual flyover of the bike course.

Is it just me or does being a triathlete have a requisite amount of obsessing one must be willing to do? I visit the 10 day forecast almost daily.

Tonight was Turbo bricks with the Jimmy. We do running intervals alternating with spinning on our bikes on trainers.

This was my last Turbo Brick workout until after the Ironman tonight. It was 95 degrees out, but we were working in the shade, and despite the heat, I was okay. Not ecstatic, mind you, but okay. I think I've reached the point where, given enought water, I can tolerate just about anything.

I've reached a stage in which I feel calm. I have accepted my fate. That doesn't sound positive, but focus on the work "accept" just for a moment.

It's like my friend Holly used to say to me, "What are they gonna do, take away your birthday?"

I can look forward to doing my best, and knowing that my best is a little better than it was a few months ago.

What's done is done.

Training time is over.

The course lays before me.

For everything I've read, it's a beautiful course. Rolling hills and many shady spotsl, starting with a 10 mile flat and ending with the same.

Sweet Baboo is hundreds of miles away at the APA convention. We've always gone to this together, but this year my only days off are being used at Ironman Louisville. Whenever he's gone, I always watch Bridget Jones' Diary.

I love this movie. My favorite part is where the character of Mark Darcy tells Bridget Jones that he likes her just as she is. Not apart from all her flaws, but including them.




I like this part because it reminds me to like myself, not inspite of my flaws, but including them.

And then there is that moment when the antagonist offers her a life in which he has settled for her, and she says, "That's not a good enough offer for me...I'm looking for something more extraordinary than that."

I suppose that's what I'm looking for in this life. Extraordinary events that I can be a part of. And in the end, whether I officially finish or not, I've had the chance to be part of something extraordinary.

To start something that not many will ever start, and possibly, finish something that even fewer have finished, that is a life worth living.

So that's where I am right now.

Calm. Ready, and Waiting.

...

It's all over but the swearing, sweating, and crying.

12 days until the day of reckoning. the training is officially done, and now I'm hydrating and carb loading.

I've done a lot of stuff in my life that I shouldn't have been able to do. Most of that stuff, though, was done with sheet stubborness and quick thinking. I'm not so sure that will be enough to get me through this. This takes, um, some physical ability. My training is largely done. Was it enough? I'll know in 12 days. It was the most I've ever done. We'll see soon enough if it was enough.

I've never given up on anything at all, except maybe the Grady Williams when I got lost last year. I've even cried and dreamed of giving up during two other triathlons, because I was so damned tired, but I never did.

WHY on earth do I do this. Oy. I've decided that I have a strong need to be a codependent martyr. Yeah, that's it. But, since I'm married to a Sweet Baboo, in a normal and healthy relationship, my subconscience craves for some sort of codependent relationship.

I have found this in triathlon.

Like an abused wife, I'll come back again and again, making all sorts of excuses as to why I put up with the fatigue and wear and tear and expense of triathlon and say, weakly, things like,
"you know, when I'm not aching and dead tired, I'm really having fun."

But anyway.

I have to think positive. Okay.

Positive. Think happy thoughts.

Now, I've been accused of having an unrealistic optimism at times by Sweet Baboo, but even I can't come up with a daily happiness list of ten happy things like Mary Sunshine has done. She's aptly named! I can do one list, though.

I need to do this to take my mind off the feeling of dread and nausea and worry that finds its way into my subconscience these days.

So here they are, ten happy things. things that make me happy.

1) I'm happy that I'm healthy enough to even consider trying an Ironman.

2) I'm happy that I'm married to a Sweet Baboo who encourages me in this craziness. I know there are folks out there whose partners are less than supportive. I'm very fortunate.

3) I'm happy that Andie genuinely though that I was ten years younger than I am. It bears mentioning again because it's been a long time since anyone asked me for my ID while buying my occasional Jose Cuervo margaritas.

