Saturday, July 30, 2011

First hill climbed - second fast approaching

This past Tuesday and Wednesday, I took the bar exam in Oklahoma City.  See:
(no rules were broken in the taking of this picture)

Here's a quick video I made on the run the day before the bar exam:


Needless to say, my workouts suffered from the studying.  In the grand scheme of things, I really needed to put my best effort into the bar exam.  Passing it allows me to take a job that I really want.  Failing it means Paula and I have to scramble.  I can afford to DNF IM Louisville.  I don't want to, but given the choice, a DNF is preferrable.  As a result, I missed a buch of workouts.  I was able to swim here and there.  I even participated in the Norman Conquest in Clevland County, OK.  I also ran some, but with the heat and my studying schedule, I need more miles under my shoes.

I'll find out my bar exam result in September.  Fingers are crossed.

In other, but sad news, I had to retire my favorite water bottle:

This was my first water bottle I purchased when I started riding in 2004.  I used it on nearly all my rides and many races.  Well, during the Norman Conquest, I was coming down a hill going about 35-40mph.  The road was a tad bumpy and the bottle ejected itself.  I immediately stopped pedaling, and waited to see where it fell on the road.  Weird thing was, it hadn't hit the road.  It was balanced between my chainstay and my left pedal.  At this point, I was going around 25-30mph with a line of dudes on my back wheel.  Gracefully, I pulled out of the line, trying to keep the bottle where it was, when all of a sudden it fell into my rear wheel's spoke and locked the wheel up.  The water exploded and I was able to come to a complete stop.  Luckily, no spokes were broken.  Unfortunately, there was a small hole in the base of the bottle.  Bummer.  That bottle has been with me since the beginning of my multi-spot journey.   Next time I'm in New Mexico, I'll have to pick one up.


So, back to the training without my favorite bottle.  I'll survive.  I'm pretty sure I have accumulated 15-20 other bottles in the interim.

As for the training, I went on a 5 hr ride with a quick brick run yesterday.  Here's an unlucky fellow I met on the way back:

(Bummer.  Looks like he just had a meal.)

Today, we're in Dallas and I squeezed in a two hour run.  So hot.  I'm going to try and squeeze a swim in tomorrow and maybe another spin on the bike or a run.  Can you tell that I'm struggling to get in as much training as I can?  IM LOUISVILLE IS LESS THAN A MONTH AWAY!!!!!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Norman Conquest

Just a quick update.  I'm knee deep in bar studying notecards and MBE practice questions.  Workouts are suffering, as expected.  I was able to squeak a long run in this morning

And yesterday, I completed the Norman Conquest.  I felt a lot stronger this year over last.  I pushed the pace a little more than I will in Louisville, but I didn't have time yesterday to go for a 5-6 hour ride like the training plan called for. 

I've got my work cut out for me in terms of bar studying for the next few days.  I'll see you on the other side. 

Monday, July 04, 2011

Tour de Payne

I completed my first century today.  I then I rode 4 more miles.  This morning was the Tour de Payne.  Here's my Garmin data:
Moving time: 5:43; Avg speed: 18.1 mph

It was a good ride.  There were a bunch of rolling hills and it got fairly hot toward the end.  There were well-stocked aid stations.  As for the ride itself, it was crowded until the 60 and 100 milers split off. Afterwards, it was fairly lonely out there.  One thing I learned - roadies don't like getting passed by solo triathletes.  Nearly every group I passed decided to crank it up a bit and repass me a little later.  That's fine and all, but it got annoying when those groups would then slow down in front of me.  No big deal though, everyone was friendly.

I was planning on going for a quick jog after the ride, but I was feeling pressed for time (and my legs wanted the afternoon off).

So, century completed. Now, more bar studying and triathlon training.  But first, being the Fourth and all, it's time to drink beer and blow up cheap Chinese gunpowder. 

Sunday, July 03, 2011

Twas the night before . . .

the Tour de Payne.  I'm going to do the 104 ride tomorrow.  It'll probably be hot.  The most I've ever ridden is 70 or so miles.  So, first century!!!

I might even try to follow up with a quick run to see how bad my legs will feel on race day.  Then it's beer time in celebration of our country.