Cycling on the Road

The cycling part of the Half-Ironman is 56 miles.  The race in Chattanooga goes into the hills of Northern Georgia.  Did I say hills?  That's only because I am from Colorado.  They are mountains. The iconic advertising on barn roofs throughout the area does not talk about the view from Lookout Knob. It is called Lookout Mountain.  I think they say you can see all fifty states from the overlook, and you actually look down on the moon from the top.  At least that's how it will feel on my 30-year-old Cannondale, that I bought for $400 on Craigslist.

Cindy and I have kept a bike on the truck for years.  We have a tandem, and a folding Dahon bike.

We had gotten in the habit of looking for great  trails around the United States and Canada, places to park our truck and go for a ride.  We even started sharing the places with other drivers on Facebook groups like Truckin' Runners, Ride and Roll Cycling on the Road, Truckers with Bicycles, and have begun documenting them on Facebook group Trucker Trails and http://truckertrails.blogspot.com/
Running or cycling around the truckstop can be dangerous, smelly, and irritates other drivers.  Then again, maybe they need a little "encouragement".

I had to get in some workouts on the bike, though.  A pleasant ride with Cindy to Old Town Sacramento for dinner is different than racing youngsters with $6000 tri-bikes.

So I did.

32 miles in Sacramento CA

51 miles in Fontana CA

56 miles around Kent WA

65 miles around Denver CO

Am I ready? I have certainly tamed the mental beast a bit.  I know I can ride that far.  Now, as for running a half-marathon after...

Bugs are protein.  Protein is good, right?

Looking More like a Tri-bike.

Aero bars?  Who needs that nonsense?  I used to think that.  Then I fought a fifteen mile-per-hour headwind one day on the way back to my house from a swim workout.  I was a little tired, but I felt like I was riding straight up a steep hill.  Whew!

45 bucks on Amazon for these clip-on Aero bars.  I spare no expense!

We did a bit of adjusting to get the fit right.

Trail Running

Why incorporate trail running into a program where the race is not on a trail?  Because I like running on trails.  So much of staying fit while driving a truck has to do with the mental battle.  Driving is stressful, shippers and receivers often take more of your "workout" time than they should.  The days are long, and weather can keep you from getting out of the truck, if you let it. Anything that will help you look forward to moving is beneficial.  Heck, walk to the donut shop, if that's what it takes, but move. I can actually talk myself into wanting to get out and run, if I can find something, anything, that appeals to me.  Trails are great for looking at plants, wildlife, scenery, and they are car-and-truck free!

Desert running with my sweetheart near Chiriaco Summit CA

Ocotillo are fascinating. Many of them were blooming this rainy day.

Cindy likes the downhill part.

Serious trail running means dodging mountain bikers on single-track trails through the woods.

The Shawnee Mission Trail System, near Kansas City.

Ahhhhh...

Good thing there was a four-inch tall photographer in the woods.

Swim Workouts on the Road

Driving through Florida, I often look at the inviting lakes and streams, dream of going for a swim, and then wonder how you can tell if there are any alligators in a particular lake.  I assume that the people who live there know where to swim, and where not to swim, but to us travelers, it can be a mystery.  A mystery you don't want to solve by getting nibbled on by a ten-foot long prehistoric critter.

The swim part of the Half-Ironman is 1.2 miles in open water.  In a 50-yard lap pool, that is about 42 laps.  The first time we got home I swam 1.6 miles in about 70 minutes in our local recreation center.  I also got in a mile at a YMCA that is across the street from a truckstop in Weatherford, Oklahoma.  I wanted to get in some kind of open water swim, and kept looking on Google, and Google Maps for places to go.  We have observed some swimming areas near truckstops over the years.  There is the Columbia River, near Troutdale, Oregon.  Also the lake near the TA in Sparks,Nevada.  The state campground is right across I-15 from the Flying J in Willard, Utah.  This early in the year many of the swimming areas are not open yet, because it is too cold to swim.

We had a day off, waiting for a load, in Sacramento, California.  Cindy agreed to run with me down to the Sacramento River, wait while I swam, and run back with me to the 49r Travel Plaza where we were parked.  I found a website that had river temperature information on one of their links.  The river was 58 degrees.  Sounded chilly.  The Chattanooga River is supposed to be 72 degrees during my race.  Sounds nicer.  As it turns out, 58 degrees is CRAZY chilly.  Not bad for wading, but I was glad Cindy was there to encourage me to get in.

