Birthday blues

When you are going through a break up on your birthday, the pity party's 100x's worse.

First thing this morning, I was walking my dogs at the park where we hike. This little female pit bull comes running up to us out of nowhere. She was really sweet and you could tell she just had puppies. She stayed with us for our entire walk through the woods, all the dogs were off leash and I was debating about taking her home. But then she's intact and Ari was already trying to hump her. So anyways, I was thinking about what it would be like with 3 dogs, and the fact of the matter is, I simply can't afford 3 dogs. She needs to be spayed too. So I made the heart wrenching decision to take her to the SCPA. I was bawling by the time I got there and the tears didn't stop until I was home. What fucking horrible way to start your birthday, right?

Dogs always seem to find me. In fact, I found a dog on my bday last summer too but that had a happy ending.

Then I had to cancel my ride. They were saying rain and thunderstorms today but it never did rain. They now say storms overnight.

%$#*&!

I went to the Y and worked out with weights, watching the door to see if Dominic would walk in. I haven't decided if I am going to join the Y and cancel Bally's, so I am still using both. I do love the pool at the Y. That's reason enough to join. But then the whole situation with Dominic creates unnecessary anxiety the entire time I am there.

One of the guys that works there starts talking to me about my training. He says Dominic told him about my half iron race and he wants to be all Chatty Cathy with me. I keep turning my music on to tune him out but then I'd look over and he'd be trying to talk to me again. He wasn't hitting on me, just you know, saying stupid shit. He thought me and Dominic were bouncers in a club and that we were the "dynamic duo" blah blah blah. Made me feel worse. He was shocked when I said we weren't together anymore. UGH! Open the wounds up! Just rip em' wide open, right?

Onto my weight work out. Someone commented on my last post that muscle mass is the first to go when you drop a bunch of unexpected weight, so I used a little heavier weight and tried to do about 15 reps. I focused on shoulders, tri's, bi's.

I also did 3 sets of squats - ass to heel, or however you say it.

After I left the Y and had a good crying session (always in the car!), I went to Nancy's to run her dogs. I ran 4 miles and then walked the older dog for about 10 minutes.

Tonight I went to meet both my Mom and my Dad for dinner. I knew it would be kind of stressful. Being around the both of them is weird because they divorced when I was a year old. He was telling her she looked good and my Mom's all smiling and shit. I wanted to puke to be honest. I ate as much as I could. I swear 3 weeks ago I could have ate 2 helpings and tonight I can only manage a half serving.

Don't I look thrilled?


Yay, just 4 more hours and this day is done.

Cranky

2.5 weeks post break up

8 lbs lost

My size 6's are falling off. Shorts that fit 2 weeks ago are hanging off me now. This can't be good. I am afraid of losing muscle mass that I have worked so hard to achieve. I do not want to lose anymore weight!

Tomorrow is my birthday and I really just want to get the day over with. I was planning to do a solo century ride. Now they're predicting storms, so I think that option might be out. I also have to get to Nancy's to run her dogs since the dog's freezer is getting low. I really did not want to run her dogs on my fucking birthday but whatever. I am hoping to get in some kind of ride though.

Today's workout:

I had so much shit to do at my house I didn't get out for my long run till 11am. That meant it was HOT. Like a sauna. We have really high humidity.

I met Blake, my new running buddy, downtown where he lives. Blake's done a half marathon and now he is training for a full - Columbus marathon in Oct. He's a faster runner than me (who isn't?).

We decided to run 2 hours. I didn't map it out so I have no idea the distance. Maybe 12 miles. It was really, really hot. I stuck some Endurolyte capsules and a gel in my sports bra. I also brought a frozen water bottle. I just can't do fuel belts.

We ran downtown towards the purple bridge and over to route 8. We ran for an hour and I was hurting! It was so freaking hot. I was totally drenched and Blake is getting whistled at cuz he had his shirt off (sorry no pics). I was using his shirt as a towel. We stopped and bought Poweraide and water. I guzzled. Then I had to pee. This run was starting to suck. I know I have to heat train but it is so hard!

We ran back across the purple bridge and ran through downtown during lunch hour, tons of people. He was booking it too, the last half mile or so. We finally made it back to his apartment and I went up and had some yogurt and a protein shake.

When I left I went to the Y and swam a quick 1000m. More for a cool down than anything.

Hot hike:
Tonight I met up with my friend Stacy from years back (I know, another old friend!). She moved back here from Chicago recently and also has a dog so we decided to go hiking with our pups. Our other friend Edge, from way long ago (25 years!), was in town, so he met up with us too.

Edge and Stacy



She is smart not to tan



Johnny, Stacy's dog, cooling down


The dogs all got along well. Ari and Johnny were playing and running around like puppies. Lucy was like the Play Police so she didn't get to participate in the game.


Hot dogs



Stacy and Edge came back to my house for a few and then they left.


20 years of friendship

Monday's madness

Yesterday was another busy day. Busy is good.

I got some stuff done around my house and then met Amanda and Tom for a speed run. I have never ever done a speed run in the 9 years I have been running and Amanda is fast as shit so I was nervous. I didn't want to slow them down. We met at a parking garage and left from there. Amanda's marathon PR is 3:23 so she is a strong runner. Tom is more like me as far as time goes, though he can pick up the pace. So Amanda has us do an all out sprint for 30 seconds every 5 minutes or so and it hurt. They were always way ahead of me after the sprint but I'd catch up.

The run was awesome! We ended up doing 5.3 miles at an 8:40 pace! HOLLA!!!

After the run was done Amanda left to go take a shower and go back to work and me and Tom rode for about an hour and a half. I did not push myself at all on the bike, I was too busy blabbing away my life story to Tom. We only got in about 25 miles or so.

This is Tom, he's a total sweetheart

Why am I giving peace signs?

After the ride I took my bike up to the shop so I could get my new seat post and get my aero bars put back on. Wanda was really sweet to me, I am still getting my stuff at a good discount though I am not sure Ron is real happy about me still coming around. He and Dominic are tight. Ron was kind of cold to me, but whatever, right?

This is my bike shop

Much much better

This morning I headed back out to East Fork lake to meet Amanda for a long swim. She is the chick I met last weekend who is doing a full Ironman distance race in Oct. We're both doing the same half iron in 4 weeks.

She needed a 1.5 hour swim today plus it was an OWS so I was psyched. I haven't had any OWS' this summer except when I raced, and after my ride last week.

