Swim, Bike, Run: DONE!

I had 2 big days of workouts yesterday and today. These were my last BIG workouts before the Liberty Olympic Triathlon next weekend! None of these were SUPER great, but they were all SOLID.

Friday: 2000 yard hard swim.
I tried to be fast and smooth through the water. I focused on form. I’ve swam faster before, but this workout felt good. I did 40 laps (2000 yards) in 33:57, which is an average of 1:41.9 / 100 yds. Good.

Saturday: BRICK: 25 mile ride and 10K run.
It was supposed to rain. I was hoping it wouldn’t. It was a cool 40-45 degrees but DRY as I was getting ready to go. But as soon as I took my bike outside, it started raining:

Dang.

Well, I hit the road. I was telling myself that today was mostly about the run, so I could cut the bike down to 20 miles if I wanted. It was slowly drizzling the whole time. I was pretty sure I was headed out with the wind, so I was holding a decent average. Usually I’m AGAINST the wind on the way out, so this was new.

After 9 miles, I figured I could go a full 25 miles. I was pretty proud of myself for deciding to “go the distance.” At the turn around, I realized that I WAS heading out WITH the wind. Now I had 12.5 miles left, all back INTO the wind. Yay.

My average was heading south, but I was getting in a good workout. It started raining harder. And it felt colder. Here’s my overall average speed from different points when I checked it throughout the ride, and it tells the story pretty well:

Mile 8: 20.0 mph
Mile 11: 20.0 mph
Mile 12.5: 20.0 mph (turn around)
Mile 15: 19.8 mph
Mile 19: 19.7 mph
Mile 21.5: 19.5 mph (Hiawatha Bridge)
Mile 23.5: 19.5 mph (end of Greenway)
Mile 25: 19.5 mph

I hopped off Goldilocks and ran up to the house. Here’s a shot of me cold and wet (it was about 45 degrees at this point):

I like how my visor is crooked. Wait, no I don’t.

I took off my helmet and shoes, and my feet were wet and mostly numb:

Notice my chilly, red ankles

I said “Hi” to Steph and Borsch, grabbed one gel to eat right away and one to take with me, and headed out on the run. Overall, I had a 6:00 - 6:30 transition time.

I didn’t know how far I’d be able to run. I forgot my gels for the bike, so I didn’t know if I’d bonk. I ended up going about 6.3-6.4 miles (just a bit farther than a 10K), which is what I wanted to do. I was VERY PROUD that I was able to go the distance on this tough training day. It reminded me of a quote that I shared during my marathon training. I heard this on a PBS special about Marines and their training:

The Spartans had a saying that went something like this: “Training is less about strengthening the back, and more about strengthening the mind.”

Today’s workout hopefully strengthened my back a little, but it was a REAL “mind strengthening” workout. Anyone who’s trained for a race that lasts a few hours knows what I’m talking about!

Here are my wet run splits after my wet bike ride:
(Unless noted, the splits are 1/2 mile splits.)

4:21 (about 0.7 mile)
3:22
3:23
3:15
3:13
3:14
3:01
3:12
3:02
2:55
2:53
3:53 (about 0.7 mile)

First half: 20:51
Second half: 19:01

Total “running” time: 39:52 - 6:19 / mile average
Total “clock” time: 42:20 (including time stopped at stop-lights)

Here I am once I finished. This is in the “Top 10 Unsexy Photos of Steve.”

MAYBE a cold open-water swim tomorrow. Have a great weekend everyone!!