The past couple of weeks have been wrought with travelling for work. This makes it slightly difficult to keep a steady training schedule. So I have found myself kind of binge working out. Some days I'll do all of the workouts I want while other times I feel completely worn out from driving and meetings that I just don't want to do anything but eat peanut butter toast. However, I think that I've done pretty good lately.
Last Monday I was in Regina and used the stationary bike for a good 35 minutes while watching some really bad television. The next morning I got up for a 35 minute run, which I felt pretty good doing. Wednesday I went to my beloved yoga class. Thursday I got in the pool early in the morning. Friday morning I did a good run and was completely wiped out by Friday night. Saturday I went for a pretty good long-run of about 40 minutes (see map below). Sunday I did a good 2000m swim and then went cross-country skiing. It was a busy weekend.
However, today I feel tired. We are in full winter mode right now and a cold front has just moved in to make sure that us Saskatchewanians know that it is winter. It is currently -28oC (-43 with the Wind Chill). So I am in hibernation mode. I just want to curl up with a good book all evening, which is what I'm probably going to do. However, my coworker and I are starting our half marathon training this Thursday. We are going to do our long runs indoors on a track together... as long as it is like this outside! Tomorrow morning I'm going to hit the pool again to get the last bit of use out of my YMCA membership that expires at the end of this month. It's funny how I forgot what winter really feels like - it's very cold.
Showing posts with label week in review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label week in review. Show all posts
Monday, January 28, 2008
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Let the Countdown Begin
At 3:30 today, it was at least 30oC (close to 40 with the humidex) and the wind was strong (26 to 37km/hr), but I made sure to get on my bike and get in a ride. Ironman is less than a month away and I know that I should be tapering, but I'm not quite ready. Well, maybe I already am, but it's mostly by accident. There are many things going on with me right now and it is inhibiting my training in a major way. However, I still feel ready for the race and can't wait for August 26th to come.
The ride today was hot and hard. I did an out-and-back ride on a route that I use often. It has some hills and it has great scenery and is relatively close to my house. Going out I averaged about 19 km/hr, which sounds more brutal than it was. In my mind, I pretended that I was climbing the huge hills that will be part of the Ironman ride. The wind definitely helped with this and I used my granniest granny gear more than once. It felt weird to use it as I hadn't in so long, but it was good to know that it's there when I need it. That's why I keep my small chain ring. The ride was so hot that I drank two bottles of gatorade and one bottle of water. I had a gel before I went, but it wasn't enough. I'm pretty much obsessed with my glycogen levels while training. It's probably not necessary to be obsessed, but when I was coming back I felt a pang in my stomach and knew that my glycogen was low. As soon as I got home I had a smoothie with tofu, hemp, frozen strawberries (picked by my own hands), and raspberries from my garden. It was great.
While the ride out was super hard, the ride back was awesome! I was anticipating a great ride back, but this one blew my mind. I got up to 66.7 km/hr on my favorite hill to go down (I actually kind of like going up it too), which is the fastest I've ever went on that hill. I could have went faster, but my gears were tapped and my legs were spinning at about 113 rpm. IT WAS AWESOME!!! Such a rush! I was going 34km/hr on the flats and up to 60 km/hr on the smaller hills. It was great, just great. Felt so good.
I even wore my heart-rate monitor today, which I've been trying to use more lately. It's interesting to know where I'm at, but not necessary. I think that I will wear it for Ironman just so that I can keep track of where I'm at.
So in terms of stats, my ride looked like this:
Distance: 42.63 km
Time: 1:46:04
Avg speed: 24.1 km/hr
Max speed: 66.7 km/hr
Average heart rate: 142
Time in zone: 1:44:02
On Friday I went for a 45-minute run in the heat. Basically right now I'm climatizing myself. I am quite afraid of the heat of Penticton and am preparing myself for it to be a hot day and if it's not, I will be just as happy. It was a good run and I was drenched by the end (not really surprising). I forgot to take my stats from my HR monitor before I went for my bike ride, but I would say that I was in the same area for average HR.
I've still be swimming in the outdoor pool Tuesdays and Thursdays and I'm really enjoying it. I think that I'll keep with it just because it's so nice to swim outside. Lately I've been doing some intervals just so that I can remember what it's like to push myself with swimming. I think I'm not really pushing myself because I know that during the race it's just about getting through it. However, it would help the whole race if I felt strong in the swimming, which is why I'm doing the intervals.
