No 'birthday triathlon' as monsoons continue...

Monday, April 18, 2011

I hate to say John was right…but the weather couldn’t have been much worse for a birthday triathlon. I concluded early that this was not to be the day and that maybe…well…I just won’t say when since that has jinxed every day I’ve picked for the past two years.

I just had to do something though, and chose another ‘Hike 56’. This time, I brought along the TRX bands and managed some of my upper body lifting using them. They’re great for rowing and the back muscles, bicep curls, and shoulder work. I also lifted more logs and rocks in-between sets of push-ups and crunches. I managed to get the entire workout done in around 56 minutes, which is actually a little long, but I included extra walking.

Writing this blog has had some unexpected benefits for me. One is reconnecting with an old high school buddy, Randy, who’s living in Florida now but reading religiously. When he came north for a visit last fall, we got together and did a lunch at Slyman’s and then a workout in the Metropark so he could visit the places I’d been writing about. I handed off our senior yearbook during the visit so he could walk down memory lane and we could compare notes on who we’d managed to keep in touch with.

He called me on my birthday to wish me well and since he’d asked me about coaching him to a better 5K time, I went into the details of what I would do to make him fast. “I was looking through your yearbook last fall and didn’t see where I’d signed it,” he said. “I had to go to some obscure page in the advertisements…and there it was…page 164. Do you have the yearbook handy?” I told him I did and went to retrieve it. I opened it to page 164, as instructed, and found two gift cards there. They were both to East Coast Custard…one for my birthday and one for agreeing to coach him. “What if I’d said ‘no’ to helping you? I’d have the gift cards and I’d eat the ice cream anyway. I have no morals when it comes to ECC,” I said. He knew me well enough to know I’d be all over a chance to help someone run faster…especially a Willoughby South Rebel. He’s targeting a fall 5K with a goal of seven and a half-minute mile pace. “No sweat, Randy. Pick the date and I’ll design the last 8 weeks of training. You’ll hit the time…and curse me for the workouts I give you to do to make it.”

So…it was a quiet birthday at home with Jack and Holly. I ate turkey dinner leftovers and enjoyed the movie “I Am Sam” with them. The triathlon will happen…it’s my mission. It may be June before I get a weekend day when the weather permits…but it will happen.

Survival Workout duration: 60 minutes.
Training Heart Rate: 100 to 150 bpm.
Calories burned during workout: 600