LOL is in my near future....

I'm trying to think back over the last 2 weeks.... but I'm having a hard time! Too much has gone on I guess so I'll do the best I can. I have been keeping a steady training schedule (with a little bit a'golf here and there) trying to get in 2 rides and 3 runs per week. Last week I ran 5 on Monday, rode 20 on Tuesday during lunch, I got up at 4:15am & ran 6 on Wednesday morning where Tim, Lee, Holly J, & Lana found me out on hwy 41. I was enlightened running my last 2 miles with these speedsters! I ran 5 on Thursday during my lunch break and boy was it hot and humid out there!!!! As for Friday - I deemed it a much-needed rest day. Rest for the weekend right? Yeah.... until Saturday morning when we met Tim, Lee, & Don for a 43 mile ride through Beechgrove and Firelake. Could that have been better riding conditions? Yea, it was a little breezy, but man was it pleasant out there! Tim was sporting his new Cervelo P2C! I think this is the first time I've gotten to meet her! She is really sweet. I am trying to do some long rides from now until LOL Century Ride on October 4th. I am really looking forward to it this year. I am mainly looking forward to peaking at Crystal Ridge, while still clipped in and barely barely moving the pedals........ but knowing there's no stopping me. Hold on black betty! It's going to be a ride of a lifetime :-)

As for this week - well I'm going for it. Monday morning started out with what I had planned to be a 5 mile run starting at 6am. Until I got out there and even with a Garmin - I somehow miscalculated my distance and forgot about my home-stretch being 1 mile longer than expected. Luckily, I felt great during this run and was willing and happy to finish with 6 miles in exactly 54 minutes. Today I joined Lana for a 23 mile ride during lunch through Ledford Mill, climbed Brinkley hill (which we are convinced is no harder and maybe not as tough as the 3 steps climb)then on over to Motlow College Road and back to Cedar Lane. This was also - one heck of a ride. Very enjoyable and relaxing. When we ride we don't stress. We will hammer for awhile when it seems fitting, climb a few hard hills, recover for awhile and talk and laugh, then back to hammer-time, etc... But no stress, and no competition. I like it :-)

Tomorrow morning the plan is to run somewhere between 6 and 8 miles and possibly ride to work on Thursday???? This weekend ahead of us has a lot to offer!!! I am really excited even though the plans are not in stone just yet. It's either going to involve camping and mountain biking at Tsali - or the UT/Florida game. I don't think there's a bad choice in either of those - do you? :-)

Catching Up

So…. Ok I’m not doing that great keeping my blog posted. My life has really been booming lately! Work has been in sanely CRAZY. I’ve kept up with my training for the most part. Last week I managed to do 2 bike rides and 1 run – ok, so not so hot after all! But this week? Has been different, my friends. Monday morning (Labor Day) a 4 mile run. I deemed a success since I did not fall out with a heat stroke. K and I hung out the rest of the day running errands and being productive – by actually doing things around my house that have been waiting for almost a year. After a nice Mexican lunch we watched UT get stomped by UCLA with some other peeps. Then back to work on Tuesday – yuck. A 24 mile bike at lunch with Lana, spaghetti for dinner and wouldn’t ya know it!!! K built us a fire! We watched a movie, then sat around the fire pit! Not a better way to unwind for the evening! A 5 mile run Wed morning, and a 17 mile bike with Lana on Thursday brings us to today – R-E-S-T.
Thank God it’s the weekend!!!
Goodluck to Lana and Tim this weekend at the Elk River Valley Century – climbing Alto at mile 60 or 70 should be fun. Or not. But you will be stronger – no doubt!

