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April 15, 2006
2 WEEKS TILL THE WILDFLOWER
This was supposed to be my last big training week, as I make my push to get ready for both the Wildflower, and my first triathlon of the year on May 13, in Oroville. I started the week with a rest day on Monday, then swimming (1000 yards), 2 miles of hills on the treadmill, and 35 minutes of spinning on Tuesday. Wednesday was another rest day, and then Thursday was another swim/bike brick workout. Swimming was 5 – 100 yards sprints, and then a couple of hundred yards to warm up/cool down.
Also, I got to try out my new wetsuit on Thursday. I ordered it last week, and couldn’t wait for the lakes to clean up to try it out. The buoyancy, and improved “hydro-dynamics� decreased both my 50-yard and 100 yard sprint times by almost 20 percent. It is absolutely amazing how much easier it is to swim with a good quality, triathlon specific wetsuit.
I’ve been fighting a cold and/or sinus infection for the last week or so. On Wednesday, I got tired of the headaches and stuff, so I went to Enloe Prompt care after work. Once in the exam room, the nurse’s aid did the usual blood pressure, pulse, etc. When she took my pulse, she said “wow, that is really good, you must be an athlete�. I do not know that I have ever had anyone call me “an athlete� before, and it was a pretty cool feeling.
I have been watching the weather all week, trying to figure out how to get a long (around 70 miles or so) ride in over the weekend. Saturday looked like rain, and Sunday was out due to rain and a family gathering for Easter. So, Friday after work, I finally was able to get away to ride Honey Run again. I wasn’t able to leave until almost 5:30 PM, so I knew I would be a little “daylight challenged� at the end of the ride, but I figured that would help keep me motivated to ride fast. The ride was fairly uneventful, all the traffic behaved pretty well, and for the first time this year I made it up Honey Run without stopping. I stopped at the little corner market and Neal and Skyway to buy a Gatorade, and started talking to two ladies there. One was purchasing a bottle of wine, and she commented to the cashier that “that’s what I should be doing, going for a bike ride, rather that doing this� pointing to the alcohol. They laughed when I told them I had considered not riding today, and just hanging out by the pool with a Corona this afternoon. They both agreed that I “deserved� a Corona once I made it home.
By the time I made it home, it was after 8:00, and plenty dark. Made a mental note for myself to leave before 5:00 PM for the Honey Run loop. This ride was about 35 miles, and took me on the order of two and a half hours. That averages to a whopping 14 miles per hour. My goal, for the triathlon seasons is 19 miles per hour during the races.
Saturday morning I woke up, hoping that the weather would cooperate, so I could get an additional ride in. No such luck, the Magalia weather station already had a trace of rain, and the national weather service had issued a Wind Advisory for the Valley. I have just about had it with biking in the wind, so I went to the gym instead, to get both a swim and a good spinning workout. My training plan called for a long bike of 70 miles today – and there just was no safe way to make that happen out on the roadways.
This was my “long swim� for the week, so I swam a mile (35 laps), then did about an hour and a half on the spinning bike. Sunday will be a well-deserved rest day.
Posted by Dennis at April 15, 2006 07:06 AM