Up and Coming....

This weekend was a wonderful weekend to be on the bike and that is just where I was. Both days. Saturday was a two-hour BIKE followed by a 30 minute RUN and Sunday was a 2.5 hour easy BIKE. Needless to say, my cumulative bike mileage is climbing.

It's a good thing too because this weekend is the Columbia Triathlon. A hard, hilly olympic distance triathlon (.9 mile swim, 26 mile bike, 6.2 mile run) that just happens to be very special to me. The 2001 Columbia Triathlon was my first triathlon ever! I came into triathlon from a long-distance biking perspective. I saw the bike distance and thought "Hmmmm... I can definitely ride 26 miles, no problem...and I liked to swim as a kid and I have always wanted to try running...I bet I could do this!"

2001 Columbia Triathlon - 3:41:23
SWIM: 38:55
T1: 5:38
BIKE: 1:38:17
T2: 3:44
RUN: 1:19:03

2002 Columbia Triathlon - 3:45:28
SWIM: 39:43
T1: 6:22
BIKE: 1:43:55
T2: 3:25
RUN: 1:14:42

So having done Columbia twice in the past (2001 & 2002) I have some old race times to consider but I have not yet talk to Coach Graham this week so I don't know what his expectations will be for me on race day.

I'd like to see around the same times, but my expectation is that I am slower this year than I have been in years past so quite frankly *anything* under 4:00:00 will be just fine with me. Got to start back somewhere right?

My big race this season is Eagleman 70.3 which my sister Heather and nephew Rowen will be in town for! Cheering section for Holly!!!!

Eagleman is still over 4 weeks away and considered my *A* race for this season. What does that really mean? That means that everything I am doing, including my race day at Columbia, is in preporation of race day for Eagleman and that could mean that Sunday will simply be a "long workout day" wrapped into the convienance of a local race.

So my goals need to be a little different and my times this year will probably be a lot slower than they have ever been in the past...but I hope not by very much. After all it is not like I was ever blazing fast at Columbia in the past.

I guess we'll see what Coach Graham has to say and go from there. In the meantime, I have a full weeks workouts to get through before race day! That should keep me busy enough .....

Tonight I get to indulge in some early pre-race carbo loading. Several CCC teammates are in town for the upcoming LiveSTRONG Day to meet with their respective congressmen/women to demand that our nation's leaders invest in resources, treatment and services for everyone battling cancer. A few of us are going to get together this evening and share a meal. It will be wonderful to touch base with my teammates and see many of them for the first time since the 2006 LiveSTRONG Challenge and the LiveSTRONG Summit.

Life is Good! Live STRONG.