3 weeks to GO!!!

This past weekend, I finished my final building block that culminated with 22 hours of total training time. Friday I did 71 miles on my own + a 30 minute run afterwards, riding from Rt. 28/WO&D and doing the Taylorstown/Stumptown loop that goes through the Lovettsville area. During that ride I was very focused on dialing in the wattage range I intend to use during the race. I threw in 1 tempo effort for 25 minutes, averaging 220 watts, and 22.9 miles per hour for that time period. I averaged 19.3 mph for the entire ride and my legs felt great afterwards. My race wattage is just about perfect. I have a time trial test tomorrow to get my final threshold numbers from which I will work from. Stay tuned: )

Saturday: David Glover (25 time Ironman finisher and local coach) and I hosted one of our many Luray Triathlon Clinics in Luray, VA. It was a working day for me but I got a light workout (16 mile ride) riding slowly with the participants and getting in an open water swim post clinic (1000 or so meters). Beautiful, beautiful day. Feels like California!

Sunday: Last very hard long ride. Ben and I started from Georgetown and headed North East from Macarthur Blvd to River Road to Poolesville to Clarksburg in Frederick. Ben was testing out some different equipment set-ups for race day and had a couple small issues which we had to pull over for. My schedule had me doing 4 x 20' minutes at tempo threshold, 10' + 5 watts, and 5' + 5 watts up from that. A very hard workout. We ascended Sugarloaf Mtn. which is a nice little 2 mile climb with 5-8% grades. Coming back from Sugarloaf we were making good time and I was putting in another interval effort when my front tire went flat. I went about changing it as Ben was getting his CO2 cartridge ready. Right before I put the CO2 cartridge on, I hear and see PHFEEEEWWWWW. Ben had popped the CO2 open and just let all the air out of 1 cartridge. I still had mine though. However, as I let air into the new tube, air immediately went back out. Son-of-A-%$#@. It wasn't a pinch flat or exterior puncture to the tire. I took it off again and checked the inside of the tire where I found a very small piece of glass that had cut a jagged line inside the tire. The bad news is while we had another tube, we were out of air sources. Stuck in nowhere, MD. Ben started making some calls, I was getting ready to start walking. For 20' minutes we didn't see a car. Then, another cyclist (finally) rolls by and we ask him if he's got a pump or CO2 cartridge. He kindly gives up his only CO2 cartridge and comments how he's just getting back into cycling shape and how nice our bikes are. I offer to pay him but he gives it up as good cycling Kharma. I know the feeling as I've the same thing before. It all comes back to you. We hit the road again but the stop has messed with our legs and energy systems. We're both feeling the blood lactate in our legs and stiffness of our long stop. Despite it, we still make good time back home knocking out 93 miles in 4 hours, 58 minutes. Off for our 45' run on the C&O Canal. My legs feel great despite my monster week. I hold back but am still running an 8:30/mile pace with ease. I get 22:30 and turn around eager to pick up the pace back to the car. I see Ben approaching me in the distance and give him a thumbs up. He feels great he says. I pick up the pace to what feels like a 7:30 or so effort but my left hamstring (which has been acting up since Thursday) starts getting uncomfortably tight. Then it catches me like pulled muscle. Darnit! I start to walk and Ben soon passes me. I start running again and find that as long as I don't speed up faster than about an 8:00/mile, I'm good to go. My body is desperate for some rest this week. We hit Chipotle before heading back home and shovel down some giant burritos.