Group Bike & Run Training - May 10

I took Friday off to get some rest considering I had done all that running yesterday. My legs were still feeling achy, but it was not bad enough not to be able to make it to the group training today. I also went to sleep early last night, so I was well rested in terms of sleep. I had loaded the bike in the car last night, so I just had to get my bag ready to head out. The drive was fairly open, and it took a little over 30 mins to get there, less than the usual 45 mins.

I found the rest of the people had already arrived, and were gearing up for the ride. Stu had invited Mike, a nutritional expert, to give us some background on how we should be eating/drinking before, during & after each training session. Essentially he said he prefers liquid nutrition over solids, with gels being better than beans. Also there should be a 1 to 4 protien/carb mix in the drinks. He handed out some mixtures to us, but I still have not had a chance to try it out yet.

Anyways, Stu had us set up a run transition area before hand, so that we get used to the idea of quickly leaving our bikes, and putting on running shoes. His son was going to watch our bikes while we went on our run. After getting our individual areas ready we headed out of the parking area on our bikes, and passed the marathon group training for their 22 mile run. I figured we would run into them eventually anyways, given we have to run 4 miles after our bike ride as well. Stu changed our bike route due to construction, and we had to do 2 loops in the metro park area to make up for the mileage. On the second one, I also took a detour with Brad & Ron down the big slope right by the canoe launch area, and man was it beautiful or what. There was a bike display event going on, so there were a lot of people testing out bikes, and there was a lot of traffic, so we had to be careful around that area. The second loop was not that bad, and I felt I had gotten into a good rhythm with the biking.

The challenging part was doing those big hill duo, after we got out of the area to head back to the parking. I had to switch to my lowest gear just to keep the bike moving at about 3 mph!!

The good thing is, all this training will come very handy when doing the actual triathlon. We have been told the Philly course is mostly rolling hills with a couple of big hills in between, so this is a good way to practice changing gears and keep the momentum going. Nick & Kevin were the first to finish the course, with Ron close behind. I took a short detour to hit the rest room before I went into the transition area. I decided to make a couple of changes to how I was doing things before. I did not take my ipod this time (besides the fact Christy asked for my earphones), and I added a full bottle of water as well as a packet of sport beans to the mix. I popped a few beans in my mouth before I started, and drank a little bit of water to wash it down. The first mile was not bad, except that I did not have as much speed as I generally do. Part of the fact is the hilly course in Kensington, but from a training perspective, its good for building endurance. I reached the 2 mile mark just about the same time as Carl, and took that oppurtunity to pop the rest of the beans and down it with some water. I was not able to increase my speed significantly, but atleast I was being consistent with my running. While I finished strong, I would have been able to do the full 6 miles if I wanted to today. That's good for me, because I had considered the running as one of my other weakness after swimming. I believe I broke those mental barriers last week, and that has really propelled me in making progress faster and faster! :)