I can do it!

Since we spent all of last week moving after we returned home from our trip to Bend, I didn't get a workout in at all!  So I was excited to start feeling like an athlete again by hitting the track in the early morning hours for some speed work.  I was having a great morning, 7x200 in 44-45 seconds each, and I was planning to continue with my work until I stepped on an invisible pine cone and rolled my ankle!!!  It was such a bummer, especially with a race coming up this weekend.  So that ended it for me for the day.

Later, Ben convinced me to try out the bike, so we rode 22 miles in 1:16:00.  I almost had to re-learn how to ride, it had been so long!  My ankle was pretty bothered by the time we finished, so I guess it was good that we stopped at 22 miles.

I've been sick as a dog for the last two days.  But this evening I went to the gym with Ben just to see what my ankle would feel like.  I did 2 miles in 18:00 and felt okay, then I called it a day...don't want to push a good thing.

I was pretty worried about this race, since I rolled my ankle on Tuesday and then got good and sick for the rest of the week.  I woke up feeling pretty lousy, so I decided that I would just go out and see what happened...I could always catch the quitter bus if it didn't work.  But I surprised myself by getting a new PR in spite of it all!  My garmin said I did 13.2 miles in 1:49:48.  What a great race!  They changed the course from last year, so there was a couple of miles to warm-up before hitting the steep downhill part.  I actually felt really good the whole time, and felt great at the end!

So after the run, a few of us went home and got our bikes, and then hit the road for a few miles.  I was having stomach aches from eating a big meal before going out, and I was feeling sick again and pretty dizzy, so I turned back early and only put in 20.8 miles in 1:10:41.  Anyway, those guys were way fast for me, and I was having a hard time keeping up...  :S

Ben and I got up good and early and met Craig at the gym to do some spinning.  We started about 20 minutes before the spin class started, so we were able to log a few extra miles.  I did 23 miles in 1:13:40.  Ususally, I just free spin on Mondays, but I decided that if I wanted to get stronger, I would need to start really participating, even if my legs were recovering.  So I did, and I surprised myself by doing really well.  :D

Then this evening, Ben, Craig, and I went to the pool for some swimming.   Again, instead of just doing laps, I decided to do the drills with the guys.  Wow!  I'm SLOW compared to them.  But I think I will get faster if I just stick to it, so that's my plan.  I swam 3750 yards in about 90 minutes.  Whew!!!

Back to the track for speedwork this morning!  This time, I was very careful to stay on the inside of the track, where I knew no pine cones would be hiding!  I had a great workout, doing 8x200 @ 0:45, with a warm-up and then a cool-down at the end.  Our total distance was 3.1 miles in 24:40.

Later this morning, I met Jamie and Erica at the WCCC and swam another 2250 of drills with them...I'm slow compared to them, too!  I guess I really need to work on my technique....  :S

Oh, and one more thing....I REGISTERED FOR IRONMAN TODAY!!!  AHHHHHH!!!!!  So now I'm committed...or should be.  I'm pretty excited and scared, but mostly excited.  Yay!!!!

Ben and I had planned to get up early for spin class again, but thenm we were tired, so we decided to sleep in instead.  :)

So we joined the Tri Club at the WCCC this evening for their spin/swim workout.  We did 50 minutes of spinning, and then followed it up with a swim.  I did a pyramid workout...300 warm-up, 2x50, 2x100, 2x150, 1x200, 2x150, 2x100, 2x50, and a 300 cool-down.  Tired now!!!

