As planned, a 20+ mile ride in the Valley. Nothing special, a route I normally do with a good amount of variety. Kept it somewhat low key but I did push here and there. A good avg speed for me for this route too. Of note, a member of my family has come down with something and I've seen others who have gotten sick in recent weeks. Please! NOT BEFORE EAGLEMAN! Well, lots of vitamin C (I do anyway) and hand washing. Tomorrow, last swim and short run afterwards. Thursday, short brick on 67. Friday pack, clean bike Saturday at Race site, maybe short practice swim but I'm debating this as I think I want to keep everything pretty fresh. Sunday- RACE!

It's taper week!!! And did something completely different - stationary rowing. Didn't really want to go swimming and wasn't going to do anything with legs after the brick yesterday. So, decided to still do something with arms/back by doing 30 min of rowing. Not bad, a bit boring, but different. Tomorrow depending on the weather, think I'll ride in the valley for ~20 miles. Wed swim (3-4 x 400) and run (~4+ miles) Thur light brick 10/3 Friday off but may do yoga Saturday off but will do a short practice swim if conditions permit Sunday - RACE!

It's taper week for Eagleman! Last longish brick before the race next Sunday. Decided I didn't want to bother with hills on 194 since there wouldn't be any at Eagleman either. First though, took my bike into the shop to check rear wheel due to the flats I've been getting. Bike shop replaced my rim strip and it seems to have held together for at least the 44+ miles. Let's hope it does the same next Sunday. Might take the bike out of the car just so the heat in the car doesn't wear on them, though it really shouldn't make a difference. Anyway, nice afternoon for this with bright sunshine and temps in the mid 80s, light to no wind. Now the trail is shaded, so not exactly race conditions, but temperatures still up there. I did okay on the bike too and was trying for 20 mph avg but just too many folks out today plus the usual crossings. Still, 19.4 is decent for me. Now early in the ride, someone called out "passing on your left" and surprised to see some guy who looked like he was on a tri bike pass me. While I see tri folks on the trail, I don't usually have one sneak up on me like that. So, the guy goes by and I think "cool, now I have someone to pace off of". But, this doesn't last. The guy slows to take in water tries to reestablish his aero posture but sits up again. I notice then this is a road bike instead with clipon aerobars. But no end shifters. And the guy is slowing. So...did he just want to see if he could catch me? Well, okay, but now I go by him, shift up a gear, and leave him behind. As I slow a bit later at a crossing, quickly look back to see if I've had a shadow. Nope, guy is not there. Like I said, maybe he just wanted to size me up a bit and I guess realized he's not quite in the same league. Now on the run, I only wanted 6 miles today and it's a bit more considering where the parking lot was. Gosh, how I wish there was shade a Eagleman! Can't believe I maintained an 8 pace for a 10K after 44+ miles on the bike! Let's hope for cooler temps and/or clouds come race day! At least no cramps today and legs felt decent on the run. I think switching back to the nutrition and electrolyte consumption plan I used previously works well and will continue to use in next Sunday. Well the rest of the week is going to be light. Tomorrow, after chiropractor I think I might go to the gym and either use the elliptical or rower for light 25-30 min. Tuesday - bike in the Valley or maybe on 67. Should keep it to around 20 miles. Wed - Probably the 4-5 mile run again in Foxfield Thur - bike in the Valley keep it no more than 15 miles. Maybe a light brick of 10 and 3. Friday - off, pack Saturday will be going to race site and will probably get a practice swim in Sunday - RACE!

As planned, morning OWS practice at Ft Ritchie. Decided to still swim with the wetsuit though water temp was 71. It's better to practice swimming with it than without as I know I can swim okay without it and I don't usually use it when I go to the pool. Course was perhaps a bit longer today but my average not counting the RI was close to last week. So perhaps it was okay. Decided to break things up a bit this week and do 600m at a time. Then I thought do one more lap of 300m just to get a bit more distance/time overall. Everything felt pretty good arms-wise. I did start to get tired though and sighting got a bit shakey here and there. That happens as I get tired. Not sure about later as I've got errands to do next and then a party this afternoon. Who knows how I'll feel later. Will post more later today. It's later...nope, nothing else today...too much partying But, gotta get the last brick in tomorrow. So hopefully, back at it...now, where's the Advil at? ;-)

One should not run on a relatively full stomach. Yeah, made the mistake of running about a 1/2 hour after dinner and really needed to digest a bit more. But, running out of time for the day and wanted to get a short run in. I didn't do bad but first few miles I was still feeling dinner (burp!). Anyway, it was a very nice evening for a run through the neighborhoods - sun, low humidity, a bit of a breeze, temps in the 70s...Aaaaahhhhh! Wish it was going to be like this on race day. Tomorrow is last OWS practice at Ft Ritchie before the race. Might try without a wetsuit as it's looking like it won't be wetsuit legal at Eagleman. But, will see if temp is high enough. I'll bring it just in case. Might try for a light ride too but I have morning errands and then a party in the afternoon. Sunday - last brick, will do the WMRT this time. 44 miles ride and 6 miles run. Monday I'm debating now taking off or not as I'll be taking off a couple of days before the race and tapering this week. Will decide then and plan for rest of week. I do think that Wed morning will be last swim at Ft outside pool in the morning.

Bright sunshine, low humidity, comfortable temperature - time to ride!! I did consider perhaps running today instead but already planned for the ride. Was going to use my tri bike but decided to just ride somewhat casually on my road bike today, kinda a recovery ride from the weekend. The only thing that was a bit of an issue was the winds - gusting into the 20s at times. While I did have a good tailwind in a few spots, coming back was mostly headwinds, so slow going. It was okay...good training. Tomorrow afternoon after mowing the grass, will probably go for a run. Sat is OWS practice and then perhaps a ride or a run. Depends as I have errands to run. Sunday, final brick before EMan. Monday - day off.

Almost didn't do this but got up to go do an early morning swim at the outdoor pool at Ft D. Weather might turn nasty later and there's a lot of activities going on today. Decided to do near a mile continuous swim (the length is 33 m which is a bit odd). No one there at the time and nice temp for the pool. Clear sunny skies too. Then after this decided that I had enough time to run the perimeter course around the post. It was also still quite humid and now getting in the 80s, so thought it might still be a good time to do this. Had nearly all my gear in the car too. Whew! It was definitely already quite warm heading out, but had a breeze coming back which felt nice. Doing okay on the run and felt stronger near the end. Unfortunately, had to cut it a bit short as the one road had incoming cars and no place to run there. So, took a slightly different course, cutting it about a 1/4-1/3 miles short. It's okay as it was time to head back. If time permits and I feel like it, I might do another short run tonight. Hopefully bike after work tomorrow.