Wet is the word of the day, both inside and outside.
Once again, I was out the door at 4:30 am. Only a light rain this time, and only cool, not cold. I started with a few minutes walk, then into an easy run down the path towards Fish Creek. Right at the top of the hill I turned around. The run was supposed to be 35 to 45 minutes, and turnaround was 20:36. Back the same way in 20:37. Now I call that consistent. My heart rate was a little higher coming back, but it is a long gradual hill all the way. Average heart rate throughout was 119.
Remember that I said it was light rain? That was at home; it rained harder and harder the further south I went. Then on the way back it eased off again. Once home again I hung my wet stuff up to dry and did some stretching. When I came upstairs again it was raining really hard.
This evening IG suggested I do 3x10 min easy, medium, and hard, with 5 minutes easy between them. That translates to upper zone 2, mid zone 3, and whatever I can do for the last. Warmed up gradually, taking about 15 minutes to get to the 85-90 rpm I wanted to maintain. Then dropped a couple gears and started in. The first 10 were good, pedalling smooth, heart rate low 120's. Started a good base layer of sweat.
The next 10 min were a solid workout. I could have maintained that pace for a little while longer, heart rate low to mid 130's for mid zone 3, and maybe a touch higher. That added a good sweat layer, and started dripping off pretty good. Concentrating on going around and around, keeping the upper body steady. Amazing how much the ipod cords sway back and forth.
For the next 10 I made sure some good songs were cued up on the ipod, and it worked out well. Started high 130's and pushed a steady build to 150 bpm. Same gear, just gradually higher rpms ending up at 100 rpm. The last 5 min were above 145 bpm and the last two of that 148 to 150 bpm. For the last minute I could feel the burn begin. 150 is 85% of my max heart rate. I was about as wet as I was after my run this morning, and was happy to dial it back to an easy spin for 20 min to cool down. Did some more stretching.
Since I just figured out (thanks Susi) that there aren't change rooms at Chinook, I tried wearing my bike shorts over my swimsuit. For a short ride it worked out ok, though I'll try to remember to pull the fabric down a bit; it was beginning to guddle up on me. I don't think I'm quite up to 96K on a bike without some sort of padding.
I'm not sure what I did yesterday, but some of my core muscles sure hurt starting with getting out of bed this am. It's the ones just under the ribcage. You use them when you want to stand, or move your office chair around, or when you lean forward and tighten up your guts. Maybe I overdid some of my core stuff in the pool yesterday.
Ironman Canada - DONE! What next?
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 9, 2008
Quiet, peaceful swim, till the end
Back at the FOMC pool this morning. My lifeguard buddy there was telling me her adventures getting rained out of Vulcan Tinman. And she was camping! She was happy to know that it had been cancelled, and the weather had worsened after they had bailed out.
I had a lane to myself this am, but wasn't sure what to expect. The first couple laps were Jenna paced, but then I slowed to Keith paced, and cruised back and forth. For some reason the swim seemed to take a long time. I ended up swimming 1500 m in just under 30 min, having slowed down quite a bit in the last 500 m. Then into the dive tank for 15 minutes of core and stretching.
At the very end of the swim a couple more people came and joined my lane, but it all worked out well. If they hadn't showed up I might have gone for 2K, but I was feeling surprisingly lazy today and didn't want company in my lane. I don't know if I was doing something different with my stroke, but I was getting a weird feeling on the inside of my elbow bones. Not sure how to describe it. The IGP has some intervals coming up, and that's good. I need to work on those.
I had a lane to myself this am, but wasn't sure what to expect. The first couple laps were Jenna paced, but then I slowed to Keith paced, and cruised back and forth. For some reason the swim seemed to take a long time. I ended up swimming 1500 m in just under 30 min, having slowed down quite a bit in the last 500 m. Then into the dive tank for 15 minutes of core and stretching.
At the very end of the swim a couple more people came and joined my lane, but it all worked out well. If they hadn't showed up I might have gone for 2K, but I was feeling surprisingly lazy today and didn't want company in my lane. I don't know if I was doing something different with my stroke, but I was getting a weird feeling on the inside of my elbow bones. Not sure how to describe it. The IGP has some intervals coming up, and that's good. I need to work on those.
Sunday, June 8, 2008
Getting back on the ....
