Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The Howling

Did anyone know that foxes bark? They do. In my case, they bark at 4:30 in the morning. I was woken up to an odd barking noise. You could tell it wasn't a dog but it was more a cross between a dog and a crow which is a little difficult to describe. A fox was sitting in the grass in front of my car barking. When the outside lights came on, the fox started bounding around the backyard continuing to bark. This continued for about 10 minutes then he/she finally went off into the woods and stopped barking. It was almost as if he was calling for the other fox that is usually with him. The trash can was unusually full that night, perhaps he was calling his friend to join him for dinner. I am not fluent in fox so I can't be sure that was the issue. It is interesting that they always go off into the woods to the right as if they are going to the neighborhood on the other side of the creek. Ironically, the neighborhood is called Fox Forest.

On to the workout side of life...
Tuesday, I did 18 miles on the bike in an hour! I am not sure why but I was thinking it was going to take me closer to 1:20. After the bike I did a 1 mile run. The combination of the bike and run gave me a lot of confidence for the race next week. I completed the hardest part in a little over an hour. Add 2 more miles and a quick swim and that is my race next week. (Funny how 2 miles seems like such a easy-do these days. There must be something to all this training!)

After work, I had a tennis lesson that turned into a tennis marathon. I had planned to hit for an hour. After 20 minutes, the coach tells me that he needs to help out with Cardio Tennis and I could join that group to finish up. As it turns out, the Cardio Tennis class was TWO HOURS. I have this thing about not wanting to be rude and leave in the middle so I stuck it out. The cardio tennis class was fun, just a little too long. I lost interest about 90 minutes into it. I probably was just tired at that point considering I had worked out that morning. Two hours and twenty minutes later, I was sweaty, worn out and on my home. Needless to say, I did not get up this morning and work out. TOO TIRED!

I received an e-mail with the official race information for my triathlon next Sunday. The race starts at 7:00 am at Lake Lanier. I have to go on Saturday to pick up my race packet and check in my bike. This is a much bigger race than the one I did a couple weeks back so I am assuming this is normal procedure. In a way, it is kind of nice to have that out of the way so you don't have to get there as early on Sunday morning.

Another good turn of events (I think) is that the swim starts in waves by age group. From what I have heard this is pretty standard unlike my other race which was a free for all start. They are running my age group first (35-39) which works well for me since the swim is my strongest leg. The participants in this race are much more experienced than my last race so I am expecting many, many people to pass me on the bike and the run. My goal for this race is just to finish and be proud that I did it. It is funny, after all the training I have done, the race seems like it is not that big of a deal. I guess that is a good sign that I am feeling prepared.

**side note on the swim, they are providing caps so hopefully there will no breakage issues! I definitely will bring spare ponytail holders. :)

On tap for tomorrow: 6 mile run and workout with DJ (AM) and tennis match (PM)

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