We had an awesome time in Vermont, of course!
The start of our trip was a bit shaky, as Petru had a fever on Wednesday and I almost cancelled our trip. But Petru is my son indeed, and he gets sick for 24 h and then is all full of energy the next day! We dropped him of on Thursday evening, and left on Friday morning. Freedom!!! Hurray! Well, we did talk about Petru non stop the first 30 min (why does this always happen?) but then we made a pact not to. And it worked, sort of.
We arrived at the Branbury Park around 3pm, changed clothes, and started riding this:
Yes, 56 miles of bliss... Well, we only rode 40 miles. Chris has a hybrid and he was pooped. I felt great, except for that last tough climb when I rode 8MPH. This course is tough. It starts out nice and easy, with little rollers, and then, boom, a huge steep downhill. On the bike, I need time to develop mental confidence. I am uneasy on the downhills, and braked a lot on that steep downhill. I will not do that during the race. That downhill becomes a tough uphill on the way back, right at the end of the course, when you are supposed to ride easy and let your legs get ready for the run. Overall, I did not like the bike course. It is on busy roads, with lots of noise and not much scenery. I rode nice and easy - a little over 15MPH, with average cadence 91. Not too bad but I hope to do better during the race. We swam a bit in the beautiful Lake Dunmore, headed to our hotel and vegged out until dinner time. Lovely! We had a nice dinner, listened to some music, and walked the town. Perfect!
Here I am after the bikeride, ready for a nap!
Saturday we woke up to rain. We waited it out but by 10am I was ready to go for my 16 easy miles. I was going to run the course, 13.1, and then Chris would run with me 3 more miles. I started out from the park, and conquered this
out and back beauty! I loved the course. Yes, lots of hills, but such pretty scenery. You run about 4 miles on the road (with very few cars, and lots of animals - I saw pigs in the middle of the road) and then go on a dirt road for about 2.5 miles, then come back. None of the hills are really bad, but I did take the run easy, so I am sure I'll feel different about the course come race day.
So I decided to run this course by feel, and see where I am at. I did not pay attention to the Garmin, and was pleasantly surprised. As you know, I've been running slow due to my tailbone pain, and I thought I lost my speed. I did not. I would be thrilled to run this pace at the HIM! Thrilled!
I had a great time on this run. The rain stopped after a couple of miles, the temps were nice, and I felt great. Chris met me back at the park and we ran 3 more miles together. We ran slower because his legs were trashed from the bike. Next, we swam again, of course, got some lunch and hang out before dinner and a movie. I got really excited when I saw that The Replacements were going to play at a coffeehouse later that night, but learned that they were not The Replacements I thought they were (Chris got a laugh out of this one).
Sunday it was swim day! I did my first swim with my wetsuit. WOW! How come I did not know this? The wetsuit is amazing. I am surprised wetsuits are allowed. I was floating in the water. I did not need to kick, it was like I was swimming with a pull buoy. I was thrilled! I can certainly do the swim with a wetsuit (water temps are 70 in August, wetsuits are legal). My arms killed after the swim, but I felt very comfortable in the water!
Here I am, super excited after the swim!
Then, sadly, we had to come back...
Here are a few more pics. The camera is filled with traffic signs pics which I took for Petru. He is obsessed with them and I seriously think he could pass the written part of the driving test today! Scary!
Here we are waiting for our food, goofing off...
Bad pic, I took it, so our faces are distorted. It's the only one with both, so it is going in!Chris looks super tired - this was taken after the drive and bikeride:)
Great trip. My batteries are recharged. I am full of energy and fresh! And probably a few lbs heavier - the food in Middleburry is so good!!!
10 comments:
Wow, sounds like an amazing, but hardcore weekend! Those hills look intense!
That sounds like the perfect weekend! Your run sounds like pure bliss. Nothing like a good course preview to build confidence. yeah!!
I am so excited to hear that help is on the way...bring on the wetsuit!! It really helps you float?? I haven't even gone far enough in my brain to even think about biking. I'm going to tackle one thing at a time!
I'm happy you were excited about your running and pacing, it's always nice to feel like you haven't slowed down!
I think your pictures are all wonderful, you definitely have the "vacation" glow!
Yea, for a great weekend! I love all of the pictures you posted! You look so toned and fit:) Woo hoo for wetsuits! So you really can just lay there and float? I have never heard this about wetsuites before!?!
Funny about talking about your little guy for 30 minutes after you dropped him off:) We do the same thing when we have alone time...talk about the kids:) Have a great week!
Sounds you had a great weekend!
Which brand of wetsuit you use and where did you get it if I may ask?
i love that your water bottle is in the picture at the restaurant! great job, those hills look tough. having run through the course, it will help you so much on race day.
my sprint yesterday was amazing. i loved every minute of it.
I did not look anywhere near that happy getting out of the water after the Ironman 70.3 on Saturday. But yes, wet suits do help!
Looks like a great trip. And that must be great for your confidence to have already tackled the course before the race!
OMG. I was so excited for you when I read the Replacements. Bummer though.
Sounds like a pretty awesome weekend! Oh and you were celebrating your 10 year anniversary, right? Happy anniversary!
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