Today's IGP assumed I'd be a burned out wreck today after giving my all in the Tinman. It called for a rest, or EZ spin. I actually looked at the plan for the next two weeks. Can this be right, no biking till next Sunday?
Maybe it's just as well given the weather. I opted for the EZ spin today. 1 hour, and my butt was killing me in about 20 min. My thought was to have a light fast spin, spending most of the time at 90 rpm at the top of zone 1, with some short bursts of faster rpm, but not going above zone 2. Lots of warmup, then about a half hour of 15 to 30 seconds high rpm, starting every two minutes. Started them easy, built to several that were all out, then came back down the pyramid. Then about 15 min cooldown.
You'd think from what my butt had to say about it that I'd never been on a bike before! Complaints complaints complaints! My legs were good, and really liked it. The spin woke them up, worked my core a bit. I was concentrating on spinning form today, keeping feet light on the pedals. I've noticed my toes tend to go to sleep, and I think it's because I press down too much, leading to pedal plunging. Max rpm without bouncing is going up very nicely. The jiggly back fat just above my hip bones is either going away or muscling up.
After a short transition I went out for a short, easy run. 2K 15 min, 8/7, heart rate maxed out about 126 or so. I could have kept going but didn't want to stress anything. This was mainly to remind my bod that the workouts aren't going to stop. Then about a half hour of stretching, with some calf massage to work on the knots in there.
I got lucky on weather. There was just enough of a break in the rain to tempt me to ride outside, but I didn't. Less than 2 hours from the rain ending, it started again. The run was no rain, and even a bit of sun. Now it's raining again.
Weekly totals
Swim .5 hr
Bike 1 hr
Run 1 hr
Total 2.5 hr. (Seems like a vacation!)
Maybe it's just as well given the weather. I opted for the EZ spin today. 1 hour, and my butt was killing me in about 20 min. My thought was to have a light fast spin, spending most of the time at 90 rpm at the top of zone 1, with some short bursts of faster rpm, but not going above zone 2. Lots of warmup, then about a half hour of 15 to 30 seconds high rpm, starting every two minutes. Started them easy, built to several that were all out, then came back down the pyramid. Then about 15 min cooldown.
You'd think from what my butt had to say about it that I'd never been on a bike before! Complaints complaints complaints! My legs were good, and really liked it. The spin woke them up, worked my core a bit. I was concentrating on spinning form today, keeping feet light on the pedals. I've noticed my toes tend to go to sleep, and I think it's because I press down too much, leading to pedal plunging. Max rpm without bouncing is going up very nicely. The jiggly back fat just above my hip bones is either going away or muscling up.
After a short transition I went out for a short, easy run. 2K 15 min, 8/7, heart rate maxed out about 126 or so. I could have kept going but didn't want to stress anything. This was mainly to remind my bod that the workouts aren't going to stop. Then about a half hour of stretching, with some calf massage to work on the knots in there.
I got lucky on weather. There was just enough of a break in the rain to tempt me to ride outside, but I didn't. Less than 2 hours from the rain ending, it started again. The run was no rain, and even a bit of sun. Now it's raining again.
Weekly totals
Swim .5 hr
Bike 1 hr
Run 1 hr
Total 2.5 hr. (Seems like a vacation!)
Saturday, June 7, 2008
Vulcan Tinman cancelled
I would have gone! So would Kelsey! We're pretty sure we'd have gone. Almost sure. Well, maybe not. But it wasn't our decision.
Susi must be recognized for her efforts in getting me organized for this. She gave me her secret lucky checklist, and all sorts of advice. Just to be sure I wouldn't back out, she came here, ostesibly to carpool to the event, but I know she was here to double check the list, and make sure I had everything. She even brought purple pom-poms! How cool is that for a cheering section for your first tri event?!
Off we went, in the pouring rain. We took the scenic road to Nepal I've talked so much about, and she totally wants to do it with me after IMCDA. The road is now paved all the way from 22x down to 586 or whatever it is. Very nice, can't wait for the first nice day to get out on it.
We went through torrential rain getting to Vulcan. It was still raining hard when I got lucky and found a parking place near the registration booth. As I was lining up, or rather milling around, they were announcing it was cancelled. Simply too cold, too wet, too windy, and with reports of thunder. They hadn't made a final decision, but it appears they will roll us over into next year's race. So that goes on the agenda.
