Tri-ing to stay young!

Training went well this past week; 2Hr in the pool, 5Hr on the Bike and 3Hr on the road.
My 2 hr Parksville run was particularly good. Parksville streets and sidewalks aren’t as pitted as Victoria’s so I was able to do about 35 min of the run in bare feet – a really nice feeling!

The ball of my left foot has been hurting during the first 5 or 10 minutes of each run lately, probably the result of residual scar tissue from my foot episode last fall. But, as I say, a little pain will result in gain so… I believe that each run is breaking down that tissue. I believe that someone much wiser than me once said that there is no fool like an old fool! AND MY AGE IS STARTING TO CREEP UP. As an aside; I have been toughening up my feet by walking around town in bare feet. This seems to be working well but it sure does get a lot of peculiar glances! A nice part is that everyone gives you lots of room when you pass them on the street.
BUT THE GOOD NEWS!!!! I’ve got new shoes. Finally, after giving up on waiting for MEC to get them in, I ordered direct from Vibram in the States. Bright Red .. In Your Face and they look faster than H _ _ _. Now it is my job to make them work as well as they look. I’ve put about 10 miles on them and I have to say that they have been harder to get used to than I expected. The toe separation and toe hole sizing make them difficult to get in to. (I’m hoping this problem will disappear as they break in.) As well, I could feel the interior toe stitching as you run, not bad enough to cause chaffing but just enough to make me stop to re-adjust my shoes every 10 or 15 minutes. People have been asking me how they compare to runners. The easiest way for me to compare shoes and Vibrams would be by comparing them to the differences in using mitts and gloves. Imagine tightening a nut onto a bolt with hard leather mitts with wool liners (shoes). Now imagine tightening the same bolt with leather driving gloves (Vibrams). Running in bare feet would be like tightening the same bolt bare fingered. I’m sure that Vibrams will be my footing of choice from here on in.
I did my first walk of shame on Saturday. With 3 Km left in my 85 Km ride I blew my back tire. I didn’t have my pump or repair kit, which left me with very little dignity as I walked home barefoot pushing my bike ahead of me.
3 weeks and counting till the Sooke Sprint. My biking and running have improved since UBC so I’ll have to spend quality time over the next couple of weeks getting my swim times down into respectable territory. This week’s primary goal - a 100Km (minimum) ride - Hopefully on Wednesday.
Talk to you soon;
Bill