The End (of an epic series)

This blog is not about running, cycling or exercising (physically at least) in anyway.  It's about the end of LOST.  A series that has captivated me for years ever since I saw Season 2 Episode 1.  The rest is history.  LOST has been a staple in my life for all these years.  It's survived 3 girlfriends the current of whom made the extra effort and watched all 5 seasons through this past January just so she could enjoy the final season along with me.  She gets an A+++ for that extreme effort.  It been  a crazy roller coaster.  I've loved (almost) every episode.  Nothing has been more moving than the series finale last night.  It's had such an impact on me that
I felt compelled to blog about the experience of the series finale.  So here goes.

SPOILER ALERT! IF YOU HAVE SEEN THE SERIES FINALE OF LOST STOP READING NOW!  You've been warned.


LOST is a profound show.  It's a one in a million series.  The pilot itself was something not typically seen on network TV; so grand and epic.  The series has been a large part of my life and its no secret that this finale season has been on the top of my priority list since even before it started to air.  My Facebook account is evidence of that, much to the dismay of some friends who can't stand LOST.  They're those who don't want to be bothered with the deeper meaning behind it.  They just don't get it.

I on the other hand have loved the series, for its mysteries and for the characters.  It's an emotionally gripping show.  You find yourself loving and hating characters.  Find yourself missing those characters you previously disliked, and really missing those characters you've loved but were no longer on the show.  Season 6 has found us reuniting with those we had lost in previous years so it stood to reason that the finale would be the pinnacle of reunions.

I sit here now continuing to write this after watching the series finale for a 2nd time, and watching the last 10 minutes 3 more times after that.  I'll be honest. I cried this time.  I was close last night but I held it back.  Tonight, I couldn't.  Charlie and Claire, Sawyer and Juliet, Jack and Kate, Jacks island death and his spiritual transfer to the 'place they made together'.  It was an emotional overload and it made me love the series for what it was and always had been about:  the characters.  Whether it was their 'issues' or the 'coincidental' (read fate) connections that each character shared with the other.  The End brought the circle to a close, with those same people I'd come to love over 6 season.  They'd found the happiness they truly wanted, whether it was through redemption (Jack) or love (Sawyer).  It was a beautiful end.

At first I couldn't decide how I felt.  There are those who argue the show was pointless.  That the unanswered questions and never ending mystery took away from the show as a whole.  They feel that by not answering those questions they, the viewers have wasted their time over the last few season.  I beg to differ.  Did I want some of those answers these people wanted?  Sure I did.  How could I not want to know why Walt was special, why women who got pregnant on the Island couldn't come to full term while there.  Why THOSE numbers?  Why time travel?

Some people have issues just accepting things for what they are.  Those people are the same ones that are having a hard time digesting the finale.  Not accepting the core values of the show, the people.  The emotions, the love, loss, awakenings.  I was right there with the characters last night.  I realized I don't care about the mysteries.  I cared about the people.  Seeing the looks of joy on their faces, the happiness they all finally found...it was enough.  Jack with Kate, Jacks reconciliation with his father, the eye closing in a poignant reversal of the scene that started the series off.  I'm about to get emotional again....

The show I've invested many hours of time into is over now.  I feel like I've lost (no pun intended) a part of myself.  I've never felt this level of emotional bond to a TV show and frankly feel kind of weird about that.  LOST will be with me and many others for a long time.  It's a pop culture icon.  Something you can't get through life without encountering once, whether you loved it or hated it.

That's all I've got for now.

Time to got watch the ending agian

The first time is always the hardest...and most painful (until the second...)

I finally got out on my bike this weekend for a short 'get to know you' ride.  I rode with a friend, Dave, from my volunteer fire department who has done a few shorter triathlons so that I could feel a bit more comfortable.  It was nice of Dave to ride with me but I could tell by 3 miles in that I might be a bit too fast for him.  I don't know if he was holding back for me, but I found myself not peddling as much as I believe I should have been.  Even getting into an easy gear and barely putting any pressure on the peddles at a high cadence led to me almost overtaking him.  I'll ride with him again, but maybe I'll lead.

The ride was easier than I thought it would be.  My legs seemed to be feeling good, my heart rate was low, and I felt I could push it a bit more.  I started feeling tight in my neck, my lower back and my undercarriage started to get sore.  My feet also fell asleep for a bit but that was not a huge deal.  I enjoyed the ride.  It was nice to get working out again.  I definitely needed it.