Today was a tempo run day. I ran with my friend Autumn....she's pretty new to this "training" thing, meaning she's been running for years, but never done drills or speedwork, or any other kind of specific training.  But she runs pretty close to my paces during races, or at least she USED to, so I thought she'd be a great running partner.  Ben, Craig, and the two of us drove up the marathon course 8 miles, and then did a 1.5 mile warm-up at 8:46 pace, a 5 mile tempo run at 8:16 pace, and a 1.5 mile cool-down at 10:00 pace.  Our total time for the 8 miles was 1:09:27.  Autumn really struggled up the hills, so I am going to have to work with her to get her to be more steady.  That affected our times a little, but since we were running faster than planned anyway, it all averaged out.  I want to get so that we can keep our pace consistent no matter what the terrain.  :)

This evening I did 20 miles on the spin bike in 55:42 and then did an hour of yoga.

I had my long run this morning with Autumn.  The goal was to go around 18 miles at a 10:00 pace, but my legs were TIRED, and a few miles into it I started to have some real tightening in my right soleus.  So we ended up doing 15.4 in 2:40:09...and I am DONE.  :S

I biked the Veyo Loop this morning.  The wind was fierce and I have never done any cycling in that kind of wind, so I was extrememly slow.  I had been on the bike almost 2 hours before I took my first nutrition break, and then all I had was some perpetuem.  An hour later, I drank the rest of my perpetuem bottle, and had a few honey-roasted peanuts.  The ride ended up being 58.5 miles, and it took me 4:26:49.  By the time I finished, I had absolutely nothing left, but I knew I needed to try to get a transition run in, so I drank some gatorade and ate a couple of cliff rocks, switched shoes, and headed back out the door.  I made it about 2.5 miles before my soleus locked up again, so I quit at 4 miles...and it took me 38:23 to do that much.  After yesterday and today, I'm having serious doubts about whether or not I can actually DO an Ironman...but I'm going to put that out of my mind and keep doing the stuff I'm supposed to do, and not worry about it.

This morning I sort of opted to sleep in...actually, I just never heard the alarm clock, so sleeping in was the ONLY option.  Just as well...I think I needed the sleep more than I needed the spin class.  So a little later on, I went to the gym and did an easy 10 miles of spinning on the stationary bike (29:26), and then did a 3 mile transition run in 27:38.

This evening was our swim workout, so I did the long swim workout of 3800 yards in about 90 minutes or so.  Tired!!!  :D

This morning was our hill workout at Pioneer Park.  I ran with Tige and Autumn.  I was able to get through 5 repeats, and then I decided to call it a day.  Our total time was 54:00, and that includes over 8 minutes of walking.

Later this morning, Tige and Ben and I went out for an "easy" bike ride.  I should have known that "easy" with Ben is never "easy" for me...but I survived, and lived to tell the tale.  We did 21.4 miles in 1:20:29.  :D

Nothing this morning. I finished the day off with an hour of Zumba and then Ben and I went to the pool.  I swam 3100 yards in about 1:05:00. 

Today was supposed to be a rest day, but Britnee actually asked me if I would work out with her, so I had to say yes.  We woke up early for a 6:00 AM Zumba class, and then we ran home from the gym.  I did 3.1 miles in 28:11.  :D

I woke up early with Ben and we went to the pool to get a swim in.  I swam 2100 yards in about 44:00, bringing my total yardage for the week up to 9000.  Then at noon, I met Autumn for a 9 mile run on the flat bike trail.  I was supposed to be running at a 10:00 pace, but we came in at a 9:06 average.  My 9.1 miles took me 1:22:42.  I never thought I'd be saying this, but I need to learn to slow down!  Haha!  Ironman training is so weird...  :)

I had been dreading this day all week...the day I was supposed to bike a double loop on the Ironman course.  I started out a little slow, but by mile 16 I was feeling pretty good, and kicked it into gear!  By the time I hit "the wall," I began thinking that I totally could do two full loops, no problem!  That's when my chain broke...about 200 feet up the wall.  So my 88 mile bike turned into a 23.3 mile ride.  And now I have no bike.  BOO!!!!  The nice thing is, that 23.3 miles of uphills and rollers still only took me 1:40:14...so I averaged 14 mph without any downhill advantage!  AND my garmin said I burned 1654 calories, so that's not too bad.  I did go to the gym later to try to make up some of my lost milage, but I only lasted 16.3 miles in 48:43.  I guess I didn't fuel properly after I got off the bike the first time...  :S

This morning began with a 6:00am spin class.  I cycled 18 miles in 54:00.  Then Ben and I did a transition run off the bike all the way home.  I ran 3.1 miles in 27:23.  I was feeling really good this morning, probably because I didn't do the full workout on Saturday. 

