The TriathleteNut

I just got into golf. It’s an evil game. I’m addicted and have only been to the driving range about 4 times - with one lesson on the putting green. Next thing you know I have a new set of clubs and found a slight pain in my knee that made me choose the driving range over a 5K run.

Was there really pain? Yeah - but not so much that I’ve had to sit out a great run in great weather!!! UGH.

I need to figure this balance out. Now I have to balance Golf, Run, Bike riding and swim training.

Good thing though - Jake is taking lessons which gives me an excuse to go to the driving range with him.

Now to get Donna out there with me.

Have you had an ice bath? What about a 17-mile run? What about a book idea? Would you consider an hour and a half of golf with your son after 3 hours of running? Well, this is how I spent my Sunday.

First off… we did it.

Steve (RW Forum Member: SteveInSocal) and I ventured out into uncharted territory on Sunday: we ran our first 17-miler. The bottom line is, we finished! We didn’t die, we didn’t fall and suffer and call for a helicopter air-lift to the hospital. We did, however, stop at Carl’s JR for NOT a breakfast sandwich but a bathroom break because Steve drank too much coffee before we ran. All-in-all it was a good run and a great day to run!

We started at 6:30 AM.

I stood out in the cold waiting for Steve to get out of his car as he downed his coffee. Not much was said as we just woke up like 10 minutes prior and were still asleep, but we synchronized our Garmin’s and off we went. It was cold.

Fifty Eight minutes and five miles later we were refueling with Cliff Shot Bloks and a granola bar. The first five miles just came and went. An easy five which meant a pretty good outlook for the next twelve. I felt confident at that point and continued on our trek West on Kenneth Road.

It was almost a perfect out and back because at mile 8 Kenneth ended and swooped down to Glenoaks Blvd which is another flat, straight run back home. We had planned on turning back at 8.5 miles but Kenneth didn’t give us that extra half-mile or so and we decided to try Glenoaks Blvd. as our ‘back’.

It was a good idea because first, it was a flatter route than going back up some inclines on Kenneth, and most importantly, at the 12.5 mile mark, Steve needed to release himself of alllll that coffee he drank. We found a Carl’s JR, stopped our Garmins and Steve went in. I decided to stay outside because I was hungry and did not want to smell the food. I stretched my tight calve muscles.

We made our way back up GrandView to get back to neighborhood running as Glenoaks had too many lights. I also knew we had to make up about a mile because our turnaround came too short of our goal. So the detour North was both a good idea but a tough one as it was a pretty decent run up a hill.

This is the point Steve told me about his Sci-Fi story idea. Which I absolutely loved! Running with Steve always reminds me of the one thing I’ve always wanted to do since I was a kid but haven’t done yet – and that’s write a novel. Growing up, Steve and I were avid readers, reading Fiction and Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels. We read whatever we could get a hold of. From the J. R. R. Tolkien to Sidney Sheldon to Robert Ludlum to comic books – we read it all. So he pitched me a story and I’m really excited about co-writing this book. We’ll keep you informed.

Back to the run.

We prepared ourselves with hydration having about 70oz of hydration between the two of us. The CA sun would bare down on us around mile 9 and would wear on us for the rest of the run. Well, that’s what we thought. And yes, it’s better to be prepared than unprepared. I barely got through 15 ounces myself with a lot left over obviously. It stayed in the mid to low 60s throughout the run. It seemed even cooler around mile 13 than it did at mile 5!!! If there was perfect weather to do your first 17-miler, this was the weather. The R&R Marathon in June is supposed to be in the mid-70s, but with the sun out this could be a tough 26.2 miles.

Our sunglass never left our heads. It was great!

We stopped at mile 17 and felt good about it. We walked about a three-tenth’s of a mile home and soon discovered we should have kept running. It was so much harder to walk than to run believe it or not. Weird.

Now on to Ice Baths. During the run we discussed reading about ice baths and recovery. Supposedly an ice bath can take away the pain – as if you didn’t even run 17 miles! So Steve said he’d try it on his feet and let me know what happens.

I decided to put my feet into the tub and fill it with cold water. It wasn’t so bad and actually felt good after a while. I let the water run down my calves and as the tub filled I dared myself to sit in it.

It only took a couple of minutes to get used to the cold but I did it. And… it wasn’t bad at all. Grant it, it wasn’t an ‘ice-bath’ as I didn’t have ice in the house, but it was as cold as ice. And if you were to pour ice in there, I think I would have been able to handle it.

