Training Log Archive: vmeyer

Struggle to the last possible moment. Then after arriving at work, I was asked to help with data entry at another school building. Having ascertained yesterday that my help was not needed, thus the bike into work, I demured, felt guilty but didn't rush off on my bike on a two mile uphill. Seriously, address change rights need to be bestowed on some people in the high school offices.

Ride home via an out and back to the hump back bridge. Temps in mid 90s, arms feeling like jelly after lots of box lifting today, and I didn't feel too well when I got close to home (perhaps a first ever bonk). So, the unthinkable happened, or perhaps the fact that I didn't think much about it was why it happened...I walked up the hill(s) to the house. I had nothing in the tank. I am bummed to feel like I am back at the start box.

C • it was the day 1

5 Warm up, 5 cool down

Shook off the Monday blahs and lots of distractions and did a workout. Yeah for me! Chest is still a bit tight but not unbearable.

Tomorrow - back on the bike since the project I needed to drive in for last week turned out to be a bust. Hate dealing with stupid administrators, but I said "yes, ma'am" in all the right places, so I get the credit.

Also, I found my checkbook today. Only looked in my computer bag around 30 times. Well, I actually felt around in it around 30 times, but today, I looked in it for another reason, and there it was.

Two distractions left.

Mowed about 2/3 of the lawn. Skipped the part of the lawn where Roger has put down grass seed.

This monumental effort was after getting up at 8 AM, washing five windows upstairs since I couldn't bear lying in bed seeing the dirty windows any longer, not knowing if it was day or night, getting stuck out on the roof because I couldn't get enough purchase to open the window from the outside, being rescued by a neighbor, a nap, lunch, a nap.

My right shoulder is really painful. Don't remember doing anything to it, and it seems to be a stretch that is was from the effort to get back into the kayak last Friday.

After mowing, and before my last nap period, I got Core in for the "week" by stretching the definition of "week" to mean at least once within the AP week. Mine is Saturday to Sunday. Felt pretty bad - everything feels heavy and the whole shoulder thing. I was a bit sluggish, but I did 100% of the workout, so that is good enough for me.

C • 100% good! 2

After race timing. Had difficulty figuring out following the road to the start of the trail section. Didn't go far enough so visited some nice woods instead and then back around to the road to try again. RD came by and pointed me in the right direction. Added about .6 miles to the race route.

No pep, so this was a struggle. Liked the course though. Wish I had worn something besides trainers. Why do I keep making this mistake?

A wee bit wheezy all week, coupled with distracted, fatigued and unmotivated. Putting my foot down - back to more regular workouts this week. Well, that is if I don't come up with some really good excuses instead.

C • No excuses! 1

C • Rest 1

C • Which way do I go?! 4

Race Timing: EX2 CM - Fountainhead

Home at ~4:40. Hot, muggy day, but the easiest of the bike race timing since all of the laps are done in the woods, so I only need to get the finish time (3 separate races). Had excellent help.

Briefly thought I would run during one of the hour breaks, but I didn't.

Mowed the front lawn so that Roger could put down grass seed tomorrow.

Ted and Darcy Good's (mostly) annual summer event. Orienteer in some fun fashion, and then eat and hang out after. Washington, DC heat? Pshaw!

This year's twist was a Score-O with 8 controls, and at each of the either controls, there was something written or a map snippet to get you to a another control which was a weapon or to save a mutant squirrel, or something really convoluted along that line.

Hot, sweating, but Heidi and I banded together to totally screw up near the end, but I had a great time.

Enjoyed conversation after with all, but mostly remember Peggy since I cornered her for a while, and Sam, since he offered physical help with a Prince William short rogaine in January, if it gets it off the ground.

Arranged for a private kayak lesson with a company who has an instructor who lives just around the corner from me. Ironically, Brian and I have never met in the 22+ years we have both lived in the neighborhood, but I could tell you lots about him.

He is in his mid 60s, a big man, very intimidating, but he looks a lot less big big (lost 40 pounds by cutting out his ice cream addiction), so is a bit less intimidating of late. He has a large mustache and used to ride a Harley to match. The Harleys are gone, and he has replaced paddling, pretty much full time instead. There is more that I know, but it isn't germane to the lesson...

