Sunday started another week in our build phase of the training schedule. I have decided not to look too far ahead by day as it tends to both scare me and depress me. Sunday, we planned our 2 ½ hour bike ride on what we have dubbed the Brea Loop course. It takes us to Diamond Bar, through Phillips Ranch- Pomona and back through Chino Hills to Brea. It is loaded with steep hills that are helping us build a stronger cycling base.
One thing I have learned training with Chris all these years is that there is never an easy path when it comes to deciding where to do our training each day. This day, we found ourselves barreling through the course at incredible speeds. I pushed us up the hills and he lead the way on the down hills and on the flats. What should have taken us 2 ½ hours to complete, we pulled into the parking lot in just under 2 hours, a PR for us on this course. We transitioned into our running shoes and took off for a 30 minute brick. It was starting to get hot. In the back of my mind I was thinking that the dirt trails we were running just might have a rattlesnake or two out sunning themselves. It wasn’t more than a few minutes after that thought passed when we heard the distinctive rattle warning that drove both of us straight up in the air. Chris flung me to the left as we passed this 5 foot, red and yellow rattlesnake hanging out enjoying the day. Once our heart rates returned back to normal, we hurried back to our cars and called it a day.
Monday is our first swim day of the week and clearly is the easiest day we have. One workout of 2,800 yards and we are sipping our morning coffee at 6 AM. That day, we had a date with our amazing Villa Fundamental Intermediate School class that has ‘Adopted’ us! We met the class at 8:10 AM and took them through a goal setting discussion and then spent the remainder of the class time involving the students with everything we could bring related to the cycling portion of the Ironman. It was so cool seeing how engaged these young boys and girls were with everything we had to share. It became a science lesson as we brought in discussions of aerodynamics related to cycling and why our bikes can go faster than the BMX bike we had to compare ours with. Chris and I walked out that day high on life having again the opportunity to share with these great kids our love of triathlon, and feeling a sense of pride that we might be touching their lives in a positive way with our visits.
Tuesday was a 30 minute run followed by a 1:15 minute cycle class. There was nothing outrageous this day.
Wednesday was another 4:30 AM 2,800 yard swim followed by a 1:00 hour run up some very steep hills in Anaheim Hills. This workout tends to take a lot out of us. Besides its difficulty, it is the 3rd day of getting up at 3:30 AM and we are just tired.
Thursday is our long run of the week. This week we added another mile and covered 13 miles. We also included 4 - half mile pick-ups along the way. Chris just couldn’t settle for a normal 13 mile run. We worked very hard through this run and probably overdid the pick-ups in terms of speed but, what else is new?
Friday, it all finally came crashing down as today we struggled through a 2 hour bike ride followed by a 30 minute run. It was tough keeping focus but we made it. At our daily coffee shop this morning, we both knew we were registering zero in the tank. Lucky for me, I am off today so I will be home most of the day napping.
Saturday, Chris is off to Cancun for some R&R with his wife and I will be with my marathon team as they do their 13 mile run/walk. Once they have completed their training, I will finish up the day with a 2,800 yard swim.
So, it has been a great week, a tough week, and a week where we continue to get stronger and stronger. Total workout time for the week was just over 14 hours. We are only in week 11 of a 26 week training program. Stay tuned this coming week for a glimpse into our classroom experience as we should have our videotape ready of the remarkable students at Villa Fundamental School.
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