42.7 miles an hour is very fast on these tires...

So it's been a while since I posted. But I have an excuse. I am finishing up (after nearly 4 years!) my master's programs. That's right, programs. Just have one little team paper to finish and I will officially have completed my MBA to go along with a Master's in Ag Economics. Though I am not keen to call myself an economist any time soon...

And as you can tell from the log to the right, the training is picking back up. Not nearly as much as for the Ironman, but I am trying to get ready for a sprint tri in a couple of weeks - 1/3 mile swim, 9 mile bike (though it should be 13.5), and a 2.5 mile run. My goal time is 1 hour or less - and my previous best is about 1:15. that's 10 minutes to swim, 2 min for transition 1, 27 minutes for the bike, 1 min for t2, and 25 min for the run (though my running pace is picking up - I hit a sub-8 min mile today, which i the first in a long time!)

I just wish the bike lap was longer - it's 2 laps of a 4.5 mile course - just as you get into the rhythm of the bike, it's time to get off. And I do loves my the bike. In fact, this past weekend, I set a new personal record of 42.7 mph on my bike. Now granted, the road I use for these speed tests does slope down a little, but not much. It's a nice double-wide lane with very little traffic. But pedaling 42.7 mph is no easy feat - in fact my heart rate monitor had me at 199 bpm...which is well above my 100% level.

This comes 3 weeks after setting a record of 42.3 on the same course with similar conditions. So I hope the tri, which is actually a hilly course, will let me go even faster - I usually get up to 44 or 45 mph in this event, and that's on the old, non-aero bike.