Texas The Beautiful!!

So I started back into training yesterday with a group ride and then a run today.  The group ride was lots of fun.  It is sponsored by the Steiner Ranch Steakhouse who opens their doors early to serve brunch to a bunch of sweaty cyclists in spandex.  Good people.  Good Ride.  Good food.  'Nuff said.

Wonder what usually comes in that glass... good times!!

I chose not to get too upset about the fact that I had to turn early and avoid the one big climb on the route because I had no wind due to my ribs or the fact that my confidence was thoroughly rattled.  I was shaky enough to be a little grabby with the bike every time I got close to any thing suspicious on the road.  I could really feel the psychological effects of crashing twice this summer.  Still, I got back on the horse and Seabiscuit was able to get out of the barn.

Today I had a 45 minute easy run down.  DW suggested I go find a trail and leave the pace tracking devices at home.  He wanted me to just go relax and feel it... feel my body and listen to the signals.

I honestly felt it.  I felt it piss and moan over very little effort.  I felt weak, winded, heavy, leaden... anything that falls in the "opposite of awesome" category.

FORTUNATELY, I had taken his advice.  I went to a nature preserve down the road from the campground called Reimer's Ranch.  It is very hard to obsess over a weak performance when the world around you looks like this.  I did my run but I also did about an hour of light free climbing, exploring, and picture taking.  I have covered a lot of places I go... today I want you to see what's at home.

THIS is Texas!

Hill Country

Not FLAT!!

Pedernales River

Pedernales River, you can swim in it if you can get yourself down there!

Climbed down Climber's Canyon to get to the river.

Yup, more canyon

Yet more canyon.

What passes for a trail here.

running here is pretty amazing!

The trees here have old souls.

Tyler Group Ride

One of the nice benefits of spending all your time traveling around in a stinky old camper, aside from the fact that you get to feel like you live in a locker room, is the opportunity to ride with tri and cycling groups all over the country.  I meet all kinds of interesting people on these rides.  This week I am in Tyler, TX and had the privilege of riding with the Tyler Bicycle Club.  The ride was a blast, wound through some beautiful farmland, and finished with a meal at Jason's Deli.  The best part was the warm, friendly atmosphere of the group.  I felt very welcome and when I was pulling, they were all great about shouting out directions!

There were some very solid riders in this bunch and as I am continually reminded, never judge a book by it's cover.  Just because you are spotting that guy a couple of decades doesn't mean he is going to spot you even a couple of seconds on that bike!!

There were also a few really interesting people.  One woman was very forthcoming about the fact that she had previously suffered from a stroke.  She considers herself very lucky and is totally humble about the tremendous hurdles she has overcome, relearning speech and getting back to the point where she can really hang in there on that bike!!  It makes me realize that self-pity truly is the most useless emotion.

Next week, the club is holding a time trial.  Provided that I can work it out with my schedule, I plan to be there.  I have never done a time trial or ever taken off with someone holding my bike, and hope... HOPE... that I don't just fall over when they say GO!

Wish a Duck some Luck!!

No ZZzzzZZZzzz's For You!!

Well, it's Thursday and I am still struggling with my sleep.  I am now in week three of sleeping poorly and my humor has worn very thin.  It is so frustrating since I had another bad workout, my nights at work are getting torturous, and I KNOW exactly what all that cortisol is doing to my body.  Even though I am sleeping better than I did the first week, the accumulated fatigue means that I am just as tired.  I'm cranky with the customers and the horses, really body sore, bitter, and frustrated... all from lack of sleep.  I was really dismayed when it took both days off for me to rally this past Tuesday and that by Wednesday, I was trashed again.  THAT is not a good sign going into the weekend (the busiest part of the week).

I have a hard 90 minute interval workout down for today, which at this point I am dreading.  There is nothing worse than pushing to the limit and falling short of the target just because of fatigue.  Tomorrow night is just a swim and I may try to take that night off.  There is a balance with insomnia between maintaining as much of your normal rhythm as possible and recognizing that there is very little recovery happening.  This is a hazard for anyone that works night shift but that fact doesn't help when you are so tired you hallucinate (oh, yeah!  Been there a few times..) and are experiencing first hand why sleep deprivation is acknowledged as a form of torture.

Unfortunately, whining about it doesn't help.  At some point, my body will give in and I will sleep through the night (well, day... but whatever.)  I would prefer when that moment comes to have maintained my program so I don't have to "get back into the groove" but I am also wary of overtraining.  When I get the proper sleep, it is pretty amazing how quickly my body heals but it takes very little to overflow the kettle when it is not emptied every night.

Fierce, Feisty, Feathered!!

Every day this week I have been feeling great.  I'm nailing my workouts and hungry for more.  My energy levels at work have been fantastic.  I even begged DW for some extra workouts on the (fairly conservative) schedule this week.  I can't remember when I last felt THIS good.

It makes me wonder how long I had been rundown prior to getting sick.  Even in the weeks before I got sick, I was just getting by, going through the motions, with little excess energy or passion for the task.  By contrast, this weeks workouts have been full of drive and focus.  I just did a 2.5 hour bike ride where I was sprinting off and chasing cars for fun.  I noticed several times I had a big grin my face and was full of the unbridled joy that made me fall in love with this sport in the first place.  I think I have my mojo back!

I have always been the type of athlete that is pushing the limits.  The limits of my body and the limits of my coach's patience.  I am stubborn as a mule and fiercely competitive, with everything ("Oh HELL NO, birdie!  You did NOT just fly past me!!)  When I am just competing the assignment, especially if I am barely completing it, checking the box, and glad it's over, then there is something wrong.  I think that is as much of a symptom as swelling in a joint or pain in a tendon.  Going forward, I plan to consider my levels of "feisty" a literal gauge of my overall condition and general fatigue.

Needless to say, DW has been very pleased with the workouts that are being uploaded and I expect I will see the bar raised a bit in the next training block.  That is fine with me.  My progress been stagnant since the first of the year. I am really looking forward to sinking my teeth into the upcoming weeks.

Also, for DW and all his athletes racing in Panama this weekend.... GOOD LUCK!!!  I'll shake a tail feather for you!!

Day To Day Today

Today, and the last couple have been blissfully routine.  Totally, completely, wonderfully uneventful.

I just completed my ride... 30 miles in zone 2... and choked down a glass full of strange, green recovery stuff, propped my feet up and pulled out the computer to upload the Garmin data and generally waste time.

You see, I need to grocery shop, so right now I have all of the unflavored essentials for a recovery shake, but nothing that would give it any substance or a decent flavor except a handful of raw spinach.  Raw spinach does not a tasty shake make.  I could be shopping right now, this instant but noooooooo... I'd rather be reveling in my ability to piss away time waiting for the sorry little blended spinach thing to wear off so that I am ravenous when I do shop.

Indeed, the fact that the most interesting thing I have to say right now is that I have nothing to say more interesting than the contents of the above paragraph, should say it all.