Imagine working a 40-hour per week job, but instead of putting on khaki’s and a Polo shirt then driving to work, you either put on a wetsuit then jump in a lake or put on bike shorts/top that hop on your bike. This was my training week in SC. Exercise was my “job” for the week.

Total training hours for this week: 37 hr 35 min

Here’s what my friend, Steve, and I did:

Saturday, April 29:

Bike: 4 hr 10 min w/ 7,500 ft of vertical - Skyline Drive from Lake Arrowhead near Luray, VA.

Sunday:

Bike: 2 hr 30 min - Blacksburg, VA. This was near the halfway point of our drive from Reston, VA to Salem, SC so we spent the night here. Steve took me on a scenic and hilly ride near his alma mater - Virginia Tech.

Monday, May 1:

Swim: 1 hr - lake swim from my parents’ dock. Water temperature is cool - mid 60’s but comfortable in a full wetsuit.

Bike: 7 hr w/ 12,200 ft of vertical - Out and back from the lake house into both Georgia and North Carolina before turning around at the top of a long climb at the town of Highlands.

Tuesday

Swim: 50 min

Bike: 6 hr 5 min w/ 6,500 ft of vertical - Loop along rolling roads to the southwest and southeast through Walhalla, Pendleton and Easly, SC.

Wednesday

Swim: 1 hr 5 min

Bike: 6 hr 15 min w/ 8,500 ft of vertical - Lollipop-shaped route along Hwy 11 up to Caesar’s Head State Park across the Eastern Continental Divide then back along NC roads before crossing back over the Eastern Continental Divide to meet up with Hwy 11 again.

Run: 40 min - Out and back along the highway. My left calf tightened up so it was an uncomfortable jog back.

Thursday

Swim: 1 hr 40 min - Out and back swim to a small island that we swam around.

Kayak: 1 hr - Something different.

Aqua jog: 1 hr - We made it to the edge of the cove before turning back. Definitely something that needs to be done with a friend to talk to as this is probably the most boring exercise ever.

Friday

Bike: 6 hr 40 min w/ 8,400 ft of climbing - Mostly a repeat of Wed’s ride but in opposite direction.

Saturday

Off day spent with my best friend from high school (Tiffany) and her husband (Glen) and son (Parker).

Sunday

Drive home in rain and sit in traffic on I-95: 10.5 hours. This was the low point of my trip.

All in all, a good, tiring week. Steve’s biking back home from South Carolina along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Cheers,

David

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David B. Glover
Experiential Writer, Elite Athlete and Coach
Author of Full Time and Sub-Nine
Personal Web: www.davidglover.net
Business Web: www.enduranceworks.net

©2006 David B. Glover