Hey, its totally random Tuesday

First, let me just say that Bascom Hill humbled me.  Wow.  I could actually feel the last drop of oxygen being removed from my blood stream and the cold, evil infill of lactic acid start pulsing through my veins, and then I would look up to realize I was only half way to the top.  Brutal.  But it was a great workout.  Dodging students was kind-of fun.  And, as Dano pointed out, we did pass at least three people walking their bikes up the hill.  Oh sweet victory!  But in all seriousness, had that hill stood between me and class when I was in college (it is smack in the middle of campus)....I would have missed A LOT of class.  That thing takes some determination.

Once we finished our 6x1:45 repeats, it was off for a nice cool-down along the lakeshore path and through the Union Terrace to finish things off.  The cold breeze was whipping up whitecaps on the lake and most of the classic sunburst chairs were empty.  Much different than the humid summer nights filled with lingering beer drinkers, but still a beautiful scene.  Fall is definitely on the way.

On the way home me and my obnoxious spandex stopped by the 11th floor of Meriter Hospital to enjoy the view.  Unfortunately, enjoying that particular view means you are probably visiting someone who's taken up temporary residence there.  Funny how that works, Grandma's currently got the best view in Madison, but I'm sure the only view she wants to see right now is the one from her kitchen window.  But she's in good spirits, comparing her heartrate to her "marathon running" grandaughter, and rockin' some compression socks of her own (wish insurance had paid for mine!).  Aren't grandmas great?  You should all go call your grandma's right now (if you're lucky enough to have one or two you can call).  You'd probably make her day....and maybe even yours.

And making my day yesterday was my all out attack on the laundry beast.  Definite progress was made.  And somewhere between getting ferocious piles of laundry under control, and my head hitting the pillow, I've managed to read the prologue of A Race Like No Other.  Whohoo.  I know.  Pathetic.  But my point here is that in those seven. whopping. pages. I read a dangerous little statistic; OPRAH'S MARATHON TIME.  Dangerous, why?  Because now I want to beat it.  And it is just close enough to what I think is possible for this marathon that I might actually try.  And while you may be thinking that a little competitiveness is a good thing, I'm not convinced.  Based on what happened somewhere around mile 9 of Saturday's 17-miler, when I got the crrrr-azy idea that I could try to beat my half marathon PR (in a high-volume-week training run -- brilliant), I do not think having any sort of time goal in mind for this marathon would be a good idea.  Because the train wreck that was miles 14 through 17 is not something I need to see again.  Especially not when there will be photo documentation.

And isn't that why we do this crazy stuff?  For the finish photo?  Or maybe its the sexy socks?  I'm not sure anymore, all my oxygen is being used for muscle repair at the moment and my eyes are getting very heavy.  Perhaps the "why" question is better left for another day......

Now go call your grandma.  :)

Research isn't going so well

I have been trying to read this book, thinking that it will make me appreciate these 26.2 miles a little more, but marathon training makes me very sleepy.  I have yet to make it past the first chapter.  And unfortunately, my library doesn't have it on CD which means no easy commute "reading."  So I'm not sure this will actually get read before the big race.  Something tells me I'll be happier on race day if I actually run, instead of read about it.

Incidentally, I have some epic drive time to put in these next few weeks.  If anyone has good book suggestions I'd love to hear them.  I've got 25+ hours of windshield time in my near future.

US Gran Prix Cyclocross: Planet Bike Cup, Sun Prairie, WI

So this cyclocross stuff is totally new to me, but what a fun way to spend an afternoon.  It might have been even more fun if I knew more about this sport.  But what's not to like about watching a bunch of super-fit athletes ride fast?  Here's a little video to give you the highlights.  (I was a camera slacker and didn't get great pics.)

Best Kept Secret: USGP - SP from Jessica Gammey on Vimeo.

From what I can tell, cyclocross falls in a category someplace between mountain and road biking.  But overall its much easier to watch than either of them, thanks to a course thats only about a mile long (riders do laps for 40-60 minutes) and has ample food and beer available for purchase (we're talking golf cart with a keg in the back...in addition to food and beverage stands).  Triathlon could learn a little from this sport!

