Once again, I am earning a reputation of being lazy. Sunday afternoon, I ended up skipping the bike in the heat of the day thinking I would go back to it later. I did make it to the gym and did some weight training. That turned out to be a lot of fun because for some reason, a bunch of my buddies happened to be there at the same time. All in all, Sunday afternoons are fun days to go to the gym. It usually isn't very crowded and there aren't a lot of time pressures.
Diet wise, also not so hot, I'm afraid. I had a coupon for $20 off on dinner for 2 at Stony River Steak House. I called Mom and we went and watched the Olympics while we ate. I had a 12 oz Prime Rib but I did at least get broccoli for my side.
Monday, up early to start a bike ride at 6 AM. First time trying out the bike and lights while it was still dark. Went better than expected. In some ways, it was very nice. It was still nice and cool and there was very little traffic, especially at first. Finished 14 miles before work. That is probably about as much as I can reasonably expect to do in the morning before work.
AND to make myself accountable, on Monday, I signed up for my second sprint triathlon in Bowling Green on August 19 and an Ohio River swim at Cardinal Harbor on August 11.
In the early afternoon, I got some very frustrating news regarding my on-going divorce. I won't go into a rant or anything but I will say that I was VERY upset the rest of the day. So, it worked out well that I went to Tom Sawyer on Monday night to swim, and swim, and swim. I swam 2000m, which is my longest continuous swim to date - about 1.2 miles. This is the length of a swim for a Half Iron Man and also the length of the Ohio River Swim I signed up for on August 11.
It felt great to get rid of some frustration and aggression by swimming but that was a long way. I didn't notice anything until I stopped swimming when my right calf started cramping terribly. I had to jump back in the pool to apply pressure to my toes to stop the cramp. It did pass but the rest of the night I had practically every muscle of my body trying to cramp on me.
Tuesday, I had big ideas but really no big plans. I convinced myself that I needed a day off from the bike. It also wasn't a great day to do weights again. After 3 contiguous days in the pool, it seemed like I needed a break from swimming. So, it seemed like a perfect day for a run - maybe after work. Maybe on a treadmill because it is so hot. As I was pondering these things I got an invitation to dinner and you know what? I don't get a lot of dinner invitations. So, I totally ditched training for the day and went to dinner at my sister's house to wish my nieces well before they returned to college.
Maybe I needed a day off because I just loved it and when I started up again on Wednesday, I really enjoyed my bike ride. I started off maybe 15 minutes earlier than Monday and finished before 7 again. I seem to be getting accustomed to the dark and I wasn't as nervous as I have been.
Later in the day, my buddy / mentor Patrick grabbed me, Chris Caldwell, Scottie Collier and another triathlon friend of Patrick's for another Ohio River swim. Scottie followed along side us in a canoe to make sure everyone was okay while the rest of us swam a mile in the Ohio. This time, it went really well. I was much less anxious. We swam about a half mile with the current and returned against the current. I actually did best on the return swim. I was able to "find my groove" and was able to maintain free style for the entire way back against the current. The total time for the entire mile was under 40 minutes, which I thought was a pretty good time for open water. It was actually very relaxing. By the time we finished and all got back to our cars and home, it was past 9:30 pm.
Now down to 2 days before the triathlon. Today the plan is for weights only. It seems that when I bike I do best with a couple of days off in between. Likewise with the swim. I suppose I really could run some but I really am not concerned that I will not be able to do a 5K. Probably the bigger issue now is to figure out the race courses for the bike and run and to figure out how to do the transitions.
Have a great day!
David
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