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April 09, 2006
THREE WEEKS TILL THE WILDFLOWER
This was a big training week, as I make my push to get ready for both the Wildflower, and my first triathlon of the year in May. I started the week with something new for me – a spin class at In Motion Fitness. I did the “beginners� class on Tuesday, and it was fun. The instructor was very nice, and understanding when I told him I would have to leave early (work always seems to get in the way of things!!). I warmed up for the spinning by swimming, did 21 laps in 26 minutes and 47�.
On Thursday, I did a repeat swim/bike brick, with 100 yard “sprints� in the pool, and then went to the “advanced� spin class. The instructor for this class was a hoot, and he really went out of his way to try to give us a good hard workout.
Friday was swimming at In Motion; I did 35 laps (1,750 yards, or just about a mile) in 41 minutes and 52 seconds. This averaged out to two minutes and 23 seconds per 100 yards, which is my best time yet for a long distance swim. In fact, this is faster than many of my previous race times for ½ mile swims. Finally, the swimming is starting to come around.
Saturday was my big bike ride – I hooked up with my friend Paul, and we went up Honeyrun, then up the trailway to the upper end of Paradise. Honeyrun is just as steep, and still just as hard as I remember it…. I took two short walk breaks to stretch out my calves and back, but Paul toughed it out all the way to the top. Once at the top of town we stopped at Fastrip to buy some Gatorade and something to eat – the lady behind the counter asked where we were riding from and she just about fell off her stool when I told her we started in Durham, went to Chico, then up to Paradise via Honeyrun. I guess to the average Joe, that doesn’t exercise much, that seems like a pretty big deal.
We went home via Neal Road, which is a wickedly fast way to get home. Once we got past the rough stuff about half way down, we both put our bikes in high gear and gave it all we had. I reached a maximum speed of 33.5 miles per hour, and then all of a sudden my right hamstring started cramping – so I took that as a not so subtle message that I had better take it easy. Our total for the trip was about 53 miles, and roughly 2000 feet of vertical climbing. As I was riding the last couple of miles to my house, I remember thinking, Wow, this would only be the halfway point on the Wildflower….. That is going to be a long, long day…..
Sunday was pretty much a rest day, as I was still sore from the bike ride. Later in the afternoon, I couldn't stand it - with the spots of sun shining through the clouds, I went for a 5 mile run. Of course, it started raining about halfway through. I guess I just have to appreciate the rain now, for soon it will be July, and so hot we will all be complaining about the heat. Finished the run in 44 minutes, which was pretty good considering my condition.
Posted by Dennis at April 9, 2006 04:00 PM