I love you foam roller, please don't hurt me

The miles are getting longer as we draw nearer to the LA marathon.

Jen and I ran 18 miles last weekend and are into recovery week before our next long run of 19 miles in two weeks.

The previous weekend our training schedule called for 15 miles so we made plans for a run on the WOD followed by grilled cheese and tots at the Space Bar in Falls Church.  Unfortunately they do not open until 5 pm on Sundays but we made the most of it with beers, food and catching up with our friend Ernie at the Mad Fox.  (When you are running for a couple of hours with your mind focused on tater tots as reward this is very disappointing, the Space Bar that is, not catching up with Ernie). 

As good as the company and beer were after the run I experienced one of those nagging runner injuries and I am to blame.  Not enough time on the foam roller taking card of the IT band and I paid for it at mile 14 and to make it worse I was having a great run.  The pain was so bad I had to stop at mile 14 and walk the rest of the way in, the only bright spot seeing Jen pass me on her way to strong finish.

Last week turned into multiple dates with my foam roller who treated me like a rented mule but there was some progress.  Enough so that I cruised through the 18 mile run with minimal pain and felt like I had some left in the tank at the end.

There are still lots of miles in front of us but I won't be neglecting my foam roller.   Or maybe I just need more tots.

Post Holiday wrap-up

 

I am not a big fan of this time of year, short days, cold nights, bad weather, sun hanging low in the sky, and the end of college football season.  But instead of spending my time whining about all of those things I can’t change I am thankful for all of the good things that came my way in 2013.  We moved into a new home, finished a half-ironman in PR times, welcomed a new puppy, celebrated Thanksgiving with family, and accepted the challenge of an Ironman in 2014.  

Jen and I finished the year with a fantastic holiday season.  So many highlights that I won’t remember all of them but I wanted to get a few down in the blog so I don’t forget and as a reminder of all of the good things to come our way in 2014.   

Christmas Eve service and singing carols at a beautiful stone church in Alexandria.

Our first attempt at rack of lamb on Christmas Day and a special guest appearance by our own Coach T that evening.

A relaxing get away to the Inn at Willow Grove 

Our first hike with Islay on the trails around Lake Accotink.

Jen and Islay on the trails at Lake Accotink

Quiet evening at home on New Year’s Eve enjoying grilled steaks and crab cakes.  I am too embarrassed to mention what time we went to bed that night but we did complete a 3,200 meter swim that day so give me a break, I am old.

Visiting the museums on New Year’s Day in DC and seeing a great film about Jerusalem at the Natural History Museum and a photo exhibit at the National Geographic museum.  We finished the day with some fine craft cocktails at the Quill in the Jefferson Hotel.

One of the great photos at the National Geographic Museum exhibit

Good thing we did not miss a day of training during all of this or I would need a pair of these.

Recovery Week

Since Christmas, we have been enjoying a much needed "recovery week."  Recovery week is every fourth week of training, where you back off a little bit and give your muscles some rest.  This recovery week comes at a perfect time.  Time to enjoy the holidays, time to do some lighter workouts, time to reflect on the past year and focus on the year ahead.

The holidays at our home were a blast.  Santa was good to all of us and not even Mulligan got coal in his stocking.

Mulligan's favorite gift - the basket Islay's gift came in.

We had a perfect Christmas day, which included a fun run followed by a hike with Islay at Accotink park.  After Christmas, Greg and I treated ourselves to a few days at the Inn at Willow Grove, one of our favorite spots, a beautiful resort in Orange, VA.  Is there a better Christmas present than a butler bringing you french press and warm beignets in the morning?  Even Islay got her own comfy bed and plate of treats.  Her cookies looked so good we had to be careful not to eat them ourselves.

Lady of Windsor Abbey on vacation.

Recovery weeks, of course, are not completely void of training - we executed a bunch of runs, a 40 mile bike ride through the gorgeous rolling countryside of Orange, VA, and even a New Year's Eve swim.

The official Ironman training vehicle.

Sometimes, even during recovery week, the workouts feel hard and tedious.  The cold, dreary weather doesn't help.  This past weekend we had a 10 mile run and a two-and-a-half hour "reverse brick" (run then bike).  The run felt longer than the previous week's fourteen miler, and both of us were clock watching the entire brick.  Not even some of the best final-season Sopranos episodes could distract us from the mental pain of one pedal stroke after another.  I just keep reminding myself that the bad workouts build an Ironman.  There are going to be many moments between now and Zurich when I just want to quit, but it is pushing through those moments that makes the finish line possible.  Brick by brick (no triathlon pun intended), we are getting there.

2013 couldn't have been better.  A big year full of big changes and big fun.  2014 is a year of big goals.  My biggest goal for 2014: to approach all of my workouts with as much enthusiasm as Islay does.

Happy new year!