Seven Down - Thirteen Weeks to Go!

I took Sunday off.  It was supposed to be my recovery day anyway but since I missed Friday and Saturday I thought I might go ahead and do something.  I had to work a lot on all three days so I stuck with my gut, did nothing and got ready for Monday.

On Monday Susan and I rode 10 miles in the morning in our neighborhood.  Later in the day I rode with the Southern Crescent Cycling folks.  I finished the day with 57 miles on the books.

Southern Crescent Cycling riders

Jose, Avery and Jason (l-r)

The group getting ready to turn right onto Hill View Road

On Tuesday Susan and I went to the neighborhood pool to cool off after riding 10 more miles though the neighborhood.  I took my first underwater pictures with my new Olympus camera.  My Camera Equipment

Underwater picture with my Olympus Stylus Tough 6000

Later in the day I swam 1.9 miles in the lake then I ran 1 mile.  I guess it was a brick.  I had intended to run more but Susan was at home making dinner so I cut it short, way short.  As I walked to the water's edge I had to watch out for poison ivy.  I get a rash every year and 2011 is no different.  I just got rid of a rash on my leg and I don't want to get another one.

Poison Ivy

Leaves of Three - Let it Be!

On Wednesday I rode with my Southern Crescent Cycling buds again.  The ride started at 6:15pm.  Like Monday, I rode the 8.5 miles to Epic Bikes to meet the group.  I brought with me 3 full Camelbak Chill insulated bottles.  Each bottle holds 22 ounces of fluid which I had filled hours earlier and placed in the freezer.  When I left on my ride they were almost frozen solid.  I also brought a frozen 16.9 ounce bottle of Gatorade.  I rode 42 miles in the blistering heat and drank all 82.9 ounces of fluid before I got back home 2 1/2 hours later.  When I got home I drank some more!

Thursday was an off day.  This is a recovery week after all!  Instead of working out I spent the evening setting up my bike for the Southern Crescent Cycling Time Trial on Saturday.  It started with a cleaning followed by a bit of oil.  I removed my training wheels and replaced them with my Flashpoint FP60's.  I also removed my bento box and XLab carbon wing with the bottle cages and spare tube and tools.  I won't need any of this stuff for my TT.  I also taped over the vent holes in my Giro Advantage 2 aero helmet. 

On Friday Susan, Eileen and I rode through the neighborhood.  We rode 10.5 miles in 1 hour.  Needless to say, we were not kickin' it but it was a nice ride.

Saturday was my big time trial day and the last day for this week's training.  It's not necessarily a big time trial, only 12 (11.73) miles, but it was big to me.  I was anxiously waiting for Saturday to arrive since I heard about the TT a few weeks ago.  With the miles for the TT and the ride to and from the course I'd ridden 40 miles in about 2 hours.  Not a bad finish to my recovery week!

A summary of my week is 11 hours of training.  My plan called for 13 hours.  I was a bit short.  I did no running, had only one long swim session, but I biked 160 miles in 9 1/2 hours.

Next week is a long week with almost 16 hours of training planned.  Time to kick it up a notch!

Thanks for reading.