Today was one of those days when multiple factors combined and resulted in pretty much one workout after another, all day long.
In order to get rid of a sofa that we are replacing, I needed a truck. My dad has a truck, but my parents live 50 miles away. They also live on a lake that I do most of my open water swimming on. And being Wednesday, I was due for my mid-week run. Oh, and I am taking this week off from work as vacation. So I didn't really have anything else to do (well, thats not true - there are always house chores to do).
So I got the wonderful idea - why not ride my bike out to my parents, go for a dip in the lake, borrow the truck and return home, and then do my mid-week run? Sure - lets bust out nearly a half iron triathlon randomly. And why not make it a few days after a century, two days after a newly incorporated running day, and one day after a legs workout, and then the following day return the truck and ride my bike back home. What could go wrong?
After I was done with the first of the morning chores of walking the dogs, I set out on the bike. The last time I did this route, I was surprised at how hilly it was - almost 3k feet of climbing. I was a little surprised at the time - just over 3.5 hours, and was pretty certain it was due to fatigued legs and lack of a real energizing breakfast. This time around, I was pretty certain I'd be able to knock at least a few minutes off. That turned out to not be true. A few minutes slower than last time. I guess the ride from this weekend, Monday's run and yesterdays leg workout took more out of my legs than I thought. And while I remembered it was hilly, I didn't remember how hilly it was. That was the big thing this time around - now that I had done the course once, there were certain hills I remembered - but others I had completely forgotten. It seemed like every time I crested a hill, it was either flat briefly before another hill, or it was downhill only to be followed by another up hill. Very few flat miles, it seemed. It occured to me it may be a better hill training route than I thought - while it doesn't have the single, more intense uphill that Placid has, it certainly is persistent.
Once at my parents, it was probably an hour or so before getting in the water. I was ok with that - I had no problem with the extra time to recover before jumping in. I had somewhat limited time, so I did a single loop around the lake, which is usually 1.2-1.3 miles in length, depending on how close to the edge I stay. As typical, the first half mile was the fastest pace - but once I made the turn at the far end of the lake, I found out why - the wind was definitely blowing waves that I was now going to be fighting against. It felt like the high seas - I could feel waves over my head, crashing over me. A few times I'd go to get a breath and get a mouthful of water, and would have to spit that out and just hold on until the next breath cycle. At least I felt like I was hauling ass, with all that water moving against me. One other challenge I had today, which I had last time, was that I tend to hook to the left again. I suspect I'm probably reaching too far with my right arm when it extends. This happened before and the fix was to make sure to keep my hands shoulder width apart, as opposed to allowing a hand to reach across the centerline of my body. So I've probably slipped back into a bad habit, with all the focus I've been putting on my leg work.
After the swim was done, and I was driving home - I decided I'd take it easy on the run by not going the normal 90 minutes, and by going at an easier pace. I have another 50 mile ride tomorrow, plus it was going to be 7:30 by the time I got home, and it would be getting dark soon. So I ended up doing my 6 mile route. I wanted to keep my HR under 150, preferrably under 145 - but of course there are certain sections where that is just about impossible unless I stop to walk. For the most part, I was able to keep my HR down, so my hope is that the run didn't add stress to my quads and IT band, and if I'm lucky may actually help keep the stiffness down that I usually experience 48 hours after a leg strength workout. I'll have a better idea on that tomorrow.
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