I didn't get back out on the bike again until this evening.  It's going to rain the next 2 days so I figured today was the best chance before Thursday.  I was a bit nervous about getting out there on the roads during rush hour but I chose roads that weren't too busy.  I did almost the same route as Saturdays ride except I started off heading into town so I could tackle a long gradual hill.  I wanted to avoid a certain intersection so I elected to take a right up a VERY steep hill to cut through.

Bad. Decision.

I didn't think about the gear I was in and before I knew it I was coming to a grinding halt, unable to get my left shoe unclipped and was tipping over.  I managed to unclip as I was falling and did a fantastic reverse somersault down the hill and back onto my feet.  I tore some of the handlebar tape a bit, and some leaves got stuck in my left brake/shifter.  I recovered, walked up the remainder of the hill and got back on my way.  A mild abrasion on my left butt cheek and a scrape on my wrist.

I settled back into my ride and started chugging along.  I was pushing it pretty hard per my heart rate.  My Garmin was off a bit at the beginning and skewed my average heart rate.  My breathing was difficult, but I think that was due to the high pollen count today.  I ground through the ride and ended up riding 14 miles in about 47 minutes.  I forgot to start my Garmin until I was about 1/4 mile in.  Not a bad increase in speed from Saturdays ride.  By the end of the workout I felt like I had really pushed it.  My lungs were burning and I had that "I just worked my ass off" feeling.  I haven't really worked these muscles in a long while so I'm expecting the first few rides to be tough.


Now where are those cookies?

Finding another way to build my endurance: Part 2

Steve is officially with bike.

I went down to the bike shop on Monday afternoon and got my second fitting.  It was yet another pleasant experience.  I went down after work (love a store with hours past 6) and said hello to Linda the 'everything else' person.  We chatted for a while with a father-daughter pair before Doug (the fit guy) came up after finishing another bike.  He was hauling my bike up with him and we promptly went over to the trainer.

After digging out my shoes and setting up the bike on the trainer he set up the bike with my measurements and put on my peddles.  He had me hop and and gave me the pointers on body position and the like and showed me how to clip in and out.  Having me peddle for a few minutes he watched my legs and then had me stop and explained what he was looking at and that everything from the waist down looked good so far.  He then made sure I was putting myself in a proper riding position.  He checked my measurements again and everything was still spot on.  We chatted some more about measurements, clipping in and out and when I could pick the bike up.

I stopped in this evening since the bike was ready.  I was given the 'new to road biking' lecture given suggestions on things I need and can maybe live without.  This is an expensive sport after all.  I ended up purchasing a floor pump, a portable pump, 2 water bottle cages, and was given a number of must-have repair tools, patches, spare tube, ect.

The bike is now here at home.  I probably won't be able to get a ride in until Friday.  I have a friend who lives close by that wants to ride so I will have company (read help).  I'm excited but nervous to get out for my first ride.  It will certainly be an experience.

Finding another way to build my endurance: Part 1

One consistent theme in my running since I started to seriously run again over a year ago has been injury.  It hasn't mattered how slow I have increased my weekly mileage, or what shoes I've been running in.  At some point my left calf has failed me.  It's frustrating and a true motivation killer.  I thought I had the injury issues under control but unfortunately the set back I suffered at the beginning of March seems to be here to stay.

With my continued desire to run and the realization that high mileage just is not in the cards, I've been exploring different ways to increase my endurance while not wrecking my body for extended periods of time.  My options have been limited but I had been considering either joining a local rowing club for a few hundred dollars a year, or investing in a road bike.  I had ended my gym membership since I don't feel that being inside for cross training is acceptable and I hadn't used it in months.  I have free access to my firehouse gym so it didn't make sense to keep dropping $50 per month on the gym membership.

I'd been thinking about a road bike for a few years now, even before I started running.  It was always such a big sum of money that I could never justify it.  Finding myself in a better place financially now than 2 years ago, and having working a large amount of overtime in the last 2 months has left me with a large chunk of change as well.  With the mounting frustration over my current calf injury, my realization that I need to do another form of fitness that doesn't beat up my legs and the extra cash in the bank I decided it was time to make a decision.

Yesterday I ventured down to Bike Junkie.  It has that has been highly recommended by my boss and 2 other coworkers who have all purchased bikes there.  I was warned that it would be an unusual experience my first time there.  My boss said my initial exchange with one of the co-owners might go something like this:

Me: Hi, I'm interesting in getting a road bike.
Co-owner: I'm sorry, I don't know if I can help you.

