Triple Play Day

Yesterday was another one of those triple sport days. It's not as brutal as it sounds since I spread things out. It's all part of doing staying in my routine, combined with the extra things I do with my Team in Training teammates. I suppose I could switch my bike ride to another day so that I only have the TNT swim and run workout. However I love the Tuesday and Thursday "Unemployment Ride", so I end out doing both.

"Unemployment Ride"? What kind of name is that for a group ride? There is a story behind the name. When one of the senior members of my bike club retired in 1992 he decided he would ride on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. Sometimes others would meet up with him, and they'd do a variation on the weekend group ride. Then a funny thing started happening. People started getting laid off from their jobs, including me. There were about 6 of us who got laid off so we started making jokes about NYS Department of Labor starting a cycling team, or riding over to the unemployment office to submit our weekly claim. So what had started out as one guy going out on a ride during the week, became a regularly scheduled group ride. It got added to our club's ride schedule, and due to the employment status of a number of the riders it became the "Unemployment Ride". Years later the name has stuck though most of the regulars either work part time, are retired, or stay at home mom. During the summer we get a lot of school teachers.

What I like about the ride is the mix of people, and tempo. We start off rolling easy, and then we really crank it up for awhile with speeds over 30 MPH. Then we get into downtown Port Chester, and we go easy again. Sometimes we'll crank it up again for awhile. When I first started doing this ride back in 1992, I used to get dropped on the fast part. I always could measure my fitness on how long I could hang on with the guys. Some days were better then others. These days I'm more consistant in my ability to hang on when the slugfest starts. I usually last until right before the last sprint. I'm not much for the sprinting thing.

Yesterday was nice ride. We varied the route a little bit, and the group stayed together. The pace was pretty steady. Some days the group can get really strung out if people decide they're going to chase down this one guy who tends to fly off the front. Tuesday he left early so we didn't have to deal with his nonsense. The route we took has a screaming downhill. I suck at descending so I do lose contact with the group, but I do get back on when we hit the flats.

That was the first part of my day. In the evening I met up with other Team in Training people for an open water swim. There were 7 of us from TNT and 5 other women were there to dod a swim, and joined us. It was great having 12 women swimming together. There were a lot of different abilities out there, but we kept an eye out for each other. That water is rather funky! The little jelly fish are pretty gross.

After the swim some of us ran. Andrea took off, and I tried to keep at her pace, but it didn't happen. It's funny because in races I can beat her, but in training I can't do it. I think I get more hyped up in the race. Chasing her is good because it makes me run faster. Running! The bane of my existence.