Saturday morning I woke up at 4:00am to watch the Women's Triathlon in the Olympics, and was glad I did after seeing the photo finish. I met Uri at Yorktown afterwards, with the plan of biking with him until he got tired and then continuing on until I hit my goal of 40 miles. This time I brought my newly purchased repair bag, which straps on underneath the saddle. I also had my hand-pump, which attaches to the cross-bar on the frame and rattles slightly when the ground is bumpy. I also brought plenty of nutrition: two bottles of water, a bottle of gatorade, 2 gel packs, a gatorade prime pack, and a power bar.
Uri and I got started a little after 7:00, and I gulped down the gatorade prime (which tastes like liquid jello!) before heading out. Riding with a partner is much easier than going solo. Not only are they a welcome distraction, but drafting is fantastic. This was my first time drafting, and you can really tell a difference, especially going down hills where the wind resistance is high. We did three loops together, stopping after each one so Uri could refill his water and I could eat a gel pack.
After he left I continued on, feeling fantastic. However, I felt so good that I didn't pace myself well at all. My heart rate was in the 140s for most of the first three laps, but in lap 4 it was up in the 150s and 160s and I didn't bother to slow things down. After 36 miles I still felt good so I decided to do two more full laps, which would put me at 56 miles, the distance in a half-ironman. But in the next lap I really bonked. My heart rate quickly got into the 160s and never slowed down, even though I was riding at an easy pace. My legs started getting tired, and the hills got harder and slower, and after 50 miles I was done. Still a great accomplishment for me, but I learned a valuable lesson: no matter how good you feel, don't push yourself too hard too early. The data told me that I should have slowed down and I ignored it, and I paid the price.
Before now I've been using triathlon shorts for biking, and on Friday I bought some cycling-specific shorts. They're significantly more comfortable with a larger, thicker chamois pad. I felt good during the entire ride Saturday, and can't wait to see how they feel when I do intervals on Monday.
Sunday morning I woke up and had no motivation to do a long run. My quads were sore, it's was hot/humid at 6:00am, and the Women's Marathon was on, followed by tennis. So Bre went running and I stayed in and relaxed. At 11:00 I went to the pool (since I skipped it on Saturday) for my swim workout, and I tried another new trick. I found a website that talks about how most swimmers don't exhale enough, and suggested a way to test this: go to the deep end, take a deep breath, and float under water. Then start exhaling air until you begin to sink. The amount of air required to sink is how much you should expel while swimming. I did this for a few minutes to get a feel for the amount and then swam my routine, and I felt pretty damn good the whole time. Between that, swimming every stroke, and adding breast stroke every 4th length I had no problem doing my 400m long swim, which I finished in 7:48. Slightly slower than on Thursday, but I felt better the whole time, and probably could have done more. My arms still ache by the end of the 100m sets, but I'm not getting winded anymore and they were noticeably easier. The 50s were a breeze as well. After that I was very thirsty and could tell I was getting sunburned, so I only did 4 sets of 25 before calling it quits. Felt great, and ate like a horse the rest of the day.
Two more hard weeks of training before tapering for the RockNRoll half-marathon on Sep 2 and my sprint triathlon on Sep 9. I'm getting excited!
Uri and I got started a little after 7:00, and I gulped down the gatorade prime (which tastes like liquid jello!) before heading out. Riding with a partner is much easier than going solo. Not only are they a welcome distraction, but drafting is fantastic. This was my first time drafting, and you can really tell a difference, especially going down hills where the wind resistance is high. We did three loops together, stopping after each one so Uri could refill his water and I could eat a gel pack.
After he left I continued on, feeling fantastic. However, I felt so good that I didn't pace myself well at all. My heart rate was in the 140s for most of the first three laps, but in lap 4 it was up in the 150s and 160s and I didn't bother to slow things down. After 36 miles I still felt good so I decided to do two more full laps, which would put me at 56 miles, the distance in a half-ironman. But in the next lap I really bonked. My heart rate quickly got into the 160s and never slowed down, even though I was riding at an easy pace. My legs started getting tired, and the hills got harder and slower, and after 50 miles I was done. Still a great accomplishment for me, but I learned a valuable lesson: no matter how good you feel, don't push yourself too hard too early. The data told me that I should have slowed down and I ignored it, and I paid the price.
Before now I've been using triathlon shorts for biking, and on Friday I bought some cycling-specific shorts. They're significantly more comfortable with a larger, thicker chamois pad. I felt good during the entire ride Saturday, and can't wait to see how they feel when I do intervals on Monday.
Sunday morning I woke up and had no motivation to do a long run. My quads were sore, it's was hot/humid at 6:00am, and the Women's Marathon was on, followed by tennis. So Bre went running and I stayed in and relaxed. At 11:00 I went to the pool (since I skipped it on Saturday) for my swim workout, and I tried another new trick. I found a website that talks about how most swimmers don't exhale enough, and suggested a way to test this: go to the deep end, take a deep breath, and float under water. Then start exhaling air until you begin to sink. The amount of air required to sink is how much you should expel while swimming. I did this for a few minutes to get a feel for the amount and then swam my routine, and I felt pretty damn good the whole time. Between that, swimming every stroke, and adding breast stroke every 4th length I had no problem doing my 400m long swim, which I finished in 7:48. Slightly slower than on Thursday, but I felt better the whole time, and probably could have done more. My arms still ache by the end of the 100m sets, but I'm not getting winded anymore and they were noticeably easier. The 50s were a breeze as well. After that I was very thirsty and could tell I was getting sunburned, so I only did 4 sets of 25 before calling it quits. Felt great, and ate like a horse the rest of the day.
Two more hard weeks of training before tapering for the RockNRoll half-marathon on Sep 2 and my sprint triathlon on Sep 9. I'm getting excited!
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