Saturday posed quite a quandary when it came to training with the tri club kids. Since the Pol clan traveled Friday to camp with others at our churches tree farm, I decided to drive a second (and more fuel efficient) vehicle to drive back to town Saturday morning. The trip back to the camp site would be by Pol-R Express.
My only concern with the whole plan was the time in the saddle after so little recent bike training. Between the training ride with the kids and the trip to the church property, I figured I'd log at least 60 miles. And with the effects of last week's marathon, I questioned how my back would hold up.
The concerns, though reasonable, were unfounded. I biked about 10 miles with the one guy who was in town and available, made a pit stop for fuel, and headed out. The first 20 miles of the day had gone well, so I headed down the road hoping the rest of the trip would be the same.
I learned two things on that ride. Well, learned one and remembered another. First, at the moment, the bike is the best place for me. While my back was tight and touchy on the car ride into town, it only bothered me for one short bit during the bike back. That was a time when I was out of the saddle to give my rear end a break. Other than that, I felt great.
I also got a good reminder that base is base. The condition of my back notwithstanding, I figured the bike would be tough just because I don't have the riding time in, this year. On the trip, I made one stop for a safety talk with the youth and two for fuel. With the time for those stops included, my average pace over the 73 mile trip was 15.86 mph. Using actual bike time, the average was 17.25 mph. It seems all the time swimming and running helped offset the lack of time on the bike.
It's a good lesson to remember. When injuries limit our run workouts, we can hit the pool. If a recent Ironman has ended a love affair with the bike, swimming and running can maintain the foundation built over a summer of hard rides. There will still be considerable work required to get back to top form, but solid base work in one discipline can minimize the impact of missed workouts in another.
To round the weekend out, I found a lake for the first open water swim of the year. It had better clarity than most the likes I swim, and it was good to put the wetsuit to use. The first half dozen strokes were a struggle as I dealt with the shock of the very cold water, but I soon fell into a good rhythm. I did about 1000 yards, and that will pay huge dividends as I get ready for the first triathlon of the year.
Regardless of how flexible we can be with mixing up our workouts to maintain base, nothing replaces an open water swim.
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