My next triathlon is in two weeks and I'm pretty excited for it. This will be my fifth year doing this particular triathlon and it used to be my "A" race. It has an odd bike ride at 63km and a 13km run (usually it's 40km and 10km, respectively) after the 1.5km swim. I'm not really prepared for such a short race, but it'll be fun anyway. I don't really expect to beat my PB that I set last year, but it would be cool to be close. I'll start to taper next week. That's kind of the beauty of putting a race 2 weeks before Ironman: it forces me to taper and recover in the weeks that I need to before the BIG one.
So the countdown begins: Ironman is a mere 4 weeks, as in 28 days, away. Bring it on!
The ride today was hot and hard. I did an out-and-back ride on a route that I use often. It has some hills and it has great scenery and is relatively close to my house. Going out I averaged about 19 km/hr, which sounds more brutal than it was. In my mind, I pretended that I was climbing the huge hills that will be part of the Ironman ride. The wind definitely helped with this and I used my granniest granny gear more than once. It felt weird to use it as I hadn't in so long, but it was good to know that it's there when I need it. That's why I keep my small chain ring. The ride was so hot that I drank two bottles of gatorade and one bottle of water. I had a gel before I went, but it wasn't enough. I'm pretty much obsessed with my glycogen levels while training. It's probably not necessary to be obsessed, but when I was coming back I felt a pang in my stomach and knew that my glycogen was low. As soon as I got home I had a smoothie with tofu, hemp, frozen strawberries (picked by my own hands), and raspberries from my garden. It was great.
While the ride out was super hard, the ride back was awesome! I was anticipating a great ride back, but this one blew my mind. I got up to 66.7 km/hr on my favorite hill to go down (I actually kind of like going up it too), which is the fastest I've ever went on that hill. I could have went faster, but my gears were tapped and my legs were spinning at about 113 rpm. IT WAS AWESOME!!! Such a rush! I was going 34km/hr on the flats and up to 60 km/hr on the smaller hills. It was great, just great. Felt so good.
I even wore my heart-rate monitor today, which I've been trying to use more lately. It's interesting to know where I'm at, but not necessary. I think that I will wear it for Ironman just so that I can keep track of where I'm at.
So in terms of stats, my ride looked like this:
Distance: 42.63 km
Time: 1:46:04
Avg speed: 24.1 km/hr
Max speed: 66.7 km/hr
Average heart rate: 142
Time in zone: 1:44:02
On Friday I went for a 45-minute run in the heat. Basically right now I'm climatizing myself. I am quite afraid of the heat of Penticton and am preparing myself for it to be a hot day and if it's not, I will be just as happy. It was a good run and I was drenched by the end (not really surprising). I forgot to take my stats from my HR monitor before I went for my bike ride, but I would say that I was in the same area for average HR.
I've still be swimming in the outdoor pool Tuesdays and Thursdays and I'm really enjoying it. I think that I'll keep with it just because it's so nice to swim outside. Lately I've been doing some intervals just so that I can remember what it's like to push myself with swimming. I think I'm not really pushing myself because I know that during the race it's just about getting through it. However, it would help the whole race if I felt strong in the swimming, which is why I'm doing the intervals.
My next triathlon is in two weeks and I'm pretty excited for it. This will be my fifth year doing this particular triathlon and it used to be my "A" race. It has an odd bike ride at 63km and a 13km run (usually it's 40km and 10km, respectively) after the 1.5km swim. I'm not really prepared for such a short race, but it'll be fun anyway. I don't really expect to beat my PB that I set last year, but it would be cool to be close. I'll start to taper next week. That's kind of the beauty of putting a race 2 weeks before Ironman: it forces me to taper and recover in the weeks that I need to before the BIG one.
So the countdown begins: Ironman is a mere 4 weeks, as in 28 days, away. Bring it on!
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Recovering is so much fun!
Last week was my recovery week from the Half IM and I have to admit that I loved every minute of it! I slept in, went for walks, and biked slowly to work. I went to a concert and I watched movies with my family. It was glorious!
At the same time, I feel even more inspired to continue the building period of my training. So this week has been about getting back into the swing of training. It's funny how I miss something only when I haven't done it in a while. I've also changed my schedule to include yoga 2-3 times a week in the morning. This will work because I should be running when it's hot out later in the day. I'm a big believer in training how one races and the run is never the first event.
