Day 118, 247 To Go

April 28, 2013

I woke up to a text that Mike, my training partner, would be here in 15 minutes since he was running a bit late.  It was 7:30am and I was still in bed.  Oops.  I had to text him back that I was running even later due to the fact that I was still in bed and I would meet him there instead.  I knew at that point that I would miss the swim.

Awwwww...

I got up, ate, got ready, pooped, packed the car and was on the road in no time.  I got to my training location in Melbourne, FL, and made a second trip to the bathroom.  Hey, the last thing you want while riding a bicycle is GI issues.

So, we set out, me Mike and Daryl and got moving.  We went nice and slow to start and when we turned out onto the straightaway, we picked up speed...or at least we tried.  Holy wind batman!!  No matter how hard we pushed, we couldn't break 18mph and mostly, we were closer to 16 or 17.  We took turns pulling, but after 2 minutes, you had to pull off and get to the back of the line (it wasn't much of a line since there was only three of us, but it was still a pace line).

We hit the turnaround at about 8 miles and headed back.  We were only doing 16 miles since that is basically the course for the next race (we should be going further, but we were actually riding the course).  Wow, what a difference on the way back.  We immediately sped up to 25mph and pushed 26 at times.  It was so much more fun than fighting the wind!

At the end, me and Daryl pushed up to 30mph!  We were happy until we thought about it and realized the Tour de France riders will average 30mph for a 120 mile ride!!  What!  Still, I was proud of my 15 seconds of Tour de France pseudo fame!

We transitioned and went out for the run.  This did not go so well.  Mike and I forged out ahead, but 1.5 miles in, Mike's calf cramped up, and we ended up walking the remaining 1.5 miles.  Oh well.  I only got 15 minutes in so I knew then that I had to go home and run another 45 minutes.

When I got home, Honey, the kids and I went to get something to eat and then we stopped at The Sport's Authority so Honey could buy something.  What did she buy?  Rollerblades.  Her plan is to roll with me when I do my longer runs.

She did ok for her first time on the blades.  I thought when we bought them she had used them before, but she had only used roller skates!  HAHA!  Oh well.  So, she accompanied my on my 45 minute run.  It consisted of me running my normal slower pace for my long runs and of Honey grabbing onto me every few minutes because she was seconds away from doing a face plant on the asphalt!!

Ok, I'm exaggerating a little.  That only happened a few times.  Other than that, she did fine.  I think after some more practice, I will have a tough time keeping up with her, that's for sure.  Perhaps it will help me run faster when I get tired.  I can't have her beating me now, can I!

So now Honey is running, she has been walking with the babies every day from 1 - 2.5 miles, and she is rollerblading.  I look like a slacker now.  I need to get my swim on to keep up!  Soon, she will be in better shape than me, and I can't have that!!

Here are my biking numbers:

Time: 0:47:40

Distance: 15.31 miles

Pace: 19.27mph

Max Pace: 30.64mph

Calories: 889

Avg HR: 143

Max HR: 171

Gotta love that max pace, especially since there are NO hills in Florida.  The fastest I remember going was 43mph, but that was down a steep hill in CT.  No chance of that here.

Here are my combined running numbers:
Time: 60:00

Distance: 6.20 miles

Pace: 9:41/m

Max Pace: 5:27/m

Calories: 782

Avg HR: 142

Max HR: 158

I think that max pace came while I was doing my running drills with my strides.  What must it be like to run 5:27 for an entire marathon?  I can hardly imagine it.  When I do, I start to pant and then pass out from the sheer effort of the imagining!  Some people can do that though.  Professional marathoners even go faster!

Another week in the books.  Tomorrow, I go back to work.  I hope to bike at least once this week in the morning and maybe even swim.  Will I do it?  No clue.  But I want to.  Where there is a will...

Run for Life!!