IMLP Training Recap: Week 31 -- ETA Lake Placid Training Camp! [Lake Placid trip #2 - June 2014]

Sit back.  Grab another cup of coffee and a treat -- strike that.  Grab two treats.  This is going to be a long training recap because last week was finally time to hit my training camp up in Lake Placid!  My coach, Jason Kilderry of ETA Coach Endurance Training, leads a great training camp at the Ironman Lake Placid race site.  Naturally, Amy, Bill and I signed up.  I couldn't wait to get up there: the last time we went back in April, it was literally freezing and it snowed.  Plus, the bike course shook my confidence quite a bit ... I walked away feeling a bit down and more intimidated than I liked about the race itself.  Anyone who knows me knows that this would only strengthen my resolve to get better and stronger, and it definitely did.  I channeled those feelings into my training.  It is paying off.


And this sexy animal of a triathlete was ready for camp. R-E-A-D-Y.


Training Camp was Thursday through Sunday, but we had a handful of workouts to do before we got up there.  Here's the down low, low down, no doubt.  You can keep scrolling up to see the picture of me in my wetsuit.  I know ... it's distractingly amazing.

Week 31: 16:03:37 hours <-- dude.

Swam: 3:10:26 hours (9,314 yards -- 5+ miles) [2:24:38 hours at camp (7,314 yards -- 4.25 miles)]
Biked:  8:43:23 hours [7:03:21 hours at camp; 107 miles at camp; rest on trainer]
Ran:  4:05:30 hours (25.63 miles) [3:38:16 hours at camp (22.62 miles)]

So yeah.  Kind of a busy week.  

Workouts:

Monday:  Easy brick
Tuesday:  Recovery swim
Wednesday:  Easy bike
CAMP: Thursday:  two loops of IMLP swim course & 50 minute run
CAMP: Friday:  one loop of IMLP swim course & two loops of IMLP bike course
CAMP: Saturday:  30 minutes of IMLP swim course & easy brick
CAMP: Sunday: 15 mile run of IMLP run course

Honestly, I barely remember the Monday brick.  It was 50 minutes on the bike and a 3 mile run. I think the only memorable part of it was I wore my one piece tri suit because I was packing all of my tri kits for camp.

Tuesday's swim was supposed to be in the 50 meter pool at the Y, but the swim team was using it. So I had to use the indoor pool.  I was not happy, but I had the lane all to myself.  It was an easy 2,000 yard swim at endurance pace.  Easy.

Wednesday was an easy 50 minutes at endurance pace on the trainer.  No big deal.  What is a big deal?  Oh, only the massive amount of luggage I brought to camp -- the four day camp:

#highmaintenance
With Lake Placid being about 6-7 hours away, we decided to drive half way on Wednesday night.  Which is to say, Bill drove while Amy and I talked.  Until I fell asleep.  We stayed in Newburgh, New York, and our hotel was literally right next door to the store for Orange County Choppers, which I guess was a TV show.  I kind of remember it.  It is so random, so I include a picture here:


CAMP DAY 1:  Thursday: we woke up, were on the road at 8:30 am and were up in Lake Placid around noon.  We stopped for lunch in town at a Mexican restaurant, which was pretty good.  I knew I had a swim and a run that day, so food was a must.  We finished lunch and headed to the camp house, got all set up and then had a meeting with our coach and our fellow campers.  That day we had two loops of the IMLP swim course and a 50 minute run right after ... essentially a swim-run brick, which I've never done.  It was a little tough to dress for this because there wasn't a place to change at the lake.  I wore a black Under Armor compression sports bra and a bikini bottom under my wetsuit on the swim, and then after the swim, I pulled a tank and pair of shorts on over those.  It worked out just fine.   Here we are getting ready and suited up.  You can see me in the middle with my sleeveless wetsuit and long blonde ponytail.  Sidebar: my hair was shockingly blonde on this trip.   Also: I like the way my shoulders look in this picture.  Rar.


The swim: the IMLP swim course always has buoys right in the middle, which is set up for kayaks and canoes.  The best part? The buoys are tied down with an underwater cable that is visible to swimmers, and the IMLP course tracks that line.  So essentially, you have a line like the black line in the pool on which to swim.  Of course on race day, 2500 of your fellow athletes will be jockeying for a position on that line ... but it was sure nice to swim on it this week!  Our coach placed a swim cap on what he thought was the turnaround point on the course, but unfortunately, our course was about 1/4 mile short.  So when we did the two loops, we did 2 miles, and not the 2.4 we will swim on race day.  Coach gave us some lessons on dolphin diving, sighting and drafting and then we were off.  I took about 10 strokes and remembered why I love this lake - it is just gorgeous. And that yellow underwater cable sure doesn't hurt!  I settled into a really good pace, hugged the yellow line and just swam.  About 1/2 way through the first loop, Amy hopped on my feet and we swam like that for the rest of the swim.  Every once in awhile I'd feel her touch my foot very gently and not aggressively at all, and I'd always jump a bit and then remember it was Amy and not some lake creature.  I really liked having Amy behind me and she liked swimming there.  Win win. I did not like burping up my Mexican lunch about 1/2 way through the swim.  Gross.

