Weekend Training Report. News Flash: "It wasn't terribly productive!!" I'm really feeling the "End is Near" syndrome for this training season. Iron Star should be motivating me, but I find it hard to convince myself to get out and train. I've resorted to fear of not finishing, and even THAT is not getting me going as much as I thought it would. The simple fact is that I've done too many races over too long a season. Next season will HAVE to be shorter or at least have fewer races. But, I digress . . . . On to the report:

Saturday, September 23: Today I did manage to do a 33-mile bike ride starting at 7:45 AM. It was exceptionally windy and overcast . . . not good for my motivation. I began with a crosswind for 2.5 miles and then turned full-bore into a headwind for the next 15 miles. I decided to go with intensity rather than watching my heart rate too closely. All in all, it wasn't too bad, even though the wind had to be at least 20 mph. The return trip was slightly more uphill, but with a tailwind, I was not having to push too hard. I finished off pretty tired, but with a 22.3 mph average on a rolling course (not bad hills, though). I intended to run with the dogs for a bit afterwards, but I just couldn't get it going. One of these days, I'm going to run out of time to actually DO a run!!

Sunday, September 24: No training today. I sorely needed to sleep in (which I did). Plus, with church at 11:00 AM, lunch with Lisa and her parents immediately after, and having to get to work by 2:30 PM for last minute trial prep, there just wasn't time. I think I'm glad, though. I needed the rest.

Today: I brought my bike and the bike trainer to work today. I figured that with the trial going on, I could get back to the office after we finished for the day, get in 30-45 minutes on the trainer, towel off, and get back to some serious trial work. Only one problem: we didn't get reached on the docket. Right now, we're on stand-by, so I can't take the bike out on the roads. What if they call me to start up immediately and I'm off training? So, I just have to sit and wait it out. I can still do some spinning this afternoon on the trainer, but I think I shouldn't. My running needs work BADLY. I think if I don't get the call today, I'll take off at 5:00, go home, and get in a 45-minute run with the dogs. They need it as badly as I do. Just have to MAKE myself do it. Anyway, I'll get the training in today. Now . . . if there's no trial tomorrow, I'm DEFINITELY on for a swim workout. I gotta get that working for me again!!!

Update: I ran for 50 minutes today. Took the boys out with me for the first 20 minutes, but after a while, they were tired and were dragging me down. So, I circled back by the house and dropped them off. I tried not to run too hard. Heart rate never got above 150, so that's good. I'm guessing that my pace was around 8:15 to 8:45 minutes per mile, so I did somewhere in the neighborhood of 5-5.5 miles. Not a bad start, but I think I might be sore tomorrow! Lots of stretching and massage will be in order tonight. I guess we'll see how I respond.

Non-Tri Stuff: So, my first week after moving in with Lisa has been pretty darn good. We're making a lot of headway on getting things OUT of boxes and incorporated into the design scheme. One of these days, I'm going to get some pics of the house up so that you all can see how well my stuff is fitting in with hers. This weekend, we got the guest bedroom (formerly her computer room) all decked out. We put her old queen-sized bed in there (mine is now in the master bedroom because it's newer and nicer!!) . We have my small computer cart, a TV table, an end table, and my old dresser in there as well. Surprisingly, it's not terribly cramped. When I get the pics up, it'll make sense! Lisa and I are both very pleased with how it looks.

As for the rest of the house . . . well . . . it's a work in progress. We've got my couch incorporated into the living room scheme, but we're going to put a throw or a slip cover on it. This will do two things: (1) give us a color that better fits her scheme (my couch is a beautiful saffron, but it doesn't fit with the other colors); and (2) make it easy to clean off dog hair while protecting the original couch. We're working on that!! We got my dining table in the kitchen as a kitchen table, along with the butcher block table and the pie safe. It looks great!! You'll see!!

Well . . . that's all for now. I'll get those pics up soon. Also, her cats and my dogs are starting to bond nicely! For some reason, our pics of Abby the cat lounging with me and the boys and with Lisa and AJ aren't coming through. I'll try again later.


Ciao for now!