So, I said just a couple more workouts before the big weekend. It started last night with a group run...up and down and up and down and up and down and up and down and (you get the idea)...Observatory Drive on campus. My teammates - Michele, Mike, Stephanie, Jamie and I gathered at the bottom of the hill (Chuck started earlier on his own), took a quick lap out to Lot 40 (o.k., we drove to Lot 40- but ran the rest of this), down the lakefront bike path back to the union terrace for a quick bathroom break and a little sight-seeing (union terrace is always a good place to "people watch"). Next it was up Observatory Drive where we regrouped and decided our plan of attack- 4 laps- up one side, down the other, turn around to come back up and down again. Four doesn't sound like that much, but think about it- each lap has two big uphills and two big downhills, which are also pretty jarring to the body. Then there was the heat. Enough said.
This morning was our last triathlon swim class of this session at Harbor. Bright & early- 6am at Governor Nelson State Park. My teammate Susan and I were the only ones to show up (plus Derek, the instuctor). We got suited up and and headed out- past the sign warning us of poor water conditions, past the blue-green algae. Well, we tried to get past the blue-green algae. Derek paddled his canoe out about 25 yards past the swim area and declared it "unsafe for swimming." So we regrouped and decided to head back to the Harbor for a swim in the sport pool- the lap pool is in the process of being converted to a salt-water pool. We swam laps. I really don't like swimming laps. I've gotten much better, but I still don't like swimming laps. Your form has to be so much better in the pool- no wetsuit to hold you up. Plus the instuctor can see everything. Nothing is hidden beneath the really dirty water. Not that my form is not perfect, but...
After the race this weekend, Derek is going to look at our splits and put together a program to get us ready for IM.
The rest of today's workout was supposed to be a 40 mile ride. I'm watching the Tour. I don't blow off workouts often, but i'm feeling a bit fatigued and I think an extra rest day will do wonders before the race this weekend. Besides, it's research- I'm carefully watching the form of the riders. O.K., I'm not. I'm eating icecream and sipping on a soda. But I COULD be studying their form. You don't know for sure.
