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Wow, tough, but good weekend. I got up on Saturday and did a pretty easy 6 mile run. Susanne (my coach) and I decided we would brave the sprinkles and do a 40 mile bike ride together. Well, about 5 miles into our ride the sprinkles turned to rain. And then around 15 miles the rain turned into what felt like a monsoon. I was completely drenched and wind-beaten when I got home, which was probably on par with the torture of spinning in the garage for 2+ hours. So, all-in-all, not too bad.
Heidi and I swam masters this morning. Then after a couple hour break we both headed off in separate directions for our bike rides. I got in a solid 40 miles and then hopped off the bike for a “brick” and ran an easy 7 miles. A few hours later Susanne sent me a text message saying I could take the day off tomorrow. Hahaha. Actually, she said I was scheduled to swim masters at 6:00am and then (somehow) fit in a 25 mile bike ride. I guess we’re officially starting to get in the thick of things.
Here are the totals for the week.
02/01/2010 - 02/07/2010
Swim: 8600 meters
Bike: 94 miles
Run: 25 miles
Heidi and I were at a party a few months ago and got to talking about our upcoming Ironman with someone we had just met. Nothing special, just the usual training/racing chit-chat. After the party we were walking to our car and Heidi said it was funny that whenever you mention you’re planning to do an Ironman, the person you’re talking to does a quick, almost imperceptible body scan. Kind of like if someone you were talking to said, “Yeah, I’m not feeling the best. Had a boob job last week and am still recovering.” (You know exactly what your first reaction is going to be.) I laughed, but said I had never experienced that. Until yesterday. Someone I was with mentioned I was training for an Ironman. Complete body scan. I immediately felt a bit insecure and almost said, “I’m tougher than I look,” but just kept quiet. :)
I can tell my bike miles are starting to ramp up because I’m hungry. Perhaps that’s putting it a bit mildly because I’ve been stuffing my face all day long for the last 4 days and can’t seem to get full. Aside from getting out of bed at 4:45am, controlling my hunger and eating sensibly is probably the toughest thing about training.
I did some bike crit loops with my coach, Susanne, yesterday. The first section of the loop is flat, then a pretty decent climbing section, and lastly a sharp downhill. My legs were a bit tired from my weekend workouts and I wasn’t feeling the best. But, I made it through without puking and was pretty happy with my times. I guess it’s a place to start and put a stake in the ground. We’ll come back to the same loop/workout in a couple months and see if I’m making any progress.
I’m feeling pretty good right now. My right calf is sore and really tight — I pushed it hard during my Sunday master’s session and cramped up bad right at the end. I had to jump out of the pool and run 3 miles at an 8:10 pace. The first half mile was brutal, but then I settled in and ran an 8:14. Missed the mark, but pretty close.
Here are my totals from this past week. It was supposed to be a recovery week from the half marathon I didn’t run. :\ But, I’m still trying to get my right leg healed up so I stuck to the schedule and dialed things back. I swam a quick 1600m this morning and will be running 6 miles after work. Nothing crazy, but it will be nice to see how my leg fares.
01/25/2010 - 01/31/2010
Swim: 7000 meters
Bike: 112 miles
Spin: 60 minutes
Run: 7 miles
I’ve been having some issues with my right shin and calf and decided to not run the Carlsbad half marathon tomorrow. My original plan for the first half of the year was the Carlsbad half marathon, the Oceanside half Ironman, and, of course, the full Ironman up in Idaho. The Carlsbad half wasn’t really that important to me and was really just a way to get in better running shape for Oceanside (and Idaho). Not running it isn’t really that big of a deal. I guess I’m more bummed that I’m not 100% healthy. I’ve taken this week pretty easy and my leg is feeling way better. I did a 5 miler on Thursday and felt pretty good. I’m guessing I could run the race tomorrow and probably have a good run. But, I don’t want to risk pushing it to hard this early and having to fight through an injury for the next couple of months. Especially when my main goals are to well in Oceanside and Idaho. So, rather than running 13 miles I’ll be watching the Vikings beat the Saints.
Christmas presents have come in handy so far this year with the start to our training. Matt gifted me a new bike headlight and taillight and I gifted Matt a running headlight. We have put all these into use in order to fit our training in around work. The first week of January Matt and I headed out for a short 4 mile run in the dark after work. His headlamp gives off enough light for both of us to use during the same run. They say Ironman training can test relationships which we tried out that night too since at one point I said to Matt “don’t be a big baby”. I won’t give all the details on what lead to that interchange but we laugh about it now. Later that week Matt needed to do a spin on the trainer at home but I was in the mood for a ride too so we hooked up all our headlight/taillight gear and went out on a short 24 miler down the coast. It was so peaceful riding along the Pacific Ocean in complete darkness (albeit our little head/tail lights) with just the sound of the waves crashing. Off to rest for the night before the alarm goes off at 5 a.m. tomorrow morning (like most days) in order to get to master swim class at 6 a.m.
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