We met up with Kelsey about then. She had already been numbered. I caught my buddies Kris and Sophia before they left home, and IG was texted. He'd just started and turned around. Jarrett from work and his wife were there as well. We milled around some more, then headed back to Okotoks and met Kelsey for tea and a snack. We had a great chat as we dried out and warmed up.
I'm disappointed that it was cancelled, but I have to admit to a bit of relief as well. It was fricking cold! You could see your breath on the air. I don't mind riding in the cold, but the wet doesn't thrill me. Cold and wet is no fun at all. I'm hoping that weather for Chinook in two weeks will be good. Looking over the IGP™ for the next couple weeks and beginning to get pumped!
Susi must be recognized for her efforts in getting me organized for this. She gave me her secret lucky checklist, and all sorts of advice. Just to be sure I wouldn't back out, she came here, ostesibly to carpool to the event, but I know she was here to double check the list, and make sure I had everything. She even brought purple pom-poms! How cool is that for a cheering section for your first tri event?!
Off we went, in the pouring rain. We took the scenic road to Nepal I've talked so much about, and she totally wants to do it with me after IMCDA. The road is now paved all the way from 22x down to 586 or whatever it is. Very nice, can't wait for the first nice day to get out on it.
We went through torrential rain getting to Vulcan. It was still raining hard when I got lucky and found a parking place near the registration booth. As I was lining up, or rather milling around, they were announcing it was cancelled. Simply too cold, too wet, too windy, and with reports of thunder. They hadn't made a final decision, but it appears they will roll us over into next year's race. So that goes on the agenda.
We met up with Kelsey about then. She had already been numbered. I caught my buddies Kris and Sophia before they left home, and IG was texted. He'd just started and turned around. Jarrett from work and his wife were there as well. We milled around some more, then headed back to Okotoks and met Kelsey for tea and a snack. We had a great chat as we dried out and warmed up.
I'm disappointed that it was cancelled, but I have to admit to a bit of relief as well. It was fricking cold! You could see your breath on the air. I don't mind riding in the cold, but the wet doesn't thrill me. Cold and wet is no fun at all. I'm hoping that weather for Chinook in two weeks will be good. Looking over the IGP™ for the next couple weeks and beginning to get pumped!
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
happy bouncy feet
My deal for Tues am was that if I was up early to go for a run, I would. But if I was sleeping till the alarm clock, actually sleeping, then no guilt. zzzzzz
Tues evening was my first wetsuit experience. I'm just guessing here, but you probably want the details. There were only 2 XL in Try-it, a starter and one almost twice that price. You can guess which one I hoped fit. I tried that one on first. I'm just glad there were no cameras. What was funny is that a girl in the next change room was complaining about getting into a tri-suit or a swimsuit. Once I got the first one adjusted and pulled on further than I thought possible it actually fit pretty well. Just for practice I tried putting on the other one. The torso was just a bit shorter and smaller. It zipped up, but just barely. The nice man helping tugged at it a little here and there, made me put my arms over my head and said it wasn't worth taking the time to snug it up, it couldn't be made to fit as well as the other one. So it got ordered and should arrive within a week. I sweated into both suits, and felt a little sorry for the next person to try them on. I tried not to think about the last person to try them on. Also picked up an new swim suit and race belt. Once I got home, Estela growled at me when I even thought about putting her on the trainer. I think she's still on the rush from the weekend's ride. I did wine stuff and went to bed early.
Wed am. Running clothes still laid out. Woke up at 3:30, listened to rain, rolled over and went back to sleep. Really didn't want to swim, I had my brain full of work stuff and wanted to get it down on paper while it was fresh in my mind. Wed evening the IGP was R 30 min ez. Great! Off I go. My goal was to concentrate on form, nice quick strides, leaning forward a little, light and quiet footsteps. For most of the first K I'm looking at my heart rate monitor and not believing it. From my breathing I was guessing it should be about 130 or so, and the watch is saying 80 to 90. Then suddenly it jumped to more real numbers.