This evening, we went to the pool and I did a 4000 yard workout in about 90 minutes....longest pool workout to date!  My coach says not to do any pool stuff for more than 90 minutes, so I guess 4000 yards is my cap, at least until I get faster...  :)

This morning was our hill workout at Pioneer Park.  We did a one mile warm-up, then 4 hill repeats.  i finally rmembered to "lap" the fourth climb, and my garmin had me running at a 7:18 pace...so a LOT faster than my 10K pace of 8:00!  But I felt good, so I'll keep it up...maybe 7:18 will be my NEW 10K pace!   Anyway, I cooled down a mile, and ended up with 5.05 miles in 48:08, including 7 minutes of walking.

I finished off the evening with 50 minutes of Zumba.  :)

Today was a multi-brick workout.  I met Autumn at the gym for this workout.  It was a 15 minute warm-up on the bike, followed by 4 minutes on the bike, 2 minute run, 8 minute bike, 4 minute run, 16 minute bike, 8 minute run, 8 minute bike, 4 minute run, 4 minute bike, 2 minute run, then a 15 minute cool down on the bike.  we spent a total of 70 minutes on the bike and covered 24.5 miles, and 20 minutes on the treadmill, gradually increasing in intensity, with 2.5 miles of running.  I love this workout!  It goes by so quickly, and changes often enough that I never get bored.  :D

Then for lunch I went to the pool with Ben and we swam 2100 yards in 43 minutes.  Tonight we lounged around watching TV.  What a great day!  :D

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

Today I had a nice surprise from Jamie when she called me to tell me that John would fix my bike chain if I was available to do a short ride with her!  So I popped the turkey in the oven, and we went out for a nice 19.5 mile ride!  We took it pretty easy, so we ended up finishing with a 16 mph average in 1:12:24.  What a nice way to begin the food-fest!  Bring on the pies!!!  :)

We started out this morning with a trip to the pool.  I swam 1900 yards in about 37 minutes.  At noon, we met up with a big group of people in Ivins and biked through Gunlock to Veyo, then rode back the same route.  I had 44.6 miles in 2:51:30, with a 15.6 mph average.  I followed up the bike with a 4 mile transition run in 35:47.  :D

Today was a split run day.  We started at 7:00am with a 12.05 mile run.  The goal was to keep it at a 10:00 pace...we did a 9:50 average, so I felt pretty good about that.  At noon, we met up again and did the last six miles of the Marathon course with a mile warm-up, 4 miles at tempo, and a mile cool-down.  My splits looked like this: mile 1 - 9:05, mile 2 - 8:18, mile 3 - 8:11, mile 4 - 8:03, mile 5 - 8:28, and mile 6 - 9:03.  It has been a good couple of days.  I'm feeling really great about my training right now!  :)

I woke up this morning with a very sore foot.  But I went to spin class anyway, and Ben and Craig suggested that maybe I should NOT run until I knew what was wrong with it, so after doing 20.3 miles in an hour on the spin bike, I did 15 minutes of ab work and then tried out the elliptical for 11 minutes (1 mile).  The elliptical was probably a bad idea, because when I arrived home I realized my foot was all swollen and I had to hobble around the rest of the day.  I managed to make it through an hour of yoga this evening anyway.  :D

It was supposed to be hills this morning, but since I am not supposed to run, I did a quad/hamstring workout instead with weights.  Later on, I went to the pool and did a 3000 yard workout in about 61 minutes.