Friday:
The weekend started out with a shortish fast swim workout at the pool. I was running short on time, so I had to skip the weightlifting afterwards.
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300yd warm up
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15 x 100yd free w/ :10 rest
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100yd cool down
I love the fast swim workouts. Short intervals + Short rest = Time flies. For some reason, I enjoy my Friday swim workouts more than the ones earlier in the week. Probably just the atmosphere. Everyone seems more relaxed, just trying to unwind. During the week, everyone is trying to get out of work and cut through traffic as fast as humanly possible, so that they can rush through a workout as fast as humanly possible, get back in the car only to drive home as fast as humanly possible…Rinse and repeat the next day. Oddly, writing about training, and taking/posting pictures along the way has made the entire experience much more enjoyable for me. You can see so much from behind a camera lens.
Saturday:
Saturday was like Animal Planet day. We had an 80 mile bike ride planned, followed by a 5 mile run. Any time you ride for 80 miles, you’re bound to see some interesting farmland and wildlife. This trip was no different. Saturday was the first time that I have seen Wild Turkeys. Off in the distance I saw 5 blobs scurry across the road, so I fumbled to get my camera out in time to hopefully get a shot. The picture isn’t great, but hopefully you can make them out ok. We also passed by a small farm with quite a few sheep on the hillside. We passed this farm a couple months back after they had just been sheared(at the time, they seemed irritated about the whole thing). Saturday they were just hanging out.
Also spotted, was a very large deer…the kind you only see in Eastern NC, and a black water moccasin. I thought the moccasin was dead, but my wife debates me on this point. Anyway, I wasn’t fast enough with the camera to get any of these creatures. Other than that, the 80 mile ride was uneventful(a good thing). We just cruised on through it and then did a 5 mile run afterwards.
Sunday:
As fate would have it, Sunday was my day to work(at work). No big deal, that’s just a ball that has to be juggled. The downside is that means I had a 2.5 hr ride and a 1 hr run to complete during the mid-afternoon of July. Yep, it’s hot, so I decided to switch bikes for a change of scenery and take advantage of some shade on the American Tobacco Trail. The Tobacco Trail is a great place to cross-train from time to time. It’s not really a good place for aerobars because you occasionally will have the unpredictable baby stroller or dog on a leash, but otherwise the crushed gravel is packed smooth. Today there was a bit of a Thrombosis on the trail as the folks riding horses just stopped to chat for a bit. With no way to go left or right, it was a good time for a water break.
So, after 40 miles of crushed gravel on the bike and a 1 hour run, I finished my 3rd build week. This week ended up being about 17.5 hours of workouts, and I can really feel it. I started to become unhinged a bit during the last hour of the bike. The 1 hour run was just the necessary cherry on top. So I’m pretty much feeling the whole body fatigue. That’s ok; this is part of the growing process. Tomorrow is a rest day, and this week is a recovery week until our next build phase. Less than 90 days until IMFL in Panama City!!!
Thanks for Reading!
