Two outta three ain't bad

I am IronMan. OK not quite, but still...

So it's been a busy couple of days. Took Friday off, mostly because of the "big" run coming on Saturday, but mostly because I was a bit sore from the spill off the bike on Thursday. Crowd at first group meeting Saturday was great; many familiar faces and many new ones that I think it's fair to say were there because they saw what I went through with it last year. One face obvious by its absence, but that cuts much deeper than just the running group.

Anyway, after a too-long orientation talk, we finally did our big 3 miles. Because it was relatively short compared to what I'd been doing recently (like just the previous Saturday), I decided to push it a bit, acting like it was a 5K. I noticed almost immediately at the beginning that I felt tired and just didn't have the usual energy from the start, but tried to not let that get me down. The final numbers were not great, but still better than the first ever 5K race I ever ran (43:16.1). Really pushed the last few yards, to the point that I actually dry heaved once when it was over.

This year: 39m32s/3mi

Then went out for a bike ride first thing Sunday morning. Would've been a bit longer, but ran into the 15K+ strong Breast Cancer Walk out on the trail and had to turn around. Felt like a heel hating on the charity walkers, but did they really need the WHOLE trail? How 'bout I just post the news report as penance for my temporary ill feelings.


Sunday ride: 16.58mi/1h18m9s/1213C/74%avgHR

So, Monday comes. Given that, save two bike rides, I really took last week off to recover from the half, the scale wasn't too much of a surprise, though still disappointing. We hit the gym for lunch, however, and that helps ease the pain. Per the program, I'm only supposed to do 20 minutes, so I do the whole thing straight through, and honestly it wasn't hard enough. Need to up the speed when I go in for the second run, hopefully tomorrow.

20min/1.6mi/???C

And then, when I get home tonight, I hit the bike again since it's just such a nice night. About a mile into the second half of the ride, I spot a guy in a neon yellow shirt waaaaaay ahead of me and decide I'm going to catch him. I crank on the way back and finally catch him after a 6+mile chase. I was gassed, but damn it felt good. Except for the second dry heave in three days. I'm guessing that's my body's way of telling me that I ain't in the aerobic zone anymore and have barreled right in to the anaerobic area. No discipline, I tell ya.

18.54mi/1h16m28s/1452c/79%avgHR (seriously, almost 2 miles further in 1:40 less time; I was hauling)

Now, if I could just get my fat self in a pool, I could complete my own little triathlon...