Stumpy Creek International Triathlon (7.16.11), Mooresville, NC - 2:14:53, 9th Overall
Ahhh...the dreaded race. I have been purposely avoiding discussing this race and it was a terrible display of my capabilities. No, I'm not disappointing in finishing 9th, but I'm most frustrated in my attitude and also the way I felt out there on the course. I've never won any kind of race in my life until this race last year, so I put unnecessary pressure on myself to do well this year. The competition was stiff as this race was selected to be the double points race in the NCTS. I wasn't racing for any points, but seeing how you stack up against the best in the series is a good barometer of your shape. My attitude all year from Boston up until this race was to have fun, race to the best of my ability, and see where the cards fell time wise. From the moment I jumped in the swim in Lake Norman I didn't want to be there. I had a good swim, but I couldn't stop thinking about how I was ready to be done with the race and how I didn't even want to be there. I came out of the water with Jenny, Frank, and Mark Carey so I was happy with my swim, but I definitely didn't want to ride my bike. This was one of the first times in my life I actually wanted to just stop and pull a DNF. I reluctantly got on my bike, hoping that I would snap out of it. I hadn't had my bike "properly" fitted to me and it had been causing me a lot of problems, but this put it over the top. I was so frustrated riding my bike again those thoughts of pulling out of the race were creeping in. My quads had this deep dull pain in them and I thought of a million reasons why this could be. Was I overtrained? Did I jump back into training too soon after Boston and cook myself? Alright, enough of the pity party, but the bike ended after what seemed like everyone in the open division passing me. I set off on the run hoping to save a little bit of face, but I was solo off the bike with no one near me. So I basically just ran to run, in frustration. No one passed me and I passed no one over the 10k. Even if I could have seen someone ahead of me I don't think I would have been mentally able to push it to catch them, and if someone had been breathing down my neck I sure as hell wouldn't have fought off the challenge. I was in a bad, bad place.
The good thing about bad races is that there is a lot to take away from them. The day after the race I took a complete day to myself, got my first massage on my shredded quads, and basically just sat on the couch all day and reflected on my training. After the race I had convinced myself that I wasn't doing IM Louisville, that I was done with triathlons. I was frustrated with myself for my attitude, the way my body felt, and where I was in my training for Louisville. It took me a couple of days to get over it, but in the end I decided that it was time to have a little attitude (re)adjustment and it was time to go back to having fun and not putting any pressure on myself. I have blogged before about how terrible I do in races where I put too much pressure on myself and when I put too much emphasis on hitting a certain time goal. That pressure and the time goals are unnecessary because in the end I do triathlons because they are fun, the training with friends is fun, and racing should be fun (although it should hurt too!). After Stumpy Creek I decided it was time to have fun again and forget about my experiences at the race. Everyone has bad races, it's a part of the sport, so I decided to put the race in my rear view mirror it was time to have some fun again and enjoy training and racing!
Phew...that wasn't so bad after all. Oh, and I did get a more "professional" bike fit on Monday to hopefully help out with some of the quad pain! I concluded also that I had only been on the new tri-bike for a couple of weeks so my body was probably getting adjusted to the new position after ride a road bike for the past 7 months.
Lake Logan International Triathlon (8.6.11 AM), Canton, NC - 2:01:11, 7th Overall
I signed up for Lake Logan shortly after the Stumpy Creek failure in hopes of accomplishing 2 things, having fun again at a race and getting in a last good workout before IM Louisville. I went into the race with the attitude of not caring where I place and not caring what my time was, but instead I intended to have fun and have a good race doing it. After spending the night in a cheap motel, I went and picked up Kevin at the motel he and Linden were staying at and we headed to the race site. We showed up in plenty of time, but for some reason I was dilly dallying in the transition area and ended up have to run over to the swim start. As the open wave was already in the water at the start line I was just finishing getting my wetsuit on when the announcer said "20 seconds". I ran around the other waves waiting on the dock and basically jumped off the dock as the gun went off and just started swimming! Spent the swim trying to get comfortable in the wetsuit, as I hate wetsuit swims! I was trying to sit on some people's feet, but there was a little fog over the lake that morning so I swam solo most of the time. I never had thoughts of not want to race like I did at Stumpy Creek so at least that was an improvement! I probably didn't push as hard as I should have, but I was just happy that my attitude adjustment had been a success!!!! Out of the swim and onto the bike I found my legs quickly on the little uphill out of the lake area. I could tell my legs felt much better than they did a couple weeks before, likely because of my weekly massages. There was a little of a false flat on the second half of the course and I didn't have the best bike ride, but it sure was better than the way I felt at Stumpy Creek. Up and over the one mentionable climb and I was back in transition and ready to run! I felt great on the run and was able to pick off a couple of other guys, but with there being money in this race I knew the couple of other guys ahead of me were pro's and it was highly unlikely I would catch the. At the 5k turnaround point I saw one more guy that I had a chance of picking off, which I did, but the other guys were just way too far ahead. Not really anyone threatening from behind me, but I continued to push the rest of the run as I was hoping to get in under 2 hours, but to no avail. Overall, I was extremely happy about my attitude and the way I felt out there racing. I needed another race before IM Louisville to at least re-instill my confidence and begin my taper! 3 weeks till IM Louisville and I was content again in my triathlon glory.
