Planning for a Big Workout

I have a 7+ hour workout on tap for this weekend. I almost feel superstitious talking about it--because it almost feels like a race, but I think I just need to get over that!

The workout is 1 hours 15 minute swimming, 4 hours on the bike, and a 2 hour run.

I am lucky enough to have two friends that I am training with this time. For Louisville, it was just George crewing me doing the long workout--and that is a hilarious story for another time about me forgetting his birthday while crewing me!

So, two friends means company and help as things come up, which they will when you are outside all day. It means helping you keep perspective when the rain comes. And I literally mean the rain.


Saturday

Showers likely with a chance of thunderstorms. Some thunderstorms may be severe in the morning. Highs 62 to 70. South winds 10 to 15 mph shifting to the southwest in the afternoon. Chance of rain 70 percent.

It also means doing all of the planning for this day. Because of the temp and those little thunderstorms, we are going to swim inside. That's ok with me, since I only have my old wetsuit! My new TYR one is on the way though!!

Then, we have a bike loop that is about 70 miles. We are going to stop at the grand opening of Podium, because they are supporting Kids 4 Kids. That means we are guaranteed a bathroom and any mechanical support halfway through! That eases my mind some.

We will end at the River. That means we have soft surface, hills on the road nearby, and a car that we will leave before we start. We will have our run gear, food, and drink planted in that car.


Sometimes I think just signing up for a race is easier than trying to plan your own workouts.....but then I want to race, and not train, which are two different things--and very very different things!

I am looking forward to the adventure tomorrow! It should be a great nutrition practice (as long as FedEx leaves my new box of First Endurance goodies), and a chance to see where my fitness is 6 weeks out from.....

Great week of training....and a race!

This week was not nearly as busy as last week, but still plenty going on!

First and foremost, I took this beauty home all built up!

Ahhhhh....isn't she just beautiful?? I love it! I am going to get fit on her on Friday from 4-6 at All3Sports (another amazing sponsor of Team Trakkers!). I can't wait. I thinking about a new kind of saddle to help relieve some pain while training. Seems creatively designed and people love them, so I think I am going to try it out!

Oh right, training! I didn't get in a swim last monday, which was fine. Tuesday I did the sessions, and I started to feel really strong. Wednesday, Laura and I had a good 6 miler together. Thursday I did the sessions again, and they went really really well (and they are not getting easier!). George got his bike all fit, and I snapped a couple of pictures during the cool down of the sessions on Thursday:

Friday I swam. Slow slow slow! Saturday, I got in about 3 hours chasing people around on my bike. Then, I went to my friend's baby shower, ran back home, and went to the Georgia Dome for the Publix Georgia Marathon Expo with George and Sparkles. Now, there might have been a few too many samples eaten, but I am never ever telling!

I don't think I mentioned that while I was riding and such, George was winning 3rd place in his Cat3 time trial on his new Kestrel!!! It was a 5K rolling course with lots of turns, and he rode it in 7:04. That is crazy! Crazy Awesome! George is on the left with his Teammates and yes, that is his cool Jersey for being the champ in the road race...oh wait, sorry, this picture must be from the road race! He did that Sunday, and helped get the guy in the middle (our friend Erik) to a second place finish. Cycling is this strange combo of individual and team, and they really pulled it off on Sunday!

Then...we headed over to Maggianos for lots of bread, mussels, pasta, and bread! That place is soooo yummy.....

Sunday, we were up and going quickly to run (and George's race from above). Mom came down, and she sparkles and I ran together for the first 7 miles. Here we are before we got all sweaty:

It was an awesome run. I love running with people that I love!!!

Mom and I ran off from Sparkles after 7 together and finished up. I didn't want the run to be over! Then, we went off for some breakfast, and came back to pick up Sparkles who had finished her second marathon in 2011 (and ever!!!). I am super proud of her!

After all that fun, I went to the track to cheer on my Kids 4 Kids group doing a workout! We headed to get some fro yo afterwards, and then off to get our lives together before another nutty week!

This week, I had nothing on my Training Peaks today. Does that mean a rest day? I don't know! I emailed my coach, and didn't hear back. My guess is yes, since I ran the farthest I have run in this training cycle (and I have been running on softer stuff when possible) all on tough pavement yesterday. Tomorrow trainer sessions, Wednesday is running, and Thursday is my LAST of the indoor sessions. I am pretty sad. They are hard, but I seriously feel like I am getting into shape when I do them! Friday is bike fit and swim! Saturday is off.....because.....Sunday is.....

1:15 Swim

4:00 Bike

2:00 Run

I have to spend the week mentally preparing myself for that one. Some physical prep might be good too!

Thanks to my new followers! It is awesome to see you on the list!

Any advice for the mental preparation? Saddles? Frozen Yogurt toppings (I tried about everything this weekend!)?

