Brick *

Is a brick really a brick if ones transition time is longer than the subsequent run? 

The wind was the determining factor in cutting my run short, but I did get out and make an effort.  After half hour on the bike in the basement I toweled off, put on most of the clothes I own, and went out for the run portion.  Definitely a lot harsher than the previous night.  Instead of running around the entire subdivision, I settled on one lap of the shortest block, roughly 10 minutes, it was enough.

Today my legs are sore from all the recent activity, calves taking the worst of it.  When I first got up I felt like I was walking in downhill ski boots, unable to flex at the ankle.  They've loosened up some, but the first couple of steps whenever I get up are a little iffy.  I expected this, now waiting for it to pass.

Still have not swam, pool closed last night because of the weather, is closed again today, and will likely be closed again tomorrow.  That makes today a rest day, something I excel at.

* Brick - for those of you not in the know, is a workout of one triathlon discipline followed directly by a second, typically bike than run, but technically it could be any combination of the three.  Unless otherwise noted, my brick comments will always be bike/run related.

Foiled

For the second time in less than a week I actually got off my ass and made it to the pool only to be greeted by a swim meet.  What is a boy to do?

I did get through my first run yesterday. Cold and slow.  How slow, let's put it this way, my run speed in min/mile was greater than monday's bike speed in miles/hour.  I think that says something about my general state of fitness.  But it was cold, somewhere around 1 (one) degree F.  And there was snow everywhere, and ice, and some people don't know how to shovel, and some people don't shovel, and it was cold.

But I'm not making excuses, I was out there, and it wasn't that bad.  And I actually ran for 30 minutes. No walking, only one brief stop to discuss my lunacy of running in this weather with a friend passing by.

Tonight I have a brick workout on the plan, which sounds like a brilliant idea, 30 minutes inside getting sweaty followed by a 15 minute run on a -5 degree wisconsin winter night.  But it will get done, worst case it will be done in reverse, but more than likely it will just be a really long transition.  But it will get done. 

Now I just need to figure out when to swim.

Foreign

Strange, unfamiliar, uncomfortable, odd.

That's how it felt getting on my bike again yesterday, day 1 of week 1 of ironman training.  The sit region took the worst of it after not been on a saddle in quite some time.  The rest was uneventful if not boring.  And slow, I rode painfully slow.  Not that I really expected much different.

But as odd as I felt on the bike, it's probably just a glimpse of what I'll feel like in the water tonight.

DNS

I didn't make it out to the New Years Day Dash this morning. I have no solid reason for not going out. That really is the truth of the matter. Lot's of excuses, some fairly legitimate, but nothing that would have stopped me had I actually wanted to participate.

Hopefully this is not a precursor to 2009. Straight up IM training starts in less than two weeks. No more excuses, no time for them.