Preparing for the Big Race

Liberty Olympic Distance Triathlon is less than 5 weeks away! This is my biggest “A Race” for the year! (And Pharmie will be there doing the half-iron distance.) I’ve been doing pretty good ramping up my training, but I need to be doing a little better. Here are my recent thoughts / training / etc:

• Swim: I’ve only swam once in the last 2 weeks. Time to hit the pool. Julia has said that she’ll be at the pool a lot this week, and I HAVE to join her. (She didn’t say that I have to join her, but I know that I SHOULD join her!)

• Bike: I had 2 good bike rides last week. (Add in the duathlon a few days before, and I did 3 rides in 6 days!! That’s unheard of!!) But both of those training rides were on pretty flat trails. I hope to get out on a hillier mid-distance ride today.

• Run: I’ve only done 1 long-ish run since the duathlon last weekend, but I’m actually going to TRY to let my running “slide” a bit. My first thought this morning was “when can I fit in a run today?” After a weekend of doing nothing, that shouldn’t be my first thought. Running is my strongest suit (by a long shot), so I need to focus on my weaker areas. I’m not going to throw in the towel with regards to my running, but I want to spend a lot more time on my bike an in the pool over the next few weeks.

• My back is feeling a lot better, but it’s not quite back to 100%. Last Wednesday, I woke up and it felt like my tailbone needed to pop. I couldn’t get it to go, and it was really sore for a day. I would nearly collapse getting in and out of my car. It was better on Thursday and Friday. Sitting in a car for over 2 hours on Saturday made it ache, but now it’s really feeling good. Whatever it was, I think it’s done hurting.

• My butt is a little sore from “FumbleROOski” yesterday. That’s a made up game I play with my younger cousins. Before FumbleROOski, my cousins Kelsey, Brittany, Michael, and I went out for an early morning round of golf. It had been 5 or 6 years since I played a round, so I was just in it for the “family time.”

Look at that perfect horrible form


Kelsey, me, Brittany, and Michael after teeing off on the 5th


Me, Michael, and Brittany as Kelsey was driving us back to Grandpa and Grandma’s

I actually just bogeyed the first hole, but ended up 21 over par. On a 9-hole course. Yeah. Super. Thankfully, I still beat Britty. THAT would have been embarrassing!! ;)

Then we started a round of FumbleROOski. It’s a game where we tear up the side-lot next to our grandparent’s house by hoping on and off the golf cart at high speeds while throwing balls at each other’s heads. And sometimes you shout out “FumbleROOski” for extra points. (Note: points don’t matter in this game. You just try to make someone cry and try to NOT get hit by the golf cart.)

Bombing Kelsey


Kelsey retaliating


Michael hitting Britty so hard that she lost control of the golf cart

So all that sprinting makes my bum sore for a day or 2. Good burn. ;)

• One last trip back to one of the colleges where I teach, and I’m DONE at that school for the semester! It feels good to get grades / assessments all turned in! I have finals at the other college where I teach on Wednesday. Then I have 5 days before starting summer classes...

• I maybe shouldn’t have had 4 cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Yeah, this hilly bike ride might be a little rough...