Ride Across Tennessee

The yellow line is the line separating Kentucky and Tennessee 

Starting point: Fulton, KY and South Fulton, TN
Ending point: “Welcome to Mississippi” sign on Highway 22 South
Approximate distance: 125 miles

Notes from a February 5, 2016, scouting trip:

• The ride will start at the intersection of Broadway and State Line Street. 
• There is a large parking lot by an insurance agency. 
• We will take Broadway south. It turns into 45E South.
• Around 20 miles in there is an Exxon Station at Dresden

  

  This is how much of northern 70 miles look

• Around 45 miles we will come to Huntington. We could go the 22 business, but it is a bit narrow and slightly confusing. The other option–preferred in my opinion–is to take the bypass. It will probably add 2 miles to the trip, but there are gas stations and food option. The business portion has neither.

(Because I measured everything based on the going the business way, my mileage estimates from now on are truly estimates. I am going to add 2 miles to every note I made, thinking this is what the bypass adds.)

There are bike route signs for most of the course

• There is a gas station around 58 miles.
• There is a gas station around 64 miles at Parker’s Crossroads. This is where we will cross I-40. There are some food options also: DQ, Subway, McDonalds.
• There is a gas station around 71 miles at Lexington.
• There is a gas station around 75 miles.
• Around the 77 mile mark, the road goes to 2 lanes without shoulders. It appears to be lightly traveled. It is straight, hilly, and provides lots of visibility for cars.
• A rumble strip at the very edge of the lane is added about mile 86.
• There is a gas station around mile 95. The rumble strip stops for a while beginning here.
• Around mile 96 a wide shoulder begins.
• Around mile 104 we will have 4 lanes for about a mile.
• Around this point, we will go straight onto 117 after stopping at stop sign. We could take 22, but it is longer and less safe in my judgment. This in Adamsville. Just a note: this is Buford Pusser’s hometown, and they are proud of it. We should be careful. I’m not sure how they will feel about men in bright tight clothes with lycra shorts.
• We begin 2 lanes again, and we will have them the rest of the way.
• Around mile 111 we will take 142 East  There is a “bike route” sign again!
• There is a gas station around 114. We turn right onto 22 South for the final push.
• There is a gas station around 122 at Acton.
• The “Welcome to Mississippi” sign is right around 125 miles. Less than a mile down the road is a good place to load up, etc. This is where 22 intersects Highway 2.

Corinth is about 10 miles away and has lots of eating options, etc. It seems a lot like Bedford from what I could tell by driving around briefly.

That’s what I know about the course! Now, we need to nail the day/time down. Then we can start figuring out where to stay, etc.

If there are any macho men in the group, you could spend the night in Corinth and then ride the Natchez Trace trail back to Nashville. It is a 100 miles from the Alabama line to Nashville. It is a relatively short drive over to The Trace from Corinth. Of course, you could hop on the Trace and keep going south also.

Tuesday Morning

Good morning! I hope you are doing well today. I woke up earlier than I wanted to, which is common for me. I really try to get 8 hours of sleep, but it rarely happens. My body, it seems, thinks anything over 7 is adequate. I feel so much better when I get closer to 8, however. Oh well, I am blessed to get that much, I know. I hear about how little others sleep and know to be grateful for what I get.

Yesterday was Miles Monday, as Jimmy calls it. It will, in a matter of weeks, become Tempo Tuesday. He confirmed what I thought: Tuesday Pace Line rides will cease after the USAT Club National Championship, which is September 12, I think. Instead of riding on Tuesday evenings, we will run.

My riding is taking second priority now. This is according to my plan to increase my running fitness in preparation for the Monumental Marathon. I hope to get my miles to near 30 this week. Last week I did 25. I hope to move that on up to around 40 per week. This will be easier as I move the long run up toward the 20-mile mark.

Last night was very hot and humid, more so than last week. I was determined to try do the speed work anyway. I figure whatever I can do now will pay off later, even if I am slower due to heat. Before I get to my effort, which seems pretty weak when compared to what the other did, let me express my respect for Jim, Tim, Ryan, and I think Rand. I say that about Rand because I do not know what he did. He did look good when I saw him.

The other 3 ran 5 miles in the 6:50ish range. That's impressive to me, especially in last night's conditions. There is no need for me to compare myself to them, I know, so I use them as inspiration to do better.

