Rest 6/3

I have the rest thing down cold. ;)

I let a few things slide a little too long, but I should have time tomorrow to make a few quick purchases before driving down to Oregon for Blue Lake.

First, I forgot to pick up speed laces. I can grab those tomorrow and put them on at the hotel.

Second, I got around to building up my race wheels. I only have long stemmed inner tubes, and I think the short or normal stemmed ones will work better. Due to the shape of my wheels (HED 3), there isn't much room for a pump to fit with the long stem. In fact, my floor pump won't fit because there isn't room, no matter whether the inner tube is long or short stemmed. Right now, the only pump that comes close is a hand pump, and even still, it isn't a good fit. I may need to look into CO2 cartridges to inflate the tires. I'll swing by the bike store and see what is available - perhaps a CO2 inflater is small enough to fit with the long stemmed inner tubes and then I won't have to change that out.

I'm hoping to use these wheels at Blue Lake, but if I can't, it won't be a tragedy. Still, it would be nice to try them out for a little bit tomorrow before the event. If I can't get it going, I'll definitely have it ready by Cascades Edge, which in turn is plenty of time to try out these wheels before IMCdA.

Swim 6/2

Another swim at Martha Lake. It was cloudy so turnout was small - only 7 of us. Two swam to the far shore, while five of us (including me) took it easier and swam to the near shore.

I swam 16 minutes total. I should have done more since it takes too much time to drive out to Martha Lake for a 16 minute workout! I suppose it is moot - I realized when I looked at the calendar that next week's swim will be it for me. I'm out of town the following week, in CdA the week after that, and the week after that... my event will be over and I'll be resting. ;)

Cascades Edge

I registered for the Cascades Edge sprint tri. I went back and forth about doing the oly, and decided that since I am doing Blue Lake the weekend before, I should do the sprint at Cascades Edge.

This gets me another practice event 2 weeks out of IMCdA, which is good timing.

I also called up to confirm my reservation at the Best Western, and also move my check-in time one day earlier. So now I check in on June 22nd and check out June 28th. The extra day will give me more time to get settled in and attend pre-race stuff.

Swim 6/1

I swam with about 8 others at Martha Lake, but only 4 of us stuck around to do a 2nd lap (short lap). It was about 32 minutes of swim time.

For the heck of it, I counted breaths - 130 to cross the lake on the short route. Sincde I breathe every 3 strokes, that is 390 strokes. :)

Next Season

Now that the bulk of training is over, I am thinking a little bit about next season.

I don't see myself doing another ironman, only because the training demands are so high. I might change my mind, but for now, the half-ironman looks like a better mix of distance challenge versus time needed to train.

Next season will likely be sprint and olympic distance events, with an end-of-season half ironman. I might even focus on "speed"; in relative terms this means finishing in the middle of the pack. ;)

Coaching is another thought floating around. CP and JHS really enjoy their coaching and it works for them. But, I've seen their workouts and I'm not sure I can do that kind of volume without burnout. On the other hand, just knowing CP was planning on the century on his double-chainring bike, made me think that I could do it as well... and I did, which in turns gives me great confidence going into my event. So getting coached might work in this way for me as well.

Perhaps I could try something different, like an off-road triathlon - an XTERRA event. This would mean getting a mountain bike. The nice thing about Florida will be it is a bit flatter, so I could have a "gentle" introduction into XTERRA events, particularly the bike course.

All I really know is I'll be resting through July and might consider something short at the end of August or later. There is plenty of time to figure out what next season holds!

Week 21

May 23 - May 30

	Time
Swim	2:34
Bike	11:35
Run	5:15
Strength	0:00
Weight	138.6 lb
Body Fat	15.1 %

First, I'm cheating - this week is 8 days instead of 7. This is to include Memorial Day's ride as part of the previous week's training, since it really is part of my last big training week. From here on out, it is all taper. Plus, a practice triathlon or two. ;)

Total training time this week was 19:24!

Bike 5/30 - 7 Hills of Kirkland Century

Did the 7 Hills of Kirkland Century route - total of 103 miles in 6:41. The good news is I felt pretty good after finishing: saddle was OK, legs were decent (well, considering I just rode a tough 103 miles). So all in all this was a great confidence builder, because this ride is my last big/tough bike workout. For that matter, the past week was "peak week" for me... thank goodness.

My only equipment issue was the web spongy thing in the Profile aerobottle shook itself loose and fell just as I started a hill descent - I wasn't able to grab it and was not in the mood to brake, cross to the other side, climb back up, and get it. I'll just order a replacement or buy the spare parts kit.

I rode with CP, visiting for Memorial Day weekend. We both agreed that it was good we had each other on the ride, because it would have been a tough and lonely century. CP is a stronger rider than I am; he said it was good I was there to keep him in check. I think I led for possibly as many as 10 minutes out of the 6:41 we were on the course. I drafted a bit, probably 1/3rd to 1/2 the time. CP was several bike lengths ahead of me most the time, so I drafted less than you would think. ;) Plus, we spent a heck of a lot of time climbing hills, and we aren't fast enough going up for there to be a draft advantage.

Past 60 miles, I took advantage and hopped off the bike to stretch at the 74 mile and 90 mile food stops. I definitely will need to do this during the IM.

I found out my HRM only keeps 5:30 of data before filling its memory. Doh.

Swim 5/29

I met with JHS and several others at Beaver Lake, for a late morning swim.

We swam the length of Beaver Lake and back, regrouping at the far end, on a rock. We climbed out, sat and chatted for a few minutes. We probably looked like a colony of seals, in our wetsuits!

The estimated one-way distance is 3/4 mile, so total round trip was 1.5 miles. Except I'm positive I swam more due to sighting issues. It was a cloudy morning and the rock was hard to sight on. Returning, the swim beach was hard to sight on. I wound up picking better landmarks and having to correct a few times. Total time was 56 minutes.

Another piece of good news was my neck. I body glided the heck out of my neck, took off my necklace, and velcroed my wetsuit lower. This swim, I didn't chafe my neck so I know he combination of all of these will work.

Bike 5/28

For some additional info, see the post on my regular blog.

My bike computer said 48.3 miles in 3:20. But, I stopped it every time we stopped and walked (for example, in the Ballard Locks, or on Bainbridge when we stopped at a bakery). Of course, I didn't always remember to start it again... same thing with my heart rate monitor. Basically, I should just let the bike computer and/or heart rate monitor run the whole time.

For example, CP's bike computer said 50.3 miles, and he let it run the whole time. When T2 and SO got back to T2's house, they rode back and forth on the street for another block so SO's bike computer would read an even 50 miles.

Anyway, we're all just wanting to get accurate distances. ;)