Dancing Snoopy

(If you've ever seen the Peanuts cartoon of Snoopy dancing because it's the weekend, you'll understand.)

It's warm. It's sunny. It's time to go out and suffer!! And so I did. Isn't that what weekends are for?

Yes, triathletes are mentally unbalanced. It goes with the territory.

I rode my bike 23 miles yesterday in very windy conditions. Going into the wind I had struggled to hold 10 mph with a HR of 173! (It didn't help that my uniform wind jacket was too big and acted like a nice jib in the breeze.) When I first got out on the bike today, I felt a few gusts of wind and my heart sank. Instantly I thought about doing crit loops or something cheesy rather than logging in the miles. Instead I extended my warmup by a few miles and then headed out to Hwy. 80.

Out on the road it was surprisingly not bad. I was able to ride the big ring most of the way to Crow today (yesterday small ring the entire way). 'Course, didn't have the magic of the tailwind pushing me all the way to Hawkins, but I'll take this combination any day. Stopped in Hawkins (1 hour) for a tire check. (There's always glass and other crap on the roads. I live in constant fear of flats.) Then back to Crow again. That put me at about 23 miles. My minimum goal for the day was 25 but I felt decent so I headed back towards Hawkins. Good sense (and a sore posterior) prevailed over ambition and I only went as far as the pavement divide (i.e., where the chip seal turns to smooth pavement in the opposite, westbound lane) and then headed back to the Lake Hawkins turn off. I hit the lap button and intended to take it relatively easy on the way home. That last hill, though, is always a killer. The bottom kicks up almost instantly to 7-8% in the first 40 yards before settling down to 2-3% the rest of the way home. By now my neck and shoulders were bothering me, though the shoulder had been just fine till the last ten minutes. 32.33 miles, 1:57, 16.5 average.

Transition was...well, let's just say it was not a rehearsal for race day, though the tromp from the front gate to the garage is probably going to be shorter than the distance I'll have to travel to my bike--1 of over 2,000--in New Orleans! I decided not to change into running shorts since I didn't plan on running more than 15 minutes. I got all my gear off and put on my running shoes then trotted back towards the gate. Outside the gate, reality bit big time: even running downhill I was stiff as a board. At the bottom of Sadie's Hill I looked at my watch: 2 minutes down, 13 more to go! Suddenly the prospect of running 13 miles after cycling for 56 seemed preposterous beyond belief. But what was 15 minutes? So I shuffled onward, huffing and puffing. (Had no idea what my HR was.) I made it past Fish Hawk point, totaling about 10 minutes, before I stopped and bent over for a few seconds, hoping the brick that was my right glute might stretch out a bit. Then up and at it again. Another two minutes and I walked for a few seconds. I think when I made it to the bottom of Lee's Hill my watch said 13:10. That's about 1.2 miles. I hobbled up the steep gradient, still huffing and puffing. I could hear laughter and saw that Charles and Diane had guests. I didn't even want to think what they might say upon seeing me, so after walking 1:30, I trotted the rest of the way home.

Later, I didn't feel so bad about the run. I thought, "Well, you did that! Now all you have to do is repeat it about 11 times and you're there!" It will be nice that, during the race, the water stations will be every 1.5 miles, which is exactly how far it is around our circle here.

Wonder what I'll do tomorrow....

Ugh-Day

This day began rather poorly. The phone rang at 5:40. It was the automated phone from Grand Saline calling to let Jim know his classes were delayed till 10 a.m. He got to come back to bed and go to sleep. I had to go get my Blackberry and log onto the TJC web site and wait until 6 a.m. to find out our classes were NOT delayed nor canceled. So right from the start I felt (stupidly) wronged by the universal system of justice (as if such a thing existed).

I left early and drove slowly to work. The roads weren't actually that bad. To make myself feel better (literally and figuratively) I got an Egg McMuffin at McDonald's. $2.56!!?? I needed something to eat because all I would get to eat at lunch was a banana, but sheesh! I should've been cheap and bought the sausage biscuit for a buck and damned the satrurated fat. (I don't know that it has any more than the Egg McMuffin; the latter just sounds healthier.)