We swam out, buoy to buoy. All the way across was 750m or more according to my time. So we did that 6x's for 4500m. My longest swim ever. I think that's like 2.5 miles or something (someone please correct me if I am wrong). Amanda was a strong swimmer and I followed her since I couldn't see the buoy's. Water was calm but got choppy as the boat traffic got worse. The time went by SO fast. I couldn't believe we were done and I felt great afterwards! I did not wear a wetsuit but I think I need to get some practice in it.

After the swim we managed a 33 mile bike ride around the same country roads I rode last weekend. It was a good ride but I didn't really push myself like I used to with Dominic. Me and Amanda talked a lot during the ride. In fact, we were pretty much blabbing away the entire time except on some kick ass hills (she passed me on the hills, I have 20lbs on her).

Nothing majorly exciting happened on the ride except for this old fat fuck on a motorcycle who honked at us really really loud and about scared me enough to pee in my pants! We flipped him off and I wanted to catch up to him and spit on the him - he pissed me off so bad.

This is Amanda. Isn't she pretty?


Amanda is a cool girl and I am just so psyched to have met her and Tom. Maybe I am wrong, but for whatever reason, these two were put in my life for a reason and at the right time.

I stopped to pee in the cornfield


My bike is smooth as butter. Loving it. Tomorrow I am picking up a carbon seat post and getting my aero bars put back on. I was missing them today. My shoulders weren't too sore either but getting down in aero is quite nice in a headwind.

My best friend Emily came over with Chipotle tonight. We went to get some ice cream on our way to meet up with some of her friends. While we were sitting outside eating our ice cream, a guy pulls up in a car and waves at us. He gets out, and holy shit! It's Kelon - another old friend from like 20 years ago. He used to give me rides to the methadone clinic about 12 years ago! And get this - he's SOBER. In recovery too. Plus he's riding bikes and volunteering at the local hipster bike co-op. He is rebuilding an old Lotus. So maybe we'll hook up for a ride soon.

Isn't it kind of weird these people are popping up into my life now?

Emily, my best friend from the 7th grade.

Random Saturday

I promised myself I'd try out my new trail shoes as soon as they were delivered and they were on the porch when I got home last night.





I took the dogs to the Stone Steps 5 mile trail this morning. The shoes are so fucking awesome. If you are a trail runner and you don't run in trail shoes, you should. Asics totally rock. Plus they are GREEN! I want to wear them everywhere.

Anyways, the run was great. We came up on about 7 people with about 8-10 dogs off leash. My dogs were off leash too and Lucy behaved herself. All the dogs were so psyched to be in the woods. Ari got himself covered in mud by laying down and digging in the mud puddles. The run totally wiped my dogs out so I didn't feel guilty when I left for work.

Total mileage for this past week:
Bike 112 miles
Swim 5500meters (3 miles??)
Run 23 miles

This Wednesday is my 38th birthday and I am doing to do a long solo ride to collect my thoughts. I HAVE to get over this break up. I got an email from BGW (Bikes Gone Wild), friend and commenter on this blog, that gave me a good kick in the ass this morning:

"HE KNOWS ALL TOO WELL THAT YOU WANT HIM BACK...not good for you...
...if you got back together right now, while you're being "needy" (& lets face it, you are), any & all problems in the future will be blamed on you & you'll feel even fucking worse when he points fingers at you & sez "it's all your fault"...& he will...
...so, wake the fuck up, suck it up, harden the fuck up & take a chill pill..."

Old Friends
My old dope fiend friends that made it out alive are the greatest gifts to me. I talked to a good friend today, a guy I have known since the 8th grade (25 years!). He used to work with Dominic and knows Dominic's x-girlfriend. Brendan used to be way fucked up on drugs too. He is in recovery now, has 4 years clean. We talked for a long time.


Me and Brendan in 1989, drunk off our asses.



I told him about the break up. I told him about Dominic's Mom. He told me Dominic's x said the same thing, that his Mom always came first. I should have known, right?? We talked about a lot of stuff and I feel good that we're back in touch. He also hooked me up with another guy in recovery that is training for the Columbus marathon and I am going to meet him on Tuesday for a long run.

I am planning a trip to LA. I have an old friend out there that is going through some shit and she is reaching out to me. I get free plane tickets at work and I found space at the end of September. She lives in Santa Monica. I can't wait to ride a bike on the boardwalk or go for a run on the beach. Lisa and I lived together when I was 18. Brendan and Lisa and I were all really good friends but Lisa never got into hard drugs. Last xmas she visited me.

Be a good neighbor
I am taking care of my neighbor's dogs while they are gone for a week. These are the same neighbor's who let my dogs out 3x's a week when I am at work, so if they need anything, I try to help.

They have 2 dogs, a Jack Russell, and a mix that they found under a car when he was just 4 weeks old. PD, the Jack, is full of so much pent up energy - I never met a dog that needed a walk so fucking bad in my life. He barks constantly. Tyson, the mix, hides in the bedroom and won't come out. I had to leash him this morning to go outside. I am going to start walking PD. That poor dog is just a headcase. EVERY dog needs a walk everyday. I don't care if you have 20 acres of land, the dog needs a walk.

Sad
My 91 year old uncle is about to die. He and my aunt have been together for 61 years. He has cancer and it's spread and he went into the hospital yesterday. My Mom doesn't think he'll go home. My Mom is really morbid - she already told me what she's wearing to his funeral.

So that's it for me today. Starting tomorrow I am off work for 4 days. I plan to stay very busy.
Have a good week and thanks for reading.

Track Crash

Going through the motions and TAGGED

FUCK YOU DOMINIC (not like he reads this blog or anything).

Wasn't really going to post today cuz I feel like shit and I puked again before work. Felt crappy all morning and can hardly eat a bite. And my fucking 38th birthday is next week and I don't want to do shit but maybe go for a long ride. It'll probably be another lonely day off.

Have had 3 random crying fits today:
1. On the phone with my BFF Emily
2. In the parking lot at Whole Foods
3. In the bathroom at work on the phone with my Mom.

And I have been tagged by Munky so I guess I will play.

If you could have any one — and only one — bike in the world, what would it be?
I haven't a clue. It would probably be something along the lines of this for a time trial bike or one of these for a road bike.

Do you already have that coveted dream bike? If so, is it everything you hoped it would be? If not, are you working toward getting it? If you’re not working toward getting it, why not?
No, my Fuji is not a dream bike. I hope to get another TT bike built this winter. We'll see. I am still in debt from the last bike.

If you had to choose one — and only one — bike route to do every day for the rest of your life, what would it be, and why?
I like the new route I found to Tom's house - across the ferry and down route 8.

