Training Log Archive: ebuckley

Found the right route through U-city. Was surprised it was that much longer. I would have expected 57-58 minutes, not that it matters.

Really nice morning and highs are only supposed to be in the 80's today. Woohoo!

Crossed the Mississippi on the Eads Bridge. I was surprised to see a "share the road" sign on the bridge - I thought you had to ride on the sidewalk. Anyway, I had already committed to the sidewalk and that does seem the safer way to cross as there are hardly ever any walkers and always plenty of cars. Once in Illinois, I headed north on the levy road. I hadn't been able to tell from the aerials on google maps if this road was any good, or even if it was accessible. You'd have to be someone who's pretty tolerant of bad road conditions to even consider it - the entrance is strewn with rocks and has a nasty RR crossing. As I am such a person, I pushed on, hoping it would change to crushed gravel once up on the levy. Sort of, but not really, and the parts that didn't have big rocks had really big potholes in the dirt. While I did get some satisfaction out of clearing a 6" log without dabbing, even I had to concede that this was not the right venue for a road bike and bailed out to Route 3 at the McKinley bridge.

As much as the levy road was a disappointment, Route 3 was a pleasant surprise. Probably the sort of road that even Peter Gagarin might like. Light traffic, smooth pavement, and a wide shoulder. Of course, he's pretty tough to please, so he'd probably complain about the complete lack of scenery, the exposure to a rather stiff headwind, and the fact that what traffic there was was really big trucks. But, this is Illinois, those things are true of just about every road.

Anyway, I got up to the Chain of Rocks bridge and crossed back over to the Missouri side at 70 minutes, which is only 15 minutes longer than it takes if I take the River Trail all the way up the west bank. That's a good thing because about this time it dawned on me that I had forgotton to add 20 minutes to the expected ride time because my destination wasn't home, but Longview Farms where mama and Baby-O were going to meet me at a birthday party for one of Baby-O's freinds.

That meant big-ringing it across north county on Dunn, then down Hanley and a bunch of side streets, finally winding up on Ladue to Mason. The low-80's forcast turned out to be wildly optimistic, so I had to stop at a QT to get some gatorade from the fountain. My 30-minute late arrival was regarded with indifference by all but one of the dozen children there, but the one stopped what she was doing and squealed "Daddy!" in such a way that I truly think she feels I'm doing her a favor whenever I show up somewhere. I think I ought to start taking these obligations a bit more seriously before she catches on that I'm blowing her off.

C • Hey, we all have our preferenc... 3

Damn, still way low. Feel fine - the slow time to work reflects getting turned around in U-City looking for a new route in. Much cooler today. Maybe that will help me get my weight back.

Grand to Tower Grove then Southwest Ave to Maplewood. Wandered through Webster Groves and Kirkwood, then straight home on Ballas.

A new G record! Guess I should have drank more last night.

The alarm seemed particularly early this morning. That's because it was. I got up, put on my cycling clothes, looked out the window and thought, "damn, it's really dark - the days sure are getting shorter." Then I looked at the kitchen clock and saw that it was 4:30, not 5:30. Apparently, Baby-O changed the time zone on my alarm clock.

Oh well, that meant I had time for a nice breakfast at home prior to riding in. It also meant the ride was in particularly pleasant conditions with very little traffic and a full moon still pretty high in the sky. None of that changed the fact that my legs are trashed, but that's what little gears are for. By the time I got to work, the legs were feeling much better and I was at my usual morning speed (which is still pretty easy unless I'm in a rush).

C • Sprint training 3

To Big Shark to pick up my team uniform (yeah, it's almost September and I'm just now realizing that I don't have it because I haven't done any bike races this year). Then straight west on Delmar and a loop through Bridgeton.

In to work. Waited until it was light enough to go without lights (6:10 AM), so I had to huslte in a bit. Took the most direct route down Olive rather than the usual loop around the 170 interchange. Pretty good time for using the small ring the whole way - traffic was very light for some reason.