By the time I got to my desk my EM was cold. Nerks! I muched it anyway while getting some items printed off, then sat down to review for class. Weary, weary.... How many years have I taught this stuff, yet I made the commitment this year to actually follow the book. Takes all the fun and creativity out of it.

More students than I imagined showed up for class, and the lecture went alright. Then back to the office for more paperwork and prepping for the noon meeting.

The TJC Bicycle Club met at noon. I had told Emily and Chip to get together and draw up an agenda for the meeting. I'd already told them I was going to let the officers lead this semester. They did an excellent job with the Activities Fair so I had fair expectations. Well, what can I say? There was no agenda. Aigh! Drives me crazy! I like a list, 1-2-3 and get things done. Oh, well...

Meeting over, drove home...by way of McDonald's, again! Dollar menu, this time. Felt I sort of deserved it (bad attitude). Got home, checked in on facebook and saw what I felt was an absurd political statement and even though I knew I'd probably regret it, responded. (I haven't checked back to see what the response to the response is.) So once again, AIIGHH!!

And I don't feel like training AT ALL. I have no energy. I don't feel motivated at all. It's almost like having completed my first month of training, I've plateaued--"I'm done." Things had just been going too well there for a while. Now I have one or two small setbacks and POUF! Oooooooooo......

Tuesday

After news that the TJC pool was going to open last night, I figured I couldn't resist the chance to get in a low-resistance swim workout today, even though I don't normally drive to town on Tuesday. I'm glad I went, but the swim itself was not as seemingly effortless as others of late. I did not do 40 laps uninterrupted, but rather stopped every 10 laps for a small breather. Guess it's just one of those weeks....

I should be getting ready for class tomorrow, but with classes canceled tonight and the possibility of cancellation tomorrow, it's hard to get in the groove.

Monday

Monday should be swim day. However, since they unexpectedly (and without notifying us in advance) decided to drain the TJC pool last week, saying they didn't expect to be open again until Wednesday, I had to find other occupation today. Since my new resolve to work on my core, I decided to go to the gym (the part of HPE outside the swimming pool!!). I was very heartened to see all new equipment, including treadmills! (Hooray, I won't have to join OC just to have access to a treadmill.) They had new ellipticals which provided a lot harder wokout than I recall from last year. Anyway, I did a 15 minute warmup on the elliptical then went to the weight room.

I sure wish I could remember the names of the machines. Mainly I remember what they do and what muscle groups they target. I began with the lower back extension. I set the weight initially at 50 but after a few reps went down to 35 and completed 40 reps. From there I went to the stomach crunch machine and did about 35 reps. Then moved across to the lateral bench press (?) and managed only about 10 reps at 35 lbs. (Wasn't my target group anyway....) Then I went to the lateral pull-down (?) where I did about 25 reps at 35 pounds. (Said it targeted latissimus dorsi do that's what I wanted--targeting back and core.) I went to compound row (don't remember reps or weight). I finished on the torso rotation machine to work the obliques.

I left the weight room and went out and got a mat and a stability ball. I did about 20 crunches on the ball, plus two sets (10) of an exercise for the neck and back on the ball I saw in Bicycling magazine (JC is dying if he's reading this), as well as two sets of 10 pushups on the ball. I then ditched the ball and did planks as well as alternate leg-arm extensions. I finished with some yoga stretches, etc.

When I was leaving I asked when the pool would open again--I could see from upstairs the pool was full--and they said it would open tonight! So now that raises the possibility I could swim tomorrow, even though I don't normally go to town on Tuesday. (Beats riding the trainer for hours, which I will have to do eventually....) We'll see if the roads are clear.

Sunday

It's Sunday so it's a long-run day--'cept today the long run sucked. I don't know why. Maybe it's two nights with insufficient sleep. Maybe it's boredom with having run the same roads every weekend for a month or more. Perhaps it was the cold and wind and lack of sunshine. Whatever the reason, it was a long, hard, cold, slow slog. And when it was over I had sore feet, ankles, and other areas (which modesty prevents me from naming). I've been gimping around all day.

