It’s Monday. I am back after two blissful weeks off. Two weeks in Florida, with family, and with my new bike.
It was a complete luxury of a holiday – to be able to spend the time I wanted training, and then to spend the time I wanted with my family. So often time escapes me and I feel pressured to fit everything in that I want to do. But not the past two weeks.
I will try to keep this post brief, to show you rather than to tell you. I had so much fun. And – truth be told – I am scared that if I write about it, the memories will leave me!
In short, over the past two weeks I:
Learned to travel with my bike
Had a proper bike fit (which I will write about in another blog)
Fit in 13 training sessions
Swam: 6.15km
Biked: 155.74km
Ran: 8.2km (this is an estimate – 50 minutes)
Spent some quality time with two little cutie-patooties, my niece and my new nephew
As for triathlon stuff…
I discovered this amazing pool – the Aquacrest Palm Beach County Pool in Delray Beach Florida. Apparently in the winter for NCAA team training they turn it into a 50m pool, but at the moment it is divided into a 25 yard section and a 25 meter section. It was relatively empty when we went – except for triathletes. Always a pleasure to swim with other athletes in training!
The purpose of the trip really was to spend time on my new bike. Thanks to John Hirsch, the baby has a name. Meet Ninja Face.
The two of us got along great. We conquered this spectacular bridge – meet the Channel #5 bridge on the Overseas Highway portion of the A1A in the Keys. I think this is the tallest bridge on the highway.
Even in a brutal headwind we had fun. I invested in some Chamois Butt’r and that meant the pressure soreness I had started to feel was no more. I think I’ve well and truly fallen for Ninja Face!
And I managed to get some running in – on the beach. Beach running is great for ankle strength and stability. I suppose I should’ve done it barefoot, but I wore my trainers. Although I wore my trainers, I felt it the day after – that good kind of “man I have worked those muscles” feeling, not the bad “uh oh what have I done to myself” kind of pain. I hope this helped to make me stronger. I guess I’ll see this week when I get back to the track…
Here is the beach I ran in Delray…
And here is the beach I ran on in Islamorada (The Florida Keys)…
And finally…
Here are the two cuties I got to spend a lot of time with. What can I say – my sister and her family are just awesome. This was probably the hardest part of leaving Florida – saying goodbye to these little ones who will be so much bigger the next time I see them. I have got to sort out my computer problem and Skype them regularly!
This week marks a return to reality. Hopefully I can hold onto some of that holiday bliss and feeling of balance. At least I hope to keep my training going strong and to continue to build strength in the run up to the start of my triathlon season. Stay tuned…