A tad excessive

There are times when you just have to admit that you've gone too far and I'm here to tell you that I've been there...and then some this weekend. You be the judge.

Gold's
This morning I met a friend from the old neighborhood for a spin and core class at Gold's in Rockville Town Center. First of all, there are some serious athlethes in that joint. The spin class was amazing. My friend told me that I would love the instructor and she wasn't wrong. We killed it for 60 minutes. She played great music, did not let up the intensity, had a good sense of humor, loved long walks on the beach...wait...that's someone else. Seriously, best quote of the day was, "You are all athletes and we are going to work out like serious athletes so let's go!"

Right after spin we shifted to the next studio for a very intense 30 minute core class. I wasn't sure what to expect, but had been warned that it would crush me...and...mission accomplished. I was a puddle after class. Unfortunately since I was new they put me toward the front...which didn't really make sense to me. The "good news" was that one of the crazy fit instructors was taking the class too and was working out right next to me. She basically coached me through all the exercises that I wasn't familiar with. Nothing like being exhausted and having a free personal trainer analyzing each if your moves. Didn't she realize that all I wanted to do was take a nap on the mat...and not do side planks?!

Hot Yoga
Since the deal is that it's preferable to take your second class within 24 hours of your firs class tonight I headed back to the Takoma Park studio for my second hot yoga class. I'm still not sure about it.

The good news is that tonight's instructor was really good and I liked her a lot better than the guy last night...even though she seemed to be obsessed with eagle abs.

Tonight's class was Super crowded. Me and my new Indian buddy grabbed mats in the back and prepared for the class. I still can't get over the heat --- 105 degrees, 60-80% humidity and sweating through 26 poses. Surprisingly I think I am fairings much better than the other newbies who seem to have to take regular breaks. I definitely was challenged at times and at one point I realized that my fingers were starting to wrinkle as a result of the moisture. Now that just doesn't seem right.

I think I might be one of Those folks who prefers a more flow/power class vs. all this sweating.

We Be Jamming

Tonight after work I headed over to Hains Point to get in some extra miles on the bike. I had planned to get in a good ride the night before, but I got wrapped up talking on the phone and as a result was only able to get in part of my ride before the sun went down. I didn't want that to happen again tonight.

I hauled out of work and to Hains Point just in time to experience life in the last lane --- or riding with the DC peloton! My goodness they are a big group and fast. It was just like a scene out of Breaking Away. I could hear them buzzing behind me; they swarmed all around me; then they dropped me. For a solid five seconds when I was riding with them I felt wickedly cool.

Overall, the 32.20 mile ride was good. I added some speed work again on the backside of the loop.

I was feeling a little off tonight. My right upper arm is still very sore (from what...I have no idea) and I was feeling a bit drained. I realized mid-ride that I have not been eating enough and it was obvious when my calf muscles started to cramp up.

A couple stories related to drafting.

First, during one of the sprints I linked up with three riders who were speeding along the backside of the loop. I got on the last riders tire and was amazing by how much pull that created.

Second, during my last "work lap" I decided to stop being lame and just jam down on the pedals. As I was rolling I felt off and thought maybe there was something wrong with my bike. As I took a peek over my shoulder I saw that a chick had tucked into a spot right behind me.

Now that pissed me off because I have to expend enough energy to haul my own ass around the loop and now I was pulling her around. I whipped my head forward and just starting jamming on the pedals to see if I could drop her. We ended up racing around the loop in this tight formation. It was awesome!

After the loop I slowed, she rode along side me and thanked me for the pacing. I found out that her husband races with a team and she gets out whenever she can to ride. She encouraged me to check out the Greenbelt Race Series on Wednesday nights. She said I was fast enough to hang. That was good to hear and an interesting event to check out. She said it's mostly dudes, but there are a handful of chicks.

She was fun and pushed me...no surprise that I got her contact info and plan to include her on ride meet-ups in the future.
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Heaven Is Lined With Frozen Concoctions

At least that's what I believe, but more on that later.