How to Prevent losing time at Chafing Stations - LOL

I have a friend of a friend who once chafed so bad during a half marathon that he made reference to the aid station that offers vaseline as the "chafing station." I have found myself regretting the fact that I did not apply Body Glide liberally enough from time to time. However, for the most part -- if there's a chance I need it, I apply. I would say any runs over 8 miles require body glide. This stuff is great... it has never let me down. They even make it with sunscreen in it! I ran the entire Country Music Marathon on 1 single application of Body Glide in all critical areas before the marathon start. I was convinced I'd probably need to stop at a "Chafing station" somewhere after 16 miles or so and reapply. However, body glide held it's own and after all 26.2 miles was complete - I hopped in the shower back at my hotel and not 1 little spot was chafed. I highly recommend this product to anyone who consistently runs more than 6 miles. It is also great for biking.

"I..... Have Made Fire!"

Famous quote from mine and K's favorite movie - "Cast Away." That's what we've been doing a lot of lately! Making fire. I love sitting around a fire and laughing and talking. Grilling out, and just soaking up the wonderful weather this time of year brings us. Not too hot and just a little bit chili at night. Telling funny stories around the fire warms the heart!
Outside of us making fire several times, here's what else that's been going on. After the Stag, I had to give myself some time to heal so I took a week off. But I'm coming back! I've been riding with Tim, Lee, Lana and Don some. Today at lunch I actually rode by myself. I am trying to ride 2-3 times per week and get in at least 3 runs per week. Last week I rode with Don, Tim and Lee one frigid morning before work, then I ran 6 the next day, rode 14.5 the next day in Normandy from K's house. Hills, hills, hills! Then ran 5 the next day, and 5 the next day! Friday night we shared a good ol time with Brant & Dylana out on the lake. As soon as we got there to eat, an older man had a heart attack and it really scared me. Saturday I was too lazy to get up and be in Sewanee at 7am to ride with Lana and the "rimmers" so I slept in and boy did it feel great! :-) When I woke up it was starting to drizzle rain and I just had no regrets at all! I managed to clean my house (most of it) and K and I went out for a fun date in the boro! We bought some neat chairs at Dicks. I like the name of them. They are called "Lazy loungers." LOL. Sunday morning, I made up for my Saturday morning laziness. I got up and rode 21 frigid miles (57 degrees on a road bike is cold), came home and cooked breakfast and we headed to church! It was a great, relaxing weekend!

So, for this week? Yesterday I met Lana at 5am and we ran 6 miles through town. I felt pure exhaustion last night after work. K & I (once again) grilled out and for some reason the food was just off the HOOK! We had grilled chicken, rice pilaf, steamed veggies and a nice fattening piece of garlic toast. Oh, and just to add to those calories, we had dessert! The rest of the night we watched the Olympics - we are addicted to them and I am going to have major withdrawels when they are over.

Today at lunch I decided since I was on a roll with my workouts this week, I wouldn't stop now. I rode 17.5 miles and I think tomorrow will officially be my rest day. I am thinking I need to start putting in some long rides to prepare for LOL '08.

Oh... and just in case you don't keep up with my "iron sister," she is approaching the thickness of her Ironman Florida training. I'd like to ask you to please pray that Lana remain safe and healthy throughout each of her trainings. It is extremely taxing to the body, as well as the mind. Michele is also following a similar training plan and I'm sure would appreciate prayers as well. I am SO looking forward to seeing you guys ROCK THE HOUSE on Nov 1!!!!

Gettin My Swing On!!!

Golf swing....... that is! :-) Thanks to everyone who has given me sympathy for crashing my road bike!!! Saturday I had the opportunity to watch the Staggerwing Du. I was driving down hwy 130 all bandaged up at 6:45am, and when I rounded the curve and saw that array of cars and bikes, my heart just sunk. I felt tears fill my eyes... as I wanted so badly to do this race. Sigh... whatta you do? Suck it up, Holly. You're not racing today. You're in no condition so get over it. I got to talk to many friends who were setting up their transitions and before you know it, READY, SET, GO was the word. It was a fun event to watch, and I managed to hop on the back of my dad's HD, flip around backwards and take some AWESOME pics of my training partners who were giving it their ALL! And what about my big sis bringing home 1st place overall female!!! Way to go LANA!!!! And Michele holding her own with a 2nd place overall female! And Tracy getting 1st place masters AG! You guys freakin ROCK!

