(im)deebers: The Dangerous Summer (a training blog): Chapter One

April 2013

The long bleak winter is over (mostly) and now it's time to crawl from our collective basement trainers, climb off our stationary exercise equipment and say goodbye to the gym rat friends we've made in the past four months and enjoy some outdoor activity. It's usually at this time that (if we haven't done so already) we iron out our event calendar for the year. Jennifer and I both have lofty goals and have chosen events that will stretch us beyond anything we've attempted before and will require some real dedicated efforts on both our parts in conditioning and nutrition. It's in that spirit of monitoring and documenting (and yes even celebrating) our joint accomplishments that I'm starting and maintaining this training blog. It's mostly for the two of us but open to anybody else who may be interested in checking in on our progress, noting our successes and commiserating/consoling us as we hit the inevitable bumps in the road ahead.

So without further ado ...

The Year of Jenn?

Back in September of 2007, on my 39th birthday I took a personal inventory of sorts. I was about to turn 40 and I was more than 40 lbs overweight and feeling more than a little lousy about letting things slip to the point they had. I declared 'A Year of Steve' and committed (for about the 18th time) to do something about that fact. I then promptly did nothing for the next 7 months. Around Memorial Day the next year, with gas prices eclipsing the $4/gallon mark I finally broke down and bought a bike, parked my car in the garage that entire summer and the rest (as they say) is history. I only mention this because Jennifer recently mentioned that perhaps 2013 is 'The Year of Jenn'? Maybe, but unlike me she's not starting from the ground floor (more like the basement ... or subterranean parking level 2 in my case). She's already in really good shape with a litany of athletic accomplishments under her belt. She's done a couple of century rides (the last one she covered the first hundred miles of the 113 in under 5 1/2 hours finishing with a 19.5 mph average for the entire ride), has conquered all four Salt Lake Valley canyon rides (including Guardsman Pass and its diabolical 18% grade at 10,000 feet above sea level), Mt Nebo (twice, though we may have put that ride to bed for good last year) and managed the 30 mile Time Trial ride with me in under 90 minutes.* It's gotten to the point that while Jennifer still impresses me (in myriad ways, but this is an exercise/training blog so we'll stick to that) she no longer surprises me. Jenn will be the first to point out that while she's reasonably good at quite a few things she's not great at any one. I disagree. I think she is exceptional, again in many more ways than I have time to discuss but in particular she is in great shape, for anybody, not just great shape for a 42 year old mother of four. So I guess it was inevitable that she would, not abandon the bike, but look for broader horizons, different avenues, larger stages upon which to prove her mettle.

*of all those feats, that might be the most difficult/impressive. If you think that sounds the least bit easy try it some time.

Which brings us to her summer schedule (pronounce it shed-u-el and use a British accent if you please):

In July she will join forces with our cycling friend with the Swiss-Miss hairstyle as she and Liz take on the Ladies Rockwell Relay (aka pamper-fest, a name I only include because I know how much it irritates Jennifer, Liz, Kerri and every other female cyclist who has ever seriously competed in it).

http://rockwellrelay.com/ladies-pamperfest-challenge/

In October she will reunite with the women who called themselves the Moab Mafia back in 2012 for the Park City version of the Red Rock Relay (no word on the team name/theme for that one).

Half of team Moab Mafia. from left to right:

Liz, Jenn's crime partner and most faithful cheerleader "See Jenn, you're awesome! As Always." -Liz

Connie, Jenn's accomplished running companion, fellow violinist and vocal soloist (this is a multi-talented group) and finally,

Melissa (she of the multiple podium finishes), Ironman (woman?) finisher and Boston Marathonist (twice), Jenn's (and many others I suspect, cause seriously how can you not be inspired by Melissa?) inspiration.

http://redrockrelay.com/parkcity

And sandwiched between those two events is her raison d'être or, if that's overstating it, at least her reason for keeping me awake till all hours of the night telling me about her workout schedule, filling me in on the latest nutrition tips and training ideas; certainly it's the reason she's trying to get into the best physical condition of her life: The Bear Lake 1/2 Ironman Triathlon:

http://bearlakebrawl.com/

Originally this milestone race was on the slate for 2014, mainly because Jennifer thought it was scheduled the same weekend as LoToJa* but she was mistaken. LoToJa is the first weekend of September, the Bear Lake 1/2 ironman is on the second weekend. So? Why not? She's been contemplating a triathlon for some time.

