Training Week 7: 1/28/08 - 2/3/08

Planned Training
Monday - 1/28/08:
Rest day!
Tuesday - 1/29/08:
AM - none
PM - Run = 30 min easy treadmill run, Bike = 1 hr trainer ride done
Wednesday - 1/30/08:
AM - Swim = 45 min (2000 yd) swim at noon done
PM - Run = 40 min treadmill run done
Thursday - 1/31/08:
AM - none
PM - Bike = 1 hr 30 min ride home from work done
Friday - 2/1/08:
AM - Swim = 1.5 hr (3600 yds) swim at noon at Sunnyside done
PM - Run = 50 min easy treadmill run done
Saturday - 2/2/08:
AM - Run = 1 hr 10 min done
PM - Swim = 1 hr (2900 yds) swim at Udall done
Sunday - 2/3/08:
AM - Bike = 5 hr ride done

Weekly S/B/R Compliance (based on BT training plan):
Swim = 197 min / 175 min = 112%
Bike = 482 min / 450 min = 107%
Run = 235 min / 190 min = 124%

Total SBR training time for Week #7 = 15.2 hrs

Wednesday, 1/30/08 Update:
Not much to report this week. I keep looking at the ticker and 2 months 2 weeks sounds like it's right around the corner. Yet when I look at the training plan it's so far away. 17 weeks of training is a heck of a long time. I'm at Week 7, which isn't even half way. The training is starting to wear on me. I'm tired ALL of the time. Simple tasks like cleaning the house don't happen because I get done with a workout and just want to sit down and rest. You get used to always being tired, and always being sore somewhere. After awhile it starts to get old.

Tomorrow I will post my training totals of this month vs. last year at this time (I was following the same training plan). I'm curious to see how different it is.

Thursday, 1/31/08 Update:
Hey Holly! Guess what I have in my lunch today?!? Chick peas! He he. Holly makes fun of my chick peas...ever since Ragnar. She was re-arranging the food in the cooler and came across my strange bowl of chickpeas and kidney beans with cheese. I remember she was like "Who's is this?!?" And I had to fess up it was mine. Sort of like having your grannie panties or some crazy sexual toy discovered. It's mine! Give it back! Shuddup! ;-)

Today's lunch is a big ol' salad of spinach, pasta squiggles, kidney beans, chick peas, olives, feta cheese, and oil/vinegar dressing. Being vegetarian, the chick peas and kidney beans are great. I'm wolfing down my lunch at 11am as I'm leaving work early to ride my bike home. Hmm...if I get home early enough, dare I say, I could go to Master's swim? And get a workout done early this week?. No, forget it. Now that I wrote it it won't happen. I never typed that. Stop reading.

Race Report: Sun Run 10K - 1/27/08

This was the first 10K I've ever done, and the first Southern Arizona Roadrunners event that I've attended. The coach that developed the training plan that I'm following for Ironman said I should mix some 10K races in to help with running speed, which I lack severely. So the Sun Run 10K fit perfectly in the schedule.

Somehow I convinced my husband Zac to come along and do the run as well. I used the "You just ran a half marathon 2 weeks ago...you'll be fine" argument to help. And he agreed. Plus he said the running has helped his mountian bike fitness, so this has helped me keep a running partner now that PF Chang's was over.

We got to Reid Park early to pick up our T-shirts and race numbers. We got there way earlier than we should have, probably because we're used to getting to tris early to set up all the stuff. Running races are great because you have very little to prepare. No bike to bring along, no wetsuit, etc. So instead we stayed in my Jeep and hung out and talked to friends.

Finally it was time for the race to start. It was cloudy, but no rain. I opted for running shorts and a sleeveless jersey, as I always get warm running. We put ourselves towards the back of the group and in with other Tri Girls. The gun went off and we started running with the herd. I tried to stay with Zac, but my week of training quickly caught up with me. I had done a 2 hr run on Wednesday and a hilly bike ride on Saturday, so once again I was already on tired legs. Maybe one of these days I'll be able to do a running race on fresh legs. I had to watch the pace because my right kneecap had been hurting ever since PF Chang's. I knew it was from the increased running volume, and the correct answer is to take a few weeks off and let it rest. Will I do that? Of course not! I can rest after April. I checked my Garmin and we were running an 8:50 pace, so I told Zac I had to slow down and he could go ahead. I knew he wanted to run his own race and see how fast he could do a 10K, so it was no big deal if we didn't run together. He took off and I faded back and settled into a more comfortable pace.