So on Monday morning I did yoga, but my most favorite DVD will not work anymore! So I was thinking that I might start going out to the back deck to get in my sun salutations. Tuesday morning I went for a run, after skipping my Monday night workout due to family and home stuff. Then last night I went for a stellar bike ride! I held a 25.5 km/hr pace for almost 2 hours. It was a great ride... one of those perfect rides where the sun was out, the wind was low, and my legs were responding the way that I like. In fact, I don't think my legs have really responded to me that way all season... this is my favorite part of training! Feeling the power build and the blood rush, and all the endorphins flow through my body and I feel free from everything, like I could fly! So good.
So today is my day off. I was going to go swimming tonight, but after last night's workout I think it's best to give my legs a break. But it's back to the grind on Thursday with a swim of intervals in the morning and a mountain bike ride with my beloved women's ride. Friday morning is yoga time and I might go for a bike ride at lunch time. Saturday I'm going to do a long-ish run and Sunday I'm going to do a 4-hour bike ride with a short run for the brick workout. I'm excited for a weekend at home!
At the same time, I feel even more inspired to continue the building period of my training. So this week has been about getting back into the swing of training. It's funny how I miss something only when I haven't done it in a while. I've also changed my schedule to include yoga 2-3 times a week in the morning. This will work because I should be running when it's hot out later in the day. I'm a big believer in training how one races and the run is never the first event.
So on Monday morning I did yoga, but my most favorite DVD will not work anymore! So I was thinking that I might start going out to the back deck to get in my sun salutations. Tuesday morning I went for a run, after skipping my Monday night workout due to family and home stuff. Then last night I went for a stellar bike ride! I held a 25.5 km/hr pace for almost 2 hours. It was a great ride... one of those perfect rides where the sun was out, the wind was low, and my legs were responding the way that I like. In fact, I don't think my legs have really responded to me that way all season... this is my favorite part of training! Feeling the power build and the blood rush, and all the endorphins flow through my body and I feel free from everything, like I could fly! So good.
So today is my day off. I was going to go swimming tonight, but after last night's workout I think it's best to give my legs a break. But it's back to the grind on Thursday with a swim of intervals in the morning and a mountain bike ride with my beloved women's ride. Friday morning is yoga time and I might go for a bike ride at lunch time. Saturday I'm going to do a long-ish run and Sunday I'm going to do a 4-hour bike ride with a short run for the brick workout. I'm excited for a weekend at home!
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Long rides are great!
Friday night I was lame. All of my friends were out dancing and I was at home sulking at the fact that I was getting up at 6am to go riding. I love it and hate it at the same time. On Saturday morning at 6:30am there is almost no traffic, the sun was shining, the air was a little nippy, but it felt good. I did a good 70km at a good pace:
Distance: 69.65km
Time: 2:46:47
Avg speed: 25.1km/hr
Max: 39.9
We had a head- to cross-wind coming back, but I had a ride back to the city which was nice. I used a PowerGel on the ride and it helped a lot. It felt good to ride for such a long time, even though my left foot keeps cramping up and my butt area was kind of sore after that. Small prices to pay, I suppose.
On Friday I had my first swim in many weeks and it felt pretty good. I'm not very worried about the swim, so I just feel like I'm just maintaining right now. I'm just not motivated in that area.
Last Thursday morning I ran the same 4.8km in 33 minutes, which is 2 minutes faster than Tuesday. On Tuesday I did intervals and on Thursday, I just tried to keep up a faster pace to see how it would pan out. It felt better than the intervals, but I think I need to do faster intervals and maybe some hills. Basically I have to get up earlier to fit it all in. That night I climbed hill intervals with my women mountain bike group, which was uber fun. After the hill climbing, one woman and I did a nice half our, fast-paced ride. I got home completely rejuvenated.
On Sunday I did my first mountain bike race of the season. 1:21 of high-paced single-track, hill-climbing, and stellar down-hills. Fun times!
Last night (ie. Monday) I did about an hour of swimming at a pace. I did some 500m intervals and it felt good, but again I was not motivated to move my butt. In total, I did probably around 1800m.
This morning I went running in the windy cold rain and then biked to work. Tonight I'm going to hit the trainer for about an hour while watching Sex and the City. Should be fun!
