|
Nampambulisti
|
read my profile
sign my guestbook
Name: Kelly
Country: United States
State: Texas
Metro: Dallas
Gender: Male
Interests: Road Cycling
Road Running
Expertise: Publishing.
Peddling.
P-Stuff.
Occupation: Graphic Artist - Photoshop is
Industry: Media
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
4/15/2001
|
|
| the race and otherI did okay in my race. It was really hard, mentally, though. That was the hardest part. Because the course featured a 24 hour rock quarry, road construction and not much shoulder. So it was really hard, especially at night, to get back out there and ride. That was harder than anything.
Since the race, well I'm commuting every day and decided this is the time to really hurt so I'm using big gears, just trying to raise the bar some more. I had also decided that after the race I would go ahead and tear up my feet so I'm running barefoot on the road, just started today, and that's really good. I think. I'm only going to do it one day a week for now, because I must have light! The other days I'll run bf at the track for a greater distance. Today was a really short run, a half mile, to start conditioning my feet for that. Why? Well it's like the bike racers who drill out their components. Yes its more dangerous but is faster! And I believe in the case of running, more natural and ergonomic.
So there.
| | |
| The Day Before RacedayThe alarm goes off, and it sounds louder than usual.
All my stuff is packed, but I'll dump it out onto the bed and check it against my list, anyway. There are things that I haven't bought yet, food items, bread, tums, pickles, bananas, pizza. I have my Nutella 
Today is a work day, I'll go to work like normal, and do my normal things. I have to carry out my trash and recyclables today. I need to load the dishwasher, and put my clothes in the dryer. Just like normal.
I'll have a green smoothie for breakfast, pizza for lunch, and chicken with pasta for dinner.
My lights are all charged, but I still need to wipe down my bike.
Tonight I'll make sure that I go to bed early. That didn't exactly work out last night, and I woke up with that same feeling in my head, like I'm going to tip over, like I'm a bell waiting to ring, like the Tweety Birds circling my head have suddenly changed direction but I'm still here in the Northern Hemisphere.
Tomorrow I'll sleep late. Real late.
But I'm just thinking about today. Because nobody ever considers the day before raceday and considering that the race starts in the evening, this is like the day before the day before race day. Almost.
I meditated this morning, and I'll do some yoga later. I may or may not go to Pilates class, not because it's an ass-kicker but because my oldest daughter is flying back to Arizona while I'm racing, so this will be the last night I have with her until she comes back for Christmas. We have one of those "Grow A Lizard" toys and have been planning a photoshoot with it at the creek :D I don't want to miss that!
Day before raceday. I have to eat, sleep, drink, relax, and try not to worry too much. And at the same time, remember to do all the things I've forgotten...
````
My race begins at 5:30pm Friday, and it ends at 5:30pm Saturday. This is a time trial, and I hope to ride 300 miles... Yes, the road will hand me a new one on Saturday
The Texas Time Trials
| | |
| ridingThe Petit Jean MS150 was... weekend before last and was hands down - the funnest MS150 I've done! I'm kind of on a kick of riding a different one every year but am thinking about doing that one again. The hills there really tested me, and I rode them all without walking a single one. But. Having said that I think the thing to do is to find some bigger hills for next year. New Mexico. West Virginia. Colorado. Not necessarily in that order, but, you know. Bigger hills.
I've got 2,000 miles since March, I think I'll hit 4,000 by next March since I'm not doing any serious running. I am barefoot running, but keeping it short. And fast. Fast for me, anyway, I'm pushing a 6:20 pace without the shoes, and that is not running "hard" either. I'm doing my running at the track, and after this next race (on the 26th - 27th) I'll start conditioning my feet to the road more. This is definitely a more injury prone form of running, but I'm okay with that because I'm not making major investments (like planning my life around a race) and I do like what it's doing for my feet. Right now though I am nursing a bruised heel  so not running for a few days.
The race I alluded to is the Texas Time Trials, a 24 hour race that I'm riding solo. Yeah. I'm going to show up with two Little Ceasar's Pizzas, a case of Vitamin Water, a big jar of pickles, some bananas and Nutella. Let's Race Baby! ha ha! Oh, and something for my ass because the road is going to hand me a new one...
| | |
| My Anger ManagementI have a natural dislike for nails and broken glass in the street, broken glass especially because I can see a nail but it's the tiny shards of glass that give me a flat, not the big pieces that I can see. Summertime, it seems, is a time when glass haters come out and murder their glass, smash it and drop it and litter the road with it.
Last week I picked up a flat five out of five days! This despite running my tires with my gloved hand every time I saw a hint of glass! Then another flat on Tuesday.
I also pick up the nails that I see. I've thought of this as good karma, but ya know it just hasn't been paying off for me lately. The frustration level has been.... well frustrating! And I have had the idea of dropping these nails into these fields of glass, unleashing my own Hell onto the road, because every bit of this glass had it's origins with a driver and they need five flats in a week as badly as I do! And I saw it not as a way of getting bad karma, but rather as a way of being someone else's bad karma! Bad for someone else. So I loaded up with my nails yesterday.
But got to thinking. If I drop a nail and a truck picks up that nail, and gets on the big road and has a blowout, somebody is going to get hurt. Maybe killed. And their death or injury will then have it's origins with me. So I left my nails at home.
Riding home yesterday, through fields of glass, I could see that I did make the right choice. And that good decisions are made when you are able to give proper reflection to all sides of a question.
So Libra, today, I'm not throwing all your shit out onto the lawn. But don't think I'm listening to you at Four Way Intersections.
| | |
| various running and cycling junkI've been warming up for this MS150 ride that's going to happen in a couple of weeks, in Arkansas. I'm really psyched about it because there are only about 150 cyclists in the whole thing! I skipped another Hottern' Hell this weekend, many reasons why but chief among them are that I don't like riding with 20,000 other people! It's just crazy. And I have that Gemini so I have to have new stimulus. I have to go someplace different every time.
Annnnnd I got my confirmation today, I'm officially registered in the Texas Time Trials! They have a really cool trophy that I want to win, although I've said that if I ever win a race I'm getting a tattoo. That would be a much better trophy since I don't have to think about where to store it later! I'm doing the 24 hour race, with a goal of 300 miles.
Last year when I swore off marathons, I didn't swear off running. I've been running barefoot again, and hope to do a short distance race this winter, sans shoes. I really like running without shoes, it's a whole different feeling and I'm much faster without the shoes. The only thing is that there's a real training curve there. My feet as so weak from a lifetime of wearing shoes that I have a lot of work to do as far as strengthening my feet. 2 miles without shoes feels like 9 miles with them! And I'm not even on the road yet, I'm on the track. After the 24 hour race is over I'll get on the road and start making some real blisters, but I don't want to do that to my feet just yet!
| | |
|
