Are we there yet?

What a weekend!  I was able to run for an hour yesterday and no hamstring pain.  Woohoo!! I wasn't able to run fast though.  I'm still tentative right now but I figure maybe this week I'll try to get back into my normal running speed groove.

Jeff drove up from Yorkstown, VA this weekend.  He one of the super fast swimmers I met from the Portland Tri Club at Ironman Canada last year.  He's in the area for a long training class.  He decided to come up and train with me and I think he's regretting it.  He has a specific training program and I screwed it all up.  I'm sure I'll be getting some hate mail from his coach.

His coach had him up for a 45 minute swim and easy 2 hour bike on Saturday.  On Sunday, another 45 minute swim, with a 3 hour bike and 2 hour run.  An easy 2 hour bike around my area is pretty sucky so I figured if I went easy he could suck wheel and still be well rested for his Sunday workout.

There were a couple problems with that.  First, he didn't bring his normal race bike, a 2008 P3C with him.  He brought his road bike just in case something happened in transit.  It wasn't as comfortable and definitely not as light or aero.  Second, he wasn't as experienced "sucking wheel" so he did push a lot more wind than normal.  Third, he drove 3 hours and had Wendy's for dinner at 8pm Friday night.  Finally, it was hot and humid.  He's big time heat adverse.

We got back from the ride and drove over to the pool.  I definitely wanted some last minute stroke critique.  I'm still struggling to get the right technique to conserve the most energy in the water and go fast.  He's lightening in the pool and made me pay when I tried to draft of him in the water.  I couldn't keep his feet for one length of the pool at his Ironman pace. Sad, very sad.  I've gotten slower in the pool since June.  I had a horribly slow swim today as well.  Just not getting the right stroke to go fast.  Anyway, he was still tired from the ride so we called it a day in the pool.  I was going to run home from the pool to get in an easy 5 miles and he drove back to the house.

I got back from my run and he was completely trashed.  The bike and heat destroyed him.  I made some chicken stir fry but he was so wasted he didn't eat hardly any or maybe he was pretending to be tired and just didn't like my cooking?

We woke up on Sunday and he decided to sleep in a little longer and just do a 2 hour run.  I decided to go a hard hilly 4 hours on the bike and then attempt my first hour run since the hamstring injury.  The heat and humidity took its toll on both Jeff and I.  He had to cut his run short because he was just dying in the heat.  I barely made it through my hour run after really killing the bike.  The marathon looms...

We both just vegged on the couch for the afternoon.  Both Jeff and I just want the event to be done.  The training is definitely wearing thin.  It was good to hear that I'm not the only one wanting it to be done.  I'm starting to countdown the days in the sense of I only have to train for 33 more days.

My weekend of training was good and as a bonus Jeff cleaned up the kitchen while I was gone.  I destroy the guys entire training weekend and he cleans the kitchen while I'm suffering in the heat on my run.  That was awesome and totally unexpected.

34 days...