Crossroads Classic Road Race (8.6.11 PM), Salisbury, NC - 1:43:14 (41ish miles), 3rd Overall Cat 5B
Somehow I thought it would be a good idea to do this bike race in the afternoon after doing Lake Logan in the morning as a good kickoff to the taper. So after getting some food up at the triathlon I got in my car to head to Salisbury. I put on my compression gear in hopes of getting a little recovery and tried to drink as many fluids as possible to help. After our first bike racing experience at the Piedmont Triad Omnium the same group of guys decided to hit this race too. The race started around 3pm and I got there just in time for a little warm up ride with the crew. I didn't feel great, which was too be expected, and it was a weird feeling getting on the road bike after riding the tri bike in the morning. I was hopeful once the race started I would start feeling a little better and get the blood flowing in order to mix it up with the roadies. Unfortunately the race directors had let too many people sign up in Cat 5 so they had to split the field into two groups, with the lead group being guys that were racing the overall omnium and the second group being the guys who were only doing the road race. I was a little disappointed, but decided that I was just there for the workout and the points to hopefully move out of Cat 5. In the end I think that we ended up riding just as fast, if not faster than the first group anyways. We (Chris, Lat, Troy, and I) started pretty much on the front line this time instead of being in the back and having to fight to get to the front. It was another 3 loop ordeal and the terrain was pretty rolling with a couple of good spots to try and get away on the backside of each loop. Unfortunately there were only a couple of us willing to do any work, with everyone else sitting in, so it was almost like an accelerated training ride with a group. Nothing really significant until the end of the second lap when Lat and Chris tried to get away, but the group ended up closing them down. It was looking like everyone was content with just sitting in until the finish. I tried on the third lap to at least make things interesting, but could never get a solid group together to make a break. Mark, a guy that I have road with before from Bicycle Sport, and I tried one final attempt at getting a break on the last major hill, but the group shut us down quickly. So as we lined up for the sprint finish I was a little nervous about the Cat (aka Crash) 5's reputation at the sprint finishing and I had bigger fish to fry at IM Louisville so I definitely didn't want to end up hitting the deck. Lat took a real strong pull on the straightaway leading to the finish and I quickly jumped on his wheel. As he started to give out a little I jumped around him and got onto another guys surging wheel. About that time a guy came over into Lat, they touched wheels and I thought I was done for. Luckily I stayed up and even though it killed my momentum trying to get away from Lat I was able to hang on for 3rd behind Mark and the guy that had touched wheels with Lat. I don't know how Lat kept upright, but I sure was happy that he did.
A great double race day and I was happy to have two solid workouts in the book before beginning the taper for Louisville.
Next up is race reports from Louisville and Kona!!!! I know the excitement for my one faithful reader (James) is keeping him on the edge of his seat...errr...I mean the edge of the couch.
Showing posts with label racing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label racing. Show all posts
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Update #1 - Running Races
So in an attempt to update the blog, I am going to provide some short (and sweet) recaps from February, culminating with long race report from IM Louisville and the IM World Championships in Kona, HI. I didn't do a good of a job updating everything as I get a little long winded in my blogs, so I'm going to just provide short recaps of each race.