...so it all makes me rethink my training plan, which I had structured to add ten more minutes each week. I'm up to 1:45 and 8.25 miles. But is it the most valuable use of my time? I read on Slowtwitch today where Any Potts doesn't train more than three hours at a stretch and doesn't run more than an 45 minutes (if memory serves). Needless to say I'm no Andy Potts, but it started me thinking that I should perhaps consider more intensity rather than simply length of workout.

New Direction

I've completed my first month of training for the 70.3, just leaving behind a recovery week, so it's time to reevaluate my training.

I am already easily swimming more than a mile non-stop in training so I don't think I will increase the swim yards as directed because I don't feel it's necessary. I just want to keep up the form. But I'll still swim at least two days a week if I can. I enjoy swimming very much. It's relaxing. I will continue to increase the run and bike as directed, but I need to add more core strength training, so I will try to slot that in a few days per week.

I need to get with John on my road bike fit. I did two road rides this week of at least one-and-a-half hours and experiences the usual burning pain in my left upper back, inside the scapular area. On my old road bike John drastically lowered the bars. I didn't get to ride it much that way, but as I recall it did help the back pain. (Still, I felt so low I could have been a Ferrari!) I just don't want to lose my sweet Ritchey carbon stem! Maybe he can just flip it instead of giving me one of those negative rise stems.

Speaking of John: it doesn't feel like I'm earning my keep this week because no one is talking about saddle issues on the Forums. Everyone is into running and swimming right now.

On a completely different topic: I took Jim's Motorola Q9C back and exchanged it for an LG AX300. Even then, when I brought it home to him (activated this time), he acted as though I had brought him a dead albatross. He kept up a constant monologue as he dove right in without reading the manual (something he would never do if it was his purchase), popping me with questions about this specific model. I was a littlle PO'd and just answered a steady "I don't know." This morning, he was playing with it some more so I think he's finally starting to accept it. He even spoke of dropping our land line service if we can manage good reception on these phones. (We've had poor reception in the past but we haven't really tried these yet.)

Disappointment

I was very pleased yesterday to upgrade the cellphones for myself and my husband. Jim has always been frustrated by his inability to text on his current phone; however, he has never done anything about it because he didn't want to go to the trouble, or he wanted to do it without any expense--i.e., use one of my old phones rather than get a new one. So I guess I was already preparing myself for any kind of response and should have expected disappointment.

I was not disappointed in my expectation of disappointment.

Last night was Jim's first full night at the Lindale campus teaching lecture and lab after a full day at Grand Saline. He was very tired when he came in at 9 p.m. and there wasn't much time to talk about anything. I told him about the phone but got very little response. This morning, I got a response and it was negative, of course--not outright rejection, for which I was prepared, but skepticism and sarcasm. He began by saying he had "read up" on the phone last night and it wasn't compatible with a Mac. I told him it wasn't necessary since the Internet was accessible on the phone itself, so there was no need to synchronize with a computer. Hearing this, he responded: "How much does that cost?" Of course it cost more and I told him so. He kind of half smiled, half sneered and walked off, saying, "Well, you're richer than I am." It was the most ubsurd statement, of course, as he is has plenty of money--hundreds of times more than I have--in part because he is so reluctant to part with any of it. But it really hurt for him to make a remark like that when he knew it wasn't true.

It's not surprising, though. I have never purchased a single thing--not a sweater, a bag of trail mix at the market, not a bicycle part, not my current six-year old car--that he did not demean as too expensive or unnecessary (even though he later comes to enjoy the benefits, say, of good gas mileage in my car). He is fortunate enough to come from money. He prides himself on never having to go into debt, but then again he never had to. So yes, I have debts. I had to pay my own way through 13 years of graduate school, working part time, getting fellowships when I could, and in the end taking out student loans so I could get the degree that would ensure I have the job I have now.

So I hope he will eventually come to appreciate the phone and gain some benefit from it. But it's quite clear there is almost nothing I could ever buy is going to be appreciated. He will always see me as a spendthrift and that's his "get" on me, his path to feeling superior.

