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I promised Keith yesterday that I'd make a blog entry. He reminded me that my last one was dated January 18th. Hmmm, well I've been busy. :)

Anyway, yesterday I rode (most of) the Calgary 70.3 course with Keith & Shannon on my new bike. I love it, it's way faster on the flats than my old one. We completed 108K by my computer (107 by Keith's) and then had a small brick after. We hit 90K in 3:36 by my watch, which I was very happy with! This included a few stops to fix my brakes, regroup, lights, etc. Considering that my Muskoka 94K bike spilt was 4:25 (I was throwing up, but still) and my previous longest ride ever was 94K, I was very pleased. Adding to that is the fact that this was only my second outdoor ride of the year. Last weekend I did a 54K ride with Mark & Brendan. So, quite a jump for me. My legs are okay today too, a bit sore but not bad! A testament to Greg's bike workouts, I'm sure!

So, about the course. For details, best to see Keith's blog. I did look at the amazing scenery, but mostly had no idea where I was.:) I was also pretty immersed in getting familiar with the new ride and fighting with my aero bars. They are closer together than they were and one was loose and kept sinking lower. So I was constantly trying to correct it. Aside from that, I think this course is much easier than the Muskoka 70.3 course. Some good climbs but some excellent fast sections too! A few times, we found the wind at our backs and we were flying. I also think I got my nutrition right for the ride. I consumed two, two hour bottles of Perpetuem and two banana Hammer gels.

What a great day! Thanks so much to Keith & Shannon. Special thanks to Keith's wife Linda. She rode out with us in my truck, dropped us off at Ghost Lake and drove my truck back to their home. When we arrived post brick, she provided water, juice and homemade cookies. :)

A couple of closing thoughts:

I was hoping that I'd be able to do this bike split in 3:45 on race day, now I am thinking maybe 3:30??? Maybe 3:25? Could I really knock one hour off of my bike split and still run 21K after?

As for the run, in Muskoka my run was horrid, something like 3:16. Again, I will state that I had severe GI issues. However, if I could knock one hour off of the run too and sort out transition, I would finish in under 7 hours. Hmmm............

Leaha