This is turning out to be a great 3-day weekend so far!

Saturday I did about 50 miles with Justin, a friend from the area who is training for Pelotonia. He is a stronger cyclist than I, and we have done several rides together, but Saturday was the first day that I didn't feel like I was really holding him up. He's a very courteous rider and always makes sure I'm still behind him, but for the first time I wasn't struggling. David has encouraged me to do rides with Justin and others, because the training rides are so long, it's better to be with someone for safety. The photo is crossing Alum Creek on Cheshire. Justin took it with his iPhone.

Sunday (today) was an amazing day.
One of the members of the tri club, Mark, had decided to host a self-supported triathlon, ending at his house with a party for all the spouses, kids, etc. The event was to start at the quarry, but I didn't feel it was enough cycling mileage for me, so I rode from home. That made it easier logistically, too, so I didn't have to leave a vehicle behind at the quarry.

It was an hour from home to the quarry, with one stop to pick up another rider who knew a good route to the quarry. The swim was OK, but we had some people there who were interested in the big training day but don't usually swim with us. A few of them weren't in good swimming shape, and some freaked out a bit in the quarry. A couple were just swimming back and forth from the docks, but one came along to the first point. A couple of our group stayed with him to coach him along. It was slow going, though, and they had him stay at a beach on the way to the second point. On the way back, they were going to pick him up again, but I offered to swim with him to the dock so they could get a decent workout in, since I had gotten to swim all the way down and back unencumbered.

My swim felt REALLY slow and easy, but I was going the normal pace. I guess that's what happens when you warm up your body with a bike ride before diving in!

Pics of swim:





After the swim we got our bike stuff back on and headed out. There were about 20 of us, and we quickly separated into a few packs. The "A" pack was probably running 23 mph or so. They were out of sight after the first turn. We were the "B" pack, and there were four of us: two men and two women. The other woman is an absolute machine. The guys were very strong too. The whole time, I had a really great attitude and was very confident that I was going to keep up and stay with the pack. I didn't have any of that anxiety I sometimes get that I'm falling behind and can't catch the pack again. I felt a lot of power in my legs, and I even took a few turns pulling at the front of our little paceline, even though I was probably the weakest rider of the four.

I had one moment that was a little too exciting. All the karma I built up helping that swimmer earlier in the day was spent in one moment. I had been navigating, and I called out a turn, but the leader wasn't paying attention and missed it. The two people in front made a U-turn, but someone yelled "Car back" so I waited and pedaled really slow waiting for the car to pass. It passed, and in the roar of the engine noise, I didn't hear the sound of the second car. I was gauging the difficulty of the U-turn and started swinging into it. I was halfway through the U-turn when I heard yelling, and that's when I finally realized there had been a second car behind me, who was probably just about to pass me when I pulled around right in front of her. It was already over before I even figured out what was happened. I felt really foolish. We went and got back on the road we missed and finished the ride without further incident.

My group got back to the host house and fueled up with some cool water and headed out for the run. The other woman, I don't think she made it out of the long driveway before turning back. She said her back was hurting. Ian and Hutch and I limped on. The first mile was awful. We knew we'd feel better, but it was rough, and lots of climbing up from the river. (Griggs Resvr.) Ian dropped back, and Hutch and I went on to the aid station Mark had set up. He had his kids out in lawn chairs with a cooler of cold water at the 2-mile mark, which we passed twice. (2 and 4 miles.) Hutch didn't seem right, and was asking where the turnaround was, and which way we were turning several times, so I wasn't too surprised when at the turnaround he started walking and told me to go ahead. He said he was overheated. It was past 11 a.m. by then, and really getting steamy. There wasn't a bit of shade on the run.

I headed back on my own, stopped at the aid station, and kept trucking. I saw Ian coming toward me. He had started running again and was heading for the turnaround. I wasn't going fast, but I felt strong. In the past, I've really had trouble being influenced by people who were having a bad time, and it would make me feel discouraged, too. Even hearing strangers in a marathon talking about how bad they felt, or seeing someone stop and walk in front of me, would get me down and get me thinking about stopping. Today I didn't have any of that, and I carried on pretty strong back to the house. I did stop for a couple walk breaks of maybe a minute, but picked it right back up. By this time, I was approaching 5 hours straight of working out, with a bit less food and drink than I probably should have been having for the conditions.

I really felt pretty good after I finished, too, like I could have gone back out and run more.
Instead, I played with the kids, took them swimming in the pool at Mark's, etc. I should have done a better job eating during that first hour after I got back, but it was pretty hectic.

I have another ride planned for tomorrow with Justin. I still feel pretty good, although my legs are rather wiped out. We'll see how tomorrow feels. I have a race in 6 days!