A New Day

Wow! I'm tired already, and I haven't exercised a lick! All the emotional build-up for the inauguration has me spent. I haven't watched any of the talking heads who nattered on endlessly all weekend. The moment is the moment, so why spoil it with useless noise? It was worth the wait. Emotionally, I was fine until the moment Obama walked alone through the Capital Crypt through and honor guard with their rifles held in salute to the future commander-in-chief. That's when the tears started, though I didn't really cry--just teared up. Then there was all the waiting while the previous presidents were introduced, and I realized how significant that was: I had lived through every one of their administrations and remembered them all. It just added historical weight to the moment. Then, they announced "Tthe 44th President of the United States Barrak H. Obama!" and I lost it. BUT, with all the ensuing ceremony, the actual oath seemed almost anti-climactic (especially since both he and Roberts bobbled it a bit). The speech was great, as I well expected. The Man can Write!! He can also lead, so it will be a very interesting few months ahead to see him lay out his plans and see how well the honeymoon goes.

Long Run; More Gear

It's Sunday morning so it must be the Long Run. I couldn't wait till it got warmer. Still, it was 50 degrees when I began, as opposed to 38 last Sunday, which was very comfortable. I ran in a long-sleeve top, tights, and my white pair of Nike Victory shoes. (Trying to mix up shoes to avoid knee problems--that's the advice, anyway.) I began with cotton gloves and ear warmers (I'm a real weenie when it comes to cold ears), though I removed the gloves after an hour.

I began very comfortably and my hear rate remained fairly low for the first half hour, and not too high after that. I ended up with an AHR of 161 (LT is 180), and a max of 176, which I got going over the peninsula hill. My route today was from the house, down Lee's Hill, then left on 3440 to the bridge. I crossed the bridge and continued on the other side of the lake (3220). I planned to run 45 minutes out and then turn around, but I ran into a pack of dogs at 851 CR 3220 (remember that address in case I am mauled in future) and turned back early. I retraced my steps and arrived at the base of Lee's hill well inside an hour. I continued south on 3440 and almost made it to Taste of Italy before the one-hour mark. I continued on around the peninsula, over the cut-through, and back to the base of Sadie's Hill (3469). That left me about 30 seconds shy of my minimum goal of 1 hour 25 minutes, but I'd run out of road. If I'd contine on back to Taste of Itale, etc., that would have added about twelve minutes to my minimum goal, and that was too much to risk. The final count from MapMyRun was 7.46 miles in 1:24:34. The time included a minute of walking (or maybe it was seconds--seemed longer) when I encountered the dog, plus picking up and dropping off my water bottle at the Hottinger's and again at the base of Sadie's Hill. (Yes, we're only talking a few seconds, but I feel the need to defend every second of slowness!)

Back home I immediately used my ice pack for my knees, hoping that would prevent sore kneecaps. (It immediately produced sore knees in that the ice enhanced short-term stiffness.) Jim was in the kitchen making a turkey sandwich. I asked him to make me one, but apparently he does not take orders as a short-order chef so I had to make my own. By the time I finished it I was almost shivering, so off to the hot shower.

It wasn't until I disrobed I discovered a major "bo-bo" (as Emma would call it): a blister a few centimeters long cutting across my chest. I had noticed a tiny cut there earlier, probably made by a cat, but it was healing. Guess rubbing it for an hour-and-a-half with my heart rate monitor rubbed off the scab and then some. When the water hit it it felt like someone assaulting me with acid. It got a little better by the time I exited the shower. I put some Neosporin on it but it remains very sore. (I just hope it is a blister and not the start if something worse, like the shingles. I've had the shingles once before, and I thought you couldn't get them again. I hope that is true.)

