Day 1

Today was the first day of my training program for this summer's half-Ironman, or as my friend Tricia (my current Madison training partner) likes to call it, the Tinman. The program called for a 20-mile bike ride and a 1000-meter swim. Based on the week's scheduling and Tricia's busy schedule (in comparison to my final-days-of-the-dissertation freedom), we opted for the bike ride and will throw in the swim on Friday.

So after a day of proofing and formatting footnotes, I headed home early, dusted off my bike, pumped the tires (after a long search in the garage for the pump!), and hit the road. Madison's spring is early this year, thank god. It was a balmy 55 with little wind and lots of sun! Unfortunately, the street cleaners haven't been out yet and there's a solid 2+ feet of thick, nasty gravel on every shoulder which made the riding a little more hazardous. I tried to avoid the gravel as much as possible, but that meant riding in traffic a bit more which makes me nervous, especially on my first day on the roads in 9 months.

Despite my gravel anxiety, the ride was wonderful. It felt so great to be out on my bike, whizzing down the hills, and enjoying the great outdoors doing something other than running and getting to see parts of the area that I only see when on my bike. That said, the first 15 of this 20 miler felt way better than the end. Of course, the last 4 miles are when Tricia and I part ways AND when I encounter the hardest hills of the ride.

By the time I got home, I was tired, starving, and a bit shaky. If only my personal chef had prepared dinner for me! oh wait, I don't have a personal chef. It was 6:30 and my stomach was growling like Dennis at a stranger, so I threw some raisins and a banana down the hatch to quiet the beast, quickly threw together dinner, jumped in the shower, and then feasted. After an hour of lying on the couch (I told you I was tired!), I cleaned the kitchen, straightened the house, and did my daily PT which I hate (it may be time to re-enact the star chart system I've been using in 2010).

Here's hoping I don't have gravel nightmares tonight!