Yes, I can still bang out a race if needed -- ran Bay to Breakers (if you can call that a race) a few weekends ago and was pretty much completely drunk through the whole thing (when in SF, drink Absolut SF, right?), got stuck in a port-a-potty line, almost ate shit over a crack in the pavement (are you surprised?) and still finished in 1:16:45 -- only 1:47 slower than last year.
But at most, I've been running about 13 miles a week -- barely maintaining a base. And some weeks I skip running altogether.
A lot of this is because I need so much help with swimming and cycling; most of my training is focused here instead of on the run leg. Also, since I'm new to swimming and cycling, they just seem more interesting, like there is still so much to learn and explore. Example: I went swimming at Yorty Creek in Cloverdale last week, and for the first time ever, there was zero freakout in open water. It just felt so good to be out there, and the location was absolutely beautiful -- golden hillsides, a tree with a rope swing, wind rustling leaves. Amazing. And then this past Sunday, I did a 40-mile ride out to Valley Ford and back. Yes, I was with a really fast group and ended up getting dropped, which was humbling. But that doesn't mean the ride wasn't awesome -- I had a blast seeing new parts of the county. And who would've thought I'd ever in my life be able to ride all the way out to Valley Ford?
(By the way, this is what it looks like when you get dropped, have no idea what the route is and have to consult Google Maps. Thankfully, Thai and I were in the same boat together, and her phone actually had reception.)
So now I am trying to run a little more frequently. I don't want to overdo it, of course -- don't want to end up with an injury -- but I do need to build a stronger base. And I need to start looking at the run as quite possibly the most important part of the half Ironman -- it really doesn't matter if I kill the swim and/or have awesome bike splits if I'm too depleted for a solid run -- or even worse, can't complete the run leg at all.
Hence, running so far this week has included five miles (with hills) on Tuesday and three miles (in heat -- might as well start getting used to it now) today.
And Sunday I'll be running a 10K as part of a the Reservoir Triathlon. That's right -- attempt No. 2 at an Olympic distance tri. Hopefully this one will go better than the last!
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