Due to the rain it was crazy humid out. I ran along, trying not to back down on my pace too much and still push myself. I had a secret time goal of averaging under a 10 min/mile pace. The group had thinned out, so I ran along as we ran around Reid park. As we turned towards 22nd street my spidey sense started tingling and I knew Shari was behind me. There was no way I was going to turn around to check. So my new goal was see how far I could make it before Shari passed me. We ran along the golf course and I heard a package of Shot blocks being opened. Yep, that's Shari for sure. This part of the course the wind was at our backs so my glasses started fogging up and the sweat started pouring. I was glad to finally reach Country Club and get some air.

We passed mile 4 and boy did I want to slow down and walk. I told myself the fastest way to be done with this was to keep running. Besides, Shari was still back there. I got to mile 5 and people started passing me for the sprint of the last mile. There was no way I was sprinting. This was the speed I could go and that was it. If Shari came sprinting by I was going to let her go as there was no way I could go any faster. The last mile took FOREVER. We ran through residential streets and I wondered where the heck the 6 mile sign was. Finally it came into view as we made the turn towards the finish. I saw the race clock said 58 min, so I was going to be able to come in under my goal. Some gal came sprinting by and I thought it might be Shari...nope, long pants and green shirt...not Shari. I got to the finish, stopped my watch, and tore my race tag off and grabbed some water. THEN I turned around and Shari was right there. I knew it! We started laughing and talking how we had been pushing each other the entire time. I know Shari just started up her training again, so it's just a matter of time she'll be blowing by me again. But it was great motivation for the race.

We walked around with Zac for 10 min to cool down, then made a beeline for the pancake line. Pancakes after a race are the best thing ever! Normally I'll eat 1 or 2, but I slammed 3 down in just a few minutes. I felt much better after that. We headed home and the rain started up. So the weather held out and turned out to be perfect for the race.

I finished in 58:53, at a pace of 9:28 min/mile. This was way better than I had hoped. I can remember not too long ago 10:30 min/miles were a sprint for me, and I could only hold that pace for a short distance. I had been an 11-12 min/mile runner for a LONG time. So the running is finally coming along. It just took a few years. :-) So for those of you out there that are just starting to run and feel slow don't worry...it does start to get better. It just takes a lot of running, which can be tough if you're like me and running isn't exactly your favorite of the 3 sports.

Zac finished in 57:06, and averaged 9:11 for the race. He was pretty happy with that since he hasn't been running for very long. Hopefully it will motivate him to keep running with me for a bit longer this year.

Training Week 6: 1/21/08 - 1/27/08

Planned Training
Monday - 1/21/08:
Rest day!
Tuesday - 1/22/08:
AM - Swim = 1 hr swim at noon (3000 yds) done
PM - Run = 15 min, Strength = 1 hr weight routine at gym done
Wednesday - 1/23/08:
AM - none
PM - Run = 2 hr run (ride bus & run home from work) done
Thursday - 1/24/08:
AM - none
PM - Bike = 1 hr 20 min ride after work done
Friday - 1/25/08:
AM - Swim = 1 hr swim at noon (3600 yds) done
PM - Bike = 1 hr 30 min Spinervals trainer ride done
Saturday - 1/26/08:
AM - Bike = 2 hr 20 min ride done
PM - Swim = 1 hr swim at Udall (4000 yds) done
Sunday - 1/27/08:
AM - RACE = 10K Sun Run done
PM - Swim = 30 min recovery swim done

Weekly S/B/R Compliance (based on BT training plan):
Swim = 270 min / 270 min = 100%
Bike = 310 min / 310 min = 100%
Run = 246 min / 205 min = 120%

Total SBR training time for Week #6 = 13.8 hrs

Sunday, 1/20/08 Update:
This week appears to be the week of the swim. Oh joy. If you smell a strong odor of chlorine, it's me. The thing I dislike about swimming is that it's so boring. You can't talk to anyone while doing it, and rarely is there any music. The only time I get to hear music is when the aqua aerobics group is working out in the dive tank next to the lap lanes at Udall. The choice of music is usually pretty bad. But I guess it's good enough to swing a noodle over your head.