*Charles Harris 10k, Tucker, GA - 34:22
Chose this race down in Atlanta after my buddy Keith was making the trip from Pittsburgh to Atlanta to visit his family, so I made the trek down from Charlotte to also visit my family and race with him and his brother Kurt. It was a early morning as the race was point to point and we had to park at the finish and get bused to the start line. It was a pretty chilly morning and with the race start at 7am we really had to get down there early to pick up our packets and get in a good warm-up. After a couple of laps around the Tucker High School track and some good stretching we headed to the start line to begin. Not too much to report as the details are a bit fuzzy, but after reviewing my training log I remember feeling better as the race went on and my splits ended up showing a negative split on the two 5k sections. I passed a couple of other competitors in the last mile and was pleasantly surprised with my result. Haven't run too many 10k's so this was definitely a PR and after vowing to race more before Boston, I was very happy with the result.
*Corporate Cup Half Marathon, Charlotte, NC - 1:16:57
I didn't head into this race with any expectations of a PR, but wanted a good hard tempo run and possibly give myself a chance to PR. I incorporated the half marathon in the middle of a 20-miler and I ended up missing a PR by 2 seconds on a much tougher course than the flat New Orleans Half Marathon in 2009 where I ran a 1:16:55. This gave me a lot of confidence heading into Boston, 5 weeks away. My splits were very even as I never faded at the end, but the run up Morehead St. is always a killer at the end of this race. I was happy about my 4th place overall finish and staying strong throughout the race as I was solo pretty much the entire way.
*Boston Marathon, Boston, MA - 2:42:11
I raced Boston in 2008 and set some lofty expectations, even though it would be my first real race since hip surgery in July 2007. In 2008 I faded up the Newton Hills and even though I ended up with a PR of 2:47:53 I still wanted some revenge on that course. I knew that I could tackle those hills and run an even split if I played my cards right. Previously I ran a 1:20:03 over the first half of the course and 1:27:50 over the second half. I knew that if I took it out a little more conservative this time I could take advantage of the second half of the course and set myself up for a good race. I put a lot of pressure on myself in 2008 and this year I said my overall goal was to have fun and enjoy the race. Whenever I put too much pressure on myself I end up putting on blinders and internalizing everything. This year I never felt great throughout the whole race, but I also never felt terrible. Sometimes your best days come when you aren't feeling your best. I held myself back the first mile (6:37) as it felt like everyone was passing me, but the first half of the marathon is basically downhill so a lot of people end up blowing themselves up by the time they get to Newton. The first half I really kept myself in control and by about mile 16 I was feeling in a good rhythm, which was perfect time for the Newton Hills. Up and over the hills, as I came through Boston College and was nearing downtown I got a little over zealous and dropped a couple of sub-6 minute miles because I knew as long as I held it together for the last 10k I was staring at a big PR. Coming down Boylston Street I went over to the crowd and started giving some high fives because it was something I didn't get to experience last time as I had bonked pretty hard. In the end it was fun to be out there with so many other Charlotte friends who had made the trip. Some had good races and some left with that same feeling that I had in 2008, that they wanted to come back for revenge on the course, but in the end we all agreed that the Boston Marathon is magnificent. The support from the crowds, the energy of the competitors, and the history of the race all make it such a great experience.
*Charles Harris 10k, Tucker, GA - 34:22
Chose this race down in Atlanta after my buddy Keith was making the trip from Pittsburgh to Atlanta to visit his family, so I made the trek down from Charlotte to also visit my family and race with him and his brother Kurt. It was a early morning as the race was point to point and we had to park at the finish and get bused to the start line. It was a pretty chilly morning and with the race start at 7am we really had to get down there early to pick up our packets and get in a good warm-up. After a couple of laps around the Tucker High School track and some good stretching we headed to the start line to begin. Not too much to report as the details are a bit fuzzy, but after reviewing my training log I remember feeling better as the race went on and my splits ended up showing a negative split on the two 5k sections. I passed a couple of other competitors in the last mile and was pleasantly surprised with my result. Haven't run too many 10k's so this was definitely a PR and after vowing to race more before Boston, I was very happy with the result.
*Corporate Cup Half Marathon, Charlotte, NC - 1:16:57
I didn't head into this race with any expectations of a PR, but wanted a good hard tempo run and possibly give myself a chance to PR. I incorporated the half marathon in the middle of a 20-miler and I ended up missing a PR by 2 seconds on a much tougher course than the flat New Orleans Half Marathon in 2009 where I ran a 1:16:55. This gave me a lot of confidence heading into Boston, 5 weeks away. My splits were very even as I never faded at the end, but the run up Morehead St. is always a killer at the end of this race. I was happy about my 4th place overall finish and staying strong throughout the race as I was solo pretty much the entire way.