First quality workout since surgery. Quite fine. First hour was mellow; everything else was uphill, big ring, or quite frequently both. Conservative estimate would be close to 3000 calories burned between the two rides, only 2100 eaten, and temps in the high 90's, so being under 170 will not be a problem tomorrow. Will try to drink a lot (water, sadly, not wine)before bed.

Route was more complicated than I care to describe here. Basically south to Jefferson Barracks, then bouncing in and out of the Meremac valley up to Kirkwood. Then an even more convoluted route out to Chesterfield, at which point it was starting to get dark, so I dropped down to the flood plain and came in on the Katy extension.

C • Water not wine 2

... was right about the weight gain thing.
Friday night: Papa Del's Pizza
Saturday AM: Original Pancake House*
Saturday Lunch: Sweet corn festival
Saturday Dinner: Basmati, where I ended up eating all the stuff that everybody else was too full to eat (and we still took some home).
Sunday Breakfast: Leftover Indian food from Basmati.
Sunday Brunch: Big spread at my Mother-in-Law's house.

And, of course, no exercise worth speaking of because I'm not supposed to be running. Not to worry, I'll be under 170 by midweek.

*So, I take Baby-O out for breakfast because she's up at 6:30 and Kate's not interested in moving that early on a Saturday, especially after drinking with her sister the night before, and there's no food in her Sister's house. We sit down, look at the menu, which lists about 30 different types of pancakes - no pictures, just a list. Baby-O points right at the entry for Blueberry Pancakes and says, "I want Blueberry Pancakes". Lucky shot? Maybe, but I think the kid can read. She refused to duplicate the feat with any other words on the menu, but she was quite adamant that she wanted Blueberry and kept pointing at the right entry. She's known the alphabet since she was 2 and we read to her around an hour a day, but still, we've made no attempt to teach her how to read herself. I've always heard that there isn't much point until they're 5. Lately, she's been playing with this annoying "Phonics Radio". I guess I'll be less annoyed by it if it's actually working. At any rate, she doesn't even go into kindergarten for 2 years, so there's no rush, it just took me completely by surprise.

C • kids surprise 3

Easy spin before dinner to loosen up after two days off. Went through CC Lake Park, but with temps down to low 90's and the humidity gone, everybody who's been blowing off their workouts due to the heat was out on the bike path. By then my legs were loose, so I left the flood plain and bounced up a few hills at moderate tempo and then finished with some bike handling drills.

In to work.

Kate picked me up at work and we headed off to Champaign, IL for the weekend to visit her family and attend the sweet corn festival. I expect to come back considerably heavier.

In to work. Warm morning, but not humid. Better watch hydration - the G value is indicating there might be a problem there.

Grant's Trail to Kirkwood where I stopped to refuel at Great Harvest Bread (not included in time). They gave me such an absurdly large and yummy free sample of their High 5 Fiber bread that I felt compelled to actually buy something from them. So I spent the next few minutes downing a fruit bar (also excellent) while trying to think of yet another novel way home. Headed east to Sappington, only to find that rumors of the roadwork being complete there were totally unfounded. Headed further east to Berry and then north to Conway.

Didn't ride to work because I had an appointment with my surgeon in the afternoon. Staples out; everything is healing as it should. Cool.

Went for an easy spin on the flood plain after dinner. Still 95 degrees as the sun was setting.

Rode round the block last night to make sure I was Ok on the bike. Actually feels fine although I took it plenty easy riding into work.

C • TAKE IT EASY 2

Back home through Forest Park and Clayton, then Forsythe to Stacy Park and Ladue Road. Stiff breeze from the west relegated me to puttering along in the 60" gear, which isn't too rewarding this time of year. Still better than sitting traffic, though.

Still a bit bloated, but moving better. Got Baby-O to nap this afternoon which gave me some recovery time. The rest helped.

