Almonds and Berries

I LOVE YOU!!!!

I have a weakness - Chocolate Almonds. Not just any chocolate almond, but the 'Worlds Finest' brand. I've wrote about them before, but now they're back to haunt me!
I didn't even hesitate one bit. As the gurl selling them walked by my office I leaped from my chair and stalked her to the lunchroom so I could buy a couple a few OK five boxes. Sure 5 boxes might seem a bit excessive but they were also sporting the Team in Training logo. I recognize that from Matty-O's blog and felt like I was doing my part by supporting them ;)   No guilt eating all 5 boxes though, I'm coming in at a record low weight and welcome the added calories. Thats how I justified it anyways. :)

So later that evening I put in a few extra bike hills in to put that chocolate energy to good use! I even wore my new tri-suit and looked like a complete knob - but I was a fast knob! Wow, even in the oppressive heat that everyone is whining about, I didn't feel the least bit hot. That tri-suit is like riding naked! As Matty-O commented yesterday, there is a challenge to be had when trying to use the washroom with a tri-suit. Luckily my hose is pretty long so I was able to pull it out down and out the pant leg on two seperate occasions. I wear cycling bib shorts regularly so I have mastered the technique. Of course in a race I wouldn't even bother stopping. haha!

I have no idea how to contend with a #2. I'll just have to plan that one ahead of time. I dont mind taking my time in an Ironman to hit a porta-potty, the rest is likely welcomed. However if there was a sudden explosive urge, this may not end well. I'll just do my best to plan ahead. This is a small price to pay for the comfort this tri suit holds. Being a one-peice, like a bib short, it fits snug against the manly-bits and my twig & berries feel safe and secure. I dont like having to hike bike shorts up repeatedly, it gets annoying.

As I said, my bike ride was insanely fast! My climbing form has improved now that I have fine tuned my TT bike technique. One of the noticable changes to increase my speed was the choice I made to spin more. On uphills, I almost always muscle my way up. I wouldn't shift down out of the big chainring, thus forcing me to strength train my phast ass up to the top of the mountain. That would offer short term speed gains but long term energy drains. I would die out after a few hours of that. Instead I'm going slower with spinning on the uphills, forcing myself to maintain a constant power output rather than a big herculeon effort. I feel fresher at the top and that allows me to drop the hammer once back on the flat/downhill which negates any speed lost back on that slow uphill. I can also go harder for longer. This has worked out exactly as planned, I forced myself to climb in the big gears to strength train all year, but with Ironman quickly approaching it is time to tame that strength and get more efficient. It's working!

TRAINING:

Bike - 02:00hrs