I found this possibility funny, but after my visit I understood why that could be said.  One of the co-owners is the fit/bike guy, and the other is the everything else girl so really, she couldn't 'help' me find a bike.  I met the fit guy first so I didn't get the pleasure of enjoying the possible first exchange I was warned about.  I ventured down wearing my Vibrams just to add to the quirkiness.  I said hello, told them what I was looking for and we were off, but not after a few questions about my shoes.  No one warned me one of the other customers was a podiatrist.

I'm a beginner.  I know nothing about road bikes.  That's why I wanted to come to a shop like this.  Their reputation precedes them and I felt comfortable going in there as a newbie.  I was asked what I was looking for, what my budget was and then I was sized.  The fit guy talked me through each measurement, tallied up the 4 points I earned for the various criteria and  then walked me through what each of the measurements meant and then we got into bike size.  I turn out to be a 57.5 which surprised a number of people.  I guess it's my long dancers legs.  He decided to start looking at 58 cm frames with me.

We started to look through the catalogs to see what was within my price range.  He stopped on a page with a few Cannondales.  There was the CAAD8 and the CAAD9 that were right in my price range.  The 2010 CAAD 8 was right at where I wanted the price to be.  The CAAD9 was about $150 more, but as he explained the increase in quality versus price was well worth it.  All of a sudden a light bulb turned on and he grabbed the 2009 catalog.  He opened up to Cannondale again and pointed at the 2009 CAAD9.  I saw where we were going immediately.  An older model, needs to make room for new stock...here comes a discount.  The bike lists for $900, and he said with tax that is all I would pay for it.  Good enough for me.  We pulled the bike off the rack, he had me stand over it and we found we had a good gap between my groin and the top tube.  I loved the color.  Flat black but formally called BBQ.  I decided just to go for it.  He's a got a discounted bike in stock, it fits me and will meet my needs.  We did some paper work and I am set to return next week for my first fitting.

I'm excited.  I was expecting this process to take a bit longer but with the option to get a nice bike from last year, why wait?  Part 2 will be my experience learning about shoes, cleats and pedals and my first fitting.

Stay tuned!

Long Island Half-Marathon Race Report

I don't like the heat.  I don't like being in the heat.  I don't like humidity.

Running in the heat, especially when 4 days earlier it was barely 50 degrees doesn't make me like it any better.

Race day was balmy.  Temperatures in the 70s and 80s, sunny and high humidity.  More like a day in July, not the first weekend in May.  I had previously moved down from the full marathon and elected to run the half due to my calf injury from hell.  I was extremely happy my run was over before 10 that morning.

My calf had been feeling good, but after the multiple recurrences I understood that it feeling OK on a normal day didn't mean anything regarding my run.  Sure enough I was right about that on race day and the calf pain returned during the run.  I prepped with Kinesio tape and debated on which shoes to wear.  I had been using my Nike Frees with some supplementation with my Vibram Five Fingers but nothing more supportive than that.  I have a fairly new pair of Brooks Glycerins that I had not run more than 70 miles in from this time last year.  My theory was that a pair of shoes with more support and a stiffer forefoot would benefit my run.  I believe that gamble paid off.

My day started at 5:30 on race morning.   I got up and headed out to grab some coffee.  Heading back home I made myself a peanut butter and honey sandwich for breakfast.  I got dressed, gathered my stuff and headed out around 6:30.  I arrived and parked by 7:00 and made my way to the start.  I did a short warm up and could already feel that impending calf problem.  I decided to limit my warm up and wait for the start.

Miles 1-4:  These miles were going well.  I was going out way too fast, but I felt good.  The heat wasn't affecting me too much right now.  I was running right on 8:00 minute miles.  Mile 4 water stop was understaffed and I couldn't get water.

Miles 5-7:  I slowed it down to 8:30 minute miles.  I thought this would be OK.  The heat was starting to get to me.

Mile 8:  Slowed to a  8:45 minute per mile pace.

Mile 9: 9 min/mile pace

Mile 10: had to pause to walk/stretch so 9:30 min/mi and it was all downhill from there.

My heart rate was sky high.  Average was 178 BPM those paces.  I attribute most of this to the heat, my altered and thus inefficient gait and of course being ill prepared.  I maxed out at 190 BPM which I don't even do for shorter races.

I managed to finish the race.  My body was done with the running though.  My calf was throbbing, my body was exhausted.  I'm taking off for the remainder of the month to let my calf heal and I am looking into buying a bike.  I need another form of crosstraining that allows me to stay outdoors.


Now if only the swelling in my calf would go down...hmmmm