Ladies & Gentlemen, my next act will be the Taper!

Boom. The bulk of my training is complete. That's right, I said it. I have now entered into the taper stage of my training. No more waking up at 4am to ride a bike. No more 5 hour workouts. No more sweating. Okay, maybe some sweating still, but the rest is all down hill from here. Pun intended.

This was a typical week but my weekend workouts were a 5 hour bike on Sunday, followed by a 3 hour run on Saturday. As you can imagine it was pretty difficult. But it was easy at the same time because I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. But, that light could have been a train.

5 Hour bike: The first 1.5 hours, I rode solo, like I typically do (I like to consider my self a wolf pack of one). Then, I met up with some of the folks from Team RWB Warner Robins. They were going on a 30 mile ride at 8AM, which allowed me to ride with other people for once! I told myself, "If they pull away, remember you've been riding for an hour and a half, and you have about an hour and a half left afterwards, don't cook yourself." Then we started riding and I told myself, "I do what I want." and I tried to keep up with them. Surprisingly, I felt pretty good. Plus it was awesome having other people around to talk to (instead of talking to myself..that guy is boring).

Thanks for getting the ride together, Josh!

Tangent: I think there is something to be said about riding/running by yourself for hours on end with no music, no podcasts, no nothing. Just you. I think it teaches you to deal with the discomfort and pain in a better way. At mile 70 of a bike ride, when there is no one to talk to, pain and discomfort will keep you company. They are never late, and they have plenty to talk about.

Tangent 2: ALWAYS try to ride or run with other people. The above paragraph is a direct result of how crazy I've become having to workout on my own for hours on end. Talking to your pain? I belong in the loony bin.

Anyway, we got back into town, the ride was over for them, and I continued out on my last 1.5 hour ride by myself. It is funny, my first "long" ride of this training plan was 1.5 hours. Saturday, I did that, met up with people, rode for 2 hours, then left and did 1.5 again. Crazy.

3 hour run: I did the first 1.5 hours by myself, and I felt great. I walked every mile for about 15 seconds. I did this because, when I'm racing I will walk at every aid station (about every mile). This will give me a break and allow me to eat some food. I was feeling fantastic.

Then, I met up with Katie and Benny for the last half of the run. I grabbed the stroller as I usually do (not because I'm a gentleman..because it is harder and I like the extra training). Apparently someone forgot to give a gift to the Warner Robins Wind God because he was angry. If you have never pushed a running stroller in the wind, I will explain it for you. Imagine doing the hardest thing you have ever done. Okay, now picture doing that activity wearing an open parachute. It's like that.

The last 30 minutes or so, Katie really kept me company. We talked the whole time. By we talked, I mean she would say a couple sentences, and I would mutter, "Yeah," "Nah," "Eh." I was fully engaged in the conversation, I just was to the point where even talking seemed hard. Oh, and that pain I talked about earlier was also trying to have a conversation with me.

Finally my 3 hour run was over and the crowd went crazy! And by crowd I mean, we saw a stray dog and Benny might have clapped or something. But the crowd in my head was going crazy, because I had just finished my hardest week of training.

This next week we will be prepping to go on a family vacation to Navarre, Florida. I will hopefully get some good workouts in since I am bringing my bike. Also some open water swimming will  be fun as well. Actually, there have been recent shark sightings in the area. I really do not want to have an encounter with a shark. Can you imagine that? Me and a shark, wrestling in the water, blood everywhere. Sheesh. Poor shark...

Donation Update:

49%!  So close!  Only $27 more until we're there!

Thanks to:

Alex & The McCuddy's for sponsoring a total of 8 miles!

-Jeff

"You are in pretty good shape, for the shape you are in!"

-Dr Seuss

Robins AFB Sprint Triathlon and Training While Sick

Good Evening Internet World,

I hope everyone is having a good week so far!

So, this past Saturday we drove to base to do the 2nd Annual Robins AFB Triathlon and even though it was short, it was tough. It was a 500m swim, 12.9 mile bike, and a 5k run. I had just gotten in from Las Vegas the night before, and not fully recovered from a nasty cold. This should be fun.

500m Swim: The swim was done in a 50m pool. They seperated everyone by 15 seconds. So every 15 seconds someone jumps in the pool, swims to the end, scoots over one lane, and swims back. Basically everyone was zigzagging back and forth through the pool. By the time I jumped in, it was like trying to swim in a washing machine. I also quickly found out that swimming with a cold isn't very fun. But as I finished my last 50m I stood up to check my watch to see how fast (slow) I did my swim and saw "0724." I had forgotten to start my stopwatch... Swim time: unknown.

12.9 Mile Bike: By far, the shortest and strangest distance I have ever seen in a triathlon. Anyway, the bike went pretty smoothly. I was able to catch my breath, pass a few people, let a few people pass me, and enjoy the ride for the most part. And surely I would remember to start my watch for the bike ride. Well, I didn't remember, and don't call me Shirley. Bike time: unknown.

5k Run: The run was on the 5k trail on base. A trail I have run at least 1 million times. Finally I would be at home and be able to catch some people on the run! Well, the sickness and the jet lag had a say in the matter. So, I slugged along the 3.1 miles, and  just kept reminding myself I was sick. My time? No idea. Forgot to hit the stopwatch again.

When it was all said and done, I had a good time. No matter how long/short the race is or how easy/difficult it is, it is always awesome to see your biggest fans at the finish line cheering you on.

Another plus to the race was that we met up with the Warner Robins Team RWB (Red, White and Blue) group. They are a local chapter of a national organization that enriches the lives of veterans through physical & social activities. They are a fun group of folks and I cant wait to do more events with them.

More training: Later that day, I snuck in an hour long bike on the trainer. It seemed to go pretty well. The next morning Benny woke us up super early so we decided to knock out our long run before it got too hot. Before mile 1 I knew it was going to be a difficult run. But we kept going, and going, and going. We got in an 8.5 mile run at a painfully slow pace, but hey, I had a long week, and long weekend, so I'll take it. Plus, it was a new PR for Katie - her longest run yet, so I was pretty excited about that!

So, if I could give a word to the wise it would be, "If you're sick, do not race or train." But that would be against my personality, and probably against yours. So I'll say this, "I do what I want."

Donation Update:
We have raised $300 so far, which is 15% of our final goal!

Thanks to Dad, Kelly, Dave, Nolan, Leo & Jake for sponsoring a total of 10 miles!

Click here to donate to the kids of The Methodist Children's Home!

Until next time,
Jeff

"A word to the wise ain't necessary- it's the stupid ones that need the advice." Bill Cosby