I worked some on the computer while Jim sawed away at something outdoors. I checked today's results from the Tour Down Under, etc., checked my online classes and graded a few essays. Then, it was on to...shopping! My gosh, it's amazing how much money I can spend on gear and none of it "high dollar" stuff. Spend $2000 for an aero wheelset? Hah! But $20 here or $35 there, etc., and it adds up. Like this X-Lab Carbon wing. The wing itself was not terribly expensive, but then I had to buy two Gorilla cages to go with it and a couple of extra straps. Then today I had to search to find an X-lab tool bag that would fit it and purchased an inflation center (X-Nut, two cartridges, and a Nanoflator). I think now I would have been better off if I'd just purchased the entire Carbon Wing kit from Trisports and been done with it. (Can't remember now why I didn't.) I really, really don't want to think what my credit card bill is going to look like when it arrives....

Cycling Nowhere

That translates: riding the trainer--in this case for two hours (35 miles). It's not the most exciting ride in the world. True, I have my iPod and Fatboy Slim sets a fine tempo, but after a couple of rides he's wearing a bit thin. (Except "Acid 8000"--that never gets old!) But I gleaned some useful information about nutrition, pace, clothing. (The Zoot shorts don't cut it--not without some Body Glide. And the Hammer Gel Vanilla? ICK!!)

I almost met all the goals for minutes and miles for this week--exceeded those in swimming and cycling in fact--but fell short in running. Seems every week I'm going to fall short somewhere, but I'm up to ten hours a week training, which is more than double where I was a few weeks ago.

Oh, Jim finally finished assembling the X-Lab Carbon wing and Gorilla cages. The result (absent the water bottles) resembles the alien "bitch" from "Aliens". Scary!!

Zen Swimming; Mechanics and Marriage Don't Mix

Here's what I wrote to Kami about my swim workout today:

"I swam today--dare I risk saying perhaps the most perfect swim I've ever done? I was not in the mood, even thinking of skipping it, but since it's the easiest (in terms of wear and tear) of any
workout I do, I went ahead. (Besides, I need to burn some calories for the pound I gained overnight.) When I put my feet in the water it was very warm. Initially I thought, "Oh, no. This is going to be bad." But I took off on my first lap and just glided. I kept gliding. Second lap, third lap. Never felt breathless. I usually stop after ten laps to catch my breath and get a drink of water, but I kept going with the goal of doing my target 30 without stopping. I got to 30...and kept going! I thought, "Heck, if I can make it this far with so little problem, why not shoot for the whole 40, which is the race distance?" And so I did: 2000 yards in 42:13. It was very Zen--almost like being one with the water. Now in hindsight I am thinking the warm
water was a boon--perhaps it helped me relax or something. (I was supposed to run this afternoon, but it's so cold, and the swim was so good, I don't want to spoil it!) "

Seems the rest day, then, may have paid off. I won't analyze the source too much--just be grateful for the good workout.

The evening did not pass so well. I bought an X-Lap Carbon Wing system to hold me bottles on the tri bike, but looking at all the parts I thought, "I could spend hours trying to attach this and probably do it wrong. Jim could do it in half an hour." So I sucked it up and asked him if he would do it. As usual, he said he would "help me do it." "That's not what I asked you," I sighed in resignation. "I asked if you would do it. Remember Yoda: `Do, or do not. There is no try." Jedi wisdom, it seems, does not work on husbands, so I was forced to sit there for almost three hours watching him struggle with it. In a perverse reversal of habit, he, for once, did not read the instructions first. I had, but heaven forbid I should say anything. That meant wasting 45 minutes with him trying to attach it without removing the saddle. Then we went another 15 minutes when he took off saddle and seatpost, before finally removing the saddle, as recommended in the instructions. He had to struggle with one of the metal attachments which had not been well constructed. This consisted of getting some pliers and bending the part into the correct shape. (By this time I had moved away from the process and was sweeping and doing other chores.) Once he did that he was able to get it attached. I would have liked to finish the project completely, but in another typical move, he left one thing undone and put that off till tomorrow: completely attaching the bottle cages. I didn't push it. By now my head was a dull ache and I just wanted to forget all about it.

