A Tropical Heat Wave

Summer has come and planted itself here in the upper Midwest. The warmer temperatures are nice, but upper 80s and 90s this early is a little bit much. The weather reports show no sign of a cool down for awhile. I guess the one perk will be lots of training in the heat since it seems like every time I race it’s one of the hottest days of the year. Case in point; last year during the Lifetime Fitness Triathlon the temperature was 97 °F, the heat index was well over 100, and the water temperature alone was 85 °F. Now I know that people have raced in harsher conditions, but from my experience this is about as bad as it gets. When the fish start dying because the lake is so warm you know you are in for a long day. I’m not sure where I’m going with all this so I’ll just say that it’s too early to be this hot. Ok, ok I’m off that soapbox.

Last night after work it was a double with a swim and a bike. I figured there was no better way of getting back into the routine then by doing two workouts back-to-back. Besides some of the usual issues that I encounter with my swimming I felt pretty good in the water. My 500 repeats were slightly faster then they were last time I timed myself so that was nice to see. I guess I should start doing some interval work to pick them up a bit more. A quick rinse to get the chlorine off and then I was off for home and then onto my bike. I did an 18 mile loop up and down the east and west side of the Mississippi river between St. Paul and Minneapolis. I changed things up by doing the loop in reverse from how I normally ride that route. It was a nice change. I also picked things up by spending most of the time in my big ring. Intervals, riding in the big ring, it can only mean one thing. We are getting close to the first tri of the season. Three weeks from Friday I will be boarding a plane to Philly.

Quote of the Day: The height of your accomplishments will equal the depth of your convictions. - William F. Scolavino