45 Min Swim, 50 Mile Comet Ride

Dude in the lane next to me, all flip turney... so of course I had to nut up and stay ahead of him. No breaks, flip turns... going pretty hard... well, me hard... not Jason Schott hard. Then some random guy jumps into my lane without asking... and he's not a swimmer. No problem if you ask, but please do ask. I lapped him every couple laps which was a pain.

We were in a wall lane. He was kind enough to leave me the wall side of the lane! Joy. I shortly found a center lane open and took it over. Back to racing... without the other guy knowing that we were racing. He and his girlfriend were both swimming laps and I stayed a few yards ahead until they decided to do some kick drills. I worked hard on this swim. Afterwards, at the gas station, I noticed that my forearms were pumped and sore. Never had that happen before. The swim is coming along nicely.

Then it was off to the Comet for a ride. As I pulled away from my car a young lady with a sweet ride and an Ironman sticker in the back of her car was gearing up. Specialized carbon dealio with flat aeros. And as I hit the trail I saw Anna and Vanessa! They just finished a 40 mile ride and a run. Nice! At the mile 11 rest stop I filled up my water bottles. Cool Bike Girl pulled in as I pulled out. The wind was horrible on the first half of the ride. Miserable. Gusty and strong. Heart rate higher than normal. It felt like I was standing still at times.

I took a powerbar break at about 19 miles and saw Cool Bike Girl pass me. I was deciding how long to ride... clearly the whole trail wasn't an option with the wind... and my early season fitness. Vanessa and Anna said that Joel and Kelly did 50 today. So, 50 it would be. A few minutes short of my turnaround I saw Cool Bike Girl heading the other way. I took a five minute break for a powerbar and then decided that I'd try to catch CBG. Mental games make the time go by. Bumped the heart rate from 130bpm (on the way out) to 145bpm (on the way back). That plus the wind at my back and I felt like I was finally moving a bit.

My body didn't feel great on this ride. I just haven't been putting in the miles on the bike. It shows. No power later in the ride. The cold was no fun. My toes were frozen at the halfway mark. And got worse on the way back. I did try out some new wrist covers made out of some Christmas socks from my father (see, I really do use them big guy). Worked well but looked incredibly dorky. My core was probably a little too hot with four layers but that still didn't make for a warm ride. Winter plus bikes equals suck.

Listened to the audio lecture series Great Ideas in Psychology... again... this series is neverending... and I love it. Today's lectures were on the mind/brain barrier. What is the physical manifestation of consciousness? Good historical perspective on the topic leading into current research/thinking.

Somewhere along the way I must have passed Cool Bike Girl because when I made it back her car was still there. As I finished packing up she pulled into the lot. Turns out her name is Sarah Liquori and she was at Gulf Coast last year with a 6:29:00 finish... nice. Chatted for a moment and then it was off to eat. Small enough tri community that I'm assuming one of my tri peeps knows her.

Messaged Dana on and off today... she was getting her shiny new bike fit at All3Sports by a recovering (from a cold) Patrick... she says it's all ready to roll. Yay!

I need to get my mileage up before Gulf Coast. Maybe a mid-week long ride is in order. Happy with the ride today but it does serve to put me on warning that I'm not in good biking form yet.

Onward and upward.