Posts from — May 2006

According to the weather forecast, this past weekend was supposed to be a total washout. In fact, the weather was perfect right through late Sunday afternoon. I wish I could also say my workouts were perfect, but that was not the case.

My Friday workouts must have zapped a lot of my strength for the Saturday ride. I was supposed to go 60 miles, which I had to do by 8am in order to be home on time to coach my son’s soccer game. I needn’t have worried. I was so tired that all I could muster was 7.5 miles. It would have been worthless to try to go further as I was going so slow that there was little if any training benefit to continue pushing.

Besides soccer coach with my son, I did get in some additional exercise in the form of rollerblading. My kids wanted to rollerblade instead of ride their bikes, so I broke out with mine for the first time in about 11 years. I really don’t like rollerblading, but if it makes the kids happy, I’ll do it also.

Sunday’s workout was a bit better. I was supposed to go up to 20 miles, depending on how my hamstring felt. Fortunately, it did not give me any trouble, but I did feel some twinging in a groin muscle. I really seem to be falling apart this year. Anyway, while I ran, the Citytri Duathlon was being held in Prospect Park and I sort of wished I was participating. Sometimes you just want the joy of racing even though you really should be training. In any event, I did 10 decent miles, which just about took everything out of me. I ran another two slow miles and then headed home.

I wrote to my coach afterwards asking him if I should be worried that I couldn’t do 20 miles. His response was

Charles,

Next week, stay focused, get at least one workout in each day. Psych your self up for the weekend long workouts.

I hear him, but it just seems as though most of my weeks have been not normal. So much so that a “normal” week is more like a “not normal” week. I will just have to be consistent with my workouts and at least do something everyday.

Perhaps I started this week off as a normal week. I almost bailed out on my run today, but forced myself to get it in this morning. I was thinking I’d do it this evening, but knew I probably wouldn’t. I’d use the rain and being too tired as excuses. I had woken up late and wanted to see my kids off to school, so I was really hesitating to go.

I did it though and as reward, I saw a parking spot on the correct side of the side of the road for alternate side parking so I was able to move my car so my wife wouldn’t have to worry about it and I made it back before the rain began and saw my children as they were walking out the door for school. I only did 3 out of my 4 scheduled miles, but that looks like it was the right thing to do. Had I gone the extra mile, I would have returned home cold, wet and missed my kids.

Sometimes things just work out.

I was offered tickets to the Yankee/Red Sox game last night, but I turned them down. The reason being was that I preferred to see my children that night after being out of town for the last 4 nights on business. Now some people might say I am a fool for turning down such lofty tickets, since a chance to see Yankees/Red Sox live doesn’t happen that often and I get to see my kids most nights. But when my son stopped me from leaving his room last night after I tucked him in because he had something for me, I knew I made the right decision. That something was a kiss, followed be another something in the form of a hug. If that isn’t worth all of the Yankee/Red Sox games in the world, I don’t know what is.

My decision to stay home allowed me to get up relatively early do get in some workouts. I was hoping to go to Harriman State Park for a pounding 100 miler, but Todd, my partner for the day was afraid of a little rain. In truth, the weather called for tremendous downpours and he felt it would be a bad idea to venture up. I was willing to chance it, but I didn’t feel like riding alone.

Instead we went for a swim at the Dodge YMCA in Cobble Hill Brooklyn. It was my first time to the pool. It was a decent facility with nice warm water; which suited me just fine. The pool had windows along one side of it which afforded a view of the buildings across the street and the sky above it. At first it appeared cloudy to me and I was happy that I ended up swimming. However as time went on it looked like the sky was clearing. At moments though I thought it was clouding up again I would get relieved and happy. When I realized that it wasn’t getting cloudy and was in fact turning into a perfect spring day, I started to feel very aggravated.

There was nothing I could do about the lousy weather report spoiling a chance for a ride in Harriman. Todd and I had a quick snack back at his place after the swim and we decided to go for a bike ride while it still looked clear. I met him in Prospect Park about an hour later and rode with him for about 75 minutes.

I was a lot stronger on my bike than I thought I would be and even got stronger towards the end. I was popping off 10:20 loops or better with relative ease. I went 36 miles and could have gone much longer. I decided not to push it however, since I am going to ride tomorrow as well. I also wanted to get in a short run, hopefully with one or both of my children.

My daughter wasn’t feeling so well, so it was just my son. We did the full loop of the park. This was the first time he rode the complete loop with me and he kept a very snappy pace. We only stopped twice and that was for water breaks. Maybe next time I will be able to go out with both my children.

