Week #5 Day #4 Some serious hill work

I was thinking about this ride when I got done, and thought about how things change.  Last year I would have driven to the ski hill and rode.  Today I needed 10 miles on my bike.  I got it, but worked my butt off doing it.  Check out the elevation graph of this ride.  Overall though it was a great ride.  I had to get off and walk my bike in the snow that was still at the bottom of the ski slope.  I conquered the areas of the trail that were my nemesis last year, and only had one minor slip that sent me off the trail.  It was great to be back on my favorite trail.

Week #5 Day #3 Swim and Run

Today's training went pretty well.  1250 yards in the pool took me about 29 minutes.  I was really hoping for a faster time, but I just couldn't make it happen.

The run was even better tonight than Monday night's run.  I was having some issues with my IT band last week, and did some extra stretches tonight which really helped.

Week #5 Day #2 Cycle

This was a decent quick ride.  I got slowed up on a decent due to a lady and her special needs son.  That boy was all over the trail, I had to slow way down to make sure he didn't step in front of me.  The worst part of it was I had a climb immediately following the decent, so I had no momentum going into the climb.

Week #5 Day #1 Swim and Run

First thing, Rachael has thrown down the gauntlet.  There will be a reward for me finishing in the top 10 in my age bracket.  Last year, the #9 and #10 spots finished at about 1 hour and 55 minutes.  I think I can do it.  I have my events broken out this way.  18 minutes or less for the swim, 1 hour for the 12 mile bike, and 36 minutes or less for the 4 mile run.

Today's swim was good, but I've got some work to do to hit the time above.  I did 20 laps in 24 minutes, which is a little slow in comparison to the goal above.  Hoping that the adrenaline of race day will pull me through quicker.

Tonight's run though made me feel better.  It felt like it was the strongest run I've had since last fall's 5k.

Week #4 Day #6 Cycle

It was a little chilly for this ride.  To make myself feel better for my inability to not crash while riding the trail, I came up with something to make myself feel better.  "If you're not crashing, you're not riding hard enough!"

Week #4 Day #5 Swim and Run

Today I ended up doing something resembling a brick workout.  I didn't have a chance to get my swim in earlier in the day, because Rachael and I were out running errands all day.  We went to the gym, and I took off for my run, and then changed into my bathing suit and hopped in the pool for 750 yards.  It was weird making that sort of transition.  The first two laps in the pool felt like I had a weight on my chest.

Week #4 Day #4 Cycle

Nice little ride.  Was focused on speed that night.