Running on Faith

Wow Wow Wow!

No, I didn’t do anything great. I spent the afternoon running the kids all over Gonzales. But Christine had her second long run. And this time she hit 13 & something miles! A Half Marathon on a Thursday afternoon training run! I am impressed!

When Mason & I got back home, we ran into her with only 1 hour to go and she looked great.  I piddled around contemplating throwing on my shoes and going to run with her, but I still had to go get Lara.  She didn’t need me anyway.  She even finished with a 9 something last mile giving her about a 11:10 average.

To think that only a few years ago she was ready to kill me during a 5K, she has come a long way.  And with only 2 months to go, she will be ready!  Go Baby!

October…….finally.

I have already talked about the song, ‘Wake me up when September ends.”  Well, it finally ended!  Woo-hoo!  And hopefully the hurricanes will stay away, the weather will be nice and LSU will keep winning.

Now September wasn’t totally crappy.  We did have 2 hurricanes, no power, hot weather, 2 races cancelled, and generally not feeling worth a crap with my allergy/sinus problems.  But Christine, Danny & I rode the Tour de Tangi.  My long run is back up to almost 15 miles.  I ran with Christine last week and she went 12 miles!  And I still feel like crap.

I went to bed last night with my head feeling like it was the size of a pumpkin.  So I thought it was only fitting to moon everyone and say, “September, you can kiss my butt!”

Dead vs. Alive

When I was in growing up, I spent a lot of time in the ditch behind my house.  I saw a lot of snakes and generally am not too afraid of them.  In high school, I actually had a 5 foot king snake as a pet.  My mom and dad loved that one!

Since I have been running and riding in the past few years, I have seen a lot of dead snakes in the road.  Some little….some huge….some harmless ones…..some poisonous.  But they had one common trait that didn’t really bother me.  They were dead.  And then there was last night.

I was out for my long run of 14.5 miles and was zoned out listening to the Zen and the Art of Triathlon Podcast.  My legs were a little fatigued from the bike ride Saturday, so I was still trying to work out the kinks.  As I was running down the road by the airport, there was a lot of storm debris in the ditch and roadside.  And on the edge of the asphalt was something that I was not expecting…….a 3 to 4 foot cottonmouth!

I was in mid step almost directly above it when it reared back and flashed its pearly whites.  My adrenal gland exploded sending two gallons of adrenaline directly to my heart propelling me into a vertical leap of about 81 inches (6 feet 9 inches for the unit conversion challenged).  And then it struck.  Fortunately for me, it went after my trailing leg which was now rapidly climbing to a cruising altitude of 30,000 feet.  And with it attacking towards my rear leg, it put me going one way and it another.

I landed, slowed down a bit from my new 4 minute mile pace and attempted to settle my heart rate back down from a peak of 378 beats per minute.  I know that is probably a Guinness World Record, but I didn’t have the proper data or witnesses to prove it.  Anyway, I am not that big on records.

I went to the end of the road and turned back to go see where it was (no, I’m not stupid.)  Christine was going to be heading out for her run, and I wanted to stay in the area to warn her about it.  Fortunately, she went an entirely different route that day.  All in all, I probably ran by that spot 8 or 9 more times total for my run without seeing it again.  Of course, I was running down the center of the road as well.

I was definitely thankful it happened in the first 3 or 4 miles because my calves would have taken me down in the last couple.  The ride and run combo of the weekend took its toll!

Tour de Tangipahoa

I actually got to do one event on my calendar this year!  And even it was in jeopardy because of weather.  But I had decided they would have to cancel the event and make us go home before I would give up.  But the weather was great with only a 5 minute shower and the day was eventful.

We started early arriving a little before 7 to get our packets and bikes ready.  Danny arrived in his DOTD orange jersey loaded with salt tabs, shot blocks, and anything else he could carry.  This was his first organized ride, so he wanted to be extra prepared.  Christine was struggling to wake up but was otherwise ready to roll.  At Christine’s insistence, we avoided the front of the group and stayed near the rear.  We were in the thick of things last year on accident.

We rolled out at 7:30 and I was ready to go.  It has been tough all year not racing.  And reading everyone else’s race reports has not made it any easier.  But this was only a bike “ride” not a “race.”  My two races were canceled.  So for many miles, I was itching to take off every time someone would pass me.  In the grand scheme of things, I knew it would be a fun but long day with Danny & Christine and racing was not what we were there for.  Anyway, Christine doesn’t get too competitive with other people, so she didn’t mind getting passed.  Or did she??????? (more later)

We cruised through the first 10 miles dodging jettisoned water bottles and other gear on the rougher sections before we made it to the first aid stop.  A couple of bananas later and we were motoring on.  The next stop was around 20 miles for more bananas, some more Gatorade, and even a photo op.  I was settling into the “enjoy the ride this is not a race” mentality.  It was difficult, but we were having fun goofing off.

