4 Hour Workouts on Sundays

Put this piece of advice into the category of tri-ing to preserve marriage. 

Don't do workouts more than 4 hours long on a Sunday-- unless, that is, you start at 3 in the morning, and even then you might be asking for trouble. If you are not a married person with children, this does not apply to you. Pre-kids- long workouts= not a problem. Post-kids--all under the age of 5= Major problem.  

Anyway, in the good Mommy book, Sundays should be spent bonding with your children over a large pancake breakfast, taking them to the zoo (or better still to church), or taking a leisurely stroll around the neighborhood. Of course, let's be honest. Sundays are usually spent in a frenzied, irritable state--struggling to clean, do laundry and prepare for the next week while your kids sit comatose in front of a video. It's a glamorous life, I admit. 

Anyway, too many long Sunday workouts and you will inevitably stir up the resentment pot. And then--dear God--you might become what I have begun to term an Ironman Divorce Casualty. Admit it--you know a few. 

 Actually, to be honest, I did not breed resentment on this latest Sunday ride. My husband was very generous and good natured about the whole thing. 

Anyway, have you noticed that the most competitive age group for women in running and triathlon is NOT age group 30-39? Okay--to be fair, 35-39 can very, very competitive--but 30-34--piece of cake. Why is this? Because many women who are in their 30s are either pregnant, about to be pregnant, or just were pregnant. If not in one of those three stages, women in their 30s are often parenting very young children. By the time they hit 40, women start to demand their lives back--even just a little--like say taking on a fitness goal such as, say, finishing a triathlon.  

Onto a totally different topic: 

One problem I have is that I never have enough fluid on the ride. Two water bottles just aren't enough. How do people deal with this problem? And more importantly, how do you deal with it in a race situation like the 1/2 Iron? Do people actually stop and refuel on the bike course? I need someone to explain this to me!  

Training: Yesterday's ride was 51 miles. I averaged just about 17 mph, so I am seeing some gradual improvement. I followed it with a one hour transition run, which was hard--especially in the last 15 minutes. I was parched, and sore, and basically so ready for the whole thing to end. My heart rate was through the roof, but I wanted it to end so much that I refused to slow down. 

Today I did some spinning for 45 minutes, and then followed it with 25 minutes running in zone 1. 

Timberman, here I come!