The challenging thing about scheduling this weeks workouts was the running. The Sun Run 10K is on Sunday, which will be a fast run. So that means I need to get my long, slow run done mid-week to have enough time to recover for the race that weekend. That puts the 2 hr long run on Wednesday. Normally my long runs are on the weekends when I can run in the daylight. Mid-week I have to run after work, which gets into night (and cold). So I came up with this plan: There is a Sun Tran bus that leaves work at 3:45PM and I can ride it to the stop at Speedway and Alvernon. The bus drops off there at 4:18PM. I can then run up Alvernon to Lee, run down Lee St to Wilmot, run up Wilmot to Tanque Verde, and run down TV to home. I'll get stuck in some dark, but I'll be pretty close to home. I'll have my headlamp with me for the dark. I'll have Zac drive me into work that morning and then change at the gym after work to head out for the run. I'll be getting on the bus in my running gear, but oh well.

I haven't ridden a Sun Tran bus since the 9th grade. We had to take the bus down to the Temple of Music & Art to see plays for my English class. One time this group of girls got on when we hit a downtown stop, and they drug this other girl onto the bus. They got her bus pass out of her pocket and threw her down on a seat in the back of the bus. Needless to say she was drunk and high on everything. Sure enough, not long after she got on the bus she barfed everywhere down the center walkway. All of us grabbed our bookbags and started yelling and screaming. We begged the driver to pull over (which they don't like to do) and kicked the girl and her posse off. We got to the Ronstadt center and all of us scrambled to get off without touching the center lane. We just wanted off of that freakin' bus. Yep, that's what I remember of 9th grade English class. I can't recall what play we saw that day, though.



Friday, 1/25/08 Update:
I have had to shuffle workouts like crazy this week. Mon & Tues got flipped, and yesterday I didn't make it to Master's swim due to a UA game. I didn't know there was a game going on, and got stuck in traffic as they reserve the parking around the pool. Plus, I wasn't parking anywhere within a 5 mile radius of the campus because of the mad mess of people. It was too late to hit the city pool, so I went home and grabbed the MTB and did a night ride with Zac up Reddington Rd and did 1 hr 20 min, which was Sunday's ride. So now I need to swim Fri, Sat, & Sun, and a storm is supposed to move in. The city pools close during storms, so it's going to be iffy. I may be able to swim at ARC since it has a tent cover over the pool and they may allow swimming in storms. I need to call to be sure.


Wednesday's 2 hr run went well. I changed at the gym at work and left everything in my Jeep for Zac to take home, since we carpooled in together. I got on the bus in my running shorts and gear (headlamps, rear blinky light, the whole getup), and I'm sure people were wondering what the heck I was doing since they were all leaving work. I rode the bus to Speedway & Alvernon, then ran home. It was perfect weather for running, and I only got rained on a few times. My right knee is getting sore from running, and I'm sure it's from the increased mileage. I'm pretty much running through the pain and hoping it will go away soon. I know you're supposed to rest when this kind of stuff creeps up, but I'd rather not miss any workouts. I can rest after April!


Here's my running route from Wednesday night. Total of 12.75 miles.