Somewhere between the 20 to 30 mile aid stations, Danny dropped us for another team.  I guess we were just not good enough for him.  After all I tried to teach him, he just threw us away for the first fancy jersey that got on his wheel.  Actually, he was about 20 yards ahead of us when another group came by.  When they got on his wheel, he thought it was me and pedaled on.  Only when he was probably a half mile ahead of us did he realize we weren’t there!  Christine and I got a good laugh and slowly reeled him back in.

Between the 30 and 40 mile aid stations, we hit the long uphill we joked about last year.  I tried to hurry up it to get a picture of Christine on the climb, but she is much better climbing this year.  So that didn’t work.

We made it to the 40 mile aid station for more of the same: bananas, gatorade and candy bars!  And we also picked up a stray…….

Between the 40 and 50 mile station, I went to the front for the remainder of the ride.  I wanted to control the pace and keep Christine right behind me where I could watch her pace.  And Danny has a tendency to go off an leave us when he gets on the front (just joking!)  As we were pedaling along, I glanced back to check the pack and realized there were 4 of us.  Hmmm.  Me, Danny, and Christine.  That makes 3.  So who is the mystery 4th rider?  Just some guy who tacked on to the back.  No problem.  We were doing our own thing, so I didn’t care if he joined the group.

Christine’s legs were starting to let her know they weren’t happy, so we were really having to watch things closely.  And that is when the dogs saw us( plural meaning more than one!).  Christine hates being chased by dogs.  Our usual approach is for her to take off and for me to get between the dogs and her bike.  And as planned, she flies by on my left with our tag along on her wheel!  I guess he was scared too!  As soon as we were out of harm’s way, Danny and I slowed up to let Christine catch her breath.  Our 4th rider ended up about 30 yards in front of us, so we figured he would head on.  He appeared to start to move on and then he turned around in the road, came back to us, and got back on the back wheel.  Now I just felt used.

I didn’t mind riding on the front because the wind had picked up and I wanted Christine to draft.  But this guy just sucked on the back wheel like we had invited him.  But I am sure he would stick with us if we had problems…….(later.)

We stopped at our last stop and refueled.  The sky was darkening a bit and we were all ready to get back by now.  And lo and behold, as soon as we headed out our shadow jumped on the back.  But we were on the home stretch and things looked good.  Until Christine said her front tire was going flat.  The shadow rider pulled along side her and confirmed it.  Well, he is good for something.  Like I said, if we ran into problems he would be there to help.

It appeared to be a slow leak, so I decided to stop and hit it with some CO2 to make it back in.  We all stopped and the shadow kept going now latched onto another group!  Are you serious!  I drag him around for 15 miles, and he blows by when we have trouble.  Not real thrilled with that one.  Anyway, I hit the tire with gas and told Christine to take off.  I didn’t know how long the air would last, so I wanted to get as many miles as possible before I had to refill.  We still had about 8 or 9 miles to go at this point.

And a few miles later, we had to refill again.  But we were making it.  Until we almost got killed.  As we were making a right turn at a red light, a truck came screaming around making a left turn and cutting across both lanes aiming straight at Danny.  Christine screamed, Danny went off road and I sat their staring in disbelief.  The truck swerved at the last moment avoiding the crash and then I noticed the bike rack on the back.  He was a rider!  The moron should have known better.  We were all shaken, but we continued on and soon were a lot closer to the finish.  And then it started to rain.  And Christine’s tire was low again.

So we stopped for the third time to refill as more and more people passed us.  It was after the ride that I found out that Christine hated being passed by people while we were on the side of the road.  Evidently, she had some competition out there that I was not aware of!

As I was putting my CO2 back in its pouch, a truck stopped to see if I need help.  THE TRUCK!  I told him I was fine and didn’t recognize it until he drove off.  What a twist.  He almost kills us and then offers help.

By the time I caught up with Christine, she was entering the gates at the finish.  We made it.  We survived.  Danny had just finished his first long ride.

And then he crashed……at the back of his car……trying to get his feet out his pedals.

Don’t worry Danny, nobody saw you do it and I won’t tell a soul!

This Sucks

Do you see a trend here?  Am I making it obvious enough?  My luck has definitely gone to the dark side.  And I don’t think even Yoda can bring it back.

I just found out that the Holy Toledo Triathlon was canceled.  The “Cowards won’t show and the Weak will die” triathlon that shows you that you really aren’t in shape.  The triathlon where you get a Survivor dog tag at the end and it means something.  The race where you question your sanity every second….Canceled.

So with this latest news, that brings the total number of races this year done…..zero.  The number cancelled….three.

Now I am not mad at any of the race directors.  They did exactly what they should have done given the circumstances.  And I know they all agonized over their decision for a long time before throwing in the towel.  My hat is off to them for all that they do and have done with their races.  And I will support them all in the future.

But I also realize that I have not done one race this entire year.  Not a 5K.  Not a sprint triathlon.  Not a 5 mile charity ride from the State Capitol.  I have done NOTHING!  But I haven’t given up completely yet!

