Recovery Part Deux...

...and I'm not even French. Whatever the heck that means.

My first couple of runs after IM CDA felt great. I was cruising back to my usual pace at Rancho and I was able to get to the top of Rogue in my fastest time all season.

The first time back in the pool felt great. I did a nice long workout and felt very smooth and fast - at least for me.

Then this week hit - I've done a couple of runs at Rancho that have probably been my slowest all year. I swam at Fremont today at lunch (missed the LA traffic in the morning with Kristin) and felt very sluggish.

Not sure what's going on - either the 75 mile bike I did with the team last weekend in the heat or the gallon of ice cream I've managed to consume in the last 10 days have contributed to my slowing down.

Or perhaps it's a combination of the two.

Time to return to the red wine diet.

That's where I whine about my weight while still drinking at least two bottles of good red wine each weekend. And at least one during the week.

Ahhh... - that's where the French comes into play - the French Paradox. If it works for Zidane it's good enough for me.

On the Road Again

TNT added a new event that fits right into my Ironteam schedule. It's the Red Rock Half IM in Tempe Arizona on Oct. 29. Now, I could have done this on my own but where's the fun in that? The team experience is what I enjoy most and I get to raise money for a tremendously worthy cause. So I signed up as a participant.

Here's the link to my donation page if you'd like to help reach my fundraising goal -
http://www.active.com/donate/tntsvmb/tntsvmbDRussel

This past week has been mostly running at Rancho. I haven't been on my bike or in the water since IM CDA. The legs are feeling good two weeks out from the IM. Guess that happens when you walk most of the marathon.

Saturday was the West Alpine ride. The day got hotter as it went along. By the time I got home it was 97 outside. It was fun to just be the water stop support and watch everyone as they went up Kings then also West Alpine.

Sunday was the long open water swim. I was on a surfboard offering support. My arms are still sore from all that paddling. I think I'll learn from Mike and station myself in one spot rather then try to keep up with the swimmers.

Sunday afternoon was a team BBQ. Lots of good food and red wine. The house is getting back into shape after the remodel. Most of the inside is done. Next up is getting the outside painted and then working on getting the lawn back together.

Off to Seattle for a day trip today. Back tomorrow afternoon.

Recovery

Made it back into town after a very relaxing trip home with the Booth's. We stopped at Dana's aunt's B and B outside of Boise for the first night. An excellent dinner with very gracious hosts and a beautiful setting. Next night was in Reno at a long time friend of the Booth's.

Friday I slept in - at least sleeping in for me. I was up around 7 and ready for a latte. Didn't do much more than unpack stuff and do some laundry.

Saturday - up early and went to provide a water stop for a few team mates who were tackling Mt. Hamilton. The schedule calls for a 100 miler in small groups. A good mental toughness day to experience being alone on the bike for a long period. These folks decided to take on Mt Hamilton, Calaveras Rd and Sierra Rd. Talk about mental toughness! It was great to see their smiling faces as they rounded the top to the observatory. Their sense of accomplishment was evident on their faces.

Sunday - met with a few folks for a swim at Fremont HS then a run at Rancho. Swam about 3,000 yards and felt pretty good. No dizziness at all in the water and had nice long, gliding strokes. Wish I had that last Sunday in Idaho. Rancho was warm as we did up and over with a twist. Ann, Christy and Karen were running it twice. I only did it once. Usually my quads are very sore even a week after an IM - this time they weren't sore at all. Maybe because I really didn't do much running last Sunday at all. I did experience a bit of light headedness coming down the creek. I think this was due to lack of food more than anything else. I quickly took in a GU and felt much better.

Monday - now I'm waitng for the cable guy to show up and finish his installation. He was here a few weeks ago and moved the existing cable box to the side of the house where we moved the electrical panel. Most of the remodel is done with a few touch up areas left. Can't wait to move stuff back into the house from the garage - hopefully we won't move everything back and can get rid of some of this stuff. The house was very cluttered before the remodel started. Then maybe a short ride this afternooon after some poolside reading and sunning.

Tomorrow I hope to spend some more time by the pool and maybe get another Rancho run done.