Training Tuesday: Much Math Edition

Thanks for the goggles, dad!

I'm on week four of my half Ironman triathlon training plan. I have yet to miss a workout (despite forgetting goggles when I visited Texas), but I sure have screwed a few up, it appears. I was scheduled to swim 1,200 yards on Saturday, which I guesstimated would take me 25 minutes. I tried a new pool, which the staff assured me was an Olypmic pool. The fact that the workout only took me 13 minutes leads me to believe that word doesn't mean what they think it means.

Olympic = 50 meters. That means 1,200 yards is 11 laps, and should have taken me the same amount of time. Either LA Fitness's pool is not, in fact, 25 yards, or the pool was a lot shorter than promised. One length usually takes me 11 strokes and this one was 20, so I have no idea what the conversion factor is there. I've already spent way too much time trying to figure this out. My brain hurts.

One thing I know I did right was the bike portion of this training (thanks, Garmin!). I met Alyssa and Amy for the Arlington 500 ride Sunday and it was mostly glorious, except for a ridiculous headwind in the last 15 miles. It was so bad that despite planning to make it the full 69 miles, I cut out and only did 62. However, since a half Ironman is 56 miles, I'm still counting this as enough training for one day.  I was SO tired afterwards that it was all I could do to stay awake through Sunday dinner. This ride did have incredible well-stocked rest stops - turkey sandwiches, PB&J, mini bagels with peanut butter, GF cookies and bars, fruit and pickles. It was awesome.

So. Much. Food.

The plan at this point is to keep on keeping on with the training, and spend this pretty much unscheduled holiday weekend running long (13.1 miles just because), biking much (maybe a loop in Madison on the Ironman course) and hopefully swimming outside for the first time this season. These are not required by my training plan, but since I've got the time to do it, might as well. Plus, I enjoy seeing the world this way.

I love getting back to me through training. It's awesome to find myself at the end of a workout.