My brother and his wife were in town for a wedding, and I am letting them use my car. This means that for a couple of days I was back to my bike commuter lifestyle.
Friday, that meant riding my bike to the gym for my long swim. It also meant getting a flat tire on my way home. Turns out I had just given Karin my last CO2 cartridge, nor realizing it was my last CO2 cartridge. So I called my brother to come pick me up in my car. I changed the tire while I waited for him, but had no way to fill it up, so we stopped at a gas station with free air on the way home. That is another aspect of the bike commuter lifestyle--I can't procrastinate changing my (rear!) tire because that bike is the only way I will get to work tomorrow.
Yesterday my return to bike commuting meant waking up at 3:45 am to make sure I was pedaling out of the driveway no later than 4:15 am to clock in at work before my 5:30 am start time. It also meant getting 3/4 of a mile from home and suddenly realizing...I have no helmet on! So I pedaled back home and got my helmet. By then I was quite late, but I am a bike commuter and I have no choice, so I pedaled my heart out and clocked in at 5:29.
After work I pedaled to the gym where I met my friend, Kristin, to do a strength workout. We did a plyometric routine followed by core work and arm exercises with free weights. I love plyometrics! They get your heart rate up while also building muscle and power.
Then I pedaled home, because that is what a bike commuter does.
So yesterday I got in 23 miles on the bike, 11 of that at a pretty fast pace because I was running late, and 8 of that on the way home against a head-wind, which I don't get on the trainer.
My training week has rebounded pretty well from my first couple of days when I was cutting workouts short because I was tired and weak. I got in 3 swims, 3 rides and 3 strength workouts, and after Tuesday I felt great during all of them. My only runs were my 15 minute transition run off the bike and my 10 minute warm up runs before strength training. But now I am in San Diego for a couple of days, where I plan to do plenty of running, along with my first open water swimming in La Jolla Cove, where the water temperature is 62 degrees, which is about what the water temperature is in Tempe Town Lake in mid-November, so I will find out if a) I can handle that cold of water and b) if my wetsuit is up to the task. Of all the things that concern me about race day, I think my single biggest concern is getting in that freezing cold water...and staying in it for a really long time, because I am really slow.
In fact, I just watched a video of myself swimming, which Karin was kind enough to film. I thought that she had paused the video, but it turned out that no, that is just how slow I actually swim. So I am going to be in that lake for a while.
Friday, that meant riding my bike to the gym for my long swim. It also meant getting a flat tire on my way home. Turns out I had just given Karin my last CO2 cartridge, nor realizing it was my last CO2 cartridge. So I called my brother to come pick me up in my car. I changed the tire while I waited for him, but had no way to fill it up, so we stopped at a gas station with free air on the way home. That is another aspect of the bike commuter lifestyle--I can't procrastinate changing my (rear!) tire because that bike is the only way I will get to work tomorrow.
Yesterday my return to bike commuting meant waking up at 3:45 am to make sure I was pedaling out of the driveway no later than 4:15 am to clock in at work before my 5:30 am start time. It also meant getting 3/4 of a mile from home and suddenly realizing...I have no helmet on! So I pedaled back home and got my helmet. By then I was quite late, but I am a bike commuter and I have no choice, so I pedaled my heart out and clocked in at 5:29.
After work I pedaled to the gym where I met my friend, Kristin, to do a strength workout. We did a plyometric routine followed by core work and arm exercises with free weights. I love plyometrics! They get your heart rate up while also building muscle and power.
Then I pedaled home, because that is what a bike commuter does.
So yesterday I got in 23 miles on the bike, 11 of that at a pretty fast pace because I was running late, and 8 of that on the way home against a head-wind, which I don't get on the trainer.
My training week has rebounded pretty well from my first couple of days when I was cutting workouts short because I was tired and weak. I got in 3 swims, 3 rides and 3 strength workouts, and after Tuesday I felt great during all of them. My only runs were my 15 minute transition run off the bike and my 10 minute warm up runs before strength training. But now I am in San Diego for a couple of days, where I plan to do plenty of running, along with my first open water swimming in La Jolla Cove, where the water temperature is 62 degrees, which is about what the water temperature is in Tempe Town Lake in mid-November, so I will find out if a) I can handle that cold of water and b) if my wetsuit is up to the task. Of all the things that concern me about race day, I think my single biggest concern is getting in that freezing cold water...and staying in it for a really long time, because I am really slow.
In fact, I just watched a video of myself swimming, which Karin was kind enough to film. I thought that she had paused the video, but it turned out that no, that is just how slow I actually swim. So I am going to be in that lake for a while.
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