Saturday, 1/26/08 Update:
Today I did a 2 hr 20 min hilly ride, climbing up Freeman, riding the Saguaro East Loop, climbing Catalina Hwy to Mt. Lemmon Short Rd, and climbing Ft. Lowell. Then I had the joy of doing a 4000 yd swim workout right after. I'm not exactly thrilled about swimming, especially swimming that far. Boy did it suck. Here was the workout:

Warm-up: 100 swim, 100 kick, 100 pull, 8 x 50 w/ 10 sec rest between each
Main: Descending ladder w/ 1 min rest between each
1000, 800, 600, 400, 200, 100
Cool down: 200 kick

I got the 1000 done and thought "Well, at least I got the hardest one done early." By the 600 I was getting tired. After all, I had done the hilly bike ride right before this workout. By the 400 things were getting bad, the 200 I was hating life and everything having to do with swimming, and the 100 was a slow "try not to drown" mess. My arms and body were so tired after that. Not to mention I was freakishly hungry. All I had was 2 bottles of Infinit mix on the bike and a Clif bar before the swim. I thought I was going to pass out and the lifeguards would have to fish me out of the lane.

The 2.4 mile Ironman swim converts to 4224 yards, so this workout was pretty close. The whole thing took me about 1 hr 28 min to complete, which means nothing compared to the actual IM swim, and no race swim time can be extrapolated from this. That swim involves wearing a wetsuit, navigating for invisible buoys while the sun is in your eyes, and getting run over and pummled by 2000 other wetsuit-clad people. Needless to say, all of those extracurricular activities in open water adds quite a bit of time. In my case 20 minutes to half an hour. Maybe.

On the schedule for tomorrow (I refuse to use the term "on tap" like the weatherman, as it's an overused term and just plain silly...we're not drinking and partying to the weather) is the Sun Run 10K (6.2 mile) run and a 30 min swim. MORE SWIMMING! As much as I dislike the thought of swimming yet again tomorrow, I'm hoping it doesn't rain like the bartended weather man said and the pool will be open. I've become OCD in getting all 100% on my training plan, and I don't want it to get screwed up from bad weather. So the weather can roll in after 2pm.

Training Week 5: 1/14/08 - 1/20/08

Planned Training
Monday - 1/14/08:
Rest day!
Tuesday - 1/15/08:
AM - None (get into work early)
PM - Bike = 1 hr 50 min ride (bike home from work), Swim = 40 min swim w/ 1000 yd time trial at Udall done
Wednesday - 1/16/08:
AM - None (work early)
PM - Run = 45 min easy run, Strength = 1 hr gym workout w/ weights done
Thursday - 1/17/08:
AM - Swim = 1 hr swim at noon done
PM - Run = 50 min run done
Friday - 1/18/08:
AM - Swim = 1 hr long swim at Udall done
PM - Run = 1 hr 30 min run done
Saturday - 1/19/08:
AM - Bike = 1 hr 15 min ride (will do the 24 hr course MTB ride) done
PM - None
Sunday - 1/20/08:
AM - Bike = 4 hr ride done


Weekly S/B/R Compliance (based on BT training plan):
Swim = 187 min / 165 min = 113%
Bike = 459 min / 425 min = 108%
Run = 218 min / 185 min = 118%

Total SBR training time for Week #5 = 14.4 hrs


Monday, 1/14/08 Update:
Rest day today. Yesterday we finished the PF Chang's 1/2 marathon (race report below). Today I am surprisingly not as sore as I would have expected, and the soreness is going away as the day goes on. I should be good to go for getting back to my regularly scheduled psycho training tomorrow. This week was a bit easier to schedule, except for the need to get into work early on Tues and Wed. That messes up scheduling swim workouts, but I think I have them figured out. I'm hoping to fit the short swim in on Tues after the bike home from work. If not, it will have to go in on Sun after the 4 hr bike. After long bike rides like that I just like to sit in front of the TV and eat and nap...not swim.

Thursday, 1/17/08 Update:
Tuesday's workout got a bit interesting. I left work a bit later than I wanted and got a flat just 4 miles into my ride. An industrial staple went through my rear tire. I got it changed, but was already going to be chasing the sunlight on the way home. I got to Golf Links and Houghton and called Zac to meet me at Tanque Verde and Houghton. By the time I got there the sun was setting. I wanted to get my swim workout in and didn't want to ride TV without a blinky light on the rear. Right now I have a small bike light on the front of my tri bike as my trouble light. So I'll just put a spare blinky in my rear saddle bag. Got home, changed, got to the pool and pounded out the swim workout, then went home and finished the last 21 min of the bike ride on the trainer.

