A little rest, some calories, and then back at it!

I planned to take Friday off. I didn't plan to take Saturday off, but it was raining and I didn't feel comfortable going for a long ride in it. Too many folks around here seem to lose all sense and good measure when the clouds open. So, we worked in the house on Saturday instead. I did move a bunch of stuff, including our (still in boxes) Smith machine, so I guess I did get a bit of exercise for my back. :-)

Sunday was planned for just some swimming, but I began to hope for a nice ride back from Clemson, only about 36 miles, to home. I was all ready to do it, but the wind was kickin' like karate and I wussed out. Good thing, since Mendy developed a ripping headache by the time we left Clemson.

I failed horribly to accurately time my swim, but it didn't matter much since we didn't know the exact distance. It was estimated at 400m for the loop, and we did it thrice, so 1200m via 400m x 3. I timed the middle one, and figured that was my average which gave me 1m 07s per 100m. Hmmm, either there really IS something to this wetsuit thing, or the distance was WAY off. Oh well, I'll take it.

After the swim, Mendy and I bent the ear of Chris Giordanelli (The G-Man) for a while about the sport, cycling, age, etc. He's a truly great guy, very patient, and full of knowledge. I do hope to take him up on his offer of the lake swims, and maybe even the bike travel case...some day. At any rate, I look forward to doing some more training and racing with him in the future. By the way, he had a crazy workout that day (which I termed a bizarro-athlon): 13 mile run, with the fastest at the end; 67 mile bike ride, again with the fastest in the last 9 miles; and the 1200m swim with the group. Yikes!

By the time we got home, I had it in my mind to do a scorching brick workout (well, relative to my ability) to round out the day and make up for Sat. I know I have to start tapering a bit by mid-week, so I sold Mendy on the idea. It was too early to eat anyway, so she gave me the blessing. As I mentioned, the wind was blowing pretty well, but I managed to crank out 43m 15s TT on the standard 14.7 mile route. That was a 20.41 average. Overall, down from last Wednesday by a bit over a minute and about 1/2 mph. 1m 04s transition and on to the run...

I did my standard 2.4 mile brick route, that has 1077 total feet climbed in the route. I started very conscious of my stride and cadence, based on this T3Coaching.com Brick article, making sure my stride was short and quick. This helps me immensely, and I highly recommend anyone doing bricks or multi sport to at least try it. About 1/2 mile into my run I was at full stride, but still trying to stay conscious of my stride and heel strike. I'm trying to run with a flatter foot/heel strike to be more efficient. Anyway, on the return I was feeling really good so I cranked it up. And up. And UP. SUCCESS!!! I finally broke into the 6's on a brick run: 2.4 miles, 16m 39s, 6m 56s/mile. w00t!

I was pretty jazzed by the time, but I could feel it. Time to celebrate with some blistering hot chicken "wings". I say it with quotes because we opt for a meal called Chicken Feathers at the Wild Wing Cafe. They are simply boneless and skinless breast tenders, grilled on a skewer, and basted with your favorite of the 30-ish sauces. Mine is the wicked-hot Braveheart sauce. Burns ya twice! Washed it down with a Thomas Creek Red, and went home to watch the rest of Happy Feet. Eh, not my choice, but Grace liked it a bit. A fun family night, so it's worth it.

Today I was feeling pretty decent, despite some dubious rumors and news at work, so I did my normal distance swim at lunch. Not any world-record pace, but decent. I managed to swim 1100yds in 21m 44s, for a 1m59s/100yd pace. Not bad, considering I had my big baggy shorts on (sorry Scott).

Tomorrow I may go for a nice little run, 6 miles or so. Have to fit it in at lunch, so I can't go crazy or do a long ride. Perhaps another brick on Wednesday, or just a casual ride, and lay off Thursday and Friday for the big race...

Clemson Triathlon on Saturday!!! The field will be pretty deep, so I need to do my best. I am currently sitting in 3rd place in points for my age group in the SC Tri Series, which I'm pretty happy about. I'd like to hold on to that, and improve if possible. We'll see...