I am finally leaving Las Vegas. On my last day I managed to sneak out of my conference and see that Shark Reef exhibit at Mandalay Bay. For the privilege of seeing this attraction I paid approximately $1/minute. The cost was 16 bucks and it wasn’t such a large aquarium. I was disappointed, but I am sure the kids would have found it interesting. The highlight was a touch tank where you can pet some small Sting Rays and sharks.

After this, I went for one last swim in the wave pool. I was able to get another hour in of a relatively challenging swim. The waves really made it like you were swimming in the open water. Then is was a quick bite to eat, followed by a shower in the hotel spa, since I was already checked out of my room.

I didn’t get to see the Stratosphere unfortunately. My last night was spent at dinner with co-workers followed by a lounge where they had audience participation singing songs from the 70’s. It was really something I could have lived without. I am so happy to be going home.

I am in day two of my stay in Las Vegas. I am starting to feel nervous and jerky. I don’t see how else I can feel after being cooped up in some of the worst conferences I have ever attended.

The sky is a brilliant blue and the sun is shining and warm, but I am here freezing under incandescent light in an over air conditioned room. It is like an old form of imprisonment, where the prisoner was thrown in a dank hole in the ground while the smells of fresh cooked food wafted through the bars overhead (I saw an example of this in Scotland.)

A short while ago, during a break, I called home to see what’s going on. I spoke to my son who told me that he doesn’t miss me so much since he just makes believe that in the morning I left for Asphalt Green to swim and that I am working late at night. This way to him I am still at home, just leaving and coming home while he is asleep. I wish I could make believe I am home, but this reality is just too draining.

Finally, I couldn’t take it anymore, so I skipped out on the last hour of conferences. I headed back to the wave pool at Mandalay Bay for a swim. Beforehand though, I had someone snap a picture of me in one of the artificially made breakers. I then swam for an hour, before the pool was closed and everyone was kicked out. I would have liked to lounge in the breaking water for a while after my swim, but it was not to be. My kids would have loved this place.

After gathering my things, I headed back to the Four Seasons section of the hotel. I sat at the poolside where there is staff attend to your every need. I decided to cash in on this little travel perk, had them set me up a chair and ordered the Fire and Ice Tuna Rolls. It was quite yummy and relaxing to eat in peace. I am going to dinner in a short while with some co-workers and then it’s possibly off to the Stratosphere Hotel to ride the roller coaster.

I am here in Las Vegas for yet another business conference. So far it has been a complete waste of time. When this is the case, I know that one day I am going to look back on my life and say “I could have really used those hours right now.”

I really shouldn’t be complaining though. I am staying at the Four Seasons Hotel and the room and grounds are spectacular. However, without my family I feel incomplete. I am not able to enjoy the opulence and decadence without being able to share it with my wife and kids. There is a fantastic wave pool on the premises and all I could think about was playing in it with my children. I did swim in it this morning. It made for a very interesting workout.

The pool is about 30 meters wide towards the back where the waves are generated. I swam from wall to wall, following a tile line. When I would reach the left side of the pool, the current tended to push me towards shore, necessitating me swimming against the current in order to reach the same spot on that side. When the current was really pushing, it was like swimming in a gigantic endless pool. I was able to use the current to make one continuous 60 meter lap. The waves and current made it challenging and eliminated boredom.

My room has a view of the Luxor hotel. Here is a picture of me with my head superimposed on it. The photo reminds me of The Great Seal on the back of a one dollar bill. Fortunately, the Four Season does not have a casino so my temptation to gamble is somewhat mitigated. I will try to refrain from getting sucked into a casino floor by my gambling co-workers.

Maybe I will go to New York New York or the Eifel Tower. I have yet to go see them, but then again it’s not something I really feel like doing on my own.

Since my Hamstring pull yesterday, I’ve gone through feelings of shock, anger, sorrow and despair. I can’t believe I hurt it and can’t run. I am leaving on a business trip this evening for a convention in for Las Vegas and the only thing that was going to get me through it was the ability to take a nice run in the desert. Now I am contemplating not packing any running clothes at all to prevent me from attempting a run before it is healed.

To compensate for the inability to run (or probably bike for that matter) today, I decided to join my Cibbows friends for a swim in Brighton Beach. I figured going for a swim at the beach was better than moping around the house moaning about my injured leg. It was also time I broke out my Orca P-Flex wetsuit for its first official test drive.

I made arrangements to get to beach with Cristian, who was also driving Jonathan and Sondra. The four of us met up with 8 other hardy ocean goers for a swim on a beautifully clear and mild day. During the drive, I made mention that today was my birthday. Sondra got everyone to sing me Happy Birthday while we all stood together for a picture.

