For Saturday, a new plan and a new bike.

My hydration/nutrition plan (you should always have a plan)

GOAL: Finish the Deuceman 70.3 triathlon in 7:30:00

Challenges: altitude of 6200 feet, cool and dry/arid climate.

Breakfast (about 3:30 or so) oatmeal, fruit cup, half sandwich (w/protein), soy latte

• Pre-race (two hours) water


• Pre-race (one hour) full serving of HEED, sipped


• Pre-swim (15 minutes) one GU w/caffein

T1: one GU, 2 enduralytes

56-mile bike: loaded in my bento box: Cliff BLOCKS (2 packages), enduralytes, inhaler

• 1st half: 2 bottles of HEED, 2 GU's, 1 package of BLOKS
• 2nd half: 2 bottles of water, 2 GU's, 4 enduralytes, 1 package of BLOKS

13.1 mile run: loaded in my "race-ready" shorts, 6 paks of GU, enduralytes (just in case), inhaler

• Each mile, 2-3 swallows of water.
• Every other mile, 1 GU

POST RACE: Recoverite (2 servings), sunflower seeds, lots of water, advil.

That should just about cover it.

My new bike arrived today! I took beauty pictures, but can't find the cord to upload the stupid things. For people like me, they should make the cord permanantly attacked to the camera. So you'll have to see a stock photo. It's a Kestrel airfoil pro with an Ultegra setup.

You have to imagine it with HED3's and a flatwing setup on it:

Introducing...:

My as-of-yet unnamed racing bike.

debuting at the 2007 Deuceman on Saturday.

Rock on.

...

Thanks for the well-wishes!

I really want to thank all the well-wishes I got. I also want you to know that tThe first thing I thought when the car stopped moving yesterday was, "crap, now I've been in an accident."
The second thing I thought was, "I hope Mini-Geek Girl (daughter, visiting this week) is okay."
I was a bit scattered for the rest of the day and today. But to be honest, I've had a lifetime of incidents that gray the hair of people who care about me.

Among them:

• As a toddler, I ate a bunch of my mother's diet pills. That was back when they had the good stuff in them. They said it was too late to pump my stomach at the ER, so I was high (and awake, and hallucinating) for three days.
  
• When I was ten, I was walking home from school and a man grabbed me and started pulling me toward a garage. I kicked like hell until he dropped me. I didn't mention it to my mom until she asked me over dinner if anything interesting happened that day. Ever seen your mom have a major freak out? It's quite a sight.
  
• I've had a tumor removed from my inner ear (head). Twice. It was removed at age 15 and then again at 18.
  
• In my late teens, someone tried to strangle me. You know that saying,'your life flashing before your eyes?' It doesn't always happen. Sometimes, you just feel a sense of despair that you're going to die and there's some important stuff that needed to be done and people that will be left uncared for.
  
• I've lived in some horrid neighborhoods in Dallas, including one that my Dad called, "Rape Alley." I once stood in the middle of a boulevard in the dark playing tug of war with a guy trying to snatch my purse. It came apart, and he took off. At the time I was waiting at the bus stop, because my car windows were broken when someone broke into my car.
  
• Once when I was single my house caught on fire. The cabinets in the kitchen were burning. I wet a towel down and slapped the flames after I got the kids out of the house. Sparks flew, but the fire eventually went out. Then I drove us to the ER to take care of my burns and asthma attack.
  
• When all my children were small, I got really, really sick. I was single and alone, and I could barely crawl. Eventually my mother forced me into the car and to the ER, where I was given a chest X-ray, antibiotics, and a diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia.
  
• I once got out of my car and accosted a carload of teenagers who were harassing me and tailgating me in the middle of the night. My kids were asleep in the back seat, and I was a mother on the edge. I punched the lead boy in the face and knocked his hat off. Then I drove home and called the Sheriff because I figured I'd broken the law by hitting a minor. The Sheriff explained to me that no self-respecting teenage boy would ever press charges on this, as he'd suffer greatly by the kidding from his friends.

So it is that having a wall of blue with a grill attached to it come at me yesterday didn't really cause any life-changing things to happen in my head, heart, or psyche. I just felt deeply disappointed that I had just been involved in something that would affect us financially, distressed my daughter, and ruined our plans for the day. Usually, when things like that happen, I'm in problem solving mode, and very conrete. I'm busy apologizing to everyone around me for inconveniencing them. It's not a bravery thing. It's probably some protective psychological mechanism that stuffs the fear deep down until I can tell jokes about it later.

I was also immensely impressed with how well the little car took car of me. Seat belts locked and held firm. Outer shell crumpled like a tin can, absorbing the impact. And, I did promise Baboo that I would never again bug him for a tiny little car, given that the height of the average bumper these days seems to be above the roof of said tiny little cars. I like my face. Want to keep my face.

Now here's what really scares me: the Deuceman 70.3 I'm doing this weekend. Yikes. High altitude, hills, and a half iron. Triple H. Ugh.

...

