368 Days & Still Training

I just looked back to when I first started writing this blog and I realized that it has been a year and a three days (368 days) since  I first began documenting my training and life in general.  I can't believe that it has been that long.  I don't have anything deep or insightful, in fact I really don't have anything else to say about the past year.

So....what the heck has been going on with me over the past week or so?  Actually a lot...time for a recap.

Thursday
I was in the pool and I was in a lot of pain.  My legs were killing me and I felt achy all over.  I had to do a straight 2,550M (53:00) swim and because my legs (hips specifically) were in so much pain, I actually did the entire swim with a pull buoy.  I know that this is probably a no-no, but it was the only way I was going to get it done.  When I finished up, I hopped out of the pool and my whole body was killing me, from my shoulders down to my feet.  It was not a good feeling to say the least.  I wondered if this was all connected to the fever and sickness I had the previous week (suspected Fifth's Disease).

Later on in the day, lunchtime actually, I was out on my bike for an hour ride.  I rode from my office out to Peapack, NJ, a beautiful ride along nice smooth roads.  I was supposed to concentrate on keeping my cadence up over 100+ RPMs, not sure if I managed that or not, although I think I was close.  The ride totalled a little over 19 miles, for about a 19.2 MPH average.  FYI, the soreness was still very much there .

Friday
I was off on Friday and me and the family were down in Lavallette visiting with my 'rents.  I was so happy to be down the shore and the weather outlook for the weekend was awesome.  I started out the day by doing getting in my hour run early so I could spend the majority of the day on the beach with my girls.  I don't recall the details but it was about 7.3 miles all run on the Lavallette boardwalk....about 2.75 laps total.  It got a bit monotonous but at least I had a view of the ocean for the entire run.

After the run it was up to the beach to play with my girls and hang out with my parents.  It was a great day up at the beach, ~85F, sunny and the water was around 67F and clear as can be. 

Saturday

I was up bright and early on Saturday so that I could get my three hour ride in before it got to late.  I had hoped to be out the door and riding by 5:00AM, but it ended up being a little closer to 5:30AM by the time I actually left.  The winds were favorable so I opted to head north and ride for about an hour and a half before turning around.  I was able to catch the tail end of the sunrise as I went over the Point Pleasant bridge (see pics below)

From there it was north through Brielle, Spring Lake, Belmar, Avon-by-the-Sea, Bradley Beach, Ocean Grove, Asbury Park (see picture of the Stone Pony below),

Deal, and finally turning around in Long Branch (just past Seven Presidents Park...see picture of beach).

I stopped briefly to eat a Powerbar and then it was time to make my way back to Lavallette.  Honestly, it was a perfect morning for a ride, a slight wind blowing from the west, not too warm out (yet), and I felt good for the most part.  I pulled onto my parents street right around 8:30AM, finishing my 55.55 mile ride almost exactly in three hours.  I averaged 18.5 MPH, but that is skewed by traffic lights, stop signs and a general laziness on my part.  I tried to keep my cadence right around 95 RPMs for the entire ride which meant I was riding right around 19-20 MPH for the entire duration.  I was conscious of keeping my heart rate below 150 BPMs as well.  It ended up being a great ride and my only regret is that I could have gone a bit faster and a bit farther.

The rest of the day was spent up at the beach with my wife, my girls and my 'rents.  It was a phenomenal day, an absolutely perfect beach day!  The highlight of the day was my oldest daughter boogie boarding and absolutely loving it. She was just so excited to get in the water and float around, swim, dive, etc.  I get so excited seeing her loving the things that I love as well, e.g. playing soccer, body boarding/surfing, swimming, etc. 

Sunday -  4th of July!!!

Ugh, I was so tired and so sore.  I initially wanted to get out and run at 6:00AM, but it just wasn't happening.  The sad part is that my wife and I were in bed by 9:30AM and I just couldn't drag myself out of bed.  I think I finally got up and on the road around 7:30AM, so much later than I wanted to.  The run was rough, slow and slogging...that is until around mile 4 when a total stranger ran up behind me and told me that "out target was Van Halen".  I was very confused.  I ended up running with him for the next mile or so (we caught Van Halen).  He (later finding out his name was Jim) was a God-send, he helped to pick me up from what had been a very bad run.  In total I ran 10.3 miles in 1:30 (8:44/mile pace), but the last six miles were all sub-8:30, which gives you an idea as to how the first 4 miles were.
 
Again, we spent the entire day up at the beach, from 10:00AM until 4:15PM.  I could rave about the weather and the water, but I couldn't do it justice.  We all had a great time playing in the sand, swimming in the ocean, etc.  I will point out that my oldest daughter had three solid wipe outs on the boogie board.  She was not a happy camper, with the third one ending her day in the water.
 
One thing to note which frustrates me about the Jersey shore....I decided to go for a swim in the ocean, I wanted to swim between the jetties (groins), which are about .15 mile apart.  I threw on my goggles and swam one length, then was going to hop out and run back and do it again.  On exiting the water a lifeguard told me that I had to swim between the flags (the "swimming area").  I should have known that I would get scolded for my "extreme" swim stunt, but seriously, swim between the flags?  So ridiculous!
 
We capped off the day/night by watching Lavallette's 4th of July firework celebration.  The girls were in awe of them, at least I think they were. 
 
Monday
REST DAY!!!!  We drove home from the shore the night before and we all slept in until around 7:15AM.  We did nothing all day.  Actually, I did do a bagel run with my youngest while my wife and oldest headed to the food store (we had no food in the house).  After that, we did nothing!  It was such a nice and relaxing day.
 
That is it for now.  Time to get some work done.  I have a busy day.  Adios!