The last 5 days of my life has been a race report!

Yep, this post is a report of the last 5 days of running around like a mad man and all the great things that happened along the way!
Friday:  Usually rest day, not this week.  I did my long run today instead of on Sunday so that I could prepare for the weekend(more on that later)  This long run was far, far better than what I had brutally endured the prior week.  This time, I practiced what I preach each day and  got ready the smart way!  Over the week my nutrition was good, my water intake was great!  So the 20k run in 145 at a 143HR was a breeze.  It was an awesome day out and I felt easy doing this run the whole time.  Along my run was a few hills where I slowed down in order to keep my HR from going up, I found that I did not have to slow down a lot to successfully manage it.  Overall it was a great long run and knocked the prior week's effort out of the park!  I guess if you eat and drink activity is a little easier!

SATURDAY:  It's show time!!  For the last 8 years we have hosted a party for all of our neighbours, their kids, dog and family friends.  It is a great backyard BBQ with a live band, lots of kids and lots of fun!  We always host it to benefit a charity of some kind, this year it was the Ride to Conquer Cancer.  We look forward to this party like it is for ourselves.  It is such a great time having all of our friends join us and enjoy a great day together.  Mother Nature was absolute darling with bright sunshine all day,. holding off the rain until only the hardcore remained late in teh evening.  The day was awesome all around!  The fund raising effort was the icing on the cake, my team, TEAM OUTWARD BOUND which is myself and 4 other team mates raised more than $32000 for the ride this year.  It does not bring back the friends and family that we are doing the ride for, but it hopefully provides some help and hope for the future generations!  Thank you to all those who supported my ride!  A couple of fellow triatheltes also joined for the endurance part of the party event!  TRAININGPAYNE  and Doru(Steve) were in for the long haul.  Like any IRONMAN, they stuck it out until the race was done.  We hydrated, we ate, we strategized on our next move, and I would say we won!  We lasted until some had to get home for events, others had to get home because they thought they were going to do events!  Overall our 9th annual event was awesome!  Yes, it is the 8th year but 9th annual(we did 2 one year because we have so much fun)
SUNDAY:  Well, let's just say I was moving slowly.  The mess got cleaned up and that was about the extent of the activity.  Won't elaborate a lot on that.  I will say that it has been a long while since I had that many beers, and a few more weeks will pass before I do again.  But damn, I had some belly laughs on Saturday making it all worth it!
MONDAY:  It is recovery week, once again I don't know what that means as most of the workouts are no different than any other week.  The swim on Monday was awesome.  There were all sorts of drill repeats, most of them longer than the past.  Rather than doing 50m repeats of a drill now they are getting to the 200-300m per with several of each.  The entire swim was a pleasure to do, i was able to maintain form and to keep technically strong throughout.  In total it was a 3400m practice and I loved every minute of it.
TODAY:  I had a great ride!  It seems one day of extra rest gave me a little more gas on my legs!  I did a short bike of 30k at 33kmh average!  I felt strong for the entire ride and was able to knock the finishing hill on its backside!  Then the T-run was as good an event as the ride!  I got off the bike and got my shoes on in a quick transition.  As soon as I hit the bricks I was running at a comfortable stride and without any lead from the bike.  It amazes me how good I am feeling off the bike, last year it would take me 2k to get my butt moving properly!  This weekend I will test it when I do a T-run after a 160k ride 2 days in a row!  Hopefully I am still feeling as good as I did today!
The rest of my recovery week is going to be interesting, with a double century this weekend I dont want to push too hard.  But I also want to use the time as wisely as I can!
Loving the start of the 2nd half of my training adventure!  I hope your journey is the same awesome trip that mine is!  Wahoo!