Training for IM Moo . . . a bit delayed. Today was my first day back into training since the Dilloman sprint tri on Sunday. I would have liked to have started up earlier, but I was determined to take Monday off. Then, I had to travel to Dallas for work on Tuesday and Wednesday. Although I got back early on Wednesday, I elected to move a few things up to Lisa's rather than do any training. Besides, my heels were still pretty bruised from running on those rocks on the bike-out and bike-in at Dilloman.

So . . . today, I did an easy 15 miles on the bike. I started out with the usual ride from Lamar and Barton Springs Road over to MoPac to Hwy 360, but instead of going all the way to the 360 Bridge and back, I cut the ride short at Bee Caves Road and took that route back down to MoPac and then back east on Barton Springs. I still managed to average 20.1 mph, but most of that was on the last 2/5 of the ride while I was on Bee Caves, which is mostly a slight downhill. Once you get into traffic and hit the lights right, you can get some serious speed going on Bee Caves!

Anyway, the goal on my ride was to keep my heart rate under 150. I managed that for the most part. There were several hills where I spiked up to as high as 160, but I recovered pretty well and spent most of my time around 145-150. It's hard to maintain a constant heart rate with all the starts and stops at the stoplights. Anyhoo . . . it was good to get back out on the bike, and the weather is just beautiful. It had to be in the mid 80's for the ride. Barely had to drink much at all to stay hydrated.

After I pulled back into the parking lot at Bicycle Sport Shop, I changed into my running shoes, put on a dry-fit top and went for a short run. I don't know how far I went, but I was out for about 25 minutes, not too hard, so I'm guessing I went about 2.5 to 3 miles. The goal here was just to get back into a brick work out. It's been so long since I've done one! Anyway, I kept the heart rate below 165 and just cruised down by Town Lake to First Street, up to Barton Springs, and back over to Lamar. I plan to increase the mileage of both the run and bike by a few miles next time I do another brick.

Hopefully, this will get me ready for the Iron Star I'm doing in Conroe at the end of October. It's my final race of the season and will be my first Half Iron distance race. I'm a bit nervous about running 13 miles, as my longest training run to date has been 8 miles, and was a while ago. If I can just contain myself on the bike and not get too used up on it, I think I'll do just fine. Hopefully, I won't have any lower back issues on the run either. That was a killer in the Ironhead Olympic tri I did back in July. Bad leg and back back made for a sloooooowwwww run! But, I think I'm in better shape now than I was then, and I know not to hammer too much on the bike this time.

All in all, it was a good, easy transition back into the training regimen, and was sorely needed! Now . . . if I can just get myself to get back in the pool!