It's Getting Intense

With less than 7 weeks to go, I'm at the peak of my training program now. Things are starting to get pretty crazy, and I'm fully engulfed in 2-a-days. This past weekend was jam-packed with physical activity, as I swam a mile in open water (which is just short of what I'll be doing on race day) on Saturday....then laid mulch at our house....then transplanted 4 plants from the front of our yard to the back.....then planted flowers.

Then on Sunday, I rode 60 miles on my bike.

In 91-degree heat.

And I felt fantastic!

No seriously.

This time there's actually no sarcasm in my tone. I felt really strong on the bike during those 60 miles. Andy started the ride with me, but left after 30 miles because he had ran a 1/2 marathon the day before (he was crazy-active on Saturday as well: running a 1/2 marathon in the morning.....then laying mulch at 2 lawns), so his legs were shot. I was pretty proud of him, because I wasn't taking it easy, with an average pace of 20 mph.

Now, the open swim part of my weekend?

Well, that's a different story.

This was the first time I had been out in open water since last season. All my training thus far has been done in the pool. And let me just tell you, it wasn't pretty. It took me about 1000 yds to find my rhythm. I couldn't get my breathing under control. I was getting frustrated at myself. Discouraged. Embarrassed. But finally, I was able to calm down and get some sort of rhythm going. It was pretty apparent after this weekend's swim that I need to get my butt in open water as much as possible during the next 7 weeks. No excuses.

Curious as to how many calories you burn on a 60-miler?
Yes, you're reading that correctly.
3,100.