Back to it
The J gang had a great time up in the Smoky Mountains last weekend…..once we got there. The traffic going up was terrible. A trip that should’ve taken 6.5 to 7 hours took almost 9. Traffic STOPPED about 20 times on I75 and 285 going to and around Atlanta. Stopped!…for no good reason. No wreck, no roadwork, no bad weather. Just too many people and not enough road I suppose.
Once we made it out of Georgia, traffic thinned out and we had smooth sailing all the way up to Smoky Mountains National Park. Just as we entered the park, I noticed a police car on the side of the road with its parking lights on. I didn’t think much about it since I had my cruise control set right on the speed limit. Being on unfamiliar roads in the middle of the night in the smoky/foggy mountains just didn’t seem like a good place to try to make up time. As I passed the policeman, his lights came on and he fell right in behind me. He followed me for at least three miles and then turned on his blue lights. After the usual pleasantries, he explained to me that I was speeding when I passed him. I KNEW he was BSing me, but I didn’t feel it’d be in my best interest to debate the facts at that particular time. He informed me that I wouldn’t be getting a ticket, but would run my “data” and then we’d be on our way. After what seemed like an eternity, he returned my license and registration and wished us a good night.
Finally we made our way through the park to Pigeon Forge just after midnight. We made it to the cabin and went right to bed. The remainder of our stay in Pigeon Forge was spent relaxing, shopping, relaxing, doing a little training, relaxing, being tourists, and relaxing. I managed to get in an hour run Saturday and 1.5 hours on the bike Sunday. Being a flatlander, the hills were quite a challenge, but fun. Not only do you have to have legs of steal to ride in the mountains, you have to have nerves of steel. 10 mph up, 35+ mph down the other side. Yeeehaawww!
KJ really didn't want to have her picture taken
We made it back home Monday afternoon and it was time to get back to reality and back to the training schedule. 3k in the pool Tuesday, 1.5 hour run Wednesday, 45 minute swim and 1 hour on the trainer Thursday. Friday was my day off work and I had a run bike swim brick on tap. 3k swim, 50 mile bike and 1 hour run. I started the swim about 5:15am. I finished in an hour and felt great. I started the bike about 6:35am. I’m not too keen on riding in the dark, but I had to be finished in time to get Caesar to the groomer. I had my safety flasher on and didn’t have any problems with cars coming close before the sun came up. There was actually a good bit of cloud cover Friday morning, which meant the heat never was a factor. I took it fairly easy on the bike and finished in just under 3 hours. I started the run feeling good and finished the same way. I ended up with 6.1 miles in an hour for the run.
Four hours on the bike was on the schedule for today. I started out in the dark again about 6:45. I could feel the fatigue in my legs from the brick Friday. Other than a bit of wind and almost getting broad sided by a deer, the ride was pretty uneventful. I ended up with just under 70 miles for the ride and did a short transition run off the bike. I was glad to be finished and celebrated with a nice nap. Tomorrow is a rest day and I’m looking forward to it.
I’ll be hitting the peak of my volume over the next few weeks. I have 100+ mile rides for the next three Saturdays. There’s a couple of 2.5 hour runs and a 3 hour run in there also. I’ll be ready for the taper to begin when I finish this block of training!
Good luck to everyone racing in Wisconsin tomorrow!!!!!
Happy Training,TJ
Once we made it out of Georgia, traffic thinned out and we had smooth sailing all the way up to Smoky Mountains National Park. Just as we entered the park, I noticed a police car on the side of the road with its parking lights on. I didn’t think much about it since I had my cruise control set right on the speed limit. Being on unfamiliar roads in the middle of the night in the smoky/foggy mountains just didn’t seem like a good place to try to make up time. As I passed the policeman, his lights came on and he fell right in behind me. He followed me for at least three miles and then turned on his blue lights. After the usual pleasantries, he explained to me that I was speeding when I passed him. I KNEW he was BSing me, but I didn’t feel it’d be in my best interest to debate the facts at that particular time. He informed me that I wouldn’t be getting a ticket, but would run my “data” and then we’d be on our way. After what seemed like an eternity, he returned my license and registration and wished us a good night.
Finally we made our way through the park to Pigeon Forge just after midnight. We made it to the cabin and went right to bed. The remainder of our stay in Pigeon Forge was spent relaxing, shopping, relaxing, doing a little training, relaxing, being tourists, and relaxing. I managed to get in an hour run Saturday and 1.5 hours on the bike Sunday. Being a flatlander, the hills were quite a challenge, but fun. Not only do you have to have legs of steal to ride in the mountains, you have to have nerves of steel. 10 mph up, 35+ mph down the other side. Yeeehaawww!
Home for the weekend
Where I spent much of my time
The river in front of the cabin
KJ really didn't want to have her picture taken
Foggy mountains
We made it back home Monday afternoon and it was time to get back to reality and back to the training schedule. 3k in the pool Tuesday, 1.5 hour run Wednesday, 45 minute swim and 1 hour on the trainer Thursday. Friday was my day off work and I had a run bike swim brick on tap. 3k swim, 50 mile bike and 1 hour run. I started the swim about 5:15am. I finished in an hour and felt great. I started the bike about 6:35am. I’m not too keen on riding in the dark, but I had to be finished in time to get Caesar to the groomer. I had my safety flasher on and didn’t have any problems with cars coming close before the sun came up. There was actually a good bit of cloud cover Friday morning, which meant the heat never was a factor. I took it fairly easy on the bike and finished in just under 3 hours. I started the run feeling good and finished the same way. I ended up with 6.1 miles in an hour for the run.
Four hours on the bike was on the schedule for today. I started out in the dark again about 6:45. I could feel the fatigue in my legs from the brick Friday. Other than a bit of wind and almost getting broad sided by a deer, the ride was pretty uneventful. I ended up with just under 70 miles for the ride and did a short transition run off the bike. I was glad to be finished and celebrated with a nice nap. Tomorrow is a rest day and I’m looking forward to it.
I’ll be hitting the peak of my volume over the next few weeks. I have 100+ mile rides for the next three Saturdays. There’s a couple of 2.5 hour runs and a 3 hour run in there also. I’ll be ready for the taper to begin when I finish this block of training!
Good luck to everyone racing in Wisconsin tomorrow!!!!!
Happy Training,TJ
posted by TJ at 4:23 PM
6 Comments:
I remember our one and only trip to the mountains. I didn't really enjoy being on the mountain. LOL. I had to find my way down the mountain to the store, then backup in the rain. Scared me to death.
Way to kick the workouts back in! Really cool. Good luck and kick some arse on this final build up...
Oh, I could take a weekend like that-how beautiful! Tac and I are going to Florida to watch and volunteer and of course cheer. As we get closer we'll have to plan some meet up spots- enjoy this last bit of training (I say that fully aware that it's not a "bit" at all :-))
trimama - it'll be cool to meet you guys.
i think there are a bunch of bloggers that are going to be down there. sould be fun.
Coming in on the big weeks of training, eh?
That is one thing I am dreading for some reason next year. Putting in century rides. Moreover having the time to do them. Oh well, when my schedule is back to normal next year, I don't think it will be as big of a deal. That sux about the police. Pics of the mountains are great. I have not bee up there since I was about 15 or 16. Good times!
Murtha...
That looked so relaxing. Sign me up.
Awesome pics! And I guess you did better than I would have with the policeman...I probably would have debated. Glad you guys had a great time, though!
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