Even with my wetsuit, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go into the water. My tolerance to cold has been non-existent and I wasn’t sure I felt like suffering through a frigid swim. I have to hand it to my Orca P-Flex though. The thing kept me nice a toasty warm. The worst part of swimming in very cold water is the shock and pain of the cold about my face. I knew if I could force my way through it though, I would quickly get used to it and not feel it at all. This is indeed what happened and I wound up swimming further than I thought I would in 55 degree water.

The water itself, although cold, was very clean. You could see the bottom through at least 15 – 20 feet of depth. Crabs, fish and horseshoe crabs were all visible as you swam. Sondra plucked a horseshoe crab out of the water and showed it to everyone back on shore.

Once the swim was over, the non-wetsuit wearing bunch sat huddle in a semi-circle shivering, which reinforces the nickname of the group – “The Shivering Idiots”. I guess the feeling is you have to be an idiot to swim in such cold water. I wish I had some of that cold right now, as the jetBlue terminal where I am finishing this entry is blazingly hot.

After a couple of false starts, I finally got out mid Saturday afternoon for a 10 mile run. I was feeling great and in the zone while I smoothly ran while listening to my MP3 player.

While running, I saw my shadow which reminded me of myself from last year when I was ready for IM and in great shape. I was just starting to feel as though everything was going to be great this year, when a sudden sharp pain pierced the belly of my right hamstring.

It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know I just pulled the muscle. Fortunately I wasn’t too far from home and was able to return to it by walking without any major discomfit. I iced it for a while and I now sit here typing while it dully aches. I am hoping that a couple of days rest will return it to health.

It looks like tomorrow, I will skip my bike ride in order now to stress any portion of my leg. Instead, I will head to the beach to break in my new wetsuit with my Cibbows buddies. I understand that the ocean is a balmy 55 degrees. The cool water should do my hamstring some good.

Earlier this week I posted a message on the Asphalt Green Tri Club website looking for others to join me on a ride in Harriman State Park. It went as follows:

On Saturday, May 6, I am planning a 100 miler (at least) in the hills of Harriman State Park in celebration of my own birthday. I plan to go around this 14 mile loop until I wish I wasn’t born. It should be a gut wrenching and emotional experience.

Well, the ride turned out to be on Friday, May 5 and it was just my buddy Todd and I. Soccer coach responsibilities were to be had on Saturday and it wouldn’t do to miss the game for a long ride. I’ll also admit that I like the couple of hours coaching my son’s team, a bit more than I like sitting in the saddle for 6-7 hours pounding out 100 miles over very hilly terrain. Both options are equally satisfying, but the former has a greater impact on me, as well as others.

The plan was to get in 100 miles, although I seriously had my doubts as to whether I would be able to make it the entire distance. I was pretty sure I wasn’t fully recovered from the marathon the past Sunday.

We got to Harriman later than I had hoped, but still early enough to tackle 100 miles. It was a perfect day outside; mid-70’s, breezy and sun-filled sky. It was definitely not the kind of day where you wish you weren’t born, although I did get to the point where I wished I wasn’t riding anymore.

Todd and I finished the first two loops in 51 minutes. On the third loop I started to seriously lag and thought that it ought to be my last. I started to make extremely slow progress up Tiorati Brook Road. I arrived in 58 minutes, several minutes after Todd. I told him I’d had enough, but he didn’t want to hear that. For some reason I let him talk me into a 4th loop. I started out slow, but I felt halfway decent. I thought maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. I just hoped for the best on the climb up.

I won’t say the 4th climb was brutal. It was just very slow. When you move so slowly, you aren’t working so hard, so it doesn’t feel so bad. I did begin to wonder if I was just mentally quitting or if I was really just physically too tired. When this happens, I do my usual test; which is to try to push a pace for more than a minute. When I can’t even do that, I know I am not mentally dogging it.

My 4th and final loop took me 68 minutes. It was also exactly 57 miles which I though quite fitting. My birthday is 5/7 and finishing on that distance seemed appropriate. My odometer clicked exactly 57 just as I reached my car. I didn’t even hesitate to stop. I dumped my gear, grabbed my PB&J and quietly sat at a picnic bench eating. When I finished, I laid on top of it and silently took up some sun.

Todd was already onto his 5th loop when I stopped. I must have really been enjoying my quiet time, because Todd seemed to be back right away. He tried to talk me into another loop, but I told him NFW. He wanted to go on for another loop, but thought I just wanted to start going home. I really did feel like just hanging out by myself and insisted that he go on. Once again he was back too quickly, but by now I was ready to leave. I wanted to get home before I caught all of the rush hour traffic. I was disappointed not to be able to ride longer, but definitely not upset. It would have been nice to have ridden longer, but I really didn’t have much choice in the matter. There will be other days for longer rides.