Sunday, April 22, 2012

Texas Road Rash 04/22/2012

 I didn't skate pace line in 2012. I was anxious to see how the body would handle skating with only cross training.
_friends
Half the Texas Flyers are missing: Mike and Brenda stayed in Waco, Timo and Casey stayed home with their South Asian SO’s, Jerry didn’t make it.

Renee introduced her friend Jeff who had a big camera lens. 

I finally met Christine and car-racing husband. Mike from Wisconsin joined us for pasta dinner.

Tom got off the Myerson gig unexpected early and made it to hotel by 10pm; this was an imrpovement over sleeping couple hours in car before the race.

 Ryan McGee showed up with his Justin Bieber hair cut.

I realized I left my Garmin on top of the car as the pros took off. Sigh....

 _wave start
Without the pros, I got in the lead pack with little effort. My glut started to hurt couple minutes into the race, I waited for the next pack.

Wisconsin Mike accelerated. He seemed unclear 90% of the race was ahead. I shouted some advice but let him go--after meeting Lawrence Pelo, I no longer thought pack speed was always higher than solo.

Full distance chase pack skated half-heartedly. Half marathons lead pack passed us. Half the full-distance jumped pack. I sat at the back behind Renee, having no incentive to push the pace. I felt great. I love this sport.

We swallowed Mike and a few pro skaters before half marathoners' finish.

Steven, Jeff and I took our time. We just had to keep the gap behind us.

1.5 laps to go. Pros lapped us. Steven wanted to skate with the pro. I was skeptical but attached behind Simmons' Alex as pros dilly-dollied anticipating the final surge. I considered the best case scenario: we hanged on the lead pack for couple miles. The big guns would jump to a speed beyond my capability with 1.2 laps to go, legs fried. I let pros go.

3 of us reformed our pack, continuing lacking motivation to go faster. I could sense our chasers approaching. Maybe they'd catch us and force a sprint finish. That'd be fun. We picked up Doug and a few others with half lap to go. Steven pulled for the final section, unconcerned about the finish <= different age groups. 

_pros
Mantia no show.

Bont dominated with Justin Stelly, Harry Vogel, and Briana Kramer.

Rob and Alex made some tactical error and were out sprinted at finish. Ryan Chrisler won mater.

_post race
Eva led me for 5-mile trail run @ 9:09 pace. I ran another 5k chasing rec skaters.

 I was relieved to see a road rash-free Candy. She had 1 more hard week before the big race.

I was shocked with lack of outside edge in the photo (Thanks, Allen). This partly explains my blister issue in Mojos.

_lazy half day
Austin bike shops were less intimidating than RBM and Plano Cycling. I sipped cappuccino and shopped Nixon watches at Mellow Johnny’s. A clerk had a hard time calculating cost of my swapping tri bike frame. It’s tempting to upgrade the tri-bike frame, but it’s hard to give up the overly flexible but pretty Lucero. Sometimes vanity worked toward my financial advantage. Austin tri-Cyclist sold me the sample Zoot Ultra Race < 50% MSRP. It pays to have the standard foot size.

I was impressed and annoyed by Salt Lick's 1-hour wait at 6pm.  Ray, Jenny, and I ate the take out at restaurant's playground picnic table watching Asher playing with older kids. I wished I could derive that much joy out of swinging a twig.

My body let me know which parts were out of shape. The quads never got comfortable after the race. The glutes were on fire during the 3-hr drive north.

Friday, April 6, 2012

Good Friday Long Run 04/06/2012 55 miles, 1q84, sub 7:00 pace

_Goal Jack shared his 100k experience. The running legs lasted 90k--almost done--but walking 10k took a long time. I ran a double marathon in 2011. 100k was a logical next step. If 2012 was anything like previous year, the last 10k would be mostly walking followed by a dinner with insufficient calorie followed by poor sleep. I reviewed 2011 mistakes:  Injury at mile 15.  Insufficient fluid and calorie throughout the day.  Unrealistic first 20-mile pace. Not wanting to make the run a dreaded annual event, I changed my approach when I watched Dara Torres ingesting recovery drink during workouts.  Start after sufficient sleep.  Moving speed slower than 11:00 pace for first 30 miles.  Finish within 24 hrs. Long breaks allowed.  Minimum 52.4 miles.  Last mile no slower than first mile. _7:15am I left the house after the sun came out. I was in no rush. I carried 400 calories of gel and beans. I came back to the house at least every 13 miles. _accident Kicking a concrete block was the highlight of 2011 long run. I thought the toe broke. This year I chose only well maintained streets. At mile 12.76, I stepped into a gutter and rolled the right ankle. I was looking at the GPS and didn't see the curved gutter around the fancy gazebo among the million-dollar townhomes. It reminds me of Candy's injuries. You can't focus on safety every second. The ankle didn't swell. Pain disappeared 72 hours later. _rest stops I stopped by RBM to check out Cervelo P4 and fortunately had no desire to upgrade. I went to Home Depot and haggled over LED light bulbs (yes, prices at clearance table are negotiable). I napped for 2 hour after 3-candybar lunch. I cooked instant noodle with egg at 5:30pm. I visited Pure Newtrition; charming but insufficiently educated Destiny tried to sell me her nutrition knowledge. Other fuels included gels, beans, and Blue Bell ice cream. I experiment with different shoes. Streak and Green Silence functioned as expected. Nimbus felt great at 10:00 pace--no wonder it outsold its efficient competitors. _mileage It was 11pm when I consolidated data from 3 Garmin Forerunner 305's. I still needed 6 miles to reach 100k. Last 8 miles was around 11:00 pace; feet hurt, but rest of the body felt great, cardio was under-taxed. I considered my Saturday schedule and late bedtime's implication on recovery. 100k was just a number. I quit at 55 miles. _1q84 I avoided thinking about my worries for the day: medical news from Asia unfinished lighting project at home ADA-compliant tax forms. This was the first weekend I didn't work or travel since Christmas. I would immerse in Murakami's 3-book novel at regular playing speed. I always found familiar elements in his stories. In _1q84_, the male protagonist was a sham math prodigy who practiced judo. Tengo communicates poorly with his father and move out of parents' house during early teens. He abandoned an academic career. He's a devoted novelist but all his effort only made him a superior technician. He made a living using a trivial skill acquired in school. It was a bit eerie. I fantasized movie version of the novel: Lynch directing Tengo and the teen writer; Tarantino directing assassin Aomame. I missed Robert Altman. _Boston qualifying time I read the details on the standard and realized the bar was raised by 6 minutes, not 5. The extra 60 seconds killed my desire to qualify this year. I considered qualifying on a faster course. The travel overhead made the experience feel artificial. I missed riding 35-mile RBM route with "A" group, which conflicts with optimizing training for December marathon. My half marathon experiences were mostly positive: the training allowed other sports; I always had fun. Goals: • sub 21-min Katy 5k • Yasso 800 x10 at 3:05 pace • half marathon at sub 7:00 pace • road cycling back to 2010 level • enough form for A2A 38-mile