I am happy that it's done (or almost done). Truly. But this is a sore subject in our household. Jim loves mechanical tinkering and projects, except when it comes to anything I might want or need done. Then I think it becomes some sort of power play on his part. He has this moral principle of sorts where he believes everyone should be able to fix any and every part of their bicycle. I disagree. Bicyles are very complicated machines these days. It's reasonable to expect I should be able to perform basic maintenance tasks like cleaning the drivetrain, change a flat, etc., but I don't think I should need to know how to change a bottom bracket or fine-tune a derraileur. I mean, should I know how to replace the transmission on my automobile, or alter the timing on the engine? It's not an argument I'm going to win, so I just try to avoid the situation as much as possible. (It keeps Dave and Sport in business!)

Sustainability

Well, I'm beginning to see where the holes are in my training. I've worked on individual disciplines at maintaining a sustainable pace based on heart rate, but since those individual workouts rarely last more than an hour-and-a-half, I haven't run into the problem of sustainability over time. That's a convoluted way of saying it's damn hard to maintain extensive endurance for more than two hours!

Yesterday I did a "brick" workout when I got home. Because of the temps and other factors, I ran first then rode my bike. I wanted to run for at least thirty minutes (made 32) then do at least 25 miles on the bike. I was able to do that, but when I pushed past 25, hoping to make 30, I could feel my brain starting to shut down--perhaps the first sign of a bonk, though it's hard to tell since I quit (at 26.5 miles) before it got worse. I had taken a gel at 15 miles (110 calories) but perhaps that wasn't enough. I think I need to take in 250 calories an hour at least. Now I have to figure how how--what the best source will be--and when. I plan on some sort of liquid supplement but just didn't use on yesterday. Next week I'll give it a try.

Today I plan to rest. Tomorrow: swim.

First Day of Classes

It's back to the salt mines. I have 80 students in this double section but that means double pay for one prep, so bring it on!

I was just killing time during one of my office hours searching the web for triathlon information. I have pre-registered for Athens on March 14th, New Orleans April 5th, and Four States on May 17th. I may do Jefferson in July but I won't pre-reg for that. I also plan on doing our own Rose City Triathlon pn September 13th but it's not up for registration yet.

I changed my training plans for this afternoon. Originally I planned to ride the TT bike on Loop 49 and then run on the Faulkner Park trail. However, it's very cold this morning and I expect it will still be chilly this afternoon, so I took my bike out of the car and will ride it on the trainer this afternoon. I will probably do a run first rather than last because I am soaked through after riding the trainer.

Slow Miles

I did my long run after all. It was 38 degrees--lovely for running, though it's going to be way different in N'Awlins. I kept my heart rate around 164-65, which is sustainable. And I did sustain it for the entire run. I felt really good about that and about the fact that, without looking at my watch, I managed to time the length of the run almost to the minutes (scheduled 1:20 and ran 1:21).

After I walked home I got out the computer and logged on to MapMyRun to find out how far I'd run and what pace. The results illustrate why I no longer wear my Garmin Forerunner: instead of running 7.35 as I expected, I ran only 7 miles, and the pace was 11:57. Of course my goal is to lay in the base miles and work on my aerobic fitness, and that's what I did. But it's a little...umm, sobering to realize that Signor William Ritter could cover that same distance in about half an hour or less.

So now I've done that, I guess the rest of the day is my oyster, so to speak. I'm tempted to ride the trainer this afternoon. I don't know if that will assist in muscle recovery or not--guess depends on how hard I ride. I have been neglecting the bike miles for various reasons.

No Meetings, No Mileage

I got to sleep in this morning: no meetings. However, my plan to ride the trainer and meet my goal mileage on the bike for the week? Nope. They say "listen to your body"--well, sometimes--and my lower back hurts and me legs are sore. I think I need to do a good session of stretching and try out my Trigger Point quadballer. I may do a bit of upper body and core work, but no endurance stuff today. Depending on how I feel tomorrow, I may or may not do my Sunday long run. The way my weekly plans look, I do a long event on Sunday and Tuesday, so I can flip bike or run as need be.

Meetings and Miles

The day started off a tad too early. Since Jim took the day off I could not depend on his alarm to wake me. As it happened his snoring did a better job than the alarm! I was up before 6:30 and dragged my sorry self out the door at 7:30.