I am Ironman Training Now!

This week was the first one that was a killer. I was just zapped by the end!

Monday was swim and massage
Tuesday was the hardest trainer session I have ever done with my coach
Wednesday was a slog through an 8 mile run
Thursday won the new record for the hardest trainer session I have ever done with my coach
Friday was a tough workout in the pool
Saturday was a 73 mile ride handing on for dear life on George's wheel!
Sunday was a painful 12 mile run with hill repeats that I would have quit were it not for Laura!

Oh, AND George and I spent the weekend at Family Camp with Kids for kids, who were are working with! We rock climbed, did archery, paddle boats, team building, volleyball, run workouts barefoot in the grass, campfire (with SMORES!), service projects, and a mini time trial and bike ride (road and mountain)! It was a seriously awesome weekend, and I had a great great time.


Here we are debriefing after the longest attempt at an 18 person human knot EVER!


The campfire was was So so so fun, and you will see me chewing smores in all associated pictures!


I think the current highlight of Ironman training is eating smores with NO guilt!!!



Sunday George and I were riding around with the kids, and a dad got this cute picture of both of us! I love pictures of us on our bikes!


Here is the picture of all of the older kids before we took off on Sunday.



AND it was a big huge work week....but it was all really good.


AND My bike is being built in the shop. She is gorgeous! Here are a few sneak previews from visiting it at the shop!



And George is so excited to get on his bike and time trial, that he has taken to doing this......




I think I am going to be fit on it on it on Tuesday if I can fit it all in.

I am going to try to ride up in the Gaps on Saturday.


Sunday, I am running the Publix Half Marathon with my mom!!! I am super excited! Sparkles will be running the full. We will all go up there together. Then, Mom and I will run the half together. We will go out to brunch, and then I will come back and cheer for sparkles and pick her up at the end!

Should be a great week!

Big Arrival!

Yesterday, George's Kestrel 4000 arrived at our house (thanks to Kestrel for the sponsorship and Team Trakkers for generally being awesome!).


My husband George is a fantastic athlete, and he is going to make this bike look good! Now I am going to brag on him! Is the current state champion in Cat 3 road racing, and his is pretty close to cat-ing up to Cat2. He was an incredible runner, and he decided to dabble in a little running over the winter, and his quick little race report:
I ran the Disney Half Marathon last month and did well. My "reach goal" was to break 1:18:00, and I wanted to finish in the top twenty. In fact, I ran 1:16:20, and I finished thirteenth. I was second in my age group in a race that had 21,000 starters. Pretty good.

Pretty good--right!


Well people--this dude is learning how to swim--so WATCH OUT!

He also races in time trials on his road bike--so between moving into triathlon, and racing on inferior equipment, it was time for him to upgrade, and Kestrel gave us the opportunity for him to upgrade to a bike that is (in my mind) worthy of his awesomeness. Thank you Kestrel!

While his bike was out for delivery, he ordered us both new pedals, cleats, and tri shoes for him (I am still hunting for a new shoe for me--I have issues with my old ones!).


When he got home, our little condo door was totally blocked by this SUPER exciting box!


We live in a tiny little wonderful condo, and I think that this box took up about a third of our available square footage!

So every new bike comes with investments. Fittings, pedals, saddle changes, build costs, etc etc, BUT with this kind of excitement from the person who supports you 100%, I can't even begin to worry about any of that.


We did peek a little! This beauty is going to the shop today!




Of course, Team Trakkers and Kestrel means my bike is on the way, and I am so excited too! My old bike will be headed to my friend Laura's daughter, who is awesome, and who will love riding that bike!

This is the picture from the UPS page that I will be refreshing ALL day long until it says delievered. Are we a little excited about our new bikes????

Ahhhh Training!

Things have been going well!

Great meeting Thursday with Coach and Laura to talk out every massive workout for the next nine weeks exactly (I should be decently into the marathon by 4:19 in exactly nine weeks--but who's counting?!?!). The schedule is a little terrifying, but hey, it is 140.6 miles. If it's not terrifying, I think I am doing something wrong!

Then, a great trainer workout. The next three weeks at the sessions are all about speed. Yikes!

Friday, I did a swim workout with actual speed sets! It was great! I usually just do long sets and get the work in, but my goal is a swim PR, so I am going to have to put in some work in the pool, and I am super excited about it!

Friday night, George and I had a little carbohydrate party! Salad, whole wheat rolls we turned into bruscetta, whole wheat angel hair, and meatless meatballs. One of those rolls MIGHT have been topped with some of this after dinner, but I am NOT telling on George (hehehehe, right....george...that's who was eating the chocolate hazelnut spread!)

If you haven't seen George's Blog, you should go there! And you should follow him! (and of course, follow me if you are not already! It makes me happy!)

http://mostpleasantexhaustion.blogspot.com

Saturday, I got up and out in the rain with Laura for a 10 miler. I took one last picture of my shoes looking perfect before their first run in the rain.