Distance: 69.65km
Time: 2:46:47
Avg speed: 25.1km/hr
Max: 39.9
We had a head- to cross-wind coming back, but I had a ride back to the city which was nice. I used a PowerGel on the ride and it helped a lot. It felt good to ride for such a long time, even though my left foot keeps cramping up and my butt area was kind of sore after that. Small prices to pay, I suppose.
On Friday I had my first swim in many weeks and it felt pretty good. I'm not very worried about the swim, so I just feel like I'm just maintaining right now. I'm just not motivated in that area.
Last Thursday morning I ran the same 4.8km in 33 minutes, which is 2 minutes faster than Tuesday. On Tuesday I did intervals and on Thursday, I just tried to keep up a faster pace to see how it would pan out. It felt better than the intervals, but I think I need to do faster intervals and maybe some hills. Basically I have to get up earlier to fit it all in. That night I climbed hill intervals with my women mountain bike group, which was uber fun. After the hill climbing, one woman and I did a nice half our, fast-paced ride. I got home completely rejuvenated.
On Sunday I did my first mountain bike race of the season. 1:21 of high-paced single-track, hill-climbing, and stellar down-hills. Fun times!
Last night (ie. Monday) I did about an hour of swimming at a pace. I did some 500m intervals and it felt good, but again I was not motivated to move my butt. In total, I did probably around 1800m.
This morning I went running in the windy cold rain and then biked to work. Tonight I'm going to hit the trainer for about an hour while watching Sex and the City. Should be fun!
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
Balance
I find that balancing my home life with my work life with my training life to be the most difficult part of training. It is a kind of training in itself. This weekend was a long weekend and I had big plans of a long road ride and a long run. Well, I guess 1 of 2 is good. It probably just wasn't the right "one." I went for a longish run yesterday (Monday):
9 minutes running:1 minute walking for 8km in 1:02
It felt pretty good, despite the down-pouring rain. I wore headphones for part of it, just to get me going, but I turned off my iPod shuffle halfway through.
On Sunday I went for an easy-ish mountain bike ride along the river with the dudes from my LBS (Local Bike Store), which was pretty fun. We stopped a lot, which I'm not super into, but it was good anyway.
This morning I went for a short run with some short intervals in it. I did 4.8 km in 35 minutes. It felt pretty good as well. It was windy and cold outside, but good anyway. After I got home I did half an hour of yoga, which felt amazing. I'm going to try to make this a regular occurrence after I run. Tonight I'm going to do a short road ride after work, probably around 35km. It is supposed to be cool for the next few days, but I kind of like it. I'm like that. Wednesday is my day off and Thursday I'm going to run some hills and then hopefully ride with the women for a mtb ride.
Somewhere in there, we're trying to plant our garden and do laundry. I might hire someone to clean our house. I don't know how long I can juggle all of this while standing on one leg. Balancing is hard!
9 minutes running:1 minute walking for 8km in 1:02
It felt pretty good, despite the down-pouring rain. I wore headphones for part of it, just to get me going, but I turned off my iPod shuffle halfway through.
On Sunday I went for an easy-ish mountain bike ride along the river with the dudes from my LBS (Local Bike Store), which was pretty fun. We stopped a lot, which I'm not super into, but it was good anyway.
This morning I went for a short run with some short intervals in it. I did 4.8 km in 35 minutes. It felt pretty good as well. It was windy and cold outside, but good anyway. After I got home I did half an hour of yoga, which felt amazing. I'm going to try to make this a regular occurrence after I run. Tonight I'm going to do a short road ride after work, probably around 35km. It is supposed to be cool for the next few days, but I kind of like it. I'm like that. Wednesday is my day off and Thursday I'm going to run some hills and then hopefully ride with the women for a mtb ride.
Somewhere in there, we're trying to plant our garden and do laundry. I might hire someone to clean our house. I don't know how long I can juggle all of this while standing on one leg. Balancing is hard!
Monday, May 14, 2007
A quick update
The holidays were great for my mind and soul, but bad for my training. It comes as no surprise, really. So last week I started getting back into it with some walk-runs and short bike rides. This week is building on that and next week I will be in full swing. Here is what it looked like:
Monday: short run-walk, bike to work
Tuesday: 4km run-walk, bike to work + 40km bike ride
Thursday: 5km run-walk, bike to work + mountain bike riding (climbing and descending)
Friday: yoga and bike to work
Sunday: longish run-walk (8km)
I'm hoping to find a way to incorporate my yoga into my training better than before I went on holidays. So far I haven't started swimming yet and am doing the yoga instead. It feels great, but I will start back with the swimming soon. Hopefully the schedule will work itself out. I will be updating more regularly from now on with details of my workouts. Fun stuff!