This afternoon there was an interval bike workout on the flats of Coastal Hwy. The plan was to warm up for 30 minutes and then do eight sets of four minute power sets at 90% with a two minute recovery in between.

Let's remember that I commuted just shy of 10 miles by bike to the meet-up spot in Fenwick --- this becomes important later.

As we rolled out our warm-up found the winds to our backs and we were easily spinning at 20 mph...and then the intervals started.

They really weren't that bad --- except for the ones that we did riding INTO the wind. Curses! When I tell you I was struggling to hold on to 13.5 mph at times and my bike was being knocked about I would not be exaggerating.

By the time we finished the intervals and headed home --- again into the wind --- I was cooked and we still had quite a few miles to cover before we made it to our starting point. The wind was pushing me around and my energy levels were crashing throughout the return. I wish I hadn't forgotten my Glu on the kitchen counter and I wish I had eaten a proper lunch.  Nearly three hours on the bike was starting to sink in.

By the time we made it to Fenwick I was never so glad to get off my bike and curl up on the ground...but remember...I still had to bike almost another 10 miles into the wind to get home. Ugh!

After stretching and downing a cold bottled water I mounted the Cannondale and started the journey home. The wind was so bad and I was so weak that I was only going 11-12 mph. Pathetic. I was wishing someone would pick me up and deliver me to my front door, but alas, no such luck.

But I now know what folks trekking through the desert feel like when their minds race and they come up with a brilliant plan of survival....I saw a TCBY store in the distance. It took me about 10 seconds to decide I had to stop for a cone and to rest.

Within seconds I was in line and ordering a half chocolate and half pistachio soft serve. I upgraded to the waffle cone for the extra carbs. :)

It was sheer heaven to sit on a bench eating this frozen concoction while half of it melted down my hands.

Bloody brilliant I say...bloody brilliant.

Always Be Prepared

That's a motto that everyone from a Boy Scout to you're average person knows. It's also what the nutritionist drilled into us last week --- "if you can't fuel it...you can't do it.". Of course, days later I found myself doing exactly the opposite.

Saturday morning I was scheduled to run 13 miles as part of my half marathon training program. I wasn't too worried. I was sure I would be fine and get it done.

Unfortunately (don't you hate that word?), I was also supposed to be at the beach this weekend --- which meant another solo run. As luck would have it, that was the least of my worries.

I've been busy at work and busy trying my best to get back on track with my triathlon training program. As a result, I squeezed in some spinning on Friday late in the day before rushing home and heading to the beach. The result was (1) I felt great and logged some time on the bike, (2) I wasn't ready to head out of town and (3) I was running around the house throwing stuff in my overnight bag...hoping I had everything. This is never a good sign.

The result was that I forgot to bring my hydration belt and any Glu's. Shit. You ain't finding any of that stuff at the beach before 10am on Saturday.

I did my best to mitigate these issues by changing my route to be more urban so I could stop as needed for snacks, water or help. Though this was the right thing to do since I had to stop a couple times to buy water it totally sucked. I ended up running south along Coastal Hwy to the end of the boardwalk and back.

Running on the narrow sidewalks with other runners and random bikers (get in the road!) and also navigating all the turning cars is not fun. All this makes for limited opportunities to turn your brain off and just run. :(

I motored along at a pretty slow pace and at the halfway point felt pretty good. Soon into my return I started crashing. The morning started off in the 40's and once the sun popped out of the clouds it was quickly in the low 50's...and I was really sweating and getting hot. Since I was conveniently on the boardwalk now, I stopped for another bottled water and added a big salty pretzel to nibble on.

Unfortunately I think my fueling efforts were just a tad late. I starting cramping up and ended up having to walk a bit. I was able to start running again, but by mile 11 I was officially done.

As I was stretching along the side of the road waiting for The Husband to pick my pathetic-self up I was reminded that I need to take this all a bit more seriously --- and always be prepared.
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