training weekend in the wisco woods.

 Wisco didn’t disappoint this past weekend. 

After a 13.5-mile run along the Mississippi on Friday – it’s fun when you PR on a training run – Nick and I packed our swimbikerun gear and headed to friend D2’s cabin on Little Round Lake near Hayward, Wisconsin. A bit later start than we wanted, so we missed an evening open water swim, but arrived in time for a delicious dinner and good convo in the screen porch.

After a bit of a lazy Saturday morning (blackout shades!), we got rolling on our century ride around 10:30a. At the first stop sign 15 miles in, there was a hiss. My rear tire (why is it always the rear tire?!) had a complete puncture. What the…?! It was my lucky day, though: Coincidentally, D2 and Sarah happened to be at the bike shop in Hayward picking up a new tire for Sarah’s bike. Twenty minutes later, they arrived with a new one – THANK YOU! – and after a quick change, we were on our way. 

Other than the flat tire fiasco, it was an awesome (and humid) ride… constant rollers, good climbing, zero traffic, and a watt and mph average that I’m pretty pumped about (along with the t-run after). 

What I learned from this century:

• Read the Osmo Nutrition active hydration label (duh, erin). For some dumb reason, I thought serving size was based on body weight like preload and recovery are. It’s not. One 20-ounce bottle takes 2.5 scoops, not the 1.5 I was previously using. Lesson learned, and I stayed properly hydrated all weekend. Osmo is awesome. 
• Keep your sunnies ON and not on your helmet. Around mile 98, we were cruising through the woods and out of a yard comes a giant dog, barreling toward me (I fell off my bike during a previous dog chasing, so have a bit of an aversion). I panicked, watts spiked, Nick yelled at the dog and my Oakley Miss Conduct Square sunnies fell off my helmet. And, of course, they’re now scratched right in my line of sight. Gah! 
• I desperately need a new saddle. Anyone have any hook-ups for a Dash or Cobb?!
• I’m long overdue for a bikini wax. Enough said.

There is no shortage of good real food at D2’s cabin; caprese salad, roasted veggies and burgers hit the spot after such a long day! We all hit the hay fairly early to be rested for Sunday, which started with an open water swim on Little Round. We couldn’t have asked for better conditions… the clear water was glass and the perfect wetsuit temp. And, even better: Sarah and Katie kayaked alongside us, so I was relaxed and calm the entire swim. Except for the weedy 100 yards or so where I swam much faster than I normally do 🙂 

I ran midday from the cabin while Nick, Christophe and Katie hit the Birkie trail for a run. Once they were back, we all ventured out for an easy, 30-mile recovery ride to round out a super fun, solid weekend. Thank you, D2, for hosting!