Malibu Triathlon Training: Days 3 & 4

June 9 & 13
Day 3 was pretty similar to Day 2 in terms of total distance and time, but I can't report on specifics because Runkeeper got screwed up and somehow thought I went 8.2 miles in 21:05, with a top speed of 68.43 mph at one point. With that said, I'll move on to Day 4.

If any training day could be called a clusterfuck, this would be the one. I had been using a foot pump to keep my tires inflated, and it had crapped out on me a few days earlier. Sensing that my tires were having a hard time supporting my fat ass, I figured I needed to add some air. Naturally, my first thought was to ride down to our local gas station (a little over a mile down the hill), fill the tires, and continue on an as-yet undetermined route. So I loaded up my Presta valve adapter (my tires don't have the Schrader valves like you see on your car tires, they're the super-thin Presta) and patted myself on the back all the way down to Mobil. And that's where it all went to hell. Turns out those air compressors at gas stations aren't like the pumps you use at home, and the adapter was useless. Not only did I not put more air in my tires, I actually lost air -- but I did give my hair the "wind blown" look, as I ended up with the compressed air blasting me in the face.

Anyway, I ended up improvising my ride, and when you're not all that familiar with where you're riding, this can be troublesome. And this is sad, considering I've lived in this neighborhood for close to four years; but that's a story for another day.

I ended up going back UP the hill, and took a left instead of a right at the top, just to see where that would take me. As it turned out, it took me slightly downhill in a half-circle and put me halfway back down the hill. Did I mention this was on under-inflated tires? Fun. And what's really sad is that I wasn't 100% sure where I was, so I turned around and backtracked to the top of the hill, and then continued the ascent until I hit homebase.

In terms of distance and pace, I was pretty much even with the previous two training days. This was a pretty good sign, considering I did much more uphill this time. On the down side, smoke was coming out of my mouth as a result of the fire burning in my lungs.