Blinked and Missed It

I did, in fact, blink and miss the tour go by yesterday. Something popped up at work that required my immediate attention, just as the stage was kicking off in Cap D'Agde, and I made a decision that, with hindsight, indicates that I have not fully assimilated into French life: I stayed home and worked as the Tour passed by. I kept one eye on the live coverage and felt a pang of regret when I heard the sound of the broadcast helicopters drone by in the distance, but consoled myself today by going out for a long ride on the same route that Lance was on yesterday. I'm now plotting a way to watch them in the Pyrenees, which could prove to be more exciting anyway if I can position myself on the side of a mountain with the other two thousand people.

This week is an intense training week; and combined with the elimination of some of my favorite things (namely, bread and wine) and restricting the consumption of all simple carbs to training sessions, I've already dropped almost a kilo (about two pounds, North Americans) in six days. I'm finding it interesting to see how my musculature has changed with Ironman training, only I didn't know how much it had changed until I started to drop the layer of subcutaneous fat that I hung onto for too long after the harsh Swiss winter (which, of course, required copious amounts of bread and wine to endure). I'm now discovering that I have muscles in places that I didn't have muscles before: in particular, I have a set of forearm muscles that startle me a little every time I look down (from the swimming, one would assume). I've always had a fairly petit upper body and narrow wrists, so this is taking some adjustments in my self-perception, and to my horror is making my non-adjustable watch feel tight. I also spotted some abdominal muscles on the sides of my trunk; also a new phenomenon, and there are two lines that define where calf muscles are, rather than just the one I had previously, which I have mixed feelings about.

But all superficial preoccupations aside, my energy levels are going from strength and strength and I've got my biggest weekend of training yet planned to really put things to the test. Stay tuned.