Debate Part 3

Okay, so I didn't stay up and watch the debate last night but I DVR'd it just in case McCain try to choke out Obama or Obama smacked McCain up aside his head to mess up McCain's comb over.  I read a couple of news sites this morning and nothing crazy happened.  I'll probably watch pieces just for amusement to see if McCain actually got specific or stayed vague as well as Obama.  And who is this Joe the Plumber guy?  I read an excerpt that he's buying a business and will earn over 250k and doesn't want to pay taxes.  Well maybe it's not that he doesn't want to pay taxes he just wants a tax break.  I think everyone in the US rich and poor wouldn't want to pay taxes but we have to.  I think it would just be easier if we didn't hear all the waste that goes on with our tax money.  I know I mentioned this in a previous blog but man it just irks me that things are just so screwed up.

Anyway back to the real reason I'm posting today.  As I mentioned in the last blog about feeling like Superman on Monday's hard workout, I had another hard workout on the bike yesterday.  Just a note, I definitely go easy when I'm suppose to go easy.  I'm the master of easy days on the bike and I used to be as well on the runs.  My running has all been easy compared to my old times so maybe I'm not really going easy on my runs anymore.  Back to the cycling, I went easy after my hard Monday workout on Tuesday.  I rode smooth without trying to put any effort at all.

So I started out yesterday not knowing how the legs would respond, they were tired right out of the gate.  I have to climb up a couple of little bumps in the first miles and I could feel my legs.  I got to the point of my first tempo section and started.  I don't know what came over me but for some reason I decided to try to power through.  I was in one gear bigger than Monday and just went for it.  The legs responded throughout the whole workout.  I stayed consistently in one bigger gear but was crushing the speed.  My cadence was slightly lower but not by much.

There's been a lot of posts on Slowtwitch about doing the bike segment of an Ironman in a bigger gear and pushing a lower cadence to help save your legs.  I definitely was able to go faster yesterday in that bigger gear but my legs were totally dead at the end of the ride.  Comparing styles is almost impossible because of the "Superman" and "I suck" workout syndrome.  It's good to know that I have some decent muscle strength heading into the winter.  Hopefully, I'll be able to continue to build on it slowly and be ready to really put in some serious work in the early spring.  I think I'm going to try to do a 2:30 on the bike in Florida.

That just leaves my pathetic swim to get ironed out for Florida next May.  Ugh, I was in the water this morning after dropping Elena off at school and it was brutal.  I've lost so much strength in my swimming muscles.  I can feel the fatigue if I really try to pull hard and that just sucks.  I guess I shouldn't have waited so long after the Ironman to get back into the water.  I just well hate swimming..well maybe not hate.  I guess it's okay but the hard workouts are so hard and its such slow going plus on top of that I know I suck.  I mean Orion hasn't swam since the summer yet he busted out a 29 for an Olympic.  WTF!!  This sucks as I was faster than him last May when he came to visit now he's way faster and hasn't even trained.

I told him that if we're in the same wave I'm going to hold onto his leg during the swim and have him drag me around the course.  Or constantly push off on his shoulder, kindof like pushing off someone's shoulder trying to get a rebound in backyard basketball.  If we can get out of the water together, I think we'll tussle into transition.  I wonder how many people would be confused if we started grabbing and push each other all the way into transition.  If our bikes are close, I'd even toss one of his shoes or something.  Just like when you were kids trying to get dressed at summer camp.

I have an inkling to run an easy 4 miles today because the calf has been feeling better.  I must exert extreme willpower not to go out the door.  Injuries piss me off...