Big Saturday

As I left it, this past week was to be a ramp up week and the mission was successful. With the weather breaking into the fifties, it was a great week to run outside and all the snow and ice was gone.

Although, as I am typing the blog, the sidewalks and roads are filling with new stuff.

This week I started making a change to my swim, when I started breathing on both sides of my stroke.

This came about because where I swim my kids also take swimming lessons and my kids’ teacher is also the pool manager. So this means that I see her three or four times a week and she see’s me swimming.

A week or so ago she asked me why I don’t breathe on both sides of my stroke. My response was that I was not taught that way in swim lessons and I have never changed based on comfort even though I know it would make me faster.

Well… that was all the kick in the butt that I needed, so this week I started drilling for at least 20 laps a session, breathing to my opposite side. By Friday it was becoming much more comfortable, but I will tell you from the outside of the pool it probably looks like I am a drowning victim at times.

That “old dog new tricks” cliché rang true. I’ll keep at it though. If it shaves some time and keeps me straighter in open water, it’s worth a shot.

Also, my first lesson of this blog I learned on Friday evening. Do not attempt to swim 2 miles on two hours of sleep and an empty stomach after a days worth of work. It was ugly, long and painful.

Saturday turned out to be the biggest day of training this week. It was a scheduled long run day and I was adding miles for the marathon, so I ended up running 13.5 miles.

The second lesson of the blog…do not attempt this right after finishing the remaining portion of your kids chocolate covered donut. It made for a very unsettled stomach for about six miles, especially when I had gel at mile 8.

The wind sucked on this run. 20-25mph in my face for seven miles, but least it was behind me for good while when I made the turn. My pace was okay, but I was redlining during the run more than I should have been. I guess I was just off from a crazy week and a lot of training.

On Saturday afternoon, I got to take the new bike (BMC Racemaster) out for a spin and it was great. Now of course, when it was fifty out I didn’t get a chance. I went out when it was in the thirties. But even through the frostbite, I was able to get in 25 miles and to start to break the new ride in. The frame was great. It was stiff, responsive, and fast. It will be a great training and racing bike and plus it looks cool.

Overall, Saturday was a killer day and my body was pretty beat. No worries though, I rallied Saturday night for a rousing PTA wine tasting and dance lesson with my wife and some good friends and was no worse for wear.

Today I dedicated as a recovery day since it has been almost a month of training from the last one and my body is thanking me, although my legs came out of yesterday pretty fit.

(Editor’s Note: Wife, on the other hand, came out of the PTA event exhausted and a little too hung over for the yoga she attempted this morning.)