"Moonlighting"

It was something like this.

I awoke to the sound of my alarm at 3:45 this morning feeling sleepy but ready for my 10 mile training run.  It was the only time I could get it done today.  I dressed, prepped and was out the door at 4:15.  The air was cold with temperatures in the 20's.  The clear sky permitted the full moon and stars to light the night sky.  I eased into the 2 mile warm-up as I prepared my mind and body for the up-tempo 6 mile interval.  With the rest of the world sleeping, I had the road to myself.  The headlights of a rare drive-by gave itself away with plenty of time for me to move aside and share the road.  The beeping of my watch told me the warm-up was at an end.  It was time to go to work.  I quickened my stride and focused my breath making sure no hill would prevent me from maintaining my pace.  Fellow night-joggers on four legs bounded through side yards in groups of three and four.  I cleared my throat to inform them of my presence.  As I finished my turnaround loop and headed toward home, I caught the glare of a buck perched in a yard no more than 10 feet away.  With his maturing antlers showing like a side-arm, he gave me the familiar look I get from my 9 year-old boxer, Porter, that says, "what's next?"  I had no interest in playing his game and moved quickly but cautiously to the middle of the road.

Ok, it wasn't quite like this, but...

With my adrenaline rushing, I prepared for the final mile of my main set.  As I sprinted up a hill to keep my 6:20 pace, I recalled glory days on the grid-iron.  I've worked hard to slow the hands of time.  I whipped through the streets of Briarwood until another beep from my wrist told me my task was complete.  I eased into 2 miles of recovery that brought me back home.  It's time to wake up.

Kona Project Update

I'm in to week six with Project 942 Racing Team and Coach Chad Holderbaum.  The first few weeks started out "easy" with some lighter workouts and field testing in all three disciplines.  These field tests consisted of a 2 mile time-trial run on the track, a 20 min time-trial ride on the trainer, and a 1500 yard time-trial swim in the pool.  These tests were used to set a baseline of conditioning for which future workouts are built.

The past couple weeks have included workouts that are gradually increasing in length/distance and include intervals of higher intensity.  This morning, I had a 3600 yd swim that included a 500 WU (warm-up) followed by 30x100 yd w/ 10 sec. rest and a 100 yd CD (cool down).  I successfully completed the workout by 6 am and hustled home to help Laura get Luke and Matt ready for school (daycare).  Luke was especially cranky this morning.  He wanted his mommy, but I was taking them to school and Laura is picking-up this afternoon.  After school, I'll drop-off Lilly & Sarah (Laura's parents' dogs) at the kennel and then hustle home for my 1.5 hr ride that includes 8x4 min intervals at 240-255w (watts).  Whew! 

Every day this week has two workouts.  This means I'll be getting up early to get one workout in before work and then hustling home to get the second workout completed.  It's a busy schedule, but worth doing for now.  Laura has been very supportive and understanding as we plan out the week every Sunday taking into account work meetings, children's needs (most recently some doctors appointments), dinner plans, and my training along with all the other daily responsibilities.  Thanks Babe!

A special congratulations to my new coach, Chad Holderbaum for a very impressive performance at Ironman Florida finishing 20th overall with a time of 8:31:59.  Also, congratulations to Beth Shutt for her performance at Ironman Arizona finishing 9th in the Pro Women's field with a time of 9:15:38.  You two are setting the bar very high for the rest of us.  Keep it up!