Weekend summary

The weekend was a whirlwind of activity for me, although I didn't get much "produced".

Saturday morning was the 2nd CTC duathlon. It was a little colder than last time, but we still got 8 participants and 9 volunteers. Janet (DaisyDuc) kicked some major tail and finished 2nd out of the 8 (there was only 1 more female in the group). I think everyone had a good time despite the cold, so hopefully, we'll still have a good turnout next time.

After the duathlon, I did my brick. The schedule called for a 2-hour ride followed by a 20-minute run. This is where I got to eat some humble pie. I went riding with my husband, Brooks, Tim and Bart (the duathlon winner). I'd like to think that I could keep up with them (at least hang on for dear life to the draft), but it wasn't in the cards. I'd like to blame donating blood or standing in the cold for hours, but I won't. No need to place blame on anything.

The guys were nice though and let me catch up to them periodically. About 1.5 hours into the ride, Tim suggests we ride up Columbia Road hill. Now, I've never done that one, but I've ridden out of the valley before. Whoa! I was so not prepared for the long, steep hill that greeted us right away. About halfway up it, I said "uh-oh and then unclipped and stopped my bike". I could barely breathe, but could have tried to make it. It just didn't seem worth it. My husband was a little ahead of me and I could hear him grumbling about something. When he heard me stop, he said "I'm not motivated to do this today. It is F---ing November!" So, we turned around and headed back to our cars.

After the ride, I tried to keep up with Matt on the run, but that wasn't in the cards either. My HR was out of control. I averaged a HR of 165 at about 10:20 miles for the 20 minutes. Not stellar, but it will do. My leg wasn't too bad.

After we got home, I went to see "The Prestige" with my brother. I would definitely recommend it. Great plot, authentic period wear and wonderful acting! It is an intriguing movie that keeps you guessing the whole time.

On Sunday, I went for a run with my brother and Sam B. Poor Dave was subjected to our girl talk - it is no wonder, he went to run by himself in front of us. My knee held up okay and it is always good to run with one of my pals and my little bro'.

That afternoon, I went for my swimming lesson with Laura. I am so sore today. She put me through a tough workout for an hour and gave me pointers along the way. My right arm enters too close to my head. My kick needs to be faster. I need to increase turnover to get used to swimming at tempo. I should be stronger - do pushups to build tricep strength. Work the drills, especially the ones that give you good "feel" for the water (sculling drills) and emphasize the catch (Popov drills). By the time it ended, my butt was thoroughly kicked, but I still had to put on my game face and go to Matt's mother's family get-together. It was a very nice time, but by the time I got home at 8 PM, it was all I could do to stay awake during the Simpsons Treehouse of Horrors before passing out on the couch at 8:30 PM.

Luckily, today is a rest day. : )