Every once and a while my husband jokingly reminds me of how mad he would be if I died getting hit by a car on a ride or run. Well, he almost got the chance to find out just how consuming that anger would be after I tested my new Zipp 404 wheels for the first time last week. Oh.dear.Lord.

I’m convinced my new bike wheels are trying to kill me. Sometimes diving head first into the deep end is not the way to do things in life and yes, it’s taken me 43 years to figure this out.

We are both still in one piece!

WEEK OF AUGUST 20, 2018

RUNNING

Speaking of “diving into the deep end” I felt like I was swimming on one of my runs last week as I moved along in the rain at varying speeds, for over an hour.

The 10k trail race up Killington mountain in Vermont I completed this past Saturday is a whole other blog post coming soon, so I will just talk about the week leading up to it.

At least I knew my new Nathan quick start 4L race vest wasn’t trying to kill me. In fact, I barely noticed it was there! Thanks to Hollie at Fueled by LOLZ (who was also at Killington!) for the recommendation. If you’re looking for a great hydration pack with pockets for your phone, keys and fuel that stays put and doesn’t chafe even one bit (in the rain!) look no further.

Monday – 30 minute run off the bike | 3.39 miles easy

Wednesday – long run in the rain with 2 x (20 min Z3, 5 min Z4, 1 min Z5) | 8.11 miles

Thursday – 30 min run off the bike with 10 min at 10k pace | 3.41 miles

Saturday – 10k mountain trail race | 1:12:18 | 6.3 miles (almost entirely uphill!)

Total = 21.01 miles

CYCLING

Rewind a week and I’m very excited for my first ever ride with my new wheels. It’s windy AF and I have a 3 hour and 30 min ride planned. No problem. Except there was a massive problem, which became glaringly obvious with my very first descent, less than a mile from my house. The issue? Crosswind. My new aerodynamic badass wheels are deep and are meant to be light and cut the wind which is all well and good when it’s not a super windy day and it’s your first time out.

I think I burned more calories fearing from my life then in the 3 hour ride. I cut it short after having to brake my way down the steepest descents — ones I used to relish in going 40 mph down — and now having a death grip on my handle bars and barely being able to stay aero since my balance was obviously affected.

I was literally getting blown sideways into the street on any downhill and had to then compensate for the drift which is not an easy task on busy roads or ones with small sidelines. It was an interesting 3 hours.

This is what it felt like…

The only thing I can do is keep going out and getting used to them…and pray for no wind!

I have to admit that even the second ride I did felt a lot more comfortable but there is definitely a learning curve.

Monday – long ride (escaping death) before run, 2:57:09 | 46.6 miles

Thursday – 90 minutes before run | 25.81 miles

Total = 72.41 miles

SWIMMING

My swims were pretty uneventful, which is just fine with me. I’m looking forward to doing more swim recovery sessions once I start gearing up for the Las Vegas Rock N Roll Half Marathon in November.

This may also be a good time to mention that I’m not doing another half ironman (or any triathlon) this year and will continue to work on my swim and cycling while I get ready for my annual 13.1 in sin city! I’m kinda bummed because I’m in shape to tackle another 70.3 but I just can’t force it into my life.

Tuesday – recovery swim | 2,200 yards

Friday – fast sets | 2,500 yards

Total = 4,700 yards

THINGS I LOVE

White noise.

This may be old news to a lot of you but my husband and I discovered how much we love it on vacation. The house we stayed in was just way too quiet. < – – this is what happens to parents who sleep across the hall from their twin sons!

With the boys sleeping a floor below us and no ceiling fan we needed some noise! In 10 seconds we downloaded a white noise app and have been falling asleep to the sound of the ocean ever since. It’s heaven.

I also have to wake up and pee around 3am every morning so I’m thinking about changing the sound!

THINGS I DON’T LOVE AS MUCH

Back to school.

I know most parents can’t wait for their kids to be back in school but I feel the exact opposite. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not because I love having my kids home since they are at camp for hours a day, every day, it’s the easiness of summer and the uneasiness of the school year.

My kids love camp and come home everyday to tell me about their latest adventure or what they did. They are tired, dirty and happy. During the school year they come off the bus looking like someone just told them they could never play Fortnite again and then start whining and complaining about homework and how much they hate following rules.

At camp – tired and happy.

The summer is just so much easier and free for all of us and I’m not excited about the edge the start of the year will bring to everyone.

I AM, however, excited about fall, winter and skiing! #sorrynotsorry

TELEVISION

While I wait a week for new episodes of The Sinner Season 2, I started watching Safe with Michael C. Hall of Dexter fame. Dexter was one of my all time favorite shows and, so far, I’m loving Safe. The critics complain that Hall’s British accent is rubbish but really, who cares? The characters are compelling, the storyline zigs and zags and leaves you hanging, not knowing what will happen next.

It’s a twisted plot about a teenage girl (Hall’s daughter) who goes missing after a party and how the events unravel afterward. It’s definitely worth the watch while you wait for fall TV to come rushing back…

READING

In between Next Year In Havana and The Sound of Glass I somehow make time to read online articles.It’s a tough life. Anything about parenting usually grabs my attention since there seems to be endless rules, judgement and just plain ridiculousness about what not to do, or how hard to criticize those who parent differently.

This article in the New York Times highlights the book Small Animals: Parenthood in the Age of Fear by Kim Brooks and is a very interesting read.

The Criminalization of Parenthood | Libby Copeland | New York Times

“Parents who’ve allowed their kids to play outside without checking on them every few minutes, let them walk alone to the store or permitted them any of the countless small freedoms that used to be part of an ordinary American childhood, will sense what’s coming: the police.”

I have yet to download the book but the article was so compelling and filled with so much common sense. The amount of fear wrapped up in leaving a child alone in a car, on a cool day with the windows down while you’re in Target, is insane when you consider the far higher risk to that child when actually driving the car with them in it!

Perhaps the book should be mandatory summer reading for parents? What happens to the author should definitely be a mandatory reminder for everyone with a camera phone to MYOB!

RANDOMNESS OF THE WEEK

Miles and I were early for his dentist appointment last week so we started scrolling through my Instagram feed together. Most of the time we laugh (or cringe) over the Jerry of the Day but a few pics in we landed on this:

Me: whoa! That is amazing!

Miles: What is?

Me: *saying this with my death grip of my handlebars fresh in my mind! – – > Look at how he’s turning that bike and how low he is to the ground!

Miles: Can’t you do that?

Me: Um, no. That is really hard to do.

Miles: looks me dead in the eye – – > of course you can! You’re like a pro cyclist and anyway, that’s a man so can’t a woman ride a bike like that better?

I’m obviously doing a fantastic job of raising this kid.

[Tweet “Just trying to survive my new #bike wheels in the wind! Read about my death defying rides, new #hydration pack and what to read and watch this week in The Rundown! #train4life”]

How was your week?

Can you relate at all to my bike wheel issue?

Do you have a white noise app?