Finally settling into a rhythm with training and the new job. I wasn't sure if it was possible, as every job I've worked on the service side had been crazy hours and travel. But this culture's different, and work/life balance is supported and encouraged. There's even a shower in case I need to bust out a run during lunch.
The swim is going better than I'd expected. While my shoulder still complains on occasion, it seems to be holding up fine. I've only been doing @ 1600 yards each swim, but next week I'll join the master's slow lane and see how it feels to push a bit more distance and pace. I'm really looking forward to swimming with other people! It's the only sport I can be social in right now... no group rides for me until I regain my hill strength.
And speaking of bike...Ugh. But a good ugh. A needed ugh. Yeah, I'm working on cadence and my legs are not happy campers. My happy cadence is 70 - 75. I rode outside yesterday and the goal was to maintain 80 - 85+ with a mix of easy and moderate. Umm... easy is not 80+?? To my legs, maintaining 80+ is HARD. I don't think my RPE scale is the same as my coach's; hers goes from 1 - 10 and mine goes from 5 - 10.
I kept catching myself slowing down cadence when it was time to go easy -- "ah, I'm now resting in my happy cadence zone... No wait, I'm supposed to stay 80+. Ugh." Needless to say, I'm using my gears more than I ever have. Ta da! My head now knows that easy is not a slower cadence but an easier gear, but my legs still haven't gotten the memo. And my hootchie is angry about the memo; now that I'm not mashing gears, my butt and girl parts HURT. So it's good we're not tacking on too much mileage right now as I gotta toughen up my "area." High cadence = pain = not easy. My head's getting them all mixed up; maybe when I'm tougher on my seat it will all seem easier.
Yesterday also brought some needed wind training! Last year at Honu we were so lucky with the weather. The winds weren't bad at all on race day... but the high winds in the days prior gave an indication of what it certainly could be like on race day. So yesterday I got to practice in those conditions... occasional gusting crosswinds and a headwind that created whitecaps at Nicasio reservoir. Riding on flats and slight downhills at 10 MPH. Check.
Not that you can see said whitecaps as my camera phone is worthless, but they were there. And yes, it was otherwise a lovely day! Mid-60s and sunny. And windy. So the tailwind back was AWESOME. Cranking at 90 RPM, flying, and loving it. I guess this RPM thing is partly psychological as I had no problem @ 90 going fast. Hmmm...
Ok, today I've got a long-ish run on tap in Golden Gate Park. I'm ramping up to do the US Half on April 8; I'd like to have one confidence-building 13.1 mile run before Honu. The run course at Honu is demonic... after starting out on short/steep hills and spongy grass, miles 9 - 12 is a desolate, hot, out-and-back section fondly called "the death march." I am dreading the death march because mile 9 is normally when my body (hips, feet, hip flexors, and basically any muscle/tendon/ligament below the waist) says, "ok, I'm done now!" I could be running a half in paradise and post-9 miles would still be a death march. So I need to get some miles in these legs so I can smile at the death march in June. Hah! Death march my ass... I eat desolation for breakfast. Grrrr.
Hope everyone's having a great weekend. Happy training!
You are doing great for just getting back to training hard again! That cadence thing gets all of us at first - it took me a few months to really get the hang of getting it up and NOW...90-100 IS my normal easy cadence and in the big ring at that! But it took a while of doing it in the small ring and easy gears. It'll pay off so much in your run though!! Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Molly | 02/26/2012 at 07:17 PM
Have you ever tried an ISM Saddle? They are the most comfortable seat I have ever used and my "parts" thank me on my long rides. Yes, they look different, but so comfortable
Posted by: Dan | 02/29/2012 at 06:25 PM