Dispatches From The Field - 8/27/11 - Racing The Esthetician

I am a little behind on the posts...I know, but it has been a little busy just trying to keep up with life lately.
Come to think of it, I'm even a little behind with just keeping up.

I owe you a couple of posts, but they are going to have to come out of order as if I don't start posting something, I will never catch up. So yes, a race report for the Tour of Napa Valley will be forthcoming along with a couple other things. I promise.

So today I woke up two hours late, completely sleeping through my alarm. This caused problems on several fronts. The first was that I was supposed to meet my friend Shawn Wallace for a ride that was going to be part of the brick that I was going to do today. Obviously I left him completely hanging and created my next problem.

My wife has an appointment with the Esthetician to get some work done on herself and I do not have time to get in the 40/4 Brick today. Temperatures the last three days have been in the 110+ range and my schedule has been forcing me to train in the hottest part of the day. In short, I have been getting my ass kicked.

Time for Plan "B". I have an 8-mile run scheduled for tomorrow along with an open water swim. I will get the run in now, deal with the swim later and switch the brick for tomorrow. That is a bummer, because it means that I will be riding with Coach Cyndee, who does not wait for me (read "suffer on the ride" here). To be fair, Shawn would have made me suffer today as well.

By the time I get the dog fed, get everything in the house and myself on track and get going, it is 8:20am. It's 100F at the start and I've got 1:40:00 to get this done and stay on track for my wife. I start running.

I'm running an old standby today. From the house I take a large loop that takes me past the airport and up to the Las Vegas Strip where I will loop around and take Warm Springs back to the house. It's a little over 8 miles. Perfect.

I do a little loop through the neighborhood and I can tell by the looks my neighbor's are giving me that they have given up all hoop of my sanity. What is this idiot doing running in this heat!? I wave and smile. Don't mind me, just training for an Ironman. If you think this is bad, you should see what I'm setting myself up for. But they would never understand.

Once I clear the neighborhood and start down Warm Springs, it is gently downhill. Pace is usually good on this part on the run. I always try to start slow and end up going faster than I think I should. I hit Eastern and make a left into a flat section with some lazy rollers.

Two miles in and I am still steaming at myself about not getting up this morning. I don't like to leave people hanging. Utter Bullshit! I should have gotten up. Can't believe I slept through the alarm. Man, it's hot.

The turn onto Sunset and the run past the airport. The next three miles are a steady uphill, although it's a very gradual 2-3%, it is always the part of this run where you have to keep an eye on pace. Traffic here is also something to be aware of. The nice part is that it is tree lined and on the North side of the loop, so the shade is good here. A nice break from the direct sun. I refuse to look at my watch and focus instead on my cadence and breathing. Like a toy with a weak battery: I jerk up to speed and then I slow down, then I push up to speed and then I slow down. I just can't seem to keep the pace up. Not good.

There is a potential bail-out on this loop, where I can shave about a mile off. I have to admit that when I get there, I look left and am tempted. This is where the shade ends. It's hot, I'm tired and I can't afford to be late getting home. I have a ton of reasons why I should go left and cut today just a little short. I can always pay later.

I go straight. Paying later always means that there is interest attached to the bill. I'd rather pay now and get the time on feet in. I've already screwed myself enough by oversleeping without adding laziness as well.

As soon as I make that decision, a funny thing happens. My stride picks up, my form improves and I feel better. For the first time today, my head is in the right place. Left turn on to The Strip.

I always run against traffic. If I am running on the street, I like to look at the drivers and see what they are doing. More looks of, who is this crazy idiot running in this heat?! I hit Warm Springs and make my next left- me and NASCAR (always turing left). The last leg is downhill. I check my watch at this point. It's going to be close.

Apologies To:
Shawn - I am terribly sorry my friend to have stood you up. I feel awful. I hope you had a great ride. Riding with you was something that I had been looking forward to as a treat I could give myself and I missed it.
Melissa & Lucia - Thank you for letting me push myself harder than I ever have. I know that endurance sports, by their very nature require a fairly large block of time. I appreciate you giving me the opportunity to work on being healthy and mentally stable. I have come to this late, but it has given me a sense of grounding that I have lacked for much of my life. Thank you for the love, patience, opportunity and understanding.
The Guy Driving the Blue Pickup Today - I'm sorry I flipped you off. You had enough room to safely turn in front of me. I was angry at myself for letting my friend, my Coach and myself down today by not getting up and doing what I was supposed to. I took it out on you and I am sorry for that.

To The Other Two People I Yelled At During My Run: I stand firm in my comments that you are an idiot! Is my life worth the two seconds you saved by not waiting for me to get through the intersection? Even if the answer for you is yes, think of all the extra time you will be wasting in court trying to beat the manslaughter charges you will receive for killing me. Not to mention the additional burden you will be placing on every taxpayer because you have taken the primary income earner out of my family by killing me. Without my supervision and my ability to support my wife, my daughter will end up both on welfare and on the Jerry Springer show. All for two seconds...

OK, I'm done. Except for the Esthetician...I had a little under 4 minutes to spare at the finish.

Train hard and safely my friends!

1:36:53/8.81 miles