Monday, March 05, 2007

weekend of building!

Wow, am I ever wiped out today...so much so that I'm skipping my swim and heading to bed early tonight.

I had a great weekend of training.

Saturday I went to practice with the team. All us long coursers swam first so we could squeeze in a longer ride afterward. Coach Steve had us do the requisite warmup and drill sets. Then he called another 20 minute marker set! It was a bit of a surprise. It felt great, even after my sluggish training week. I made it 1200m--100m farther than the first marker set 3 weeks ago!

Sandy had instructed us to transition quickly to the bike, which I did...only to have to sit through a tire changing clinic before heading out. Sigh. It gave me a chance to munch a bit and to have Coach Barney check out my DIY brake adjustments and make sure they weren't lethal. ;-) The ride was great. We went a bit more than 30 miles. Headed up Foothill to El Monte, skirted around Foothill College and over to Arastradero. Took that to Alpine, went left and did the Portola Loop. Once we were on Arastradero and I knew where I was headed, I was able to cut loose. By the time we turned left onto Alpine, three of us (Lynn and a new girl named Bene) stuck close together out in front for the rest of the ride.

I'm much better at climbing than I used to be, but I'm still adjusting to the triple crank. I have a psychological roadblock against the smallest chainring that I need to drop, or I'll never make it up Nasty. The coolest thing is how much better I've gotten at powering through the flats. Cadence training has made a ton of difference!

Sunday I ran farther than I've ever run in a single shot--8 miles! The morning started off rough in the aftermath of Saturday evening spent watching UFC--while drinking beer and eating pizza. I don't have to put much of that stuff in my body before it takes a toll! I woke up with puffy eyes and a headache. After a leisurely breakfast and little time hydrating, I headed out to Los Gatos Creek Park. Not my favorite park, but easy to measure mileage. It all felt pretty good. I didn't really have to dig until the last mile, and that was only because I didn't take in any calories while I was running. DUH. Immediately swung by the Sports Basement and picked up a gel flask.

So, that brings me to today. 2400m swim is scheduled, but I hardly slept last night and my sinuses are bugging me. Scratch that! Instead today it will be stretching, Wellness Formula, Zicam, and early to bed. :-)

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