I think he was initially uncomfortable on what to do with me for the five hours, but he loosened up, and it turned out to be just what I was looking for.

I was very anxious the only other time I was in a kayak - the whole tippy feeling. So, we did some stroke stuff - forward, backwards, sideways, etc.

After a lunch break, we spent the last part of the lesson dumping me into the water and getting me back into the canoe [Edit: kayak!!]. The first time in, I forgot to close my mouth, and I swallowed a bunch of very dirty water, and came up with the classic choking and sputtering . At least I did remember all of the other important stuff, like I needed to surface. So, despite the bruises on the back of both calves and thighs from climbing back into the boat, this was great! I no longer fear going out and possibly going into the drink. With the right equipment, I should be able to get myself back into the boat.

Exploring kayaking is part of my plan to try other things when I go to A-meets or work at adventure races. So, if I go somewhere that a boat rental is available, I rent a boat instead of sitting the hotel. I am not very good at self-directed activities, so I need to have known options.

Commuting roundtrip. Longer ride on way home was nixed because I had to take home my heavy laptop, and the bike was making annoying chirping sounds. Stopped twice but couldn't determine the cause. Was able to solve it when I got home - luggage frame was loose.

Very pleasant ride home followed by cookies and milk.

Decided to do the core workout to make up for the shorter then intended ride home. Felt pretty darn good.

Fat, Lazy Valerie tried to sabotage the workout by coming home from work and eating candy, cheese crackers, and cookies chased by milk (skim). Of course, she needed to lie down after that. Luckily, she didn't fall asleep today.

So, even though it was a bit damp out, it was only 72, so Determined Valerie took over and got them all out the door. ;)

Ran down to the track (.36 in 318), then 4 laps in lane 6 (241 236 238 234).

Walked a lap, then ran six more laps in lane 6 (243 242 242 239 243 235).

Some field hockey girls running slowly around the track were my motivation to keep going.

C • nice job 2

Lane 6 lap after first running part in 358, and after second running part in 402, then .48 mile home in 710.

Felt pretty good tonight.

Tomorrow, I hope to ride to work, and also do a little longer ride after work.
Friday, I am taking a 4-5 hour private kayak lesson.
Saturday is QOC evening O and social. Maybe an hour or two of riding in the morning.
Will try to run again Sunday before having to time the bike race.

C • Kayak lesson 2

I am obsessing. I can't find my checkbook. Last seen end of May, the best I can recall.

Long nap after work two days in a row. Tomorrow, a workout of some sort.

An hour of yard work followed by the DVD (week's quota is met), a shower, and then errands with Roger.

I am very happy to get workouts in today since I usually have issues with motivation after meeting a long term goal.

After a nap with Roger, I headed out the door to stretch my legs, and to get the minimum run in for the week. I'll deem that a mile meets the requirement for this week.

Walked the rest. Wow! Way more uncomfortable then I thought it was out thanks to the humidity. A lighter shirt would have helped matters.

Race Timing: EX2 BCB 10K - Little Bennett

A great birthday day. Race timing went very well.

Then, Roger and I had dinner with Sarah and Matt in Annapolis.

Here are Roger, Matt, and Sarah on the dock.



And Sarah and I with samples of her sewing. I am a very proud mother.

C • Happy Birthday! :-) 3

I have been contemplating cycling a 100 miles since I got a bike a few years back. I half heartedly trained each summer but never enough to feel comfortable giving it a try. Then this spring, I got a new bike which is a better fit, and a lot of the aches and pains I experienced before mostly disappeared. Also, the change of office location offered opportunities to stretch the ride out without going by my too tempting front door on the way to somewhere better to stretch the ride out. Oh, and the fact that PG made long rides the cool thing to do helped as well.

I am fairly positive that I'll never do an organized century, so I had to tailor one to suit me instead. Requirements were no roads, no big hills, no crowds, and no adventures. :)

Hmm, bike trail it is, and there is an excellent one of those very close to home. The W&OD is ~45 miles long (advertised as just short, but a detour makes is a little longer). So, I scoped out a 10 mile trail extension in the other direction, and the ride was on. I picked a weekday since the trail is extremely crowded on the weekend.