So later that afternoon, K and I and another friend went out for 9 more holes of golf! Since I'm too sore to train right now, I might as well be sharpening up my golf skills! My putting is better than ever before, for some reason. I like it! We went out to eat that night. So, as if 2 consecutive days was not enough golf for us, we hit the driving range Sunday night!! LOL. I lost my touch there, because we played AGAIN Monday after work and I stunk it up out there! He finally beat me! LOL :-)))) So that meant I had to cook supper. lol

So, enough is enough of this laziness. I jumped up at 6am today and decided I needed to put my running kicks on. My wounds are healing and scabbed over and the one on my shoulder is already peeling. I am still having trouble sleeping at night though - just extreme discomfort like the right side of my body belongs in the burn unit at Vanderbilt. However, 1 week of doing nothing but playing golf is about enough so I ran through Normandy for 33 minutes this morning. I'm estimating I was right on top of 4 miles when I stopped.

J is coming over this weekend. Hip-hip hooray! I am so looking forward to it because there is much catching up and much fun to be had!!!

Tough Luck :-(

Tuesday night after work I went out and did the best brick I've ever done. My times were better than ever and I felt strong the entire time. I rode 20 miles on the Staggerwing course and followed immediately with a 4 mile run. I saw what I had and I predicted exactly how I would do this Saturday. This was my 6th week of "official Staggerwing training." I felt great about it and was really looking forward to the race.

So Wednesday after work I jumped on my bike for a short and final ride before race-day. I want my legs to be rested, but not so rested they forget what it feels like to be on the bike. I was just planning to ride to my parents' house - probably woulda been pushing to make it a 10 mile ride. Just a good warm-up.

As I proceed down Ragsdale rd and turn onto Taylor Rd, the thought crosses my mind that I've never ridden this road before - well not since early last year. "I wonder if there are dogs out here??? I'm not able to get a ton of speed up because the road is so curvy..... so I hope not. Stay on top of your game Holly.... be aware of your surroundings." Cruising along around 18-19mph...... Approximately 45 seconds after those thoughts permeated through my brain BOOM! OUT OF FREAKIN NO WHERE! THE DITCHES! On me like white on rice!!!! 2 dogs - 1 which is very large and black and is almost as big as Black Betty. RUFF RUFF RUFF RUFF!!! GRRRRRRRRRR..... GRRRRRRRR.... OMG........ they're going to KILL ME! And they are not AFRAID. THEY ARE OUT FOR BLOOD!!!! OMG, OMG, OMG.... NO!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! WHAM! (black betty runs over or into very large black dog) and UP UP AND OVER the bars I go and BANG onto the pavement on my right hip and shoulder and I slide..... and slide....... as the skin on my shoulder, hip,, elbow knee & calf sloughs off into the tar & chip road and I finally lose momentum and I'm flat in the road - on the opposite side of the road I might add - and I look up and dogs are barking and growling and Black Betty is on her head in the ditch.
So I pull my backpack off and attempt to call my mom but she wasn't home - she was at the rec. A very nice lady, Renee Taylor, pulled up and helped me. She wanted to clean me up. She insisted to load me and Black Betty up in her van and take us home, but I played it off cool.... and told her I was fine and I pulled Black Betty outta the ditch, put her chain back on and proved to her that she was rideable and I finally (after catching my composure and remembering my address) jump on the bike and head BACK to the house. As soon as Miss Renee was out of sight, I lost it. I cried. Hard. Like... the kinda crying that makes you lose your breath!!! I was in a lot of pain, but that's not what I was crying over. I was upset because I know the blow my body had just taken - and I knew there would be no Staggerwing race for me. I am so close - 3 days from race day. What about all those 5am mornings to brick? All those evenings when I really wanted to veg out on the couch but I was counting the weeks till the Stag... and I knew it would pay off. So I trained. And I trained harder than I've ever trained for anything. I am stronger than I've ever been. I am improved all the way around. And who knows... I may have gotten there on race-day and done terrible and God may just not want my pride to be hurt. But still.... it sucks to have your plan shot to hell. Especially when you've put so much into it.

