A Few New Things

The front fence is new because the assholes took to wandering in the frikkin road. They've been contained in the back pasture this last month while this was put up.

Notice the fake gate at the far end? There is an old easement there that we want to maintain so even though there isn't really a gate, it looks like there is.

This is what this section of fence looked like, it had old rotten posts, barbed wire, field fence, hog panels and rotten boards, all being held up by the plethora of weeds & bushes.

Today we gave these boards to a guy who is going to put them up on his fireplace wall. 

This is NOT the section the horses went through, that was the field fence 

between us & the neighbors.

What it looks like without any fence.

What else is new? Hoka One One has brought back the original Clifton 1 running shoe & these are the ones that made running fun & not a chore. I'm going to have to go buy a pair & if I still love them I'll get a few more, before they decide to upgrade them again.

And this is new. I won a contest & this is my prize.

And Now, Triathlon

Went to the doctor today for the pain in my foot and the ultrasound showed the tumor is practically gone, which is a very good thing. But he couldn't find any explanation for the pain in the top of my foot.

Now for something weird: There is a tiny spot on the second metatarsal bone of my left foot, the foot that hurts and its an old stress fracture.

See the small gray spot here? This is where it is.

And something different, where the 2 small bones are circled in red on my right foot, I have 3 small bones. Obviously this isn't my right foot.

He said there isn't any arthritis in my feet at all, that the xrays show my feet looking

very good for my age.

So while there is no reason for my foot pain I do have the go-ahead to train for IMCDA 70.3 on June 24th so I've got 144 days to train.

That Was Different

When we decided to not take our bikes to Vegas, it opened up a whole new world for us. 

This trip wasn't about getting up at 4am, loading out backpacks and packing the bikes on the bike rack, it was about sleeping in, sitting around doing nothing, enjoying the sunshine. We went to the hot tub every day & jumped into the lazy river to chill and splash each other.

Went out to Lake Mead on the one day it was 86*, got lost in the desert, enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous sunset at the top of a mountain at the perfect time.

While in town we found other things to do, like meet up with friends from home and have a drink. Erik & Sharon were there for the Rock n Roll half marathon so we went out onto the strip to cheer for him as he ran past. 

We went to the 

I hadn't previously known about this museum so we decided to go and learn a little bit. Instead we learned a lot. We're going to the guided tour at Mercury and testing site next year and going through the museum before hand taught us  some of the things we will be seeing.

I felt kind of weird being there though. These bombs killed so many people.

The weather in Vegas was perfect, mid 70's most days, up to mid 80's. One day we went out to Blue Diamond area and hiked/rock scrambled up into a valley where a lot of rock climbers go. It was 54* at start but in the sunshine & dry 'heat' it felt warmer to me. I didn't take a jacket and within a couple minutes was warmed up perfectly. Once we were climbing the BIG rocks I was thankful I didn't have to carry around a jacket.

When we've previously visited Vegas we've only gone to the strip once, to enjoy the sights, eat at 1 buffet and see a show. This trip we went to the strip more, no shoes but a buffet every other day. Our reasoning was that once we got home, we would be going on a diet.

Now we are home and on that diet. I have lost 6 lbs already and my goal is a LOT more.

Ironman World Championship

Our friend, Heidi, is racing in Kona today, you can follow her here

https://track.rtrt.me/e/IRM-WORLDCHAMPIONSHIP-2017#/tracker/RKBGDTZP

Taking the Plunge

I signed up for another run/race. Its the

RUN FORREST, RUN 5k

at Joint Base Lewis McCord,

followed by a free concert by Gary Sinise & the Lt Dan Band.

This will be my first race since my foot started acting up a year ago and needless to say, I'm pretty excited to participate. 

AND I'll get to see Gary Sinise, whom I am a HUGE fan of. 

Ironmans Injury

My Ironman has an injury and hasn't been working out. He's using the barn building as an excuse and though I appreciate it, he needs to get busy building up his body. Hes got a big race in November to FINISH and do it well.
From some of his comments hes made it sounds like he wants to use his injury to get a pass on the race this year and defer till next year. Um, NO. I paid for him to do it THIS year, not next year.
I was checking out the calendar and I wouldn't be able to do it till 2020 if I remained on-call at work, since we can't take days off of Thanksgiving week.

The barn/lean-too

is now completely off the arena, its a lot lighter & brighter in there. But if we are smart it can stay light and bright, with use of windows and clear roof panels.

