This is about what I would have expected. I've not been in the pool much at all in the last couple of months or so. I need to re-focus my swim training and work on technique more than anything else.

Um, train?

A nice leisurely transition. Got changed into dry shorts and put on HRM. I'd find out later that I left my HRM watch sitting on top of one of the hand dryers in the locker room. DOH!

Not leave my watch laying about.

These Precor stationary bikes are definitely weird! Well, at least their calculation of speed/distance is. I know that I average 18+ mph in races, especially when I'm pushing it as my HR was suggesting I was. <15 mph my as$! The pedals were also pretty funky - standard SPD but perhaps really worn or maladjusted. It seemed like my left foot was at a funny angle which may have contributed to my leg cramping on the run. Regardless, I was happy that I was able to push the effort at a relatively high level the entire time. My theme for my 2007 races is "Don't Punk Out!". I think I've been letting myself back off too much in past races. I need to simply be better at blocking out the pain and continue pushing. If I bonk, so be it.

Got my running shoes on and things set up by my treddy and ran downstairs to try to find my HRM watch. Thank goodness someone turned it in to one of the volunteers on the pool deck. I could have potentially made a very costly mistake.

I was pretty happy with this run. I started out feeling a little queasy but tried to focus on gutting it out. Took the first few minutes at 6 mph and tried to ramp it up from there with the idea of keeping my HR as close to LT as possible. I managed to keep the pace somewhere between 6.5 and 7 during the last 20 minutes while fighting some cramping in my left leg which I've experienced numerous times on treadmills. Yet another reason to hate them. The last two minutes was pretty much an all-out sprint to the finish. I didn't hit sub-9:00 but given my recent training, I'm OK with how this went.

Train.

Wandered around seeking cooler air. Was admonished by Autumn's mom for wanting to go stand outside in the cold. "You'll get a cold!", she said. Not sure it would've made a difference anyway.


Again, training.


This race would have been rated a 5 if they had more fans on the participants. I found it interesting that the bike area was an atrium with doors on both ends leading to the outdoors. Couldn't they have propped one open to get some cooler air in there? Perhaps I'll bring my own fan next year!