Trimmed Training

Slacked off on training just a little bit this past week.  Both Monday and Tuesday morning I had a hard time getting out of bed and just slept in.  No running.  Wednesday and Thursday, I took shorter runs than normal.  And Friday, instead of doing speed training, I did a short easy run (we're talking 8:30/mile) with a group at work that goes at about the same time I do.  They're nice people, but I don't think I'll be joining them again.

I weighed myself on Friday, which I usually do before my once-a-week swim (the only time I'm around a scale).  I have gained four pounds in two weeks.  And that included a race week.  And I even went for a bike ride the same weekend as that race!  After that streak of marathons, I've just been "rewarding myself" (eating crap) wayyyy too much.  On a guy my size, two pounds per week is a LOT.

On the plus side, my swim was a lot easier than normal.  So yay!  At least I'm getting better at something.

Saturday I set out for a long run, intending to do about 20 miles and throw in a short ride on my mountain bike (Vanguard?) afterwards.  I kept stopping in the shade, it was a lot hotter than normal out, and California has spoiled me to the point that I'm not used to upper 80's anymore.  I wound up cutting the run short to 17 miles.  But fear not!  The mountain bike ride will make up for it.

Right away, I noticed my rear brake was rubbing  just a little bit.  Ahhhh, I'll fix it later, this is just a short easy ride.  Then it got worse.  And worse.  And worse.  By the time I was a block away from home, I was standing on the pedals and stomping like I was trying to climb a gigantic hill, and that was just to keep moving fast enough that I wouldn't fall over.  What the hell?  The brake pads now had a death grip on the disc.  Hydraulic disc brakes aren't the kind of thing you can fix at home (or at least, I can't), so there would be no mountain bike ride today.

I took it to a Mike's Bikes later that day and they fixed it in less than five minutes for free.  Damn.  The store I used to work at (Performance Bikes) would've charged me $10 and kept my bike for up to a week.  This isn't the first time Mike's Bikes has provided me exceptional customer service (they once let me owe them).  They have permanently earned my loyalty.

Sunday I intended to go for a 61-mile ride, but again, cut it short, this time because I was approaching a bonk (maybe good news if I wanna lose those four pounds back).  I wound up doing 58 miles, but the main thing was I avoided one of the bigger climbs I was going to have to do towards the end.  Upon arriving home, I immediately laced up my running shoes and took off for about 10 minutes. I want my legs to get the idea that they're never getting off easy.

Now my right knee hurts.  Dammit...