Week One - It begins

Tuesday:
Was the first day back in the pool for a long, long time.  Tried to maintain some form while just swimming 4x25m's.  I swam 10 of them for 1000m (1 km / 0.625 miles).  It didn't feel very good, have any pace, or even seem (to me) that I was actually able to swim properly.  First time back - didn't seem too much fun.
 
Thursday:
Second time in the pool, starting off there are sore bands across both my shoulders, however eventually things start to feel a little (a lot?) better.  Do 40x25m, actually that is a lie, a woman stopped me on 38 to ask if she could share the lane, then the last two of the sequence (39 and 40) were pretty ordinary, she seriously messed with my Chi.  I then finished up with 10x25m and then 14x25m to get me to 64 (1600m a metric mile).

The 25m pool is wearing on me already, I am wishing for a 50m pool.  Also I am a little dubious about the length of the pool, the kid at the front desk didn't know and neither did the lifeguard.  I have been lead to believe it is 25m, but I am of the opinion that it might be 25 yards (22.86m) or shorter.

Saturday:
New Bike Day!  Bought a new bike a 2010 Fuji SST 2.0 ... it's a rocket, much more bike than I need, and (obviously) less than I want.  It is so pretty.  It got to spend the first night inside, the house (eventually it will be inside, but just the garage) under the pretense I was fitting the cadence and speed sensor, I was so enamored with it.

Pretty bike: Picture from 2010.fujibikes.com website

First Ride, Saturday afternoon:
Went for a ride with Colleen, bike was going fine - everything was fine until the right-hander onto Portola Lane from Sand Hill Road.  This is what happened as best as I remember it ...

I put my arm out signaling my intention to turn right, I look back to Colleen and up the road to see if any cars are coming from behind me, there aren't so I go wide, to go through the turn faster.  I see the SUV coming towards me from the opposite direction on Sand Hill indicating (turn signal on) to turn into the road I am about to turn into.   So I put my arm out again, lest my road position, as I am now out in the middle of the lane, confuse him.

I start to lay the bike over into the turn and the guy turns into Portola in front of me.  It, as I remember it, is a silver (Colleen thinks it was champagne) Tacoma with a camper shell over the tray.  I don't know whether he misjudged my speed, didn't see me, thought I was going straight on (although that may have well proved even worse as I wouldn't have been braking at all) or just didn't care.

I pick the bike up out of initiating the turn, because there is no way that is going to happen.   Standing it up I grab all of the brakes.  New bike, good brakes, the back tyre starts to skid and tries to overtake the front of my bike.  I am now in fairly serious trouble, I have to let go of most of the brakes to regain control and as I do I think "I am not going to make it".  I start to raise my left arm to shield myself from the impending impact.  I am not sure if the guy speeds up or I just was a bit too concerned about slamming into the side of the car, but I change my mind and decide I can make it behind him.  I grabbed the handlebars with both hands and managed to steer around behind him. 

Thankfully there are no cars coming down the street from my right as I go across the next lane while regaining control.  I keep it on the road though, finally fully under control I ride up the left hand side of the road.  The guy just drives off.  Colleen is speechless she is so angry.  The next couple of cars that come past have seen the incident and all slow down to ask if I am OK.  After the cars pass, I cross back to the right side of the road.  This bike may well be too exiting for me already.

The rest of the ride proceeds without incident.

Saturday night I buy a Garmin 310XT so I can, well truthfully play with all of the stats that it pumps out, while pretending it is an important training aid.

Sunday:  Part 1 Swim
Out in the morning for a swim (#3) and I start out feeling very weary around my shoulders.  I decide to just swim until I can't, but to actually watch the time.  I start at 10:03 am, I manage to do all 64x25m I planned to do straight out, although hopefully the last two didn't look as terrible as they felt.  Checked the clock at the end, 10:29 am.  Apparently I have just swum a mile (1600m) in 26 minutes.  Even taking into account 63 tumble turns that seems a little fast (especially considering a fair proportion of those tumble turns are of dubious quality) and my lack of form.  I have further concerns about the real length of this pool.  More investigation is required.

The website says it is 25m, but trying to measure on Google Maps, seems to make it look like 20m.  I need to check it on Google Earth, or perhaps just ask someone at the pool with more knowledge.  This is how much things change as the pool gets shorter ...

At 25m, 64 is 1600m.  At 25yds (22.86m), 64 is 1463m.  At 20m, 64 is 1280m

So I could have swum anywhere between 1280m and 1600m, that is a huge difference I need to figure this out.  I am pretty pessimistic about it, so i am thinking 1280m.  In the worst case that increase my 1600m from 64 to 80 laps!

Sunday: Part 2 Ride
So home, some lunch and then onto the bike.  Hoping for a much less exciting ride than Saturday.

Back Story :

After I tore my ACL, but before the surgery I would ride my "normal" loop (about 20 miles) as fast as I could, just trying to strengthen my quad before the inevitable atrophy post surgery.  One of my last rides after riding for over a month I managed to average 20 mph over the 20 miles.  Coming back from the surgery that has been my goal.

Sunday the 9th was the first time post surgery I tried "the loop", I came home in 17.6 mph average.  Not too bad, obviously the Physical Therapy has been helping but I am sure my cardio is not very good.  Then last Saturday (the 15th) I rode with Colleen, on the ride in which the old Trek basically fell apart (two flat tyres, a badly buckled rear wheel, dodgy brakes, bad gear changes) and "forced" the purchase of the new bike.  Then the ride with Colleen on Saturday, above, in which I almost got run over.

So I am not in too much better shape than I was in when I did at 17.6 mph, but a little more ready to ride I guess, on a much better bike, so off I go.  The new bike feels great, getting use to the compact two ring front crank is going to take some doing (50/34) and with the hills around (especially Old La Honda) perhaps I need something with more spacing than the 11-25 10 speed cassette on the back.  But for the "normal loop" it's fine.

So for an hour I ride as hard as I can till I am done.  The bike seems fast, and well, I know it is.  The Garmin 310XT sitting on the handlebars is telling me everything I need to know about that.  61 minutes later I am back at the start.  Moving average 20.1 mph.
 
Here is a link to the ride on the Garmin website.

So that is week one of training.  I made half as many big purchases (2, the bike and the watch) as I did training sessions!  At this rate I'll be broke before the first Tri!