What the Brick?!

This past Thursday was brick day at Stone Mountain.  Due to traffic, the car ride over took longer than expected, and we were racing daylight.  We decided to do 3 loops around the mountain (about 15 miles), then run about 2.5 miles. We were originally gonna shoot for a 5k, but it was too dark and we had a friend waiting and watching our bikes (THANK YOU!)  :) 

Chuck Norris' forecast that I mentioned in my last post definitely came true.  Just to refresh your memory:

It really WAS cloudy!  The cloud coverage and rain earlier in the day made the temperature much more bearable.  Of course, being the hilly course that it is, there was pain involved as well...but it was a GOOD kind of pain--the kind that let's you know you are pushing yourself and it is rewarding (or so I tell myself over and over :P) 

The bike was good overall.  I know I still need to improve my climbing skills and strengthen my legs more, but that will come in time.   I came upon 2 older guys on road bikes who I paced with for a bit.  I passed them a few times on the downhill and flats, but they would pass me on the climbs...a reminder that I HAVE to keep working on getting stronger!  It was getting dark on my last loop around the mountain, and I was startled to see a deer run across the road in front of me!  Thankfully there was enough distance between us for me to slow down and look around for other 'family members' who may decide to cross. 

After making it back to the car safely, I racked my bike and transitioned to the run.  Despite all the hills on the bike, it didn't feel that bad when I started out running. Within 5 minutes though, and in the middle of a hill, my legs were beginning to complain.  Also, since I wasn't running with my mp3 player I was very much aware of every sound, including my awkwardly heavy breathing which even had ME questioning my own wellness, "OMG, am I okay?  Why am I breathing so heavy? what's going on? oh yeah...I'm in the middle of a brick session...it IS okay!".  But I did it! Mission accomplished!   :)

Saturday, training buddy and I woke up dark and early and were on our bikes by 7:15 a.m. riding 40 miles on the Silver Comet.  Throughout the ride it seemed really windy...as if I were going slightly uphill.  At one point I turned and asked "Is it just me, or is it windy??".  I wasn't alone in the feeling...phew.  But there was only one curious thing about this issue of it being windy...no trees or grass, or anything was moving!!!  When we came to a stop it was completely still, but as soon as we started riding it felt so incredibly windy that it was hard to hear.  We came to 3 conclusions:
1) The Silver Comet Trail is some kind of wind tunnel
2) We were actually going soooo fast that we were creating the wind ourselves
3) We had a special patch of wind following just the two of us around like a rain cloud

It felt windy going in both directions, but we actually finished the 40 miles in 2:25 (faster than my previous 40).  I'm curious to know if anyone else thinks the Silver Comet feels 'windy' despite the stillness of the trees.  The mystery of the Silver Comet Trail wind continues...dun dun dunnnnnn.

That's it for this past week's update!  The Olympic race is in less than a week and I'm currently traveling for work...this makes me slightly anxious as I'm having to try extra hard to get in my training sessions and keep eating healthy.  But I'll do it! 

 If I ever complete an Ironman, I am absolutely buying this shirt!

Hope everyone has a great week!