On the eve...
Race day one day away. Clothing...check, bike...check, trunk carrier...check, nipple protectors...ugh, what to use...band-aids will probably come off, duct tape probably never will. Its a dilemma I often face when forced to run in a shirt, and the coolness on Saturday may require one. Chafed mommy parts are not fun; Madonna had the right idea. Everything else is taken care of, but this one may take a while to figure out...
Lovin' It
Well folks,
Training is going great. Last week's volume was 10 hours, a little less than the plan, but still good. Sunday's long ride was great; hills all over the place; 35 miles in 2 hours.
The Riverwood sprint is five days away, and the gear checklist is being reviewed daily. I'm pumped! Mom will be in town to attend my festivities and the boys soccer games later in the day, so we'll have to go straight from the race to the first game. Now, I'm not a show-off, but a part of me enjoys it when the other parents ask why I have writing all over my leg. I get to explain the whole tri thing. Its fun.
The family is getting used to my longer Sunday rides, sort of. The boys were crazy yesterday, and my wife had a time dealing with them; but the resulting conversation is funny...now.
Batman: How was everyone while I was gone?
Wife: (agitated) They were crazy. Didn't you take your cell phone with you?
Batman: Yes...
Wife: (more agitated) Didn't you hear me call you?
Batman: No...
Wife: Well, why do you take your cell phone if I can't call you?
Batman: (Silence...)
Wife: What?
Batman: (jaw dropping) The phone is for my safety, in case I get a flat and need a ride home. I can't answer it while I'm riding.
Wife: (joking) Well, if you don't pick up when I call, I'm not coming to get you.
Batman: I'll remember that the next time I'm screaming downhill at 35 mph and the phone rings.
So the next time you see a cyclist cranking uphill, yelling into a cell phone for someone not to hit his brother or take his Yu-Gi-Oh cards, chances are it will be me.
Build 2
I'm in the build 2 phase of my season according to Friel, and volume this week will be 11.5 hours. One objective during build phases is to simulate race conditions with bricks and other fun things like...races... My first official one of the season is two weeks away, and I'm stoked! I get to unleash all of this winter's base training on the Riverwood Country Club in Clayton, NC. It can't come soon enough. "Be the ball Danny...be the ball..."
Friel on Friel
I'm in a recovery week between Build 1 and Build 2, and training volume should be around 7 hours total. I'll probably go over since its Wednesday morning, and I'm at 5 hours so far. The warm weather has a lot to do with it, I'm sure. Volume for each of the next three weeks is 12 hours with 1/4 of that coming from the long Sunday ride.
I had a great ride last Sunday. I did a portion of the Beaver Dam Loop and got in about 30 miles; weather was awesome. A funny moment happened when a totally "geeked out" triathlete caught up to me and started talking. I was in my own little world, and he startled me to the point I almost crashed. Now, I said this guy was "geeked out"; he had every piece of tri gear on his body and his bike (QR, sweet ride). We chatted at the red light at Six Forks and 98, and once we took off I tried to keep up, but he was too strong.
The posts of IM Arizona have been truly inspiring; congratulations to all who achieved their goals!
Structure
I've gotten farther into the Joe Friel Bible, and have more exercises and questionnaires to complete. This thing is like a Cosmo for triathletes... All kidding aside, I really like the structure it will give to training over the entire season. Once everything is complete, the plan will show the entire picture and the component parts; I like that. One problem, however, is sticking to such a regimented approach. I've always leaned toward the "train according to how I feel" method, so this will be a good experiment.
On a different note, my insanity has definitely rubbed off on the household. We've entered as a family in the North Raleigh Rat Race 5K and 2K run. We're all doing the 2K. The boys, 6 & 10, jumped at the chance. I like their spirit.
Spring Is Here
And I'm out training! The YMCA tri club has officially ended, but many of the training sessions will continue, like the swim sessions with assassin Steve. I plan on focusing on the bike for the next 8 weeks. My first race of the season, Riverwood Sprint, is four weeks away, but the first of two "A" races, Kerr Lake Oly, is only 8 weeks away.
Here is the plan. Tuesday lunchtime spinning class with Stanley, Thursday morning 10-15 mile ride with hill repeats. There is a decent hill near my house, so I plan on getting very familiar with it. Sunday will be the long ride, I've downloaded several routes from the NC Cycle club, and they all seem to start from Blue Jay Point in N. Raleigh. That just happens to be 8 miles from my door, which will give me a 30-35 miler for the shorter loops. Not too bad. They will need to get longer if the half-iron comes to pass. Any advice on cycle improvement will be appreciated.
I mentioned that the Y club base training is over, and my wife couldn't be happier! The "graduation" time trial was held on Saturday. My times are below:
Swim 400yd - 7:37 (10 secs slower than the last trial, I blame the beer and fries at the Hurricanes game the night before.)
Bike 30 min (inside due to rain)
Run 5K - 24.26
I'll take it. Riverwood will be a good gauge for how the next phase will go. I've set my weekly schedule to account for my wife's downtime, my boys soccer games AND getting 2-3 workouts in each discipline. It will be a highwire act for sure and will probably come crashing down more than a few times, but in the end, it will be worth it.