What kind of sick person would force another person to ride one and only one bike ride to to do for the rest of her / his life?
Not sure. Probably some dickhead motherfucker like Dominic.

Do you ride both road and mountain bikes? If both, which do you prefer and why? If only one or the other, why are you so narrow minded?
I don't ride a mountain bike yet but am very open to the idea. If I met other mountain bikers I would probably try it for sure.

Have you ever ridden a recumbent? If so, why? If not, describe the circumstances under which you would ride a recumbent.
No, no and no.

Have you ever raced a triathlon? If so, have you also ever tried strangling yourself with dental floss?
Love triathlon, love racing in them, love training for them. WTF kind of question is that about the dental floss? Who made up this tag? A hater I think.

Suppose you were forced to either give up ice cream or bicycles for the rest of your life. Which would you give up, and why?
I could give up ice cream for my bike.

What is a question you think this questionnaire should have asked, but has not? Also, answer it.
I can't think of anything clever to put here.

You’re riding your bike in the wilderness (if you’re a roadie, you’re on a road, but otherwise the surroundings are quite wilderness-like) and you see a bear. The bear sees you. What do you do?
Pee my pants.

Now, tag three biking bloggers. List them below.
Harp
Claire - SpeedRacer
LG

Hours of training today = 4

I groveled. He said NO. I am hurting.

me:
i cant believe you can just walk away
from me. i thought we had something
special. i miss u so fucking much.
u were supposed 2 luv me 4ever.

him:
i was late that's it u asked for
your things and yr key back.
u dumped me my heart is broken
im going to frow old alone. u were it
4 me but luv doesnt fix all.

me:
yes it does. we were strong. we
were going to b 2gether thru
everything. i should not have got
so mad when you were late but
u should have said sorry 4 being late
i am so sorry i will always luv u.

him:
i hope u find happiness in your
life but its not going 2 be with me.
i will not let you hurt me anymore
i need 2 get my life in order maybe
b friends

So after this teary exchange of text messages, I hopped on my bike and left. I was supposed to meet Tom at 11:30am for a 2 hour run, so I decided to ride to his house. He lives right across the Anderson Ferry so I rode to it, crossed it, and rode down route 8 to where he lives. It was 13 miles to his house.

For our run, we took off towards Covington and I had no idea where we were going, I just followed Tom. He runs 9 minute miles so I was having a great run, a great pace, and I was pushing hard. He was talking a lot, I liked listening to him talk about stuff I needed to hear. Spirituality, relationships, being sober, all kinds of stuff. The run was awesome, the weather was perfect, and we had a beautiful day. We ran along the river and on the Newport Levy and across the Purple People Bridge. It went by really fast. I think we ended up doing 12-13 miles but not sure.

After the run, we made more plans to train again next week and I hopped on my bike to ride home. I only had 13 miles to ride but at the end, I had a long kickass hill up 2 miles. I felt really good and my legs just kept going and going. I got up the hill and headed home to get ready for work.

Songs that rocked my ride:
Hellraiser - Motorhead
Reputation - Joan Jett
Big Poppa - Biggie

FUCK DOMINIC

Tuesdays are the worst

Blogger always fucks up my paragraphs.

Today was not such a good day. I started missing him again and got all depressed again. I guess it comes in waves, you know?

A 6 mile run helped a bit.

I forgot about my black messenger bag and had to text him for it. He left it on his porch for me to pickup. Can you believe he is such an ass that he can't even see me? I thought we had an actual friendship, but apparently not. Mother fucker. I stopped by the bike shop cuz I forgot my gels and shot bloks. I had missed him by 5 minutes.

So after the bike shop and a couple other stops, I went to the Y and laid out by the pool. And then I started crying! Right there in public. No one really noticed so I kept on for a little while. Then I went inside and lifted weights for 30 minutes. Best to take it out there, so I lifted a bit heavier, and less reps.

And today I got my haircut. My poor hair was so dead from the chlorine. I love my hair stylist too, she's like therapy. I got to spill my guts to her and eat candy bars.

Tomorrow I am doing a 2 hour run with Tom.

She cut 4 inches off my hair.

Productive Monday

I had to get Lucy to the vet this morning for her yearly thyroid test. I always take them to East Fork Lake (where I rode yesterday) afterwards. My plan was to run the mountain bike trails for 60 minutes but I decided to rest my knee. It wasn't as sore this morning, but it wasn't 100%. So we walked for 60 minutes. The dogs had a blast.

After the hike, I let them loose on the beach to run around in the water. Dobes aren't the best swimmers. Cheeko swam more than these two.

Ari acts like a puppy and runs around like a fool in the water

Lucy is more chill, just likes to stand in the water.

Some fatfuck on a mower started yelling at me to get the dogs off the beach. We only got about 20 minutes beach time until he ruined it.

After I got the dogs home, I stuck my bike in the car and got my gym bag and all my crap, and headed to the bike shop. Wanda switched out the stem and I cleaned my bike up, cleaned the chain, etc. We put it on the trainer and made some adjustments.

Better, but not anywhere near perfect

I brought the bars up some per BGW and a couple other comments. I brought the seat back a bit. It still makes my shoulders sore. Why is this? My legs felt better, my knee feels better, but my shoulders were just sore, after just 26 miles.

I think I will take it to Bio Wheels and get a fitting. Fuck. I hope it's 100 bucks well spent. I never in my life would have thought I'd be doing this. How lucky was I to have a personal bike mechanic 24/7.

After the bike shop I went to the pool and swam 3000m, 120 laps. I am getting used to the longer swims now. I even like it.

In other news.......

The girl I met at East Fork yesterday, Amanda, emailed me and we talked on the phone. Her training partner for IM, Tom, is brand new to triathlon. He just did his 1st marathon in May. They are 5 weeks into IM training. First year doing tri's and he's doing a full IM. They live like 10 minutes away!

Tom called me today and we ended up hooking up for a ride tonight. He and I have some of the same days off because he works nights in a restaurant. So we rode for about an hour and a half, 26 miles. I met him at his house and we rode out on my favorite route 8. It was hot out but we had a nice tailwind for part of the ride.

We got along really well and he told me about a book I need to find called From Addict to Ironman and a group called Racing for Recovery - have any of you guys heard of this? I found it totally cool, beyond words. I guess we addicts all gravitate towards each other, unknowingly.

So I am planning a 2 hour run with Tom this week and a 1.5 hour OWS with Amanda on Sunday. YAY for new training partners!

My best friend Emily is back from vacation and it was such a relief to tell her everything. She was so bummed for me. I am bummed for me too. Life sucks but I think it will eventually get better. It will too, right?