But whatta ya do?? First, you thank the good Lord that you survived your road crash. Not everyone is as lucky as I was. Second, you call your sister and she rushes over and helps me clean my wounds. Lana just went through a similar crash (minus the very large dog) a few weeks ago and is just now healed. She peroxided me, aka SET ME ON FIRE. LOL. And she felt my pain..... physical and emotional.I was in a mess. My parents came over and brought bandages and tape and more peroxide and hibi cleanse and a bag of reeces :-) Chocolate heals everything, right?

So, I tried to sleep that night but it just wasn't happening. I was in a lot of pain - well everything on the right side of my body. My hip has 2 large bruises, my shoulder is bruised and less 1 layer of skin and my knee (as of Friday morning) has finally stopped bleeding. I am worried that I am going to be timid on the bike now. :-/

K and I spent Thursday just kinda.... doing nothing because there's not much I can do. We are both on vacation and we had planned to go hear 'the band' play that night. We ate dinner and then it started raining and there was someting more appealing to just staying in and watching movies. Plus I was still in a lot of pain. We rested up and got up this morning for a round of 9 holes of golf! alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5229651238428571634" /> This is about all the activity my knee can handle right now. I guess this might be a great week for sharpening up my golf skills? We both did pretty good and it was fun to be doing a sport that isn't taxing the body to it's maximum effort! Hmmm... I could really get into this?!?! :-)

So I'll be heading out in the morning to watch my training peeps setup their transitions and compete in the Staggerwing Du. I am thinking of this as a great opportunity to volunteer. And hopefully.... it won't bum me out too bad to be standing on the sidelines. Goodluck to Tim, Lee, Eric B, Michele, Tracy, Lana and anyone else participating tomorrow. Once AGAIN, I hope to get some great pics of you guys! :-)

Rest Days are essential...

Wednesday I ran 5 miles before work.... I really wanted to use this day as a rest day, but I had knew I had a dentist appointment that afternoon and really didn't wanna take the risk of feeling less than enthused to workout on Thursday if I used my rest day on Wednesday. So, in order to avoid potential 2 days of rest, I went ahead and did my run and opted for Thursday being rest. Until Lana convinced me to ride at lunch. Ugh... I just wanted to do nothing, but I suppose I could actually do nothing on Friday instead. So, Thursday put 24 miles on the books for me and Friday was a well deserved day for nothing. Saturday morning I planned to run with Lana. Until Friday night just kept me out way too late. There were so many things to get done in a small amount of time over the weekend! So, Saturday morning's run was slept right over the top of!!! That means either just skip it and feel the guilt all day, or bite the bullet and battle the heat. I started my run around 1:30pm. It was 81 degrees. When I completed my run less than an hour later, the temp read 92 degrees. Ouch... it was so hot and the humidity was off the freakin charts! I only went for 6 miles and really did not even feel like doing 1 since I hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. I felt great on this run... for the first time in a couple of weeks my legs felt flexible and I felt light on my feet. I was clocking a pretty good pace and just had the feeling of floating. FINALLY! It musta been that reset day on Friday. Guess I didn't realize how much I needed it? Now we know. Rest days are just as important as training days. Mile 2 and I felt like death though.... it was so hot and I just felt dehydrated. Mile 3 I can't take it another step so I dash into the post office praying for a water fountain. NOTHING. Geez.... that didn't give me a good feeling about USPS. So I had no choice but to keep forging ahead. I saw the public library up ahead. It's been years since I've darkened that door, but I do remember the used to have a water fountain. I was right - it was a God-send. I guzled it. Couldn't get enough. So I stepped in the womens bathroom and soaked my face and everything from the waist up with cold water from the sink. Then back to the fountain for more H20. Off I go - I had 2 miles left and that should get me to the end. Thank goodness it was OVER!!!!

