Since Dear Blank, Please Blank* probably won't publish this...

Dear RV driver,

Hi! Isn’t this fun, out on the open road? Open, windy, hilly road… It’s making you a little nervous; I can tell. Not so nervous that you’re going to slow down, though. You’re not going to let this road get to you. After all, you got this RV for ADVENTURES! You’re not going to let those pesky cyclists get you, either. I don’t know why they need to use this road obviously meant for the true recreational-vehicle-driving-adventurer, but, here we are together, sharing. Speaking of sharing, could you do a little more of that while you’re passing? Washington State law requires 3 feet distance when passing bikes, but I’d be perfectly happy with 2. How about we split the difference? You move over 1 foot, and I’ll stay one foot to the right of the white line. This will guarantee that I don’t get hit with one of those big side mirrors if I flinch when you fly by at 70 mph. Did you ever take physics in high school? Remember that Bernoulli's principle thing? That’s what happens when a big flat vehicle traveling fast creates a slipstream that I can actually feel pulling me into the road when you fly by; cool in theory – a little scary in practice. I know that you don’t want to be a burden to the others on the road by moving over, even just a foot or two. The semi-trucks, however, somehow always seem to give me at least half a lane; an extra foot or two from you would be great. Enjoy your adventures, you recreational-vehicle-driving stud.

Sincerely,

The fellow traveler balancing on two skinny tires with nothing but spandex separating skin from pavement.

* Jeff's company makes the iphone app for this site; terrific time waster!

It's Back to the Blog for Ironman #2 Training Reports

Jeff and I are training for our second Ironman this year. Second and last, according to Jeff. He says this just about every time we run together (which is a few times a week) just to make sure I don't forget. Thus a public record to remind us.

I, on the other hand, seem to have been enjoying training, at least until about 3 weeks ago when an unidentified muscle (I think it's the left hip adductor - very tippy top of the hamstring) started hurting while running. Until then, everything was feeling great, body responding to ever increasing mileage, riding fast, doing speedwork, swimming well. The swimming and biking still feel great, and (hopefully) the leg/hip thing is healing slowly. There is something about knowing that the body really will perform if you just put in the time and effort. I see muscles appear that don't normally show themselves, and I can eat ridiculous amounts of food without gaining weight. The problem, however, is that eating ridiculous amounts of food doesn't lead to weight loss, which is the big missing piece of my race prep. Ideally, I'd weigh about 15 (or more) pounds less than I do right now. There's still some time to lose part of that, but I'm coming to terms with the fact that I won't be at ideal race weight for this one.

Enough for now; new early bedtime! (sleep - another part of the training / preparation that has not been happening as it should)

Stay tuned; possible more tri-me-obsessive posts to come...