What a great weekend! I had a really good weekend of working out and recharging. Saturday just about wiped me out, but it was just awesome! Coach Phelan suggested that I meet him at the Landry Center for a Dallas Aquatic Masters swim before riding the bike store ride at Richardson Bike Mart. I was a little nervous to commit, but went for it. Until now, I have been a little unsure of my abilities and fitness level. I am not sure if coach was checking for a baseline or what... he just keeps pounding his fists saying, "VOLUME!" So Saturday morning I put on my suit, loaded the bike, packed some snacks, stopped at a Starbucks for a MEDIUM coffee and headed downtown. Coach and I arrived early so we had some quality time to rap about training, life and the things we all enjoy.

I entered the pool area and began the search for swim toys that would work for me. I purposefully left my gear in the truck knowing it would be provided. After a minute buried in the flipper bin, I began to regret my decision. Whoever is in charge there has something against size 12 flippers. There were some ambiguously labeled "9-11," plain "10" and "13-14." Just no "12." I guessed low and went with the "9-11" option... I should have known! That is a big range and reality meant 11 was stretching it and getting it on my size 12 mallet would be even less of a reality. When the kick set came, i found myself clinching my toes with foot cramps just trying to keep them on. They were stretched so tight, I could just see one flinging off and into another lane! Ugh. Anyway, after selecting the junk I needed I began my final approach to the pool. I was a little nervous about the lane I would select for my first group swim since age 18.

As I approached the pool with a nervous grin, arms full of swim implements, fully aware of myself, I scanned for anything familiar. My eyes and grin met the lady holding the clip board. I began a nervous ramble of information that would assumably help her determine the best lane for me but was interrupted with an "I know... take lane three there." My eyes followed her arm down to an outstretched finger pointing to a 25 meter piece of real estate churning with accomplished swimmers.

"Lane three?" I said to myself, "thanks a lot coach!" I quickly realized that I had seriously oversold my swimming abilities... to someone (DAVID!), or they were inflated beyond reality... The workout went exactly as I expected... I went our too fast and blew up about half way through. I was so self conscious that I stopped doing flip turns after blowing one and snorting half the pool through my nose. Coach and the Morganator kept saying things to me between sets... my head was pounding with the sound of my heart beat and I could not hear any of it. I just smiled and nodded. When I did speak, my voice crackled and was hoarse. I finally sat out a 50 and clung to the wall only to have Mrs. Clipboard look down and laugh at me with her hands on her hips (one still clinching the clipboard) saying, "we call that a masters moment. At this point I had lost count of the laps and distance... I was just trying to finish. With one set left I began thinking and quickly remembered that I had a 45 mile bike ride after this! About that time, BAM! My right calf locked up in the most unholy Charley horse ever. Luckily it was the last set and I was done. I had a hard time scaling the edge of the pool due to the workout. It ended up being about 3000 meters, give or take a 50. I was nervous about being able to hang on the bike.

I showered, put on the bibs and hopped in the car, making way to the bike store. The whole way I was pounding gu, cliff bars and various fruit. I giggled once with a mouth fool of banana thinking about how bad my gas would be later...

The really amazing thing is that the swim did not really affect my bike ride. I felt great! I could tell that my right calf was tight but after a few miles it losened up enough to let me keep with the pack. I tried to stay tucked in, well at least as well as an 6 foot 1 225 fat boy can. It was a little nerve wracking at first riding very tight and fast in the pack. We were on the 9:05 ride, which is notoriously fast. The pace was 25 to 27. I hung in well. They almost lost me at highschool hill, but I made it and was able to recover quickly enough to tuck back in. The ride was going great and I was feeling strong and no sign of slowing. Then: "pssssssssssssssss!" A flat! I flatted with about 15 miles left. Luckily, Gary from the Bike Mart stopped and had an extra tube. I was telling coach as we were about a mile into the ride that I had forgotten my flat kit. It never fails! The ride back with Gary was good, we visited about various new bike parts, wheels and life. We rode slowly but I still ended up with a 21 average.

It was a great day and a great workout! I love the way I am feeling and the fitness that I am achieving!