Speed Kills.
Thursday - July 3
15' zone 1 + 20' @ 9:20/mile pace + 3 X (400 meters in 2:02 + walk 3') + 10' zone 1 (check cadence: aim for 30 strides in 20'')
Epic Fail.
I was somewhat on track through the 15' of Z1... and was doing a good job of NOT LOOKING at my Garmin until about 9 minutes into the 20' part... and I happened to glance down and saw 10:17 as my pace. I was KILLING MYSELF at this point and I was going 10:17???!?!?!?!?!? I started to get angry. I cursed OPRAH who ran 10:14's in the MCM some years ago, and I acted like NORMANN STADLER by throwing my waterbottle at the ground... and then kicking it.
It was then that I mentally checked out. Didn't care. Kept inching forward, sort of, but couldn't really keep my head in the game to try for 9:20/miles.
It was here I also realized FOR CERTAIN that the course @ Rockman was short. VERY short. Probably 400 m short. There's NO WAY IN THE WORLD I was able to run that fast on that hilly of a course. Seriously. Even if it was 400 m short, it's still a PR for me, but it's not a 27:XX:XX PR... it's more like a 29:XX:XX PR. I know it. I accept it.
*Sigh*
This was mental training today. I wanted to stop and just walk. I kept on slogging, though. Hooray for me.
Wildlife encounters:
1 deer
2 foxes
A very problem focused massage this evening. Felt great and I got a pretty good stretch out of it. Would have liked more upper back and shoulder work...

I have a run and some corework on the sked for today. Am trying to put the run off as long as possible, so as to maximize my recovery time between workouts. Rode yesterday in the wee hours of the AM... will run today soonish. Maybe noonish or 1.
Since I'm not at the office and I don't have a photo flipper picture to share... I'll scan in something from the archives. Let me see what I've got...
OK so here we go:
My friends Suzi, Rachael, Michelle and me @ the Bon Jovi "Slippery When Wet" tour. You can see we are all wearing our BON JOVI shirts (except for Rachael... maybe she didn't buy one?) So this was NOT our first Bon Jovi show. And look, this was back when Bon Jovi had a tour BUS. Not a PLANE. Spring, 1987.
It's alot less dangerous now... when people just hold up their cell phones... I could have lit the entire Rosemont Horizon on fire, using hairspray as an accelerant! Not sure what the deal was with the bandanna around my neck. I look like someone's Labrador Retriever. (!?)
- Health data: Hours slept: 11
Wednesday - July 2
Rode with my old pals Katie and Pete, and another guy from HBFC, Ed.
Started out innocently enough, as a Z1-2ish ride, but right around the hour mark, K & P started to hammer out some intervals. I took off with them, but didn't hammer as hard as I could have, due to my need to keep this in Z2 ish.
Ultimately, I let them go, as their goals for this workout were very different from mine. Met up with Ed about an hour and 40 minutes into it and we decided to turn around and go back. Katie and Pete were nowhere to be found.
VERY WINDY AGAIN! I'm getting sick of all this wind. Blowing. Blowing. Blowing. Today it blew 3 bugs into my mouth. I ate them all. Ugh.
7:50 AM: So now here it is, not even 8 am and I've got 2 hours and 16 minutes worth of riding in the bag. Heh. Of course, I'll be comatose by 3 PM...
12:24 PM: It better FCUKING rain so I didn't get up at the ass crack of doom for nothing! I want storms! I want thunder! Lightening! Definitely un-ride-able conditions. Bring it!
4:21 PM: Holy Moly. OK. It's raining. And WINDY. And lightening! And apparently the stop lights are out all the way through 2 of the towns I pass through on my drive home from work. Nice. Well, I asked for it.

