A new addition to the fridge

After my Ironman Nostalgia blog yesterday, Deb asked if I was going to Penticton, or how to watch on line. Not planning to drive out there this year, but will be watching on line, if the servers and internet don't betray me. The ironman.com site offers an athlete tracker, and I'm pretty sure that's where there is a link to video coverage. I think it would be fun to do an IM watching party. The one year I watched Kona, and phoned Julie as she was being driven someplace was a hoot.

I find that it's compelling video. You'd think it would be boring. There's a stationery camera at the swim mats, and people stream by. That is quite good. They have cameras on motor bikes, typically following the male pros, which is ok, but gets boring pretty quick. There is usually another stationery camera at T2 watching people come in or head out on the bike, which is fascinating. You can see who is doing well, and who is struggling. Then there's the finish line camera, if there isn't some big-hatted dick head blocking it. This is like salted peanuts with beer. You can't stop watching. You're waiting for the people you're cheering on, but you can't help feeling happy and amazed for the people that are finishing. I'm more impressed with them now that I've been there and know how hard it is.

Some people cross the line and look like they could have a quick shower and go out to a dance. Other people collapse like someone cut the strings as soon as they are across the line. There is everything in between. There are people that don't make it that far, and typically we don't hear their stories. My heart breaks for the people that push themselves so far they are taken away in an ambulance. This is proof that the human mind and spirit can push the body beyond it's limits. These people have to have a great story, even if it doesn't end the way they'd like it to. I can't help but think they learned something about themselves that the rest of us can only know theoretically.

Nicole asked if I was going to sign up again. Not for next year. When I started this whole thing I told Linda that it was a one time thing. Something to cross off the bucket list. On the way home from Penticton, though, she said that she had enjoyed the experience. She got to do some shopping and hanging out in a place that she liked. She wants to go back to that area again. Plus, she was hanging out for part of the day with Susi and her Parental Unit, who are pretty cool people. She said that she wouldn't mind if I wanted to sign up to do it again. Not right away of course, but in a few years. It's a bit of a tempting thought, to spend some years building up and having another go at it. And that's about all I'll say about it for now. Other things to do first.

Another run today, my long one. I've been wanting to go around the reservoir again for a while now, and decided that today was the day. It turns out the path is almost exactly 15 K, which is perfect for my long run right now. You can see a map of the run here, along with how it felt 2 years ago. Only this time I didn't stop where the little stop sign is, I ran right back to where I'd parked. The whole run took 1:46, and felt pretty good. This time I put some Nuun in the water bottle I carried with me.

I was trying to run at a comfortable pace for breathing, and keeping my feet turning over quickly. I settled into regular deep breathing, but no gasping or panting. It took about 15 minutes to find the groove. Things went well till about the 10 K mark, when my feet started feeling heavy and slow. I struggled a bit there, and managed to push through. I think this is where my heart rate finally topped 140. Most of the run I was high 130's. This seems to be a comfortable aerobic pace for me, and works out to a 7 minute K today. Sometimes it's a bit faster.

Stretched and walked around after the run, snarfing cookies and the extra bottle of cold water I'd put in the car. I had started about 8:30, hoping to avoid the heat, but I should have gone an hour earlier. Running east along the north shore was hot!

There was a new fridge magnet added this morning. Here's a photo.

What, you can't tell? Ok, here's a closer shot.

As you can imagine, Linda put this one up. It explains much, doesn't it?