The Chosen Spot

Canindaigua Lake is literally the chosen spot. Anyone who lives in Upstate New York knows what I mean. I will have to post some pictures because this little town is truly heaven on earth.

A group of us swims on Wed / Fri mornings between 5-5:30 in Canindaigua Lake. The Lake is about 18 miles long, and we congregate on the North Shore, near Kerhaw Park. The beauty of our swim spot is that we swim parallel to shore, allowing for the ability to stand up anywhere we are swimming. It's worth the 20 mile drive. It's worth the earliest morning to watch the sun rise during a 60 minute swim. And you can only understand it if you go.

Wednesday was a gift. Not so much in terms of weather but in terms of beauty. The air was 60 but the water was 68. Throw a wetsuit on and things are excellent.

I swam with Jackie and Jeremy. We did have a Tom sighting as he pulled into the parking lot and then pulled out. We must give the man some credit though, he just finished the Desoto Triple T!

I have to give extra kudos to Jackie for driving to and from the swim in her wetsuit.

After a beautiful 45 minute swim I was home in time for the beloved kiss before my little pumpkin boarded the bus. Then I was off for a four hour recovery ride. Four hour recovery ride? Yes, and I have the watts and heart rate data to prove it.

I rode to South Bristol, which is near Canindaigua. I was in the rolling hills of Bristol and South Bristol, nearing Naples and I again was in heaven. At my turnaround point I stopped for a moment and relished in the beauty of my surroundings. Wow.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Eagleman, and I am very excited. No taper for this, just a pacing and nutrition test. Trevor S. gave me some terrific nutritional advice that I think will actually work this time.

Funny with my Ergomo. As a coach I am loving the data from my athletes. It's as if I can really see what they are doing. As an athlete I feel like a dope, navigating the Ergomo isn't hard.... if you are one of those who reads directions. But yesterday I was able to perform and understand the interval function of Mr. Ergomo.... and i got it. With wattage range goals in hand I am hoping for a bit of a conservative ride at Eagleman.

In 2005 and 2006 I was on the list for top ten bike splits at this race. I almost would like to bee off that list because my runs have suffered. While I am not tapered and don't have a lot of speed, I am looking to have solid splits in all 3 events. I am hoping I can put together my run nutrition. Thanks to Trevor for his help.

Most of all however... I am looking to have fun. Kelly B recently move to Boulder and won't be there. This crushed me. This was one of the races we did together. But this time Kevin, Kitima, Sharon and Bill are going. Aside form the Ironman this is their first "National" race. They will love it, I know they will.

So this morning as I execute a 2.5 hour workout, not tapering or resting I will once again relish in the beauty of my surroundings. But at the same time I will look forward to the wonderful ride through the Wildlife Preserve that we will be riding through on Sunday.

There is much more to competition than winning or losing. It's once in a while stopping, looking around and soaking it all up.

Thanks for stopping by.

:-) mary Eggers