Random notes from the past week (March 31 to April 6)

Training Distances for 2013 (so far)

 Random items from the past week:
1) Swimming is starting to pay off:  Although it's only April, I'm already close to half of the total amount of swimming  that I did during all of 2012.  I will probably pass the halfway mark in the next few weeks, and we haven't even gotten to the summer yet, which is when most of my swimming occurs.  The work in the pool seems to be paying off as I feel more efficient at the same level of exertion.  This week it was also nice to be back in the pool at a "normal" elevation after a couple of days of swimming up at Mount Princeton Hot Springs.   The swimming highlight this week was on Tuesday morning when I did a main set of 10x100 at a pace between 1:40-1:47.  This was a good 10 to 15 seconds faster per set than I'd been doing previously.  I believe that the progress has been largely due to improved technique.  I've been working on keeping my head down, proper rotation, high elbows, and especially the "pull."  My hope is to continue swimming 1-2 times each week through the rest of the month and into next month.  By the time the pool opens in June, I should have plenty of swimming under my belt.

Paceline Practice

2) First group ride: On Thursday evening, I joined about 10 other cyclists for a group ride out at the "test track."  This is a little used road east of town that is great for cycling.  The group was a mix of cyclists and triathletes and we rode about 25 miles and practiced riding in a pace line.  I've watched enough cycling to understand the purpose of a pace line so it was fun to have the opportunity to experience it a little bit.  Of course, our pace line was nothing like those that you see on television, but you could definitely notice a difference when drafting off of another rider.  An added benefit to riding with others is that I wound up riding a lot harder than I would have, had I been out for a ride by myself.  The plan is that the group will continue to do rides once a week if the weather holds up.  Thursday evening was absolutely beautiful.  The temperature was in the sixties and seventies!
3) Good Beer: Nothing makes for a great week like some great beer.  I enjoyed a lot of fantastic beer this week.  On Tuesday evening, Melisa and I went to Shamrock Brewing and enjoyed a couple of beers.  One of their beers was a double hopped Irish Red that although isn't my favorite style, was still very good.   It had a sweet taste like brown sugar or maple syrup, and a nice boozy finish.  It was about 9% abv which was a little rough the next day, but still, very tasty.  Later in the week, I "accessed" one of my Crank Yanker IPA's from the Eddyline Brewery in Buena Vista.  It has all of the hoppy aroma and flavor that you want from an IPA, but it is well-balanced.  I will definitely be purchasing some more of their beer when I'm up there again next month.  Last night, we were up in Parker and prior to dinner, my brother offered me a pint of his home brew Chile beer.  Let's just say that he did a great job.  The chile flavor came from Jalapeno and there was also a hint of lime in the beer.  The chile wasn't overpowering and the finish on the beer was pleasant and warm.  And for a lighter style beer it had a medium-bodied mouth feel.  Not too heavy, but not so light as to feel inadequate.  Well done, Brother! I told him that we should think about turning the abandoned Applebee's in Parker into a craft brewery! And now it's Saturday.  As I write this, I'm into my second beer of the evening.  The first was a Euphoria Pale Ale from Ska Brewing in Durango.  It was a nice copper colored ale with a pleasant, hoppy, bitterness.  A strong hoppy flavor for a pale ale, which was nice.  At this very moment, I'm enjoying a , I'm working on a Shift Pale Lager (my favorite beer from 2012).  I'll finish off the evening with a Colorado IPA from Fort Collins Brewery that I picked up this afternoon, while I cook a pizza on the grill.

Strava Map and Data

4) Long run Saturday:  Melisa is training for the Colfax Marathon, which is perfect since I'm still planning on running the CPTR in, gulp, 28 days!  This gives us a chance to do some running together.  This morning we left the house a little before 9:00 a.m. and enjoyed absolutely pristine conditions.  We ran a 3-4 mile loop near the house for the next two and a half hours and got a solid 13.6 mile run accomplished.  I felt very good and I actually felt better at the end of the run, than I did halfway through.  This run makes me feel 100% confident that I can do the 25 mile version of the CPTR, and I still have a glimmer of hope to do the full distance if I'm feeling good.  I also tried the STRAVA app on my phone for this run, and was very pleased to see how well it worked.  Tomorrow, I'll use it for a bike ride.  There is a ride called the "Spring Fling" out at the test track tomorrow.  The Great Divide Bike Shop in Pueblo sponsors the event and it includes the opportunity to "demo" several of Trek and Specialized Road Bikes.  In truth, I'm not in the market for a bike at the moment, but I'm hoping that I might get to test a carbon bike, just to see what the difference is.  Uncle Kenny and Alan are also going to check it out, so it should be a good time.  I'm planning on riding over to the event in the morning.
Well, my glass is empty, and there's pizza to make.  Hope your past week was as good as mine, and if not, hope your next one is!  Thanks for reading!