Today was sweet and sour!

As I lay in bed with my feet propped up, tired, lazy and getting ready to fall asleep, I figured I'd let the world know about my week. Start off on Wednesday then get back to why I'm recovering today.

Wednesday was the usual masters swim in the afternoon, except I started to learn how to do flip turns. Awkard, Weird and got water up my nose. It was a fast crash lesson on the basics of a flip turn. Thanks Jen! If I were to practice this every time before masters for a week I think I'll be able to do it. Thought about doing it a few times during the workout, but everytime the wall got close I chickened out. HAHA! Earlier that day I was told that Chris Lieto was in town and looking for someone to ride with. Got is info and contacted him.

Thursday, I rode with Chris for 4:30 hours. Every 90 minutes picking up the pace. This guy is one of the best in the world for a reason. HE'S FAST! I felt like a leech sticking on his wheel the majority of the time. We would get to a flat section or a descent and he would slowly pull away, but when we got to a hill I would slowly reel him back in. The biggest difference is the size between us. Me being the little guy, I'm able to power up the hills and he can own me on the descents and flats. For the most part I stuck on his wheel, but got dropped about 3 times. My coach told me to ride with him until I got dropped, but he's a cool guy and would slow down after he got a good distance ahead of me. Overall, great ride. The legs were sore afterwards but the 40 minute brick run helped to loosen them out.

Friday, was masters swim only. It took me forever to warm up and get my body moving. About halfway through the workout is when I started to feel better and the muscles woke up. I believe it was the Oreo cookie(s), recovery dessert the night before. I'M SO BAD!!! DOUBLE STUFF IS SO IRRESISTABLE!!!
We also got a big SSW swell that rolled into the islands. Of course I can't resist getting in the water and catching 3 hours worth of waves. At least I go to the sandy beach because I don't want to bounce off the reef like I've done many times in the past. For your information I only like to bodyboard when its BIG!

Saturday, PHEW!!!! Started the morning with the group ride and then went on to Hawi with Chris. Riding with the pro again got me pumped up! I have a few feelings while riding with him. One is that I want to ride the best that I can. (Dont want to seem like poonskee!) Another is that he's fast and I want to watch what he does and absorb everything.
With the group ride, pushed myself too hard in the beginning, which I paid for in the end! My nutrition was better today than Thursday for sure. I took in more calories and fluids. We had all directions of wind today, which was worse than Thursday.

Chris ended up getting a bee sting on his quads. I ended up getting a flat coming back at the bottom of Kaiwaihae and we still had lots of wind. Luckily, near Hapuna the winds were in are favor w/ a tail wind. We were screaming all the way past the Hilton and then the winds changed. It felt so good! We reached the bottom of the scenic and that's when my legs started to feel like DUNG! For the next 15 miles I was struggling and Chris had to turn around and come back for me about 3 times. WHAT A PAL! He basically lugged me back into town! When we got closer into town I started to feel better and was able to pick up the pace. WEIRD how the body works its magic!

We ended up covering 112 miles in 5:30 hours with the wind! We rode the rest of the :30 minutes on Alii Drive marveling at the surf. Which is bigger than yesterday, so after I take a nap and recover for a few hours, its time to go enjoy my first love. (bodyboarding)

Overall, riding with Chris was such a bonus for me! We have a lot in common with the beginning of our triathlete careers. The future looks bright! We only rode twice together, but I've learned so much! He gave me a ton of info on things like nutrition, recovery, and ways to improve my cycling. Great Guy, Great Athelte!!! Can't wait to see him race in Kona! I look up the guy!

SWEET AND SOUR complete!