MS 150 ride was fun

What a crazy two weeks this has been. Work was busier than usual, and then I had "getting the race going" issues. Finally, there was all the logistics of pulling together my food (oh yes, and cycling equipment) for the ride. All of this consumed an insane amount of time in the two weeks prior to the ride this past weekend, and I found myself skipping a workout here and there and still going to bed way later than usual or desired.

I over packed for my food needs (I had packed a whole cooler for the weekend). I probably over - worried it as well. About a week before the ride, I discovered that my magic weight loss shakes were probably cross-contaminated with wheat (made on a line in the same room as another powder that contained wheat). I've reverted to "safe" foods, but it messed up my food schedule/plan. Overall, I probably spent as much time pulling my logistics act together as I did actually riding, which always seems like a silly allocation of time to me.

The bicycling went well. I was trained up and ready to roll. The first day I did a good amount of riding behind (never in front of) some "Cat 2" riders. Although I was well over my target heart rate and lost my sunglasses trying to keep up, I did manage to hang until the slight hills before the first lunch break. I figured it would be good training to "ride tired" for the last half. I over ate, thinking "lunch" meant noon. It wasn't even 10 yet, so I felt very full for the remainder of the ride. I pulled into LaGrange after 6 hours and 100+ miles (with significant drafting and a strong tailwind), so I think I need to be in better shape by September if this Ironman is going to be successful (with cushion and confidence). Good thing I have another five months to train.

To see what the start of the marathon might feel like, I went out for a 5k run after changing into running shorts. I needed to start slower out of 'transition,' but the rest of the run went well. Why my teammates called me "nuts" I have no idea...

The ride had been very crowded for the most part, but the next day I had a taste of what the Ironman biking portion might be like. We went through a park with some hills and a wider road where it thinned out. I frequently found myself on my lowest chainring, but never 'beat' by the terrain. I did drop my chain twice, which was very annoying and greasy. I mostly flew through it, being passed by relatively few riders and maintaining some momentum from hill to hill. It was the best part of the ride by far.

Last night was the first time I felt like exercising since Sunday. I was wicked-tired (post-ride listlessness and work, again), so I went to bed early and got 8+ hours sleep. I feel pretty good today.

Race directing = time

Every night I've been thinking, "Oh - I should write in my blog." For some people, blogging is a way of life. For me, it comes behind just about everything else. Until I feel guilty that I haven't blogged in nine days.

I'm not sure what people mean by the "Ironman Lifestyle." It must mean something like - I have endless time to go do workouts and adjust this and consider that. What it's meaning to me is that "I settle for less than perfect - frequently"

I just went and printed 1000 copies of the race application for distribution around the Houston area. I figure we can print more or put things in the race packet if we get more sponsors later. It takes a lot of time to run these things down, so I'm trying to be as efficient as possible.

There's a meeting tomorrow for the volunteer group at the Katy Outback restaurant at 5pm. Please come out if you are interested in volunteering.

I did the Brookwood ride in Brookshire. I told my wife I wasn't go to do it unless I woke up in time to get there. My eyes snapped open right on schedule. There was a stiff wind today (flags straight out), and I rode with my group, basically cutting the wind all day. We finally turned for home and had the wind at our backs with about 7 miles to go. I was late so I just lit it up for the last bit. It felt great and turned out to be a great workout.

Zelnorm pulled, try gluten free diet

Big news. I read in the WSJ yesterday that Zelnorm (which treats IBS) is being taken off the US market. This provides us awareness junkies with a marketing opportunity, as many Zelnorm patients are likely undiagnosed Celiacs.

"IBS sufferers losing Zelnorm pills should try gluten-free diet" -- something like that. I seem to recall reading research from a Novartis-funded doctor that said perhaps 1 in 13 sufferers of IBS actually had Celiac instead.

I wonder if Novartis would send a note out as a public service announcement...

Workouts are going terrible right now.

2 busy 2 blog

Workouts are going fine, but I blew last night's swim workout for work and the bike half of tonight's bike because of computrainer trouble.

The big news is that I'll be directing a Celiac Awareness Run/Walk here in Houston. All the pieces are falling into place logistically. Now all I need are runners, walkers and volunteers.