9:27 PM: Getting ready for bed... I notice I was bitten by a mosquito on my right butt cheek this morning. I thought my ass was itchy....
- Health data: Hours slept: 7
Tuesday - July 1
OWS @ Crystal Lake. I got off track and got lost several times. Swam to the 1.2 mile turn around in 16 ish minutes... couldn't decide if I should wait there for the rest of the group, or if I should go further... decided to go further... but with nothing to sight off of... I meandered all over the lake... never made it to the actual destination, but I got pretty close, I think. Next time I'll be sure to get better directions!
----------
Wore my wetsuit. Water was WARM. EEEEWWWW. My legs were hot half way through. Next time I won't wear the wetsuit. Yuck. Nothing like being warm in wet neoprene. Ugh.
Was very careful to keep this in the Z1-2 range. Ran all around the neighborhood... here there and everywhere... was a very nice night!
Look at that... AHR 146... this time last year I could only have an AHR of 146 if I was standing still. Ha! :)
5:15 AM: Up early for a little OWS with the Master's Group. The plan is 2 miles in Crystal Lake. Yay!
In the photo flipper today:
Me and my friend Nora (our friends called us Lorda and Norda) in Sedona, January 29, 1996. I traveled down to Phoenix to visit her and her boyfriend for the 1996 Superbowl XXX. We went to all the Superbowl street parties and had a really fun time... then went hiking in Sedona for a couple of days. Awesome!
1:31 PM: I just had an awesome compliment paid to me. By my Supervisor. We were discussing my passion for teaching and specifically speaking in front of groups... and possible career paths within the Company... and he asked me:
"Why do you think you are good at that?"
And I answered:
"Because I'm comfortable doing it, and many times it's subject matter I really like."
And he said: "Yes, that could be true, but mostly, I think it's because you're not a phony. People like you. They connect with you. You are one of the most genuine people I've met, and a class or a crowd can see that a mile away."
Once, someone very close to me called me "indomitable". I enjoyed that description. I also enjoy "genuine". Very much.

- Health data: Hours slept: 7
Monday - June 30
Miscellaneous photo day...here are a couple of my favorites, circa 1988:
Me and my friend Michelle (you can see our names on our jackets... how High School!) at the homecoming game our Senior year of High School.
And here's one more... Oh My. This is my friend Suzi and me... the night she threw a small party (complete with a cake!) because I got accepted to the University of Illinois.
Wow. That's enough...
In triathlon training news I have a Recovery Day!
There is a hideous week approaching...
- Tomorrow, Masters AM/1:15 run PM
- Wed, 2 hour bike
- Thursday 1 hour run + core exercises
- Friday Masters
- Saturday hour run + core exercises
- Sunday 5 hour bike ride....
- Health data: Hours slept: 7.5
Sunday - June 29
Forgot my %*(#)%(#%^*)%^#^% HRM strap at home. GRRRRRRR.
Ran by RPE. Had to walk at times in order to return my HR to an RPE of Z2. This was supposed to be an easy Z1-2 run. And it was.
Now going to icebath and drink a bottle of Recoverite. A run is a run no matter how small (or slow!) my legs need the ice bath.
Misc Corework
Will log specifics tomorrow. Forgot about this tonight, so did it right before I went off to bed. Yawn!
- Health data: Hours slept: 8.5
Saturday - June 28
Windy! Windy! Windy!
Like pushing hard and going 12 MPH against the wind while headed west. Once I turned around, I was going 22 in zone 1, with practically no effort extended. I let the wind blow me home.
Not my greatest bike ride. I had a motivational problem in the morning, so it was rough getting started, and my seat felt uncomfortable the whole way.
This whole thing gets a great big "Meh".
--------------
I have a Garmin file, but I mistakenly recorded this as a multisport workout, and I can't upload it here. Poop.
The Electric slide! Slow dancing! Fast dancing! Medium dancing! The cabbage patch, the white man's overbite and even a little break dancing. Sure. Why not?
I've forgotten how to balance triathlon training and any sort of social life. We had a wedding to go to... so I needed to get my workout in EARLY.
Forgot my camera... so no cute wedding photos. You are all going to have to mentally visualize dumpster cutting a rug. Heh.
Whizzzzz's Training Log 
Volume
Actual vs Planned
Upcoming races
Totals
- January's totals
- December's totals
- 2021 totals
- 2020 totals