So, Saturday night was interesting and FUN! K and I threw down with all of our friends -- plus others who were unknown, but cool! What a party!!! Wow. Sweet!!!! :-) Good times! Bedtime didn't come until 4:30am!!!!! So, today has been a recovery day for both of us! I feel like a zombie I'm so tired! Check out some of the pics!

Too Many Late Nights....

Since Saturday I feel like I have gotten very little sleep. And my body feels it when I'm working out!!! Saturday after our bike ride, K & I & a host of other friends met up and we ended up staying out entirely too late!!!! It was good times though!! We planned to go to church Sunday morning, but that didn't happen! We went out for lunch & the rest of the day consisted of naps. And more naps! haha! :-) But still, not enough sleep!!!

Monday morning I was dragging, but I did get out and run 5 miles before work. Then last night we fixed spaghetti for dinner & watched a movie. It felt good to just chill out since we have been on the go nonstop lately!!! However, I still don't think I'm getting enough rest because I did a brick this morning. I rode 20 and ran 3 and my legs were fatigued. My times weren't as good as I had hoped, but that's alright.

We have a fun & exciting weekend ahead of us, so catching up on sleep this week is going to be essential!!

"Pain is Only Weakness Leaving the Body" Tom Muccia

I have fallen behind on my blog, once again. I have been sick with a nasty cold and at the same time, I have been able to get my workouts in. I've been doing bricks on the Staggerwing course, I've been doing all the runs I'm planning to do and trying to keep up the streak of working out 5 days per week. My favorite day of the last couple of weeks has got to be yesterday - Saturday. For 2 years I have heard of the infamous "Alto" climb, which no one who I've talked to yet happens to know the exact gain in elevation or the exact altitude. For 2 years I have shy'd away from the invitations to go "climb the mountain." I've heard about the suffering that goes on out there.... and to be honest, it just scared me. There is no other climbing like the Alto climb. And then some of these peeps are strong enough to ride on over to Sherwood and climb it as well. Which equates to approximately a 35 mile ride with somwhere between 8-9 miles of steep climbs. I just never saw that I could do it. I've wondered for 2 years what it must feel like. I've asked "So, how does 'such and such' compare to climbing Alto?" The answer has always been "Nothing compares to Alto."

So, what did I do Saturday? K & I loaded up our road bikes and drove straight over to just outside of the foot of Alto. He has climbed this many times over the years so he knew what to expect. There was another group who went earlier that morning and many of those guys got to experience it for the first time like I did. Lana, Justin, Ben, Mike, Nathan, Nate & Tim. K & I were battling with the mid-day heat.... so that made it a little more uncomfortable than climbing a mountain on a road bike should be. We took off about 1.5 miles from where the climbing begins and I told K I was scared 2 times during that mile. I was afraid of failing.... not making it. He assured me that I would make it. I had big question marks flashing in my head everywhere.

So, the climbing begins. One pedal stroke at a time. Then we approached the horse shoe curve where the REAL stuff begins - it feels like it's almost straight up. Here's where the men are seperated from the boys - for the next 2 miles there's no break. I'm out of gears - and I've got a good ways to go. Suck it up, Holly. You're here to climb the mountain. And those pedal strokes got slower... and a little slower and I continued to push, with one goal in mind. Seeing the top. I tried to keep my breathing in a rhythym as much as possible. I dropped my head several times and counted my breathing - I'd promise not to look up for at least 10 breaths. Then do it again, and again. Finally, I realize I'm at the top. My legs felt a bit shaky and my body was swarmed with chill bumps as I realized I have once again conquered a fear. I timed myself. It took approximately 19 minutes. Believe it or not, that 19 minutes felt more like 10 minutes to me, even with all the pain. I was so excited!!!! K rocked this climb as well!!!

