4/11/12 thru 4/23/12

Tuesday night races and Wednesday night girls hammer fest are two group rides coming up. If it works out I would like to do the Wed. night rides.

Masters swimming- I guess this summer there is only going to be Masters on Monday, Thursday, and Sundays.

Let's get right to the race since that is what I want to talk about. First, this years journey is different. We talked about this before, but I am still struggling with how to see it. Last year I didn't know what to expect and was in general really happy with my racing. This year I have expectation and on one hand I don't want to be disappointed all year, yet I still want to set the standards higher. Maybe it is a matter of setting very specific goals for each race and being happy if I can meet them and then not worry about everything else. So this year for the Grizzly we worked on my swim. I feel like I worked pretty hard to set some pace times and really train them. And guess what it worked!!! I took off about 35 seconds from last year and wasn't the last one out of the pool (which was part of the goal). That was awesome. Even though I was in the gutter lane. Maybe if I keep upping my goals I can keep getting out earlier? Anyway, nothing to complain about on the bike. I used my water bottle on my aerobars which I hadn't added on after the new fit. It was kind of in the way. Couldn't hunker down as much as I wanted too. My right hamstring was a little cramped when I started. Couldn't get going very fast right away. I didn't chase down girls like I did last year on the bike. But that seems to be the case lately so I wasn't too worried. Except that some of those girls are getting faster on their bikes. Also, played a little demoralization game with some girl up the hill. I love cycling. Run started out like usual. Jelly legs and about 1/2 mile to feel normal. Is that normal? Up the hill and down the hill. Oh crap. I cramped up soooo bad on the downhill. Came hobbling around the corned and had to wait a while just to bend my leg enough to stretch. Kept going and eventually the cramp went away and I could pick up the pace again. Not feeling super great about the race at the finish. But after anaylzing the numbers I'm happier. Swim was faster, bike 1 second faster, and run a little slower, but that was because of that cramp. Had a raging headache the night before and had to take ibuprofen in the morning so was having some sort of dehydration/electrolyte balance issue. Erik you shouldn't have your birthday around this race every year. Also, I want Sue Huse's contant info. She seems pretty cool and says she comes to Bozeman a lot. Maybe a new playing buddy? Do you think I can do the Grizzly in 1:10? That is my goal for next year.

In general. All those pacing workouts were really good for me. Gave me a good feeling for what I wanted/could do. Maybe the run was a little ambitous but I'm okay with overambitous.

Wed. Went and did the strides. Wow 15. That seemed like a lot but they ticked off quick. That seemed like a hard, but short run.
Went to Master's- not a lot of people there. Got in the 3000 but wish there was more energy at these swims. All of this was in free.

Thursday
Bike pacing workout- Good workout. Feel like I could really dial in my pacing. Meeting was good. I have a new goal of being the City's Recreation and Parks Director. I might use you for a reference of some sort if you don't mind.

Friday
Amy and I planned on going to BeerFest. Went after work and busted out the swim. Was running late and pressed for time so skipped the run. Opps. Felt bad about doing this. Beer- Maybe drank too much of this these couple of weeks.

Saturday
Group ride/alone ride with Art and Ryan (Art takes off and races me and Ryan doesn't talk). Busted out the intervals. Felt pretty worked after all of them. Was a pretty tough workout. Had the wind in our faces the whole time. Felt pretty worked when I got back. Erik made a funny comment about these group rides. Something like how many triathletes does it take to go on a group ride?

Sunday
Master's swim. The group wasn't super motivated and we didn't get in all of the workout. Probably only about 2600-2800.
Watched the snow flurries for a while at work and then motivated to get out and do the run. Targeted a 7:00 minute mile pace. It was doable. Hoping to keep that up at the Grizzly. Felt really good and pretty excited about being able to hold that pace. Had a hard time or felt overwhelmed with a 7:30 pace last year. (Wrote this last Friday before the race, didn't quite happen) I really like this workout though. Pushed myself hard and felt very gratified.

Monday
Had GAS girls dinner so left work a little early and rode the TT bike. Good ride. Nice and easy.

Tuesday
Rode out with Erik and Amy to the Tuesday night race. Rode the TT bike and finished off the loop by myself when they raced. Rode more like 1:30 total, but tried to keep it easy.

Wednesday
Went over at lunch and did the swim. The 100's were right on. Feeling good. Stayed a little late at work and worked on some other stuff (job application).

Thursday
Did the run mid morning. Went over to Pete's hill. Feeling strong.
Rode with Angie after work. Found a good place to go and do the intervals. Brought out the TT bike with the new wheels and tires. Felt fast. I like feeling fast!
Had Eriks birthday at Colombo's. He got his new bike. Some of the anticipation is gone. Now still feeling it for the race on Sat.

Friday
Went and got the swim knocked out. Was a few seconds faster for each interval than the goal time. Feeling good. Did the run right after. Also feeling good. Getting excited for tomorrows race.