Pacing - Not Racing

WOW! What a weekend! Of the 36 Labor Day weekends that I've been alive for, this proved to be the most tiring of them all. I can't recall a Labor Day weekend so exhausting. A part of me wishes that I'd been off camping somewhere or on a trip with friends that was phenomenal. Instead, I worked out like the Iron(wo)Man that I wanna be!

This morning, bright and early (of course...oh, the days of sleeping late have long since passed), seventeen of us ventured out to cycle the flats at Caughman. As always, I started out kicking it with the lead pack that we'd labeled the B-Group initially, averaging 20+ MPH for the first 45-minutes or so. The A-Group would be more of a 16-18 MPH average. Off I went, out in front with the guys and lead females taking pulls and rocking along in the paceline. Then, as we approached Congaree Swamp, about 15 miles into the ride, it hit me! What am I thinking? How is this helping me? And just like that, I made a very wise decision and opted to be a part of a much smaller C-Group as I decided to C-my-way out of the paceline. Sure it was fun, it was invigorating and it was a confidence booster to hang but how was this going to help me in the long run. I'd not been utilizing the paceline for the simple fact that it creates a false sense of security and gives you an advantage you won't have in a race. Pace today, not race today.

I fell back off the lead pack and actually wound up having one of the best, most consistent bike rides that I've had all training season. I ended the ride, 50 miles, with a 17+ MPH average without the assistance of anyone but me. I couldn't have been happier with this performance. Following the bike ride, we headed to the pool to do kick drills for 1000 meters. We couldn't swim pre-ride so we opted to get it in afterwards.

Great workout today. Felt strong!