94 Miles and One Cold Swim

Because my horrific hip issues do not impact the swim and the bike (thank the Lord), I headed out for another long ride on Saturday.  And an open water swim in my whale suit on Sunday.

On Saturday, my CDA bound-friend Columbus went with me to ride.  Dude, it was chilly, and it took us about 35 miles before our toes warmed up.

He’s a far superior cyclist and he was warned that I was super slow.

I’m not sure he knew how slow I was.

But 6.5 hours  and 94 miles later, we were done.  That’s three serious weekends of rides.  (85 miles, 100 miles, and 94 respectively).

And to the tune of 4078 feet of climbing. That’s Coeur d’Alene stuff, dudes. I learned a lot on that ride, because although I packed: 2 packs of shot bloks, tons of dried fruit & almonds, Huma gels (which is my new FAVORITE thing, BTW… I’ll tell you guys about them soon), and baked potato—-I was still under-fueled—and around Mile 82, I started to feel like dog poo.

I need 300-400 calories an hour…and I think I failed miserably on this.

I tried out a new saddle. I am a big fan of the Adamo Road saddle… but I have learned that after 50 miles, that saddle was not my friend.  The folks at All3Sports let me take a Cobb V-flow demo saddle on the road, and it was amazing. I really enjoyed it, and will definitely be making the switch for the longer rides.  The narrower nose is the key.

Today was an hour on elliptical and an open water swim.

The elliptical was a big deal because I haven’t really used the hip in a running motion for two weeks… and it felt great. I am keeping fingers crossed that it will continue to feel great.  I am working on getting into an orthopaedic surgeon.. but I am not having surgery before Ironman Coeur d’Alene.

Right now the impact is what hurts and what is dangerous… so all impact has ceased.  The goal now is to keep the cardio base high and to swim and cycle my buns off.

Met SBM friend Lesley at the lake for a good 1000 or so meters…

Oh here was the wetsuit fight…

…and this water was COLD (I think around 60-63 degrees) and SO choppy.

Definitely the worst swimming conditions yet… with every stroke, there was a wave crashing on a face. But we did it, and it was fun.

The Expert went with us to the beach and watched the kiddos play in the sand while Lesley and I got in the swim.

I think we may make a habit out of this one… the Expert and I can both swim and swap watching the kids play in the sand, or do the same with other parents… I think we’re on to something here.

A nice relaxing dinner with the kiddos (me and Stella were braid twins) and the Expert, and I am on the couch and just about out for the count.

Have a great week friends… thanks for all the well-wishes for speedy healing for me… I think it’s all working! 🙂

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Finally…  congrats to Sheryl who won this super cute necklace from Origami Owl.

Many of you wanted to know where to get one… Well, I have a great friend from high school who hosted the giveaway… and now, if you are interested, you can go here to order yours. Just choose “Swim Bike Mom” from the party drop-down menu at checkout. (If you have questions about the product, you can ask her on her Facebook page, because I don’t have the details about the product per se.)

To build this particular necklace, click on “LIVING LOCKETS”—-> “HOW TO BUILD” —->
Step 1: Charms—-> Choose “SPORTS” charms —> select the running shoe, the swimmer, and the bike —->
STEP 2: Customize your locket to house the charms —>
Step 3: Pick your chain —->
Step 4: Add your plates and dangles —> Then CHECKOUT.

Remember to choose “Swim Bike Mom” from the drop down at checkout, so we can track the orders, and hopefully get you guys some cool SWAG in the future.