Week 2: 12 Mile Run/1 Mile Swim (Friday)

The title sounds pretty brutal even as I type it out myself! However, I did these workouts over the course of two days, but am attempting a quick summary now.

Friday 8/18: 12 Mile Run to Mt. Barker followed by 1 Mile Swim at Barton Springs
Had a great run on Friday morning and I'm not sure what to attribute it to. Probably a combination of factors-a different course, a different starting point, a few new people, a good night's rest, nutrition, etc. Thon revealed one of his "super-secret" runs just for us! He gave me the choice of which "top-secret" route we would do. Actually, even though I knew the course I chose was hilly and more difficult than the other, I picked it for two reasons. The first being that it was Thon's all-time favorite route and second, there was more opportunity for water along the way. Richard gives a wonderful overview of the entire course in his blog. I'll just say this: the journey up the hills was brutal and left me breathless many times, but so did the view and the peaceful morning when we got to the top of Mt. Barker. We climbed higher than Mt. Bonnell and took in the view of the world below us just as dawn was approaching. The way back down was much more pleasant, but definitely not without it's climbs. Fortunately, we had started at Barton Springs Pool and we really didn't have to even look at the trail today (except to get water under Mopac as we crossed the bridge). We all finished seemingly strong and looked tough at the end. A few of us decided to soak in Barton Springs for a few minutes after the run to soothe the sore muscles. I, of course, had another agenda. I was supposed to swim today as well.

1 Mile Swim
Thon and I hung for a bit, but then I decided to brave the cold springs sans wetsuit and not abandon my swim. I did alter it however. Because I had done a 30min time trial the day before in the pool, I decided to use some toys for this swim. Each lap I alternated between wear fins for my legs and using the paddles for my arms. I'll call it a strength building swim!

I finally finished up and made it to work feeling refreshed, energized and utterly amused at the workout I had already completed by 9:00am.

Nutrition:

5:15am Clif Bar on way to run and 1 Power Gel during Run
9:30 am Cup of KAshi Go Lean Crunch with yogurt and 2 pieces of string cheese
12:30 pm Caesar Salad with Chicken and Turkey, 1 medium orange
4:00pm 1/2 ZOne Bar
6:30pm glass of red wine, Salad with apple bites and blue cheese, pork tenderloin with mashed sweet potatoes and veggies. There was definitely butter in the taters! small glass of champagne to celebrate my friend Mike's engagement!