4) I'm happy that I have a job where I can get time off to do this. There are some people who have jobs where they are fired if they have a sick kid. For all my grousing about my job, I have to say that working for a school means that your employers are nothing if not family friendly.

5) I'm happy that when I turned the corner tonight and caught my reflection unexpectedly in a window, I was struck with how much thinner I am than I used to be. If I didn't know myself, I might be thinking, "why, she looks rather fit."

6) Speaking of which, I'm happy about a certain coworker who I recently met, who asked if I was a runner or something because I look pretty fit. At times when I'm ruminating over my extra belly or who lumpy I think I look in bike shorts, I can come back to this moment.

7) I'm happy to be sitting in this little bistro, sipping my coffe and tapping away on my laptop. Pretty soon I'll join Pirate for an evening swim workout and then go home to a good night's sleep. I have a wonderful life.

8) I'm happy that, succeed or fail, August 26th I'll be headed out on my own two legs.

9) I'm happy to have three kids that think I was a pretty good mom, which is astonishing for so many reasons I just can't go into now. I'm happy they stay in contact with me, although not as often as I'd like.

10) I'm happy to be living in an age where medical science has advanced me to this point. I have asthma, and astigmatism, am horridly nearsighted and have been operated on, twice, for a
tumor in my middle ear. Yet, here I am, ready to swim, bike, and run.

Yep, Swim, bike, and run.

Time's up. I'm going for a swim.

L8R's...

.

Stupid Triathlon Trick #14

Today's Stupid Triathlon Trick is, "Don't maintain your bike."

Remember yesterday when I talked about how hard it was to get my bike to shift properly? Yeah. Well, once stuff like that starts happening, it's usually a messge from above.

And that message is this:

"Get your bike tuned, stupid."

I ignored that message. I had a long ride today and figure I could squeeze one more bike ride out of the Rockette before taking it into the shop.

Of course, I discovered right away that this was going to be a small chain ring day. The bike simply would not switch onto the big ring, no matter how much I begged and threatened.

I can remember when that was all I needed.
Big chain ring? Pah.
That was only for going down hill.

But now, after all my practice rides I've actually made some, ya know, progress, and so today I was spinning at a really high cadence, for me, much more than I'm used to. Breathing heavy, but feeling good.
I was thinking that at least, this would be a chance to practice high cadence. For sixty miles. Oh, well. I've got my favorite bike shorts, cycling top, and hydration vest. Bring it on!

and god said, "HA!"

Suddenly, my foot was free. Frowning, I looked down at it. Had it slipped off the pedal? Unlikely. I have the tightest pedals in the world....usually takes much effort and swearing to get locked in and much effort to get unlocked as I coast to stops, just before I fall over.

I leaned over further. No, actually, the pedal was still firmly attached to my foot.

Yep, there they were, the pedal and crank arm.
Dangling from and attached to my bike shoe.
Not to the bike,

Hmmm. Pretty sure this is not one of those quick fix things, like, say, a flat.

I coasted to a stop, and Pirate took one look, and said, "Your ride is over." then she said, "I'd be pissed." I considered briefly whether no shifting and one pedal meant the ride was over, and then I had to admit that it was.

At first, I felt uber studly. I'd pedaled the crank right off my bike. BOOYAH!

But that soon gave way to regret. I'd neglected a friend. This is an example of a desperately uncared for Rockette, on whom I've put nearly 700 miles this summer with no tune up. Don't try this at home, kids.

We sent Pirate's Beloved and Sweet Baboo back for the car whilst we turned around and I pedaled one-legged for about 5 miles. Ever do ILT's? I used to grumble and grouse when the Jimmy made us do them. Today, I was thankful.

Occasionally, I had to shift my weight as ever more components began to complain about the neglect and more recent off-balanced pedaling and started acting crazy. Eventually the guys showed up with the car and we loaded the Rockette into it.

No bike shops open today. Of course, my training bike is still missing a wheel, so that's out.

No ride today.

... Boo.