I recovered pretty well after the Thomasville Clay (err....mud)100-mile classic. For the 48 hours after the event, I was really tired. The feeling was very familiar as it was like the lethargy/empty feeling that I am familiar with after an Ironman. Thankfully I wasn't too sore. This is one of the (many) great things about cycling (compared to running) in that you can do epic adventures and not destroy your tendons, ligaments and muscle tissue, which means quicker to return back to training.
My swims have been tough and I really struggled on Thursday. I acknowledged that I was tired and just focused on my form. Friday is my favorite swim day as it's a 7am swim and my only planned structured workout for the day. It's nice to have the entire day to recover before the weekend. The main set on Friday was 20 x 100's w/ 1 EZ and 3 strong on 1:30. I was really struggling with my catch in the water so I used my FINIS agility paddles for the set. Although I felt like I was running out of energy in the middle, I managed to squeeze in a 1:10 for the final strong (I think that's more mental than anything when you know you are finished and can really leave it all out there).
Karel went for a swim on Saturday morning and I went out for my long run. My plan was 1:45-2 hours and without looking at my time, I ended up with right at 13 miles and 1 hour and 47 minutes. I rarely look at my watch when I run (mostly for time) so I just let my leg lead the way and I did a nice out and back run with a few last minute turns on the way back (I was feeling good so I decided to add in a little more than I originally planned). My run felt good and it was a cloudy and cool morning - perfect for the running race that was happening.
On Sunday we drove near the Sumter National Forest in Clinton, SC to do a recon of the Southeast Gravel race that is happening on March 13th. We actually pre-rode the course a few weeks ago for my first group gravel ride. It was a perfect day for riding and to my surprise, I overdressed! Our friend Alvi joined us for the ride and I would call this a happy ride. We rode 57 miles of the course in 3 hours and 32 minutes with ~3200 feet of elevation gain. It was nice to see the course again and to ride on the very quiet roads. After the run we did a quick 3 mile brick (out and back) on the gravel to finish off the week/weekend.
