Thing the First: When “Easy” isn’t Easy
I went out for an “easy 3” run this morning and it was just about the toughest thing I’ve done lately! Oh, I’ve got my excuses – big bike ride yesterday (more about that in a bit), crazy schedule, etc. – but I still don’t like it when I feel like I’m struggling to maintain what should be a relaxed pace for a relatively short distance. I actually haven’t run at all since Sunday’s bunny hop. My poor training schedule has arrows all over it, because I’m juggling things here and rearranging things there. The workouts are still getting done, just not in the order they were planned and not always at the distances listed on the plan. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing – I’ve been pushing my bike mileage much faster than planned and my swim mileage is above where I thought I’d be by now, too. The run? Not so much. I think that’s why this morning was so tough. I finished it up, though, and had remarkably even splits, so I’m still calling it a workout victory. Final stats: 3 miles @ 8:35 pace.
Thing the Second: Epic Bike Ride
Okay, now before you go picturing some century ride or something, let me explain that my version of “epic” is probably a little smaller than yours. Before I took on this whole WTH thing and started measuring my bike rides by the hour, I had an 8-mile route, a 10-mile route, a 12-mile route and if I was feeling CA-razy, a 16-mile route. So, for me, yesterday’s 40-miler absolutely qualified for epic status! IronHubs and I went out for a really lovely (55 degrees, sunny, very little wind and excellent company) ride on a mostly traffic-free route along a really ugly canal which led us to the gorgeous American River Bike Trail. There was a nice portion of flats, followed by many miles of little rollers with lots of cornering and finally three solid miles of climbing. Since it was an out-and-back, the way home was blissfully net downhill. Overall, it was an awesome ride and I felt pretty confident about my cycling skills during the more “technical” parts. The only black spot on the day was that I had a total Garmin fail which was 100% user error – UGH! We only stopped a handful of times (traffic lights, a potty stop and a Honey Stinger stop because I’m way too uncoordinated to ride and eat a gel!), but each time I either forgot to stop my Garmin or, if I remembered to stop it, forgot to start it again. What a moron! Thankfully, IronHubs was much more diligent about his Garmin, so I just used his stats. The funny thing is, I don’t really know how much climbing we did. His Training Center data said we climbed 1300 or so feet. My Training Center data said we climbed about 1900 feet, but his Garmin Connect data said we only climbed 878 feet! I will happily accept the average and say we did about 1300 feet and my achy quads definitely agree. Final stats: 40.15 miles @ 16.3 mph.
Thing the Third: Farthest. Swim. Ever!
After yesterday’s bike ride and today’s run, I had to round things out with a little swimming action, so after I got back from my run this morning I suited up in neoprene and hopped in my chilly-but-swimmable backyard pool. The water temperature is hovering in the mid to high 60s now, which isn’t warm, but at least I can still feel my face after a few hundred meters. On the schedule for today was 2000 meters, but in the back of my mind, I was considering pushing the distance a little, maybe 2200. I’ve been doing 2000s for a few weeks now and I’m not going to say they’ve become easy, but they’re not as challenging as that first one was. I dilly-dallied for a long time before finally getting in the pool, and once I got in I immediately just wanted to be done, which isn’t a great start to a workout. It took a good 500 meters before I got into any sort of rhythm, but after that I was able to let my mind wander a little and just let my body swim. At 1000 meters, I thought, “Oooooh, halfway done… or maybe not.” Around 1500 meters, I decided that I was definitely going to make it to 2200, my longest swim to date. By the time I got to 1800 meters, I had done the math and decided that saying I had swum a mile and a half sounded WAY more hardcore than stopping at 2200. When I got to 2300 meters, I briefly considered going even farther because I felt so stinkin’ good, but then I realized that I had to get ready for work, so 2400 meters it was. Holy crap, I swam a mile and a half today! And even better than that, it was one of my faster swims! I know for plenty of you 2400 meters at a turtle’s pace is your warm-up, but for me, it was pretty much the crowning achievement of my week and I am basking in the glow of my awesomeness. Final stats: 2400 meters @ 2:33/100.
Happy, Happy Thursday, Friends!
Laurie says
Sorry the easy run felt tough, but as for the rest of it, you should be basking in that glow because it is pure awesomeness!!
Julie says
Happy Thursday!!!! I SO wish I had a pool in my backyard. OR BETTER>>> my own lake!
ajh says
The most I have ever ridden is about 43 and that was one ride for a special cause. I think that is great! I need to build up to that. I got tired biking to work this week.
Alma says
Definitely happy Thursday, P. Your training just amazes me. Your distances & speed are so impressive…and the difficulty level is no joke. I would be totally happy with 8:30 miles with all this training you’re doing. That’s fast! I’m so excited to see how your event goes but you also gotta do a sprint tri because it seems like you would just FLY through one right now.
The Green Girl says
Congratulations on the 40! Whoo hoo!
Running Ricig says
Um 40 miles on a bike is epic to me! That’s awesome! way to be!
Christi says
Congrats on the long ride and the long swim! I know how great it is in when you start hitting new numbers. Awesomeness!
Amber says
Everything in this posts seems epic!! I too have user errors with my Garmin…I frequently forget to start it. 🙂
Emily says
40 miles is totally epic in my book. well done!
ratherthecouch says
8:35 is fast! I don’t why you’re down on yourself!
Aimee says
Woohoo! Yay for your epic bike ride and your long swim! 🙂
Colleen says
So many things in the post to celebrate! Congrats on getting the run done. it truly was an epic ride. And that swim kicked butt! Way to be tough!