There Is No Finish Line

Under the velcro adjustment strap of my Nike running hat it says "There is no finish line." Taking off my hat and reading that yesterday after my run, it gave me a mix of emotions. There is no finish line... because I'm not racing. But even when I was racing, I often wondered, are you ever finished in this sport? When is good good enough? For me that's been "when I know I'm as good as I can be". As Brad Kearnes put it, your personal "peak performance". Maybe I reached that point and never took notice, but I don't feel like it. So I prefer to think of it as being sidelined, not finished... Ha ha, there *is* a side line!

I did a ride\run brick yesterday; I rode 32 miles, followed by a 15 minute run. On my ride, I focused on breathing and pedal stroke. My goal was to maintain good cadence, and focus on keeping even pedal pressure for the entire stroke. And breathe, breathe, breathe... keep the oxygen flowing. Honestly, that part was an experiment to see if it had any impact on the abdominal cramping... and I either got lucky or it worked (or both!).

Pedal stroke is an interesting, and underrated concept. I say underrated, because as a new triathlete, I never heard anyone talk about it. Even with a little experience, only in reading did I learn of its importance and impact. A novice cyclist can go out and readily tell the difference between mashing (pushing hard on the downstroke), and equalizing the push on the downstroke and pull on the upstroke. Practice and maintain this mechanic, and you will go faster. Perfect it, and you will go faster, longer. I'm still wary of overexerting myself (for the price I pay afterward), but yesterday my ride averaged 19 mph. I'll take it.

The other thing I thought about, after realizing I hadn't taken one drink at the halfway point, was the importance of hydrating on the bike. I know this, but not being in training or race mode, I've not given it much thought. One of the hardest things for me when I started racing was drinking... anything, anywhere, during a race. When I finally invested in a Profile Design Aerodrink, I was amazed at the difference. First of all, with a straw sticking in your mouth, you tend to drink more. Not only that, you drink smaller quantities at more regular intervals. What this translated to for me was a quicker, less painful run.

Cheers...