The Post Where I Whine and Ramble

I was decidedly unhappy during today's workout. I love TNT and I wouldn't discourage anyone from joining but sometimes things just suck. That is mostly created my own attitude, but still - sucky.

Here are all the things that made me a grump today.

We started late. Normally we get to the site at 7 a.m. and we're on the trail at 7:30. Today we didn't get out there to 7:56. Anyone who knows me can testify that I'm not a fan of the early morning. If you make me get out of bed at 6 a.m on a Saturday you'd better be ready to move.

My whining aside, some of the pre-workout commentary is excellent. I loved hearing from today's honored teammate. Her 10 year battle against cancer is inspirational and she really highlighted the difference that research money has made in the level of care blood cancer patients receive. Her story was only a few minutes long, but it made a huge impression on me. While I love the part of the morning when people tell their personal stories, the rest of lecture can go on way too long for me because I'm itching to get moving. Action Item: At 7:30 grab the course map and get started. There's no reason stand there and pout.

We always stretch cold muscles before we workout. A lot of modern research indicates that cold muscle stretches increase injuries and fatigue. That stretching worries me every week. Action Item: Don't stretch with them. This isn't the military; they are not the boss of me. Don't stretch and don't feel guilty about not stretching.

I intensely disliked the trail. It was rocky - not "a little pebble here and there to get annoyingly in your shoe" but "watch out or you'll sprain your ankle". Also, it was at the bottom of a canyon so there was No-Breeze-At-All. It was also dusty, muddy, and smelly at varying points. When we climbed out of the canyon, it was a perfectly lovely, breezy day. Action Item: Not much to do here, but I can remember that the race course is actually quite lovely.

The heat. Between the later start and the lack of breeze I was pretty miserable. I did drink more than a liter of water so I wasn't dehydrated. I was still hot. The only other training session where I was truly miserable was on a very hot day. Action Item: Dorky as it is, I'm going to need to use my neck coolie thing. I know it looks like I've got a wet, drippy sausage around my neck, but it makes a huge difference in how comfortable I am.

All that whining complete, the company was wonderful and it was nice to be back out there. Afterwards we went to breakfast at Le Peep and I had the Granola Blueberry pancakes with tons of butter and syrup - a caloric splurge in honor of a 12 mile workout. Le Peep will always remind me of my old house in Texas. We'd walk to the Le Peep on Sunday mornings and read our New York Times over breakfast. Good Times. Today I read the Times while I soaked my sore muscles in the tub after my workout.