Riding on the Speedway

   I started my official Half-Ironman training yesterday.  So far, so good.  Yesterday was a long swim workout and a 40-minute run.  Unfortunately, I had a Preds game last night so I had to get up at 4:30am to get the workout in.  That's right - 4:30.  In the MORNING!!  I felt so badass.  Well, stupid for signing up for something that requires me to wake up at 4:30, but badass too.
  But tonight was cool.  My schedule called for 60 minutes of spinning on my small chain-ring.  So rather than spending an hour sitting on the trainer watching an episode of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," I went down to the Nashville Fairgrounds and rode on their Speedway.  You see, the Harpeth Bike Club holds rides down at the racetrack on Tuesday nights.  And yes, it's an actual racetrack for cars, but on Tuesday nights - it's all bikes, baby!  It's larger than a velodrome, and not as steep as the one I rode in Trexlertown, but it's really a great place to ride if you're looking to do some interval training, or just spin in a low gear as I had to.  There are all sorts of riders out there: racers in pacelines, tandems and even one person with his child in a trailer.  Fortunately, the track is wide enough to accommodate everyone, plus there are rules as to where you should ride according to speed.  I did get a little tired of having to stay in my small chain-ring, especially since I kept getting passed, but it's all part of creating a base so I can spin for 2-3 hours on race day.
   The Harpeth Bike Club also does a cool thing by partnering with the Tennessee Association of Blind Athletes, which allows visually impaired athletes the opportunity to ride tandems around the track with a member of the bike club.  Several of those athletes were out there tonight.  Very inspiring.
   If you're at all interested in doing something other than riding on the road, I highly recommend coming down to the racetrack on Tuesdays.  Due to liability reasons, you do have to be a member of the Harpeth Bike Club to ride, but that was all of $25 for an annual membership.  For more information on the rides and membership, check out http://harpethbikeclub.com/.


Monday Training: 600m warm up / 1,000m main swim.  40 minute run - easy pace.
Tuesday Training: 60 minutes spinning in low gear.  30 minute run.