Kinetic Half Race Week

Race week is here and I am just now getting a chance to sit down and write.  Last week, Melissa went to England for a week. Before she left, a few people had asked me what I would do while she was gone. I informed these inquisitive folks that I would be swimming, biking, running, and doing Yoga. Same as always. But I also thought I might get some more rest and have the opportunity to post to my blog. Looking back to last week, while I did get all my swimming, biking, running, and Yoga in, I did not really get lots of rest. In fact, I found myself up late, unable to fall asleep at a decent hour. There are probably many factors that lead to these later nights. Usually we share some of the chores of cooking and cleaning for instance. Doing these things solo is slightly more time consuming. Mostly though, I found it difficult to wind down with Melissa gone. She has been gone before for work trips but for some reason, I felt a little lonely without her this time around. We stayed in touch via text message and email but not speaking to her on a regular basis was something very different.

In addition to Melissa being in England, on Monday I got a text message from my brother Erik that my Dad had to be rushed to the hospital by ambulance. It turns out he had a very bad bladder infection and had to be admitted to the hospital where he was given intravenous antibiotics. It was a scary moment for me when I received the text message. After talking to Erik on the phone however, I was slightly less anxious about it because it sounded like he was going to be ok. They were keeping him overnight in the hospital but thought he would be able to leave the next day. As it turns out, he had to stay another night.

On Wednesday, I took off from work and went to see him in the hospital. Of course, I got my workout in first before I left. In fact, I swam 1.8 miles in the pool, rode 1 hour on the bike, and did a 20-minute run. Once I got up to Fairfax hospital, I was just in time to help him get checked out and drive him home. He looked pretty good although maybe a little tired and the unshaven look does not really work for my Dad. It made him look a little run down. But he was walking around pretty well.

After we got to my parents' house, I went to drop off a prescription for Dad and stopped by Whole Foods. I had decided that I would prepare dinner for everyone so my Mom could take it easy but also so they could get a healthy home cooked meal. I cooked up some catfish, quinoa and vegetables, and some soup. Everyone enjoyed it and my dad seemed back to his normal self. After dinner, I helped clean up and hung out for a while. There was a hockey game on so Dad and John were glued to the TV. I got a chance to chat with my brother Tom and had a few minutes to give my mom a much deserved foot massage. My dad was looking even better by the time I left. A shave, shower, and a home cooked meal can work wonders.

So last week, I made the trip from Richmond to Northern Virginia 3 times. Once to drop off Melissa at Dulles airport, once to visit my family, and then again to pick up Melissa from Dulles Airport. With all that driving, I still managed to get all my workouts in. However, I am paying for it this week I think. I am a little tired. I think that ultimately, I will be just fine but I could use a little more shuteye.

I am very excited about the race. It is going to be a hard race for me but I am looking forward to giving it my all. My goals for this race are as follows:

1. Swim the 1.2 miles with less stopping than I did in the Rumpus in Bumpass. There are nearly 100 people in my age group so it will be a very chaotic start. I plan to hang back about 5 or 10 seconds and then just try to go out nice and easy. It will be hard not to get caught up in the frenzy but I will be much better off if I can swim my own pace. If I can control my breathing and stay relaxed, I think I can do the swim in under 45 minutes.
2. Improve on my bike split from last year's Patriots Half. I know my body and my bike much better this time around and feel like I can make huge improvements. It is a different course but both the Patriots and Kinetic course are mostly flat. My time goal is to finish under 3:10:00.
3. Run the 13.1 miles under 2 hours-even if it is 1:59:59. I will have to take it easy at the beginning and be sure to take in plenty of nutrition. 
4. Have fun of course!

I guess that wraps it up for now. I have 2 more workouts before heading to the race on Friday where we will camp out. Of course I will report back here sometime over the weekend or early next week. Thanks for reading.