interesting AND fun!

I have no good stories to tell today, and I'm smoked. So today I shall post a series of things I've learned that I've recently filed under "interesting and fun".

it's almost bedtime, so it'll be a short list:

1) In the last couple of months I have found that it takes me about an hour to warm up. I first discovered this in the Spin Class Of Satan, where the first hour was basically a timed warm up... A hard, eyeball bleeding warmup. I noticed a rather significant thing would happen right after the first hour -- for the next intervals after the hour, I was finally on my game. I could finally make some good power, and I felt really good. Sometimes this feeling was short lived -- because Satan's Spin Class was all about beating the good happy feelings out of you and replacing them with a sense of exhaustion. It wasn't long after the spin class was over that I started to notice the 1hr thing in my other workouts: the first hour of a multi-hour run feels like doody. The first hour of a long bike ride feels pretty rough.

2) In a recent spin class, my saddle felt "short." So short, in fact, that I called the spin instructor over to have a look. Let me 'splain: The spin bikes in my gym have seatpost marked with letters, handlebar height marked with numbers, and the seat position forward or aft marked by inches. I'm not a big person, so the front end has to go all the way down to 1 (the lowest setting), the seat goes all the way forward to zero (closest to the handlebars), and my seatpost height -- now this is where it gets interesting -- has gone up. At the beginning of the year, I was an "E". "E" is almost level with the handlebars -- not exactly optimal aero, but it's a spin class. Some time during Satan's Spin Class, I discovered that "E was too short, and I tried "F" for awhile, and for a long time, I was happy. An F was good...Until last week. When the spin instructor looked, he agreed it was too short, and we raised it to "G". I'm never a "G". What's up with this G business? I asked if it's possible, through a lot of riding, for one's legs to stretch? He says no, it means I'm a better rider -- more efficient pedal stroke, etc. Basically, I can handle more seatpost now. Huh.

3) Today I was told by a fellow Outlaw that I'm starting to "ride like a dude." I take this as very high praise, considering the dudes I ride with. I picked up 86.5 miles during today's 5.5 hr ride, by the way - we ripped it up but good.

4) I'm catching people on the bike. I never did that before. I actually passed someone going up Tramway one day. That never happens. Flaming Mo says we clocked 24 mph going across the mesa during the Albuquerque Century. I said "nuh uh!!"

5) I can remember when 2 laps was hard, but lately I don't seem to get into the pool for less than 2000 meters.

6) I did a tempo run that lasted over an hour on the treadmill at 1% grade. A steady tempo run, at a high (for me) pace. This, after having marginal sleep and heavy workouts for 3 days. I would have run outside, but it's been in the 90's, and my run times have been kinda late in the day. The schedule said "run," it did not say "torture self."

7) I'm catching people on the swim. Make no mistake, I'm still the guppy in my big fish lane - but it was nice to almost catch somebody one day last week. I think she was tired -- she says I was on my game.

8) Today I had a quiet afternoon and dinner with my peeps - daddy is out of town. There were no outbursts, no crazy behaviours, no chaos, nothing weird. I think the 3 of us were just bushed from getting up at oh-my-god o'clock to go run the aid station yesterday, and training today. It was heaven! I even took them out for gelato - and they didn't do their usual vibrate and bounce off the walls thing that 6 year olds tend to do. We just...talked. I think the key to having fun with my kids is to just wear them out!

9) next weekend I sherpa at IMCDA. I expect that volunteering will be at least as exhausting as training for an ironman.

10) My eyes are so full of crap right now I can't see properly. I always get crappy gooey eyes after a long ride -- something about contact lens, dust, crap, wind, etc. My eyes are just sad and hurty. And red. They're the first thing to shut down on me tonight.

11) Coke is awesome. I had two cokes during my ride today. Best thing ever.

12) My shoulders are still not happy about the tri bike. When my shoulders start to hurt, my hip starts to hurt. And when my hip starts to hurt, everything goes downhill. It's very weird how it's connected - but totally undeniable. When I stretch my shoulders and lats, my hip pain stops. Weird.

13) The current leader in the RAAM is this guy - who is an unqualified nutjob...when he's racing. Enough sleep deprivation will truly make anyone crazy, but I draw the line of sanity at picking fights with mailboxes. He's wacky. As a fellow wacko myself, I feel qualified to make that assessment.

14) I get tomorrow off! I am giddy thinking about it. I get to sleep in until 7 -- on a weekday! Unbridled luxury!

Speaking of, I have a date with my pillow right now...brb...