There are definite negatives to the bike trail, even on a weekday – lots of road crossings, but I had decided to embrace each one, so I unclipped and stopped at each one. I did not want to take any chances, especially with wet brakes.

The forecast early in the week was for a break in the temperature for the day – 85 instead of 95, and I was excited for this. But, it turned out even better then that. It never broke 80 for the day, with intermittent showers, and a chance of thunderstorms late.

I decided to drive the mile to the trailhead because I just couldn’t imagine riding up the hill home at the end of the day (about 75m climb over .25 mile). I parked in a legal spot for the day being careful not to park in the 2 hour parking. Hit the trail at 5:50 with headlight and light rain. I started out with a light jacket. From Shirlington, I rode five miles to the Humpback Bridge project construction and then back. I was a little anxious about this part – the whole afraid of the dark thing – but I did fine. Well, except I almost wiped out on the sharp left hand turn onto the Mount Vernon Trail from the Four Mile Run Trail, though I recovered in time. The headlight failed me.

With the overcast skies, I didn’t get to see a good sunrise on the Potomac River, but the airport lights were quite lovely (no picture since the one I took was out of focus). The bum sleeping under the railroad bridge was there again this morning. There were also a large number of people running before work, as well as cycling to work. This ten mile stretch probably had the most people I saw all day.

Back at the car, I picked up my Camelbak which I had left behind by accident, but I didn’t stress about since it only required a two block detour to retrieve it. I took off my jacket and stashed it in my saddlebag. I was also carrying two 20 oz bottles of Gatorade and more food then I could possibly consume.

Started the W&OD at the 0 sign and headed to Purcellville. It rained lightly on and off. I stopped at 25 miles for a banana, and then at 35 for a GU and a pack of peanut butter crackers. After a detour through Louden County, and battling some headwinds for three miles, I arrived at the turnaround.





My BFF, Chieko, met me in Purcellville. Shoot, I should have taken a picture of her, or at least of the food!! :) She had homemade chicken salad on a croissant, cold beverages, and watermelon. I ate a ton, stashed the watermelon for later, and then I changed my bra and shirt while Chieko refilled my bottles. I emptied my Camelbak and stashed it in the saddlebag since I wasn’t drinking that much, and I had retail options if I needed more liquids. At this point, it started raining pretty heavily, so I put my jacket back on, as well as a thin rain poncho, and then I took off. I suffered with the poncho flapping for a few miles, and then I took it off, as well as the jacket a few miles later.

The return trip (45 miles) was a bit discouraging since the wind was in my face the whole time, or so it seemed. Since this direction is generally downhill, I hated the fact that I felt like I was going in slow motion. At least I was able to pass this fellow.



Though, later on, it took me three miles to catch up and pass for good a VERY studley runner. We actually chatted at a light, and then I pushed as hard as I could to get enough of a lead on him before I got to the hill going up to the Beltway. I sighted him in my mirror about halfway up the hill, and I got up and pumped as hard as I could to make it to the top before him. He had stated at the stopover that his goal was to catch and pass a cyclist or two on each run, and I did not want that to be me!! Not me today, buddy!

On the return trip, I stopped at 73 miles for a Diet Coke and a banana, 86 for cookies and Chieko’s watermelon, and 89 for a pack of crackers. Besides the 20 oz of DC, I drank less then 40 oz of water/Gatorade.

About 1.5 miles from the end, waiting at a light, a young man commented on the fact that it hadn’t rained on him yet. I replied that I had been at it since 6, so I had gotten wet a few times today, and explained what I was doing. He congratulated me for my achievement, though I pointed out that it wasn’t in the bag if I got hit by a car in the last 1.5 miles. So, I was super careful on the last four road crossings, and I made it to the end safely! I asked a random person to take my picture.



The lack of heat was a huge factor. I do not know if I could have made the whole thing if it had were 10 degrees hotter. I took about 1:08 in breaks including ~30 minutes at the turnaround.

To quote Sandy, I'm still smiling at how much I enjoyed myself today despite the rain.

Anyway, this is my boring tale, only epic by my standards. I rank this up there with the 50K runs I have done, as well as the 24 hour rogaine (though actually only ~18 hours). It was tough for me.