He has been moving dirt out of the way to make room for cement. Its going to need 6 inches of sand + 4-6 inches of cement so hes got a lot of dirt to move.

After The Run

I wanted to wait before running again to see what happened with the foot, what kinds of weird pain it might have caused.

There was normal tiredness the first evening but it wasn't hurting.

The second day though, it felt like my sock was folded down a lot more than ever before. I actually took off my shoe twice to check it and of course both times it was fine.

Yesterday I didn't run, wore the usual compression footies and it felt fine, today I wore regular footies, not compression and after just an hour or 2 it felt fatigued. Changed socks and its fine again so I will just plan on wearing them for a lot longer.

 

I have 2 friends racing tomorrow in Ironman Boulder, excited for both. She's just happy to be there after a bad bike crash & torn rotator cuff just 10 months ago.

He is competing in his 12th Ironman event and after this he will qualify for Ironman World Championships in Kona. I've already told him if he makes it I'm going to be there to see his finish.

 

Horse related:

The barn work is going slowly, as I imagined it would. Without a bulldozer in the area to rent the ground work is taking 10 times the work. It has been fun doing the planning and measuring, making orange marks in the dirt.

60 feet long, 5 stalls

Not the straightest lines but this is just so we can imagine it



If we open this end of the covered arena and extend it, it will come out to this rock.

Sunshower & Roses in stalls

And Wifi in the aisle & Joey in  the arena

 

Joey & my girls were turned out in the front grassy pasture this morning for 2 hours, then when I went to bring them in all I had to do was whistle and they came to the gate to go to the back pasture. Slowly and calmly, no messing around. Good horses!

They are learning to come to my whistle and I love that.

 

Global Running Day

On February 2nd I found out I had the tumor, which measured 4.9cm, in my foot.

May 3rd, the day I had the injection into it, it measured 5.9cm.

June 6th I went in, planning on a 2nd injection. When the Doctor ultra sounded my foot he took a long time doing it and discovered the tumor has shrunk down to 3.7cm, a full 40% smaller than last month.  We decided no injection today (YAY) and I'll go back in a month for follow up and we hope it continues to shrink.

 June 7th was Global Running Day and I celebrated by going out to the forest for a run, my first in about a year. I ran for about 25 minutes and went about 1.27 miles with very little pain or discomfort.

No Wonder I Can't Run

I went to the doctor (Nurse) a couple weeks ago, since they wouldn't believe me that I needed to see a FOOT DOCTOR. She prescribed meds for the inflammation and sent me to the foot doctor. Not right away, you know, its got to take another few weeks. I finally get to see the podiatrist and he found a lump in my foot.

Plantar fibroma, a benign nodule that grows on the bottom of the foot. I have a single lump so he is sending me for an 'urgent' MRI, which is scheduled for 3 weeks out. I'm glad its not a regular one, geesh. Then he will probably want to do cortisone shots and when I get those I hope to hell they don't hurt like the dickens.

I just want to run again.

On a good note, Lan is turning 50 in 8 days so I'm taking him to Disneyland. I've purchased the flights, rental car, hotel & Disneyland tickets, now I'm counting down the days till we fly out.

Training is going OK

Lans Ironman training is going well. This week he is taking a break and getting a LOT of work done around the house; electrical right now, prepping for the wood floors.

For a month he was very serious about his training and now hes slacking off but that's OK, I built slacking time into his training plan. I'm very proud of his efforts and hes trying hard. His one downfall is pain in one calf so he can't run but hes been swimming and biking to his hearts content.

 

It seems like a lot now but the days will fly past and soon hes going to be thinking

'Shit man, where has all my training time gone? I'm not going to be ready!'

 

But I'll keep him on track as best I can.

 

Swimming 100's

I'm not doing my own Ironman this year but I'm helping Lan with his training for IMAZ.

 

Tonight I timed his 50's & 100's:

 

WARM UP

600 easy swim, holding proper form and letting your HR rise to 70% by the end. (ALTERNATE SET: Trim this to 400 Swim)

Intermediate set: 4 x 50 hard (@80-85%) w/15 sec rest after each

1. 39.00

2. 44.09

3. 43.17

4. 42.95

Average 42.73

MAIN SET -- BIG TARGET!

10 x 100 @race pace (85+%) w/10 sec rest between each

1.   1:30.09

2.   1:38.32

3.

