Thursday, June 22, 2006

Cold Turkey Century

Before anyone gets too relaxed and comfy let me give fair warning: I'm trying to kick the coffee habit. Actually, I’ve been off java for over a week. So, I can’t be held totally responsible for what I might blog in the coming days.

My timing for putting on the cold turkey isn’t totally perfect. For starters last week I decided to begin my M-W-F morning swim a half-hour earlier to get in a full 90 minute workout. Now my alarm clock rattles my tired butt out of the sack at 4:15. (I know Wil; to you 4:15 is the midway point of your training day.) And, I pass eight thousand Starbucks on the way to the pool. Ohhh, so tempting.

Plus, my oldest daughter doesn’t get home from work until after 10 PM. If I don’t stay awake I’ll miss her return and not get to see her. You know, be there as a dad just in case she wants to talk. Lenno is introducing his second guest by the time I hit the sheets.

"How's it going?" you might ask. Well... It’s been a long week of withdrawal headaches, afternoon dozing, and general lack of humor. But things seemed to be getting a little easier. That was until this morning when the boss treated the office to a full custom espresso and cappuccino service. The delicious scent of those roasted pearls of heaven wafted down the hallway and into my office.

And... and... I can resist anything but temptation.

On my way to the coffee cart I stopped short, turned around, and closed my door. Whew, that was close. All was better now, right?

Nah!

A second later my assistant came into my office for our morning briefing and what does she have in her hand? A double mocha cap. Ugh. I told her I was trying to kick the coffee habit and she said with a wink, “Slurrrrp… that’s too bad for you cuz this stuff is great. Slurrrrp.” Ugh... ugh!

It was a very short meeting.

Another reason why ditching caffeine now is crappy is this weekend I will attempt my first full 100 mile bike ride. (My longest distance to date is 75.) I’ll be leaving the house at 4:00 AM to make the trip to the start of the rally.

(Probably passing sixteen thousand Starbucks on the way.)

Errrggh!

The forecast is for temperatures in the high 90s, 80% humidity, and winds gusting to 25.

Uh boyh.

Wish me luck.

Stay tuned…

8 comments:

Deb said...

I'm getting a withdrawl headache just reading your post! Love it too much.....hats off. Gotta go get coffee ready for the morning. ;)

:) said...

Dude. I wish I would have known you were riding in Waxahachie this weekend. I would have made plans to ride with you! Crap. It is less than an hour from mi casa.

Have a great ride...it's gonna be hot! How fast are you planning to ride?

TriBoomer a.k.a. Brian said...

Flatman,

That would have been great to ride with you. This was a last moment thing put on my calendar by my coach otherwise I would have put it on the blog earlier.

The plan is for me to stay in a low heart rate zone between 135 and 145 beats per minute. That should put me at a 17 - 18 mph.

Stay tuned...

D said...

Wow - I'm going to watch your progress as I am addicted to coffee - my crutch in life!

Thanks for your comment. Good luck on the coffee withdrawal!

Cara said...

After completing a half iron a century will be a breeze for you. No worries! Have fun!

Allez said...

I saw your link on another blog... I'm moving to the Dallas area & curious if you know of any good cycling/running trails or local clubs. I'm hooked on coffee too :-)

greyhound said...

No Coffee???? Boomer, that's crazy talk. Don' do anything rash. Step away from the ledge and no one has to get hurt.

It's all about the bean. The elixir of life. By the name of all that's holy, shake yourself.

Coco said...

Argh! good luck kicking the coffee habit. I've tried roughly a dozen times...and I'm 23! But it is bad for you and your body will thank you....just much later, after it punishes you with moodswings and a migraine. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Now that I know I can stand the pain of a piercing...I'm ready to try running. I suck at it but reading blogs like yours spurs me on!