C • Woohoo!! 23

Same as yesterday, but hotter, and slightly less resistance to getting going this morning.

Slept poorly because of a very painful thumb - smashed it in the dishwasher door. Remember waking up at midnight and 2 AM and icing it. Got some relief from that. Thought it was going to be a problem riding, but it wasn't. What was a problem was the middle finger used for braking. That I burned on the skillet handle. The only thing I didn't do last night in the kitchen was draw blood.

C • kitchen 9

It was a mental struggle, but I managed to ride to work today.

And, assuming I have to ride home as well, I have added the return trip in. Should be fun in the 95 F heat.

If the forecast holds, Friday will have highs in only the low 80s, and some scattered thunderstorms.

Race Timing: MTB

A sad day. A rider died during the first race, most likely a heart attack.

C • Condolences 2

Spent a couple hours this morning weeding, nap, lunch with wine, nap, mow lawn, prep data for race tomorrow, bed.

An unexpected day off of work since the power is out in the building after yesterday's storms. I needed to pick up my laptop from my office, so I decided to knock out all of my minimums for the week while I was at it - ride to work at least once (2-3 is better), core DVD at least once, and run at least once.

The City of Alexandria was hit especially hard with the 1.5 mile of road I take after leaving the bike trail littered with down trees.

From office in front of building to the paved loop around the football field.
6x.25 mile in 220 204 201 201 201 207.
Walked lap in between in ~325 and then walked back to my office.

Felt pretty good, though struggled with the last one, so I didn't do the two more I was contemplating.

I knocked this out at the office since I was there. It was more comfortable on the floor now that I bought some rugs for the floor in my office. The crappy AC was the only thing working in the building since it is on a separate generator.

Had to take the Columbus Street hill back to the house. It was not that bad since it levels off a bit before the last section.

Time with breaks was 4:37:52. Took off a little bit to account for break time.

Forecast seemed a bit iffy with chance of showers all day, and I was kind of hoping that it would be raining when I got up at 5:30, so that I could be lazy all day. But, it wasn't, and I was wide awake since 4 AM anyway, so I got my act together and out of the door by ~6:10.

It turned out to be a very pleasant outing with temps ~68 when I started, and ~78 when I finished. Though the ground was moist, the air didn't feel humid at all. I was even a little chilly at times. The sun broke through the clouds as I rode towards Mount Vernon.



I had a goal of around 5 hours, or 50 miles in mind, and I really didn't want to go on the W&OD today, so I cobbled together a non-W&OD route. Home, Shirlington, Four Mile Run to the airport, left on the MT Vernon Trail to the detour for the bridge project. I had thought about continuing on to Rosslyn, over the Key Bridge, and to the CC Trail, but I was a little uneasy with executing that route. Maybe next time.

Turned around at the bridge project and headed to Mount Vernon, passing the marina.



I was slightly bummed at not catching a Clydesdale sized runner pushing a baby jogger up that last big hill into Mount Vernon. Turned around at Mount Vernon, after riding around the circle in front of the property. Heading back, I stopped for these pictures.





The trail traffic was very light until the stone bridge on the way back. Then a large number of walk-a-thon like people were populating the trail. My plan for going to MTV and back was with a bit of trepidation since I was unsure about getting across all of the wet, wooden bridges unscathed. I was fine until the return trip on the long bridge across the marsh. It was impossible to pass given my bike skills, especially since I was a little afraid of wiping out, so I got off the bike and walked the last bit until I was clear, while a ton of bikers were passing from both directions.

Anyway, back at the Wilson Bridge intersection, I knew I needed to add on, so I crossed the bridge and back. Headed back to the airport, and the trail was just crazy with people, and I knew it would only get worse further on, so I turned around and headed towards home, adding on loops in a couple of quiet places to get close to 50 miles. Then, I headed up the last hill, not even thinking about walking today - always a mental struggle at the end. Today, I picked King ST, to a side street, to another side street, to another side street. Four short steep hills instead of one long one. That worked well.

I had a GU at 90 minutes, half a peanut butter & apple butter sandwich at 25 & 30 miles, and another GU at 40 miles. I also stopped for the best diet coke ever with about five miles to go.

Things are slightly tired and sore, but nothing painful.

C • Coke 13