I look like I am checking my equipment in this picture, but I am actually working up my nerve to get in the water.  BRRRRR!

Dang, when we get by home next time, I am grabbing my wetsuit!  I will also be praying for loads to Florida.  Maybe those gators aren't such a big deal after all.

Facebook Alert: It's Official...

Most of the comments were encouraging, with some misgivings for my safety.  About what one would hope for from a group of friends and Facebook friends.

Click here to see the post.  

You Want Me to What?

On March 7th, 2016, I received an exciting (and frightening) email from Human Resources at our employer, US Xpress.

Anxiously, I clicked on the link.  I was thinking that a challenging race late this summer would set me up for a nice PR on my December marathon in California.

May 22, 2016

May?  As in May: not next month, but the one after that?  I double-checked.  Yep, May of this year.  Conflicting thoughts raced through my head. 

 Don't people train for months for Half-Ironman races? Free! As in, "no entry fee?" Don't those things cost $300 or so?  Didn't I just have the lowest mileage months of running in years in January and February?  Yea, but free!  And no time-off counted against you. Let's see, last bike ride was October of 2015, and last swim workout was in Costa Rica in September of 2015.  Hey, last time US Xpress offered you free entry into a race, it was an Olympic Length Triathlon occurring just a week after a marathon.  You pulled that one off.  But a Half-Ironman is more than TWICE the distance of the Olympic-length triathlon.

I came to the conclusion that I would have to be an idiot to sign up for such a challenging race with so little preparation time.

So.  Of course I signed up.

See you in Chattanooga.

Still Hollow Trail Half-Marathon

Race Report August 2015

I had never run a half-marathon before.  My splits on some of my marathons have been under two hours, so I thought I might do a half under 2:00:00.

Facebook friends are often talking about noticing a race in an area, and just signing up for it.  In the spirit of camaraderie, I began surfing the internet.  I knew I had a day off in lovely Chattanooga.  Cindy and I were to be recognized for driving two million safe miles on Saturday, so Sunday was free. As it turned out, the meeting was great, a group of us toured the corporate headquarters, and met a bunch of people that previously were only voices on a telephone line.  I found a few races, including a trail race in a wildlife area just across the interstate from US Xpress.

One of the guys in Customer Service is a runner, and I talked him into going to the race also.  Adam opted for the 10K, instead of the Half.  He let me know that racing on trails was likely to cost me about one to two minutes per mile compared to my road-racing times.  He was right.  I finished in 2:14:57.

Finish line smile? Or finish line grimace?

Adam met me in the dark morning of the race at the sign-up desk.  You don't know until you try it, but it is hard to recognize people in the dark woods, wearing headlamps.  As the sun came up, we were on our way.  For the first 10K, much of the race was on a wider trail.  Adam is a talented runner, and we did not stay together very long.  I saw him crest a hill, turn right between two trees, and have never seen him since.  (Don't worry, he is not missing.  I spoke to him on the phone, and no one else took over his job.)

After the 10K mark, we went onto a single track trail.  At first, I had most people passing me.  "On your left." is the magical words to pass someone.  I was glad I learned it early.  I maintained my same pace, got into a great rhythm, and started putting up negative splits.  I was a little worried that I might have been pushing it too hard, especially when I started passing many of the people who had passed me earlier.  "On your left."  "On your left."  I kept saying.  One guy told me his legs were "crazy heavy."  I expressed my concern that I was going out too fast.  He said I looked great, and we were on our way in, not out.

About mile eight, I had the thought that I had not stumbled on the root-and-rock infested trail.  About 300 feet later... Yeah.  Not even a fall though, I caught myself on the way down and kept striding.  Another mile or so and I had the thought, "Wow, only one stumble, and I did not hit the ground!" About 600 feet later... Again, yeah. A granite outcropping gave me a nice scrape on my shoulder, forearm, and knee as I did a parachute landing fall to avoid twisting my ankle.  A guy at the finish line later said "Welcome to trail running."  I responded, "No blood, no glory."  He seemed to like the exchange.  So did I.

I had never fallen during a marathon road race.  But then again, I had never seen deer on the course, nor felt the Zen of letting my feet find the next spot to land on their own, nor come away with such a big smile on my face.  It was a great day.