Off to a slow start this week, so enjoy this funny picture

This happened.

After last week, my best training week since I started tracking, I'm off to a slow start this week. I didn't finish my 18-miler until Sunday evening so I knew that getting to the pool Monday would be a pipe dream at best. Plus, after a monster weekend, I really appreciated, and needed, the extra sleep.

Complicating things a bit more, some of my coworkers are in town, and they wanted to go out for barbecue and a Tigers baseball game. Who am I to say no to such a request? We ate way too much and had a good time at the ballpark, even though the Tigers played horribly.

Of course, the consequence of going out on a "school night" is two-fold: 1. I can't do an after-work run, and 2. I get home too late to get up early and hit the pool. As a result, it's midday Wednesday and I've only done one training session this week.

Oh well — what can I do? Be anti-social? This is only a couple days of training, so I'm hoping to get back into my routine tonight and kick it in for a strong finish.

And as for the picture, I was swimming along, minding my own business last week. At a break between sets, I adjusted my cap, and noticed it felt funny. Then realized it felt funny because it was ripping in two right off my head.

Luckily, I was near the end of my session and just did the last few sets cap-less. Also luckily, I am a planner-ahead-er and already have an extra in my swim bag.

Maybe this is how I'll find a use for all the extra swim caps I pick up at races!

Week in review 21-27 July: My biggest training week yet, storms be darned

I'm still not sure how I did it, but I managed 16 hours and 20 minutes of training this week, which I think is the biggest week of my adult life. (I may have done more than that when I was doing two-a-days in high school. ☺)

I went back and forth about going out to the state park for a ride on Saturday, since storms were in the forecast. I decided to live on the edge and take advantage of any time I could get out on the road. I ended up finishing my entire planned workout without a storm in sight.

I wasn't so lucky on Sunday. I farted around a bit too long, and only got in 10 miles of my 18-miler before the thunder started. I don't mind running in the rain, but I'd prefer not to be electrocuted, so I headed home. After the radar confirmed that the storms were here to stay for the evening, I finished up with 8 on the treadmill. Not ideal, but I made it work.

A look at my week by the numbers:

Swim: Three times at the pool and once at the lake for a total of about 3.5 hours. Nothing spectacular, but consistency is key here.

Bike: Twice on the trainer for 1.25 hours each, and one 3-hour ride, for a total of 5.5 hours. I may not be getting faster on the bike, but by the last of my four laps of the park I only had to shift down into my granny gear on one hill, where before I had been consistently shifting up and down. I hope that means I'm getting a bit stronger.

Run: Lots of after-work runs means a six-day streak! Hooray! That consisted of two easy runs, a tempo run, a speed interval run, a short brick run and a long-distance run. In all that was 43.25 miles in 7.5 hours — holy cow, that is a lot of running for me! One easy run and the second half of my long run were done on the treadmill because I didn't feel like dealing with near-100-degree temperatures and lightning.

Other: Nothing. I prioritized running this week.

Overall: 16 hours and 20 minutes, easily my best week.

I'm very pleased. Good running mileage and the longest run so far for this training cycle, consistent swimming, and seeing improvements on the bike. With every week of training, I'm feeling a bit more confident.

27 days until the race!