WEEK 12 – March 14, 2016 – March 20, 2016
My ‘What do I do now?’ moment came this week on Tuesday, when with swim backpack slung over my shoulder I trotted into the school office to tell them as usual that I was there to swim and get my hall pass. What I was told was that there would be no swimming today because the students were testing. My brain pretty much went off track at that moment.
What was really happening was that I was trying to process too many things after hearing her comment. My first thought was that I had already missed last Friday’s swim because the school was closed for a teacher institute day, and now I was missing another. How much was this going to set me back? I looked at the other lady who usually checks me in and she briefly made eye contact, but I could tell I wasn’t going to be able to appeal to a higher authority. So I basically stood there in front of two grown women looking like I had just missed the bus for the field trip or something.
There are currently four high schools in our district, each with a pool. So I took a ride over to East where my daughter goes to school, and would try my luck with them. As I drove up to the driveway there were cars lined out to the street. I had forgotten that it was election day. Even if the pool was open, and the odds were against me because the schools all seem to do the same thing, I wasn’t going to find a spot to park any way. So that ended my attempt at getting in the water for the day. I can’t wait until May when I get my own pool opened up. Sure it’s a lot of turning around, but it’s also so much easier.
Another issue was my rear tire on my road bike. As I was getting ready for last week’s long ride on Saturday, I thought I would check the air pressure and top it off. But as I turned the little knurled knob it broke off in my hand. So much for putting in some air.
As I look back on those two relatively minor issues, I am reminded that sometimes things in training will throw you a curve. Thankfully, training will prepare you for those little unforeseen issues so that you can deal with them on race day when it really matters. So, bring it on, training snafus! I am ready for you.
A cycling note from this week – Enjoyed another long Saturday ride with my friend Todd. We headed west on the Old Plank Trail to the end and he asked if I’d like to ride through the backroads to get on the Waubonsie Glacier Trail. I had always thought of trying to find it, but you have to ride in some pretty hairy looking neighborhoods of Joliet to get there. We decided it was too cold to worry about thugs taking our bikes, and that there was safety in numbers, so off we went. In reality it was only about a mile or so of riding until we hit the trail, and that trail was only about 3 miles in length until we were back to familiar riding territory. From there we rode a little on the crushed limestone path until we hit Baker Road, and then scooted back east on the north end of Manhattan. It was a cold ride, and it started to sprinkle near the end of the 2.5 hours, but we survived. Sure is nice having a riding partner sometimes.
WEEK 12 TOTALS:
Swims: 2 total, 2:07 hours, 6000 yards
Bikes: 4 total, 4:45 hours, 73.25 miles
Runs: 7 total, 3:45 hours, 26.25 miles
an amazing run 
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