Trifecta Saturday

On Saturday, I met Jim at the lake at 6:15. The water was not quite as warm in the morning as it has been in the afternoons – It was still warm though. I wasn’t going to break any speed records today so I worked on form - bilateral breathing, weak side swimming and breath control. This was a very good technique swim for me. I’m guessing the distance was about 2500 yards (maybe a little less) in 51 minutes.

We took a slow transition to the bike. I ate a peanut and jelly sandwich and changed into cycling shorts and jersey – this was not a transition training day – just all three disciplines. I was sweating just standing there – it was not even 7AM yet. We headed out of the lake area and onto an old highway.

The traffic was light this time of morning. The route that we were taking involves some rolling hills – something that you just do not get on the trace. We travelled around the country side and were planning on winding around to Sumrall. A wrong turn along the way and we ended up making a loop. It was unexpected. We had discovered a very nice loop that was lightly travelled with rolling hills. Sure I felt a little sheepish getting all turned around. I wish I was a better boy scout and then I would have realized that my shadow on the ground had changed directions. With the heat and the rolling hills we did not get as many miles as we had intended. The bike was slow and hot. I was practicing nutrition and now I know that large amounts of PowerAde / Gatorade really bloat me out. I might need to stick to gels and real food and just plain water.

By the time we got off the bike the sun was out in all of its glory. During this transition Jim went and jumped in the lake to cool off. I passed on the lake remembering how warm it can get – I did not think that it would be very refreshing.

No clouds and just intense heat. Jim had a 2.5 mile route around the lake and we took off on foot at a comfortable pace. Jim dropped back a little bit at the 1 mile mark and I went ahead. I did not know where the turn was for the loop and I just kept running. The road that I was on is the hilliest I have ever been on in Mississippi – that might just be the brick talking – but it was a challenging route. The road ended at a T intersection at right at three miles. I was not sure of the way back to the lake so I just turned around to retrace my steps. At about mile 4 Jim drove up – I did not make it back to the lake and he was checking on me. I told him I was doing okay and I would meet him back at the lake. He drove back and then ran out again. I ended up with a tough, challenging 6 mile brick.

Nothing about this training day was over the top – everything was controlled and comfortable. These training days are good for me – you cannot hammer it every day and expect good gains. Jim and I ended up with close to 5 hours of HEAT training and it felt good.