4.   1:39.58

5.   1:33.51

6.   1:38.20

7.   1:39.02

8.   1:36.14

9.   1:41.34

10. 1:39.55

Average 1:37.10

-- keep track of your total time (add up the time for each of the 100's) and record the average pace per 100 in your log book, for future reference.

(ALTERNATE SET: 8 x 100)

COOL DOWN

6 x 50 @60% w/10 sec rest after each

 

 

He was supposed to follow up with a 35 minute run but his calf has been bothering him. If its not better in 2 weeks I'll insist he goes to his doctor.

326 Days

Lans IMAZ is in 326 days and training starts in 1 week. I gotta admit, I'm kinda jealous and excited for him. As long as I am not to bitchy about his training and he DOES it, he will be golden. Here is the 1st days workout:

Monday
We begin easily enough with one short swim. Nothing too crazy here, just allow yourself some time to get used to the water again and be patient with speed.

SWIM 0:30

WARM UP:

200 Swim - 2 x 100 Kick -

4 x 50 Choice, w/10 sec rest after each

MAIN SET:

5 x 200 w/:20 rest, done as follows:

(50 right arm only - 50 swim - 50 left arm only - 50 swim)

COOL DOWN:

2 x (50 Kick/50 Swim)

See, pretty damn easy. The following day is a 50 minute bike and a 35 minute run, both easy. In fact, so easy that the bike is in the small chain ring. AND HE BETTER DO IT RIGHT.

 

The following poem was written by a friend, super cute

 

Now that it is December, I can spread the holiday cheer! :-)

Sweat drops on muscles and blister prevention;
New Ignite hoodies and convertible mittens;
Cool event t-shirts and tattoos with wings;...
These are a few of my favorite things!

Pizza and burgers and all kinds of pasta;
Chicken and rice ‘cause it makes me run fasta;
Custom race bibs next to finisher blings;
These are a few of my favorite things!
When it’s hot out;
When it’s raining;
When my brick goes bad;
I try to remember I’m paying for this and I don’t want my coach to be mad!
Race belts and run gels and Blue Steel for Rashes;
Electrolyte supplements and avoiding bike crashes;
Mike Reilly’s voice each time my phone rings;
These are a few of my favorite things!
Bright colored bike shoes and pushing the big gear;
Well fitted wetsuits and goggles that stay clear;
Corndogs and donuts and food fit for Kings;
These are a few of my favorite things!
When it’s dark out and I’m worn out;
When I don’t think I can;
I simply remember my favorite things -
And that I finished IRONMAN!
~Gnay Galloway

Black Friday

Today is Black Friday, traditionally the day everyone goes shopping in the big stores and malls, fighting over the 5 TVs on sale for a super good price, pushing old ladies into the street in order to get her place in line to get through the door faster. I've only gone shopping on this day a few times and not for Christmas gifts but usually for groceries or a piece of lumber at Lowes.

 

Last year REI decided to start something new,

 

 

I won't be able to go hiking or running but I'll certainly stay away from the stores.

 

 

This awesome signed picture is now mine. Affirmed, Secretariat and Seattle Slew, ridden to victory in the Triple Crown, autographed by their jockeys. I'm very excited to get it.

 

Results IMAZ 2016

Dave didn't Finish, as NO ONE thought he would. He 'CRASHED' on his bike at about mile 40 and had to stop. Whaaa. Poor big baby. He didn't finish a single race or long ride this summer because every time, SOMEONE ELSE made him crash or 'hit him with their car'... EVERY time. So no one is surprised.
His swim was OK, 1:46:45.

35 Hours

Officially counting down the hours till we leave for Kona and Maui,

currently at

.

I still have packing to do but I've made arrangements for the dogs, cats, horses and chickens. I've gone shopping for the house sitter and made sure all the animals have enough food to last. The VETERINARIAN EMERGENCY CONCENT FORM has been filled out, printed and signed.

 

I've purchased enough snacks to feed an army on the plane because you never know how long it's going to be before your next meal and who knows what kind of crap they're going to feed ya.

 

I didn't want to get stuck with a big ass heavy carry on but Hawaiian charges $25 for a checked bag so I have to get everything in the carry on and the small backpack.

Backpack still has room but the carry on is getting loaded. I can still unzip the extra 2 inches all around if needed.