*Boston Marathon, Boston, MA - 2:42:11
I raced Boston in 2008 and set some lofty expectations, even though it would be my first real race since hip surgery in July 2007. In 2008 I faded up the Newton Hills and even though I ended up with a PR of 2:47:53 I still wanted some revenge on that course. I knew that I could tackle those hills and run an even split if I played my cards right. Previously I ran a 1:20:03 over the first half of the course and 1:27:50 over the second half. I knew that if I took it out a little more conservative this time I could take advantage of the second half of the course and set myself up for a good race. I put a lot of pressure on myself in 2008 and this year I said my overall goal was to have fun and enjoy the race. Whenever I put too much pressure on myself I end up putting on blinders and internalizing everything. This year I never felt great throughout the whole race, but I also never felt terrible. Sometimes your best days come when you aren't feeling your best. I held myself back the first mile (6:37) as it felt like everyone was passing me, but the first half of the marathon is basically downhill so a lot of people end up blowing themselves up by the time they get to Newton. The first half I really kept myself in control and by about mile 16 I was feeling in a good rhythm, which was perfect time for the Newton Hills. Up and over the hills, as I came through Boston College and was nearing downtown I got a little over zealous and dropped a couple of sub-6 minute miles because I knew as long as I held it together for the last 10k I was staring at a big PR. Coming down Boylston Street I went over to the crowd and started giving some high fives because it was something I didn't get to experience last time as I had bonked pretty hard. In the end it was fun to be out there with so many other Charlotte friends who had made the trip. Some had good races and some left with that same feeling that I had in 2008, that they wanted to come back for revenge on the course, but in the end we all agreed that the Boston Marathon is magnificent. The support from the crowds, the energy of the competitors, and the history of the race all make it such a great experience.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Winter Flight + Updates
Blogging is hard. Tough to justify blogging about myself, my workouts, and random stuff. So here goes a good compilation of the last week or so.
Last Saturday, Jan. 29th, I traveled up to Salisbury for the Winter Flight 8k in hopes of testing myself a little bit. It had been a while since I had raced an open running race and I was interested to see what type of shape I was in. Chris and Adrian made the drive with me and we all enjoyed some trash talk along the way (there AND back for those two). I got out to a fast start and was quickly all alone in 5th place by the first mile. I held there for the entirety of the race as Paul was a little more than a minute ahead of me at the finish and the 6th place guy was more than a minute and a half back. Lonely race, but exactly what I needed. Finished it in 28:04, a vast PR from my 32:37 I ran in 2005, my first year of serious running. Track workouts and speed work have been great so far with a 6 x 1000, 4 x 200 workout last Tuesday and some 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 minute fartleks on Thursday. A solid 18 mile run on Saturday and a good group ride from Bicycle Sport on Sunday sealed off the week. 58 miles of running last week combined with 14,000 meters in the pool, 55 miles on the bike, and some yoga and core thrown in. Last night was a ladder workout, 400, 800, 1200, 1600 x 2, 1200, 800, 400. Finished the second half of the ladder stronger than the first, the goal of the workout. More of a "plateau" workout as Murph coined it with the two miles at the top. It's a relatively short turnaround to Saturday's Cupids Cup, but just some easy running for the rest of the week and I am looking forward to a good 5k, my first open 5k in a couple of years. More racing is hopefully going to lead to a better result in Boston!
On the subject of the biking...my intentions from the beginning of the year has been to keep on the bike at least twice a week until the marathon is over, however I keep having bike issues!!! In Clearwater I was wrecked thanks to a pack of over-zealous drafters and ended up with a cracked triathlon bike. Last week as I was preparing to ride the rollers on a rainy Friday afternoon I noticed my road bike (well, I guess technically Kevin's road bike) had a sizable crack in the titanium downtube. I mean what the heck? My bike luck this year couldn't be much worse! Ilan hooked me up with a sweet loaner bike for the time being and hopefully I can continue to keep my miles up over these next couple of months to maintain some sort of biking shape for the transition to triathlon season.
