IRONMAN CHATTANOOGA 2019 TRAINING

 

WEEK 14 – Monday 6/3/19 – Sunday 6/09/19

 

You sure are getting tan.

A few weeks ago I started getting compliments on my tan.  I never really notice getting tan because it’s a gradual progression for me, but others who are less tan than I seem to notice it quite easily, and are sometimes envious and will point it out.  I guess getting sun exposure and developing a tan is easier for a runner or triathlete, as we are outside doing our thing a lot.  But there are some downsides to getting tan.  First, the danger of exposing yourself to the harmful UV rays is pretty evident.  If I am heading out on a sunny day, I will always spray myself with SPF 50 or cover myself well.  Even so, I will still start developing a good tan.  The other downside is triathletes can develop some really strange tan lines.  I generally wear mid-length socks that will protect my lower leg from the sun.  Also, tri suits cover your thighs which leaves just a small portion of your leg exposed for tanning.  That’s a weird look.  Wearing a hat also adds to that weird tan line on your forehead, like pro golfers get.

It’s not like I seek out sunny days to exercise – I take whatever day I get and prepare for it.  But when it is sunny, I make sure that I place more emphasis on protecting myself from the sun than getting that envious tan.

 

Group Ride!

Riding with my teammates and buddies is always better than going alone.  Last week Dave was in town but I wasn’t, so we couldn’t do the Saturday ride together.  But Dave ended up making a return trip to visit this weekend, and he coaxed Jeff to come down from the city and do our 3.5-hour ride, 1/2 hour run Saturday workout together.  The weather turned out great for us, except for that pesky wind that always seems to be in our faces in the second half of the ride.

We turned around a little before making it halfway out from home because we thought we were going to need to fight the wind back home.  But we ended up having about 15 extra minutes we needed to ride, so we took a trip through a local neighborhood called Prestwick, a neighborhood where STYX lead singer Dennis DeYoung used to live back in the late 1970s and early 1980s.  We also saw an old neighbor Bill Goldschmidt out riding.  He was a dad who lived on the street that Dave lived on and I virtually lived on and a long time rider.  He was very excited to see us on the trail and we had a short but nice conversation with him.

We finished the ride and then headed out on a fairly easy paced 3.5-mile run that took us more than the 30 minutes the plan called for.  They let me hear it for making them run longer than what the plan called for.  Whatever, it’s good for you.

After a quick splash in the pool, some great conversation, and a nice lunch, we all headed back to our busy weekends.

 

 

 

Racing

On Sunday, I once again drove myself to Batavia, IL to race the ET Batavia triathlon and did quite well for myself.  I ended up 27th overall and 1st in the Male 55-59 age group.  I was very happy with that result.  You can read my race report here:
2019 ET Batavia Triathlon Race Report

 

Week 14 Training Totals:

Swims: 3 total / 4600 yards > Rides: 5 total / 102 miles > Runs: 5 total / 25 miles