I kept going, not trying to push the pace, listening to my feet and legs. They felt strong, with the exception of a twinge here and there. I was pushing my heart rate up a bit. From my breathing I think I was in a solid zone 3 pace. So technically, not an "ez" pace at all but I didn't think I was really working all that hard. I've had some rest and was feeling pretty good. Walked over to the ball game to stretch on the bleachers and watch for a while.
1K 7:00
2K 6:37
3K 6:30
4K 6:57
5K 6:40
Total 33:46.
Starting to prepare for Vulcan trip. I'm looking forward to a fun time.
Tues evening was my first wetsuit experience. I'm just guessing here, but you probably want the details. There were only 2 XL in Try-it, a starter and one almost twice that price. You can guess which one I hoped fit. I tried that one on first. I'm just glad there were no cameras. What was funny is that a girl in the next change room was complaining about getting into a tri-suit or a swimsuit. Once I got the first one adjusted and pulled on further than I thought possible it actually fit pretty well. Just for practice I tried putting on the other one. The torso was just a bit shorter and smaller. It zipped up, but just barely. The nice man helping tugged at it a little here and there, made me put my arms over my head and said it wasn't worth taking the time to snug it up, it couldn't be made to fit as well as the other one. So it got ordered and should arrive within a week. I sweated into both suits, and felt a little sorry for the next person to try them on. I tried not to think about the last person to try them on. Also picked up an new swim suit and race belt. Once I got home, Estela growled at me when I even thought about putting her on the trainer. I think she's still on the rush from the weekend's ride. I did wine stuff and went to bed early.
Wed am. Running clothes still laid out. Woke up at 3:30, listened to rain, rolled over and went back to sleep. Really didn't want to swim, I had my brain full of work stuff and wanted to get it down on paper while it was fresh in my mind. Wed evening the IGP was R 30 min ez. Great! Off I go. My goal was to concentrate on form, nice quick strides, leaning forward a little, light and quiet footsteps. For most of the first K I'm looking at my heart rate monitor and not believing it. From my breathing I was guessing it should be about 130 or so, and the watch is saying 80 to 90. Then suddenly it jumped to more real numbers.
I kept going, not trying to push the pace, listening to my feet and legs. They felt strong, with the exception of a twinge here and there. I was pushing my heart rate up a bit. From my breathing I think I was in a solid zone 3 pace. So technically, not an "ez" pace at all but I didn't think I was really working all that hard. I've had some rest and was feeling pretty good. Walked over to the ball game to stretch on the bleachers and watch for a while.
1K 7:00
2K 6:37
3K 6:30
4K 6:57
5K 6:40
Total 33:46.
Starting to prepare for Vulcan trip. I'm looking forward to a fun time.
Monday, June 2, 2008
Vulcan Tinman is THIS Sat! EEEEEEEEEEEE!!
Somehow it just recently sunk in that this coming Saturday I'll be getting packed up and driving down to Vulcan for my very first tri. For me, when it's a date, its somehow just out there, sometime, and I'll get to it soon enough. Next week is real to me. I've begun the planning to make sure I take everything. It's looking like rainy weather for the day, but who really knows?
The heats are posted on the site, and mine is at 2:45. I'm 1014. I'll probably still get down there early. There are a few people I know in it, and it will be fun to watch them. Some of my friends are promising to come down for the spectacle, I mean, to cheer me on. I'm not making any predictions or having any expectations about time.
Swim this am was short and sweet. I wanted to do some intervals and remind myself of what it's like to swim near my top speed, such as it is. Well, the elbow owie I got on the weekend protests a bit doing that. Just a little under full speed is fine.
The heats are posted on the site, and mine is at 2:45. I'm 1014. I'll probably still get down there early. There are a few people I know in it, and it will be fun to watch them. Some of my friends are promising to come down for the spectacle, I mean, to cheer me on. I'm not making any predictions or having any expectations about time.
Swim this am was short and sweet. I wanted to do some intervals and remind myself of what it's like to swim near my top speed, such as it is. Well, the elbow owie I got on the weekend protests a bit doing that. Just a little under full speed is fine.
Sunday, June 1, 2008
Susi tried to kill us!! Well, no, not really, tho Jenna thot so for a while
There are several competing titles for this post.
Estella sets a new blog-group speed record. 87.75 Kph down Cochrane hill!
Jenna's face getting the news at the Shell station.
