After the Peachtree was out of the way, it was back to full on triathlon training. I have started to find new paths to take my bike out on. At first I found the Forsyth Greenway, but some of the planks on one of the boardwalks are out, which only allows me to get about a 7 mile ride in. I then ventured a little farther south to the Big Creek Greenway, where I was able to bike almost 14 miles. My ride in the triathlon is 13 miles, so this will probably be where I do most of my training rides until then. Here I am at the start:
And here is where I reached Roswell and decided to turn back:
Meanwhile, I ran over my Garmin Forerunner when it fell in the parking lot. Luckily it was only the strap, so the actual computer portion still works. I tested the charger just today, and it also still works! My Garmin VivoSmart also recently died on me, so I think it's time to start looking for a new fitness watch. If anyone knows of one that works well for swimming and indoor cycling, let me know! I also used Strava for the first time the other day. Since I always have my phone with me on bikes and runs, it's nice to have an app that will keep track of everything for me. My favorite feature is that it automatically pauses if I get off the bike or stop during a workout.
Another trail I recently checked out for the first time last week was the Silver Comet. It is very flat and has no speed limit, so it was a nice place to test out my biking skills. I ended up going on my longest ride ever with a friend. We made it over 19 miles! And the best part is that I was not very sore the next day! I did learn that padded shorts are a must when I tried to spin the next morning. I just ordered another pair of Coeur shorts in black in a longer length so that I can also wear my tri shorts to the gym! Here's a picture after my Silver Comet ride. (I know they all look the same, but I am very proud, so I wanted to share!)
And finally the swimming. I have been bringing my husband and daughter up to the pool after dinner about once a week so that I can swim laps. Now that my swim length has doubled (from 200m to 400m), I have to swim 16 lengths of the pool to get that distance. I have been wanting to do an open water swim as well since this next race is not in a pool like my last one. I joined a group on Facebook that posts when they'll be doing open water swims at a beach on Lake Lanier. My friend who started me on this whole tri thing was looking for someone to go with her last Sunday, and I jumped at the chance to go with people I know. She is training for a HIM (half ironman), but her husband is doing a sprint for the first time in October. We paired up and went out together for our first open water swim. We did about 500m in about 12 minutes, and I felt really good about it. I ordered a swim buoy from Amazon and was able to try it out for the first time. It is an inflatable that also has a dry pouch. You just attach the buoy to a belt you wear around your waist. I didn't even notice it was there! I also had to work on sighting the buoys in the water as we swam. There were quite a few times I had to correct my path, but I was not very fatigued afterward. It went much better than expected. Here's a pic of us after finishing our swim:
I hope to be able to go out a couple more times in the next 13 days (EEK!) before my race. This beach is only about 20 minutes from my house. I can't believe I had no idea it was there!
So that's where I'm at. I did a 5K run and spin class this morning at the gym. I'm also going to try to get in a few more "brick" workouts before the big day. I plan on going to Big Creek Wednesday to ride 13 miles then put my bike up and run 3 more. We'll see how that goes!
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