Feelin' the Heat

"The more you sweat in peacetime, the less you bleed in war."--Chinese Proverb

My corollary: the more screw-ups you make in training, the fewer you make during a race.

Thursday was supposed to be a long bike ride with a quick run after.  It wound up the opposite, as the rear shifter cable frayed and broke 12 miles into the ride, due almost certainly to the way I'd strapped it to the back of my Jeep.  Oops.  Time to use our real bike rack, even if it's a little extra effort.

I biked home with 3 gears instead of 21, and threw on my running shoes instead.  The 15 mile run went easily, and I just beat the heat.  Clearly a limitation to the length of any run/bike is the temperature at this time of year.   And it'd likely be the death of me in any 140.6 mile race.  This unfortunately rules out one possible venue--the Vineman triathlon in Napa, CA, which is next July.  We got married over the hills from the Bay Area in June, without the protective cooling layer of fog.  It was 100 degrees Fahrenheit at game time.  Thanks, no thanks.

My previous long bike ride last week was cut short when I had only one malfunctioning CO2 cartridge to refill a flat, and no manual air pump.  I wound up needing a 30 mile ride home.  Oops.  Time to suck it up and handle the extra weight and wind resistance.

Yesterday, I saw my Iron coach Spencer Roberts, who is also a personal trainer, for some new workout tips.  I have, for the last several years, done calisthenics with a few hand weights, followed by a swim, based largely on the Navy Seal workout.  My goal--based historically on participation in boxing and martial arts--has always been strength without excess bulk and loss of quickness.  Spencer threw in a 38# weighted vest, "to save time," and some pushup/crunch and pushup/fly combos that were gnarly enough to end my workout a fair amount sooner.  Mission accomplished.

Today was a mercifully foul-up free time trial/hill fest on the bike.  I'd never done a time trial before.  It was a bit like a 5K, I suppose.  22'48" for 8.34 miles (geographically determined distance) for an average of 21.95 mph. Not bad for a pinche gringo doctÓr newbie cyclist.  I was inspired after peeking at another JCC trainer--Troy Pearson's--cycling resume.  He was, not surprisingly, a fair amount faster.  And a fellow member of the class of '85.  Cool.

I think I'll keep posts to about 1/week until I start training in earnest 5 months from the event, whenever it is.