Better

I never heard back from the Gears 4 Beers guy, so I decided to go out to East Fork Lake and train with the Cincy Express tri group. Usually they train at Caesars Creek, which is an hour drive. I am just not into spending the gas money.

Woke up 5:45am, ate oatmeal, had a protein shake, coffee. Walked the dogs a couple miles. Left at 7am. Arrived way early.

I knew a couple of them. I met Ann and Barry at a race last year. Both are maybe late 40's, early 50's, and they train and race a lot. The group wasn't rude or anything, they just weren't... I don't know....overly friendly. You know what I mean? I got the same vibe from them last summer. I read posts on their forum though I rarely post.

I thought a few people were doing 70 miles. About 8 people showed up, and they all said they just wanted to do 25 miles. So I was bummed from the beginning. We rode the OLY course of an upcoming race (it's on my schedule but I am not going to register for it). It was a great route, rolling hills, country roads. I kept up just fine. I didn't even pay attention to the average. The wind was kicking, a storm due this afternoon. The heat and humidity were very high. 90's. We all rode together until we got back to the turn for the lake. Me and another guy turned the other way and rode another 10 miles down a different route. The rest of them went running. When I got back to my car I drank some G2, had a Hammer Gel, water, and edurolyte capsules.

For the second half of my ride I headed back out the same way onto the OLY course. I rode the first 10 miles of it, and then turned back around and headed UP the big hills I had just came down. The climbs felt good and I was huffing and puffing. I stopped wearing headphones when I ride, about 90% of the time now, so I can hear myself breathing. It's weird.

I rode a total of 60 miles. I had planned to run for a half hour or so after but the top of my shin hurts. Right under my kneecap, to the left. Anyone know what that could be? It is sore to walk on too. And then there is the huge blister on the top of my foot that hurts like a MF. I wanted to give running a few days off.

Doesn't fit for shit


My shoulders and lower back were very sore. Look how far out those bars are. I am going to the shop tomorrow and see if Wanda can change the stem and do some other minor adjustments. If it's still not right after she messes with it, I'll take it to another shop and fucking pay to have someone fit me to the bike. Me and Dominic always thought that was such a rip off. He'll do it for free.


Fake smile


I wore a helmet Betty.

How the fuck did I get a chain bite on the top of my thigh?


I decided to swim after the ride. I haven't done any open water swims (OWS) except for in my races. I brought my wetsuit but it way too hot to wear one. I swam along the buoys, nice and easy, waves from the boats making is slightly difficult. When I made the turn around I saw another girl swimming too. We both swam along the buoys. I only swam for 18 minutes, maybe 1000y. We both got out at the same time and she asked me if I was training for something. I told her about my half iron in 5 weeks. She is doing the same race, plus the Great Floridian which is an iron distance race in October. We talked for a few and exchanged emails and cells. She has a training partner, and they aren't too far from me. She works right near my house too. I am psyched to meet another potential training partner. I hope we get to hook up.

I was feeling hopeful when I drove home. I talked to my friend Yvette, a girl I used to work with at the Dobe rescue. She knew of all my issues with Dominic and his Mom. We talked for a long time, and she made me feel so much better. The relationship he had with his Mom would always be #1. I could never change that. So it's better this way. Yea, I guess I do get angry, but this wasn't 100% my fault like he said. Never ever date a momma's boy again.

I went to the grocery and went a little crazy. I bought cookies and frozen pizza, a bunch of stuff I stopped buying when I was with D. Not that I am going to eat a bunch of crap, but this week I will because I have zero appetite.

I also bought myself some flowers.

Aren't they pretty?


"Tears Dry on Their Own"
Amy Winehouse

He walks away,
The sun goes down,
He takes the day but I'm grown,
And in your way,
in this blue shade
My tears dry on their own,

I don't understand,
Why do I stress A man,
When there's so many bigger things at hand,
We could a never had it all,
We had to hit a wall,
So this is inevitable withdrawal,
Even if I stop wanting you,
A Perspective pushes true,
I'll be some next man's other woman soon,
I shouldn't play myself again,
I should just be my own best friend,
Not fuck myself in the head with stupid men

Blah

I ate doughnuts this morning. Just because I can. It's the 1st time I've had a craving for any type of food since last week. I am not getting in too many calories and the scale still confirms a 4lb weight loss. Thanks GOD for protein shakes, right?

New running shoes are like heaven. I didn't realize how bad my old ones were. I took the dogs 5.5 miles this morning before work, and I love my 2130's! They feel really good. I am only going to use them for road running.

I bought a different pair for the trails:

I love the green.
.

Everytime my phone rings, it's my Mom. She's worried about me. It's depressing. I am missing my best friend Emily who left a week ago for Bonaire with her husband. They like to dive. I can't remember if she was supposed to come back today or if it was a 10 day trip. I just can't wait to see her.

I need a rebound. Some guy to take my mind of this shit. Meeting guys is such a huge fucking pain in the ass. The only way is to find someone cool is on a ride somewhere. I dread it.

Plus look at me. I am not the typical girl a guy would want for a partner. I don't wear make up or jewelry. I hardly ever look in the mirror. I almost always have food on my face when I eat (seriously). I have tattoos, some lasered off and some intact. I have some big ass scars on my leg and hip (from my drug addiction). One guy I dated last summer thought I had been attacked with a knife. I usually just tell people I was in a car accident.

I am planning a long ride tomorrow with either the Gears for Beers group or the local tri-club. I don't know which group yet. They both promise I won't get dropped. I just want a lot of miles.

Life goes on

It's getting easier to wake up
Today I got up at 5:30am and went to the Y and swam laps. I keep waiting for them to swipe my card, and then say "Maam, you are no longer a member here". Should be any day now. The thought of swimming at Bally's makes me want to throw up. Anyways, I swam 1500y. The time went by fast and I felt like swimming more but I had to go home and get my dogs out somewhere.

New shoes!
When I got home with the dogs I had a package from UPS - my running shoes were finally here! I ordered them almost 2 weeks ago from Dave's Pro Shop. Free shipping, cool, but it sucks how long it took them to get to me. I basically wasn't going to run again until I got the new shoes. My old ones gave me blisters and I was afraid my ITB might start talking to me if I ran in fucked up shoes.

Dreading next week's days off
I started a list for next week. Many miles of training to keep me busy. And tired. The worst part will be after the workout. My favorite part of training was eating with Dominic afterwards. We really could put away some food. Now when I finish a long workout, I don't give a shit what I put in my mouth.

