Well, I have now had one full week of my training done and I would have to say, things are going pretty well. I have stuck to the plan pretty much, but that might change when I head back to work in a week.
I did have one minor setback with the bike. When I was actually out onto the road, I noticed my avg. speed was WAY UP. I was usually doing between 11.5-12.5 mph and after 2 different rides, I was up to about 15.5 mph on average. Well I did a ride on Friday afternoon and decided to map it out when I got back home. My bike computer said the ride was about 9.75 miles and it was really only about 7.2 miles. How discouraging. I realized I had set up the wheel circumference correctly, but somehow over the winter, the bike computer switched over the "bike 2" which had a wheel setting of 26 inches instead of mine at 20 inches. A HUGE difference. I went out for a ride this morning for a little over an hour and when I got back and checked, all seemed in order. With a pretty strong headwind I still managed and average of 12.2 mph. I can't wait until I get new wheels in a couple of weeks. And with a change in gearing as well, I hope to get up to an average of 16 mph. Here's hoping.
Swimming this week went well. I was at the pool on Sunday and Tuesday. Both times, there we no problems and I was able to hit the prescribed swim times with no resting keeping my pace at about 4:20 for each 150 yards. I was at the Multisport Expo on Saturday and did a TI clinic. I came away with some good tips from the coach, but more importantly, he said my form was VERY RELAXED and smooth which as two important features of TI swimming. I need to work on rotating at my hips though and not my chest. I will work on that in the pool tomorrow. Using a snorkel will help for sure.
I did THREE runs this week. That is HUGE for me. I don't think I ever ran more than once a week all winter and most of the time it was once ever 2 weeks. The longest run of 45 minutes on Friday was great. I didn't get a chance to run until the evening so I decided to use the YMCA instead of running outside (Sue was real happy about that). I did a 5 minute warm-up walk and then started to run. I can now manage continual runs of 8 to 10 minutes. That is huge for me. When I first started I was happy to be able run for 2 min and then walk for 1 min. I was able to run for 40 minutes, by doing 8 min run, 2 min walk, 10 min run, 2 min walk, 8 min run, 2 min walk, and then 8 min run. I was able to increase the run speed for each section up to about 4.5 mph for the last section. Running continues to be my most challenging part and if I am able to one day do a 1/2 Ironman, it will all hinge on my running. Thirteen miles will not be an easy task. I am determined to keep plugging along.
There was so more news about the EXPO. First, I met up with Wendy from FIRM racing. They organized the Salem and TDD triathlons I did this summer. Wendy and Gail Vescio asked me to consider being the keynote speaker at the FIRMman race in Rhode Island at the end of the season. They have a banquet the night before and they have asked me to speak at the dinner. All I can say is, WOW. I said, "YES". What? Me, give up a chance to hold a microphone?
I also met with the guys from FITWERX in Peabody. They partner with a bike company from Montreal called GURU. Both companies are eager to consider designing a bike for me. The challenge is what interests both groups. Here's hoping some funding comes my way, because that is going to be a ton of $.
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