Training 6/23 - 6/29...and tri-preview

But to me the bottom line is the more education you can give yourself, and the more preparation you can do, the less chance of failing. -- Stuart Pierce

Of course training is a huge part of preparation -- and my training has been very solid since we've gotten back from vacation. But this weekend we also added another level of preparation for my next triathlon.  In July, I'm doing an Oly length tri at Colonial Beach, so yesterday we drove up to Colonial Beach, worked on some OWS where I'll actually be swimming, and drove the bike and run courses.  I'll give you my thoughts on the course, but first this week's training:


Sunday 6/23 - REST (although it wasn't really a rest day -- hubby's triathlon, so lots of chasing him around)
Monday 6/24 - 75 minute swim (Masters), 78 minute bike on Freyja (21.19 miles, practicing aero)
Tuesday 6/25 - 4.83 mile run (slow - I need to get used to the heat/humidity)
Wednesday 6/26 - 2.75 mile run (treadmill), 60 minute swim (Masters)
Thursday 6/27 - 75 minute bike on Freyja (intervals on trainer), 2.68 mile run (treadmill)
Friday 6/28 - 7.74 mile run (hot, even starting at 6:30a)
Saturday 6/29 - 79 minute bike on Freyja (20.31 miles), 500m open water swim practice at Colonial Beach

Anyway, we went up to Colonial Beach yesterday.  We'd never been up there before - it's not a nice enough beach to make us want to drive up there generally, but it was good to see where the race is going to be held.  Plus, I got to get a little more comfortable swimming in open water - which is exactly what I need.

Here's the beach.  At least yesterday afternoon, around low tide, there was negligible current and few waves -- mostly off of boats that flew through the middle of the river.  So for swim practice, hubby swam about 50m out and pretended to be a buoy - I would swim out behind him, round the "buoy", and swim back in.  It wasn't a ton of distance, but it got me much more comfortable than I have been with OWS.

Then we hung out and let the kids play in the water for a long time - hopefully they will grow up without the OWS-monkey that I have.  I, unfortunately, got stupidly sunburnt.  Yowch!

Later we left the beach and drove both the bike and the run course.  The bike course leaves town and is pretty flat for about 6 miles, then it is fairly "hilly" for the next 4-5, and then kinda flat until the turnaround near 12.5 miles.  There are some substantial uphills, but as hubby reminded me - those uphills will be downhills on the way back into town -- and vice versa!

Here are a couple of pictures I took of the bike course.  It's really pretty - lots of trees and farms.  There's also a winery on the route, but I figured that would probably cut into my time, so instead we visited the winery yesterday so I don't have to do it during the race.

Finally the run course is pretty much 100% flat.  It's an out and back in town, down one side of the coast and up the other, then back again.  Not a hill in sight.  Should be a fast 10K - if I have such a thing in me after the swim and bike.

I'm glad we did this yesterday - it's good preparation both to get me in the open water and to be able to think about the courses and know what I'm getting into.  More preparation = less chance of failing.