Monday: short run-walk, bike to work
Tuesday: 4km run-walk, bike to work + 40km bike ride
Thursday: 5km run-walk, bike to work + mountain bike riding (climbing and descending)
Friday: yoga and bike to work
Sunday: longish run-walk (8km)
I'm hoping to find a way to incorporate my yoga into my training better than before I went on holidays. So far I haven't started swimming yet and am doing the yoga instead. It feels great, but I will start back with the swimming soon. Hopefully the schedule will work itself out. I will be updating more regularly from now on with details of my workouts. Fun stuff!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Going Long
I can't believe it has been so long since I updated. Sometimes blogging just slips my mind.
Easter weekend was basically a write-off. Between family, moving, and relaxing, training was minimal. I did do a lot of lifting and reaching - I'm sure that can be counted as weight training. I did go on some long walks with my partner and my family's dog, but it was really cold that weekend and it was Easter. A good time for some time off.
The week after Easter was crazy. I did do some biking on my trainer, but I have been having some back and neck issues. Last Thursday I tried to run on the treadmill, but I had a shooting pain down my right hamstring. I have since learned that it was probably my piriformis muscle pinching my sciatic nerve. Whatever it was, it made me literally stop running on the treadmill, go to the chiro, make an appointment with my massage therapist, and now it is gone with a little bit of muscle soreness in my lower back and butt area from the massage yesterday. So now I'm stretching my butt and my lower back a lot. I must have had a minor issue because I went for a short, slowish run this morning and I felt pretty good, except for the tenderness of my butt.
On Saturday I went for my first outdoor road ride of the season. Yep, April 14th was the day. It was the hottest day of the year so far and it was GORGEOUS! I didn't got far or long and only got in 30km, but it felt good. We are very busy preparing for our trip to California, so I'm trying my best to balance life and training. All I have to say is that I'm very lucky I have good employers that allow me flexibility.
Monday morning saw me hit the pool for a nice 3000m workout with the Masters' swim club. It felt good. And that brings us to today. This afternoon I'm going to head out for a bike ride (again, the good employer thing). I'm excited to hit the road and trails in Oregon, California, Utah, and wherever else the wind takes us.
The other day a triathlete that I know suggested a book to me that I probably should have bought last year when I signed up to do IMC. Better late than never, right?! I've read Gordon Byrn's stuff on the internet, but hadn't heard of Joel Fried. Apparently, he is also renowned in the world of triathlon. So I ordered Going Long off Amazon and it came today! I am so excited to be able to read it on our trip. I hope that it will inspire and educate me on this journey of training for my first Ironman.
Also, I have made another decision lately. I am going to sign up for IMC 2008. I figure that since I will work so hard to get my base for the first one, it would be great if I could build on that for a second one. So that's the tentative plan. It may sound crazy, but I also figure I should make this decision now rather than later because once I do IMC 2007, I may not want to sign up for IMC 2008!
So that's where I'm at. I'm having lots of fun and can't wait to go on holidays. This blog will likely be dormant until after May 7th.
Things to look at:
This is a good image of the piriformis muscle:
The Stretching Instititute has some good stretches to do.
Easter weekend was basically a write-off. Between family, moving, and relaxing, training was minimal. I did do a lot of lifting and reaching - I'm sure that can be counted as weight training. I did go on some long walks with my partner and my family's dog, but it was really cold that weekend and it was Easter. A good time for some time off.
The week after Easter was crazy. I did do some biking on my trainer, but I have been having some back and neck issues. Last Thursday I tried to run on the treadmill, but I had a shooting pain down my right hamstring. I have since learned that it was probably my piriformis muscle pinching my sciatic nerve. Whatever it was, it made me literally stop running on the treadmill, go to the chiro, make an appointment with my massage therapist, and now it is gone with a little bit of muscle soreness in my lower back and butt area from the massage yesterday. So now I'm stretching my butt and my lower back a lot. I must have had a minor issue because I went for a short, slowish run this morning and I felt pretty good, except for the tenderness of my butt.