What we have done before on trips is go light and come back heavy, purchasing big ass bags where we are at so we only have to pay one way to check them. We've done it before in Hawaii and England and the junk store is by the old jail.

Kona & Maui

We'll be leaving in 4 days.

Holding My Breath

Suzie hasn't gotten back to me yet about her early registration slot for IMAZ so I'm still not 100% sure if I'll be getting it or not but I'm already planning things. Diet, exercise plan, logistics.

I'm TRYING to lose weight now but that's just not happening but I am slimming down. Shakeology once a day plus 4-5 other small meals with some protein at each meal. Some of those meals might just be 12 almonds but that's keeping my metabolism going. Lan thinks I need to eat less but I've been reading more and more about menopausal women needing to eat more. I'm eating less but its better for me food more often.

I'm once again going to use the plan I had for my previous Ironmans. I'm not going to hire a coach and have them give me a plan that's just like this one or not as good and I only have to be accountable to ME. I'm not going to lie to anyone or myself and say I've been riding 76 miles when I only went 45. If I don't do a workout it will only be ME who suffers.
The plan is really good, it doesn't say RIDE YOUR BIKE 45 MILES or RIDE FOR AN HOUR, it actually gives me a workout to do, most on the bike trainer.

Sunday  RUN 1:10

You might find it helpful to mentally break this run into 35:00 chunks. I always find that to be more manageable than a full hour, for some reason, and it helps maintain the focus throughout this longer duration.

             Spend the first 20:00 getting into it, watching your HR slowly get above 60%
            2 x 20:00 @75% w/5:00 @60-65% in between
            BIKE 0:30  Immediately after the run...hold the intensity @70-75%
            RUN 0:50  I'm going to ask you to really challenge yourself here -- time to up the tempo and close out your week with a bang. Remember, you've got tomorrow off, so go out there and make this a strong effort. 
You'll be starting with a fast tempo right out of the blocks:  2 x 15:00 above 80% w/10:00 @60% after each

Run  6.6 miles / 1:20
Bike 14 miles / :50  
Run 4.0 miles / :50

The above workout was in week 27, which was a 'competitive season' week. Not only did I use the training plan but I also kept track of how much time & miles I completed, and for the bike I rode more than 2283 miles between Christmas and IMAZ 11 months later. About 400 miles run and only 20 miles swam.

I'll be honest here, I could have trained a lot more, with my work schedule all jacked up due to working odd hours, I missed a lot of workouts. This time it can be different. If I just do 50% of the missed ones in addition to the ones I did, I'll be flying high.

But this fucking plantar fasciitis needs to get better. This is so fucked up.

IMAZ 2017

A text conversation I had with my friend, Suzie this morning, at about 3:15am...

Suzie: Hey, are you serious about IMAZ 2017?

Suzie: I may do Chatty

Suzie: And give you my early registration

Me: I am very serious about it. Let me know asap so I can start saving for it!

Suzie: I'd plan on it. Right now I'm 80% certain that I won't be doing IMAZ, but either Chatty or Maryland

So this is where we are right now. I don't have $1,000 cash for the registration fee and insurance and I'm saving for Hawaii right now with only about $500 in that kitty and we leave in 3 weeks. Ugh. I'll need to have the money ready in Mid-November.

I DO have another check between now and Hawaii and another in Hawaii but those will be smaller than what I'm currently getting. Down from $1,820 to $1,320 with different work shift and position. But hey, at least I'm making a steady check all winter instead of weeks without ANY pay at all like all past years.

 

 

 

Results

Two days ago I weighed 160.4 in the morning, yesterday 159.8 and this morning 158.6. Wow, those are RESULTS.

And that's perfectly fine for me.

I am wearing a pair of jeans I couldn't get into for a month.

 

And with today excellent morning good news, we went to the fair and I ate not just one, but TWO scones and topped it off with a real ice cream cone, strawberry vanilla twist.

So yummy!

 

This weekend is going to be a long one, next weekend also. Usually I work Saturdays 7:45am-2:45pm but for the next two weekends its being extended to 9:45pm. That's 14 hours. Then 8:30am-2:30pm on Sunday and a quick return at midnight -8am Monday.

 

September 10th is the Black Diamond 70.3 Long Course that I won't be swimming/biking/running at all, I paid $200 for a good team and now I can't even participate or see them run. Terry will swim, Lily will bike and Brayden run. Yay for them!