3 days to go! Today was spent meeting last minute deadlines, meetings, phone calls, writing and other catch up work.

AND, my LAST sweat fest! Rode 15 miles in 53 minutes. The sky’s chose to send me some rain, lighting and thunder. I love Summer time thunderstorms though!  Can’t believe taper is done and race is here.

Peace!

Photo by lepiaf.geo

72 hours aways. 24  of those spent flying. Got in at 1 am. Thank god I had a ride to take me home. Barely got into bed, only to get up again to make early morning talk. Was still getting the sleep out of my eyes as I rushed over to the coffee. What time is it again? I am not really sure. The last 72 hours have been a whirlwind.

Welcome home. To humidity. All 88% of it! Stalled with training today. I was still trying to figure out what time it was. Poor body. I did finally drag my butt onto my Trek 5000. Remember what I said Sunday? Well, I still mean it. But it was wicked hot. And where did the hills come from? And hello to the sun! Rode 25 miles in  1:35. Felt GREAT to unwind from traveling & jet lag.

Wanted to get a brick workout in, but legs said no way girl! And you know what? I went with that thought. My race is in x days. Time to start taking it easy. Laugh out loud. Yeah right. ME?! Well, I am going to try. Wanted to run 6 miles. Settled for a 4.3 mile walk in just under an hour. I’ll take it. Legs, you got a break tonight. Remember that.

Photo by lapiaf.geo

This weekend was all about frustration. Everything from trying to get home & having to detour en route, to becoming so close to 4 drivers next meal, to an unkind post, to an AWOL friend. My ride turned into “tour de frustration”. And I had 91 miles on the bike seat to get some of it out. While riding, I was thinking (yeah, there I go again) about frustration. I am sure I am not alone. We have all been there. Frustration can be bad. But it can also be used for good. How you ask? Well, let me share my humble opinions.

IMHO # 1) What. In order for us to turn frustration into good, we need to think what is frustrating us. Is the frustration a thing? A comment? An action? A person? Identify it.

IMHO # 2) Why. Why is it frustrating us? Is the timing. Is it the person? For me, the why was the timing. When I REALLY needed to get back, a detour caused those best laid plans to come to a halt.

IMHO # 3) How. How can frustration be used positively? Even though it can raise our blood pressure or cause the hairs on our neck to stand at attention, surely there is way that it can be used for good. HOW we deal with frustration is key. How do we react? Do we get angry? Do we ride/run faster (ok, that’s me I will admit)? Personally, after sprinting for a few minutes, I realized that the only person I was “hurting” was myself. The things. The other people. The detour. They were all in the past. I had no control over them. Even though it was unfortunate, if I continued to think about them, I was only doing myself harm. And let’s face it, there are WAY more important things that need my attention!

IMHO # 4) Forward. So, a little out of the usual order, but it is a key point. The only way to move past frustration is to move quickly FORWARD. The sooner you do this, the happier you will be. Well, it took me ONLY 91 miles, but by the end I knew that going forward I could put the past behind me. Brush off the negativity. Focus on the future. Remain steadfast with my goals. Going backward isn’t a healthy choice, moving forward is.

In the end, frustration will always be a part of life. It is how we deal with it that will make us a stronger person in the end. Just like my “tour de frustration” I could have ended it with giving in. But, I knew that if I did, I wouldn’t win. And let’s face in, I want to win. And I know you do as well. So, my friends, go win the tour de frustration!

Photo by Striatic

Tuesday’s are always long training days. I always pray I make it through them.

And, being Tuesday, means “ride day”. Hopped on the bike & was greeted by a nice & chilly 60 degree wind. Guess the humidity took a vacation this morning. No complaints from me! So much for my PR the other day. Not sure what was up with my legs, but they would NOT get with the program! Rode on despite that half of my body was not in agreement. Saw a few deer. Told them to go back to bed. I think the cars+drivers were telling me the same thing. I really think they would like to eat me for breakfast sometimes!

In the end, rode 25 miles in 1:38. Thanks baby (aka, Trek 5000) for hanging with me.

Photo by Sudhamshu

The last few days have been, um, a little tough. And I don’t mean the training. I am talking about life. Sometimes things happen that make you go “whoa, where did that come from?”. So, yes, I had just a few things make me, shall we say frustrated?

Ramon met me at 6am for a long ride. Already the sun was out and it was hot. Talk about a sweat fest. OMG. It was a hot ride.

