I am happy to report that my cold was short lived and did not cost me a single lost day of training. By late on Thursday I was back to about 85% and nearly full go again by Saturday. The lasting effects or debilitation on my current stamina has been next to zero. In fact, I am coming off of some serious progress. Maybe the cold and intense therapy brought me back even a little stronger. Thursday the 7th was really where I felt that turn and increased optimism. I had a fairly good swim which was a vast improvement from Tuesday which was pure torture in the pool. I was also due a run that day. The weather took an unpredicted leap in temperature that day so I chose to do a run outdoors on the Monon trail near Carmel. I am not sure if it was the pep from that half spring like warmth or the threat of fleeting daylight or my lack of sufficient clothing to truly match the temps, but my 6.5 mile run was quick. It was at a pace I usually don't do at that distance. I was very pleased at the time and that I made it back to my car before complete darkness. This day gave a great lead in to my scheduled recovery day on Friday.
My Saturday 6AM swim came with a really fresh feeling. My swimming reflected this and some others in the pool noticed my vigor and improved speed. I think somewhat to their dismay.......Nigh in lane 3 was making us all push. That's what's great about swimming as a group.....there is that other person or persons to keep you going and making you dig a little harder. From my swim I headed home and loaded my gear for cycle studio. Our group ride there had several fresh faces I had not ridden with. These were some people very fresh to indoor computrainers. Thus as part of the training a time trial would be done to set power zones. I have talked about this process in previous posts. It's 20 minutes all out leave your guts on the floor. The consensus was to do it with all eight riders. This was three weeks out from my last test so I was not so sure what to expect or if any improvement would be realized. The ride went well, I started strong, kept my endurance throughout and was hammering it hard at the end . By the end I was a puddle of sweat and improved my average wattage again by 13. It was some serious gain and great reinforcement for the training I have been putting in.
Sunday brought a long run. This is definitely not my favorite but a necessary evil. The weather was mixed but mild for early February so my wife(training for the Indy mini marathon too) and I decided to give it a go before the expected rain and despite some strong breezes. She was doing 6 miles and I was doing a set of intervals that would leave me running for about an hour and forty five minutes. Therefore we ran a similar path not in the same manner. The run went really well and I felt good despite some strained sections when I was headlong into the wind at mile 8. I finished nearly 9.5 miles having to cut it a bit short due due to the rain. I would have probably gotten about 10.5 miles in if the weather would have held. It was a little frustrating as I wanted to get over 10. I was pleased with my leg strength at the end which tends to wain after 8 miles. This was the biggest distance I had run in many months. Yet just at over 1/3 of what I will need in the race.
I am excited with feeling the progress yet cautious to the long road ahead. I am also thankful to those supporting me and encouraging me. Thank you.
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