Two great days back to back

So, yeah. I didn't mean for that last blog to sound so self-aggrandizing. I was actually having a very humble moment. It kinda sounds cocky or ... something... when I read it now, though.

Anyway, yesterday I headed back to active duty. I joined the Central Florida Tri Club for one of their group rides. We divided into 3 groups: beginner, intermediate and advanced; of course, I tacked myself onto the back of the beginner pack and was dropped like a bad habit around mile 10! I learned quickly that these guys are the REAL deal - their *beginner* group goes close to 20 mph. Then my chain started coming off and there was no way I was catching up, so being that I'm not mechanically or geographically challenged and I've been dropped before, I followed one group and tacked myself onto another. I was feeling pretty bummed about the drop, but I made friends with the last group and circled back with my group in time for the run. Coach seemed satisfied that I somewhat kept up with the group and didn't bail on the run. Some people did and some of them didn't do FL HIM last week.

Ride: 2 hours and 15, about 30 miles. Run: about 2 miles. Didn't eat enough beforehand or bring enough water for afterward. It was HOT! I'm going to try a product called Infinit as my primary race beverage. I also learned that one of my pills may be responsible for some of the tummy issues, so from now on that pill gets taken after racing. This is not a pill I will be poorly affected by skipping or delaying, which is good news. It's also not one I was taking last year, which somewhat explains the sudden GI distress.

This morning I needed to get some extra sleep. Just couldn't feel rested. Was supposed to go for a 1-hour run with the club at 6:30am, but I allowed myself to sleep. I knew I'd spend the day walking anyway.

I'm pleased with my return to training. The caliber of people and athletes in the club are great. Afterward we hung around and introduced ourselves and asked the coach questions. He announced my Nationals Qualification to everyone, too. That was embarassing because they're all sooo fast, but everyone was supportive, excited for me and asked great questions that helped me, too. It also gave me a kick in the pants. I'm a Qualifier. I want to train like I deserve that title. (At least for intermediate-distance races. For 70.3 plus, just finishing strong is enough!) And I'm signed up for my only two races of the year.

Great day today...walking all over while Sherpa fished. Kona joined us in the pet-friendly park. Tomorrow the club workout is a swim, only about 1500, and weights. Definitely not skipping those - I left them off my 70.3 workouts and I know I need them badly. My usual day of rest is Mondays, so I will probably shuffle the rest to another day since I rested today. Sherpa and friends want to hit a water park, so I said "as long as I'm allowed to swim laps somewhere for about 40 minutes undisturbed."
Sold!

TTFN.