As of 7AM this morning there were 504 hours to the start of “The Big One” but who’s counting? This is the time I get in the panic mode. It’s not fear, but concern that something is going to go wrong (an injury, a bike wreck, a bike mechanical problem that can’t be fixed, and on and on) and I won’t be able to do the race after all these weeks of training.

I’m told that last weekend was to be the inaugural Lansing Legislator Half Ironman. After waiting until 10 AM for dense fog to lift the Half was canceled and anyone who had signed up was forced to do an Olympic length race if they wanted to do anything at all. No refunds. We all know that when we sign up for races. So instead of doing a 1.2 mile swim, 56 mile bike and 13.1 mile run like they trained for, the racers did a .93 mile (1.5K) swim, 24.8 mile (40K) bike, and a 6.2  mile (10K) run. Bummer. That’s another one of my fears.

This past Wednesday I decided to swim in the pool to work on form and do some sprints. I also had a 7AM committee meeting at the hospital so it worked out better for me than going out to the lake. Wrong!! I didn’t wear my nose clip (I haven’t worn it in the lake for some time) and my sinuses got really inflamed from the chlorine. I have been sneezing and stuffed up ever since. I finally had to leave the house and go out to the lake before Jean asked me for the 50th time if I wanted to use her prescription nose spray (that’s illegal isn’t it?).

Jean came into the fitness center at around 6:20 and said she had driven out to Algonquin to swim, but it was so foggy she turned around at the store and came back to the pool. I understand that Bill, Eric and Becky swam anyway. Here’s the story as I was told, I think. Eric swam 4 lengths, showered and headed for work. The fog was so dense that he missed a turn at Hammond and Willits Roads and rolled his car. He wasn’t hurt but the car was totaled. Bill continued to swim until the fog, which had been hovering above the lake, dropped to the surface so it was impossible to see.

Becky started swimming back from Mark’s place which is across from Diane’s, swam around in circles and ended up back at Mark’s on the other side of the lake. It was impossible to see well enough to swim back to Diane’s so she started walking. In the meantime, Bill had finished swimming, gotten dressed, and went back down to the water to make sure Becky made it in OK. After several minutes Bill started to become very worried and thought about borrowing Diane’s Jet Ski and going to look for Becky. He was just about to go when he heard SLOSH! SLOSH! SLOSH! coming from the direction of the store. In a couple of minutes along came Becky, walking along the shoreline all the way from the other side of the lake.

I know the details aren’t exactly right, but that’s the gist of the story. The way rumors go, one could imagine that after Eric left, Bill and Becky were alone in the water, their actions shielded by fog. They decided to swim without wetsuits, got carried away, lost track of time and that’s why Becky was late for work. Bill’s wife is out of town and Becky is single. Hmmmm! You be the judge. I’m dumb enough to believe the fog story even though we all know that all three of them are smart enough not to swim in the fog when you can’t see where you are going and anyone in a boat couldn’t see you either.

Since this is a recovery week for me, the bike was a 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 hour HR#1 easy ride. I didn’t feel comfortable in the aerobars until around the halfway point. I know I’ve become a real wimp when it comes to bike weather. 52 degrees at the lake was too cold to start out early so I waited until 11AM. By then there was lots of traffic which made the ride from the lake up Norris Road to Chief Noonday Road exciting.

I was riding the last stretch of woods between Yankee Springs Road and Gun Lake Road and had just dropped to the aerobars when I heard a noise that scared the heck out of me. Most of you haven’t hunted deer, but those of you that have know the sound of a buck when he catches wind of a person and is startled. It’s like the combination of the blow from a snot rocket and an exhale in the TB ward at the VA hospital. A strong exhale through the nose with a distinctive wheeze mixed in. Well, I heard that sound followed by thundering hooves and I was petrified that the deer would run out in front of me, I would slam into the side of it, and, as they say, “…it would be all over but the shouting”. Of course he didn’t and here I am to tell about it, but I thought I may have to change my bike shorts.

I went West to Bradley and turned South on A-45 for the first time. I rode that down to 124th Avenue, turned back East through the metropolis of Shelbyville, and ended up at Gun Lake at the Allegan County boat launch. While going down A-45 I caught sight of an animal running inside a fenced area. The fence was wood and was about five feet high. I could see the back bobbing up and down so I thought at first it was a pony. It turned out to be a huge dog. He got to the end of the yard, stood up at the fence and took a bite out of one of the fence slats. Splinters flew everywhere and he spit out a big chunk of wood. He had that look in his eyes that seemed to say “I wish that was your leg”. Even though the road was flat, I was immediately in heart rate 3-4.

I don’t care how hard you try. No one can ride Lindsay Road from North to South up the big hill and keep the ride in HR#1. I was on the high side of 3 and pushing 4. After the hill is a slight downhill and then another small hill. I pushed up the hill to see what I had left in my legs and felt the bike bouncing. It took me about 300 yards before I realized my bike doesn’t have shock absorbers and shouldn’t bounce. I kept hearing this awful sound and thought my head bracket was loose or my bottom bracket (on the bike, not my bottom) had gone bad. I turned on Pine Lake Road and went halfway to Norris Road before I thought to look at the tires. Of course the back one was almost flat. It had air, but from a start of 116 pounds it was probably down to 35 or 40.

I hate changing tires on the road and it always seems to be the back one, so you take the wheel off and let the chain lay in the sand and road grit. It took just a few minutes and I was back on it riding the last 20 minutes home. I’m never comfortable after a tire change because I fear that I missed whatever caused the flat in the first place so my new tube will also probably go. Then I’m down to no spares and what do I do then? It’s not fun being paranoid. Maybe I should stop thinking that way and learn to “go with the flow”.

Just (Paranoid and Definitely Insane) Jack