The course - mostly grass or dirt - winds up, down and around rolling hills....and I'm told gets EVEN BETTER when its wet and rainy.  It was pretty dry Sunday so the course was fast.

Oh ya, and there are hurdles.  Hurdles, in biking?

It reminded me of something you might have thrown together in your backyard when you were a kid....a crazy little obstacle course set up to race all the neighbor kids.  I have to admit, it looked kinda fun.....

But when is riding bikes not fun, really?

I can do it!

I'm thinking about sporting some pigtails and a running skirt for my 17-miler tomorrow just like her. I can do it!

Little Victories

Just got back from a 75 minute run.  Run did not suck.  I might even go so far as to call it a good run.  So this is new, and different.  The Slowest Triathlete and running are getting along?  What sort of alternate universe is this?  But I did.  I had a good run.  I was just out there running along in the dark.  Zoning out.  Listening to my tunes.  Every now and then I'd glance down at the watch....oh, 10:20 pace....nice.  Then I'd think, hmmm, where should I run to next?  And I would just run there.  It really was that simple.  I didn't think, "ugh, how much farther?" or "can I walk?" I just. kept. running.  And at the end of it all, I was nearly home but needed to tack on a few more minutes so I thought "oh, I'll just run up this hill and around that block."  No, really.  I did.  At the END of a 75 minute run I said "oh, I'll just run UP THIS HILL."  And then....I ran up it.  Like it was no big deal.

What is going on around here?

So as not to lead you to think I'm getting a big head about all this lets talk about reality for a minute.  I am averaging a 10:30 pace.  No land-speed records are being broken around here.  And I still get noticeable lower leg pain after just a couple miles.  But when I think back to where my fitness was just five or six weeks ago, and then consider what I did tonight, I can't help but feel pretty proud of myself.

The fact that I can just go out and run over 6 miles on any old night of the week is a HUGE accomplishment in my world.  So please allow me a minute revel in my little victories.  Because I think little victories are of big importance when tackling something like the marathon.  Its a long, bumpy road to 26.2, and it can get you down at times if you let it.  So I'm going to enjoy this accomplishment for what it is just all on its own...not as part of a marathon training plan, but just for what it was....a really good 75 minute run.  On a Thursday.

What they don't put in the Ironman inspirational videos

Everyone knows bodily functions are not a taboo topic in the world of endurance sports.  I actually sometimes have to remind myself that my coworkers don't really care if I've gotten my "business" done before I get to work quite like my running buddies do before a morning workout (hey, it affects everyone if you've gotta get some "business" done in the middle of the run).

It amuses me the way that runners and triathletes talk about their potty status like its the weather.  But then (as you know), I love a good poop story.  These days though, I'm about at my quota of stories about bodily fluids.

Ironman race reports have been flying around this past week and I'm not exaggerating when I tell you that every report I read or heard talked about poop, puke, or blood.  Every. Single. One.

In fact, there's more than one report about people puking during the swim -  that's the first two hours of the race - and it goes downhill from there.  The bike seems to have had its share of blood, and a little puke (way to rally from the puke-fest to place 3rd Hilary!), and a whole lotta "I had a hard time eating," (which meant puking was on the horizon).  And apparently things just completely fall apart on the run.  I will spare you the details.

I'm completely repulsed, but its a little like the car wreck that you can't look away from.......you're totally grossed out and yet you find yourself saying things like "how bad did it get?" 

I now know why Ironman registration is the morning after the race.  You're still high off watching the glory of the finish line.  Mike Reilly's voice is whispering in your ear, "you could be an Ironman."  And all those Iron-peeps are still sleeping.  Which means they haven't had time to get their race reports out yet to taint your Ironman-finisher dreams with reality.  Otherwise, I think that registration line might be a lot shorter.

Thoughts on compression socks

1)  For $60 they should DO the laundry not just be laundry.

2)  Getting them on should count as part of the workout.  How do the little nursing home ladies do this?  Between the socks and the wetsuit, who needs to actually race?  We could all just show up and see who can get into their race gear the fastest.

3)  Am I really going to comparison shop for socks?

5)  Did I just fall prey to the biggest marketing scam EVER?