We had planned to only ride 70 miles. BUT we were feeling so good, that we decided to keep on riding. We basically did a century of Maryland and DC. We rode from Potomac to Bethesda to the DC National Zoo to Georgetown then past the Pentagon to Alexandria to Mt. Vernon. And then back again. In the end we rode 91 miles in 6 hours. Maybe Lance will have some more competition in the near future!

I think it helped release some frustration. But not all. I took a 5 mile walk later in the day. That was enjoyable. Almost 200 miles (run+cycle) for the week. Now, that is something to celebrate!

Photo by SC Fiasco

Funny training for an ironman and a 100 mile ultra marathon at the same freakn’ time. But really, I already was, just didn’t know it.

So, a brick workout is a ride, followed by a run. Or a swim right into a run or ride. I haven’t really done a “brick” workout in a while. This should be interesting.

Went out for an early HILLY ride. I told the deer to go back to bed. Not sure if they agreed with me or not. The drivers certainly needed to go back to bed. They were in a very grouchy mood this morning. I came so close to being their breakfast. Or coffee. The hills seemed extra hard this morning as well. 25 miles in 1:35.

Got right off the bike, right into beloved running shoes. Ran 4 semi hilly miles in 36 minutes.

Lifted weights this morning as well. I love the feel of iron. Wish I had more time to lift. But then again, I already get asked if I play football, so maybe I don’t need to.

To finish up the day, I ran 4 more miles. In 35 minutes. Sweat fest done. Brick over. And I feel like one too!

Photo by *clarity*

So. I was riding yesterday during high traffic hour. Not the best time to ride I know. But hey, I had my @sarahstanley t-shirt on, so it was a promo ride at least.

As I was coming up on an intersection, I decided to take go through the parking lot & not wait at the light. Sweet! I bypassed all the traffic. And was even lucky at the 2nd light. Double sweetness! Its nice to be on a bike!

So, I bet you are wondering how in the world am I going to turn this into a thought driven post. Good. Glad you are wondering:)

The thought is this. Do we see potential things ahead & avoid them or think we are smart enough to drive (sorry for the pun, couldn’t resist) right through them?

Life is made up of smart and unwise detours. Some help us. Others don’t. Sometimes we don’t always see the traffic light ahead. Or we see (or feel) a “red flag” and go on the same course anyway. Its how we USE the detours that life presents us with that makes the us the person we are.

Trust me. I have wished many times that I saw the red light ahead & didn’t turn around sooner. Its hard to see up ahead sometimes. But if we learn how to use detours for good, we will be able to make wiser AND smarter choices in our life.

As I was making the detour on the bike I was thinking how good it felt to be missing that light. Because I took a few seconds to stop & think about the future (even if it was only a few minutes) it was a wise choice.

You see, I avoided an accident. If I had gone on ahead, I would have been stuck (and yes, also upset). It doesn’t always turn out like this, but when it does, well, it rocks. Bottom line? To learn & use detours for good. Oh, and its good to be a bike.

Photo by josefstuefer

WHOA. Don’t know what is up with this weekend! An email came across last night from a cyclist asking if anyone wanted to ride. Well, I had to ride. BUT. This guy is a category 1 rider. Wins major triathlons. Sponsored by Gatorade, Elite, etc. FAST. Like SUPER fast. I emailed him and asked if he wouldn’t mind riding with a slow rider. He said that was fine. I didn’t warn him that I talk a lot. I knew I would never keep up with him. BUT, OK. I have a riding partner for at least the start/end of ride!

8am. Michael and Mark also joined Kevin & I. MORE. SPEEDY. RIDERS. Shoot! I knew I was in trouble when my usual average pace was the slowest pace. I hung on for dear life. For all about 10 seconds. Mark, Michael and Kevin were extremely kind in waiting up for me. I was just proud of myself for actually trying to keep up. Michael & Mark had to be back at 10:30am, so they headed back while Kevin & I stayed out for some more miles. AND yes, some conversation. You have to have that now!

Arrived back at meeting location. Kevin & I rode 45 miles (with hills) in 2:43. OK. JOY! HAPPY! AWESOME! Well, for me at least. For Kevin that was like a walk (hm ride) in the park.

Thank you guys for riding with me! It was a delight to see how you cat one people do it. ONE day I will be there:)

And this is the conclusion of the elite workout edition.

Photo by Duchamp