We finished the swim and got on our run stuff and ran the beginning of the IMLP run course.  We got to River Road and turned around pretty soon in.  It was really neat at the turn around because when you turn, you get a stunning view of the Olympic ski jumps. I had seen them before and they still got my heart to pitter patter. But there were a ton of people who had not been on the course, so we could hear them all say "whoa!" or "cool!" or "wow!" when people turned around and saw this sight in front of them:


Chills.  We ran back to the house and had a delicious dinner at a pizza place - Mr. Mike's Pizza right on Main Street.   The pasta and pizza were very good and Amy was super pleased with the gluten free pizza.  They took good care of us there.

CAMP DAY 2:  Friday:  This was our heaviest load day: one loop of the IMLP swim course and then two loops of the IMLP bike course.  Our coach didn't want us to do the full 112 miles, so we dropped the Hasleton Road out and back portion (cutting 2 miles off the 112) and only did the Jay-Ausable Forks out and back once (cutting 11 miles off of the 112).  We also didn't wind around town, so our ride was 97 miles.

First, the swim.  It was just one loop of the IMLP swim course.  It was another beautiful day in Lake Placid. Amy took this picture from the Crowne Plaza hotel, which sits on top of a hill overlooking the town of Lake Placid and Mirror Lake.  You can see Mirror Lake below, as well as the beautiful mountains in the background.  This picture shows why I chose Lake Placid for my Ironman.  It's just so gorgeous.



This was a fast swim day.  Amy and I swam together again with her on my feet.  With only one loop to go (ha ha ha ... "only" 1.2 miles) I knew I could go a little faster, so we did.  It was a good swim, and for some inexplicable reason, I was singing the theme song from "Gilligan's Island" in my head.  Sorry if you are doing it now too.  just sit right back and you'll hear a tale ...

After the swim, we went back to the house and got ready for the bike.  We had a big brunch and then packed up the bikes and headed out for our two loops of the course around 12:30 pm.  This was a little too late for my taste - not just because I love to do my workouts early, but because I knew, with 97 miles to get done, that we'd be finishing up around dusk, which is exactly what happened.  It wasn't *dark* when we finished, but it wasn't terribly light either.  The great news is Route 73, which had previously been riddled with potholes and bumps and just awful road surface, was (and is) being repaved!  As of our weekend there, the new paving started at the bridge near River Road and ended about 1/2 mile from the first "trucks use low gear" sign at the first Keene descent.  It looked like they were going to continue paving down the entire descent though ... here's hoping!  Bill snapped this picture of the beautiful brand new blacktop.  


Amy and I rode together, and it was a great ride.  The descents to Keene were not yet paved, but it was fine.  In fact, it was better than fine.  I had ridden the IMLP course three times prior to this training day and always white-knuckled that 6 mile long descent.  This time? No.  I took those hills like a boss and for the first time, I felt in control, stable and had fun.  The difference was incorporating training routes that had descents but also putting into practice some really great tips that Bill gave me for how to handle downhills.  Life changing.  Truly.  So life changing that I almost burst into tears when I hit the bottom of the long descent because I realized I had finally conquered that fear.  Thank you Bill!

On the first loop we hit some pretty nasty wind on Route 9N, which is the flat part of the course.  I had to shift into some easier gears to account for the wind.  I was in aero for most of this ride, which felt great.  I took advantage of the flats and ate a bunch on this stretch.  We did the out and back on 9N to see the roads - they were fine and the wind died down a bit at this point, which was a nice break.

We turned onto Route 86, which is a pretty nasty climb.  We got that out of the way and then continued the slow long climb back to Lake Placid from the town of Jay.  I was feeling good - really good.  I have my landmarks, so I ticked them off one by one.  When I hit Owen Pond, I know I'm almost at River Road, and the five famous climbs and therefore almost done.  When we got to the three bears, I was happily surprised that they were completely manageable -- and dare I say it, really not bad at all -- compared to the climbs we've done up in the Lake Wallenpaupack area.  We turned onto Northwoods Drive at the top of Papa Bear (Northwoods, in my opinion, is a total killer of a hill and which no one talks about!!) and then onto Mirror Lake Drive, where our coach and crew were waiting with some support.  We stopped for a moment, filled up our water bottles and got some new food and headed back out on the ride for the second loop. This one was faster because we cut the 11 mile total out and back on 9N.  The wind died down quite a bit on the second loop, which enabled us to go faster with less power.  By about Mile 85, my butt was done with the ride.  I mean that literally: my butt hurt!  There just isn't much you can do about that, so I did my best to manage the discomfort.  We made it back to the house ... and had one or a bunch of well-earned beers:


CAMP DAY 3:  Saturday:  This was our easiest day, and I liked that.  We had just 30 minutes in Mirror Lake and then later that afternoon, an easy brick: 10 miles or so on the bike and a 2 mile run.  Thank you.