The early mornings at work have been kicking my butt this week. I need to sleep in tomorrow morning bad!


Sunday, 1/20/08 Update:
Friday was an 8.6 mile run. Saturday was a 16.3 mi ride on the mountain bike on the 24 hour course. Today was a 4 hr road ride. My legs are fried!


Here's where I rode today. This was an out & back ride.

Race Report: PF Chang's 1/2 Marathon

Last year Zac and I did this race together and finished in 2:29. It was his first half marathon and my first stand-alone half marathon (rather than the half marathon that is included in the half ironman). This year I asked Zac if he wanted to do the race again, and surprisingly he said yes. So before he changed his mind I signed us up. This would once again give me a training partner for some of my long runs in the winter while training for Ironman. Yes, I had an agenda.

This year Zac stuck to the training a bit better than last year, up to the relay race we did in December. He ate the paste on that one and developed shin splints. We quickly made a trip to Performance Footwear to see if anything could be done (inserts, fish oil, magic words, etc) but the owner Kyle told us that he should rest until they go away. Rest or possibly turn shin splints into a stress fracture. So Zac missed out on some of the longer training runs, but the pain from the shin splints went away.

For me on the other hand, IM training is the priority and races leading up to IMAZ are just training. But it's tough to fit in races on weeks where the focus is another sport. This week was a bike-focused week and not a run-focused week, so I still did all of my bike workouts which totaled over 100 miles of riding for the week. My legs weren't exactly fresh out of the box. But this race was a training run for me, with the only goal being DO NOT GET HURT. I had to pick up training again on Tuesday and couldn't risk getting hurt and being out of training for a few weeks. We had put down a goal time of finishing in 2 hrs 15 min. I didn't think we would get there, so our goal was "do better than last year." I was figuring a best time of 2:17 but 2:20 was a more probable time.

Race morning we got on the shuttle bus and rode to downtown Phoenix for the race start. It was much warmer than last year...about 30 degrees warmer. We decided to run in shorts and short sleeved shirts. I went ahead and put on my cycling arm warmers, and with my sleeveless jersey it kind of looked like I was wearing some sort of dominatrix gear. We dropped off our warm clothes at the UPS trucks and got into our starting corral which was Corral 12. Last year we were in Corral 18. If we do this race next year, the goal will be to get into a single digit corral. The reason they call them corrals? You're stuffed in there like a bunch of cattle. Well, if cattle wore neon colors and iPods. While we waited we saw the 2:15 pace guy, who was wearing a Camelbak and a sign on a pole sticking out of it that said "2:15". We decided to keep an eye out for him during the race to see how close we were to the 2:15 finishing time pace.

Finally at about 8:45AM we got to the starting line and our corral was allowed to start. We stayed with our corral herd, er, group for about 3 miles, and then other folks started to pass us and we caught up to slower people. I was wondering how some of the people got in faster corrals, as they didn't look good and were walking at Mile 3. My arm warmers came off at about Mile 2 when I was plenty warm.

Our run went well and we were holding about 10:10 min/mile averages and were in front of the 2:15 pace guy. About Mile 5 I started to feel the effects of the long training week and not being on fresh legs. Uh oh. Not good. My goal was to get to Mile 7, which was over the half way point. I forced myself to eat my Shot Bloks even though I didn't want to. Zac was good about eating his Sport Beans and not spilling them everywhere (although judging by the street others weren't as lucky). We made it through the aid stations, which became a sticky mess of Accelerade. I can't stand Accelerade and when it gets dumped on the street it smells like you are running through a pool of vomit. Ugh. Luckily the water stations were right after, so the water puddles washed some of the stink and stickinessoff our shoes.

