Mer Lessons: Great week - all inclusive!

I really had a tremendously good week of work-outs. Some weeks are like that – and I am grateful.

Unfortunately, after our regular Tuesday morning run (6 miler), Matt came down with the sickness. He knew something wasn’t right when we attempted our usual route on Tuesday morning – and to be honest, I knew something wasn’t right, as well. Matt really never complains on runs. Rather, he deals with my whining (about the heat and/or humidity). Not Tuesday – Matt was unhappy for the majority of the run, but allowed me to chat at him for a full hour (1:02 to be exact). It was among our worst times, as well. By 3pm Tuesday, Matt had left work to climb into bed and not be seen for 36 hours.

For someone sick as a dog, he looks pretty good, don't ya think?

I, on the other hand, had a great, strong ride on Wednesday morning – putting 18 miles on my legs at an AVS of 17.9. Then Thursday, Matt was still not 100% and the rains had made the trails into mud-traps, so I did my usual 6 mile route in 56:27. Knowing I could still pull sub 9:30’s through the Foothills in the heat and humidity meant a great deal and I was really feeling good about all of the training.

Friday morning, a healed-Matt showed up at my house just before 5am so that we could do a slightly longer ride than our usual 20. He really wanted to allow me the opportunity to take the lead for the entirety of the ride – including the toughest of the hills. He’d told me that I needed to be at 90% for the whole ride and that he’d be cracking the whip if I got below 18 mph on the flats. So, I was excited and nervous about this ride.

I was doing really well for the first 4-5 miles when suddenly it felt like we were riding through a trough of bugs. As we inched farther through it, we both realized that it had actually started to rain. By the time we got to the end of that particular stretch, it was an all-out downpour. Luckily, we were next to a Park and Ride with covered parking spots, so we darted under for a small respite. 5-10 minutes later, I told Matt I was convinced the rain had passed and that we should head back out and try to finish what we started.

I was doing relatively well until I blew up on one of the larger hills (24th Street) – then it was all I could do to stay motivated as Matt reminded me from behind, “try to keep it over 18 mph, Mer.” (The Bastard!) As we crested the toughest of the hills on Desert Foothills, the rain began to rear its ugly head and by the time we’d reached the bottom of the hill, it was a torrential mess! Streets were flooding, shoes and socks were soaked through and we could barely see in front of us. Looking at our bike computers, we could see we were 12 miles into our ride and another 7 miles from anywhere we might gain shelter. All we could do was pray it would ease up. And, as it did, we made a left hand turn right back into it to head home. I was miserable and Matt was laughing (hopefully at the ridiculousness of the situation and not at me). I was riding as hard as I could through the sheets of rain, feeling more and more defeated with every rotation. Then, my bike computer crapped out – it was too wet to continue, I guess.

As we hit the 17th mile, Matt signaled for me to make a left on 24th Street so that we could just ride to his house, throw my bike in his wife’s car, and get out of this “shit”. And, so we did. Of course, this also meant, I had to shower, drive back to Matt’s to pick him up and take him to his car (parked in front of my house) so that we could both get to work on time. Needless to say, we were NOT on time to work, but some days are just like that.

Through the car windshield as Matt drove me home - what a mess.

No way to take the picture outside -- post-ride shot inside the cabin of Matt's car.

Saturday morning, I woke up excited for a new adventure. Jim and I decided we needed some practice in an Open Water Swim (race) and had both signed up for a 2000 meter swim at/in Lake Pleasant. Jacqui came with us. I was thrilled with the course, but less thrilled with my time. I was hopeful that I would be under 52 minutes – but I was closer to 55 minutes by the time all was said and done – 3rd to last. The water was lovely, but I know where I have some work to do!

Pre-Swim shot: Jac and Mer

And, that gets us to THIS morning. Brent agreed to try another 10 mile run with me at 5am. We hit the road on time and headed deep into the Foothills to do one of the tougher ten mile routes. I think one of the things I appreciate most about Brent is that we really have a great time hashing out our weeks with one another. We’re running together a lot more often, now, and it feels really good to be able to have him to lean on when times are tough at work or personally. Brent hasn’t been putting big miles on his legs much lately, so I am always really pleased when he decides to hit the long runs at my side. As we hit the top of one of the toughest hills (at mile 8.75), Brent tells me he’s dragging. I smiled and told him we only had a little over a mile left and it was almost all downhill. I think I got a smile out of him, as he agreed to trudge on – and with huge success. With only about ½ mile to go, I said to Brent, “our last ten miler in the heat was 1:47, right?” “I think so!” he uttered. With only a smidgen left I could see we were going to blow those numbers away. We did! Total time 1:38 – avg pace 9:48. Not too shabby, considering the heat and humidity haven’t really left the valley (although it was at least 5 degrees cooler today than the last time we headed out, together).

Proud post-run picture!

After saying our goodbyes, I ran into the house, changed into my bike jersey and shorts, tossed my bike into the back of my car and headed to South Mountain Park. Once a month they have what they call Silent Sunday – an opportunity for outdoor enthusiasts to enjoy the park without cars driving through and around all of the sites. I took advantage of the early run finish and was in the park by 7:15am. The heat was already rearing its ugly head, but I wanted to get a short, hilly ride through San Juan Road.

And, I did – with huge success. I was dying at the start, but found my groove a couple miles into the ride. As I hit the lowest point on the ride and headed back up the hills, I realized I was able to pass rider after rider. No one passed me at all. In fact, at one point some jackass (male) and two female riders had completely stopped at the top of one of the steepest points (likely because they were dying) and took up an entire lane of traffic. Naturally, I scolded them and asked them to be courteous enough to move to the side of the road. I knew he yelled something back at me as I passed, but I didn’t hang out to find out exactly what. Instead, I hear another woman (right behind me on the hill) quip back at him – again I had no idea what transpired.

She worked hard to catch me on the next hill and told me what had occurred. I guess he said something like, “Can’t you just go around us, bitch?” So, she told me she said, “Look, asshole, we can go around you, but common courtesy would be for you to move to the side of the road.” I appreciated her tale and then we rode together bitching about male riders for a good mile after. I feel fortunate that I ride with some very accommodating, courteous men – but they are not the majority, I promise you.

44 minutes later, I finished another great ride: 12.5 miles and an avs of 16.9. I was never so pleased. What a fantastic morning! I am feeling more and more ready for this triathlon.