Hunger Headaches

One thing I can’t quite figure out is why I get headaches after hard workouts - is it dehydration? Hunger?

Sometimes I’ve gotten headaches before when I don’t eat enough… but at the same time, when I am not eating, I’m usually not drinking also. And there’s the confounding factor. I’m tempted to just start drinking gallons of water to see if the headache goes away. But then, I used to get headaches like these from swim practice, so that does not make much sense either.

Ran 11 miles this morning. It felt like a big jump from my previous long run of 9. Amazing what 2 miles can do to you. Now the biggest issue is having to sit at my desk for 9 hours today while the lactic acid solidifies. Good times. Tomorrow I may try to ride outside in the morning. Now’s the time of year to be out there, even if it is 30 degrees.

Trivia night tonight - last chance for glory before the tournament of champions. So far, in 4 appearances, we’ve finished 3rd, 2nd, 2nd, and 3rd. The team to beat is “Three Hump Camel.” I think they have won every time we’ve been there. Smart guys.

Looks like it was hunger. It’s sushi day down in the cafeteria. Spicy Tuna, California Rolls and Chocolate Milk. Everything the human body needs.

Busy Week Ahead

Today was fun. We had a great group of volunteers at the Ras, who really went above and beyond the call of duty to help out not only the race director, but the guys running the timing and the guy in charge of finishing chute and the scaffolding over the finish line. I’m sure people were not thinking that heavy lifting would be involved, but they were more than willing to help, and I think if reflected very well on our team.

After the race, I took a drive by the Cycle Loft, who is our new bike shop sponsor this year. Can’t say enough about those guys - they have been everything you want to see in a sponsor so far.

This week is going to be crazy busy. Work should let up a little. Not much, but enough that I should not feel guilty leaving around 6-6:30 each night to get to my after work activities. Monday is the Celtics game - Tuesday BTT EC (executive committee - I’m the uniform guy) responsibilities - Wednesday is trivia night at Game on with friends - Thursday is BTT night at Cycle Loft - Friday is a trip down to the Cape for a weekend filled with wedding planning.

I’ll need to plan the training schedule around morning workouts, and maybe see about a couple of lunchtime runs. Four weeks from tomorrow is the Marathon… after tomorrow the weather is looking good for the week - low to mid 40’s and fair.

• Monday - Trainer Ride 1:00 in the morning
• Tuesday - Trainer Ride 1:00 in the morning, maybe a quick lunchtime run of 5 or so
• Wednesday - Run 11 miles into work in the morning, have Jenn pick me up after work to head to trivia
• Thursday - Trainer or Outdoor Ride of 1:00 in the morning
• Friday - Run into work again, depending how fried I am.

Time to get serious.

WTF is this?!

Swim option for Ford Ironman California 70.3 athletes
March 17, 2006
Ford Ironman California 70.3 is offering an optional 700m swim for athletes who are not comfortable swimming in colder conditions. Those athletes choosing this option will go in a wave at 8:30am and swim 700m, bike 56 miles and run 13.1 miles. Your results will be posted in the new category so you can see how you finished compared to your fellow competitors in your race. You will receive a finisher’s shirt and medal however you will not be eligible for awards, Ford Ironman World Championship slots (Hawaii), Ford Ironman 70.3 World Championship slots or Ironman North America race slots.

We are offering this service for our athletes as it could be wet and cold on race morning. Please be safe and consider what is in your best interest.

OK - so I checked the weather, and it’s 54 in San Diego. High is only supposed to reach 57. The water’s 59.4, but the pacific is always cold. It won’t be a typical California day out there, but come on… optionally changing the swim distance?

I guess I’ve always felt that in a race, the conditions are just another factor to deal with, like aching legs or a squidgy stomach. Allowing people to choose what distance they swim based on conditions is like saying “If you think your legs will hurt after the first loop of the run, then you may opt to only do a 6.5 mile run.”

Safety is another issue - if there’s a chance that people will be put in harm’s way, and the RD makes the call to shorten the race, I will try to understand. But all too frequently lately, I’m hearing stories about races being “modified” at the last minute (see Cam Brown’s article on Ironman New Zealand) and lots of people being disappointed.

Ras na hEireann

I’m pretty sure that means “The Race for Ireland.” Oddly, it is held in Somerville, Massachusetts.

Yesterday was St. Patrick’s Day, which means everyone was Irish - as long as being Irish means that you wear some green and go out and drink about a hundred beers. I’ve been Irish on St. Patrick’s Day before. But I’m also really at least part Irish, which may explain my guilt for coming home from work and watching “This Old House Classics” on the TiVo while eating Thai food and drinking a glass of red wine. I even had Guiness in the fridge…

Back to the race - it’s tomorrow. I am coordinating a group of people from my triathlon team to go in and vounteer at the finish line. We’ll be handing out the finisher’s medals (which are shaped like bottle openers) collecting timing chips and distributing food and drink to the folks that complete the 5K run. Today, I have to go in and meet with the race director to make sure everything goes smoothly tomorrow.

Getting into Somerville will be somewhat time consuming, so in the spirit of multitasking, I’m planning on hitting Marathon Sports to pick up a pair of new running shoes. I just recently got a number for the Boston Marathon, and need to put my training plan on the “hockey stick” growth model. Maybe a new pair of kicks will inspire me to get out and run more - at least it’ll mean my feet won’t hurt as badly as they did yesterday, after running 9 miles on Thursday night.

Today I’ll also sit on the trainer for a while - my “A” race for this year is Ironman USA in Lake Placid, NY. More (much more) on that later.

Is it really work?

OK - so I just created my blog. Yes, I know it’s 2006 and I’m the last person in the world to create a blog.

I called it “The Inner Workings.” It’s a double entendre. I think.

Ya see, this year could well be the most challenging yet wildly successful and happy year of my life to date. It’s going to take some work though.

Remember MadLibs? On one page, you’d fill in the blanks with whatever they asked for - a verb, a noun, a friend’s name, whatever. Most of the nouns ended up being butt, boobies, booger, etc. and all of the verbs generally had something to do with flatulence. Then on the next page, your words would tell a story, like:

The _butt_ was invented by a _boobies_. A _booger_ can _fart_ for 3 years.

So here’s one - you fill in the blank.

“Anything that’s worth doing is worth doing [adverb].”

Start at the beginning…

Just a test