Quick Check In

My posting has been suffering out of lack of inspiration, sheer laziness and a pretty lax training regimen. Since dropping the 1/2 ironman in September, there seems less urgency. I had geared my season around that particular race and now that the race weekend after next is my last race of the season, I don't see a lot of hope to improve a whole lot on my second Olympic distance triathlon, though improvement I do expect

I ordered some new goggles because my old ones were not working so well and were an endurance contest in pain. Naturally, it was backordered so I haven't done any swimming in coming on two weeks. So I don't expect my swim to improve and may see it suffer.

The run and bike should work out okay, though, as I've put in some pretty good running and biking. I rode fifty miles yesterday out to Multnomah Falls and there was some very good climbs both coming and going. Once I hit Crown Point (http://www.oregonstateparks.org/park_150.php)

I really had to think about whether I wanted to keep going as I hadn't planned to ride to Multnomah Falls when I started and looking off that vista, it was downright daunting. After about five minutes of weighing the consequences, I took the plunge. I didn't realize until the way back that the ride to Crown Point was nearly as challenging as the climb back out of the gorge. Ignorance paid off.

Once at Multnomah Falls, I had some french fries, lemonade, a latte and a cheese pastry. I gave that about ten minutes to settle in my stomach and away I went. As is frequently the case, I had built up in my mind how impossible the ride was going to be, that once I was into it, I kept waiting for the hard part, which never came. It wasn't easy, but I was expecting to be grinding up the hill, standing up and going 4 miles an hour. Oh, that's right, I got rid of that dog of a tri bike! Everything is a piece of cake after suffering on that two-wheeled torture chamber for a year.

I have one more big ride (relative to the race I'm in the following week) of sixty miles this weekend and then taper time until August 31.