Training Log Archive: ebuckley

Rode to Church with Yaya. Went straight there so we wouldn't be sweaty for service, then took a longer route home. On the way home, David called saying the Alpine Shop team was going to ride the CC Lake trails.

There was no way we were going to get there by bike, so I unhitched the tandem, threw the singlespeed on the back of the car and we bolted over to CC Lake. Yaya was disappointed that there weren't more kids at the playground, but when Jeff offered her his cell phone so she could call me if something came up in the middle of a lap, she was suddenly very excited to be left to her own entertainment.

Keeping up with David is never an easy task and the fact that he's about to leave for a job in Mississippi (no decent mountain biking) meant he was hammering. I wasn't able to stay right on David, but I kept him sight. It was particularly easy to catch up when he chucked himself over the bars.

Meanwhile, I had to stop to take calls from Yaya on a pretty regular basis. ("Great news! Another kid is here!") Well, it was pretty hard to be pissed about the interruptions when by all rights my parental duties should have kept me away from the ride altogether. The others thought it was pretty funny and didn't mind waiting. All in all, a pretty fine morning.

Was really hoping the rain would show up and cool things off a bit, but by early afternoon, it looked like that wasn't going to happen, so I headed off to run the Chubb. That turned out to be a non-starter for a number of reasons.

First and foremost, it was just too hot for a long run. I plodded along at a reasonable pace, but I'm pretty sure I couldn't have held it the whole length of the trail. Another problem was that, while the river warnings didn't include anything for Valley Park, the Meramec was very much over it's banks. I knew if I got my feat soaked and then tried to run the Tyson side, I'd have some serious blisters to deal with.

So, I turned back figuring that if I didn't overcook things today, I would still be able to get in a long run this week and recover in time for the 10K next Saturday. At any rate, distance isn't my concern right now - I know I can run 26.2 miles; it's running it in under 3 hours I haven't done.

Duck(U)@18:56. Had to ramp it up a bit near the end to be under 19, hence the max HR being way out of tempo range. Really want to stay on pace over the summer for these runs; my past history has been to goof off on tempo work when it gets hot.

Decided not to do the Connection 5K tomorrow. It will be too hot to break 18 and Kate is staying with a friend tonight, so I don't know what I'd do with Yaya.

The plan was to ride from Klondike to Dutzow and back on the Katy, then go for a hike. This was Yaya's idea, mind you, and she was down with it even when I explained that it was going to be 3 hours in some pretty ferocious heat. "I want to push myself." Really, she said that.

Anyway, 25 minutes in we stopped for a drink and one look at her drawn face was enough to realize that this simply wasn't going to work. We turned back, did a lap of the park, and spent the rest of the day looking for shady places to sit.

In to work. Took the SUV thinking I might be able to knock off early and go home via Castlewood.

Didn't make it to Castlewood, so the singletrack was limited to the last couple miles on the powerline. Still a nice ride home via Clayton, which is a surprisingly good route now that 40 is open again.

In to work.

Back home through Forest Park with a couple errand stops along the way. Weather has turned big time for the better.

4x800@2:55 400R.

It was hot enough even at 6 that I told myself if I ran the first 4 on pace, I could skip the 5th. I did, and I did.

Evening run in conditions that would have Shadrach, Meshac, and Abednego questioning their faith. Threw in 9 striders at the end just for good measure.

C • Those were some tough dudes. 2

In to work.

Home via Page (not really much fun on the singlespeed because you can't keep up with traffic) where I picked up my do bak and then headed over to the Do Jang and back...

... for family class (sans Yaya) and was presented with my recommendation belt.

In to work. The 53" gear made the trip a bit longer, but it was kinda fun to start the day at 110RPM.

From work to CC Lake via Forest Park/Clayton/Midland.

Then a lap of the singletrack and home on the powerline.