Training Weekend Part 2

Saturday we decided to go for a swim first thing in the morning. So, we woke up had a shake and some coffee, grabbed our wetsuits and headed to the beach. It was another beautiful day in La Jolla! Sunny and warm! The cove was busy with scuba divers, swimmers and tourists walking around. We suited up and as we were standing there we noticed there was a lot of commotion- helicopters, lifeguards, etc. and they appeared to be looking for someone or something. Nobody was telling us not to go in so it must be Ok. We walked down to the water which felt colder than yesterday but was super clear. You could see fish swimming around your ankles as you walked in. We headed for the buoy, sighting off of a red roofed building straight ahead. Today there was no sign of sea lions at the buoy so we swam right to it and kept on going past it toward the opposite shore. We ended up swimming for about 40 minutes total, so atleast a mile. I felt good but I was noticing that I have a hard time leaving my face in the cold blue water and was taking breathes more often than when I am in the pool. I tried to relax and leave my head in the water for 3 breathes but it was hard for me to do. The surroundings were just amazing, what a beautiful place to swim! The helicopters were still circling overhead which was a little disconcerting but I figured if anything happened to us, they would be there instantly. After heading into shore we asked the lifeguard what was going on and I guess it ended up being a false alarm of a skin diver missing. It was a fantastic swim! Time to grab some food and then head out on our bikes!

The bike ride we did was the route from the CAF Half Ironman which takes place right there in La Jolla. The route headed north and inland along some beautiful huge houses and horse ranches with a few hard climbs and then on the way back we were on the PCH right along the beaches. We had a great ride, kept a really good pace and got a couple of good climbs in. We did the 56 miles in 3:20 which isn't bad at all considering we stopped at stop lights and even made a pit stop at Vons for more fluid. It was very hot so we were careful to make sure we were drinking enough.

We got back and were both wiped out from our hard days training. We showered and had Sushi at an excellent sushi restaurant for dinner and then went back home early and to bed by 10:30. Another fantastic day of training in the beautiful surroundings and gorgeous weather! Tune in again tomorrow to hear about our final day where we scouted out the site of the race on our way home...