every walk is a sort of crusade
…and of course, just like clockwork, here come the shin splints. Though mild, running this week wasn’t where it was supposed to be (might be time to consider new shoes). But I got to spend a little more time on the bike, and with a little more ice and Advil and I should be ready to hit the road again soon.
Swim: 9,200 yards / 2.5 hours
Bike: 60 miles / 3.5 hours
Run: 13 miles / 1.8 hours
Gummy Lifesavers: 1 bag in about 4 hours
Swim: 10,000 yards / 3 hours
Bike: 40 miles / 2.3 hours
Run: 15 miles / 2.1 hours
Swedish Fish and Jelly Bellies: ~20 oz
I have a sugar problem.
And I love my bike! …granted, I only ride it on the trainer, and I’ve only ridden it twice. (My arm still won’t extend, waiting until I’m just a little less lopsided before I actually get on the road. No need to wreck yet.) Half marathon still coming up in April, so running is probably going to pick up a little bit.
First week in to the February Fitness Challenge. Struggle.
Swim: 14,000 yards (about 8 miles) / 5 hours
Bike: 0 / 0 hours (I’m getting fitted tomorrow, should pick up this week)
Run: 14 miles / 2 (ish) hours (+5 miles of walking with the dog one day due to a scheduling snafu)
Ice cream: ~1 gallon
A little short on all fronts (minus the ice cream), will ramp things up a little bit this coming week.
omggggggg
“If you support seat-belt, tobacco and alcohol laws, sewer systems and traffic lights, you should support legislation curbing the relentless marketing of soda and other foods that are hazardous to our health— including the sacred cheeseburger and fries.”
~Mark Bittman, A Food Manifesto for the Future
Just so long as that doesn’t include chocolate covered bacon with sprinkles.
More here.
Below is the (very tentative) schedule of events for the year:
As of right now I am only officially signed up for the half marathon in April. And Derby. So we’ll see how this pans out.
Let the games begin.
February can be kind of brutal.
With the novelty of New Year’s resolutions slowly wearing off, winter dragging on, breakups on the rise…it’s easy to spend the month moping in cold darkness. Enter: February Fitness Challenge.
Every year US Masters Swimming holds a February Fitness Challenge where swimmers track how far they can swim during the month. A number of people on the team I coach participate, which means writing slightly longer workouts than usual. Results are released nationally so, in addition to personal records, participants can see where they fall within their age group. A general goal for many swimmers is 100,000 yards (almost 57 miles. Some of the results are ridiculous).
Because I am starting to train for a triathlon and swimming is far and away my strongest leg (and because I did the hour long Postal Swim in January and feel as though I have filled my quota for winter swimming challenges) I personally will not be devoting all my time this month in the water. I will, however, attempt to swim about 15,000 a week (nearly double what I did last month) and will be tracking my combined mileage on the bike, running, and in the pool, which I don’t normally do.
This is a nice event, especially for people who generally don’t like to compete in their sport. Setting any kind of goal for this month, swimming or not, is a way to stay in the swing of things until the warm weather rolls around. Plus, who knows, you might surprise yourself.
I hate exercise, but I like the results.
~Jack LaLanne, 1914-2011
I’m torn.
As a rule, warm beer is a no brainer in terms of what I will and will not go out of my way to drink. Enter Buttered Beere. It looks festive, could it be warm and seasonal? Eggnogal?
Via 12 Bottle Bar:
Adapted from ‘The Good Huswifes Handmaide for the Kitchin’ (1588)
3 pint (16.9 oz) Bottles of real Ale
0.5 tsp ground Cloves
0.5 tsp ground Cinnamon
0.25 tsp ground Ginger
5 Egg Yolks
1 Cup Brown Sugar (Demerara)
12 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
Add ale and spices to a saucepan
Bring to a boil, then immediately turn to lowest setting
Beat together eggs and sugar until light and creamy
Remove ale from heat, whisk in egg mixture, returning to low heat
Whisk constantly over low until mixture begins to thicken slightly (about 5 minutes)
Remove from heat and whisk in butter quickly until a nice foam forms
Serve warm
Notes: If you’re concerned about the alcohol level, here are some notes: We used Fuller’s London Pride, which is 4.7% ABV. Before adding the egg mixture, letting the beer simmer longer (20 minutes or so) should boil off all the alcohol, if that’s what you’re after. Use your discretion.
Welcome to Thunder Road. Feel the thunder.
Colleague and I traveled down to Charlotte, NC…home of Bank of America, bars that don’t open on the weekends, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, and Carolina barbecue void…to run our half marathon this past weekend. After hitting up the expo (above) and carbo-loading the night before (beer, fried pickles with ranch, and gravy cheese fries) we woke up the next morning rarin’ to go…and promptly missed the start of the race. Along with about 1,000 other people. But we followed the mad crush and it eventually carried us across the starting line at the very rear of the group. We were off!
…and then we were stuck behind everyone who made it to the starting line on time, including all the walkers. Because we started so far back, the first 6 miles were exceptionally crowded and consisted of a lot of dodging and passing. But, when it was all said and done, we were both well under 2 hours and right on our best times. The fried pickles did their job.
After a shower we headed out in search of some real Carolina barbecue, something we had been looking forward to for months. We found the Tourism Center downtown and asked where we could get some. Blank stare from the lady who works there. Apparently it doesn’t exist in Charlotte. But we ended up finding an awesome soul food place that also served beer and red velvet cake. So. Happy.
After more fried goodness, we went looking for a bar where we could relax and talk about how awesome we are and how weird it is that Charlotte has no barbecue. We were surprised once again to find that almost all of the bars in town are closed on the weekend. What.
We finally found one that was open…and stayed there for 5 hours. Until we both went home and fell asleep at 7pm. Thanks to the snow storm in the middle of the country the trip home was a nightmare for both of us, but I’ll spare you my rant about a 12 hour wait in the airport and Colleague’s 3-hour train ride to Raleigh because apparently there were no flights out of Charlotte to Boston.
Overall: success! More or less. Disappointments included the barbecue situation, not getting to go to the Dale Earnhardt Jr bar, and lack of revving engine noises broadcast over loudspeakers throughout the race (though they did play a really loud, prolonged one at the start.)
Next up: Marathon. Probably. (And probably another half before that.)
Rambulatory Ambulatory 