Horse Creek/Lochend road is an awesome ride!
Susi chicked 3 boys, big time.
Jenna has heart out the wazoo.
Firstly, the map of our route. Jenna had no idea at all where we were, and wanted to see the map, WITH elevation, if you please. She and I were convinced Susi had been to coach-land and found a route that was essentially all uphill.
You'll note I start the route at the centre of Cochrane. Susi wants to publish a map to her home that's her business, but I'm not gonna. So add on a few more K. We got going a few minutes after 9am, and after Jenna put herself back together after her adventure on the hill, we got started in earnest. Toon-town, remember? No hills. Keep this firmly in mind.
They're paving just west of town, and the turn off to Horse Creek Rd is right there. It's wonderful to go from busy highway, lots of cars, icky paving smell to no cars, and gorgeous scenery. It was a perfect day for riding, not too much wind, nice and sunny, but not hot. We quickly got strung out a bit, Susi up ahead, me in the middle and Jenna a bit behind figuring out how to cope with hills. Periodically me or Susi (mostly Susi) would ride back to see how she was making out.
The ride up to Bottrel is really quite pretty. The pavement alternates between good and ok with some bits to be careful about. We saw 3 large deer/elk/things that went kaboink when they saw us coming. Lots of predatory birds floating along looking for prey.
Stopped at Bottrel General Store for water and chatted with other cyclists. This is a cool store. Then up the hill and over to 22, then over to the golf course. You have to know where it is, because there sure aren't many signs. Lots of golfers, and several other cyclists as well. Chatted with some of them. We left a little before them, but they caught us as we were stopped at the top of Lochend road taking pictures. Jenna took a ton of pictures, and some of them will almost certainly show up on blogs. She is sorry to disappoint people, but there are none of Susi or me with our pants down showing off our pasty white butts. Well, mine is, shouldn't presume to talk of Susi's.
Going south Susi and I were going along pretty good, gradually gaining on the boys that had passed us. Then she got that glint in the eye I know so well. "Let's catch them" she said, and was off. I can only keep up with her on the flats by driving my heart rate up to the top of zone 3 or so, and that isn't something I can keep up for long. Off she went, and chicked them all! Way to go Susi! I came to realize there are certain difficulties in a guy well over 6 feet tall on a road bike trying to draft someone 5'2, in aero, on a bike with 650 tires.
We met up again, and coached Jenna on how to go down Cochrane hill. There's brand new pavement on the road, but the shoulders are pretty icky. I coasted down, deciding to scope it out, knowing I'd get another run at. Which Jenna didn't know. (hehehe). We met up again at the Shell station at the bottom of the hill. Then Susi told Jenna we were going to ride back up the hill. Jenna's face was priceless!
If I could have thought of a reasonable excuse to have her camera in my hands, we could have documented it for posterity. But here's where she showed the heart that is going to get her through IMC. Here she's been on a long hilly ride, without much hill experience, and at least one good scare. She's tired, her legs are about done, her butt is killing her, and she's still game. Up the hill. In the granniest gear and wishing there was a great-grannier gear, but up the hill. No walking, no puking. Awesome! At the top, where Susi and I were waiting, Susi gave her the little devil horn sign. Perfect! Priceless moment.
We swooped back down the hill through the Glen Eagles golf course. I don't know what it is, but Estela LIVES to go down hill fast. There's Susi in aero, pedaling like mad, I'm up and relaxed, and swoosh. Under the bridge and back onto the main road. No cars, onto the good pavement, a pedal up to about 130 rmp, and hope there isn't a cop there with a radar gun. Though if I got a speeding ticket on the bike, I'd copy and frame it. Whoosh! Yeehaaawwww! What a great finish to a long ride. Through town, back to Susi's, change, and out for 30 minute run. Slow run, though trying to keep up with them put my heart rate way up.
We gradually got ourselves showered and cleaned up, Jenna still muttering about how she couldn't believe what Susi had done to her. Then sushi. We ate about a million pieces. burp. Susi showed me some transition stuff, then I packed up and Linda drove me home. I slept like a rock, and feel great today. Maybe that's the coffee talking, but my waking heart rate was only slightly higher than normal, and other than my elbow that got a bloody owie, I feel great today. Not great enough to join them on the Highwood ride today but I've got a good excuse. The lawn simply MUST get cut today, or I'm going to have to call in a local farmer to cut and bale it. Plus we've got friends coming for a BBQ this afternoon.