Should I stay or should I go?
I got a voicemail from Wanda, the owner at my old bike shop, last night. She told me to bring my bike in today and she'd switch out the stem. I called her back and told her I'd be at work the next few days and that the soonest I could do it is Monday. I told her frankly that it might be better if I just find a new bike shop, under the circumstances. I don't want to run into him. She, of course, doesn't want me to go anywhere else. It's just awkward, ya know?

Mom-ism
Something that made me laugh this morning was my Mom. Last week she was telling me she thought someone was coming into her condo and stealing fruit. She swore a cantaloupe and 2 nectarines were missing. Luckily she found them and isn't losing her mind. I love my Mom. She is always there for me.

SAD - I still don't understand how he can say stuff like "I will love you forever", and then walk away, just like that. I feel like I am going to lose my fucking mind at times. It's hard not to think about that stuff he said.

Broken

After my 23 minute swim!

The nice photographer that gave me batteries at my last tri sent me some pictures she took. This is the only one I saved. The others were of me crossing the finish and Dominic is in them so I didn't want to even save them. He looked so happy in those pictures, so proud of me. FUCK I hate this.

I am having a hard time of it today. I puked. Cried a lot.

Got this text this morning:

please leave my frame

rims and camera

on porch i will pick them

up thismorning

So his stuff is out on the porch. He had an old Raleigh frame and some tires and rims in the garage along with his camera (no more videos for this blog).

We had so many plans. Our birthdays were a week apart. Kings Island, dinners, tattoos, we had so many plans. I guess it's a good thing he never tattooed my Hebrew name on my bicep. And I didn't tattoo the date we met on my neck.

I still don't know if I am going to race anymore this year. I haven't registered for the East Fork tri I was supposed to do August 3rd, and I probably won't. My half iron is in 5 weeks. I can probably finish it just fine, but I just don't have anyone to impress now. It doesn't even seem worth it. My summer is pretty much shot.

I don't seem to care about any of it right now. Maybe this feeling will go away but right now I don't feel like doing shit.

Acceptance

4 lbs lost so far.

I have accepted it and am trying to focus on going forward. I try not to dwell on my sad thoughts, but it's difficult. I think about Dominic and he was everything you could ever want in a boyfriend/partner. Except for the hold his Mom has on him. Have any of you dated a momma's boy?

He moved into his Mom's house with his dogs 4 years ago and is still living there. It got on my nerves so bad. The only way he'd move out is if we could have bought the house next door. How many of you live next door to your parents or in-laws? Does it suck?

So he and I had this plan to sell my house and move into the empty house next door which we had already looked at. Then he lost his job and his Mom emailed us with a plan. She didn't want him to find work. She said he could buy bikes and fix them up and sell them and that she'd help with $$. So I freaked out, like how the hell are we going to buy a house if you don't have a job?

Dominic was very close with his family, and would drop me in a heartbeat to help them or do something with them. We argued about that a lot.

It's better it's over.

Onto today's workout:

I lifted weights at the Y for an hour. I don't think I will be a member there much longer. Dominic joined us up together, and the money comes out of his Mom's account. I still have my Bally's membership but I really do not want to swim in their pool.

So I did shoulders, tri-ceps, biceps, all very high reps, 3 sets, worked for an hour.

After the Y I went to a different bike shop to get a floor pump. Fuck waiting for Nashbar. They had it on back order and I couldn't wait so I went there and got one and Nashbar refunded my $$.

Dominic hated that shop. He thought they acted like pretentious assholes. I might be going to this shop from now on. I just feel weird going to my old shop. They always gave me Dominic's discounts so I am sure they'd feel weird about doing that now. Plus I do not want to run into him.

Anyways....

I went to my swim club and swam laps. 2000m. Baked in the sun.

Ran Nancy's dogs a few miles. My dog's freezer is full again.


I used this picture on my match.com profile last year.

Thanks again for reading, and commenting. Your keeping me going! I don't even know what else to say, but THANK YOU!

It is done

Dominic and I are for sure over. He told me it's my anger that did it. Something so small, escalated into this. And it's all my fault. His words to me were "Judi, don't fuckin' call me ever again".

Solo city riding

Saw Dominic this morning. I called him for my key and bike tool thingie that I needed on my ride. I asked if we were going to fuck around with this and he said NO, it's done. So I took him his stuff and got my key back. I was bawling like an idiot right there in front of him. Got my stuff, left. More tears.

How the fuck can guys just walk away like that? He said I was his soulmate 2 days ago. I feel broke.

I left my house about 10:30am on my bike. I had it at the shop last night and Ron (owner) got the gears shifting smooth, tires all pumped up, I was good to go.

So with no where to be and no one to meet or see today, I didn't make plans. I just started riding.

About 3 miles from home my tire goes flat. Can I just tell you that I haven't had any flat tires since I met Dominic 11 months ago!!! And now I get a flat? I had different tires 2 weeks ago. Dominic switched those out for "slicks" which he said were faster but skinnier.

So as soon as I realize I have a flat, I hop off the bike, and pop the front wheel off. I get the old tube out, and start trying to get the new one in, and it's not working. I couldn't get the tire back on. I am a loser. More tears. Pissed off tears.

Called Dominic and asked where my old tires were. His answer: "Your bike isn't my fucking problem, call Ron". Click.

I was about 6 miles from the bike shop. I couldn't believe it. I picked the bike up and started walking.A truck pulls over almost instantly, and I get a ride to the shop. More tears.

Wanda (Ron's wife) and I went through 4 tubes before we realized that the tire itself had a rip in it. I found my old tire (the one I raced on 3 weeks ago) in the shop, so we used that. I got a lot of practice changing tires, I hope to hell the next time this happens I can change it. I can't go a whole year again without getting one, right?

So finally at 12:30 I am back on the road to....where?

I kept the entire ride in the city, and I did a total of 53 miles.

I rode from the bike shop, down Montana to Northside. Headed to Clifton, and up 2 big hills. Went downtown and over the purple bridge to KY. I headed towards route 8. Had to turn aound due to construction - road closed. Headed back over the purple bridge to eastern ave. I rode to Lunken, and rode the loop at Lunken once. Headed back downtown and down Central to the Harrison ave viaduct that I hate so much. I rode up Harrison, which is a slow incline for 2 miles.

My shoulders were sore from this bike too. I needed someone to help me get my position right! Dominic always did every damn thing for my bike. I am so fucking helpless, I don't know how to do shit. So I stopped to call the bike shop, and Dominic answered. I talked to Wanda about my sore shoulders, and she thought I needed a shorter stem. Told me to come on in. Dominic was there when I got there, but on his way out the door. I didn't talk to him but he started telling me to tell Ron what to do to my bike.

