Pat Bell Time Trial

I'm now into my second and second to last week of tapering. We leave one week from Wednesday for Nice. Wow, that came fast!

Last week I did the 11.7 mile Pat Bell TT in Southboro. I figured with three weeks before the race, I could do an all-out anerobic effort on the bike to test my speed. Boy, what a surprise! I can't figure out what is going on with me, but I was just flying and it came easy. 26.3 mph average! Not bad for an endurance guy. I think I started 2nd or 3rd to last with everyone going on 30 second intervals and finished about 2 minutes in front of everyone. 4 out of the 5 folks there are just out for a workout - I know, but I'm at the top of the list for 2008. We'll see how long the roadies let a triathlete have the fastest time in 2008! I'm sure they will be out to beat that time this week. And speaking of, we are going through a heat wave here in New England. Everyone is asking me if I'm out training in this weather and the answer is YES. I look at it as a good opportunity to acclimate to these temperatures, as I may have to race in this weather in two weeks. Today's 8 mile run was in the mid-90s and sunny.

I am trying to change my body clock which means up every morning at 5:am and I am going to try to get to 3:30am next week. On EST the race is at 11:30pm, so anything I can do to get closer to that time I am going to try. Unfortunately, I have been tired and a you-know-what and ... now for the stupid stuff. Two injuries; neither related to IM training. (1) I was pumping up my tubular disc wheel, which is diificult to do; you need to hold the "crack pipe" on the valve and pump. It can take up to 14 bars, which is almost impossible to pump and my right hand slipped off and the pump handle sent a blow to my ribs. I heard a pop and then two days later, it only hurt when I took a deep breath and tried to sleep anywhere near on my right side, ughh. Same pain as when I cracked my rib diving for the line drive at short stop. (2) Running sneakers + wet grass on soccer field = sprained wrist. The other coach and I covering the two open position so we could have a two full sides to scrimmage. I went to take a shot and slipped. Luckily, I have aero bars on both my bikes, because it has been KILLLING me. That's the only position I can ride in without pain. I need a wrist brace or something to immobilize it, but today the pain is a bit less. I hope to get 45 minutes in pool tonight and that will make me happy. Else I'll kick, do one-armor no-arm drills and try again on Wednesday.

This weeks numbers. Some volume, but mostly low intensity.

M: S-3200, B-32, R-10 (6min/4min fartlek)
Tu: B-28 (11.7 patebelltt), R-10
W: S-2600, spin 2omin, R-5
Th: B-39, R-8
F: S-2.4mi, spin 2+hours, R-3
Sa: B-20, R-6
Su: B-52mi

Totals:
S: 10K yards
B: 218mi
R: 42

The swim was a two loop with friend Karen and co. (co. for the first loop). She wanted to get the open distance in (1:15). She is doing Lake Placid for the first time in July. I did most of the pulling. That's my longest swim in a while and no more of that during taper. This week I will begin to shut things down and try not to inflect dumb injuries upon myself. Other than that, everything is great and I am ready to go!

-Kyle