October 23-November 12 (off-season)

3 weeks of nuttin' but back-breaking manual labor. Gotta get back in the saddle and buy new running shoes soon.

October 16-22

Thurs:  fighting a cold is never any fun.

Fri: missed a swim.

Sat: Nice long ride with Paul and Rob. Even joined up with a group in St. Pete.

Sun: Started to bonk near the end of the ride. Didn't eat enough yesterday; missed a run.

October 9-15

Tues:  will i be able to get over 10 miles of running this week? woo-hoo, I did, and everything hurt: plantar fascia, runner's knee, tight calf/AT...oh, i feel so old.

Sun: should have let rob go off on his own today. after our ride to st. pete yesterday, being in the saddle today was a monumental effort.

October 2-8

Tues: feeling tired/stressed...deadlines at work aren't helping (i know—i work out of my home so i shouldn't complain.)

Wed: wow, such a temperate morning. rob and i decided to wake up early and take a walk. he's still got a small hitch in his stride which frustrates him to no end. i wish i had married a patient man...

Wed (cont'd):...I felt slow in everything I did today.

Thurs: I need a cheeseburger!

Sat: little over 3 hrs of real cycling but 4 in the saddle since Rob and I just perused through the neighborhood of Old Northeast after egg and cheese bagels.

September 25-October 1

basically an ez week on the bike. got a good cause to ride for on saturday as well as take the opportunity to ride on the new, $420-million selmon expressway bridge...may do that a couple of rounds or continue onto st.pete or davis island.

Wed: bad gnats....very tired, esp. after masters.

Sat: I was figuring Rob was going to try and drop everyone after the turnaround...he did and I spent one too many times trying to reel him in within a paceline of about 10-12. bah, we never caught him. Oh well.

Sun: I'm pooped.

September 18-24

Have to get a long ride in during the week. Swim meet for Nicole all weekend.

Wed: Felt like crap in the beginning of the bike...it got better on the last set.

Sun: ...just don't feel like running after standing around under the sweltering sun at a swim meet for 3 days.

September 11-17

Wed: Every time I try to run I ask myself, "Why am I out here suffering in this heat?"

Sat: Good group ride with Steve H, R, Paul, Rob and Tim Neumann. Felt very strong today being able to keep up with SH and R. They took it pretty hard in the beginning, as they always do when they ride together, which was enough to give R the twinklies in his AT. He decided to ride steady thereafter and I stayed behind him to make sure he didn't get out of the saddle approaching the hills. I hate being a nag.

Sun: Had enough discomfort in my left arm (because of several wasp stings) to cut my recovery ride short. The limb blew up to more than 2x it's normal size. Gonna have to make it up tomorrow.

June 19-September 10

It's all a blur...can't say that I've been keeping a log. I signed up for the Escape race in Miami but I got runner's knee when I tried to start running. If I got 10 miles in one week within the last month, I considered myself lucky. As for swimming, just haven't been in the mood although I do try and jump in the water to play with Renee. 

Now, cycling, that's a totally different scenario. It's kind of ironic these days that I would be in the hills of San Antonio on a Saturday or Sunday and Rob at home doing chores and watching the kids. Of course, his surgery less than 2 months ago have tapered off his training plan as well as a big, big land deal at work. His ankle is getting better although he does worry about any little tinge he may feel in his AT. There really isn't any point in rushing his recovery since tri-season is waning so he'll take the conservative route in his return to running.

The last couple of weeks though, he and I have been able to get some good saddle time together. If I didn't drag him out of bed to drive to the ballfield, I've pulled him out the door for a fast ride to St. Pete. This last Sunday, I got him to ride not only to the North Shore pool but also to Fort Desoto with the "training ride" group and then back home to Tampa. Man, we were both exhausted after we got back. It was about 90 miles for us, a distance we both haven't done since May. I poked fun at him that evening since he appeared more tired than me but, come Sunday, he was dragging my butt back on the bike for a morning AND an evening ride. I think he's trying to get back at me for something.

I'll try and keep some kind of log from now on. I need to know if I'm headed in the right direction. I pester Rob endlessly for him to help me become much faster and stronger on the bike. I may never get where I want to go but I sure am gonna have fun trying.

June 12-18

June 5-11

May 29-June 4

Mon: Meant to do 4 hrs in the hills today but Rob and I couldn't get out of bed. We're both quite sore from yesterday's sprint. Instead, we suffered through laps and laps on Davis (~3 hrs) during the hottest part of the day. Even the wind didn't offer any relief.

Tues: Been in the saddle pretty regularly these last few days and I've noticed that my shoulders hurt a lot more than on a TT bike and my bum is very, very sore. Gonna try and be religious about the Assos cream from now on. 

Swam >2,500 yds this a.m Since I started bringing Nicole to a.m. practice, I figured I should be in there too in order to offer her a bit of motivation. She's the only one in her age group doing 2-a-days now and I am sure she is thinking how much it sucks to have Rob and me as her parents.

Fri: Ran yesterday for the first time, not including the sprint, since Disney. My right calf is still tight and I even felt it tug on my AT a bit. What a hoot. Swimming 2x a day this week has really helped Nicole. Her endurance on long sets have improved and now she's confident that she'll survive the week at UF. She also found out that Gator coaches will also make her run a few miles everyday so we bought her a pair of Asics DS Trainers. I have to admit that I'm kind of envious of her because I sure could benefit from a swim "boot camp." 

We sure are going to miss our little peanut next week. :(

Sun: I've decided that I want to kick ass on the bike. I am always asking roadies how and they always give the "ride a lot more and, from the get-go, do your fair share of the work up front and never sit back..." response. I've been doing that since I started riding seriously in August but I am a very impatient person. So, besides pouring over some books on riding, I am going to start incorporating weights into my training, especially for the core and legs.

May 15-21 (race week!)

May 8-14 (Swim-build)

May 1-7 (Run-Build)