Multi-Sport Kind of Day

Saturday turned out to be a full day of training.  Mike and I started the day in Lodi with the Triathlon 101 class.  I was so excited for this class and it was great seeing all of the new faces.  James did a great job with the introduction to triathlons and soon had everyone in the water working on their swimming skills (this is going to be a great class!)

Coach James addressing the Triathlon 101 class

After swimming, we had to stop by Target to pick up a few things...wet hair and all.  If you want to feel like an athlete, try going to the store with wet hair, no make-up and OWN IT! When some lady in a matching track suit and perfect hair gives you a sideways glance, just give her a look that says "Don't mess with me...because I much tougher than you can ever imagine!"  :-)

We grabbed what we needed and I did a quick search for my favorite Easter candy. Unfortunately, my search was unsuccessful, which is probably just as well.  The last thing I need is a big bag of Easter candy because I need to start getting serious about my nutrition so I can get down to my desired race weight.

I look at it this way, I can spend hundreds of dollars buying expensive bike components that are measured in grams or I can drop a few pounds.  Dropping the weight is not only cheaper, but I'll end up looking better too ;-)


Bike

After we got home, I changed into my biking clothes.  I had intended to ride my bike on the trainer (since it was still set up after Mike worked on it yesterday).  When Mike saw me changing, he suggested that we go on a ride instead.  I got the bike off the trainer and strapped on my new helmet (told you I liked getting new stuff).  We headed out to Ladd's and then worked our way back to the Calaveras bike path.  When we reached Pacific Avenue, we retraced our ride back.

I am happy to report that I was much more comfortable on my tri bike today.  The road we take through Brookside out to Ladd's can be quite bumpy in sections.  The surface is smooth, but tree roots pushing up through the asphalt can get you bouncing in your saddle.  I decided that I was not going to let that rattle me and I pushed through the nervous feeling.  My stats show that I had some pretty quick miles (in between some slower ones).  The 22mph mile was heading through Brookside...I even got down on my aero bars...Yay!

Some of you may be thinking "Big deal, anyone can ride like that".  You may be right, but I think I had myself convinced that I couldn't balance on my bike.  Anybody riding behind me wasn't likely to see any hand signals.  If I saw a rider on the road, they would get a tip of the head instead of a wave.

This is the crane pose

Last week I did P90X Yoga and it dawned on me, as I held the crane position for almost a full minute, that I have a lot of strength and pretty good balance.  If I can do crane, I can surely balance on my bike well enough to maintain control of it.

After that realization, I decided to stop the negative mental chit-chat about balancing on my bike.  This made a big difference on the ride today and I was able to wave at a neighbor, change gears (even while on a hill), and flash a few hand signals.

Brick - 1 by tpengilly at Garmin Connect - Details


Run

We didn't intend to do a brick workout today, but after the ride, Mike said he would like to try his legs on a short run.  I'm always up for a run, so I agreed and suggested that we run by the high school to see if the track was open (it never is).  Luckily, there was a baseball game going on and the track was open to give people access to the restrooms.  Yay!

The track has a rubber surface and felt wonderful as I jogged around it. After a couple of laps I decided to pick up the pace to see what I could do.  My Garmin clicked over to a new mile and I started running.  I was very pleased to maintain a 7:35 pace for a full mile (now if I could just do that for 12 more miles!)  After that mile, Mike and I were done for the day and ready to head home.


Brick - 2 by tpengilly at Garmin Connect - Details

Update

One of the things I love about my Garmin is that it allows me to upload all of my data to their website for tracking and reporting.  Since the start of the year, I have run 30 times for a total distance of 221 miles (25,233 calories) and I have rode my bike 20 times for 362 miles (20,014 calories).  Of course, there are a few runs and rides that didn't get recorded because my battery wasn't charged or I forgot my watch, but this is a good start.  I am going to start ramping up my distances next month in preparation for Barb's Race...as soon as I finish my workout calendar.