Weekend Recap and This Week in Tri Training
It may have been Labor Day weekend, but Courtney and I put in some serious work! It was our last weekend to train before the race, and we were determined to get in a couple more bricks and try out our new gear.
Although I worked a half day on Friday, the weekend really started Thursday night with the Springsteen concert at Nat’s Stadium. It was a beautiful night an outdoor concert, and Bruce put on a great show!
Courtney got called into the plant Friday afternoon, so I set out on a solo swim/bike to test out my new bike tire and try some of the hand-me-down tri kits a couple of my amazing Ironman lady friends lent me for the race. I biked down to the East Potomac Pool where we’ve done most of our training and swam 1,500 meters before biking three laps around Haines Point. I actually had a terrible workout, and was feeling a bit discouraged. I was really tired after the swim and felt like I was riding through peanut butter, but I think it was just a couple too many beers and not enough sleep the night before along with improper hydration. Turns out I’m not as young as I used to be.
We decided to take it easy Friday night so we wouldn’t have the same problem with our workout on Saturday. We also fueled up with tilapia, asparagus and sweet potato with almond butter, which is one of my favorite night-before-a-big-workout/race meals. It was a beautifully mild day on Saturday, a great change of pace from the brutal heat we’ve been experiencing. We put in a 20 mile bike ride down the Mt. Vernon trail, and then ran 10k to the Lincoln and back. We were planning to go to the pool to test out the wet suit I borrowed, but Courtney got called into work and I didn’t feel like biking over there with all my gear. I’m leaning pretty heavily toward not wearing a wet suit given how warm it’s been and that I’ve not done my training in one.
Saturday night was another low key night. We fueled up on Sweet Green grain bowls and Halo ice cream and set our alarm for 6:45am. Our Sunday morning workout took us through D.C., Maryland and Virginia. We biked 13 miles down the Mt. Vernon Trail and across the bridge to National Harbor for the Open Wave sunset swim. I was glad that it was crowded and the water was a bit choppy, good practice for race day. We swam ~1,700 meters before hoping on our bikes to ride the 13 miles home.
After our training, we headed to Maryland with all three dogs in tow to meet up with friends at Waredaca Brewing Company. It was a beautiful day to drink beer on a farm, and nothing tastes better than a beer well earned!
Last week in workouts:
Monday: 5 mile run
Tuesday: Spin class
Wednesday: Lifting (upper body)
Thursday: Spin class
Friday: 15 mile bike, 1,500m pool swim
Saturday: Bike/Run Brick (20 miles/6 miles)
Sunday: Bike/Swim/Bike – 13 mile bike ride, 1,700 meter open water swim, 13 mile bike ride
Next up: Race Weekend! Our training has been far from perfect, and we really haven’t followed much of a schedule. The one thing I might change is getting in more workouts that start with the swim. I think it’s easy to underestimate how much that takes out of you, particularly if you’re a slow swimmer like me who spends a lot of time in the water. Unfortunately the heat has made it nearly impossible to do the bricks in order because it’s been necessary to get the biking and running in first thing in the morning before the pool opens. But at this point, we’re as ready as we’re going to be. It’s time to get out there and enjoy it!