We got to Mile 8, which was the milestone for Zac (we don't know why). I didn't care about 8 because I knew the hills started at Mile 9. We hit Mile 9 and the first gradual climb and 2:15 guy caught up to us. We stayed pretty even with him until Miles 10 and 11, when the hills really hit. After we got to the top I told Zac I needed to slow down because all of my systems were redlining. Danger Will Robinson! Time to back off or else I wouldn't get to the end without walking (that was the other goal...not to walk). We leap-frogged a "sweaty guy" who was doing a run/walk routine. We slowed at Mile 11 and that was our only mile that was over an 11 min/mile pace (11:09). But the recovery after the hill was worth it. By this time, 2:15 guy was way ahead and we didn't think we would catch him.

From Mile 11 to 12 we got back on our pace and started to work our way through the crowd. I was breathing pretty heavy at this point, focusing on the exhale which I remember my high school tennis coach teaching me. It's strange what you think about during the last miles of a race. I couldn't even talk at this point. Mile 12 to 13 we sped up, mostly because I was DONE and SO over this race. I didn't look at my Garmin for the pace we were running, I just focused on the finish. We crossed over the Mill Ave bridge and made the turn onto Rio Salado for the final stretch of the race. Oh look, I'm on the IMAZ course. I'll be here in just a few months in the dark and probably feeling WAY worse than this. Good mental note.

We made the final turn and 2:15 guy was in our sights. "Come here 2:15 guy!" I yelled and the finish line was just a short distance away. We passed 2:15 guy and finished in 2:14:40, a total of 15 minutes faster than last year. Zac tried to hug me but all I wanted to do was walk around and catch my breath. I grabbed a water and continued to walk when one of the medic volunteer kids came up and asked "Are you ok?" "Um, yeah, I'm fine" I said and just wanted to keep walking. "Well keep walking and don't stand in line right away. Be sure to walk it off for awhile." "Uh, ok, thanks." Wasn't what I was doing walking? And how bad did I look that he picked me out of the hundreds of people that crossed the line with us? I asked Zac if I looked bad or something and he said "No, you always look much worse after the Half Ironmans."

We got our medals, our finish picture, and then headed to the food corral. They had a ton of food and a huge line. All I wanted was a popsicle that I saw people walking around with. Where the heck can I get a popsicle? It turns out they were at the very end of the line. There was no way I was going to wait so we sort of slipped an arm in there and grabbed 2 popsicles and a bag of pretzels and got out of there before someone could yell at us. I was happy walking back to the parking lot with my little bag of pretzels. Happiness is a bag of pretzels.

Training Week 4: 1/7/08 - 1/13/08

Planned Training
Monday - 1/7/08:
AM - Run = 30 min, Strength = weights at gym done
PM - Swim = 1 hr Master's swim done
Tuesday - 1/8/08:
Rest day!
Wednesday - 1/9/08:
AM - Bike = 2 hr 20 min hill climb up Catalina Hwy done
PM - Swim = 1 hr Master's swim, Strength = core workout done
Thursday - 1/10/08:
AM - none
PM - Bike = 3 hr 30 min ride home from work done
Friday - 1/11/08:
AM - Swim = 1 hr swim done
PM - Bike = 1 hr 40 min MTB ride done
Saturday - 1/12/08:
AM - Bike = 1 hr Spinervals workout on trainer (recovery) done
PM - none
Sunday - 1/13/08:
RACE = PF Chang's 1/2 marathon (13.1 mile run) done

Weekly S/B/R Compliance (based on BT training plan):
Swim = 155 min / 150 min = 115%
Bike = 511min / 510 min = 100%
Run = 174 min / 135 min = 129%

Total SBR training time for Week #4 = 14 hrs

Sunday, 1/6/08 Update:
I had to get creative with the workout scheduling this week since I head back to that place called WORK. Ugh. I got used to having 3 weeks off and being able to train and not have to worry too much about schedule. The hard part this week was figuring out how to fit all of the rides in with the half marathon coming up on Sunday. Normally long bike rides are reserved for the weekend, but I have that crazy long run on Sunday. So I'll be leaving work early on Thursday to do my 3.5 hr ride. I'll have Zac take my Jeep into work with my bike and stuff in the back, and just start my ride in the early afternoon and leave directly from work. Oh and there's a crazy hill climb workout I'm supposed to do on the bike for 2 hrs 20 min. The training plan says to climb the longest hill I can find. I think Catalina Hwy up Mt. Lemmon should do. The problem is trying to fit it in before work. So I'll be getting up early and riding it in the dark with my Niterider HID light. I figure there shouldn't be much traffic on that road at 5AM.