Ron was too busy to do anything to it tonight. I need the seat adjusted, the bars down a tad, and find out what the fuck is causing the sore shoulders.

I am thinking seriously about giving up cycling, and triathlon. Honestly, last year was just so fun with me and Dominic riding all the time but really I suck at it alone and can't even fucking change a tire. I am lame. Plus i don't want to go to my races alone. How fun is that to have no one at the finish line?

15 in the woods

WOW, thank you. For the comments. It's a shitty fucking day.

Some have been reading this blog a while know about the drama that goes on between me and Dominic. He knows I write about it. But this time I don't think we are getting back together. He said "it' done".

A girl who's been reading my blog a while mentioned she thought me and Dominic fought a lot. She got that just from reading my blog and a few IM's. He has issues, I have issues. We're too alike. I have a lot of issues as you can probably imagine.

I don't really know if it's my fault or his, sometimes I think I should never attempt this relationship shit. I am probably too fucked up, you know what I mean? We ALL have problems and pasts, I know, but some of us come from places you'd never even think existed. Most guys couldn't handle a girl with my kind of baggage anyways. That's what set Dominic apart.

Onto something better......

I just got back from my 15 mile run in the woods. This time I brought my camera so I could show you the Stone Steps. I ran the 5 mile loop 3x's. The 1st loop I took a wrong turn and ended up in a field. I probably only did 4 because I missed a big portion of the trail. I was crying a lot, I must have looked like some psychotic crazy girl, running through the woods, crying and boo-hooing all over the place. I almost tripped several times.

I took a break during each loop to check voicemail and drink G2 and eat a gel. Trail running is so much different than road running. This trail kicks my ass and is extremely technical.

Here is the Stone Steps. I did this 3x's.

The start of the Stone Steps



Going up


Still going....

You can almost see the top

Me at the top.

Single

Dominic broke up with me this morning.

Bummer Sunday

I woke up with so much anxiety this morning. I dreamt about riding, then running. All fucking night long. So I got up and took the dogs for a 3 mile hike and they ran and ran. Dominic called while I was in the woods. The conversation turned sour and made my anxiety even worse.

I took the dogs home, fed them and then left for the grocery store. I hadn't heard back from Dominic when I got back so I went for a short 4 mile run to clear my head. It helped my anxiety a little.

Dominic and I ended up not hanging out. He was busy helping his brother's friend move. And I was salty.

The sun came out and I went to meet my Mom at her pool. I swam a lot of laps (3000m). I liked their lap lanes. NO KIDS. I was pretending to race the other lap swimmers. I beat some of the guys but the girls kicked my ass. I layed around in the sun with my Mom. It was nice and hot and sunny and the water felt awesome.

Never hearing back from Dominic, we had a ride scheduled for tonight. I was supposed to be testing out my new Fuji road frame. He built it up and brought it over last week. We were going to size it and everything. So by 6pm I hadn't heard from him, I said 'fuck it, I'm gonna ride". I didn't have a pump (sent back for an exchange at nashbar) but the tires felt good so I took a chance. I only wanted to ride for an hour and a half.

You like my "eat a dik" sticker?


I got about 4 miles away and all of the sudden my left crank arm is falling off. I am in traffic and on a hill. Clipped out, hopped off the bike, about shit when I saw the crank arm hanging there. I get on my phone and called Dominic to ask how the fuck could this happen and why he'd bring me my bike back like that? He was only about 15 minutes away so he came and met me with tools. He fixed the crank arm. I took off again. The bike continued to ride like shit. It's making noises I don't like. The fork is carbon but it's not my old alpha q fork (didn't fit this frame). The front end feels heavier. It is heavier than my tt bike. I almost want that bike back.

I finished the ride, rode down some big hills, got to do a lot of climbing, and got in just 21 miles. At least I got to spin my legs. It was one of the shittiest rides I have ever had.

I am so frustrated and pissed and of course I am sitting home alone tonight (do you know how much I hate living alone?). Took a xanax so I am off to sleep. Plan to wake up and run 15 in the woods. Gotta release this anxiety.

Kick ass bike pix from last weekend

This is the best picture ever of me on a bike. It actually looks like I am working hard!

Funny story

To keep my dogs busy, some days I give them big raw knuckle bones to chew on. They eat them in their crates, on old towels. Then I usually throw the towels in the washer.

I guess some of the pieces of bone were still in the washer when I ran Dominic's chamois' through. I hung them up to dry and yesterday he went for a ride. He said he could feel something poking into his ass and it hurt! He thought it was a stitch or something.

When he took the bibs off, he found a piece of bone stuck in the chamois and a dime sized open sore on his ass!

I was going to take a picture, but it is too gross to show.

EFF IT

Ari loves his belly rubs


I didn't plan to blog today just for the simple fact that I don't have much to say. I am at work, we've been very busy and it's been a long day.

I did my 6am swim of 1500y and then hiked with the dogs for 45 minutes.

Tonight my unemployed boyfriend is coming over and bringing me a late night snack.

Me and my Mom are ok again.

And last but not least, I received this comment in my email this morning and am not really sure what to think.

I've tried to follow your blog several times, but I'll tell you, I just can't seem to get past all of the f*ck and f*cking cursing that you do on your blog. Is it necessary? Well, it is your blog, so obviously you will do what you like, but all of that cursing is indicative of someone who has just given up addiction, but not grown spiritually.

I guess I do cuss a lot. So, because I cuss, it means I have not grown spiritually? I have to disagree Anonymous. I know I put it all out there and people are going to judge me. I don't care about that. What I do care about is someone telling me I am still an addict without the drugs.

Yes I cuss.

Don't like it? Don't read my blog.

Random Thursday Thoughts

Family stuff bumming me out
1. Dominic's lack of a job is stressing me out. He's building and restoring old bikes, going for bike rides, playing with his dogs, hanging out with me. Not good.
2. My Mom and I are fighting and it's really stressful. I won't blog about my family drama but I'll tell this: My family is fucked up.

Volunteer
I signed up to volunteer at Ironman Louisville on August 31st. I am very excited. It's the weekend after my half iron race. So is anyone reading this blog going to be at IMKY 08?

I go through running shoes too fast
I bought two pair of running shoes in April, a pair of Brooks and a pair of Asics. Both are dead. It's only been 3 months. The Asics I wore trail running though (I really need trail running shoes!) So...I ordered a new pair of Asics 2130's for road running for now. Free shipping from Dave's Pro Shop.