Ah, 2007 FIT. We hardly knew ye.

Ah, sweet, sweet Honda.

How clearly I remember the day I first saw you. I walked past you in the Honda parking lot, that March day in 2006,

and said, breathlessly, "what the hell is that?"

We test drove you, Sweet Baboo and I. We test drove you straight to our house, where we checked to see if two tri bikes owned by a Clydesdale and an Athena would fit in you.

And they did. And so it was that we decided we must possess you, and we took you home.

Over the months, you carried us and our gear to many triathlons, marathons, duathlons. Why, you took us to Sweet Baboo's first Ironman and my first 70.3. In between, you made recovery runs by carrying me to work. Many, many ungraded tests sat in your back seat over many a weekend.

Yet, you never complained. Never asked for more gas than was absolutely necessary (27 mpg city, 35 highway) because you loved us and knew we needed that money for more gear.

But, now all that is gone.

The large blue pickup truck that barreled down on us today showed no mercy, smashing into your rear passenger door, tearing a gash in it and spinning you around until you were flush against the side of the truck. Shattering your windows.
Ripping apart your tires.

You absorbed the impact to save me, sacrificing yourself, keeping me safe.

But it is unlikely you will recover.

The truck that killed you will need a dab of touch-up paint.

The Fit is no longer Go.

R.I.P., dear friend.

...

An experiement in trying to avoid the Bonk.

I've accepted that sports nutrition is very individual. You have folks like Dean Karnazes, who are just freaks and can actually eat a pizza while running an utra. Then you have folks that have very delicate stomachs that clamp down if there is anything solid put in them.

I'm somewhere in the middle, and this morning I decided to experiment with the revelation that I burn through carbs like a hummingbird. (Why I have such a big butt, given this fact, is a mystery to me, but it may have something to with that fact that I eat a lot of fat. A LOT. My mom also had a big butt. The gift that keeps on giving: My mother's big butt. )

The Jimmy ordered a 9-mile run. I prepared 4 small bottles of Perpetuum with an added scoop of Cytocarb, giving each bottle w 200 calories, which I planned to take in sips, averaging a bottle about every 2 miles.

I digress for a moment to say that you can't, you won't know how fabulous it is to run in Albuquerque in the late spring and summer. No matter how warm days get, mornings are in the 50's or 60's, with about 20% humidity (or less). There is usually a cold breeze blowing from the north. It's awesome.

I ran along the west side Bosque trail from Alameda today, as the Jimmy had requested a trail run. This run is mostly packed dirt with some deep soft sand closer to Alameda. So much deep silty sand that, on the way back, I circled to avoid it. I hate running in deep sand; it's like one of those bad dreams where you're trying to run fast but you can't.

The last time I did a long run was before the annual Spring Triathlon Blitz (3 sprints in April and 2 sprints and an Oly in May.)

Results:

• On April 22 I ran 10.46 miles in 2:22:03 with a pace of 13:34 minutes/mile.
  
• Today, I ran 9.28 miles in 1:57:17, for an average pace of 12:38 minutes/mile.

That difference is attributable at least in part to the Torture that the Jimmy bestows on us every Wednesday. My average heart rate was a couple beats higher today (157 v. 152) but I felt about the same.

.

Each of my knees aches in the same spot, a little more pronounced in my left knee. I've noticed some tightening in my quads the last couple of days, I'm going to see if stretching and anti-inflammatories will help. The last time my knees hurt like this was when I first started running, so it just may be them getting used to the faster pace.

.

On the first half of the run, I started feeling sloshy and full, so I backed off on drinking near the halfway point. After about mile 6 or so I slowed down and felt super tired. I used to think that "this is what happens when you run long distances" However, now I think this means I'm out of fuel, so I took a couple mouthfuls from my bottle. I was able to speed up, but the sloshy feeling, along with a stitch in my side, came back.

.

Since I'm not much of a sweater, and it was cool out, I think this means I should have a more concentrated source of calories, like gels or maybe even bloks or sharkies, along with bottle of water or, if it's really hot, bottle of nuun.

I was gratified to find that each drop in pace was immediately followed by a drop in heart rate. My heart's getting pretty good at dropping quickly when I stop moving.

Conclusion:

1. A more concentrated source of carbs is needed. I'll try GU's because they're worked well for me before, and include electrolytes.

2. I am, finally, getting faster, so there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Hopefully I won't start having "knee trouble" as a result.

3. "Gold Digger" is an awesome running song. Not very PC, but a great running song.

...

New Gig

I've been informed that I'm back to my old gig of teaching high school algebra. Mostly because I asked to. Mostly because 8th-graders in large groups make me want to saw at my wrists. And because I'm tired of all the props associated with science.

I taught algebra for 5 years before trying to teach science for 2 years, and I'm pretty good at it. I've learned a lot, 8th-grade science students, but farewell.

