Drewwhite's Mentoring Group - Closed (Page 8)

She did great.  She ran it in a bit under 85 minutes.  I was pretty proud of the wifey.  She's a great runner, even though she doesn't believe so.  Wish I could have been there to support her through it 

It's raining in South Texas, too.  I'm going nuts sitting around, but I have to say I feel more rested & healthy than I have in weeks.  Have signed up for a coached swim session with the Houston Tri Club this Sunday.  I'm still looking for a magic bullet for my swimming. 

 Utah is a very pretty state.  I personally am preferential to Washington, where I grew up, but with the exception of the nasty summers, Utah is a gorgeous state weatherwise and geographically.  You should move on out; we'd love to have you!

By the way, team, I have news that I wanted to tell you guys about.  I am retiring from marathons before I even begin.  Yes, it has been a very tough decision, even emotional at times for me.  After speaking with a great friend of mine that is an expert in exercise phys and medicine I decided that, considering the massive amounts of miles that I have put on my legs (generally 40-60 miles per week year round in my first 2 years of high school and 60-80 miles per week year round for the last 2 years in high school) along with the training load that marathons would require (I would be shooting for Boston Qualification, which means heavy work, rather than just finishing) and my injury history, I will be a dad in a wheel chair if I continue to ramp up the miles and go for the marys and ultras. 

So, I will be taking the next few weeks off from running for the most part in order to let the legs recover.  I'm going to swim, bike, and hit the cardio machines to continue improving.  I'm bummed about it, but at least I can still run.  I'm going to focus on the 10k distance to see how fast I can get at it .

I can't speak from the parenting experience, but I enjoy little kids a ton, so I know that it's the right decision. 

Go to your friendly neighborhood bike shop and purchase some sort of degreaser.  They generally run between $6-$10 for a bottle that will last quite a while.  Use a toothbrush and pour some degreaser on the brush, then brush your cassettes.  In addition, brush anything that spins with the chain.  Take a sponge and pour some degreaser on it.  Then, grip it around your chain, not too tightly, and then spin your chain backwards through the sponge.  Rinse the sponge once and do it a second time.  Take a hose and spray the degreaser off of the bike.  You will be shocked how shiny your cassette is.  After that, wait for it to dry.  Lube all of the moving parts including your derailleurs and chain. 

Your bike will thank you, and you will notice quite an improvement in shifting.

 PS, you will want to do all of this outside.  It can get pretty messy!

Derek, you are crazy!  Congrats on taking the plunge.  Have you ever been to Coeur D'Alene?  My wife grew up about 15 minutes away from Coeur D'Alene.  It's an incredibly gorgeous venue.  You chose a great place to take the IM plunge