Better this morning. Could walk at my normal pace (which most would call brisk) without too much discomfort. Inflamation seemed to have gone down a bit, too. By late afternoon, things had got a lot worse. Swelling is up again and I'm back to a really slow walk. I expect it will be back and forth like this for a few days.

C • Post-surgery concerns 1

Pretty sore today, but not as bad as I would have expected. I'm guessing I'll be off completely for another 2-3 days, then I might be able to get back on the bike. Instructions are to wait until September to run.

Surgery day. Hernia repaired. Gall bladder removed. Don't feel too bad. Was walking around pretty easily a couple hours after.

In to work.

C • surgery today? 2

Not only has the National Weather Service issued the most dire heat warning I've ever seen - they've issued it twice so it gets two links on websites that pick up the automated feed. I'm looking forward to getting in my ride home!

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 7 PM CDT THIS EVENING.

DANGEROUSLY HOT WEATHER REMAINS ENTRENCHED ACROSS THE REGION AND TODAY WILL BE ONE OF THE HOTTEST DAYS OF THIS PROLONGED HEAT WAVE. RECORD OR NEAR RECORD HIGH TEMPERATURES ARE EXPECTED ONCE AGAIN TODAY IN MANY LOCATIONS...AND MOST OF THE REGION WILL SEE HIGH TEMPERATURES EASILY TOP 100 DEGREES. CENTRAL...EAST CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST MISSOURI WILL EXPERIENCE THE HOTTEST TEMPERATURES ACROSS THE AREA...WITH HIGHS FROM 103 TO 107 DEGREES. PEAK HEAT INDEX VALUES OF 105 TO 110 DEGREES ARE EXPECTED DURING THE AFTERNOON AND EARLY EVENING HOURS THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE AREA.

A COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO PUSH SOUTH INTO THE REGION ON THURSDAY... ULTIMATELY BRINGING AN END TO THE EXCESSIVE HEAT BY FRIDAY. DEPENDING ON HOW FAST THE COLD FRONT MOVES AND THE AMOUNT OF PRECIPITATION AND CLOUD COVER THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH IT...THE EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING MAY NEED TO BE EXTENDED INTO THURSDAY FOR PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA.

THE IMPACT OF THIS PROLONGED HEAT WILL MAKE HEAT-RELATED ILLNESSES A VERY REAL AND DANGEROUS THREAT...ESPECIALLY FOR THOSE LIVING IN UN-AIR CONDITIONED HOMES OR APARTMENTS. PEOPLE IN THE WARNING AREA ARE ADVISED TO AVOID POORLY VENTILATED AREAS AND PROLONGED WORK IN THE SUN. TAKE PLENTY OF BREAKS IN A COOL AREA TO GIVE YOUR BODY A CHANCE TO COOL DOWN. USE AIR CONDITIONING IN YOUR HOUSE OR APARTMENT IF IT IS WORKING CORRECTLY. IF YOU DO NOT HAVE AIR CONDITIONING... KEEP YOUR HOUSE OR APARTMENT WELL VENTILATED WITH FANS. USE FANS TO BLOW HOT AIR OUT OF ROOMS DURING THE DAY AND THEN BRING IN COOLER OUTSIDE AT NIGHT. TRY TO SPEND SOME TIME IN AN AIR CONDITIONED ENVIRONMENT TO GIVE YOUR BODY A BREAK FROM THE HEAT.

FOR PEOPLE IN THE ST. LOUIS METROPOLITAN AREA NEEDING INFORMATION ON COOLING CENTERS OR ENERGY ASSISTANCE RELATED TO THE EXCESSIVE HEAT...YOU CAN CALL OPERATION WEATHER SURVIVAL AT THE UNITED WAY OF GREATER ST. LOUIS. THE NUMBER IS 800-427-4626.

