Training Weekend at Last!

Finally! The link to the photos of practice weekend. Thanks, Nate! There's a few other shots in there, too.

Easter and Practice Tri

Suffering!

The bike ride up Mt. Tam and across the Seven Sisters was the single hardest physical activity I have ever completed in my entire life. The final five miles of the ascent include a 1500 foot elevation gain and the road is painted with inspirational phrases including "suffering," "pain," and "anguish." Wow. What a ride. Traversing the Seven Sisters felt like coasting along rollers in comparison.

Here's the view from the top. Hello, Bolinas Bay!



Sometimes I am overcome with the beauty of the world. Not joking.

Today I ran 15 miles. Yowsers, a new record. I am beat. Peak training is HARD! I can't wait to taper, and then rock the Wildflower course. Two weeks to go.

I'm feeling more fatigued than eloquent at the moment, so this is as good as this post is going to get.

Hot or Not?

Hot!
1. I got my two-mile time down from 18:00 minutes to 15:41. Here I am prepping with a side plank.



2. I can do 40 push-ups in a row. 50 would be hotter.
3. I did 1.5 miles of sprints in the pool last week.
4. I did 30 miles of bike sprints today after school.

Not!
1. Flat tire at 6:45am today. (I girl powered that bad boy in no time at all!)
2. I ate two bugs on my bike this week.
3. Having circulation issues.

Snakes and Lizards and Birds...

...oh my! And squirrels and frogs. I saw all of these dead on the road today. In terms of training, this was a good week, which is of note since things on other fronts were disastrous. But this is a training blog, is it not? In that case, what a great week it was!

Yesterday was the annual classic "Alpine A**kicker" ride and run. This entails an elevation gain of about 3500 feet over the course of a 20-mile-out, 20-mile-back route centered around Alpine Dam near Muir Woods. We hopped off our bikes and ran for an hour at the halfway point. No, this did not make the second half easier.

Today I skipped the practice triathlon on San Pablo Bay because I didn't feel I needed practice with body marking, transitioning, and such. I felt I needed to get some more fast miles under my pedals. I went down to Santa Cruz and did another 20-out, 20-back on Highway 1. It was absurdly windy on the way north, and extremely awesome on the way south. The roadkill was abundant on both sides of the road.

I've gotta be fast enough to make my bike time cutoff at Wildflower. I have a couple more weeks to get faster before I have to taper. I can do this.

I am Iron.

BTW, only $87 to go!

The Week in Review

T'was a difficult week for me! On Wednesday, I skipped Kezar and took an extra rest day to celebrate Nate's birthday (well worth it, especially after the training weekend extravaganza). I was all ready to get back to business Thursday, but as I was changing into my bike jersey, I realized I had forgotten my bike shorts at home! Gaaaa! I have never made such an omission before. And I had to be back in the City at a specific time for an appointment, so it ended up being a three rest day week for me.

I asked coach Chris how to get faster on my bike, and taking three rest days was not one of his suggestions.

Today we had a big ol' loop ride (The "Cheese Factory Loop," in fact) in Novato/Nicasio. I rode the 48 miles much faster than I rode the same mileage at the Wildflower course. Yes! And after more swimming, too.

One month until the main event. Things are getting serious. Buckle your bike helmets, everyone.

Where's Waldo?

Jem and the Holograms