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April 19, 2008
SUN!
Hmm...where to begin? Maybe I should start with this - CLOSE TO 80 DEGREES AND SUNNY TODAY!!!!!!!! AHAHAHAHAHAH!
Now that is just craziness. It was so warm. And so sunny. And just so dang nice. And I was over-joyed. I don't think one can truly appreciate such weather until one has suffered most of the winter on the trainer. And then all of a sudden you are riding outside in a short sleeved jersey and smiling so large your cheeks are starting to hurt.
Ahhh...life is good.
But first, the pool. I was actually pretty excited to go to the pool this morning. Not sure why. I usually like swimming but I was really QUITE happy about it when I woke up. And I had another great swim. 100s and 600 pulls. Interesting mix.
When I walked out of the YMCA it was super warm and my excitement about my pending ride/run was growing exponentially. I rushed home and checked the weather - 65 degrees. SWEET! So I got changed, got my gear together and set off on a great ride. I had 3 hours today which was superb. I would have felt cheated if I only had 1.5 or 2 hours. And the weather was just perfect. Not a cloud in the sky and warm and I even started to get a little hot. And then with about 30 minutes left I ran out of water. Bugger about that. It's been a LONG time since that's happened. But I made it home just fine with ~56 miles in the bag. I rode for about half of the ride up in the hills and then I eventually worked my way down to the flats for the last half of the ride.
Home and onto my transition run where I was feeling quite toasty (by this point it was almost 80!). My legs felt good but I had a hard time keeping my HR under it's cap. I was likely dehydrated and I haven't run in this kind of heat for a LONGGGGG time. GREAT timing though as next weekend I'll be running in much hotter temps in Florida! :)
So I got home after my transition run and drank about 3 bottles of water. And then...ICE BATH! Yes, my friends, I was actually looking forward to the ice bath. Um yeah...ice bath MUCH easier to tolerate when it's not 25 degrees and snowing outside. Don't get me wrong, it's still cold but mentally much easier to take. And I didn't even need hot chocolate to get me through it. :)
That was my morning and most of my afternoon. Around the time that I was finished stretched and using my roller O appeared. I haven't seen him for a while. He was at a track meet all last night and then left for another meet just as I was getting up this morning. Trust me when I say, track coaches don't get paid nearly enough for all their time. (although I know $$ certainly isn't the reason they coach!) Regardless, as he walked in the door I promptly sent him outside to cut the grass. Because our grass is starting to look like hay. Just the other day I nearly lost Roxy in there!
As he cut I followed shortly after to pull weeds. Now that's a stinky job. But we got the yard looking nice and we even wheeled our grill back outside. GRILL! YIPPPEEEEE!!
And to top it all off we have some great races this weekend to follow - first the Olympic triathlon trials today (which I followed on slowtwitch.com) and tomorrow the Olympic marathon trials for the women. I might dare say that there are two VERY happy triathletes right about now and tomorrow there will be three VERY happy female marathoners!
I leave you with a picture of what happens when a certain someone's skin doesn't see sun for about 5 months and then is subjected to it for 3 hours straight. Yep, I have quite a farmer's tan. It might be a little hard to see in the picture, but trust me, it's there. Now at St. Anthony's it will be even worse when I take off my warmups - instead of just ALL white skin I'll be striped!
Posted by beth at April 19, 2008 7:24 PM
Comments
At least you're not spotted. I have a friend who often goes touring on a road bike in Europe. (She's actually ridden parts of the Tour de France.) Once, after a particularly warm couple of weeks in France, she came back with big spots on her hands -- she had tanned where there were holes in her cycling gloves. She was polka-dotted for months.
Also: sun block! Do they sell that stuff up there in Pittsburgh? If not, I'll mail you some.
Posted by: B at April 19, 2008 9:09 PM
Weird, I'm starting to turn a strange color too (tan-ish pink!). I no longer blend into the white walls of my apartment!
Oh, how I missed the sun.
Posted by: tri+umph at April 19, 2008 9:22 PM
Ha ha, nice tan! That is too funny. I can send you sunscreen too if you need it! 80*, I am so happy you got some sunshine (I know it is good on the mood too!).
Man wasn't that fun tracking Julie and Reed to their spots on the team! Thanks for the reminder the 26.2 is tomorrow! ENJOY... see ya in Florida and I can bring you sunscreen- ha ha ha!
Posted by: Bree at April 19, 2008 9:55 PM
hee hee hee! I laughed when I saw the picture, because I have THE EXACT SAME SHOT of my arm from a few months ago. Most excellent!
Posted by: marit c-l at April 20, 2008 12:36 AM
After 5 hours on Friday and 7 hours at two different inviationals the last two days, my "farmer's tan" is starting to set in. Fortunately, after being a little red at first, it turns into a nice tan. I can thank my mom's mom's side of the family. That Antonucci clan gave me good-tanning skin and grandma can sure make good pasta and pitzelles!!!!
Posted by: O at April 20, 2008 9:19 AM
If he'd let me... I'd take a picture of Adam to post because his pasty self decided to sit in the sun yesterday sans sunscreen and is pink as a lobster!! I was like, you know you don't tan. He said he needed to get that first burn of the year under his belt before Florida next weekend!! :) So I'll bring you some sunscreen to Florida too!
I can't wait to meet you there!
Posted by: kellye at April 20, 2008 10:19 AM