And how I was feeling about taking my perfect shoes out in the rain.

But--training is training, and sometimes it is a little muddy :-) The run was great. We were able to keep up a MUCH better pace than I had anticipated since I am still building my fitness back up. We did this one stupidly long hill (about 0.9 miles with a flat section in the middle) twice. I lead us up the first time, and went WAY too fast, which meant that the second time up, I lost Laura in the last 100yds. Oh well, it'll come back! I still finished the hill, but couldn't quite keep up the pace at the end of the run. But--I think digging deep in a workout certainly helps you get better faster!

I had some insanely tasty ultragen on the car ride home.

Then, I read the Hunger Games. It is a really fun read that all my kids are reading! Now I just need to get my paws on the next two books!

Oh, and I had a sandwich with these gems. If you haven't had either of these bits of heaven, you might not even want to open up that door--it's really hard to close it once you have tasted these. The cherries I save and only have once in a blue moon. The Maple Nut butter probably makes up about 30% of my daily calories!

Speaking of calories, we have planned a spring break trip to asheville! We are going to stay in a B&B right in town, and I am really excited about it! We are going from Friday to Thursday, and two of our friends are going for the first weekend. This is a fun and a training trip. It is a week I get to dedicate entirely to training for IM St. George. Big runs, long ride, big mountains, giant pancakes, and cookies....I mean, broccoli....?

Here is a cute picture of where we are staying!

Here is a part of the confirmation email:

The Carolina Bed & Breakfast is happy to accommodate special diets but again, we do need advance notice. If you have any preferences or allergies we need to know about please send me an email or give me a call. We have noted that you are vegetarian and will make sure that there is plenty of good food for you (including cookies!)

Maybe I did mention something about cookies when made our reservations.....or they just KNOW me :-)

George and I are considering doing a crazy adventure on our bikes Thursday and Friday of our spring break, but there is more on that to come!

Inspired in a Twisted Kind of Way!

My teammate Jeff commented this on my last post:

So when the Doc said, "It is time to train for an Ironman" ... did you perk up like Rocky Balboa in Rocky II when Adrianne said, "WIN!"??? ***Bells in the background*** Was Mickey sitting in the corner and jumped up and yelled, "What are we waitin' for?"

Before Ironman Louisville, George said that I had to "get my head right," so I saw Rocky for the first time. It was fantastic. I really really loved it.

Jeff--that was the perfect clip for me to see! I totally get it, and that's how I feel!




Then, after getting pumped up, I went to the pool, and there was a sign on it that said:

" Pool and Hot Tube Closed."

There are a lot of problems with this.

First, I wanted to swim, but I did strength stuff again.

Secondly, I had no IDEA my gym had a hot tube. I don't know what that is, and I mostly think it sounds like a good thing. I am totally missing out. I am imagining a hot water water slide with big blue tubes. Or something. Yikes.

Well, turns out it was closed because the filter broke. I looked in and people were swimming, but I could NOT face the idea of an unfiltered pool. E. Coli? No thanks!



Since I was talking about motivation........



Tuesday I got to go to my coach's trainer sessions again. Big room of cyclists on our bikes doing workout. Awesome! I go on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Every workout, we get a paper copy of the workout to follow along and there is an inspirational quote on it. But I use the term inspirational loosely. Cyclists don't like things that would actually make you feel better.

I thought I would snap a few pictures of a few gems that I randomly pulled out of my bag.


First--

"He was very sickly until he started riding around on that bike. Now his body's fine, but his mind is gone."-- Breaking away
Umm....yeah, now I am totally ready to kill a workout?!?.....



Second--

"POWER. It is what separates casual riders from the elite. You can be a precision handler, a wheel sucker extraordinaire, and elegant-pedaler but if you can't crank when the crunch comes you will be left behind." Fred Matcheny

Ok--I get it. Work hard on the power drills. But does that mean I get to skip one legged drills? ;-)



"It doesn't get any easier. You just get faster." Greg Lemond

This is my favorite. Coach uses it a lot, and it is encourages you in a very twisted kind of way. I think it's because I would mind getting faster AND easier. Hmmmm...seems unlikely :-)



Wednesday, I had a 7 mile run that I trudged though (because I am still super slow), but then I went to the pool, and did my fastest 1500yd set. That's good news!


After that, I headed over to see my massage terrorist Sara. If I am training again, then I have to be treating my body like I am training--nutrition and massage are key for me!

Tonight, I have a meeting with my training buddy Laura and my coach to hammer out our weekend workouts from now until St. George. I am ready to go. Inspired in a twisted way, taking care of myself, working hard, and really training again! This meeting will get our schedule set and our minds right to tackle this really early season Ironman!

What are we waitin' for????