AN EXCESSIVE HEAT WARNING IS ISSUED WHEN HIGH TEMPERATURE AND HUMIDITY LEVELS ARE EXPECTED TO MAKE IT FEEL LIKE IT IS 105 DEGREES OR GREATER FOR THREE OR MORE CONSECUTIVE DAYS. IN ADDITION...NIGHTTIME CONDITIONS WILL REMAIN WARM PROVIDING LITTLE CHANCE FOR RELIEF.

The interesting thing about riding when it's over 100 degrees is that the air moving past you is actually heating you rather than cooling, at least until you start sweating a lot. I had hoped to get in a last quality workout prior to surgery, but that really wasn't in the cards.

Took Grant's Trail to Kirkwood and then continued north on Spoede to Westport. Put in one good effort on the climb up Marine to the Y (all 63 seconds of it) and finished with some bike handling work.

In to work.

Swung by BIg Shark to get some new gloves, then out to Chesterfield via Delmar & Conway. Hog Hollow to the flood plain and back home through CC Lake.

Easy lunchtime jog around Keiner Plaza.

Warmup. Really stiff and sore.

Sprint relay at Manitou Lake (1:5). Mike Lyons finished the first leg in third place and Ted Good moved us up to second so suddenly this wasn't a "fun run" anymore. I tried to run as hard as I could, but the legs were really shot. Finally got a stride going about halfway through, but it was at the expense of my brain. Not sure what happened at #9, but I didn't register a punch on my stick. Maybe I missed the box and was just too hypoxic to realize there was no beep? Didn't matter because I punched the wrong GO control. Still, it was fun to be locked in a duel for 2nd the whole way around and then kick it in for the place, even if we did get DQ'd.

Went back out and did some control picking. Not sure how valuable it was as both the brain and the legs were pretty spent.

I don't think I could ever "get into" hiking, but when you're in Woodland Park, have 9 hours until your flight leaves from Denver, and your legs are too spent to run, hiking around Garden of the Gods starts to seem like a good idea.

Of course, I needed a goal, so I decided to hike all the trails in the park. I probably spent as much time looking at my map (pretty decent 1:24 trail map by National Geographic w/25 foot contours) trying to figure out the best route as I did looking at the cool rocks. Generally fun, but I was over it by the end of the hike.

Warmup. Intentionally short as is my custom for longer events.

US Long Course Champs, Red, at Saylor Park (1:15). Some shaky nav saved by some of the best terrain running of my career. One of the control sites (13) was a bit bogus - the map didn't give nearly enough detail to know how to attack it. I had about a 2-minute lead going into that, but Ulf Linquist (not champs eligible) and Ted Good got ahead of me by attacking it from above and spiking it. Chased Ted down by 15 and went on to win the champs, but couldn't quite get Ulf. I think he had me by about 40 seconds at the finish. Still pretty pleased with the result. My first win in a champs meet.

C • Congratulations! 1

I didn't expect to be able to run so hard due to the race being above 9000 feet. It ended up not bothering me at all. As a result, my legs are toast so the Pike's Peak run I had planned for tomorrow probably won't happen. I spent the afternoon driving to the summit instead. I don't think it counts as bagging a peak if you drive all the way to the top.

Somewhat lame warmup - I didn't have as much time as I would have liked. However, I knew I was planning on starting easy, so I didn't worry about it. Turned out to be a non-issue.

...because I messed up the first control anyway. Not a horrible boom, but bad enough that I couldn't afford any more mistakes. Ran well from there until #11 where I ended up on the wrong spur and by the time I'd sorted it out, any chance at winning was gone.

Figuring that the weekend's success now hinged completely on tomorrow, I switched to an easy jog and poked around a bit checking out the terrain at a slower pace. Did finish the course, but obviously I was way back. FWIW, I was first champs eligible to #10, but they don't give out medals for doing most of the course well.

The good news is that I felt great. Light, springy stride. No trouble reading the map on the run. Good focus. It was a nasty mistake, but it hasn't got me down for tomorrow.