The results weren’t apparent right away. I struggled through the day with pain. Every time I got up from a chair or from bed I was tentative. I was in pain. It didn’t help that I stood out on the putting green and driving range with Jake for an hour and a half later that afternoon.

But this morning, as I got out of bed, I didn’t even think about the pain. I just got out of bed like I didn’t run yesterday. Yes, there’s a little soreness, but as I walked around I realized a 5K recovery run today wouldn’t be too hard. I also felt like I ran a hard 10K versus a long 17-miler! And a hard 10K isn’t that bad on my legs as a 17-miler so I’m feeling good.

So, my assumptions are this – a cold as ice bath helps… But an ice bath probably works like they say it does!

There you have it. Golf after a 17-miler, a cold as ice bath and a novel ready to be written.

Our splits:

MILE SPLIT
Mile 1 0:12:08
Mile 2 0:11:25
Mile 3 0:11:39
Mile 4 0:11:33
Mile 5 0:11:31
Mile 6 0:11:40
Mile 7 0:11:06
Mile 8 0:11:31
Mile 9 0:11:23
Mile 10 0:11:12
Mile 11 0:10:52
Mile 12 0:11:41
Mile 13 0:11:06
Mile 14 0:10:16
Mile 15 0:11:30
Mile 16 0:10:44
Mile 17 0:10:20
Mile 17.32 0:06:07

Total 3:17:44
Ave: 11:25 min miles.

I worried about the heat. I worried about last weeks horrible run. I worried so much that I almost DID NOT run today.

I made sure I filled a 20oz and a 10oz bottle of water, dressed in a sleeveless running shirt, got my hat and sun glasses as I’d be running into the sun, and prepared for the first run in the heat- it’s been a while.

I decided to run without my iPod and just be ‘one with the run’ so-to-speak.

Shoe of choice: my new Brooks Adrenaline GTS 7 with only 8 miles on them.

It started with a kiss goodbye (which could have led to more), a deep breath and I was off and running…

Goal: a 1 hr 10K pace.

A mile in and I was feeling good. Two miles in I was feeling great. Three miles in and I decided to do seven plus!

It wasn’t as hot as I thought it was going to be. I didn’t reach for my water as much as I normally would do on a hot day. And after two miles I realized running on a treadmill really sucks!!!

I made my turnaround at the 5K mark and headed home, and every time I felt I was at an RPE of 7 out of 10, I pulled back. The run was around a 6 on the RPE scale of 1 to 10. (I know RPE is 1-20 but I use 1-10).

The dreaded hill at mile five was approached with ChiRunning lateral turn your hips and side step method… IT WORKED LIKE A CHARM! The struggle wasn’t much of a struggle, the pain wasn’t painful, and the hill wasn’t much of a hill!

I practiced ChiRunning throughout the run (when I remembered) as I try to make it a habit instead of practice…

So anyway, I was faster than ½ marathon pace, and slower than 10K pace but right on pace for my 1hr 10K goal!

Well, I missed it by about 20 seconds. And because of the course I chose I knew I’d have some extra distance to run and that’s what I did. I ran right through the 10K mark, hit the 7 mile mark and ran through it for another quarter mile then walked the short distance home for a cool down.

SO… Great run! I was dreading the CA sun today and it wasn’t so mean to me!

My last three runs were on a treadmill at the Hilton fitness center. I swear those treadmills were harder than the 24hr Fitness treadmills… and I hated the runs. They were all a struggle – even my 1.5 mile run with a headache was hard and it wasn’t because of the headache! It was the damn treadmill.

It was SOOOO good to be running in the outdoors.

Splits with HR averages:

MILE SPLIT Avg
Mile 1 0:09:23 / 167
Mile 2 0:09:33 / 180
Mile 3 0:09:19 / 186
Mile 4 0:09:48 / 188
Mile 5 0:10:01 / 187
Mile 6 0:10:43 / 189
Mile 7 0:09:49 / 187
Mile 7.35 0:04:19 / 180

TOTAL: 1:12:55 / 183 bpm

Normally I’d be peaking in the high 190s on a hot day with a hard run. But I was right on average for the run. I was very disciplined in this run and it felt good. My max was 192 which is probably where I was trying to give a little extra at the end of mile 6.

Today… a 5K run on a treadmill (yuck) after a swim followed by a core workout.

My family and I have been staying at a hotel during the remodeling phase of our kitchen and re-insulation of the house. We’ll be at the hotel for 6 days as they demolish a wall and vacuum the current insulation throughout the house. We decided to move out during this process as the dust and filth in the air and on everything in the house was too much to handle. Especially with asthma and allergies abundant in my family genes. It was a good decision to stay in the hotel.