She spent the better part of last fall and most of the winter re-habbing an injured knee. That invariably meant pool time (and stationary bike) so when Spring finally came she had a great aerobic base for her training. Now it's just fine tuning and focusing on this event. I say just, but this will be a noteworthy accomplishment no matter how jaded or unimpressed you may be. A 1/2 Ironman (is IronPerson the PC term?) consists of a 1.2 mile swim in open water. Almost a deal breaker for Jenn, she's a bit freaked out by swimming in open/deep water. So much so that she has downloaded JPEGs of the same onto her phone so she can look at them on a regular basis in an effort to desensitize herself.

That, and it's a lake, Bear Lake to be exact, at 6200 feet above sea level and in September that will be some chilly water. Heidi (another member of the Moab Mafia and my self declared Turkey Trot 10k nemesis) has added fuel to the flames of anxiety with her assertion that every large body of water, fresh or salt, regardless of proximity to the actual ocean, has sharks ... and dead bodies. Sharks in Bear Lake? Possibly. But dead bodies? Definitely. And probably bears (right?). The (deep water) swim is followed by a 56 mile bike ride around that same lake, 1/2 of which is bound to be into a nasty lake effect headwind (no drafting in triathlons) and a 13.1 mile (or half marathon) run. If (who am I kidding, when) she pulls it off it will be an accomplishment that will be difficult to top. I believe in Jenn's mind she's already planning a full marathon in 2014 with an aim at qualifying for Boston in 2015**. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. There are plenty of more immediate events on which to focus our energy and attention.

*Wait a minute! LoToJa? I thought we were done with that. That makes two of us (see below).

** The events of this past week have not dissuaded her, if anything they have served to galvanize her resolve to make this happen.

Which brings us to me. Unlike Jennifer, I'm a one-trick pony. No swimming, open water or community rec center pool, for me. And my one and only running event is the annual Park Village Turkey Trot* on Thanksgiving morning. Just give me a set of wheels and some road and turn me loose. This year (to keep things interesting) I've talked myself into the Utah Triple Crank:

*OK but the Turkey Trot is nothing to poo-poo. What started out as a quaint neighbourhood diversion has grown to a multi-distance fun-run/race involving about a hundred runners last year. Kudos (again) to Shauna and Emily for starting this and keeping it going.

http://utahtriplecrank.com/

It's actually not an event at all, but an award to any cyclist who is able to finish what are generally considered the three most challenging bike races in the state of Utah. Namely:

The Rockwell Relay Moab to St. George, (this has been discussed and blogged about ad nauseum so I won't pile on here) http://rockwellrelay.com/

The Ultimate Challenge http://www.tourofutah.com/2013/ultimate-challenge Which is the amateur version of what is commonly known as the Queen Stage of the Tour of Utah. 125 miles and 10,000 feet of climb ending at the top of Little Cottonwood Canyon. Any ride that includes Little Cottonwood should be revered, even feared. Now consider that those cruel last 9 miles and 4000 feet of the race come after you've already ridden 115 miles and climbed the Alpine Loop and the back side of Suncrest. Throw in the fact that the race takes place in mid August and you can't help but think this is a decision you will live to regret, no maybe about it.

And finally The LOTOJA classic http://www.lotojaclassic.com/main/index.html

Utah's end of the cycling season equivalent of the European one day classics like Belgium's Tour of Flanders or France's Paris-Roubaix, just substitute mountain passes for cobblestones. If you've followed any of my blog posts in the past you will recall that after two tries, with frustratingly similar results, I have fallen out of love with this ride/race. Who can forget this (now infamous) video:

Certainly not my son Mathis, who likes to play it for me any time I mention the L-word. Same with Rodney (aka Rodzilla) and Thad (aka Pickle Juice). But what can I say? Never is a powerful word, one with which I've committed to be more careful in the future. Maybe it was the Triple Crank award that sucked me in, maybe it was envy of Jennifer's 'taking it to the next level' event calendar or maybe (as I suspect) it's just an illness I've contracted, one without a cure but a tried and true treatment; a treatment I resolutely continue to administer to myself.

Whichever it is, I'll find out on May 10th if I'm in (the LOTOJA Classic, the other events aren't popular enough to be lottery draws ... yet). Until then, I'll keep training like it's a sure thing.

Check back with us every once in a while if you're curious.

We'll be here (all summer).

Jenn & Steve