2500 meters, 77 miles, and 30 kilometers

The weekend was a blur of distances in the final preparation for IM France.

Friday afternoon found me in the quarry at Pure Austin. My schedule called for 20 x 75m. I opted to do the workout in the open water of the quarry instead the pool. All in all, an afternoon at the quarry in sunshine is nice way to wash the work week away.

The Real Ale ride was 77+ miles of hill country fun starting out in Blanco, Texas. The country is beautiful, hilly, and hot. The ride pulled out of the brewery parking lot into an immediate headwind and through a series of hills. I kept waiting for the hills to stop, so I could get in rhythm. They never stopped. The course snake up and down through the metropolitan areas of Sisterdale (population 63) and Luckenback with decent roads and no traffic.

Early in the ride, I tagged along with a group fast riders from Texas Iron. They were going too fast for me too hang on long, but it was fun. I noticed that were eating a drinking all the time and keep spinning while grabbing food and drink. My legs tend to stop going when, I grab for food or a bottle. I guess I have trouble doing more than one thing at a time... The 30 minute run after the bike in the high-noon sun along blacktop -- no fun, but I finished.

It turned out to be a great ride despite a few minor logistical issues -- I will definitely do the Real Ale ride again.

Early Sunday, brought the 30km trail run called the Loop. I am not a big trail runner, but I needed to get in a long run and the idea of support, shade, and company the run was much better than running in little circles by myself. The first two of the 10km loops were fun. The terrain was challenging and interesting. It would be fun to really race a trail run someday. The 3rd loop was rough for me. I was dumb and did not drink or eat near enough. Oops. The support was a stop about 5 km apart and I did not think about how long it would take between stops. I ended up drinking about 50% of what I should in that heat. I should have run with 2 bottles instead of one. The terrain definitely builds strength and I am glad I did it. Hopefully, the painful lesson will make me smarter for France.

After the run, the I headed back to the quarry for recovery swim. After some eating, it was nap time. I took several days for my legs to recover from the Loop and I think a few toe nails may never recover, but I made it through my longest run in Ironman training without serious injury.

It is all downhill from here.