Hot but not so hot

It was a hot and humid weekend of training. Saturday I was scheduled for 16 mile long run with 15 min pick-ups to 9 min pace. A rice cereal, rice cake with Nutella at 4 am so everything would be digested Started the run at 6:30 am with 30min warm up. Temp about 77F. The fifteen minute pick ups felt good. I programed my Garmin with the workout so I was not getting accurate pacing. I thought I was going faster. Also, heart rate monitor kept sliding down secondary to the Chamois Butter. It is good to prevent chaffing but not good for holding up a chest strap. No I pushed each one to what I thought was a zone 3 pace. Realistically, it was probably slower than 9 min pace and my HR was higher than a zone 3 pace. After the third interval I was mush. It was like someone pulled the plug. Slower and slower. I was taking Infinit and had 8 endurlyes and 3 gels. Totals was 56oz fluid and 530mg/hr Na. Not the 800mg/hr I was hoping for. I felt like my legs were going to seize. The last 2 miles were walk/run slow. Very disappointing. Not sure if secondary to salt and hydration. Do not think it was glycogen issue. Next week I plan to weigh before and after. Aim higher for the salt intake and I ordered a new HR strap for my Garmin.
Sunday was a 1:30 bike ride for 23 miles with the focus just on rpms >80 in the big ring on back. The spin was good to clear out the lactic acid from Saturday's run. It was a sunny but pleasant day and very enjoyable. Nevertheless, I am nervous about my conditioning for the Marine corps marathon. I will run long next weekend and then the following weekend I will be visiting Addie at Emory so the mileage will be low.

Venice Triathlon

I arrive at 6:30 to the staging area. Unloaded bike/gear and proceeded to the marking area. I have to admit getting marked is fun. One feels like entering a mini Kona instead of the local sprint tri. I met up with the Joules and Trisports team. We made our way to the water which was extremely warm and calm. I was in the third wave (old girls 40 and up). I took off with the pack. It was quite fun with all the kicking and pawing for position. I tried to follow bubbles but there was a bit of a slinky effect so it took a while to get into good form. My goal was to swim the whole way freestyle with good form. I felt quite comfortable but needed to pull up occasionally to sight. I didn't get off line too bad having to adjust on two occasions. When we turned for shore the sun was so bright I couldn't tell where the shore was for a few seconds. I then locked onto a flag and was ok.
I came out of the water feeling good. Barefoot running experience helped me to the transition zone without problems. I grabbed my bike and headed out. My bike split turned out to be my best effort. I averaged over 20 mph for entire ride. No muscle fatigue. Slowing occurred with the congestion of the course and tight turns on the double loop course. I was also slowed by a wreck in front of me. My transition 2 time was slow. I was slow hanging bike and had an indecisive moment of whether to take a water bottle. The run was a little slow but uneventful. Anybody can run 3.1 miles right. Finishing was great. I got fourth in my age group at 1:10:54 so I was happy. I enjoyed a great lunch with the Trifit gang before heading back to Port Charlotte.
I think I can squeeze one more sprint tri in before the marathon in October.