This weekend finds me in Dr. Doolittle double dogsitting mode...I have the pug until tomorrow and he & I are bunking with 2 other dogs at their house in the north end. The good news is that there's lots of cable, a big backyard where I hosted a BBQ this evening, and a hot tub that I'm heading into before bed...I'm feeling happily wiped from a killer brick today and another good training week.
Yesterday was a lake swim day...I got up at 5:00am and it was raining and crappy...again. I threw my shampoo in the car thinking, "maybe I should just go swim at the gym..." then realized that it's really pansy to skip a lake swim because it's raining. I bucked up and it proved to be a really good decision. The rain let up and the water was really calm. I had a really good swim with my friend, Karin, who is much faster than I am. She had raced really hard at the Canada swim the morning before, so she was in recovery mode and it worked really well to swim together.
Today was brick day...I have to say my enthusiasm was not super high again. The weather was crappy and I felt a little body tired from the week. I watched the first half of the Germany - Argentina World Cup game in the leather chair with the pug and my coffee and really wanted to stay there for the rest of the game...and maybe Wimbledon, too. But...got my butt in gear. Just like yesterday, a good decision.
The brick was a 30 mile bike + 5 mile run. I based myself at Seward Park as I wanted to do 2 laps of the park for my run. I hate doing 2 laps of anything, but that's what the run will be for the race in 4 weeks, so I wanted the mental practice of the double loop slog.
I biked around Mercer Island and some extra on Lk Wa Blvd to get the 30 mile ride. My legs were feeling it within 5 miles, but it did get a bit better as I kept going. I always love to ride Mercer Island. On the way back over the I-90 bridge I reached for my Power Bar in the bento box...note to self: don't reach into your bento box with full fingered gloves...on the bridge...when your keys are in it. Clang...keys hit the pavement. I had to circle back, stop, and pick them up...thank GOD they clanged on the pavement and didn't splash into the lake...holy crap. Spent a few minutes thinking about what a nightmare it would have been if my keys had gone to the salmon and being thankful they didn't. I kept an OK pace, but I was a little nervous about the run. However, if I say so myself, I kinda rocked it. I did a quick transition and hit the Seward Park path going counter clockwise. I was supposed to keep tempo pace, but purposefully didn't look at HR or pace on the GPS...just wanted to go by RPE and see what happened. At the end of the first loop I decided to take my split and see how the first loop compared to the second. I wasn't exactly trying to negative split, but was curious about whether I would/could at least hold pace and not get slower. By the end of the second loop, I was playing that mental game one plays with oneself (OK the one I play with myself) when the fuel light is going off in the car...do I slow down and conserve what's left of the fuel or just hammer down and hope to reach the gas station and relieve the anxiety ASAP. No surprise that I generally go for the latter of those 2 strategies. I didn't sprint the end by any means (felt more like "last mile, hashed mile" than "last mile, fast mile," but I got it done and, in fact, did negative split it. My average pace on the run was an 8:14 minute mile pace and, for me, that's freakin' fast. I was really proud of this brick, especially since I wasn't exactly jonesing to do it. To celebrate, I took myself out for a soy latte recovery drink and took my bike to the shop to get it a new computer (mine's been dead for a year).
Things I learned today: I can eat both Clif Bars and Power Bars on the bike and run well...and I probably could have eaten a bit more of both. I should plan for nutrition on the run (didn't bring anything to carry for the run and coulda used some gatorade), my knee and hamstring feel better when I run off the bike than when I run cold (although the knee was pissed after the brick). I should not mess with my bento box on the bridge. I can do half a ride and an entire run without a bathroom stop if I'm too lazy and stubborn to stop even though I have to pee. And there's always more in the tank than you think. I knew that last one already but it's always good to have more physical evidence.
Brick:
30.3 mile ride:
1:53
Avg HR: 122
Avg Pace: 16.0mph
5 mile run
41:12
(lap 1 = 20:55, lap 2 = 20:16)
Avg HR: 156
Max HR: 168
Avg pace: 8:14!!!!! Yeah, baby.
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