Week 21 Wrap-up

OK--so better late than never, I guess. I finally had the chance to drop my training info from the past four weeks into my handy-dandy Excel spreadsheet...and hence, I finally have updated totals to post. Rather than combine all three past weeks into one posting, I'm opting to give each week its own little moment of glory (or lack thereof, in most cases)...more so I can remember what happened each week than anything else.

So, in week 21, I developed a brutal head cold (probably from lack of sleep). As a result, I bailed on my bike workout on Wednesday so I could go home and sleep instead, and I also opted to skip my swim on Thursday as it's really tough to breathe in the pool when there's nothing but phlegm in the way. I did, however, run with Michele and another co-worker Thursday morning--I honestly tried to pace us slower due to my cold, but we ended up moving right along...managed a couple of good farmer's blows to keep me breathing properly and all was good.

Saturday was awesome--all 5 of the Kraft R&D IM team rode together for the first time this season. We did one of the Wheelmen rides (this one's called the "honey do ride")--a 54-miler through the northwest 'burbs and through some amazing neighborhoods. The route was challenging in that there were some well-placed hills, but it was a great route in general. Plus, it was fun to ride with the gang--Jeremy and I rode together most of the way as he lost his cue sheet early on and needed someone to guide, Michele took off like gangbusters and blew us all out of the water, and Sue and Erin rode together as well. One gross item of note--I had a very unfortunate farmer's blow which was a direct shot onto the mesh part of my shoe...that was disgusting... One more item of note--both Tack and I suffered our first minor scrapes when I didn't clip out in time at a stop sign (thought I could make it, but a car came barreling through and I had to stop) and literally tipped over. My pride was wounded way more than my slightly scraped knee, but Tack's handlebars got a little nick as well. Such is life, I guess... After the ride, Sue, Michele, Jeremy and I went out for a fabulous brunch at a nearby restaurant--a great way to end the ride (Erin had to go home and clean for her in-laws' visit).

Sunday I had the "pleasure" of doing my long run (followed by a brief bike session on my mountain bike) and then climbing in a car for a 5-hour drive to one of our plants in northern Wisconsin. Thankfully, the co-worker I rode with is also a runner and didn't laugh too hard when I got out of the car and could hardly walk for the first few steps...plus the activity points I earned came in handy when we stopped at Culver's for dinner and ended up with a milkshake.

Here's the roll-up for the week...

Swim: 1:51:00 / 5000 m
Bike: 5:06:42 / 81.96 miles
Run: 3:48:40 / 25.08 miles
Total: 10:46:22 / 110.17 miles