I got a bit of a late start out of Denver as they had to swap my rental car for another one that didn't have the heater stuck on. Got stuck in rush hour traffic so I just stopped for dinner and then went on to Woodland Park. Got there about sunset, so my loosen-up run was just an easy jog round "downtown." Noted with some relief that there appear to be plenty of good local eateries. I was afraid I might have to each chain food, which I hate to do when traveling.

Easy lunchtime jog through St. Louis U and Harris Stowe College.

In to work. Kate's family left yesterday. My parents got up early and left before I did this morning. It was nice to have them all here, but it's also nice to have our house back. Nine people is a bit much.

Depletion ride. Thought about not doing this as I was concerned that the negative effects of a long ride in the heat (over 100 again) would outweigh any gains. However, I kept myself well hydrated and, since intensity doesn't count for anything on a depletion ride, I took it nice and easy.

Out to the Airport via Midland, then poked around the Bridgeton Ghost Town to see if it was a suitable venue for a bike-O. Answer, probably, but I'll have to do a bit more research on the amount of gang activity. All those abandoned houses have various gang symbols on them and I'm not sure how protective those guys are of their turf. Probably safe enough during the day, but I think I'll talk to the Bridgeton cops about it.

After took the 370 bridge into St. Charles. Went through Frontier Park rather than ride the cobbles. Out to Harvester and back on the Katy.

C • ghost town bike-o 2

C • refueling 1

In to work. Didn't bother standing on the scale this morning as I knew I wouldn't much like what I saw. Of course, this is supposed to be taper, so letting everything get topped off isn't such a bad thing (although, I usually wait until 2 days before the event for that).

4x2:00 at 98% VO2Max, 2:00R at Layfayette Park. Time includes jogging over and back. Another hot one.

With only 3 hours recovery from the lunchtime run and temps moving into the triple digits, I just let the legs get me home at whatever pace they wanted. Actually had a nice chat with a recreational cyclist on Grants Trail. Kept the "don't take the same route home twice" string alive by leaving the trail at Big Bend and then heading north on Barrett Station and Mason.

In between eating way too much at Baby-O's birthday party and eating way too much at my birthday party, I went for a ride down through Kirkwood. Crazy hot. Middle half hour contained redline efforts on the climbs of Barrett Station, Marshall (PR of 2:37 for the steep part), and Adams.

With my Dad up front (parents are in town for the dual birthday weekend - Baby-O's & mine) and Baby-O in the middle at Castlewood.

Event: 2007 USOF Convention and Colorado 5-Days
 

In to work including about 10 miles of moderate tempo. Had to turn around after about a mile because I realized I forgot to put the garbage out for pickup. Light rain most of the way - felt good.

C • Happy Birthday! 5

Through Forest Park to Richmond Heights to pick up a lightbulb at a specialty shop. This used to be much easier when we lived in Richmond Heights, so I bought an adapter instead and now my late Aunt's lamp will take normal bulbs. Then back home via Litzinger, Warson, and Conway.

Easy jog round the hood. Even at recovery pace, I went through 3 pounds of water because it's so hot right now. Blisters are tolerable, but I can still feel them. I'm pretty optimistic they'll be recovered for Colorado.

In to work.

From work to my doctor's office to see what to do about this gallstone. Forgot to bring a pack, so I had to sling my 6-foot cable lock around my shoulders and kick it old school like the way guys used to carry their spare tires in those black and white photos of the Tour. Didn't kick it very hard, though, because it was super hot and I didn't want to arrive totally soaked in sweat. Soft pedalled the 60.

When I got there, the doc explained that the gall bladder needs to come out. At least he can do it at the same time as the hernia. I sure hope I do OK in Colorado because it looks like this could trash the fall season.

C • 2nd opinion 6

Sufficiently pissed with that news, I did some intervals on the way home. 3x800m@58 800R on the CC Lake bike path then solid efforts up the climbs on Marine (1:55 out of the park, 0:53 to the Y).