Injury and miles

I got a letter in the mail for a free chiro appt at my old chiro's office. They have a new DR and they offered me a free session so I took them up on it. I went there last fall for my IT band issues. I did the active release methods though massage worked better for my ITB.

My hamstring is starting to cause some sciatica so it hurts when I run, not bad enough to stop, but hurts nonetheless. I stretch it out a lot. I had my acupuncturist work on it this week too. It felt a lot better after she stuck a bunch of needles in the back of my leg.

So today's chiro appointment he really stretched it out, and beat the shit out of my leg. It felt good. Right now my hamstring feels great.

I ran 9 miles today, slow. Up a lot of big hills. It rained on me the entire time. My MP3 seems to know when it's raining cuz it plays songs like Miss Elliott (I can't stand the rain) and Here comes the rain again by the Eurythmics. When Microphone Junkie came on by Ferry Corston (thanks P.O.M.!) I kicked it into high gear.

After my run I went to the gym to lift weights. I did "back" and Dominic did "chest". People stare at him when he lifts, especially when he does chest. He grunts and groans and goes so heavy he can barely get in 6 reps. I kept telling him to go light cuz he is getting too BIG.

It seems with my half iron race in 7 weeks, no matter how miles I get in, it never seems to be enough. It's what keeps me up at night. I should be doing more. More miles. Never enough.

So far since Sunday I have got in:
2 bike rides (25 miles and 40 miles)
2 swims (1500m and 2500m)
2 weight sessions (back and arms)
4 runs (6, 5, 3.5 and 9 miles)

The week isn't over. I plan to get in another run and another swim.

And last but not least.....
Dominic lost his job this week.

Trail run and a river ride

Today started out with a trail run, on the same 5.3 mile trail that always kicks my ass. Today it kicked my dog's asses too.

It started out ok, but Ari and Lucy ran so much in the beginning that by mile 3 they were panting like crazy. Luckily the creek had water. I was drenched too. My ponytail was slapping against my back - yuck. But one good thing is that I am finally a bit more confident on the trail and seem to know which way to go. I am going to do a long run there next week.

After the trail run I took the dogs home, fed them, ate breakfast (protein shake, Kashi, w/ 2% milk, and a banana) and got ready to go ride with Dominic. I wanted to take him across the Anderson Ferry which takes us over to KY to route 8, my favorite place to ride these days.

My Park pump from Nashbar (that I just bought 3 months ago!) broke so we had to go to the bike shop and pump our tires. Nashbar is sending me a new one but I have to send the defected one back.

We didn't get out till almost 11am and it was so hot. Humid, muggy, about 90 degrees. We left from my house and rode down 50 towards the Ferry.

Here is a picture on the ferry.

It's a buck for bikes.

Here is the ferry coming to pick us up.

So we rode out route 8 and it was so freaking hot. I felt fine. It was all rolling hills, some good climbs, and lots and lots of headwind. Straight into it. We have a storm coming tonight and we were right on the river, which made it extra windy. We stopped at a park for water, and found NO water fountain! We kept riding until we hit the end of route 8. We stopped and drank some water, ate Shot Bloks, and then headed back.

Nice hair

About 2 miles from the Ferry was fruit stand. We stopped and bought some peaches and they gave us water. Then we headed back to the Ferry.

Dominic doing a track stand waiting for the Ferry.



Headed back to OH.

We took 50 back but I wanted to take Dominic up this big ass hill I did a couple weeks ago. I took a turn and we headed up but none of it looked familiar. We kept climbing, and I knew we were going in the right direction towards my house but when I looked at the street sign, I knew we were lost. We stopped at the top of the hill and asked for directions at UDF. So I took us about 4 miles out of the way but we made it home.

So we ended up doing almost 40 miles today. I need longer rides. More time in the saddle. My half iron is in 6 weeks.

One more pic...

They even got Dominic's picture while he was on the course. He totally doesn't fit in without a helmet and wearing headphones!

Caesar's Creek OLY Tri Race Report

OLY distance

1500m swim

40k ride (25 miles)

10k run (6.2 miles)

Finish 2:53

I didn't complete my secret goal of a 2:45 finish, but I did shave about 20 minutes off last year's time!

I was sick to my stomach race morning, but managed to keep my food down (protein shake, oatmeal, water). Dominic showed up with donuts - ugh. Sipped water all the way to the race (50 minute drive). Finally arrived. Long lines for race packet pick-up. Long lines for chip and body marking. 693 people. They were wayyyy late starting the race.

Got set up fast in transition. Pulled my wetsuit on, and went to pee again. Dominic and I bummed some batteries for the camera off this really nice photographer and then he went off to look at bikes. He drools over the bikes.

They finally start the duathlons and everyone else is down in the lake getting warmed up. I know I should have been down in that lake getting warmed up too. Instead I hung out with Dominic, waiting for the waves to start. Once the Sprint people were off, I left to go and wait for my wave. I kept looking for the O girls and kept seeing the S girls - and I had on the same color swim cap as the S girls which meant I had the wrong color cap. I stood with the other O girls, we chatted some. I was nervous about the stupid cap situation.

I look so dorky here.

The SWIM

I have to be honest - I have not swam in open water yet this year. Nor did I bother to test out my wetsuit. I tried it on all of 2x's, in the house. That's it. I am not nervous swimming in lakes but it's different than a lap lane. When the whistle blew I ran down into the water and dove in. Started swimming. Couldn't breathe. I couldn't fucking breathe - I kept my head up and swam side stroke. I could not believe I was struggling. My throat felt constricted from the wetsuit. I finally started swimming normal and got my breathing rhythm down about 3/4 of the way thru the 1st lap. On the 2cd lap I was passing people. Felt strong. Finally we are out and I look at my watch. 23 minutes? Really? I finished 1500m in 23 minutes? HOLLA!!!! It still took me another 2 minutes to get to transition though.

Trying to get on my bike.

The BIKE
I grabbed my bike and put my shoes on and ate a Hammer gel. Hopped on my bike and yea! here we go! The bike is my favorite part of the triathlon. I love my bike! I was still breathing hard from the swim. Caught my breath and got into my rhythm. Clocking 20, 21, 22mph. Going fast. I pass 2 girls who started before me. I remember the course from last year - 25 miles of rolling hills (I got lost last year and went 2 miles out of my way). So I am riding and I have a nice tailwind so I crank it up and manage to stay over 26 for a few miles. For real I did. Then I hit the hill. It's the only big hill on the course. A girl in a "Goody" kit was coming behind me and her chain popped off but she kept trying to pedal so I yelled at her to "clip out". I cranked it up the hill, making sure my gears were right. A couple people got off their bikes and walked it (WTF??). The Goody girl ran her bike up the hill. When I got to the top my lungs were screaming. Goody girl passed me, then I passed her - a few times. I also got passed by a 54 year old woman! But I passed her again. The ride was awesome. My bike was awesome. Dominic put my new cog on yesterday and I rode my bike a little after work to make sure all was well.

