Weekly Wrap-up, June 10-16 (and then some)

I didn't do a blog post last week because honestly - there wasn't much to talk about!  That injury I mentioned that I got during the Blue Hen 5K haunted me all week.  I tried a short run on Thursday but got two steps into it before it was done.  I know it was lousy timing, but to tell you the truth - I just took a break.  I did a lot of core work and a lot of stretching, which I'm reaping the benefit from now.  I didn't do a whole lot else - just that, plus I did watch what I ate.

I made it a goal to track everything I eat on MyFitnessPal between now and Ironman.  EVERYTHING.  Even the pizza slices for lunch, or the chicken fingers and fries (delicious).  Even if it's bad, it makes me more aware and lets me be more honest with myself about how I feel after I eat certain foods.  Now that I've been consistent with it for a week, I will try to eliminate some of the bad stuff (instead of getting chicken fingers and fries, I'll get a yummy salad).  Although, I made an awesome recipe for lunches this week, so maybe I won't even want to go out!

I'm back at it this week - below is what my training looked like (FYI - I'll probably get that core session in tonight while watching RHONJ).

My workouts this week went well - I thought they would, after the week of nothingness.  My ride on Saturday was great.  I broke it up into intervals:  4x30' @ zone 5 with 5' Rest Intervals.  I averaged a little less than 20mph during the intervals, which made me happy.  What made me ever happier was that I wasn't that sore the next morning when I woke up.  My body handled the workload fine.  I was pretty tired today during my ride, but that's to be expected (I still got 'er done!!).  It makes me think I can handle what's coming up, and also gives me some insight into how my taper should look for the middle of July (yeah - I still haven't planned that.  Need to finish thinking it out).

The Athlete Guide for Lake Placid came out.  (side note - I don't get why they don't assign bib numbers until two weeks before.  The race has been sold out for a year - they know who is going to be on the start line.)  The swim start is different this year - different direction and it's a time trial start.  I'm ok with switching direction (since I only breathe on my right side, so the switch actually works out better for me), but I'm not so cool with the time trial start.  Not that it matters competitively for me so much, but come on - it's Ironman!  If you cannot handle the mass start, then don't sign up.  It's that simple.  If I was more competitive I would be upset because I wouldn't have a good idea of how I'm doing my age group, but I'll save that concern for another year.  I would have preferred that they do wave starts based on age groups, but such you have to live the hand your dealt.

I started thinking of what I might want to do after Ironman is done.  I'm going to take August pretty much off (maybe the NorthEast Tri toward the end of the month), but after that I think I want to do the Philly Marathon and try to go sub-4.  I've never really (really!) trained for a marathon and I'd like to get close to qualifing for Boston.  We'll see - no decisions until at least three weeks after the race.  I've learned from experience to not decide on these things until I'm in a good frame of mind.

Until next week!

Week Wrap-up, May 27 - June 2

Back to normal!  Sort-of.

As you can see below, it was a bike-heavy week.  That's because I had the two long bikes put together in the same 'counting' week.  In retrospect, I think that Monday long ride caused me to to require additional recovery that I wasn't really signed-up for and thus caused me to miss two sessions.  There's only five more weeks left and I don't think I'll have to deal with too many weather issues like that again, so hopefully I can avoid it.  This lesson also reinforced that I need a recovery day after big sessions.

Last week I said I wanted to focus on bike nutrition and I did - I figured out what I need to do.  If I'm going the no-sports drink route then I need a gel every 30-40 minutes, but if I have sport drink then I can do one every hour.  I don't have rear bottle holders on my bike yet, and I'm not sure if I'll actually get them.  I don't intend to use them in the race, so they are primarily a training tool.  But, when I use them the Perform gets really warm - it's not refreshing.  I almost prefer stopping somewhere along the way to refill everything, particularly when it's warm outside.  If I were a newbie, there's no question that I would get the bottle holders, but it looks like I'm going to use the same nutrition plan I've used for the past three years, so I'm not as worried about not 'practicing what I preach'.  They will have Perform avaialble on the course, so I can grab bottles as I go.

Running...yeah, this took a step-back this week.  I was doing ok with it until my long run on Sunday, specifically until about 1:15 into the long run.  Instead of just finishing it out like I probably should have, I decided to jump into the Blue Hen 5K.  And then, instead of just running it normal pace like I should have, I decided I wanted to go fast (my ego got in the way).  I was fine until about two miles in when my left lower calf (not my achilles - the lower soleus) just wouldn't work.  Every time I pushed off with my left toes it was horrible (going uphill = not good).  I'm pretty sure it's one of those things I just need to rest and ice and in a few days I'll be ok, but I'm on the DL for running until about Thursday.  If it goes my longer than that, then I'll start to worry.

On my ride on Wednesday night I was being trailed the whole time by this older roadie.  He was nice enough, but he would pull in front of me for five seconds, and then I would pass him again.  He did this about five times within seven miles.  I finally lost him when I turned onto New Linden Hill Road and started a decent.  I guess I was getting a bit frustrated because I was really focused on going down hill and all in aero position when BAM - I hit (what I think was) a rock and got two flat tires!!  TWO!  I was only about 2 miles from home, so I just went home with my tail between my legs.  I took the wheels to the shop the next day and ended up getting two new tires.  I guess the rock slashed a bit hole in them.  It's fine - I knew I was going to have to get new tires before the race, so it just forced me to do it!

Other Lake Placid news...my sister and her hubby are going up this weekend to do the Lake Placid Half Marathon.  I'm jealous and wish I could go up with them!  I am going to try to start making lists of what I need to pack, buy and bring for Ironman weekend this week.  Doing that will help keep me focused on staying on the straight and narrow.

This week my focus has got to be eating good, quality foods.  I can do my schedule like a no-brainer, so choosing what (and when) to eat has to be the focus.  Five more weeks of training!!  YIKES!

Weekly Summary
Hours Completed:  15:25
Swim:  1:31, 5,300 yards
Bike:  10:46, 181.37 miles
Run:  2:36, 17.3 miles
Strength:  30'

Key Workouts
Wednesday Swim
Wednesday Bike
Thursday Run
Saturday Long Ride
Sunday 'Long' Run

Coming Up Next Week

• Focus on eating good, quality foods
• Hit scheduled workouts (swim, core)
• Long ride/race rehersal on Saturday.  This is a long ride (up to 6 hours) with a longer brick run after, probably between 30-45 minutes.  It takes me a lot of mental energy to gear up for this workout, so I need to start focusing on it now.