LSD Bolus

As a bold blogger in Boulder has acronymized, I need some LSD - long slow distance. Considering I had not worked out this week, I decided to pile as much as I could into Saturday and Sunday. It felt good, the numbers look good, I like my chances. But my optimism is held fully in check. I'll recap my workouts and then try to explain my pessimistic position. But first, my reward for the weekend - vanilla bean cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.



Saturday was swim and weights. My time in the pool went like this: 1400 meters of warmup, drills, and kicks. 100, 200, 400, 1600m, 400 pull, 100 cool down. My 11 day hiatus from the pool did not hurt as much as I thought it would as I clocked the mile in a steady 32:31. Hopped out of the pool feeling pretty good so pumped some iron just to see if I still had that in me. I have never really liked the whole experience of excercising in a room filled with mirrors and cro-magnons with biceps bigger than their heads and legs like pencils. But I have felt the benefits and thus swallow my medicine. And it felt pretty good this day.

Sunday was a 40 mile ride followed up with a 5 mile run. I met up with one of my IMWI sisters and her man and we tackled some rolling hills. Holy cross winds batman. I didn't mind pulling the train most of the day because I could control the pace. I kept my cadence up over 100 rpms except on the climbs and felt pretty darn good. Ten minutes after our ride I took off down the trail for a quick jog. I expected a bit of a struggle considering I was already a little dehydrated. I decided to just go with it. First mile 6:49. What? Okay, let's back that off. So I finished up with 7:15, 7:26 (had to estimate a half mile to turn around at) 7:12, 7:19. The legs felt heavy but pretty good; I wanted to and could have gone further, but I needed to get some liquids in me soon. And my mind started to wander a little bit too much - that was the hardest part of my run.

So what was wrong with this weekend's workouts? Well nothing really. I know have the ability to cross the finish line in September, but I have set a really ambitious goal time for my first IM. So now is not the time to rest; it is time to climb to the next plateau.

The last few weeks have been like taper, so it's no real wonder that my body feels fresh out there. So regarding the swim, I have the confidence to be able to complete the 2.4 mile swim, but now can I lower my time? Based on Saturday's swim, I would climb out of the water in around 1:20. And that was done in a serene pool not a washing machine. I can improve on that. Regarding the bike, I have a lot to learn, especially how to ride hills. At the first hint of an incline I jump up out of the saddle. Hence I burn my legs out way too quickly. I need to stop that and ride at an even pace. I made this same comment a few weeks ago regarding my recent duathlon. Hopefully I will learn before September. Regarding the run, I need to keep working on that nutrition and hydration. I guess I should be happy I could go for a few hours on two donuts and 1 gel. And yes I will need to keep strengthening the mind so that I can push through on that run.

It was a good weekend, but the clock is still ticking... 139 days till it matters...give me another shot of LSD and maybe some LFD too...I've got to keep climbing.