Violating the Ten Percent Rule

Normally I try to follow that tried and true rule of thumb: don't increase your long workout by more than ten percent each week. Although I don't follow a specific triathlon training plan most of the time, I know that by this time of year I'm building up my mileage toward a fall half-Ironman, and that means for three weeks I build up my longest bike and run distance, and then every fourth week I cut my volume in half for a rest week. By August, I'll be ready to fine-tune everything and will have a good base of endurance built up.

This year I got a late start with the broken arm and didn't really start building up my bike mileage until May. Then it rained all of June, not just rained but poured buckets of water from the sky. It only stopped at moments when I couldn't possibly get out on my bike. The net result is that my longest ride so far has been a measly 38 miles.

So when hubby asked me on Saturday if I'd do a sixty-five miler with him, I of course said no. Really? No, silly of course I said yes. On the hottest day of a heat wave, and throw in some hills to boot. Surprisingly, I can actually walk today and dare I say I feel just fine? I was definitely fatigued by the end of it, but that was offset by getting to spend four hours with my hubby doing something we both love in such a beautiful part of the world. This ride goes through forested hills, winds by a river, heads out into the broad valley past wheat fields and pastoral sheep, through quaint towns and rolling countryside. Though it violated my ten percent rule, it was one-hundred percent worth it.