Changing gears a little bit and moving into the college sports arena. Last Wednesday was National Signing Day for College Football, a day eagerly awaited by many in the south as a decisive day for the future of your respective team. Seeing as I went to Clemson and I grew up a Florida State die hard (thanks Mom and Dad), I watched as the letters of intent poured in for both schools. Clemson made a huge splash on signing day, picking up numerous highly rated recruits and turning an otherwise bleak football year into something to look forward to. According to many "experts", Florida State wrapped up the #1 class in the nation, and it seems they are headed back to the storied program we all watched in the 90's and early 00's. Clemson eked into the top 10 and left many scouts wondering how a 6-7 program can get such quality talent. With the recruiting classes for both schools, I think the ACC is going to start moving back into a quality conference and I wouldn't be surprised to see both schools battle pretty tough over the next decade. Although, as my Dad has always said, don't bet with your heart, but still, my bet is on Clemson!!!! Still the number one recruit in that nation yet to decide his college choice and it's between Clemson and South Carolina so that could greatly impact Clemson's ranking.
Another Clemson note...the basketball team was picked in the pre-season to be near the cellar in the ACC thanks to a new coach and the loss of Trevor Booker to the NBA. After last night's victory over Boston College, we moved to 6-4 in the ACC, the first time in Clemson history that a new coach has won more than 5 games in the ACC in their first year at Clemson. Pretty impressive given the new offense that Brad Brownell installed and the departure of a couple of players that didn't think they fit into his motion offense. The team is aggressive defensively and a couple of guys have stepped up and fit in well to the new offense. I admit I was a little pessimistic the way the beginning of the year started, but the development of the team and offense over the season has been impressive. Big game Saturday at home against a ranked UNC team could prove to be a solid victory on the road to hopefully the NCAA tournament!!!
This is getting mighty long, but one more thing to note sports related. The Lakers have been in preliminary discussion to acquire Carmelo Anthony from the Nuggets. Adrian is a front runner and somehow this year became a Heat fan after they picked up Lebron and Chris Bosh in free agency. We have a running bet for a pair of Newton running shoes if the Heat win the title. Needless to say, if the Lakers get Carmelo he might as well concede and buy me a pair!!!!
Last Saturday, Jan. 29th, I traveled up to Salisbury for the Winter Flight 8k in hopes of testing myself a little bit. It had been a while since I had raced an open running race and I was interested to see what type of shape I was in. Chris and Adrian made the drive with me and we all enjoyed some trash talk along the way (there AND back for those two). I got out to a fast start and was quickly all alone in 5th place by the first mile. I held there for the entirety of the race as Paul was a little more than a minute ahead of me at the finish and the 6th place guy was more than a minute and a half back. Lonely race, but exactly what I needed. Finished it in 28:04, a vast PR from my 32:37 I ran in 2005, my first year of serious running. Track workouts and speed work have been great so far with a 6 x 1000, 4 x 200 workout last Tuesday and some 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 minute fartleks on Thursday. A solid 18 mile run on Saturday and a good group ride from Bicycle Sport on Sunday sealed off the week. 58 miles of running last week combined with 14,000 meters in the pool, 55 miles on the bike, and some yoga and core thrown in. Last night was a ladder workout, 400, 800, 1200, 1600 x 2, 1200, 800, 400. Finished the second half of the ladder stronger than the first, the goal of the workout. More of a "plateau" workout as Murph coined it with the two miles at the top. It's a relatively short turnaround to Saturday's Cupids Cup, but just some easy running for the rest of the week and I am looking forward to a good 5k, my first open 5k in a couple of years. More racing is hopefully going to lead to a better result in Boston!
On the subject of the biking...my intentions from the beginning of the year has been to keep on the bike at least twice a week until the marathon is over, however I keep having bike issues!!! In Clearwater I was wrecked thanks to a pack of over-zealous drafters and ended up with a cracked triathlon bike. Last week as I was preparing to ride the rollers on a rainy Friday afternoon I noticed my road bike (well, I guess technically Kevin's road bike) had a sizable crack in the titanium downtube. I mean what the heck? My bike luck this year couldn't be much worse! Ilan hooked me up with a sweet loaner bike for the time being and hopefully I can continue to keep my miles up over these next couple of months to maintain some sort of biking shape for the transition to triathlon season.
