Training and Trains: Then and Now

It's time for my annual duathlon.
The one that routinely chews me up and spits me out.

In 2011, I trained for a little over a month.
In 2012, I trained for only weeks. They also increased the bike course to 30 miles.

I almost wrote it off this year because I just don't have time for 30 mile bike rides with bricks.  My Achilles heal each year has been endurance -- specifically around the 121st minute.  But then I read that the bike course was changed again to 24 miles and gifted an entry.  It is hard to turn away a trail race - it is impossible to turn away a free trail race.  It is hard to turn away free anything.

You know those two-week old, nearly-stale cookies cookies that the grocery store will pile into a huge bowl before throwing them away?  And then everyone, even the man who just picked his nose, reaches into the bowl to select a cookie?  I love those cookies.  I even once proudly collected them in a cookie jar.

Something for nothing always is better than nothing.  Even if this race beats me down again, I have nothing to lose.  And that logic is what suddenly spiraled me into training mode for eight days.

Day 1:  Presidents Day.  The token long workout:
26 minute trail run at South Mountain, 1 hr 25 minute bike ride (lots of hills in the last half hour), 34 minute trail run - scoping out all available hills.  3.3 mile run / 28.1 mile bike / 4.3 mile run = 2 hours, 25 minutes.  An entire hour longer than my normal "long" workout.

Day 2:  Track.  My legs were tired from that extra hour the day before but I didn't want to blow off my running partner.  800 x 4 in 3:00...it felt like we did five...in other words, did not feel good.

Day 3:  Power meter bike ride.  1 hour ride (20 miles) with 8 minutes at "race pace" x 3.  I actually was not allowed to view the numbers so I am not sure what that pace was.

Day 4:   Mid-distance run.  Easy 9.1 miles.

Day 5:   Trainer bike ride.  64 minutes easy minutes .  Why 64 minutes? Because that is how long it took me to read all my favorite blogs.

Day 6:  8 Mile trail race.  Described below.  Hill training?

Day 7:   Complete rest day.

Day 8:  Long easy workout. 28.5 mile easy bike ride bricked with 4.1 mile jog = 2 hours.

I went to Tuesday track but received a taper exercise - only 400x8, a little faster than 5K pace (mid 1:20s, 90 seconds RI).  I also went swimming a few times this week but that is irrelevant.  I will taper until race day (Sunday).

In retrospect, this is what President's Day week looked like last year - 40 mile bike rides!   5:50 miles!   12.5 mile runs!  I have not done any of those things in quite a long time.

I may have had more speed last year, but this year I have more experience. And wisdom.
This year, I WILL NOT RUN THAT FIRST RUN TOO FAST.

Continuing retrospection, this time last year I took the kids to the train park for the first time.  I thought Hayden would love the train park because, well, he loves trains.  His reaction was unexpected - he screamed and cried until his face bright red - refusing to ride the train.  Here is a never-seen-before photo of us last year.  Ironically, he is wearing a Thomas shirt:

I decided it was time to try again, but his dormant trauma awakened as soon as we pulled into the parking lot. I took him out of his car seat and he flung himself on the gravel ground, kicking and screaming as if I was trying to make him eat brussels sprouts.

I promised him that I would not make him ride the train.  Partly because I want him to trust me, and partly because I don't want my 45-pound three year old to realize that he can overpower me.  So, we had a nice lunch and looked at the train.

I guess just like one does not get magically faster, little boys do not magically lose their fears.  But, I was hoping maybe they would outgrow them!

In need of something else to do, I convinced him to ride the carousel.  It was faster than the train, and louder than the train, but I think he was just so relieved that it was not the train, he overlooked these facts.

 He refused to ride a horse so the kids had to sit on the boring bench.   I always wondered if anyone ever chose to sit on a bench, so this answers that aging question.