Going Loopy

PLAN YOUR RIDE Sunday was a LONG day for me. It's exactly FIVE weeks from the ironman, and I am in the "peak performance" part of my training. I know, I skipped swimming yesterday but trust me, I more than made up for it.

My training called for a SIX hour ride followed by a ONE hour transition run. As a punitive measure for not swimming yesterday , I decided to go for a SEVEN hour ride.

I was strategic. I packed everything the previous night, which in the world of triathlons includes SO MUCH CRAP! Life was so much more simple when I just ran marathons.

Food, water, spare tubes, running shoes, hat, money, id, blistex... you know, the list goes on. Organizing and inventory... I try my best. But I ALWAYS forget something. This time it was the sponge that goes in your front water bottle so the fluids don't splash in your face.

**

RIDE YOUR PLAN

So even though I wanted to leave my home at 6am, I left at 7am instead. I stayed up late doing more cleaning and reading a little of this epic book that will take me a million years to finish. My plan is to do TWO of my usual country ride loops, which makes 106 miles. Then I'll add three miles per loop to make it an ironman distance ride.

SHADOWING ME

In the first few miles I notice...well.. ME. What an uncanny, metaphorical start to my day. Isn't that a cool picture?

Now, I'm not going to bore you with all the machinations of my fluttering mind, but suffice it to say I went from praying for my blessings, to wondering if lightning would suddenly appear from the clouds and strike me for all my wanton thoughts.

Head games. There are LOTS OF them in SEVEN hours.

*** LOOP ONE BREAK

Planning this one was advantageous. I had cool water bottles in my car, grabbed them, dumped the empty ones, and went for round two. Trust me by now it's OPPRESSIVELY HOT and I was a tad tired. Another loop, more cerebral delirium.

CLOCKING OUT

Somehow, I made it. And I didn't puke.

And I clocked it. And it read 112 miles in about 7 hours. (The calibration on my cateye is errant. Trust me it was 112!) And I burned 3300 TOTAL CALORIES! (run included)

PINKGURUGAL'S CYCLING NUTRITION

This is what I ingested during my bike ride:

1) 6 24 oz Carbo Pro Infused Water (180 calories per hour - one bottle per hour)

2)Six Cliff Shots (100 calories, I ate 2 at a time during varying times of the ride)

3) 1 banana flavored Power Bar (I stole it from my roomie - Power Bar sponsors him)

*note: I ate the power bar approximately 40 minutes before the end of my ride, so that i could have some energy for the run. At least that's what "they" say.

Only, when I started jogging I felt like I was ......

RUNNING ON EMPTY

I couldn't fathom the thought of running on concrete by my car, so I drove a few minutes away and began running in this nice, gated subdivision (let's just say the gates were wide open).

But since I ran out of water (I could have used another bottle during the ride but my OCD wouldn't let me stop but that one time) I was dying. So it was the hottest, worst 30 minute run EVER.

Seriously, it was so hot I had to cut the run short or paramedics would have arrived to scrape me off the street.

And this is what 7 1/2 hours in the sun will do to you. I rarely burn.

Bad bike tan.

Ouch. But that's not how my long day ended. It ended with a....

TRI COMMUNE BIRTHDAY PARTY FOR "TRIRYGUY!"

It was another fun and eventful night at the Tri Commune. My BFF Ryan turned 34, so 9 of his best friends showed up. Somebody said if Ryan and I were together we'd have cute "tri" babies. They are right. :)

Oops. I uploaded the WRONG PHOTO TWICE. And I have no idea how to undo this.

This was from a recent wedding. Oh well, now you know how we look when we clean up. Okay back to the tri commune.

KELLY'S BACK!

Yes, my training partner is out of the hospital, looking thinner but still a hottie. Kelly is making a strong return. And back to being her usual capricious self. It was GREAT to see her laugh again.

Communal Loving

Ryan's birthday dinner ended with a big group spoon and a DVD showing of "Swingers".

Sunday was a long day. But it was all worth it.

Cheers and Happy training!

"You find yourself refreshed by the presence of cheerful people. Why not make an honest effort to confer that pleasure on others? Half the battle is gained if you never allowed yourself to say anything gloomy."

Lydia Marie Child