Not Doing A Damned Thing

I walked Asia today.  That's been about it.  I was going to take advantage of the weather and go for a ride but I decided against it.  While I was walking Asia I started to design the ride thinking about how far/long I should go, what kinds of terrain, what my heart rate should be, if I should just ride at MAF and so on.  I decided that since I was being a dumbass about it and looking at it and trying to formulate it into some kind of a training ride I would just not ride.  When I realized that, I decided I really didn't need to ride as it sort of goes against the whole rest and recovery mode that I am trying to stay in for at least a month.  No running... but more importantly nothing structured and definitely NO TRAINING!

I will share something interesting though for those driven by data and maybe someone can answer this one for me.  This chart was taken from the 5K that I ran on Thanksgiving Day in Maryland.  You can see my heart rate went way up there.  If you see the yellow line on the chart, everything above that is 180 BPM and over.  Now here is my question.  I am 45 years old.  According to the 220 formula for max heart rate, I should top out at 175 beats per minute.  Well, my average heart rate for this race was 176.  AVERAGE! So how in the hell is it my heart rate could go that high and I didn't exactly die?

Everything above the yellow line is 180 BPM +.  How did I do that?

But resting is weird.  Nice but weird.  It is hard to believe it was just a year ago tomorrow that Lucho and I started working towards Leadman.  And even after August it really didn't stop as I still had the JFK on the table.  I know I like to race but I also know that deep down I really get into the process of training maybe for no other reason as it lends some purpose to my life.  But I also know right now that I am waaay burned out and need the break more than anything else.  I need to learn to do other things and or just do the things I love just for the simple act of enjoyment if for no other reason.  I also think I need to remaster the art of just sitting still.  Well, at least until the next lofty goal or set of goals comes down the pike but until then, chill.

I am still doing the Summit for Life next weekend and my goals for that are modest.  Just get to the top of the mountain.  It's a hike and it will be fun.  Actually I have been looking forward to this event more than just about anything else this fall.  Start up Aspen Mountain at 6:00 P.M.  get the top where there is dinner and a party waiting at the Sundeck and then ride the gondola back down.  It will be fun.

That being said I am still taking donations for this race.  My goal is to raise $1000 and as of right now I am at $850.  Please think about supporting this event put on by the Chris Klug Foundation which works to raise awareness for tissue and organ donation.  You can make a donation by going to my personal racing page here. Thank you!