Week Twenty-Six

I can't believe there are only 2 months before I start tapering. This race is coming up so quickly, I can't stand it! I'm excited about going to Ironman France, and I don't regret the decision, but I sure do wish I had a little more time to get stronger first.

This week was pretty decent! Track practice was fun on Wednesday - we alternated between running easy and pushing really hard, and in the end we did a mile time trial. Thanks to Coach Wass pushing me at the end, I got 8:14, which is another PR for me! I know that I have definitely gotten faster since I joined Team In Training a few years ago. Even my long runs have been consistently around a 10 - 11 minute mile, which I'm really excited about.

Saturday was a GREAT run. It was great for a few reasons. The big one is that I got to run it with some good friends, Mimi and Denise (and Mimi's friend Kim). It was also great because we ran the Wilder cliffs. We had the ocean by our side the whole time, beautiful cliffs to our left and green hills to our right, and some of the most amazing birds flying alongside us. (One of those scenes where you say, "I can't believe I live here!") They were doing their 20 miler, and I was supposed to go for 2 hours and 40 minutes. I left them at around 1:20 (well, it was probably more like 1:30, since we got a little turned around...). On the way back, I practiced a 9/1 run/walk combo, which worked well for me. I tried to really push the last minute before the rest each time. I wish I knew the exact distance or my pace. I know we were going out at about 10 minute miles, and I'm pretty sure I came back at about the same or maybe even faster. I think I went a total of about 15 miles. I felt strong during and after the run. So much so that I immediately did a quick recovery spin and then some strength training!

Then, today! What a workout! I was really nervous before our open water swim because historically, it is always painfully freezing. I was particularly nervous about this one, because it was a dock entry, which means you had to jump right in, not slowly walk in and try to adjust. I sat on the dock next to Renee and let my feet dangle in. Then, I saw Renee just slide on in, so fast and easy! I decided I had to just do it. No stalling - just do it! So I slid in and went right under water. And, amazingly, it wasn't painful! Granted, it was cold, but it wasn't unbearably painful. I was able to start swimming right away, and I warmed up really fast. For a good stretch, I experimented drafting off of Jeremiah. I had never drafted while swimming before, and I wanted to give it a try. I wonder if it bothered him that I kept slapping his feet! I have no idea what my time was, but I came in somewhere in the middle of the rest of team, which was just fine with me.

Then, the bike ride. Hmmm... I knew we were in for something big when we were getting instructions from our coach who at some point mentioned that we'd be on Highway 1. We were starting in Redwood City, so we were going to cover some serious ground! The ride started off really chilly. Cloudy skies (although the forecast called for sunny, mid 60s) and cold. I wore everything I brought: leg warmers, arm warmers, and my jacket. We immediately hit our first hill, Marine Parkway, which wasn't that bad, but it did climb about 500 feet. Then, we climbed Kings Mountain, about a 2500 foot climb. There wasn't much space for the bikes, and it was scary when the cars past. For some reason, no one told the clouds that it was supposed to be sunny, and it started to rain. Brrr! Coach Mike caught up to me quickly, and I decided to stick with him, as he knew the route and would set a good pace for me to follow. Even though climbing Kings Mountain was hard, there was nothing as hard as descending it. The ground was wet, (I was wet!), cars were passing, there were lots of curves, and I didn't have any gloves on (having anticipated nicer weather), so my hands were freezing. Gripping the metal brake levers was really painful. I thought of the irony of how much warmer and more comfortable I was in the water than on my bike! We had a short stretch of flat-ish riding before we got to a breakpoint. I lost Mike at this point because he was going to wait for some other riders to sweep the course, so I continued on my own. I went up Stage Rd, which was another "little" 500 foot climb. Then..... oh boy... Tunitas Creek. Tunitas Creek was the hill that never seemed to end. It wasn't too steep except for the middle of it, but it was relentless. It was just this, I don't know... .maybe 10 mile long climb? All I know is that I couldn't wait to get to the top, and every time I thought I was there, surprise! More climbing! Eventually, a little sun came out, and warmed me up a bit. I also did really well nutritionally, which means I didn't bonk and I had great energy throughout the ride. I was proud that I was able to stay "middle of the pack" and hold my own.

THIS WEEK'S SUMMARY:
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: Spin 60, run 30 (3 miles)
Wednesday: Track Practice (6 miles total with warmup)
Thursday: I had to make a choice between swimming or going to the fish store before it closed. Had to choose the fish store because I was setting up the tank for the delivery of our steelhead trout eggs in our classroom, and I was on a serious deadline. So, no training on Thursday.
Friday: Wish I had the forethought, or I'd have spun in the morning. Friday was one thing after another straight through until I got home close to 9 that night. Had to go to bed early for my run the next day. Those who are reading this know that missing two training days in a row isn't something I take lightly. :-(
Saturday: Run, about 15 miles
Sunday: Swim about 2500 yards, Bike 68.5 miles. Climb 5,000?

BODY CHECK:
My left knee hurt just ever so slightly during the ride. I think it hurt more from my road rash than actually having something wrong with it. I'm a little tired.

NUTRITION:
Saturday's run: Water every 10 minutes, 1 thermolyte every hour, 2 sports legs before the run, 2 hours into the run, and after. A powerbar eaten bit by bit over the duration of the run, sports beans, 3/4 packet at turnaround, whole packet close to end. The sports beans I think are too sugary for me. When I had the whole packet towards the end, I got a little nauseas.
Sunday's ride: Mixed 4 hour bottle of perpetuem, and had an extra 2 hours of powder in my pocket, which I mixed later. Water every 10 - 20 minutes. It's hard to drink on the uphill and downhills. I need to get an aerobar bottle or a camelback, I think. I also had 1 thermolyte every hour, which was perfect, but I don't know if that'll stay perfect when the weather gets hot. Oh, and I had 2 sportslegs pills before, every 2 hours, and after. No gels, gus, or bars. GREAT energy throughout the ride, and I felt great afterwards.

TOTAL FUNDRAISING TO DATE:$12,516. Think I can get to $15,000?