Here is a kick ass picture of me on the bike. I am ordering a copy for sure.

My average speed was 19.1! HOLLA!!!!

Yet another transition picture

The RUN

Oh I am a sucky runner. I just cannot run those damn 7-8 minute miles. Never will either. So if I managed 10 minute miles today I will be shocked. The run kicked my ass. I told all the girls I saw "good job" and some returned a smile and some were just bitches. I told a 50 year old woman she looked awesome cuz she did. Those older tri-women are just fucking awesome. I hope I can still hang when I am that age. So anyways, the run was flat, part shade part sun. I was really glad when it was over.

Dominic didn't get any action shots. He hung out by transition and took more pictures of me in transition than anyplace else.

Pop pop pop

We had 4th of July at Dominic's with my Mom again. This time his whole family came. Dad, Stepmom, Mom, brother, niece and nephews. My Mom met them all and get this - she knows Dominic's Dad from work. He was a drug rep and he always came to where my Mom worked (she worked for a psychiatrist). Cool, huh? These family functions are starting to get less stressful.

Here is Dominic and Bruno. Typical of Bruno to be on someone lap.



Here is me - my Mom is on the right (wearing glasses) and Dominic's Mom on the left.



Me and Dominic.



The Dad, brother and niece.



Me and my Mom.



And here is a cute video of Bruno and Dominic playing ball.




Me and Dominic went back to my house after dinner. The whole neighborhood was going POP POP POP all night. The dogs did ok though, it wasn't too dramatic. About 3 years ago, when Cheeko was sick, he didn't eat for 3 days when the fireworks started. It was awful.

I can't wait to move.

Ari during fireworks

Turn the volume up!

6 random things

ACK! I have been tagged (thanks Julie).

Let's see...

1. When I was a year old my Dad left my Mom for his girlfriend of about 5 years. Cheaters suck.

2. I was on methadone on and off for 7 years. When I was detoxed off it for the last time in 1997, I didn't sleep for 3 weeks straight and my legs ached for 4 months.

3. I have never traveled outside of the United States but have traveled to San Francisco via Greyhound, Amtrak, and various airlines.

4. I went to a private Hebrew School in the 3rd-6th grades. We spoke English half day and Hebrew half day.

5. I smoked my first joint when I was 12.

6. My sister is a "Dr. of the environment" and lives in China. I think she studies the water there.

Ok, hope I did not bore you too much.

I am tagging Harp, Betty, Bluenoser, Leah, Phun, and Zandria.

The rules:
Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write six random things about yourself.
Tag six people at the end of your post.
Let each person know they've been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog
Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

More One World TRI DU pix

Courtesy of PhotoJack

Shitty day all day

This morning was a long run - 14 miles. It felt like 20. It took me way longer than I thought, because of the heat I guess, and the monstrous hills. See my route here.

So there I am on the ground, stretching my poor hamstring, when my real estate company calls about someone wanting to see the house tonight between 6:30 and 7:30pm. I tell them 7:30 is doable, cuz Dominic gets done at the bike shop around that time and I have to be at work tonight. I told them to call me back if that was not acceptable.

So then I am running late to pick Dominic up. We were going to go to the swim club with my best friend Emily (her birthday was today) and her husband Gino. He decides at the last second he has too much work to do at the bike shop and so all our plans got fucked up. He took me home, so I could get my car, and head to the pool. All this drama is happening after my 14 mile run and I had no food in me, hardly enough liquids and I am full of adrenaline. Bitched at Dominic.

So I hang out at the pool for a while, did not swim laps but ate food. Head home after a couple hours and get ready for work.

Now I am at work and you know what the stupid ass real estate people did? The people couldn't make it at 7:30 and no one called me back to tell me! So my agent calls and asks me I declined them! WTF! And Dominic is at my house with a dead cell phone and I can't call him to tell him to go on home cuz no one is showing up. Stupid fucking people!

Bike woes

My bike is F-U-B-A-R. Well sort of.

When I fell over, the bike hit the right side which means I bent the derailleur and the hanger. That was why the shifting was happening. So Dominic bent it back. He rode it, said all was well.

Today we go riding and the fucking shifting starts but only when I am in gears 17-18. So we stop the ride and take the bike directly to the bike shop. Dominic puts it up, and they see I have chipped a tooth on my cog. On 17 and 18. Ok, so we order a cog and it should be here tomorrow. In the meantime I still needed a ride.

We went out to Miami Whitewater trail, peak time, 5:30pm. SO many people. I hate it. But the trail is a fun trail, it's an 8 mile loop with lots of corners, a few small hills, tons of headwind and tons of idiots on bikes, roller blades, etc.

On the first loop my bike is shifting again. I am just not into it. We stop again and Dominic sees something. There was a 9 speed master link on my 10 speed chain. He took the master link out and pinned the chain. Smooth as butta for the next 30 miles.

Tomorrow I get a new cog, and I race on this TT bike one last time on Sunday. Then we strip her parts and build this frame up.

Today's workouts:
6.2 mile run with dogs
31 miles and change, 18.0 average

A Father's Love

I am not a religious person but this is incredibly moving.

A Father's Love. WOW!!!!


This is a true story!


A son asked his father, 'Dad, will you take part in a marathon with me?'.

The father who, despite having a heart condition, says 'Yes'.
They went on to complete the marathon together.



Father and son went on to join other marathons,
the father always saying 'Yes' to his son's request of going through
the race together.


One day, the son asked his father, 'Dad, let's join the Ironman
together.' To which, his father said 'Yes' too.

For those who don't know, Ironman is the toughest triathlon ever.
The race encompasses three endurance events of a 2.4 mile (3.86 kilometer) ocean swim, followed by a 112 mile (180.2 kilometer) bike ride, and ending with a 26.2 mile (42.195 kilometer) marathon along the coast of the Big Island .

Father and son went on to complete the race together.


You must see this . . .

More on results....

Just got this from the RD:

Sorry for the confusion. The software for the timing program is new and the html is formatted incorrectly. The columns are off by one. Your transition was 2:36 and your bike was 1:24.41. The times indicate you finished just over a minute ahead of Scheben (you started one wave in front so your overall time is a bit slower)

Ok, so not too bad for hitting the floor, right? 18.1 average.