Easy spin this morning.

The plan was to ride then run this morning, but it was cloudy and really dark when I got up so I got the run in first. My legs just don't transition from run to bike well.

Z2. Watson Rd and the Heights. Pretty humid this morning, but HR was pretty low. Legs felt strong this morning.

4x200 no warm up on :30 rest. (3:27,28,23,24)
500 at race pace. (8:43)
Rest 1'
6x200 at race pace with 30" rest. (3:25,27,27,25,27,24)
100 cd.

It took a lot of work to convince myself that swimming was better than sleeping this morning. Once I got in the water I was ok, but I definitely felt fatigued throughout the swim. I'm pretty happy with the 200s all being under 3:30, but I'm not sure what happened on the 500. I really felt like I was lifting my head and losing balance when I breathed to the left this morning. I've really got to work on that.

Managed to drag my butt out of bed early this morning and got on the road by 0430. It was a lot darker than I thought it would be. I ran Coon Box, Spaniard Neck, Northbrook and 2 loops around the Heights. There was a 2 mile stretch on Coon Box Rd. where there were tall trees on both side of the road and it was so dark I couldn't even see the yellow line in the middle of the road...I was just feeling my way down the middle by finding the crown of the road. The only thing I was nervous about was encountering dogs when it's that dark - you just don't know what you're up against. Running in the dark is a very cool experience because all my senses are at full attention so I wasn't even thinking about running. Before I knew it the sky was starting to lighten up a little. Now for the most incredible part of the morning...seeing an albino whitetail fawn on Spaniard Neck Rd.! I had been spooking tons of deer all morning (even got a few good snorts out of a buck that was pissed when I scared all his ladies off - I snorted back at him and he ran off. What a sissy). Anyway, up ahead on the left side of the road I saw a small deer (still too dark to see much) trotting away from me with it's tail up. All of the sudden, when it turned broadside to get a look at me, it lit up like a neon sign. It was unbelievable how white it was. He skirted off about 5 feet inside the treeline and stood there watching me as I ran by. He probably thought he was camoflaged, but he was snow white head to hoof. What a beautiful animal and what an amazing experience at 5 in morning. It made my day. It was too dark to tell if he was a true albino, but there wasn't a spot of brown anywhere on the side that was turned to me. The rest of the run went great. I felt really strong until about the last 1.5 miles. I had kept my pace right around 9 minutes all morning at the checkpoints I know, but the last couple miles were pretty slow. This is my longest run ever, so I'm happy regardless of pace. What a great morning.

What a perfect night for a ride! Warm, but not hot. Just a hint of air out of the north..couldn't have been better. On 309 I saw another bike up ahead swerving all over the shoulder. I could tell it was a hybrid or mountain bike. When I got up there I slowed down and tried my best not to scare him and said "on your left". Of course, there's nothing you can do about it - I scared the crap out of him anyhow. Turns out it's a good friend from church. Pretty cool. I rode easy with him for a few miles and chatted.

Swim: Swim TT
Assess Fitness
WU: 500 warm up (wu).
8 x 25 ez/fast
MS: 1000 yd TT (*16:39.9*)
(500 splits were 8:24.0,*8:15.9*)
3 x 200 on 15" rest
8x25 ez/fast
CD: 300

Two more PRs today at 500 and 1k distances. I rarely swim 500s so I always seem to set a new 500 PR when I set a new 1k PR. I went out way too hard and after the first 250 I knew I was either going to have to back off or I wasn't going finish so I eased off. When I saw my 500 at 8:24, I really got fired up and gave it all I had. This was definitely the hardest effort I've ever given in the pool. The 200's were supposed to be at race pace, but my stomach was feeling nauseous and my arms were spent so I just cruised through them.

Z1/Z2 run. Northbrook, Watson Rd., and the Heights. My legs were like lead this morning. I guess Sunday's brick caught up with me a little. HR was low due to the cool weather which was a nice change, but my legs just wouldn't go. I've got a long run planned for Thursday morning so I hope they get some spring back in them. A soak in the whirlpool usually does the trick so maybe I'll do that tonight.

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