Saturday SWIM 2 miles in 90 mins
Sunday BIKE 91 miles in about 5.5hrs
Sunday RUN 7 miles in 1:15 (more on this later.
I’ll put the whole weekend into one post, since the over-arching idea of doing 100 SBR miles was a driving force in it. Then I’ll get to the ugly shit last
The swim on Saturday was great, I focused on just one thing: feeling the resistance of the water against my hands. Forget most everything else, and try to feel the water. Where is that stopping point at which my hand hits the water, then slips under me? The point at which my hand flutters or at which I bend my elbow and decrease the resistance? The point at which I’m supposed to recognize that anchor and throw my body weight over it?
I felt it! Not every stroke, not every 50m, but there were a few sets in the morning that I did feel that STOP, mostly in my right hand. I tried to really identify the moment so I could define the anchor and throw my weight over it. But no luck there, I think I should be happy with that much progress. CHG was telling me Weds that this moment is what I need to find and use to my benefit. I got that much from that awful swim, anyway.
I was supposed to run Saturday, but had so much to do around the house that it didn’t happen. In retrospect, this was a bad thing (see below). But I did get to spend the day with DH—looking at patio furniture and enjoying a mutual day off.
Sunday was another ab-fab day: sunny, warm, light winds, unbelievably beautiful. The apple, cherry, and lilac trees are in full swing, the spring blooms are up, and the world is turning green again. We had a 7am start with about 10 riders doing a 60-mile loop. It started off cool but energetic. The jokes were flying left and right, everyone was loving it. We had duck-pigs that quoinked, piggies that wweeeeeee-weeeeeeeee-weeeeeee [pure adrenaline], and more laughs that I could track. I also tested my new energy bar recipes on this ride, and found success with them. All in all, a great first loop that I could write all day about.
The second loop was 30 miles for me. We had 20-ish riders! Some doing another 60, some doing only 30, and some others doing their first 60. It was great seeing a huge group for the ride (although we were running minutes behind our arrival schedule, not so great).
We took off in the second loop with the fresh legs off the front. This second loop was definitely harder, as measured by the fact that the same roads and hills weren’t quite as slick. But that’s not to say it was hard or bad. Just not as zippy.
I’m happy to say that my nutrition was spot on, hydration was easy (but it’s not hot out yet), the bike fit is dialed in, and I have nothing I need to change in the immediate future!
The run. So on the ride I came up with the crazy idea that I could do 100 SBR miles this weekend. I just needed to run the difference after the ride! By my calcs, that’s 7-8 miles. Since the ride ended at 91, I already had 2 swimming, I just needed 7 more! I could do an easy 7 miles, no problem. I’d eaten a gel very late in the ride to simulate my off the bike nutrition, didn’t hurry but didn’t dawdle for a “T2”, and took off out towards the flats. It was during this time I asked CP if he was running (I forgot that he can’t) because I saw him in running shoes, and he ribbed me for reminding him. Oh the foreshadowing…
The first 3.5 of the run was in just over 31 minutes. I was surprised to see a sub-9 pace and moderate HR of 140’s. I’d had more bad math in planning this. I thought the RR tracks were 4 miles out. Nope, they are 4 miles out-n-back! Oh well, just kept going.
I expected to see the other biking group on the run, so I perked up when I saw a group of cyclists coming my way. But there were in a tight group, a two-row paceline…and the group was smaller…nope! It was the BS team! Hi MW!!
Keep going, past the big ass turtle, past the tracks, past the muddy ditches. Hit 3.5 and turn around. Shortly after turning a red pickup came my way in a slight curve in the road. He wasn’t moving over fast, he moved over but not as much as they usually do. I stepped of the road into the gravel in the side. Looking more at the truck than the gravel……and then $%^&*%$#%&*(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rolled my left ankle. Hard. Really hard.
I tried to keep walking, and tried to stay calm. Here I am on a rural road with only 3-4 cars in the last 35 mins and I’m limping. Was the next group of cyclists coming up behind me? Just walk. Stay calm.
In fact if anything I was a little too calm. I tried a light job. No, not yet. Walk. The ankle was tingly and burny, but there was a focal center of pain, about in the same place as another injury some time ago. Walk, rest, try jogging again. Hurts like a mo’fo’, but since I needed to get back to the truck asap I had to make a choice: walk 60 mins or jog 30. I took jogging.
And it wasn’t terrible bad either. One the 1-10 pain scale…maybe a 4? But we all know my scale is all f’d up. I had to wait for a train, but in the end I was able to run home! Sure it hurt, but not so bad that I couldn’t keep moving. By the time I got back to the parking lot, it had swelled but not to the extent that the previous injury swelled. And there was no purpling like before. Maybe it’s not the same injury?
Got home, iced, elevated, and sort of sat in denial with it. I didn’t want to touch it (not because it hurt, but because I was in denial about it), didn’t want to look at it, didn’t want to think about it. I just tried to ignore it. Otherwise, I felt great after the ride. No soreness (although my right knee started bothering me again today…), hydrated, fed, and just tired. Awesome that I could jump from 60 miles to 90 miles cycling like that!
More news tomorrow, as it sounds like I’m going to an urgent care in the morning!
No comments:
Post a Comment