IM Canada: Week 16 – Chen’s version (i.e., “I was like, why is the ground all slimy? And then I realized I was kneeling in my own vomit from three hours ago”)

Posted by Chen

The quote in my subject most accurately depicts the ridiculousness that is Princeton Reunions (and no, that quote did not come from me). I’m currently sitting at EWR, waiting for a delayed flight thanks to some serious storms (why can’t we get rain like this in the Bay??), having just spent four days at my alma mater for my 10^th reunion. While it was fantastic as always to see everyone, I’d say I’m more than ready to get home (Princeton friends – I love y’all, but I evidently can only handle y’all for four days at a time).

As I’ve mentioned in other posts, May was a month full of weekend travel, but of all my weekends, this was the one I was probably most concerned about when it came to keeping up with IM training. I was trying to think of a way to describe Princeton Reunions, but I’ve decided that no words can truly do it justice. In the absence of experiencing it yourself, let’s just say that unlimited alcohol is available nearly 24/7; lots of people stay on campus to avoid any motorized vehicles; and rumor has it that Reunions claims the prize of the largest order of Bud Light in the nation.

So, you can imagine why I had my doubts about waking up in time to swim, bike, and/or run before shenanigans ensued for the day, and complicating matters was the fact that it was 80-90 degrees with a million percent humidity the entire time. In the end, though, while I didn’t get any super long workouts in (which I purposely wasn’t planning on), I did manage to workout every day I was there, which I consider a huge win.

Our Reunions weekends always start off with samplers at Triumph

Reunions are so nuts that they involve costumes. Our class theme was the Tentucky Derby, and myself and my two friends were the costume chairs. Months of work went into this get-up, and in the end, we were pretty pleased with the results. Except the pants were see-through. Who needs pants, anyway...

You can't have a Derby without a horse

The costume chairs!

It’s a little nerve wracking when I think about the fact that I’ve only biked long once and run long once throughout the entire month of May, but I know June will be the hardest month yet, and I’m luckily going to be staying local, which will help ensure I actually complete all workouts. Only 8 (8!!!) weeks stand between us and the starting line at Whistler, and I’m ready for this final push of training. Bring it, June – it’s on like Donkey Kong!

IM Canada Week 16 Recap:

Monday: 

• AM: Easy recovery run (post Mountains 2 Beach) along the coast in Santa Barbara. Despite not having proper use of my quads, this run was simply stunning. 4.1 miles 38:21 (~9:21 pace)

Tuesday: 

• PM: Swimming 3000 yards, including 500s and 300s. This swim felt hella wonky and slow (average pace of 1:50/100yds)
• Immediately followed by stationary biking easy/moderate: 16.7 miles 1:00:00 (16.7mph)

Wednesday: 

• AM: Swimming 3000 yards: 2 x (500 swim, 500 pull, 500 paddles) (average pace of 1:47/100yds)
• PM: Trainer ride with fast spin intervals and a fast finish: 16.5 miles 1:00:38 (16.3mph)

Thursday: 

• AM: Running along the Princeton towpath. It was ridiculously hot and humid out, so much so that when I stopped to turn around, I was immediately enveloped by a cloud of awfulness, and the only way to feel less awful was to start running again to get even the slightest bit of airflow. Everything felt terrible, so I cut the run short and bee lined it to our campus center, where I proceeded to chug a Powerade and a liter of Diet Coke. 8.5 miles 1:16:21 (~8:59 pace)

Friday: 

• AM: Swimming 4000 yards, including 4x350 on 7:00, 4x250 on 5:00, and 4x150 on 3:00 (average pace of 1:47/100yds). I got up at 6am to be there when the pool opened at 6:45am, and I believe I was the only sign of life on campus.

Saturday: 

• AM: Short brick steady state stationary ride: 15.5 miles 52:20 (17.8mph)
• Immediately followed by short brick treadmill run: 2.25 miles 18:17 (~8:08 pace). I would have stayed in that gym forever if they had let me, because that A/C was glorious.

Sunday: 

• AM: Running along the Princeton towpath again; it was equally as hot and humid, but my body felt slightly more adapted to the disgustingness, so this run was slightly less miserable than Thursday’s. Still pretty miserable, though. My first run back in the Bay will surely feel glorious! 8.15 miles 1:12:48 (~8:56 pace)