Even though our total ride time was 7 hours, the time wasn't the point. We weren't racing. We had a nice stop at the store and the golf course. We stopped periodically to regroup. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It almost wasn't like a workout, though my watch says I burned over 6,000 calories. I don't have the formal numbers because my bike computer reset itself a couple of times.
In honour of the occasion, my wife came up with this little ditty, sung to the tune "Lord of the Dance".
Let me tell you a story 'bout a girl named Jenn
Little prairie chick training for an Ironman
She swam and she ran and she rode her bike with pride
Till her good friend Susi said "Let's take a little ride!"
Jenn, Jenn, tell me what you see
A big bad hill instead of bald prairie
A little trick played by your pal Susi
So what on earth's a prairie gal supposed to do?
Poor Jenn did not know what to do at first
But she told her pal Susi "oh do your worst!"
So Jenna, Susi, and Keith began their climb
3 kilometers of hard hilling time
Jenn, Jenn, tell me what you see
A big bad hill instead of bald prairie
A little trick played by your pal Susi
So what on earth's a prairie gal supposed to do?
The time has come to bring this story to an end
Jenna climbed the big bad hill
and IronSusi's still her friend
So the moral of the story is plain for all to see
Whatever else you do, stick to your IGP!
In honour of Susi, since she loves George
My name's Iron Susi,
I train on big hills,
That give my pal Jenna
The shakes the chills.
I like my pal Jenna,
She stays at my home,
But she should have remembered
That I'm bad to the bone,
(chorus)
I rode a thousand hills,
Before I met you,
I'll ride a thousand more baby,
Before I am through,
You should have remembered
That I'm the devil's own
I'm telling you Jenna,
That I'm bad to the bone
(chorus)
Weekly total
swim 1.5 hr
Bike 9 hr (not sure I should count the ride as 7 because of the breaks)
Run 2.45 hr
Total 12.9
Estella sets a new blog-group speed record. 87.75 Kph down Cochrane hill!
Jenna's face getting the news at the Shell station.
Horse Creek/Lochend road is an awesome ride!
Susi chicked 3 boys, big time.
Jenna has heart out the wazoo.
Firstly, the map of our route. Jenna had no idea at all where we were, and wanted to see the map, WITH elevation, if you please. She and I were convinced Susi had been to coach-land and found a route that was essentially all uphill.
You'll note I start the route at the centre of Cochrane. Susi wants to publish a map to her home that's her business, but I'm not gonna. So add on a few more K. We got going a few minutes after 9am, and after Jenna put herself back together after her adventure on the hill, we got started in earnest. Toon-town, remember? No hills. Keep this firmly in mind.
They're paving just west of town, and the turn off to Horse Creek Rd is right there. It's wonderful to go from busy highway, lots of cars, icky paving smell to no cars, and gorgeous scenery. It was a perfect day for riding, not too much wind, nice and sunny, but not hot. We quickly got strung out a bit, Susi up ahead, me in the middle and Jenna a bit behind figuring out how to cope with hills. Periodically me or Susi (mostly Susi) would ride back to see how she was making out.
The ride up to Bottrel is really quite pretty. The pavement alternates between good and ok with some bits to be careful about. We saw 3 large deer/elk/things that went kaboink when they saw us coming. Lots of predatory birds floating along looking for prey.
Stopped at Bottrel General Store for water and chatted with other cyclists. This is a cool store. Then up the hill and over to 22, then over to the golf course. You have to know where it is, because there sure aren't many signs. Lots of golfers, and several other cyclists as well. Chatted with some of them. We left a little before them, but they caught us as we were stopped at the top of Lochend road taking pictures. Jenna took a ton of pictures, and some of them will almost certainly show up on blogs. She is sorry to disappoint people, but there are none of Susi or me with our pants down showing off our pasty white butts. Well, mine is, shouldn't presume to talk of Susi's.
