Rest Week

Memorial Day weekend is here. What a great time to have a rest week. After last week's heavy volume it was real easy to sleep in a few extra days this week and only have one hour of training. By Thursday I was feeling pretty edgy and felt like just throwing on my shoes and going for a long run. But I understand the value of rest so I just focused on the Pilates class that day and got the most out of it. There are a few options from VQ this weekend for long rides. They're heading up to Lake Geneva and back on a 100 mile fully sagged ride. Right now that still seems out of reach for me. 50-70 miles is doable as long as my back doesn't flare up. I'll probably join the shorter group ride on Sunday and use the rest of the weekend for all those chores that quickly pile up when you're training for 10-14 hours a week… and trying to sleep the rest. Things will begin to really ramp up as June arives. Next weekend is the second VQ hosted Ironman WI preview ride. It can't get much worse than last time so I'm looking forward to it. Then comes the Rockman Half, Horrible Hilly Hundred, Big Foot OLY, and the Wisconsin Brick Adventure (WIBA) with VQ and Team EVOTRI. Those are some big weekends all stacked in a row. So I'll be sure to enjoy what is left of this rest week.

1/2 Mary PR

I skipped the Lake Geneva 1/2 Marathon 3 weeks ago. VQ was having a transition clinic so I felt that would be a better use of my time. The clinic was interesting. We rode up to Fort Sheridan and did some race pace work with a few transitions. I wish we'd actually done less race pace and just kept doing transitions over and over again. But there were too many people and shoes and equipment were piled up at the few racks they had. But it was still a fun group workout. Riding through Wilmette along Sheridan Rd. was really beautiful. It's and area I hadn't been to before. So the following weekend I felt like I needed a nice long run. It was the end of a heavy volume week for me leading into a rest week. I choose to run on the limestone bike path near Lakewood Forest Preserve. Heading north to Singing Hills Forest Preserve and back is a nice 14 mile loop. I wasn't feeling all that great to begin with but after a few miles I was in a groove. By the time I hit Singing Hills and turned around I realized I was on pace for a 1/2 marathon PR. I picked up the pace even more leaning into the wind when it hit me. Most areas of the trail were around housing developments and the wind was much less in those areas. I was feeling real good about the intensity of the effort. It wasn't until the last 2 miles that I started to fatigue. But knowing a PR was within reach was enough to carry me through. Granted this was only a training run but unofficially I dropped my 1/2 mary PR by almost 7 minutes. I eased up and jogged a nice cool down the rest of the way back to the car. Now if I can just find a way to carry that pace through the marathon at the end of Ironman Wisconsin. Maybe someday.

Ready, set, multisport!

The multisport season kicked off for me this weekend. Unfortunately it wasn't a celebratory kickoff. I ran the Peanut Butter Duathlon (formerly the Law Day Duathlon) in Rockford, IL. 2 mile run, 14 mile bike, 2 mile run. I was really looking forward to this race after the Madison debacle. I've run this race the past 2 years so I was very interested in seeing my progress. The weather was pretty rough. The sun was shining as I drove out but the clouds quickly moved in and the rain started. Getting set up in transition was interesting in the pouring rain. The trails we very messy which made the run portion more fun (for me anyway, saw a few guys covered in mud as they must have fallen). I ran near the front but made sure not to run too fast. I shot for a 6:30 pace and was right on. I came into transition and had a little difficulty with the strap of my helmet since I had gloves on. Then getting clipped into the pedals was a pain since my shoes were wet and kept slipping. I was planning to use the LT training I've been doing with VQ to really pound the bike. I was hoping to knock a bout 5 minutes off my bike split from last year. Well, I'll never know if that would have been accomplished or not. I was riding my new Zipps with brand new Vittoria tubulars. Tubulars are still new to me so I didn’t have a spare nor am I quite clear on how to change one. The bike was 3 loops around Rock Cut State Park roads. I didn’t even make it around once before I heard a loud POP and my back tire went flat. After training and racing on clinchers for 2 years I've only experienced 1 flat tire. After only 4 miles on tubulars I've already had a flat. I didn’t hit a pothole and I didn’t see any glass or rocks. Everything I've read says tubulars are more dependable but now I'm really questioning how I can complete Ironman Wisconsin on these tires. I walked the rest of the loop and met up with my wife. She felt my disappointment but was very grateful I was ok after hearing a rider went down on the slick metal track on the dam. We walked back to the start and I packed my stuff and went home. The leader was just about finishing by then. Once the results are posted I'll be interested in projecting my finish. My age group is always very competitive at this event.

So another Saturday down the drain. I tried to make up for it on Sunday with a long ride with VQ. It was my first group ride… ever! As a triathlete I'm used to long rides alone so this was a very interesting. The group was slated for 53 miles at 17-19 average MPH. There were two other groups that went out at a faster pace. I went with the slower group knowing I was going to have difficulty just finishing that distance. I doubt I would have covered 53 miles by myself. I haven't biked that far since the Lake Geneva Half last September. I probably would have headed home around 30 as the soreness in my back and neck flared up. But riding with the group (and having no idea where I was) made it easier to press on. I learned quite a bit from Joe Wrobel who led the group. He's a VQ coach and an older gentleman but he's in excellent shape since he whipped out those miles like they were nothing. I'm looking forward to riding with the group again next weekend. Then I can have an excuse to take a nap while at my mother-in-law's for Mother's Day.