dj whitebread
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
To Catch Up
Last Thursday when I posted seems like eons ago.
We did officially pull the paper. I was okay with that... the results just weren't happening. Friday I ended up not getting a chance to swim or bike, so I went into the triathlon on Saturday not having swam since last summer.
However, before that, we went to the ballet on Friday night. We got to enjoy the new Long Center for the Performing Arts as this was the ballet's first performance there. Very nice place, it is going to make a wonderful home for the arts in Austin. The symphony performed the music live, which was a nice touch. Don Quixote featured a large amount of point work, and it was pretty amazing to watch the women stay up on their toes like that for so long. The lead female dancer of the performance put on an amazing show of dancing; it was truly impressive.
Saturday morning was the triathlon. Basically, it went as well as could be expected for not exercising for two weeks and doing absolutely no running or swimming training. I felt really good on the bike, I could have pushed harder, but I was nervous about the run. I was also probably using way too big of a gear the entire ride. I forget that you really want to push an easier gear at a much higher cadence to keep the legs fresh for the run. The run was the most absurd two miles I've ever done. I felt like an old man just shuffling along. My body just did not want to run at that point. Oh, and the swim. Yeah... let's move on. We both finished and got it done, so it was nice to get that done and on the books. I definitely want to do several more this summer... I really want to do a triathlon where I actually swim the entire distance.
Harry's bachelor was party on Saturday night. The highlight was probably our time at the shooting range. I rented a .45 caliber Glock... that was fun to shoot. Overall we had a great time, though the giant meal of heavy, Salt Lick barbecue was a little much in retrospect. Sunday we ended the weekend with a showing of Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay. Crude, ridiculous, and very silly... but I laughed the entire time.
I'm leaving for Baton Rouge early on Thursday morning so that I can make it there in time to do the Tuesday/Thursday training race out on river road. I really would like to get on the bike today or tomorrow to try and get some work in the legs so that it isn't a total shock come Thursday. I would at least like to postpone the inevitable drop for a little while.
The Giro is in full swing. So far it's been a good tour, though it's always sad to see so many guys break their collarbones so early. However, my fantasy team member Mark Cavendish took a crazy sprint today to bring me some quality points. He has made it clear that he may not stay in the Giro through the mountains to contest the later sprint stages. Hmmm, here's hoping he feels good and decides to stay in.
So the paper deadline has come and gone. It is sinking in that the next deadline in front of me is that of my dissertation. Finally, it has all come down to this. It's kind of crazy... to think this thing you've been thinking about for so long has finally arrived. There is a lot of work to be done, though, so I really need to stay pretty focused from here on out.
I hope everybody has a good week.
Labels: Baton Rouge, dissertation, Giro d'Italia, pro racing, Rookie Triathlon, training
2:44 PM |