Tuesday, 1/8/08 Update:
Add last night's Master's swim to the list of "dumbest things I've done for Ironman training." At 6:30PM I arrived at the UA pool to see a bunch of HS kids in the lobby watching swim videos. It was cold, windy, dark, and raining. I followed an older guy into the lobby and found out that yes, there still was Master's swim. If they were still holding it then I was going to swim. It's a pain to have to reschedule swim workouts, so it has to be pretty bad (like no water in the pool) to force me to reschedule.

While changing in the locker room the herd of HS girls came in, shrieking at the top of their lungs because their swim workout had been canceled. Take 20 HS girls and put them in a room with lockers and tile and the amplification is maddening. Thankfully they grabbed their gear and left. One girl saw me changing and said the pool heater was broken and the water temperature was down to 75 degrees. Oh joy. In the world of triathlon, that's wetsuit legal water temperature. Alas I did not have my wetsuit with me.

Cold, raining, dark, windy, broken pool heater, and I still walked towards the front of the lane to get in. What else could we add to make this workout more fun? A large guy that had way more "insulation" than me dove in and screamed like a little girl. That was comforting. It was raining hard as I sat on the edge of the deck and put my feet in, and finally I decided the rain and wind were colder than the water and got in and swam the fastest 100 meters of my life to try to warm up. I had to remind myself that I've swum in 55 degree water and this was way warmer. But that was while wearing my wetsuit. The wetsuit that was at home hanging in the closet.

The water wasn't too bad as long as I kept moving. The swim coaches huddled like monks under their hooded parkas as they gave us the swim workout. I think we were more comfortable in the water. So I cranked out my 2000 meter workout and went home to my electric blanket.

Thursday, 1/10/08 Update:
This seems to be the week to do things for training that I would not normally do because they seem stupid/dangerous. Yesterday's morning ride can now be added to that list. The training plan said: "Easy spinning up the longest hills you can find in Z2 to low Z3, get out of saddle on steep sections to stretch legs out and you will hit Z5. Cool down: ride Z1 last 10 minutes." The longest hill I can find? Well, I happen to live a few miles from Catalina Hwy that goes up Mt. Lemmon. And the only time I could fit this ride in was in the morning before work. So I strapped my HID headlight to my tri bike and headed out at 5:45AM in the dark.

The first thing I noticed was frost on all of the plants in the front yard as I rolled out of the driveway. It was foggy out as any bit of light was clouded in a blanket. Then I hit Agua Caliente wash, which was flowing and got to ride through water right off the bat. Finally I hit Catalina Hwy and started the climb. It's kind of strange knowing you're the first cyclist on the hill that day. There's not much traffic on the road at that time of morning. I saw about 10 cars go up, and I'm sure most of them work up there. I know all of them were thinking the same thing as they passed by me..."stupid cyclist." Anyways, I made it to just past Mile 8 before turning around. By that point the sun was up. Being in the sun was warmer, but harder to see. In the shade I could see, but it was freezing as I coasted down the mountain at 30mph on a contact patch the size of a quarter. What was worse was going through Molino Basin canyon, as the cold air was rushing down the pass as the sun came up. I passed 3 other riders that had started their ride up with the sunlight. Finally I got to the bottom where I couldn't feel my hands or feet from the cold.

And what was the most dangerous part of the ride? Getting back to my house which is just around the corner from a school. All the parents dropping their kids off are insane and can't drive. I can survive climbing up and flying down a mountain, but here I am about to get creamed by Nancy Sue dropping little Bobby off at school. Note to self: avoid riding in that area at 8AM.

So I rode a total of 25 miles. It took me 1 hr 20 min to climb a little over 8 miles on the mountain, and 18.5 minutes to get back to the bottom. I averaged 6 mph climbing and 25 mph coming down. I started at an elevation of 2715 ft (my house), and climbed to 5100 ft.