Changing gears a little bit and moving into the college sports arena. Last Wednesday was National Signing Day for College Football, a day eagerly awaited by many in the south as a decisive day for the future of your respective team. Seeing as I went to Clemson and I grew up a Florida State die hard (thanks Mom and Dad), I watched as the letters of intent poured in for both schools. Clemson made a huge splash on signing day, picking up numerous highly rated recruits and turning an otherwise bleak football year into something to look forward to. According to many "experts", Florida State wrapped up the #1 class in the nation, and it seems they are headed back to the storied program we all watched in the 90's and early 00's. Clemson eked into the top 10 and left many scouts wondering how a 6-7 program can get such quality talent. With the recruiting classes for both schools, I think the ACC is going to start moving back into a quality conference and I wouldn't be surprised to see both schools battle pretty tough over the next decade. Although, as my Dad has always said, don't bet with your heart, but still, my bet is on Clemson!!!! Still the number one recruit in that nation yet to decide his college choice and it's between Clemson and South Carolina so that could greatly impact Clemson's ranking.
Another Clemson note...the basketball team was picked in the pre-season to be near the cellar in the ACC thanks to a new coach and the loss of Trevor Booker to the NBA. After last night's victory over Boston College, we moved to 6-4 in the ACC, the first time in Clemson history that a new coach has won more than 5 games in the ACC in their first year at Clemson. Pretty impressive given the new offense that Brad Brownell installed and the departure of a couple of players that didn't think they fit into his motion offense. The team is aggressive defensively and a couple of guys have stepped up and fit in well to the new offense. I admit I was a little pessimistic the way the beginning of the year started, but the development of the team and offense over the season has been impressive. Big game Saturday at home against a ranked UNC team could prove to be a solid victory on the road to hopefully the NCAA tournament!!!
This is getting mighty long, but one more thing to note sports related. The Lakers have been in preliminary discussion to acquire Carmelo Anthony from the Nuggets. Adrian is a front runner and somehow this year became a Heat fan after they picked up Lebron and Chris Bosh in free agency. We have a running bet for a pair of Newton running shoes if the Heat win the title. Needless to say, if the Lakers get Carmelo he might as well concede and buy me a pair!!!!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Building towards Boston!
In 12 weeks time I will be toeing the start line in Boston. Not exactly toeing the line, but maybe 100 yards behind the line in the first "normal person" corral. The last 3 weeks have been moderately consistent...46-52 miles a week with a couple of tempo runs, two interval workouts, and a very high volume of swimming. As my Boston plan begins to unfold, it is time to "kick it up a notch" as Emeril would say, a man who certainly shares the same fondness for food as this guy. In sticking to my guns, I am going to max out around 65 miles a week and keep the swimming and biking incorporated in the training. However I need to focus a little more on my running schedule and let the swimming and biking complement that when time allows.
The weekend long run wasn't exactly what I was hoping for due to the volunteering at the Charlotte Running Company Trail Race and then running the trails afterwards to clean them up, but it was fun and definitely worth the sacrifice . I was shooting for a third straight weekend long run of 16 miles, but only managed 13 on the trails as my hip flexors are never happy diving into a long run on the trails when I haven't run trails in while. After a good minuter workout on Friday evening, the trail run felt nice and relaxed until the last couple of miles as I was solo for the last 3 of the 13 and I couldn't convince my brain nor my legs for another 3 treacherous miles on the slick trails. My legs were getting heavy, my hips tight, and I didn't want to risk a fall or turning an ankle on the roots so I decided to cut the run short. It was a cold, early morning and a long day, but definitely worth the fun volunteering at the water stop and supporting Donny's race. The rest of the team was gathering for lunch at the WWC restaurant and if I had tacked on 3 additional miles I might have only gotten to clean up their scraps from lunch and I didn't want to miss out on the good food!
On Sunday James and I rode over the Bicycle Sport in the balmy sub-30 degree weather for a long, easy paced ride on the infamous 65-mile Spamerton Route with a good crew. There were some spurts of moderate effort once we all warmed up and seeing as it was my longest ride since Clearwater I felt surprisingly spry. Sunday afternoon James, Selle, and I had a good swim workout and I ended the day with a good deep stretch yoga class and dollar tacos with a fun group watching football.
This week will be a bigger mileage push on the run while still incorporating a high swim volume and a couple of bike rides. I am going to try and blow the rust out of the system with the Winter Flight 8k on Saturday. It's been a while since I have raced and even longer since I have done a stand alone road race so I am excited about pushing the envelope a little early in the training cycle.
On another note, Packers vs. Steelers in the Super Bowl in two weeks. I am conflicted on who to root for as the Packers knocked out my Falcons a week ago and my good buddy being such a huge Steelers fan, but I think I'm leaning towards the Packers and Aaron Rodgers. The guy is a hell of a QB and after being dissed on draft day by so many teams it would be nice to see him get some vindication.
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