On Saturday I went for my first outdoor road ride of the season. Yep, April 14th was the day. It was the hottest day of the year so far and it was GORGEOUS! I didn't got far or long and only got in 30km, but it felt good. We are very busy preparing for our trip to California, so I'm trying my best to balance life and training. All I have to say is that I'm very lucky I have good employers that allow me flexibility.
Monday morning saw me hit the pool for a nice 3000m workout with the Masters' swim club. It felt good. And that brings us to today. This afternoon I'm going to head out for a bike ride (again, the good employer thing). I'm excited to hit the road and trails in Oregon, California, Utah, and wherever else the wind takes us.
The other day a triathlete that I know suggested a book to me that I probably should have bought last year when I signed up to do IMC. Better late than never, right?! I've read Gordon Byrn's stuff on the internet, but hadn't heard of Joel Fried. Apparently, he is also renowned in the world of triathlon. So I ordered Going Long off Amazon and it came today! I am so excited to be able to read it on our trip. I hope that it will inspire and educate me on this journey of training for my first Ironman.
Also, I have made another decision lately. I am going to sign up for IMC 2008. I figure that since I will work so hard to get my base for the first one, it would be great if I could build on that for a second one. So that's the tentative plan. It may sound crazy, but I also figure I should make this decision now rather than later because once I do IMC 2007, I may not want to sign up for IMC 2008!
So that's where I'm at. I'm having lots of fun and can't wait to go on holidays. This blog will likely be dormant until after May 7th.
Things to look at:
This is a good image of the piriformis muscle:
The Stretching Instititute has some good stretches to do.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Getting Rhythm
After a couple of weeks of being on the road, I am finally settling back into my training rhythm. I've been swimming twice a week, about 3500m in 1 hour and 15 minutes, with the Masters' swim club. I have not gotten any heartburn since I started swimming in the morning. It must be an evening thing.
I've been trying to bike to work as much as my schedule will allow it. On Tuesday I biked with the tri club for the first time since the new year. It was pretty great. We did two zone 4 intervals: the first one was two minutes long with one minute rest, the second was 2.5 minutes with one minute rest. It was pretty hard, but I'm not sure I was pushing hard enough. For some reason I can't work as hard on those really uncomfortable bikes at the university. It really makes me appreciate my bike at home on the trainer!
I've been running on the treadmill twice a week and once with the tri club doing intervals. Basically, I've just been trying to make it through the winter. It's been difficult, but I think I'm doing alright with it. Today I did 30 minutes with high intensity intervals of a couple minutes up with one minute rest. I ended up running 2.5miles in 30 minutes, which is pretty good for me. It was good to get the heart-rate up and the legs moving. On Tuesday I did "hills" on the treadmill for over 2 miles in 25 minutes. At one point I was at 6.0 incline and 6.5 speed, which was pretty fast and hard! It felt good. I can't wait to get outside and try out running again on the pavement.
I had a meeting with my coach yesterday and she thinks I'll be fine. I'm going to run the marathon at the end of May just so that I can know that I can run it because that's the part of the Ironman that I'm the most scared of.
I feel very lucky to have such a supportive significant other, who has been helping to make sure I've been getting fed. Now we just need to work on getting enough sleep!
I've been trying to bike to work as much as my schedule will allow it. On Tuesday I biked with the tri club for the first time since the new year. It was pretty great. We did two zone 4 intervals: the first one was two minutes long with one minute rest, the second was 2.5 minutes with one minute rest. It was pretty hard, but I'm not sure I was pushing hard enough. For some reason I can't work as hard on those really uncomfortable bikes at the university. It really makes me appreciate my bike at home on the trainer!
I've been running on the treadmill twice a week and once with the tri club doing intervals. Basically, I've just been trying to make it through the winter. It's been difficult, but I think I'm doing alright with it. Today I did 30 minutes with high intensity intervals of a couple minutes up with one minute rest. I ended up running 2.5miles in 30 minutes, which is pretty good for me. It was good to get the heart-rate up and the legs moving. On Tuesday I did "hills" on the treadmill for over 2 miles in 25 minutes. At one point I was at 6.0 incline and 6.5 speed, which was pretty fast and hard! It felt good. I can't wait to get outside and try out running again on the pavement.
I had a meeting with my coach yesterday and she thinks I'll be fine. I'm going to run the marathon at the end of May just so that I can know that I can run it because that's the part of the Ironman that I'm the most scared of.
