Is riding into the wind like riding up a hill?

Random thoughts from the past couple of days…

I’m back. After the Saskatchewan Marathon on May 30th I took a week off – couple of light workouts only. Coach Bruce assigned me lots for this week and next week and I’m not only getting through the week but I am looking forward to it. Tomorrow’s training session will probably be a little over five hours and I am keen to get out there. I am enjoying the training. This is good because at the beginning of the week I wasn't feeling it.

This may relate to kid’s activities winding down. Last night Oliver wrapped up Mini-Lasers swimming for the summer. This frees my time for two nights a week which is good as some weeks feel like work, train, transport children, and sleep. Having some down time will help keep my spirits up and when school is over in a couple of weeks this will free up lots of time making it easier to find time for training without the sense that I am getting NOTHING else done. I am, in fact, getting nothing else done as Heather will tell you. Ironman training certainly does require some sacrifice on the part

Raincoats are warm. I have a rain jacket for cycling. I ran last night wearing an Under Armour sleeveless t-shirt, light long sleeve shirt, and rain jacket. Phew. Was too warm. Despite the fact that it claims to be breathable, oy, it’ s barely breathable. Too warm. This is the most difficult weather to dress for – from 0 to 10 degrees with light rain. I can never stay cool enough.

Best sight on the trail … crazy university prof riding his bike with a huge pauncho to keep off the rain. It was blowing in the wind like Superman’s cape. The best part, though, was that he was wearing a ¾ motorcycle helmet instead of a cycling helmet. I wonder if he ramps up to the motorcycle helmet on rain soaked days because of the increased chance of injury or if he always wear old faithful?

I might not suck at cycling as bad as I think I do. This week I did my first ever interval. I was surprised to see what speed I was able to maintain with a modest but not ridiculous increase in effort. It’s hard to get my heart rate to 150/minute and, in calm flat conditions, I am guessing that 31 km/h is about my speed. This makes me feel good about the possibility of cycling between 6 and 6:30 at Ironman.

And, my ride on Tuesday was both the best and freakin’ worst ride EVER. The first 17 km was pleasant. The second 17 km was a screaming, riot of fun – wind at my back going between 35 and 45 with an occasional downhill bumping my speed to just over 50 km/h.  Then the last 20 km with like cycling in a wind tunnel. My speed dropped off to below 20 km/h. I felt like I was part of some elaborate experiment measuring whether a man will keep pedaling or will simply lie down in the ditch and beg for merciful death. Well screw you weather, I made it home. Barely. Just barely. As my trainer Lindsay points out, “Saskatchewan wind is good preparation for BC mountains.” It was like climbing a hill for an hour straight.