Some Hilly Workouts

Hilly water, hilly roads.

Got to the lake yesterday for the tri swim group workout and it was breezy and the lake was choppy. THANK GOD. I've needed to practice in chop! It was not as bad as the lake sometimes gets, but "bad" enough to boost my confidence after swimming in it for an hour. Joining the tri swim group is one of the best things I have done this season. Coach Kara and Coach Paul really know WTH they are doing when it comes to coaching. We swam with the chop, against the chop, and perpendicular to the chop. Enough for me to know that I CAN DO IT no matter what the water looks like on the morning of November 9!

Today was a 56 mile ride followed by a 3.1 mile run. The ride had some good parts, and some sucky parts. At points it felt quite long, like drudgery, and I felt flat and not in command of the course. At other points it felt fine. This was the second Silverman supported ride so there were quite a few riders out there, and excellent SAG support. I rode alone (Tony is on vacation) and was glad for the opportunity. Sorted some things out mentally just after the halfway point and kept grinding away. Just kept pedaling. Except when I had to stop to pee. Not sure what's up with that but I stopped three times to pee – twice in the bathroom at the scenic overlook and once behind some scant shrubbery off the side of the road. On my last long ride (4 hours) I didn't pee at all. I think that's because it was way hotter that day and I used up all the fluids I drank? Not entirely sure. I kept drinking today, even though I kept having to pee!

Yes it is finally cooling down here. It was "chilly" this morning, in the 60s. It warmed up to probably the mid 80s by the time I was off the bike and starting to run. There was only a slight breeze throughout the morning.

Izaac and I ran 3.1 miles after the ride. Coming off the bike, I. FELT. FABULOUS. Izaac and I pushed the pace for20 minutes and the rest of the run was a nice easy warm up and cool down. I know my nutrition plan on the bike has been working but frankly I was surprised to feel that good running off the bike after 56 miles. This makes me very, very happy!

Only five weeks to go! FIVE WEEKS!