Day Twenty Eight - "Off Season"

I cannot pretend to feel impartial about colours. I rejoice with the brilliant ones and am genuinely sorry for the poor browns.

Sir Winston Churchill

North Georgia is hitting the peak of the Autumn Season. The leaves are nearing full bloom as we come to the end of the Day Light Saving Time. This time next week, the leaves will start to lose their brilliance and us our day light. I will long for the days after the Winter Solstice when the sun slowly dominates the sky from the dark.

Last night was a pre long run meal for Sarah. I make her a special carb and protein dish with fresh vegetables every Wednesday night before her run on Thursday. Last night was one of her favorites with Shiitake Mushrooms, Asparagus, chicken and rigatoni. Add some herbs, olive oil and a nice glass on Pinot Noir…There is nothing better. Sarah and Susan are running 15 miles on the Cumming Greenway at 9AM. I will provide a 15-mile report after the runner’s have all completed their mileage for the week.

The alarm startled me this morning at 4:55AM. Another night of deep sleep, but for some reason I still feel drained. I continue to watch my food intake, not hitting runs or weights too hard and getting to bed before 10AM. This weekend will be a little catch up on the sleep with no scheduled activities first thing in the morning.

As Thursday rolled around the morning brought with it the Master’s Swim at 5:30AM. Last night I volunteered to stay home to enable Sarah to run with Wren at the Columns at 8AM, but she had already made plans with Susan to run at 9AM. Dang. I would have opted out of swim this morning to allow Sarah some flexibility to run, but I would not just “blow off” swimming for the heck of it. When you pay to swim, that is my motivation to hit the pool twice a week. Therefore, off to the pool I went.

I got to LTF and Jay was already scurrying from one end of the locker room to the pool deck. His equipment was already out on the deck indicating he has been there for a couple minutes already; Still don’t know why he gets there so early if no one gets into the pool until Coach Mike shows at 5:30AM. Just one of the weird things I think of at 5:20AM.

Coach Mike’s workout for the A Group:

300M Warm up
200M Non-free stroke
50M Fist
100M Zipper
4 X 200M @ 3:40
3 X 300M @ 5:30
2 X 200M @ 3:30
4 X 100M Kick, no board @ 2:00
6 X 50M with 8 wall push-ups
6 X 50M with 8 floor push-ups
100M Kick

I have a mental barrier with 200M’s. I do not like them. I can swim, 25M to 1500M no sweat, but 200M sets are mind numbing. I cannot seem to overcome the distaste for the distance. I was able to push through the sets with plenty of time for rest, but wished there was more when the time ended of they were 400M’s, 500M’s or even 800M’s instead of 200M.

The A Group finished up and Michelle asked me if I was riding in the Alpharetta Century this Sunday. This being Day Twenty Eight, I has not pedaled one stroke on a bike or a spinner. I told her, I am done with biking for a while, so my answer is no-way. Though in my mind, I am starting to feel the urge to get on my bike, I am not motivated to pull it down, repair it and saddle up. I have been on this bike for 6 seasons and I think I need a change. It may not be necessary to purchase a new bike, but just overhaul Ole’ Red, but I want to start looking for a new bike, road or tri-bike just to see. My biggest hang up is the prices of new bikes. They are outrageous for a tiny piece of metal & carbon that does not even have a motor. In the next couple of weeks, I will start my quest to see if it is even feasible to purchase a bike that will suit me. More to come on this subject…

Tomorrow is the first solo long run for me in a month. Though it is only 9 miles, I have decided to hit it alone due to the pace. I do not want to mess with my friend’s mojo in maintaining their set paces even though Bob and Ann Marie have asked me to tag along. I will plan to email Bob & Jay to see if I can meet up with them for breakfast in the morning as well.

For now, I will enjoy the splendor of the fall foliage out my office window.