Week in review Aug. 31-Sept. 6: A strong start with a flat finish

Last week was definitely interesting. I started off strong with my usual Monday recovery swim, Tuesday run and PT, and long Wednesday of a bike ride followed by weights and another swim. It was gloomy and wet to start Wednesday, and I almost gave up on my ride and headed home. But within a few miles, the skies had cleared, and I settled in for a nice long ride.

Until about mile 32. I'm still tentative on the downhills so I was braking gently, and I heard a loud pop behind me. UGH. I do OK with flats (I was a nerdy kid who used to take my bike wheels and tires apart for fun just to put them back together again) but I think this was the first flat that I was too far from my car to just coast back. I found a picnic table and got my tubes and tools sorted, only to realize... I didn't remember ever having practiced with a compressed air cartridge before. Well, I was about to find out.

Every time I've flatted it's been the rear tire. Ugh.

And then, to add insult to injury, I popped my spare. You have to be REALLY careful to get every bit of the tube in the tire before you hook up that cartridge, I discovered. Sigh. I was about four miles away from my car and didn't want to hoof it so I just pedaled very slowly back. Probably a dumb idea, but my husband was an hour away at least and I didn't feel comfortable hitching a ride. I made it in one piece, which is about all I could ask for at that point. By the time I got home I was fine to do my usual afternoon strength session and evening swim.

I had good intentions for the rest of the week, but I had to attend an evening work Zoom on Thursday, and my husband is facing another hard deadline at our business he manages and needed any and all extra help he could get. I spent Friday evening and much of Saturday and Sunday working with him. Not the way I wanted to spend my long weekend, but I did manage to fit in a run Saturday and a trainer ride Sunday so I could at least do SOMETHING.

One little bit of good news is my 7-mile run on Saturday, which was my longest run in 3 months. I have really been focusing on running with high knees and that seems to be making a world of difference with the hip flexor that was irritating me. I have nothing to train for, really, but I feel good about building my mileage back up to have an actual long run once per week. Maybe there will be a virtual half marathon with my name on it this fall, who knows?

Anyway, last week's totals were:

Not a shabby week, considering.

Bike: One 32.5-mile road ride and one 25-mile trainer ride, for 3:52 total.

Run: Three times, all on the road, for 19.5 miles in about 3:17.

Swim: Twice, both in the pool, for 3200 meters in about 1:25.

Weights: One online barre class of about an hour.

PT: One homework session of about 35 minutes.

Total: 9 sessions in about 10 hours, 9 minutes.

It still wasn't a terrible week, flats, work meetings, and side job work notwithstanding. I didn't get any yoga done, but other than that it was pretty well-rounded. Considering, I am pretty happy with it overall.

There is definitely damage to my tire wall (which probably caused the first flat) so I'll be in the market for a new tire. I really want to support my local bike shops during this time, and none of them seem to have convenient hours, so I may or may not be riding outside again this week. But I'll get out there eventually. No races means I can swim, bike, and run however I want, and if I have to take an extra week off, eh, who cares.

I hope you all had a less eventful week and more happy training.