I feel very lucky to have such a supportive significant other, who has been helping to make sure I've been getting fed. Now we just need to work on getting enough sleep!
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Another week in review
I am really starting to get back into training, which means that I'll be updating more often from now on. Last week, I was on the road with work. Luckily, there was a gym in the hotel I was staying at so I worked out every day I was there. I didn't do a lot, but it was better than nothing!
On Saturday, I did an hour on my trainer at home while watching some Sex and the City. I'm hoping to increase the time on my trainer from now until spring, which is April 1st according to my personal calendar. If I get outside sooner, I'll be super stoked. However, I'm using April 1 as my glimmer of hope. After I got done that hour of hell... I mean, of biking on my trainer, I went to a show and danced. Apparently this made my neck very unhappy and I have had a slight neck headache for 3 days. I took Ibuprofen when it first started hurting, which must have helped with the inflammation, but I have felt it in my head ever since that day. So today I am going to my chiropractor to get it worked out. At least I know my body really well.
Today I ran on the treadmill and I'm going to do some intervals on my trainer tonight. My goal is to hit the trainer 3 times a week, which is definitely doable, but not enjoyable. I will make it, though. It's only 6 weeks until spring after all!
On Saturday, I did an hour on my trainer at home while watching some Sex and the City. I'm hoping to increase the time on my trainer from now until spring, which is April 1st according to my personal calendar. If I get outside sooner, I'll be super stoked. However, I'm using April 1 as my glimmer of hope. After I got done that hour of hell... I mean, of biking on my trainer, I went to a show and danced. Apparently this made my neck very unhappy and I have had a slight neck headache for 3 days. I took Ibuprofen when it first started hurting, which must have helped with the inflammation, but I have felt it in my head ever since that day. So today I am going to my chiropractor to get it worked out. At least I know my body really well.
Today I ran on the treadmill and I'm going to do some intervals on my trainer tonight. My goal is to hit the trainer 3 times a week, which is definitely doable, but not enjoyable. I will make it, though. It's only 6 weeks until spring after all!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
Life gets in the way of training sometimes, but I persist!
On Tuesday I went for a quick 4km run and did it in under half an hour. That is about race-pace for me at this time. It felt good and I felt great.
This week has been brutal for traveling for work, thus making training very difficult. However, with the help of my new special friend, I have been pushing through.
On Friday, I hit the pool for my second swim workout of the week. We focused a lot on freestyle, which, of course, is what I prefer to work on. In total, I did 2100m in about 1 hour.
Today, Saturday, I just put in some time on the bike. I have a really hard time motivating myself to get on the bike, but L made me do it and I had to mentally push myself not to stop half an hour into it while I was on the bike. I watched a wonderful series of videos made for the Transrockies Challenge Souvenir DVD. It was very motivational! So I did the full hour of biking that I wanted to. I finished it off with some abs and push-ups.
This week will be touch-and-go with Tuesday to Thursday being on the road, but I'll bring my running clothes and try to hop on the stationary bike at least a little bit. Hopefully I won't be on the road too much in the next little bit so that I can get my bearings back. Not only is my training suffering, but my friendships, my house, and my sanity. I will hold on, though. This week will be tough, but I'll make it through with determination and perseverance. This is what this journey to Ironman is all about!
This week has been brutal for traveling for work, thus making training very difficult. However, with the help of my new special friend, I have been pushing through.
On Friday, I hit the pool for my second swim workout of the week. We focused a lot on freestyle, which, of course, is what I prefer to work on. In total, I did 2100m in about 1 hour.
Today, Saturday, I just put in some time on the bike. I have a really hard time motivating myself to get on the bike, but L made me do it and I had to mentally push myself not to stop half an hour into it while I was on the bike. I watched a wonderful series of videos made for the Transrockies Challenge Souvenir DVD. It was very motivational! So I did the full hour of biking that I wanted to. I finished it off with some abs and push-ups.
This week will be touch-and-go with Tuesday to Thursday being on the road, but I'll bring my running clothes and try to hop on the stationary bike at least a little bit. Hopefully I won't be on the road too much in the next little bit so that I can get my bearings back. Not only is my training suffering, but my friendships, my house, and my sanity. I will hold on, though. This week will be tough, but I'll make it through with determination and perseverance. This is what this journey to Ironman is all about!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
