Author: devonpass

Yesterday was a bike ‘n’ swim day! I did 15 miles on the bike at a 14 mph average, which would have been faster if the trail wasn’t so crowded. The trail had a 15 mph speed limit anyway (and even had a digital sign that clocked you at one point!), but the serious riders weren’t really following it. One guy who was hunkered down on his aero bars was going ridiculously fast and almost hit a dog before the owner yanked its leash and pulled it out of the way! Not cool.

Then I hit the lake for my first opwn-water training swim. I went to the actual lake where the tri is!

I finally understand why people say they panic in open water… the water is murky, the milfoil is abundant and shiz gets scary when you hit a cold spot! I figured out that I needed to stay in a shallow area to avoid freaking out, and I ended up being able to swim from one end of the dock to the other (parallel to the shore). I couldn’t get much farther than the length of a lap pool without resting, but I practiced flipping onto my back to swim since I know I’ll need to do that during the race.

It was a great training weekend! This week, I taper.

Half-marathon a week from today. Triathlon in 11 days.

Got a bit of a late start on the bike today, but better late than never!

Nice place to stop for a Larabar.

11 miles {of death} done.

Fun fact! There’s no shade along the half-marathon course. And we’ll be running from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. Kind of like I just did.

OMFG.

I got a hammock last week ($40, with stand, Craigslist, thank you) and all I want to do when I get home from work is lie in it.

So I do for a little bit, and then I go run.

Last night I took a roundabout route to the gym to knock out two slow miles (9:45-ish, recovery-style), then did a modified version of the strength workout that kristysfoodandfitness posted yesterday.

Instead of leg stuff for the second set of exercises, I did ab stuff. I hate ab stuff, but I’d also like to have nice abs, so I’m grudgingly starting to do ab stuff. (Normal people call them crunches.)

Then I ran a quick mile home. I physically cannot run slowly after strength training! My feet feel like they have springs on them and there ain’t nothing I can do to keep from springin’ on home.

Side note: I usually run by a fire station on the way home, and on warm nights there are usually a few firefighters sitting out front relaxing and, you know, waiting for fires. I always wave and they always say, “Good evening, m’am!”

Ain’t nothing wrong with having some firefighters in your life.

Today is a rest day, also known as “eat the face off some Chipotle” day. I go with a salad, no dressing, chicken, lots of pico de gallo, fajita vegetables and a side of guacamole. Yum to the yum.

11 miles tomorrow. I’m running along the half-marathon route. Half-marathon in 9 days. Wooooo!

Here’s my contribution to Gun Show Thursday — this is what twice-weekly strength-training for the past five weeks has gotten me.

Obviously I lift lots of St. Ives Apricot face scrub… hehe.

@Robin and Rach — I got the top you both recommended! Snooped around the Interwebs and found it for $48 at sportsbasement.com with free shipping.

A deal fo’ sho’.

I got it in black, size S. Excited! Thank you for your help!

GPOYW: Time to Retire These Jeans edition

I was about 15 lbs. heavier and infinitely lazier when I bought these. I sagged like Snoop Dogg today and was finally like, “OK. We’re done here.”