Going south Susi and I were going along pretty good, gradually gaining on the boys that had passed us. Then she got that glint in the eye I know so well. "Let's catch them" she said, and was off. I can only keep up with her on the flats by driving my heart rate up to the top of zone 3 or so, and that isn't something I can keep up for long. Off she went, and chicked them all! Way to go Susi! I came to realize there are certain difficulties in a guy well over 6 feet tall on a road bike trying to draft someone 5'2, in aero, on a bike with 650 tires.
We met up again, and coached Jenna on how to go down Cochrane hill. There's brand new pavement on the road, but the shoulders are pretty icky. I coasted down, deciding to scope it out, knowing I'd get another run at. Which Jenna didn't know. (hehehe). We met up again at the Shell station at the bottom of the hill. Then Susi told Jenna we were going to ride back up the hill. Jenna's face was priceless!
If I could have thought of a reasonable excuse to have her camera in my hands, we could have documented it for posterity. But here's where she showed the heart that is going to get her through IMC. Here she's been on a long hilly ride, without much hill experience, and at least one good scare. She's tired, her legs are about done, her butt is killing her, and she's still game. Up the hill. In the granniest gear and wishing there was a great-grannier gear, but up the hill. No walking, no puking. Awesome! At the top, where Susi and I were waiting, Susi gave her the little devil horn sign. Perfect! Priceless moment.
We swooped back down the hill through the Glen Eagles golf course. I don't know what it is, but Estela LIVES to go down hill fast. There's Susi in aero, pedaling like mad, I'm up and relaxed, and swoosh. Under the bridge and back onto the main road. No cars, onto the good pavement, a pedal up to about 130 rmp, and hope there isn't a cop there with a radar gun. Though if I got a speeding ticket on the bike, I'd copy and frame it. Whoosh! Yeehaaawwww! What a great finish to a long ride. Through town, back to Susi's, change, and out for 30 minute run. Slow run, though trying to keep up with them put my heart rate way up.
We gradually got ourselves showered and cleaned up, Jenna still muttering about how she couldn't believe what Susi had done to her. Then sushi. We ate about a million pieces. burp. Susi showed me some transition stuff, then I packed up and Linda drove me home. I slept like a rock, and feel great today. Maybe that's the coffee talking, but my waking heart rate was only slightly higher than normal, and other than my elbow that got a bloody owie, I feel great today. Not great enough to join them on the Highwood ride today but I've got a good excuse. The lawn simply MUST get cut today, or I'm going to have to call in a local farmer to cut and bale it. Plus we've got friends coming for a BBQ this afternoon.
Even though our total ride time was 7 hours, the time wasn't the point. We weren't racing. We had a nice stop at the store and the golf course. We stopped periodically to regroup. I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. It almost wasn't like a workout, though my watch says I burned over 6,000 calories. I don't have the formal numbers because my bike computer reset itself a couple of times.
In honour of the occasion, my wife came up with this little ditty, sung to the tune "Lord of the Dance".
Let me tell you a story 'bout a girl named Jenn
Little prairie chick training for an Ironman
She swam and she ran and she rode her bike with pride
Till her good friend Susi said "Let's take a little ride!"
Jenn, Jenn, tell me what you see
A big bad hill instead of bald prairie
A little trick played by your pal Susi
So what on earth's a prairie gal supposed to do?
Poor Jenn did not know what to do at first
But she told her pal Susi "oh do your worst!"
So Jenna, Susi, and Keith began their climb
3 kilometers of hard hilling time
Jenn, Jenn, tell me what you see
A big bad hill instead of bald prairie
A little trick played by your pal Susi
So what on earth's a prairie gal supposed to do?
The time has come to bring this story to an end
Jenna climbed the big bad hill
and IronSusi's still her friend
So the moral of the story is plain for all to see
Whatever else you do, stick to your IGP!
In honour of Susi, since she loves George
My name's Iron Susi,
I train on big hills,
That give my pal Jenna
The shakes the chills.
I like my pal Jenna,
She stays at my home,
But she should have remembered
That I'm bad to the bone,
(chorus)
I rode a thousand hills,
Before I met you,
I'll ride a thousand more baby,
Before I am through,
You should have remembered
That I'm the devil's own
I'm telling you Jenna,
That I'm bad to the bone
(chorus)
Weekly total
swim 1.5 hr
Bike 9 hr (not sure I should count the ride as 7 because of the breaks)
Run 2.45 hr
Total 12.9
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