I alluded to the absolutely awful road conditions in the Charlottesville area during my last post. Between the snow banks left in the middle of the road, the additional ice that forms each morning from the melted snow during the prior day and the fact that the roads are about ¾ of their usual width because of the snow on the sides of the road, it just isn't safe to run or ride outside. Due to my frustrations with the road conditions I suggested to Coach Orton that I drive a little South this weekend so I can actually get in my training. Of course my sometimes sadistic Coach was totally on board with this and decided to turn the weekend into Ed's Personal Training Camp: Where The South Is Anything But Paradise.
This afternoon I'll hop in my car and head to Rocky Mount, North Carolina. The eastern part of NC has gotten far less snow than the western part so I should have no problem getting on the roads to get in some insane workouts. Saturday I have my first century of 2010, followed by a quick 15 minute run to get used to bricks again. Sunday will be another killer day with a 50 mile ride followed by a 2 hour run. The goal is to start building up my endurance for California 70.3 but more importantly IMCDA. I feel like my running and swimming are right on schedule but having done only one outside ride this year has me a bit worried about my endurance on the bike. Eric assures me that the work I've done on the trainer has prepared me for anything I'll encounter on the road but we'll see. Also, I think I finally figured out my back issues on the bike – my saddle was warped, I demoed the same kind and in a 2.5 hour trainer ride I had no back issues to speak of, this weekend will be the big test for that hypothesis.
The crazy part about this weekend is how much food I had to schedule into my routine. This will be the first time since the summer of 2008 where I'm going on my own training weekend and am tremendously excited for it. Prior to IMLP I took a few solo weekend trips Lake Placid to get in hardcore training. I always loved heading up there to just focus on what I needed to get done. Last night I cooked up some shredded chicken in my crock pot and rinsed some black beans which I'll cook during class today. After class I'll brown up some ground buffalo, boil my pasta and pack my cooler. I have snacks, dinner and nutrition all ready to go; Saturday I'll need about 2,000 grams of carbs and then Sunday I'll need an additional 700 – 1,000 grams of carbs; that's a whole lot of food in one weekend!
Contrary to my training weekends at Lake Placid, I don't view this weekend as a learning experience. I'm confident I can get in the miles, confident that my blood sugars will hold up and am really just enthusiastic about enjoying the experience. It's nice to go train where I'm not worried about having a "breakthrough," or freaking out about being able to cover the distance, really I'm just ready to get after it and have some fun. When not working out my weekend will be filled with academic research on wellness and productivity and reading two new books Slaughterhouse-Five (which surprisingly I've never read) and The Master & Margarita, my two passions will be accomplished, total nerdom and athletic pursuits! Plus is there a better way to spend Valentine's Day than with my true love, El Bastardo!
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