Last night I ran 2 miles, each at a 7:10 pace, according to my Strava data. Last week I ran 1 mile at 6:57. The only knock I have about last night's performance is that I had to stop after the first mile to reset my heart. I don't know how high my rate was. I do know at the end of the second mile it was 183. Looks like the average rate, according to the segment data, was 172 for the first mile and 177 for the second. That's pretty high and a reflection of the heat index.

I appreciate Scott running with me. He cruised easily through both miles. It was nice to have him there to keep me company and to keep me honest in my effort.

Tonight we ride!

Sunday Morning

Cora's a little daredevil!

Good morning! I'm up and at it, so I thought I would do a little post this morning. I have work to do today, but I can do this also. A multi-talented-tasker I am - ha  ha.

There is not a whole lot to report. I took Friday off from endurance work. I did cut some wood and do some other physical activities. I was anticipating Saturday morning's run. It has been a while since I've run long with the group. My pace by myself is getting closer to the group pace, so I thought this was a good time to give it a shot.

Before I got there, I saw Lester pushing Cora in the running stroller, heading toward Parkview. This was a nice little bonus. I was going to get to see Cora. When I arrived at Parkview, I saw Chris getting a stroller out to push his cute son, Eli. "Hmmm, two strollers: this should slow things down a bit," I thought to myself.

Kind of like the cancellation of the swim portion at Ironman Florida, I was a little disappointed and relieved at the same time. I was ready for a faster test run, but it was humid and could wait for another day. The strollers did keep things manageable, but it was still a pretty good pace.

Lester dropped off and headed home with about 4 miles to go, and after a water stop at the cable company, we spread out a little. Miller, Rand, and Scott pulled out a bit, with Jimmy, Chris (and Eli) and me following. The distance of separation was not much.

Once we got to the First Assembly church heading toward Washington, it was time for me to make a little move. I decided I wanted to finish with the front guys. I pushed myself a bit and closed the gap. By the time we got to the Senior Citizens Center, I was with them. I stayed with them until the finish. I guess that explains my 10th mile being a 7:45 pace.

This was a good run for me. I got to see Cora, and I got to push myself a bit at the end and was plenty strong. Today I am going to totally rest. Next up: 2 miles of speed on Miles Monday.

Thursday

It's Thursday midday, and I started this post early Wednesday morning. Life keeps happening, which is good of course. I am way out of my blogging routine, so it is taking me a little while to find a rhythm. (I find rhythm one of the hardest words to spell.)

Since we last met I have had 3 training sessions. One on the bike followed by 2 five mile runs. Let's start with this morning's run. I really expected a good run this morning. The weather was nice - around 60 degrees, and I slept really well last night. I felt rested and ready to go. For some reason, however, I just didn't have much. I'm not concerned about it. I think it may be residual tiredness from the last 3 days.

Yesterday's run was tough, and I knew it would be. I always find the morning run after the hard Tuesday night bike ride to be difficult. The bike ride, coupled with Monday night's hard workout, made for a difficult one yesterday, but I decided to push a little anyway. I was pleased with the results. I feel like my running is finally returning to my pre-hamstring problems of 2013. From late March 2013 all way through last year's Ironman training, I was battling that problem, which really slowed me.

As I move toward Monumental Marathon, I need to keep increasing my speed a little. Running with the group will certainly help me. My goal for Monumental is to go between 8:10 and 8:15. I think I could realistically qualify at 8:19. That pace would put me under my qualifying time of 3:40 by about 2 minutes. All this should be doable.

Tuesday night's ride was fun. We had a big, fun crew. There was a northwest wind, which has been unusually typical this summer. It made for a good ride out, and then we worked together coming back. The low humidity was a welcome change.

Tuesday A.M.

Good morning! I'm back so soon! I hope you are doing well today.

Last night was another installment of Jimmy's Monday Miles, which is Tempo Tuesday moved to Monday because we are still doing Paceline Tuesday on our bikes. I am not sure when we switch off the Tuesday bike rides.

My guess is after the USAT Club Nationals.  The club we are a part of, Tri Loco, has a really good shot of winning it. Jimmy, Rand, maybe Miller, are the ones I know going. I thought about but decided against it. Every participant who finishes earns points for the club.