I guess that wasn't enough, because we rode on over to Sherwood which was about an 11 mile ride to the bottom. I knew when we were descending down this beast, it would be extremely tough. The thing that is so special about Sherwood is that my grandmother lives there. And I've driven this mountain for a long time now. Never did I EVER think climbing it on a bicycle was an option. So after we stopped in to see my grandma for a few minutes, she gave me a piece of cantaloupe and we filled our bottles up and off we go! To climb Sherwood! Geez, it was so hot. This is a continuous 5+ miles of climbing right off the bat! There is no break and it is grueling. For me, it's a toss-up as to which is harder - Sherwood or Alto. Sherwood is obviously longer, but Alto could be a bit higher in grade. I had to talk myself up this one! To say that I suffered is an understatement. Because at this point my legs were toast from the Alto climb. Give those toasty legs some credit though -- because they pushed me to the top of Sherwood. To say that I felt like a million bucks when this ride was over is putting it lightly. :-) I never dreamed I could do either of these, much less on the same ride. And it was fun! Am I crazy? :-) I love the year 2008. I have done things in this calendar year that I never imagined were possible. If I can do it, anyone can. The body is so amazing. I ran a marathon! I rode a 100 mile century ride. And I've climbed Alto and Sherwood! I have to say how thankful I am for my body and mind that God has blessed me with that has allowed me to push to another level. I am also thankful for training partners and special people like Lana and K - who inspire me to give all of these excessive challenges a try.

"Because I've been to the mountaintop. And I don't mind. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord." Martin Luther King Jr.

In Memory of Bozo the Clown....

This morning as I was on my way to the rec center to run I heard some sad news on the radio. Larry Harmon (aka Bozo the Clown) has passed away at age 83 with congestive heart failure being the cause of death. I sure did love to watch the Bozo show when I was little. I wanted SO badly to someday aim and toss that ping pong ball into bucket #6! This show would sell out for 10 years at a time! Unbelievable! Guess I’m a little late……. :-/ My hat’s off to Bozo!

So, July 4th weekend involved a visit with Jerm & Bethany over some bud lime Thursday night. Friday morning I was able to make it to the group ride leaving from the rec center at 7am. Riders included me, Don (the pet ambulance service), Tim, Nathan C, Jay B, and Nate H. Great ride! Beautiful morning to be out!!! We did the Normandy loop and then after making a pit stop at the beautiful home of Jay and Tammy’s where they were so gracious to fill up our bottles with Gatorade and water, we headed back making the loop backwards! We ended up with 37 miles and it took right around 2 hours I believe. My knee is still giving me a little bit of trouble when I’m riding – mainly climbing.

Saturday morning around 10am, I was motivated for a long run. It was hot though so I strapped on my fuel belt with 3 bottles (2 gatorade, 1 water) and I managed to complete a 10 mile run. This is the first time I’ve used my fuel belt in temps over 40 degrees. Wow…. The stuff doesn’t stay cold. It’s up against my body, which is steaming with heat and sweat and even though my bottles were frozen when I started, by mile 3 they were already luke warm. Mile 7, and they were officially hot. This run took me a little longer so I’m blaming it on the heat. Completed, drenched and red-faced in 1:31.

So, I was treated to a day at the lake/cabin with my friends! Great times! You can always count on your cheeks (face cheeks I might add) to be sore from laughing nonstop after a day and night like Saturday! Especially when it involves a round of PARTINI! And Bethy…. What is your recipe for those margi’s and slides?????? REAL nice.




Somehow I made it to church Sunday morning. It was really very good to be there. The singing was so uplifting and it was worth getting up for!!! Sore legs and all! This morning I trekked my way around town for a 5 mile run before work. Tomorrow is either going to be a ride, or a brick!