Brick# 8

Considering the heat I encountered during last week's brick, I decided I needed to get an early start on Saturday morning. That was before I didn't fall asleep until after midnight. I had to decide between being tired and hot and I chose to be hot. As a result, I was not on my way until about 8:30.

In preparation for the Creek Streak, I did this brick out at Cherry Creek State Park along the same course that the tri will use. I was very pleased to find that while not hill-free, the climbs are significantly easier than what I have been working on near home. There were also a couple of nice flat stretches where I could spin away making good time, but not spiking the HR. I came back into the transition area feeling much fresher than I did a week ago.



Transition went a little slower, but that had more to do with logistics. Specifically, I had to load the bike back into my car before proceeding. I probably could have gone a little faster, but I'll just worry about that on race day. In truth, my delay may make more sense because it's a longer run from the water to the transition area. I think it may take at least a minute from the time I exit the water until I get to the bike.

As I mentioned last week, I started strong, but heat killed me in the end and I ended up running 4.5 of the 5 miles I intended. This time I decided to fight back against the heat by bringing water with me. Same as my long run on Wednesday, the CamelBak came along on this one. It made a difference. Although I was not super thirsty to start out, I started taking water after about 3/4 of a mile and then took it at roughly that interval going forward.

By mile 3.5 or so, I was feeling the same fatigue from a week ago. My pace slowed, my heart rate increased and I began to flirt with the idea of walking (though I knew I had to finish the full distance). While I think my pace got so slow as to be not much better than a walk, I kept going and got back to the six mile point. I was pretty fried by this point (and it was about 85 degrees so no surprise) but I did manage to run the whole thing.



I'm planning on the Aquaman actually happening this Tuesday and on Friday, I have a six mile run in the mountains planned (if I don't pass out from the lack of oxygen). More on that later....

Brick 8 Results:

1) Bike : 22.27 miles, 1:14:27, 17.9 mph average
2) Transition: 3:29
3) Run: 6 miles, 57:55, 9:39 ppm average