April Recap

Bad cliché forthcoming … you’ve been warned.

Time flies when you’re having fun, right? April is over and this was definitely a fun month. The month started off pretty easily as I had my first “recovery” week. I’m sure this wasn’t a recovery week by most people’s standards but it was fewer hours than the 2 previous weeks so I was happy with it. The following weekend was Rumpus Double which I’ve already written about. These “race” weeks are great with maybe 5 hours of easy workouts leading up to the weekend.

After Rumpus we went straight into 2 more build weeks and this was hard. Baldwin talked me into my first 100 mile ride (oh which there will be plenty more in the next few months) which went well. We knocked out a decent bit of climbing and I felt ok. My nutrition wasn’t the best again and I resorted to eating a Natures Valley granola bar with 6 miles to go just make it to through. Top that off with a 30 minute run, quick nap, and then suiting up for dinner and going to Ozio for a friend’s birthday. That was definitely a good day. That Sunday was nasty out and all I wanted to do was stay in bed but was told that I needed to go to the FeXY Open Water Swim Clinic, so I did. The water was warmer than the ambient temperature; there should be rules against this, but no matter, it was a very beneficial and I picked up some helpful information.

The following week was hard. It was a classic example of trying to do everything. It was another build week but I had Bryan and Rita’s wedding in Annapolis that weekend. The week didn’t even come close to going as planned. By the time Wednesday’s track work came around I was getting concerned about the weekend and I was really feeling drained from the previous 2 weeks. I made it through Wednesday but had 2 hours on the bike Thursday of which I did 1:20:00 minutes. I felt like death and fell over on my bed immediately passed out for 40 minutes or so. Friday was even worse. I took off from work so I could get a long ride in and thankfully Chris G rode with me. I was supposed to do 5 hours and we made it through 50 miles and 3 hours. I could barely keep up with him and my legs felt terrible. I didn’t run after and was on the verge of my first “come apart” (KWeds term for an adult temper tantrum). Luckily, I didn’t have much time to focus on it because I had to get ready for the rehearsal. There was supposed to be another long ride on Saturday, but after talking it through I decided that I was going to skip it and take the day off completely. I had a lot to do to get ready for the wedding and I didn’t want to be rushed. I needed this. BADLY. I don’t like skipping workouts or cutting them short but I had no problems with it this time. The day turned out great and the wedding was a lot of fun. With a decent run on Sunday I might have done half of my hours for this week. I was buried and needed to recover a bit. All is well.

Overall it was another great month and they are just ticking away. April had far more ups and downs than previous ones but it’s all good. Next month is pure craziness with White Lake Half Iron, American Triple T, and then Spain for Victoria and Jeff’s wedding.

"I remember a year ago I was standing in the crowd waiting for my chance to break through ... Now it seems I've found ... what it takes to make this dream come true, we'll be here till the end."