Great Week

This was a great week.  I know that it gets old to hear about workout after workout but for me each workout is so different. 

This week I haven't felt really well at all, but my workouts have been all good.  It started with a piss poor swim on Monday.  I really wasn't feeling swimming.  I was dragging and not really into it at all.  But I have made a committement and a promise to myself that I would continue to swim.  So I got 300 meters in and decided to stop before I drown from lack of intensity.  On Monday night, I went for a bike ride.  This is where the fun really began.  The bike felt great.  I was surprised because I had just rode the day before but it was good.  I felt myself pushing the pace.  It was good.  Ended up ride more than 20 miles at a decent pace. 

On Tuesday I went to the 1st Headlamp Chase.  It was great.  The way it works is a staggered start based upon your pace.  It was an out and back and since it was still dark we all wore headlamps.  Thus the name.  I always get excited about runs like this.  I guess its because there is an "offical" start and finish.  So it's kinda like a race.  I almost always run faster than I plan.  For this run, the plan was for a 7:30 pace.  I ended up running a 7:00 min pace.  I am crediting the down hill finish for the faster time. 

Later that afternoon, went to Rolesville Park and ran with the Second Wind 5K group.  This always excites me.  It is so encouraging to see them out there working hard to get rerady for their 5k.  I have met really great people and look forward to running with them and trying to encourage them during their race.  Matt C and I ran the 3 miles and he was able to run 3 sub 8:00 min miles.  I was really excited for him.   I felt like I had just set a PR. 

Wednesday was another swim.  I really do not  understand what is going on with that.  I really am trying, but I am not seeing improvement.  I have decided that I am going to hire a coach (shake me if you headrd this before).  I swam my 500 meters and gave up.  I still had a 3 mile run to do.  So I go out for the run.  This was the second time running this loop.  The previous week, I went out and took a left.  It was pretty down hill.  It had it challenges but all in all it was an easy run.  This week I decided to try and go the opposite way, so I made a right out of the pool and this felt uphill all the way.  It was taxing.  I really worked to maintain pace and energy.  But it still felt great.  It was hard enough that I had to work, but not so hard that I felt that I had to strain. 

Wednesday night was a ride with a Trysports group.  We rolled out at around 6:00pm.  We thought that we might get rain, but we were going to try and still get this ride int.  It was potentially the last afternoon ride of this year.  I rode with the fast group.  We took off.  It was great.  I really worked to stay with the guys.  They were all riding tri-bikes and me I was relegated to my road bike.  I was able to mostly hang with them.  It was great.  We took most of the hills.  They were all in aero and I was leaning as far into my roadie as I could.  Trying to hang on.  I was only "left" once.  Once we made it to the RBC center we did a hot lap about the arena.  OMG that was awesome.  It was like a race out.  Again I didn't get left too badly so I was totally excited.  The rest of the ride was a blur.  I was still excited about the sprint. 

Thursday morning I had a seven mile run.  Again I was moving like I was stuck in cement getting out of the house.  My old body not really like these back to back workouts.  Once I made it outside, I had a conversation with myself about which route to take.  It was really interesting tryong to find out who would win.  Easy or Hard.  In the end Hard prevail and off we went.  After about the first quartermile, my legs loosened and I was able to get into a rhytmn and the rest of the run just flowed.  Ended up with one of my best 7 mile run times. 

This week has been realy atypical.  I am normally really even, but this week I have been down.  Fortunately my workouts have lifted my spirits totally.

Death Valley is 3 weeks away.  I have my reservation confirmed and now I am fundraising and more fundraising and more fundraising.