The reason for the early departure was a requirement that I attend some sort of workshop/briefing on Assessments in relation to our pending SACS review. I should have taken the disorganization I found upon my arrival as an omen. I was at the front doors of Wise Auditorium at 8:15. There were three people there, including Dr. Rogers, who is in charge of the review at TJC. They were trying the doors and found them locked. None of them had a cell phone except the custodial staff person, so they used it to call Campus Safety to come let us in. About that time Jeff Dawson of Media Services, who was inside, came through and unlocked the doors. When we got inside, they realized that there were no sign-in sheets because Starla Horton had not yet arrived. Now they had no cell phone at all because the custodial person had disappeared, so I had to loan them mine. They called Starla. No answer. So one of them had the bright idea to use the back of one of the handouts as a temporary sign-in sheet (as people were beginning to arrive) until Starla showed...except they had NO PEN!!! I had to lend them a pen, too! One of the ladies (whose name alas I did not know) remarked, "Well, at least one person here is prepared!"

I wish the same could be said for the presentation. I can't say the blame rests solely on Rise Knight, the presenter, though given her situation--living in Michigan and flying down here for a week here and a week there to direct SACS operations--such an outcome seems very predictable. She was completely disorganized, despite--or perhaps because of--having a plethora of over-detailed Power Point slides giving verbatim transcripts of SACS requirements. As she proceeded through these, she tried to explain some but then contradicted herself, or was contradicted by members of a committee with whom she had met only the night before. She baffled everyone with terms that had no meaning to the majority. She made reference to elements in the handouts that no one knew about (had they not flipped ahead).

The result was near-complete chaos. People were mumbling and flipping and asking questions that could hardly be heard, and Rise would try to answer only to be overriden by the dean or a committee person. I was seated next to Joan Bruckwicki, who serves on one of the SACS committees, and her eyes were closed. "She's making this sound a lot more complicated than it really is," commented Joan drily, a point with which I heartily agreed.

The thing that puzlled me out most, however, was why people were acting so confused. Didn't they understand that 90% of this had nothing to do with them? Why were they bothering to try and understand it? We preach about teaching critical thinking but I think some of my colleagues demonstrated a frightful lack of it this morning!! Anyone with experience could look at the handout and figure out that many of the points would not affect them--although Rise's presentation made it sound as if it would. (Here is where the written word outweighed the spoken one.) I had to make do with scribbling notes to this effect on my steno pad and passing them to my neighbor, Sharon.

Thankfully, around 9:50, Rise could see that things had gotten out of hand and initiated our coffee break. Once outside I walked with a colleague back to Jenkins and I could tell we were thinking the same thing: our required presence this morning was simply a bureaucratic necessity. The Powers That Be had to be able to show SACS that they had briefed the faculty directly--and what more convenient way for them than to crowd us into an auditorium?--and that the faculty had participated in the process, etc.-- noble sentiments on paper, but in reality it produced a great big mess (and a waste of time for us proletarians). Ours was not to question why but just to shut up and let the thing carry forward to its own conclusion and wait for the details later. (That's why administrative hierarchies exist: to work out the details with a small group, then delegate that group to explain it to those lower down the food chain.)

In any event, I heard the same sentiments from most of the colleagues I met around campus in the interval. Perhaps someone related something pointed to Rise, because when we reconvened she left behind all the broad strokes and simply focused on things that would directly affect faculty members. Consequently, we went through the rest of the presentation in half an hour. So now they can check off this particular box on their road to review and the rest of us can go about our business.

(Sigh.) So that was the morning!! As soon as the meeting broke up I went to the HPE Parking lot to fetch my gym bag from the car. I went in, changed into my swimsuit, and was swimming laps before 11:00 a.m. I swam a very quick 500 yards--seemed quick, unless I miscounted. I drank some water, then went on to my next 500. I took only a few seconds to swig a quick sip of water and then swam my last 500 (to make it seem as much as possible that I swam 1000 uninterrupted yards). I left the pool around 11:25, took a cool shower (those damn things take forever to heat up, if then!), then left to find lunch.