Except for the cost.

You can get a cup of Starbucks Coffee for under $2.00 - and its damn good coffee. I don’t know what coffee this particular Hilton brews at the restaurant, but for a large cup, which isn’t even close to a Grande at Starbucks, is weak, has no flavor, and costs $3.25 for a cup. Three fricken’ twenty five!

What is the arrogance of a hotel, one star or five, to charge that much for a cup of weak coffee? It’s as if they spent too much money on a shipment of beans, let it sit in storage for years, and unlike wine, it got worse with age. And, to at least make up the profit margin for the beans, they charge $3.25 a cup, which is probably a percentage markup higher than what the local jewelry store uses!

The hotel rooms are expensive enough and yet if you were to order room services a percent of gratuity is added to the bill and then you have to tip the person bringing the food to your room. And in the end, you tip the staff after your stay when all they do is bring you towels. Trust me, no room service was delivered to us during this stay.

On our first morning there, I woke up to a worker’s strike outside the hotel. The hotel charge all this money- from parking, to the room rate, down to a little cup off coffee, and they can’t pay their employees a decent wage? Although this information is all assumption on the wage thing, but THREE TWENTY FIVE for a cup of coffee should throw flags up in the air on what they make and what they pay. I mean, if I worked there, got paid nothing and charged people $3.25 for a cup, I’d be pissed.

What’s so special about this hotel anyway?

Okay, okay, I’ll step back and look at the good side. What’s special? What can I get out of the hotel that most people don’t? And what other reason would I want to stay here instead of moving back into a dust filled, no-kitchen house right now?

Aside for all the money wasted on a stay at the hotel when it’s NOT vacation, here’s are some plus – money aside.

There’s a bar on the first floor. Need a beer? Need a Kahlua and Cream? Need some pineapple juice in your Malibu Rum or a double martini: go downstairs and get it. Convenience.

And my favorite part, which is included in the daily rate: the fitness center and pool. Down at the lower level is a decent workout gym. Outside there is a quiet pool that is long enough for lap swimming. One length is around 25 yards. And what makes the outdoor pool even more perfect; it’s been 80 degrees outside! My workout totals while at the hotel are: approximately 10 miles on the treadmill, 1,700 yards in the pool and 30 minutes doing weights along with several hours of leisure time in the pool and “cacuzi” as Bella calls it. This is probably more than what I would have done if I were at home this past week – except for the running. It’s been way too hot to run in the afternoon, so I’ve been on the treadmill. Unfortunately, the treadmill is boring!

So there you have it. Convenience. Everything is convenient. If you want food, call for it. If you want a mixed drink, it’s right downstairs. A run and a swim, just hit the “LL” button on the elevator and go-go-go: take advantage of what the hotel has to offer and get the most out of your daily rate. I, for one, sure do.

Okay, that being said, it still does not justify a $3.25 cup of coffee and $9.95 a day for Internet service!

I’m not so sure it’ll be good to be home. Yes, if the kitchen was up and operating, yes, if we could use the air conditioner, yes if there were no dust and I didn’t have allergies, it would be good to be home. But no… none of the above.

Oh, the best part of the stay at the hotel… I was already in the shower extremely early when Isabella woke up to pee proclaiming “I almost pee-pee in my pantie!” Stressing again she “ALMOST did.” After she got off the poddie, I got out of the shower and helped her wash her hands. As I held her up to the sink she sniffed my arm and said, “You smell yummy, Papa!”

Joy.

On occasion we all go out for a run and have a bad one. I like 10K training runs more than 5Ks because you get going and after you get over that hump, it feels like you could go forever!

My whole run today was a big bad hump!

This was one of the worst, hardest, most uncomfortable 10K run I’ve ever done!!! IT SUCKED!!!

Maybe it was because it was a Friday. I was tired. It was after work. I had a bad lunch… maybe because I did those 6×400s yesterday…

4 miles into it my hamstring felt so tight.

5 miles into it i felt like I pulled my groin.

I stopped to stretch a little but it wasn’t the only time I stopped running. Seemed like every mile I took a 30 second walk. It was pretty bad.

Tomorrow’s run better rock! I’m skipping the bike ride because I don’t have time for a BRick, but I’ll do an easy 5K and hope I loosen up.

Mile 1 0:09:26
Mile 2 0:09:45
Mile 3 0:10:37
Mile 4 0:10:12
Mile 5 0:11:35
Mile 6 0:11:33
Mile 6.38 0:05:10
FINAL 1:08:18

I hate days like these!