And Sometimes The Cleat Comes Off

This week has been a little unusual since the workout schedule is much less structured than normal.  Between holidays, special training events, and life in general, this week has been much less intense in some ways and more intense in others.

Monday, July 1st:
The Iron Cheerleader gave us the day off today, but I really wanted to get in another swim, so I planned to hit the lake after the work along with some of the other Newbie Herd members.  However, by the time I got home from work, I was dealing with a pounding headache and all I wanted to do was lay in a cool, dark room until it went away.  By the time the headache cleared it was too late to go out to the lake, so I drove out to the pool.  850 yards later I was on my way home - at 9:30 at night!

Tuesday, July 2nd:
My office is extremely short-staffed this week due to vacations, but the deadlines remain the same.  I ended up working a 10 hour day and the rest day that the Iron Cheerleader prescribed for Monday came in very handy today.

Wednesday, July 3rd:
Bike ride? What bike ride?  After another grueling day at the office (think marathon at sprint pace), it didn't take much for me to decide that dinner and wine with Mr. R&R followed by 10 solid hours of sleep was a better plan.

Thursday, July 4th:
A free day off? Don't mind if I do!  The Iron Cheerleader's plan called for rest, beer, and bbq today, but I had different plans in mind.  I haven't really practiced a full swim/bike/run transition yet and today offered the perfect opportunity.  I set about gathering all the stuff I would need if the triathlon was tomorrow and holy crap...that's a lot of stuff!

I propped my bike and helmet nearby and squirmed into my wetsuit.  Since I needed to practice getting out of a sopping wet wetsuit fast and I don't have a lake in my back yard, I had to settle for having Mr. R&R spray me with freezing cold water from the hose.  It actually wasn't too bad since it was hot out and I was sweating like crazy from the wetsuit. Once I was sufficiently drenched, I ran across the yard toward my transition area, stripping off my wetsuit, swim cap and goggles as I went.  I finished peeling off the suit, rinsed off my feet, put on my bike shoes and helmet and ran my bike to the end of the driveway - my mount line for this little endeavor.  T1 Time: 2:23.  After a quick ride around the block, I swapped my bike shoes for socks and running shoes and took off for another lap around the block. T2 Time: 1:20.  I know that my transition times on race day will be longer since there's a longer run from the beach to the transition area, but it still felt good to practice.  It'll be easier on race day if the movements come automatically rather than having to think about what I'm doing.

Later that night, Mr. R&R and I went for a short (1 mile) run and watched the fireworks from a couple of different municipalities around us. 

Friday, July 5th:
I didn't do a darn thing other than work today, because Saturday was going to be a very big day!

Saturday, July 6th:
Today I met the Iron Cheerleader, several members of the Newbie Herd, and a bunch of people from my tri team out at the lake so we could have a dress rehearsal of next week's race course.  It wasn't the best day of my life.  I had a mild panic attack in the water and ended up in a shouting match with the Iron Cheerleader on the beach.  I figured once I was out on the bike course everything would be okay.  Around Mile 6, something started feeling wrong and sure enough, one of the bolts that holds the cleat on the bottom of my left bike shoe fell out!  Crap.  I managed to find the two pieces that came off, but there I was, stuck on the side of the road with a busted shoe.  I was trying to screw it back in by hand when the Iron Cheerleader happened upon me.  He produced an allen wrench from his bike bag (mental note: add allen wrench to bike bag), fixed my shoe, and we continued along the course.  Somewhere around Mile 10, we made peace and I actually enjoyed the last few miles.  That bike course is some seriously hilly business.  My legs were burning from all the climbing, but the downhills made it worth it!  At one point, I topped out at nearly 33mph on one! We all switched to running shoes and took off down the road.  If I thought the bike course was hilly, the run course might as well have been the Alps!  Every time I got to the top of a hill, there was another one to climb.  About a mile in, I came upon my fellow Herd member, A, and she was struggling badly.  Her asthma was flaring up and she was all by herself since our group runs at very different paces.  We decided to stay together and do the best we could with the situation at hand.  Eventually, we made it to the finish.  All I can say, is that next weekend is going to be rough!

Sunday, July 7th:
After yesterday, all I want to do was stay in the air conditioned comfort of my house, so that's exactly what I'm doing.  I have some huge laundry piles to get through, and we have a cute little house guest that needed a little attention as well.

We're pig-sitting for a week!

10 weeks down, 1 to go.  Gulp!

Week 10 Totals:
Swim: 1144 yards
Bike: 13.43 miles
Run: 3.71 miles
Total Time: 2 hours, 22 minutes