This year I've decided to make the bike my primary training focus. Last year, I focused on my swimming and brought that up significantly. I'm not worried about my running; that is by far my strongest of the three disciplines and by the time I get to that portion of the Ironman, it is just going to suck regardless.
I want to go into this year's bike leg even stronger than last year, with bulletproof knees that can withstand any minor glitch and continue the course unfazed. I am biking three times a week -- two shorter rides and one long ride to build endurance. Along with that, I am trying to bike everywhere I possibly can to get in extra miles here and there. Plus it saves gas money!
I had found that my second short ride of the week was becoming boring and tedious, so my approach changed. Instead of treating that one as a training ride, I turned that ride into an "errand ride." Whatever errands I have to do for the week, I am using that training day to bike to complete those errands (banking, work-related chores, etc.). That way, I still get in the same amount of mileage, but it breaks things up mentally.
Today was my longest training ride yet this season. I was very lucky because my friend and Ironman finisher Greta accompanied me. I have a lot of trouble doing training rides with friends because my work schedule (as a small business owner) is highly unpredictable. Often I don't know when I'm training until an hour or so beforehand. It is a unique alignment of the stars when I can find some scheduling stability in my training.
I both dread and am grateful for rides with Greta, because she is much faster than me on the bike and plans hellishly-challenging courses. Even though they can be tough rides, they force me to improve. It is important to train with people stronger than you because it motivates you to get better too.
We did a 42-mile ride today that consisted of many hills, which surprisingly weren't as difficult as I'd thought they'd be. Don't get me wrong, there were swear words flying constantly (yes, the infamous Potter Road hill was in the mix), but I was impressed with my leg strength going into this ride and realized that I am much stronger than I was at this stage last season. It tells me that all the winter training I did is paying off.
Upon finishing, I did a short 1.5-mile brick run. It is appropriately named, because my legs felt like bricks. I think this might also have been a bit of bonking since I don't think I brought enough food with me on the ride. In triathlon, everything you do in one stage affects how you perform in the next stage. Under-eating on the bike catches up to you on the run. I'll just be more mindful of that next week and bring more PowerBars and pretzels. But otherwise, it was a great ride and an excellent confidence-builder!
