I must mention this achievement occurred amidst several challenging obstacles:
- The weather has been crappy, 100% gloom, switching between drizzle and downpour, with a touch of snow. During my layup I admit it's JUST possible I'd gotten a little soft, a little too used to having control over my own interior micro-climate, where rain gear is not required.
- I've been sneezing my head off and have a face full of snot (please don't divulge this to my fellow swimmers, they might find it gross)
- I hosted that sleepover birthday party Saturday for Spencer that turned into 21 hours of non-relations in the household with all the prep/cleanup/care/feeding that entails so obviously I got a lot of rest. Not.
Bike: 80 minute low-key out-and-back aerobic ride in a steady cold drizzle, thankful for my neoprene booties that keep the tootsies toastie. Got 17-1/2 miles in the first hour, backed off a bit on the final few miles. See the elevation profile. Need I say more. Never considered this climb when building the house on top of a big hill.
Run: 5 x (6 min run + 1 min walk). Total with walking and dynamic stretching = 5 miles. Run intervals around 8:00 pace. Hey, this is 18 days post-boot. Admire me for my self-control, because I COULD run 10 or 15 miles (at least in the fantasy world of my mind) but I'm smarter than that. Plus I have pledged to behave and abide by the training plan as prescribed by my coach.
Swim: I logged my longest pool swim ever!!! Loaded up my iPod with a bunch of old tunes (Eagles, Cat Stevens...) and cranked out a continuous 2500, after 600 with the hand paddles, so with warmup and cooldown a sweet 3500. I really wonder how far or long I could go, the limiting factor seems more time or boredom (or having to pee) because I wasn't tired or sore or anything when I finished. The snotty head seemed a lot better too!
So a good weekend with a good week to follow. All the VT students have cleared out for Spring Break so everyone kind of relaxes for the week.