Shameless Wheel Sucker

Today was long ride day (107 miles) and while I realize that triathlon is an individual sport and I should train in the wind today I just could not resist the temptation to draft. For those of you non-cyclists this means I sat as close as I could to the wheel of the cyclist in front of me for protection from the wind. It was a foggy wet morning and the roads remained very wet for most of our mountain adventure. As proof of my shameless drafting I was covered in road grime and grease from constant shower I received from the guys in front of me. I suffered on the climbs today, more so than usual but there was something great about the ride. I rode faster and harder than I would have if I were alone. Speeding down a road, sitting in the draft zone, getting covered in grime, screaming "car up, car back", I was smiling. Riding the bike is fun! Having friends that you can meet at dawn, ride with for hours through many moods is even better.

Small town love

I live in a small town and I like it. I know every other person I see and if I don't know them chances are I know their cousin, wife or kid and for some reason I find this very entertaining. Today I ventured out of my small town and into another small town, Saluda, only 14 miles away from my home but a world away. I ate lunch, walked the streets, checked out stores I have been in at least 100 times. I smelled hand made soap that reminded me of jelly beans, looked at pottery that I will give as a gift at the next wedding I go to and drooled over hand made jewelry. I had a few hours of vacation and within minutes I was back at home.

I then walked all the dogs (minus Yoda who is having hip problems). I walked on the trails in the woods and hid behind trees from the dogs and laughed wildly as they sprinted past me, some hunting dogs! We splashed in the bottom of a waterfall and then I let them swim in the pond before crashing through the woods on our way back to the house.

Another day is done. Tomorrow will be a 100+ mile day on the bike so the change in pace today was welcome.

14 days of life

It has now been weeks since I vowed to blog. I have not exactly kept my vows - something I seem to struggle with. I vow to train, I usually do, but sometimes I don't. I try to do too many things and then bang my head against the wall because I just can't keep up. Since I don't have enough to do and I am not focused enough this year - racing an Ironman seems like a good way to get myself back on track. You get the point?

So here and now I am going to catch up and blog on and on about what the heck I have been doing with myself for the last 14 days. At that point I can go to bed and feel like I have actually completed something that has lingered on my list for the last 2 weeks. Any maybe, just maybe I will blog again tomorrow.

During my runs I often think of great things to blog about. Profound and interesting ideas that come to mind. I can't think of any right now - but they come to me then.

I ran up behind a deer the other day on the trail. I don't know who was more surprised me or him. I stopped and talked to him. He was cute and curious and probably would have kicked me if I got any closer. He had little tiny fuzzy antlers which I was close enough to see. He was beautiful, young and dumb. He obviously has not learned to be afraid.

Yesterday there were more dead squirrels in the road than I have ever seen before. There must have been something calling them out there. Where did they all come from? How many Squirrels are there anyway? Yeah, I gave this some serious thought during my bike ride yesterday.

Today running I saw a fast turtle. This has to be a good omen. He checked me out as I ran by and continued on his way. I also saw a turtle the other day during my warm-up swim in Lake Greenwood. It was a huge snapping turtle. I could smell him before I saw him and I was terrified. I screamed like a little girl and tried to hide (treading water) between the guys. I am a little embarrassed by my behavior but snapping turtles are mean. Not to mention the fact that I have been having a little phobia about "things" in the lake.

Last week during a training swim in my home lake I was encouraged to swim closer to shore than I normally would. The reason being that there were a lot of boats out and they could run over me. Honestly I am less scared of the motor boats than I am of the creepy things lurking under the water. On our way back in Ashley and I are swimming at a good clip, we have a nice rhythm going but then I start to see pieces of an old dock. The water was getting shallower and we were swimming closer than I like to an old submerged silo. I tried to stay calm and swim faster but finally I could not take it anymore. I picked my head up and shrieked. Poor Ashley thought she had scared me by touching my foot or something. Within a moment I was sprinting away and Ashley was wondering what got to me. If only they had more submerged wood and trash in all race lake swims - I would be first out of the water!

I have been training more lately. I have managed to get at least 200 miles per week in on my bike and 25-40 miles running. Amazingly I am finally starting to feel like a triathlete again. For the first few races of the season I absolutely got pummeled. Kimberley - who is in the picture with me, did all her training and kicked my tail - even winning a few races! Ashley too must have been doing a lot more than me and repeatedly breezed by me on the run. She would always encourage me to go with her, but I just could not. Finally this past weekend I was able to race again and not just fade into the back. It is really much more fun to be in better shape, it just takes so much work!

Once a week or so I take a break from training and coaching to bring Ziggy to visit in a nursing home. It is his big day out and he loves it. He sits patiently and allows everyone to pet him. He licks despondent patients and plant himself at the feet of people who just need to be touched. He just knows what to do. When we walk into the building he gives a sort of howl to let everyone know he is there and then proceeds to make the rounds. I follow him. Everyone knows his name and if I dare go to visit there without him they all ask for Ziggy.

Last week we went to a new facility with just 5 patients, all younger women. To my amazement a girl who had been injured in a car accident when I was in high school was there. I remember when she had the accident and that she was in a coma for a long time but I guess when you are in high school that is just not the kind of thing you follow up on. To see her brought tears to my eyes, she had made it! I guess the biggest surprise was that she remembered me! Ziggy worked his magic with her and gave her a lot of much needed love. I left feeling very fortunate.

With that I think I will call it a day. Tomorrow maybe I will blog again?

1 Snake vs. 3 Dogs

Wednesday night seemed to be normal. I went for a great swim in the lake with Ashley. I got a little freaked out when I could see old wood under the water - you know it might attack me or something. Either way the very scary wood made me swim fast for at least another 300-400m. I think that was enough to count as my hard effort for the night.

Back at home we had a nice little dinner feast. I admit I only let 2 dogs in to join us since 6 dogs is just too many to have to dinner. The outside pups were quite but little did I know that at some point a sneaky snake (Copperhead) had invaded their territory. The snake was only a little over a foot long. I know this because it was still there - dead. 2 of the dogs looked as though the fight had been a close one. The third dog looked fine to me - I did not notice his wounds until I was back from the emergency vet clinic. At any rate I now know that Copperhead bites are not usually fatal to dogs. I wish I wish I had known that during the 100+ mph drive to Spartanburg. Willow was bitten in the mouth, Blue (new rescue dog) was bitten badly in the leg, and Duke (old rescue dog) was also bitten in the mouth. All are on pain killers and antibiotics now, swelling is going down and hopefully we are out of the woods.

I have spent the last 2 days trying to recover from staying up so late on Wed night. I am a wimp. The late-night-party-girl is no longer (ok, maybe never was) part of my character! Tomorrow morning I will volunteer for the Middle Tyger YMCA Tri. I will actually be happy to volunteer and cheer for all my athletes. More on that tomorrow.