I ate lunch at my desk while I worked on my syllabus and other paperwork. I caught up a bit with Madeleine, who became a grandmother this morning. I worked a bit more, then left just beofre 2 p.m.

Upon arriving at home, I saw Jim was here. I got a briefing on his day. Big surprise: he rode at the Park! He accomplished little else. I briefed him on the morning's event, but of course he had a riposte for any instance of bureaucratic mafleasance I could possibly quote. So I changed into my running togs and decided I would at least finish out the remaining 25 minutes of running that my training plan outlined.

Before I even reached the front gate, I could tell this would not be an easy run. My legs had no energy. I thought perhaps after a bit things would improve but it never really did. And all I could think of was: "If it's this hard after a three hour break, and without even a bike ride in the interval, then how hard will it be to run during the actual race?" I did not want to think about that too much. Rather, I just slogged on, determined not to quit. I managed to run almost the entire route without walking, but ambition got the better of me before I got to the foot of Lee's Hill when I saw the time at 28 minutes and wanted to finished under 30. I quickened my pace but my HR soon hit 186 and I had to stop and walk a bit. I still made it to the mark just over 30 minutes, but it was not a pleasant experience.

Let's hope time and practice will improve all things.

Drowning the Elephant?

I think I may be trying to drown the Elephant in wine. I have no self control when it comes to Pinot Noir (or pizza). Last night I opened a new bottle and assured myself I would have two small glasses. Four hours later, the bottle was empty. (Sigh.) That's not good for any number of reasons, but Number One reason short term is that I wake up at 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. and the Elephant starts rumbling: "What's my training supposed to be today? Uh-oh. Now I'll never get to sleep again.... Is it going to be like this from now on??" I try the embrace method: "Oh, hello Elephant! You're not scary. Kami dreams about races all the time." But it only works for a while. I have to get up and take something to get back to sleep.

Maybe if I delay my bike trainer session to late afternoon today--inevitable, really, since I have a hair appointment at noon--that will curb the desire. Now, if I could also curb my husband's desire to watch MSNBC and CNN and Fox News!! (It's not just the Elephant I am trying to drown.) My only recourse last night was to take the last disc of my audio book and listen to it (after the wine was gone). I wish we could reach some kind of agreement limiting the number of hours of that stuff he will watch. Sad thing is, if he's not watching that he's got his head plugged into talk radio! At least that's quiet(er), although he insists on keeping a running commentary on what he's hearing. "Do you know what they are saying about...?" Never mind I might have my nose buried in a book or am working on the computer, as in "If I wanted to listen to that **** I wouldn't be doing this, would I?" He acts hurt if I don't want to listen. I can't wait until the days get longer and he can work outside.....

A New Week

Okay, it's the first day of a new week, and a new week that begins a new semester. It's time to get with it.

I woke up this morning and the scale told the tale: too much eating and drinking yesterday. Not just yesterday, of course, but for weeks and months. But I didn't need the scale to show me that. Yesterday I rode my TT bike on the trainer for a little while to try fit and position. It was easiest just to put on my try shorts and power top--a glorified sports bra that leaves the midriff exposed--for the even. Ouch!! I should have taken a picture of that and hung it on the refrigerator door. That was bloody awful.

Justa Waitin'

Waiting....on what??? Nothing really. It's just a rest day--finding out how many ways to waste time. I cleaned the drive train on my road bike. Best to do that before the cold weather sets in and the chain lube gets all thick. Don't know when I'll ride it though.

Embracing the Elephant

Buddhists believe that one's waking mind is like a rampaging elephant: the more you try to control it, the more it runs wild. Naturally, mine has been running amok since I signed up for the Half. My OCD plays everything now in a template based on that race. That's not bad if I'm doing a run and trying to imagine how good it will feel to cross the finish line, but it's very intrusive if I'm trying to fall asleep. But I know the more one tries to control something, the worse it gets, so I am trying to "embrace the elephant", just as I will embrace the pain of training and the pain of racing. I have to take it all as a package. Easily said, I know. Living it will be another matter.