Busy long weekend. Jim and I met at the lake at 6:00AM on Friday. There were no boats out at this time so we swam across the lake and then hugged the shore. I swam the loop but also swam the buoys twice. I think I ended up with just about a mile and a half (I mapped it out on one of the mapmy sites – so give or take) in about 50 minutes. It was a nice conservative swim.
We mounted up and hit the road. We did the same hilly loop as last time but just added a little more hilly loop. Nothing fast – just working on seat time and mileage. At about 25 miles in Jim remarked that the hills seemed easier than last week. I just told him that we were simply becoming bad-asses. 25 miles later on the same hills I did not feel so much like a bad-ass. Oh- well – We ended up with 62 hot miles.
Off to the run – it was boiling hot at this time. I was not going to run the big hilly route today so I kept it more flat. I was going to try and get about 8 – 10 miles. Jim dropped off on the run at just after a mile and I kept the pace up. I would start to fade soon enough. I ended up with only 6 miles at about an 8:30 minute / mile pace. Only slightly faster than the previous week and on a much easier route. Last week, I got bloated from the poweraide drinks so I tried to stick to mostly water. I packed a bunch of pop-tarts with me – easy, portable, CHEAP. I ended up eating 11 of them for 2200 calories. I did not have any stomach problems but I am sure there are better alternatives – but at less a than $2 for the day they are hard to beat.
Saturday would be a long run, again with Jim. At about 6:30AM I got a text message that his legs were dead and he was skipping the run. I shot back that I was probably not going to run the original 15 miles but that I would get a run in. I think I have just gotten used to training on tired legs – I do not know any better.
I left the house at just before 7AM for my ‘house to Epley +’ run. I was running at a comfortable pace in the low 8’s. Just churning out the miles. As the run got longer and the temperature increase everything got harder but I was still feeling good! I ran right past Epley – the just over 6 mile turn around and kept up the pace. Feeling strong I continued to the 7.5 mile turn around – I guess I would be getting 15 miles after all – one way or the other. I stopped at Epley to refill my fuel belt – this would kill my low 8 average pace – oh well. It was now much hotter! Terry pasted me on his bike about a mile before Clyde station. I would have to refill the fuel belt again – only about 4 miles from Epley. Terry was racking his bike and asked what pace I was running and if he could join me. I told him I was running 8 ½’s and that I would welcome the company. Running with Terry, these were my fastest miles of the day – a great way to finish a long run – mile 14 was at 7:45 minute / mile pace. I finished the run (2 water stops) at 15 miles in 2:09 for an 8:38 minute / mile pace. Not bad for a hot training run – but I can be much faster – just not on that day. Beside, this was not a race. I just don’t have time for the recovery necessary for a fast 15 mile run.
Saturday Night - There is a guy named Ron in our neighborhood that puts on a wonderful fireworks show each Independence Day. It really is something. I mean from my front yard it is only a few hundred yards from the launch site. These shows also last from 30 – 45 minutes – WOW. There was some speculation that the event would not take place due to the extremely dry conditions that we have been having in Southern Mississippi. I just have to say that Ron is the man – he had a fire truck parked in his yard for just such an emergency. The fireworks were fantastic as usual. I grilled out for the event and we had several of Jodie’s grad students over to celebrate with us. I grilled chicken breast, hamburger and black bean burgers. This was the first red meat that I have had in a while. It was a fun evening.
Due to the festivities, I sleep late on Sunday morning. I had the option to take this as a recovery day but it is hard to ‘waste’ a weekend day. I decided to join the afternoon group ride. I rode my road bike again and truly enjoyed the ride. There were occasions to sit back and occasions to push the pace. I ended up with another 50+miles for the weekend.
With all of the training I may be gaining any speed but I am please with the amount of training that my body can absorb. I put in a little over 11 hours this weekend and I’m not any worse for the wear.
1 comments:
Training on tired legs is what Ironman training is about. I'm sometimes amazed what we can do unrested. And I had red meat too, it was well worth it :)
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