And here's another thing: I won't have my own classroom next year. I'll be what is called a "floater". The other teachers wrinkled their noses when I said it, but I've also done this before, and I prefer to refer to myself as a "free spirit". I'll have one classroom for two blocks, and then a different classroom for another block, and share an office. I won't have to put up the content standards, or decorate the room, or whatever.

I show up, tell a few jokes, teach kids how to factor and isolate the variable, then leave.

SWEEEEEEET.

They don't call me the Geekgirl for nothin'.

A couple cartoons to puntcuate the mood:

It's not that I hate your kids.

Yesterday I found the perfect place to do my training runs this summer. I ran this loop yesterday somewhat behind the group of folks I train with (including Sweet Baboo and Pirate). Of course, they sprinted off, and leaving me to get lost in the middle of the desert.

(Okay, well, I guess that's not really true. It's in the middle of the city, and I was wearing a Garmin, and besides, Pirate and Kerry came back looking for me.)

Anyhoo, it's everything I usually hate but badly need in a run: a long uphill, short steep little uphills, and deep sand running, all at 5200 feet elevation. One lap around is about 5K. Kick ass. I'm going to get some great training done here!

The other thing that I love about this run loop is that it's right next to a branch of New Mexico Sports and Wellness that's going to be my new best friend, and I'll tell you why:

The gym near my home, like most of society, has gone, "family friendly." It has children screaming and running around the locker room all the time. They're screaming and crying because they don't want to go swimming or they want to swim some more and or they don't want a shower or they want a shower or their brother just took away their shoe and is dangling it over their head, or their diaper is dirty and meanwhile, I'm in an ethical quandry because, as a teacher, I don't feel comfortable getting undressed in front of any child, much less a 3 or 4-year old boy!!!

Their toys bounce into the lap lanes and they come over to get it, and I discover this when I run into one while lap swimming. Children are in the hot tub (I ask you, what 5-year-old needs to use a hot tub?) splashing and screaming while their parents look on, smiling benevolently. It's anti-relaxing. I get to be the bad guy and tell them to settle down, but even then it's useless to pretend that I'm not swimming in a giant warm kiddie toilet.

But now, I've discovered an oasis of sanity and peace where I may be able to actually have a real summer break away from children. It's the branch of my gym up near the aforementioned Academy track.

After my run I walked over to the gym nearby, and I noticed a huge sign on the doorway to the dressing room:

No one under 18 is allowed in the dressing room.
All children and their parents are to use the family dressing rooms.

Don't ask me what that means. I don't care. Then I walked over to the jacuzzi, and saw another sign: ADULTS ONLY JACUZZI

This is rediculously happy-making for me because I'm on summer break, for gosh sakes, and I need some SEPARATION. I sat in the ADULTS ONLY JACUZZI for about fifteen minutes. Ahhhhh. Bliss. Peace. Quiet.

Trust me. The more time I get to spend away from other people's children during summer months, the more I'm able to appreciate them the other 9 months.

I was busy explaining some of this to Pirate, and a women overhearing me, smiled, laughed, and said, "Yeah, no shit."

"Teacher?" I querried.

"No. Principal."

...

Open mouth, insert foot.

Next up: Show Low, Arizona "Deuces Wild" triathlon festival, first weekend in June.
Originally, I was scheduled to do the Oly, somewhere far behind Pirate, with Sweet Baboo, newly-svelt-Helen-age-grouper and Stuey, aka "Mark Spitz" doing the 70.3 "Deuce-man."

Here's the Oly bike course:
When I first saw this, I nearly passed out. I was pissed, at Sweet Baboo, of course, what on earth was he thinking?

There's that one climb--see it? From mile 11 to 15?
It looks like I'm going to have to throw a grappling hook up before I start heading up that hill.

Does Kestrel even make an aero grappling hook to go on your bike?
Does it fit under the seat? Does it include a wench? I mean, WHAT THE HELL?

Then I stopped hyperventilating and actually looked at the numbers. I mean, it's 4 miles and 400 feet of climbing. That's 100 feet per mile. A 2% grade. Not as cool as something that's flat, but certainly nothing to get freaked about, I guess.
Stupid bike profiles. Why do they have to look so scary?

Now, here's the 10K run course:

Ulp. Now, after my initial freakout, I can see that this climbs 100 feet over 4 miles, which means it's a 0.5 grade.

So at this point I said blithely to Sweet Baboo,
"Gee, these don't look so bad now. I almost wish I'd signed up for the 70.3,"
I said that knowing that it's difficult to move UP in distances this close to a race.

And then Sweet Baboo was supposed to say, in a voice tinged with regret,
"Gosh, sweetie, it's too late now. I sure wish you'd said something sooner, then you could be going 70.3 miles instead of 33.9..."

and then I'd say something like, "Well, I'll know better next time, right?" and then mosy my way through another Oly, hanging out at the finish line waiting for the three of them to come in.
But instead, he said, cheerfully, "Well, if you really want to, I'm sure it can be switched." Then he immediately set about emailing the race director, in order to do just that.

Uh... um...

Wait.

That wasn't supposed to happen.

Shit.

...