Swim or Bike, Just as Wet

Mrs. Pol has a lot on her plate, today, so it was an early start for training. Baby Pol woke me at 5:10 a.m. She must have figured the last 20 minutes of sleep before the alarm was extra, and unnecessary. She went back to sleep after getting a pacifier, allowing me to get out the door for the YMCA.

Time was limited, so I did 750 yards trying to focus on breathing. I won't say it went well, but I tried a few ideas everyone provided, and accept it will take time. I did the 750 yards in about 30 minutes, including rest intervals. Good, bad? I didn't drown, so we'll call it a victory.

While Mrs. Pol was at her morning events, the kids and I went to the local running store (it's awesome being able to say that, now) to get her a few technical shirts for working out. Toddler Pol was nice enough to tell her all about them, ruining them as Mother's Day gifts. Oh well, she bought herself some coffee, too. While at the store, I picked up a new toy. My old stopwatch died, so I got a new, super wham-o-dyne Ironman watch. More on that, another day.

When my wife got home, I headed out the door for a bike ride. I did right about 16 miles in an hour. The first half (uphill, into the wind) was brutal. The ride back was pretty nice. Downhill with the wind at my back for a change.

Tomorrow, if the weather cooperates, I plan on a bike/run brick. If the weather is too bad, I'll just do a 10-mile run. With the half-marathon next week, it would be good to have one more decent training run on the books. Last week was a step-back week, so this week really needs to be 10-15 miles. With the wind, rain, and 45F temps, outdoor training is a bit chilly.

Well, Mrs. Pol has to get out the door for her next big event of the day. Remember, sometimes it rains on race day. So if it's raining, show Mother Nature you're tougher than her.