AH.....Rest Day

First off, I am back to 100%.  Whatever it was that I had last week is gone, and I had a no lingering effects this past weekend.  It seems that once every season I get hit with some illness that wrecks me for a couple days and then I am OK.  I'm glad that it was only two days worth of misery and not something that lasted longer.

I guess it is time to recap the past few days, not that it has been all that interesting....well maybe a touch (but not really).

Friday
I was up around 5:30AM and out on the road for an hour long run.  Ugh, I was miserable for the entire thing.  I forgot to use my inhaler before heading out which didn't bode well for me.  I was tired and had some breathing issues the entire run.  I couldn't get over hour hot it was already at that hour and also how humid it was.  I should also note here that I have never been a good early morning runner.  My body just doesn't do well in the early morning.  The fact that I put in an hour on the trainer the night before (from 5:00PM - 6:00PM) most definitely didn't help either, nor did my staying up until around 11:00PM help in the slightest.  So just starting the run I already had numerous factors going against me and things just didn't turn around at all.  I am going to say that I averaged a very sloth-like 8:50/mile on my one hour, 6.75 mile morning run.

The only positive I had going for me was that I was going to be out playing golf with my father and some of his friends in an outing later on that morning.  We had a really good time and I played remarkable well, especially considering that I had only played twice over the past year.  I was crushing my drives (around 280 yds most holes) and putting well.  Heck my first shot of the day, a par-3, I put within 5' of the pin.  The day though was great because I got to spend time with my father.

Saturday
I was up at 5:00AM and on the road by 5:40AM for my two hour and 45 minute ride.  I wanted to get out early so that I wouldn't be home too late.  It was actually a bit cool out and I was wishing that I had some arm warmers (my next purchase I think) to throw on until it warmed up a bit.  As usual, I headed down to the river, across the bridge into New Jersey and headed north from there.  I had an idea that I would ride up to Frenchtown or Milford, cross back into Pennsylvania, and then make my way to Ringing Rocks County Park. 

Well, the one thing that I never checked when planning out my route was the elevation profile.  I know that heading up and away from the river is always going to be hilly, but I had no clue that Bridgeton Hill Rd. was going to be so tough.  It is about two miles of climbing, with the first mile hitting 16% grade, so not fun on a tri bike (or any bike for that matter).  I was not happy about my choice of route, but once to the top of the climb I was happy I had done it because it will only make me stronger on the bike. 

I proceeded to keep progressing west away from the river and eventually ran into Nockamixon State Park, site of the Steelman Triathlon (I've done it the past two years, but won't be doing it this year).  The rest of the ride was like a roller coaster, fast descents and equally slow climbs as I made my way back home.  All in all a good day of riding, 50.28 miles in 2:46, average speed of 18.1...not bad considering the all of the hills.

The rest of Saturday was spend doing the final sanding of the swing set, then heading over to Fanny Chapman Pool for about three hours.  NOTE:  I tried my first one and a half off the diving board and it ended up being a one and a quarter.....holy face plant....not good.  Still a fun day.

Sunday
The good - I slept until 7:30AM, meaning I got 9 1/2 hours of sleep!!!  The bad - I was so sore and achy from the previous day's ride, sanding and pool.  I was not going to be running early this morning.  Instead, I got out and washed the cars and sprayed the girls with the hose for a while.  After that I helped my wife with some chores before I decided it was time to get my run over with.  Of course this meant that I would be going for a noon time run in the 90F+ heat.  Yeah, I'm smart like that...NOT!!!  Here it is, short and sweet, I was slow, it was hot, but I got it done.  8.75 miles in 1:45 (~8:30/mile).  I would have liked to have gone a bit faster, but the heat and my rationing of water just wouldn't allow me to do that.  Frankly, I was just happy to have it over and done with.

The rest of Sunday was a pool day.  My oldest ran into a friend of hers so she was pretty much on her own most of the day, and my youngest was all about just jumping into the pool over and over again.  Now, if only she would dunk her head under the water and realize it isn't such a big deal.  I hope she gets it soon.

Today
I am going to be taking it easy today.  I feel pretty good, but am a bit sore, but nothing that I can't handle.  This is a pretty standard week of training, with the weekend getting a bit tougher (three hour bike on Saturday and 1:30 run on Sunday).  Then next week I move into Phase Two of the training with BRICK workouts becoming the norm and speed work being introduced.  Oh, I bump up to 3,000M in the pool also.  Looks like the honeymoon is over!

Sayonara!