Conversations with the Coach

A busy tri-type day yesterday (Monday).

Master's swim was a crowded affair, with a full slate of the usual pool rats. Andy and his wife Debbie, Jay, Kathy, and myself. Andy is a former competitive swimmer in college, and Jay is just wicked fast (and an age group competitor of mine, though I can't say I'm offering him too much competition at this point -- he's in the front of the pack). Debbie and Kathy are a different matter. When I began Master's they were clearly stronger than me. Now...not so much. We took turns leading off, and I can hang with them now. Nice that I can keep up with the fast girls now!

Took my bike into the shop, after an accident (no one hurt) ripped the rear deraullier off. $177, a new hanger and a spiffy Ultegra derailler later, I'm back on the road, courtesy of Blue Wheel Bicycles.

Highlight of the day was a phone conversation with Coach Debi. I'm not getting any formal coaching for November, but she suggested I call to touch base on what to do during the "off" time -- very nice of her. The conversation was cool -- she's just returned from Hawaii, so I reflected in her Ironman glory as she talked about riding "the Queen K."

Name-dropper. ;)

Not too much "off" in November however. The short version: keep swimming, keep riding, increase your long run and miles per week. A good conversation though -- I asked about setting time goals for Eagleman. She was cautious about that. The attitude was pretty much, "I'll get you ready, then you run a smart race and don't worry about the time." Can't argue with that, at least at this point. At any rate, a winter's worth of training, and then a couple of races in the spring and it may be a good idea to start thinking about my race time. Until then, stay patient and be faithful to my training.

Ken

Staying faithful to my training? You decide.