So last night was my first experience of Monday Miles and my first speed work session since I don't remember when. It was warm and humid, so my plan was to do one mile. That's what I did, and I was pleased to be able to break the 7-minute barrier with a 6:57. Next week I will do 2-3, depending upon the conditions, etc. I will slow down some also.

Jim and Tim (Miller) ran together and averaged around 6:43, I think. That, to me, is a pretty impressive performance at this point in these conditions. Rand also did some, and true to Rand's nature, we don't know his times - ha ha. He looked good and like he gave it all he had.

The Monday Miles, which will likely become Tempo Tuesday in mid-September, plan is to increase the distance each week. I'm already behind, so I plan to run with the group and carve out what I can. I'm looking forward to it.

Tonight is our bike ride. Who will show up? It looks like, yet again, a northwest wind. That means a quick ride out and then a good team effort to get back. Then we eat!

And now for your viewing pleasure:

Back at It

Well, now I partially know why I quit blogging before -- life gets in the way. I had a bit a of crazy last week. I help some unusual people with unusual problems, and they don't conform to the way most of us live and work. Not a complaint.

I also did not feel very well. I ended up taking off Wednesday and Thursday. I got back on track Friday morning with a 10 mile run in Bloomington. Why there? I decided I wanted something a little different, plus I needed to go to Indy to see my friend who had the double-lung transplant 3 weeks ago. He is doing amazingly well, by the way.

What to do on Saturday? I found peace about what happened in the swim at Cicero, and I decided that the Columbus tri really was not that important to me. It would cost me north of a $100 and a big chunk of the day. I watched the email traffic about possible plans. Roy, Rand, and Tim were doing Columbus, and others were doing various things, including Iron John going long on the bike.

In the end, Dr. Lucky and I had a nice conversational ride. I think it was just what I needed. I got some time on the bike but did not work too hard. That sets me up for this week. Further setting up this week was a total rest day yesterday. I had planned on swimming, but it just did not fit in with several things.

My focus now is training for the Monumental Marathon. On the way to that, I hope to have good races at the Persimmon 5K and the Bedford Half Marathon. They both fit nicely in the training plan. It all begins tonight with a mile or two of tempo. That should be challenging in the heat and humidity.

The trio of triathletes mentioned above did really well in Columbus! Here is a link to the results page. OK, I have a lot more on my mind, but I will save it for next time. Hopefully, that will be soon. Thanks for stopping by!

Wednesday Morning

Good morning! I hope everyone is doing well today. I am not feeling too well and haven't since Sunday. I think I got the brain-eating amoeba at Cicero, and it's going through death throes since it cannot find enough food to sustain its life. Whatever it is, I don't feel quite right - not sick enough to shut down and go to bed but just not right. Oh well, life goes on.

I've tried to go on as well. I did a little 3 mile run Monday morning which went OK, and then Monday evening after a Back to School supply giveaway at church, I went swimming at the pool. It went OK. I just seem to fight the water and cannot find comfort in it. My biggest goal for the fall and winter is to improve swimming. I need to find someone who can really teach me how to do it. I think I need several drills and ways to break it down into components. I really have no idea what I'm doing. But 3 years ago I couldn't swim at all. There is hope!

Yesterday I met up with Lester a little after 3 for a ride. I needed to bag corn in Bryantsville last night with a group from church, so the evening ride was out. This worked out well since the Tuesday ride was moved to Monday anyway. The afternoon ride with Lester revealed my weakness related to this "bug" I'm fighting. I rode slowly and even then it was difficult. I cut it a little short.

Today I had originally planned a 10 miler for early this morning, but I opted to do nothing. I just don't have it. I hope this is the last day of this thing. The rest won't hurt me.

Columbus tri on Saturday? I'm still undecided. Right now I am leaning toward NO. We'll see. My biggest goal right now is Monumental and having a good day on November 7. I am focused on improving my eating, striving to lose about 5 pounds. This will help me run better.

Looks like the Monday Miles, which became Tempo Tuesday, went well for Jimmy and friends? I saw a little Strava data that leads me to believe this. I hope to join with this next week.

The results from Cicero Tri are now available. I don't know how accurate they are. I think mine (below) are about right. I'm actually encouraged by them. Take away the swim disaster and I had a decent day.

I hope you have (or had) a great day!