Skip to main content

Breakthrough fitness week! 100th post! Thank you loyal readers!

Started off this week with a mind-numbing crawl at Snake Creek Gap. See my previous post for gory details. Rested on Monday and Tuesday as I was pretty beat up after Snake Creek. Wednesday met up with Lisa Randall at White for the 35-mile loop.  Lisa is a great ride partner because she's not only fast but she is fast for a long time.  I felt like I had a rocket booster on my bike that day after 2 days rest and about 7 hours of sleep. My confidence on the road bike is creeping up too. More assured.  Every ride is a learning experience. Fantastic!
Thursday swam with Lisa and Renee. Lisa offered some good pointers on freestyle technique. My swimming is slowly getting better. Just have to relax and iron out a few kinks in the stroke. Renee also discovered the joys of forward motion through water with the use of fins. She has never swam before! (She promptly ordered fins and a pull buoy and I think she is now hooked.)
Friday back out at White on another fast ride. Felt tired in legs and not sleeping well. Avg speed was 19.2 on the way out! That's a PR.  Had to dodge an oncoming cyclist. Finished the 35 mile#course in 1:55:36,another PR.  Dubious Strava says I have a PR on Cagle Hill segment which I'll take with a grain of salt.
Saturday went to Allatoona off Kellogg Creek for an OWS. There's a nice,quiet stretch of about a mile where the boats have to idle through so it's a perfect swimming and kayaking spot. My swim today was excellent although I couldn't see squat through my goggles. I felt relaxed. Took on oo much water in my head turns. Swam about 200 yards without stopping then another 1/4 mile. Stop. Another hundred yards or so to a beach. Rested there for 10 minutes then headed back. Swam 1/3 mile non-stop! Total was .66 mile in 30 minutes! This is the best and most confident I've felt in open water ever. It helps that Renee is there with me in the kayak tremendously!  I am on cloud nine about my swim today.  Continuing on with today's triathlon theme, went to Blanket's with Renee for a bike and run.  Did 2 South loops and a VMT. First South loop focused on sessioning technical stuff. South felt like a dream compared to Snake Creek.  2nd South was all about speed, at least speed on a 32-18 SS ratio. That is a monster gear but is OK for Blanket's.  Got on VMT and was kinda hating the gearing. Finally wearing down some. Back to the parking lot to put on running shoes. Managed a 1.5 mile at about a 9 minute.

Let's see...is there anything else I can do?  Oh, I didn't lift weights.

Popular posts from this blog

The milk of human kindness isn't spoiled

Something wonderful is happening. I am being serious. For the past year or so I've been developing this sense of love and compassion for humanity.  That sounds like a really broad, general statement but it's true. I'm becoming more perceptive of others and more forgiving. I believe we're all doing the best with the hand we're given. I use these words because I don't know how else to describe this very subtle feeling. It's a swelling in the heart and a sense of well-being and contentment.  Some days it borders on joy. Sure, I still get irritated with nuisances like drivers when they tailgate me or cut me off in traffic but overall, I am developing something here. Maybe my soul is expanding. I'm beginning to feel as though I'm finally a part of the human race.  In the past, I've felt so aloof and misanthropic so this is strange for me. I can't exactly pinpoint when it began.  I wonder if it's just part of the maturation process but I hope...
Read more

Allatoona Creek trail run race report

First year doing the Allatoona Creek race. Missed it last year because I had a duathlon on the same day. This course is sneakily difficult with the most challenging being the Mason's Bridge section.  On a bike, it's easier and more fun because you can roll through all the dips but running through those is really tough.  There aren't very many climbs and no big hills but that course is a grinder.  There was a torrential rainfall a few days before the race so the first 3 miles was a mud run through open cross-country.  I really liked this part though felt I got off to a slow start.  Pacing is so difficult because I don't know how much energy I need to spare.   Feet were wet out of the gate but it was no big deal.  There's a twisted part of me that prefers adverse conditions. Went in to the singletrack section at Rusty Bucket and shuffled through twisty sections, not very fast through there.  In fact, I felt leaden the entire race. I had ran the da...
Read more

Thoughts on Blanket's Crash

Past few times out on the bike my front wheel has washed out. The trail has been powdery/loose in both cases but I blame mostly my riding technique. It seems that instead of leaning, which one should do at high speed, I'm trying to turn the handlebars too much. It's discouraging because I feel my technique has advanced considerably over the past two years. I know experience is a great teacher but I can't help but feel like I'm regressing some here. Bad habits are hard to break. Common biking wisdom suggests that we crash on trails most familiar to us, perhaps because we are so casual and too loose. This one particular section I wiped out a few weeks ago on but it was more of a harmless 10-foot butt-slide that only ripped my shorts. Now I'm forced to convalesce and heal my wounds. My body probably needs a break anyway. Already looking forward to the next ride. I want the chance to ride the section smooth and fast with confidence. Until next time -J VMT crash
Read more