Catching up
Where oh where do my days of unemployment go? It’s amazing how “busy” I can be even though I’m not spending any time at an office!
It was a really good week of training, the big session was a strong Saturday ride on PCH with some climbing in the canyons (up Mulholland, down Encinal). I did the Griffith Park Brick last night and the Speed Circuit swim today. The group training is pretty fun. It’s nice to meet new people and so far I’ve been able to train with people who with similar goals and level of fitness. I held back a little on the Brick last night. I recovered well after last week, but there’s no reason to be pushing that hard and risking injury. I did the entire bike and run, but didn’t feel any need to “keep up” with the front pack. I feel like last week I proved that I’m fit and can hang with them.
For Saturday’s ride I met up with two people from the LA Tri Club. We met in Santa Monica at 6am (!) and rode for about 4 hours and then did a short, easy transition run. I ended up riding with one of the guys pretty much the entire time, the other dude was a little behind us for most of the morning. It was nice to have company, but having someone else around did take some getting used to. I didn’t ride in aero as much as I otherwise would have – either for safety reasons or because we were chatting during the ride. Also, there were a couple places where we stopped to let the other guy catch up. My inclination is not to want to interrupt my training or rhythm, but it’s a fine trade-off for the company. I’ll meet up with those guys for the Saturday ride when I can.
This weekend, I’m headed down to San Diego to ride Palomar Mountain with my Dad. We’ve never actually ridden together, and I’m really looking forward to it. He spends a ton of time on his bike and has done the Palomar climb before. The climb itself is nearly 12 miles with 4,300 feet of climbing. The total ride distance is 68 miles. I’ll be fine with the distance, but I’ve never done a climb that long or with that elevation gain. Should be a exciting challenge for me.
Bike – May 21
Distance: 31.4 miles
Time: 1:45
Average heart rate: 123
Course: Ballona Creek Bike Path to Marina Del Ray, down Strand to Hermosa
Conditions: Sunny and warm, 70’s
Brick – May 23
Total Time: 4:32
Bike:
Distance: 64.7 miles
Time: 4:04
Average heart rate: 119
Transition Time: 3:21
Run:
Distance: 3 miles
Time: 25 minutes
Average heart rate: 127
Conditions: Early (6am) start, a bit cloudy and low 60’s to start, but burned off and got into high 60’s and sunny by end
Bike – May 24
Distance: 5.25 miles
Time: 41 minutes
Average heart rate: 141
Course: West Hollywood/Beverly Hills
Conditions: Sunny, low 60’s
LA Tri Club Griffith Park Brick – May 26
Total Time: 2:22
Bike:
Distance: 21.1 miles
Time: 1:14
Average heart rate: 136
Transition Time: 9:18
Run:
Distance: 7.1 miles
Time: 59:00
Average heart rate: 152
Conditions: Evening, low 70’s/high 60’s, sunny and clear
LA Tri Club Ocean Speed Circuit – May 27
Distance: 1,900 yards (5 short laps)
Time: 40 minutes
Water conditions: 63 degrees, calm
Indoor Bike – May 27
Time: 30 minutes
Average heart rate: 110