I still plan on riding the Tour de Tangi this weekend…..weather permitting.  And I still plan on doing the St. Jude Marathon…..weather permitting.  And I may find a few 5k’s out there somewhere…..weather permitting.

Other than that, this sucks!

Where’s the Snow?

It has been a crazy two weeks around here.  First we had the Gustav Experience which has trickled into this week.  With no power and chaos everywhere, I didn’t work at all last week.  And this week, we still don’t have power at work, so I have been working from home.  And that is a good thing….and a bad thing.  It’s a good thing because I get to see Christine & the kids in the morning, I have air conditioning, I can work in my underwear and I have an ample supply of snack foods.  The bad news is that I only have about two-thirds of the info I need to finish any project I am working on and my home computer and desk is not set up the same as work.  But this should only last for another day or so.

That is unless IKE decides to be a prick and lean to the right a little bit more.  That could wreak havoc on the whole area like it did to my workout tonight.  I usually do my long run on the weekend because I need the time to run and time to lay on the ground in a coma afterward.  But Christine’s plan for the St. Jude Marathon has her long run on Thursday.  With the impending uncertainty concerning the weekend, she decided to brave the weather tonight and do her long run of 2 hours.  So I sucked it up and ran as well.

And speaking of sucky, that would define the weather.  We ran into 20 to 30 mph winds, sunshine and heat,  and a hard rain storm that stung our skin.  The only thing that was missing was friggin’ snow!  And since we run at different paces, I would catch a glimpse of Christine every once in a while and she was still moving forward.  And that gave me motivation to keep going as well.

As I was heading down our street after about 2 hours, I saw her finishing up as well.  She had just run 2 hours in some brutal conditions.  Pretty tough chick if I say so myself.  Of course, we were both pretty beat up with soaked clothes and shoes, tired legs and exhausted bodies.  I managed 13.5 miles and was pleased with that.  Now if I can just figure out how I am going to survive Holy Toledo in 2 weeks, I will be okay.

Mother Nature 2…..Timbeaux Zip

I am tired of saying that this has been one of those years, but give me a break!  After my Ironman last year, I decided I wouldn’t race for a while because my family life was more important.  My kids are in one million things and I don’t want to miss any of them.  So I haven’t done one race since last November.

As the year progressed, Christine and I picked some races this Fall which we enjoyed.  Two bike rides, a sprint triathlon for both of us, Holy Toledo where we could camp and I could bleed, and the St. Jude Marathon in Memphis.  None of these events would take a massive amount of training and all of them would involve the family (as participants or spectators.)

And when race time finally has arrived, Mother Nature decided she didn’t want me to race this year.  First was the Tour d’Ascension.  A low key bike ride around my neck of the woulds to benefit the Ascension Parish Parks and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  Good causes….nice area…fun ride….Tropical Storm Fay….CANCELLED!

Next up was the Cajunman Triathlon in Lafayette.  I have done this race a couple of times and we enjoy going to it.  Lafayette is a very short trip, but we always go over on Saturday morning, go to a movie, go out to dinner, sleep in a motel and then race.  A really mini mini-vacation.  But we enjoy it.  Nice race….mini vacation….movie….Hurricane Gustav….CANCELLED! What really irks me is that I have signed up for this race 4 times and it has been nuked by hurricanes 2 times (Katrina & Gustav).  I feel sorry for the race director because he is a great guy in a tough position.

So that puts Mother Nature in the lead 2 to nothing.  Next up is the Tour de Tangipahoa bike ride followed a week later by Holy Toledo.  It’s a good thing nothing is brewing out there right now.  Oh wait!  Did I forget to mention some prick named Ike that appears to be headed our way?  As if we need that now.

Christine & I were fortunate to get our power back on Thursday.  But my mom & dad and 2 sisters still do not have power.  And what really sucked is that we haven’t even finished cleaning up from Gustav and today we started preparing for Ike.

I can remember vividly 3 years ago after Katrina & Rita hearing a song by Green Day called “Wake me up when September ends.”

It is only September 6th, but I am already humming the tune.

P.S.  I did run 6.5 miles today.  The first workout since last Saturday.

Still Alive

We are still here.  No power.  No phone.  No internet.  Some damage, but not too major.

I will post more when I actually get my computer back!

Not Santa This Time

I woke up this morning with that anxious anticipation.  No, it is not race day.  And no, Santa isn’t coming to town.  Unfortunately, it is a beast called Gustav that has decided to ruin my Labor day plans.

It is fitting that I just received an email confirming my hotel reservation in Lafayette for the Cajunman triathlon next weekend.  Three years ago I had the same reservation at the same hotel for the same race, and we all know what happened then (psst…..Katrina.)  Deja vu?  Let’s hope not.

Things do not look good for the area right now, but people are taking it more seriously.  For the first time in my life, we boarded up some windows yesterday on our house.  Now I am about to shut off the computer, get the kids downstairs and prepare for a long day of wind & rain watching.

If you haven’t already, start praying for us.