Tuning up for the Triathlon

The Saturday after my flat tire, I set out with Katie to ride the Oal Leaf Trail from the Milwaukee County Sports Complex West. We didn’t really have a goal in mind, but just wanted to get a solid ride in on a beautiful Saturday morning. This is definitely my favorite path right now given the fact that it is very scenic and fairly new so the path is nice and smooth. We took the path all the way to Whitnall Park and then continued west to Grange Ave. and back. Total we biked 14.25 miles in about an 1:15.

I had a little hiatis last week from biking for a few days and focused on running for the Triathlon. I wanted to give it ones big push before tapering off for the Door County Triatlon on July 18th. I didn’t bike until Thursday, but planned on doing a “brick” to get my biking/running transition down to a comfortable level.

I biked the usualy work route of a little over 16 miles each way. Going to work was a breeze and I got there in about 1:04. I started out with one legged pedalling to ensure that my cycling motion was as smooth as possible. I had read that it would be uncomfortable at first, but it really wasn’t. I really felt the muscle working particularly my hip flexor. I did about 20 reps on each leg. It was very smooth which I think attributes to the fact that I try to focus on both legs working at the same time in my normal cadence. The rest of the trip I had a feeling there was a little tailwind since it was so easy. I definitely confirmed that tailwind on the way back when I had a strong headwind in my face trying to beat me down. My stubborn side had to kick in. I hadn’t done a brick in training up until this point and nothing was going to stop me! I finished my ride home strong and immediately threw on my running shoes and ran 2 miles. I didn’t have much of a jello feeling in my legs, but I started to feel the fatigue in my legs about a 1/2 mile in. I took it easy to make sure I didn’t push hard. Towards the end of the run, my left leg right at the top of the ankle became sore. This was the same soreness I had in my first Triathlon during the run. I think the main cause of it is the muscle getting fatigued, which tells me that I should focus more on my quads when possible in biking. They have a lot more endurance than my lower leg muscles.

This Tuesday was my hardest push that I’ve made so far on a work commute. When I set out I did the one legged cycling again almost as a warm up type exercise at the beginning of my ride. From there I set out to push all the way in. My goal was to get under an hour on the way in, knowing that it’s slightly more decline than incline. Unfortunately, I made it in 1:01 so I just missed my goal! Although, in my defense, I did get stuck at 3 stop lights as I was venturing through Bay View. I was pretty proud though, I didn’t feel like I was stressing my body anymore than a normal race-type ride, and I was definitely going faster. The way home I pushed at the same level, although the wind had picked up a little more than in the morning. Although is was a cross wind, so it didn’t affect me as much as a head wind would have. The highlight of my ride home was the spot where I max out my speed. Although I didn’t break my 33.9 mph mark, I was trailing behind a car going the same speed they were and being careful not to get too close. It’s a good feeling to know that you’re traveling at the same speed as a car! The ride ended at 1:04 which is a new record for me going home when I don’t have a strong wind at my back.

Hopefully I will be able to squeeze in one more ride before the Triathlon weekend next week. I also need to focus on getting in at least one swim and a couple runs, so that could interupt that plan. Total since my last post, I’ve added on another 78.25 miles to put my YTD total at 389.52 miles or 77.9% of my goal! I will easily be exceeding this goal by the beginning of August!