Make Hay While the Sun Shines

Today was an epic training day. Up at 6:00 and on the go until 2:00 PM! Fabulous weather, sunny and hitting 30C, and I got in a great workout for all three sports: 2.1K, 33 minute open water swim. The City strike has closed all the pools that I usually swim in, so it seemed like a good day to get up early and add a swim as you can't lock the doors on a lake. 127K, 4:12 long ride (all the way up to Jackson Point). A short 20 minute quick 4K run. The bike ride was beautiful, especially along the shore of Lake Simcoe. I rode almost the entire distance solo but kept crossing paths with friends.

When I got back I just dumped everything into the house and joined Sheryl, Tamara and their family at their Club's pool. Nice to float in the cool water... Tamara took advantage of my dehydration to buy me a couple pints of Stella Artois and watch me get loopy. Her toddler daughter thought I had become her new best friend forever!

Other triathlon news: last weekend I helped officiate at the Guelph Lake Triathlon. Steady rain during both races (a Give-It-A-Try and a Sprint), no rain between races... The transition area, where I was working, and the parking lot were both grassy fields which became absolute mud pits! Strangely, it was good fun. I kind of fell into the officiating thing when I saw in interesting e-mail from OAT (Ontario Association of Triathletes). Nice to give back. This race was my first training session.

The week before was my own race, the Muskoka Long Course triathlon. 2K swim, 55K bike, 15K run. The swim and run are disproportionately long at this event. I enjoyed myself and saw lots of friends before, during and after the race. Here are the numbers:

3:41:16. 230/672 overall, 30/76 in my age group.
Swim 32:29 1:38/100m. 64/672 overall, 6/76 in age group
Bike 1:48:29 30.4kph. 297/672 overall, 43/76 in age group
Run 1:15:12, 4:01/km. 297/672 overall, 41/76 in age group

I felt good at the end of it but my time was almost exactly the same as last year's. I want progress! I had good fun with Paula, a fellow Toronto Triathlon Club member, on the run. I passed her just after the run turn-around and about a kilometer later came to an aid station that a grade school-er was staffing. The girl had left a tray of water cups on the ground to do something else for a moment, so I stopped to pick up a cup and ended up handing out water for a few seconds to the runners behind me, including Paula. Then I gunned past her again! As seems to be the pre-race theme this year, as we were all floating around waiting for the start I grabbed her feet and threatened to suck on her toes. My winning ways seem to have worked though, she's letting me stay in the townhouse she and some friends have rented for Ironman USA. Paula has been dealing with a recurring brain tumor; she races to raise funds for Leukemia and Lymphoma research through Team in Training.

Last week's Formula One excitement was over the major team's determination to start a rival schedule because of the arbitrary and dictatorial manner of the FIA President Max Mosley. I was rooting for them, but it looks like Max has blinked and will step down next year. Next race will be at the Nurburgring in Germany in two weeks.

Time to collapse into bed! I have to lead my marathon clinic on an 18K run tomorrow morning, with an extra 8K thrown in just for me...

Listening to: Ain't No Rest for the Wicked by Cage The Elephant from Cage The Elephant.