One week down...

...how many left to go? Let's not count right now. Week #1 is in the books. I swam, I rode outside and on the trainer, I ran, I even lifted weights. It's like I'm actually training for a triathlon. There wasn't much soreness to speak of, amazingly enough. I think I'm doing a fairly good job of hanging back and not trying to go too hard too soon. The first couple of days it was just nice to be back out and doing anything. Already that has somewhat deteriorated into, holy crap, how am I going to be able to do all of the things I want to do this season when I'm this slow!?!?!

You tend to forget how that happens every year. I think it's one of those aspects to the whole thing that you block out. Sort of like how for almost every single year of my entire life (at least the ones in which I've lived in the Northeast) the clocks change, it's November and suddenly it's just about dark by 4:00 in the afternoon. Like I said, I've experienced this phenomenon at least 25 years of my life, and yet every time it starts happening, I have to think to myself, "Does the sun seriously always set this early in November?" Yes. Yes it does. And just like that, after you take a long break from training, you come back slower. Wait, I'm seriously this slow after every off-season? Yes. Seriously. In fact, sometimes even worse. Wait, and I still can finish an Ironman with a pretty good time months later? Yes. It happens every year, but it still seems surprising. But being patient really sucks sometimes.

There wasn't too much exciting about my training this week. Running continues to be 100% pain-free, albeit 100% embarrassingly slow. I've done some swim drills to remind me how frustrating that aspect of my training can be. I've gone on some outrageously slow bike rides. I've had to figure out how to dress for sort of cold weather on the bike again, and so far I've managed to both over- and under-dress, but haven't quite nailed it just yet. I've actually enjoyed being in the weight room again, probably because right now the weights get to be really light.

But I guess now I should talk about my experimenting with Powercranks. So far it has basically just been an exercise in futility, as it is without a doubt the most frustrating thing I've tried to do probably since I was first taught how to swim fly. In both instances I just feel like my limbs are completely out of control and I can't seem to make them move the way they're supposed to. The plan is to start my rides on the Powercranks until I can't do it anymore and then move on to the regular cranks. This means that currently I have my old tri bike set up on the old trainer with the Powercranks with the pedals and saddle of my road bike while my regular tri bike sits and waits for me to be done with the ridiculous circus act. I don't know how anyone can ride those things outside. I think I'd kill myself. Supposedly eventually I'll even be able to handle my long rides on them, but of course the skeptic in me doesn't see that happening. So far I've topped out at close to 5 minutes on the crazy contraptions, and it certainly wasn't entirely spent pedaling like a normal person. But anyway, we'll see how that goes.

Yesterday was also my first long ride in what feels like an eternity. I was out on the road pretty early and got to ride one of my favorite loops. The only bad part was that it seems to get harder every time I ride it. That was followed up by a transition run in which I couldn't even walk slow enough to keep my heart rate down in the appropriate zone, but hey, at least I was out there. I've been quite lucky with the weather lately. It's been unseasonably sunny and with above average temperatures. Why those words never seem to cross the lips of the weather man in May and June I don't know, but I guess I'll take it while I can get it. Because once again, I'm thinking it's going to be a long winter.