Blood, Sweat, and Gears...

Wow... this week was by far the toughtest to date. Here's all the stats and workout info.

Weekly totals:

Total Time: 24:27
Swim: 14,200 yards
Bike: 148 miles
Run 26.5 miles
Strength - 1 day upperbody, 1 day lowerbody, 3 days core

Friday:
AM - Swim - Masters - 4200 yards - Speed
PM - 60 min run - Easy
I went surfing after the run.

Saturday:
AM - Run - 1:15 Coached workout - 30 min worth of hard running
PM - Bike - 2hr/28mile easy recovery spin, small chainring only

I felt like crap going into the run workout from lifting (lowerbody) on Thursday, but once the workout started I pushed through it. After the first set of intervals (3min hard, 6min hard, 2 x 4min hard - all with 90 sec recovery) we ran a timed mile. I was able to nail my fastest so far - 4:50. I really can't believe how strong my running is getting. After the run I headed home relaxed and then went on a 2 hour easy spin and just really took it easy only averaging 14 mph.

Sunday:
AM/PM - Bike - 7:15/60 Mile Mountain bike - Hardest ride of my life.

This week was huge and culminated with a 7+ hour mountain bike ride today. I met my coach at his house at 7am and we hit the road about 7:30. We met up with three other riders, all Xterra competitors, including 2 females (one being a pro mountain biker). We all road together for 4.5 hours, climbing a ton, and really working on technical descents. The vibe was awesome. My coach and the others were giving me tons of tips on technique. I learned a lot. At the 4.5 hour mark the others left and it was just me and Jim, my coach. We hit a local market refilled our hydration packs and water bottles and then set out for our next climb - Cowel's Mountain. We got to the base 4:45 into our ride and 45 minutes later we were at the top. It was hands down the hardest climb I have ever done on a mountain. The first half was super technical and the second half was super steep fire road. I was so stoked once we reached the top. I really couldn't believe that after 5.5 hours I still had juice in my legs. We then headed down the mountain and back to Jim's. We hit the 7:15 mark just as we pedaled back into his drive way. I was crushed, I crashed 3 times, and was covered from head to toe with dirt and blood (i have photos). It felt great, like I really accomplished something. I don't know what it was.


I got home made some food, took a shower, and then an ice bath. I am guessing I'll be asleep before 9pm.

I have another big week on tap. Due some recent happenings (I will get to it later this week) I will be running the first race of a cross country race series on Saturday. That's it for now... I need to get back to my beer and prop my feet up.