This swim was another good one - we did it a little slower than the day before, partly because that pace was not quite sustainable and partly because hello, we were tired from the days prior.  Still ... it was a great swim.  Something happens to me in Mirror Lake and I turn into a swim boss.  Amy and Bill are swim bosses too.  I mean ... look at us.

I have the same orca wetsuit. I should have worn it so we could have been total dorks.  :/
After the swim, I asked Amy to snap my picture near the Ironman rock at the start of the swim course.  I didn't exactly plan my outfit, and did not intend to be in what appears to be a white track suit.  Between this photo and the wetsuit-goggle-swim cap photo, I know you are thinking "wow, this Ironman training has made her super hot" and you are absolutely correct.  I can rock a white tracksuit like no one's business.


Mirror Lake.  So lovely.  


We had quite a bit of downtime in between the morning swim and afternoon brick, so Amy and I took advantage and went into town and shopped and got a pedicure.  A pedicure!  My feet are completely gross - callused and rough and I am missing a toenail, but a pedicure seemed like heaven, so that's what we did.  Of course, as soon as she got out her little buffer thing I went Chris Farley LAY OFF ME I'M STARVING on her ...


and was like DO NOT TOUCH MY CALLUSES I NEED THEM, to which she meekly and tactfully replied, "well ... how about I just ... smooth them?"  And I agreed.  She somehow even managed to turn my not-toenail into a toenail.  Yay.  Success.  

The brick was easy.  We met up at Mirror Lake and our coach had a tent set up for transition.  We biked from town to River Road (the run course), all the way on River Road to 86 and then up the five famous climbs (Little Cherry, Big Cherry and Mama, Baby and Papa Bears) and then back to the tent on Mirror Lake Drive. Then the run was just 2 miles around Mirror Lake Drive.  It was totally fine and pretty easy.  Back to the house for a BBQ and bed.  

CAMP DAY 4:  Sunday:  Sunday was long run day.  Amy and I had a 15 mile run, which, of course, we would do together.  There were two groups: the 6:30 am group and the 8:30 am group.  We took the early shift.  The run was from the house up by the Crowne Plaza and then onto the run course and back.  We did our 9 minute run/1 minute walk repeat and walked down the hill out of town, and walked up the ski jump hill and the hill into town.  Walking these hills was key: while we probably lost a tiny bit of time by not running, we more than made up for it in energy saved.  On race day, I will totally walk these same hills.

The run felt shockingly good.  It was a beautiful morning.  And while the first couple of miles I felt a little tired, once we were into it, my body got back to work and it felt great.  Our coach supported us via sag wagon and had water, food, etc. on the course if we needed it.  It was a great run.  Amy and I celebrated a successful camp and run with Sprites!


After the run, we cleaned up, packed up, ate up and hit the road.

It was a great week in every way.  We lucked out with tremendous weather - like picture perfect everything every single day.  But the workouts were all very confidence-boosting and empowering.  Physically, I think I am ready for this race.  Mentally, I'm almost there.  It's going to be a challenge to get back to the grind of training here at home after such a spectacular and high energy week at camp.  But I guess that is all part of the game!

This week is another big one: 100 mile ride, long run, 2.5 mile swim ... here we go!

See you swoon,

What I Wore {post 47}

Hi! It's kind of hard to look at these outfits right now, because they're from April and it was obviously much cooler then than it is now.  My Style Me May challenges took over, so I'm just now sharing them.  But here they are!

* Navy Blazer, Gingham Shirt, White Pants *

I really like how this outfit came together.  I wore my white ankle length pants with gold flats.  I thought putting my navy suit jacket with my blue gingham shirt would be a fun combination.  It was very preppy.  


* Black Sweater, Navy & Black Plaid Mini, Black Patent Mary Janes *

This is an easy outfit that I wear a few times each Winter: my black fitted crewneck sweater, black/navy plaid mini skirt, black tights and now my black patent mary jane heels.  The skirt is on the shorter side, so an opaque black leg is necessary.  


* Silver Silk Blouse & Black Pants *

This is my "ooh! shiny!" outfit. I love this silk blouse, which is from Ann Taylor last year.  I wore it with my black pants and my cream silk tie belt.  


Now that I've cleaned my camera out all my older outfits, it will be all Summer-all the time.  Oddly enough, I am really excited for the warm (even hot!) weather this year.  The winter and snow and ice of our past Winter did me in.  Bring on the heat.  Bring on the humidity.  Bring on the delicious cold beer.  

See you swoon,

IMLP Training Recap: Week 30

Hello! Happy Monday!  It's mid-June, ya'll.  We are less than 6 weeks out from Ironman Lake Placid.  Holy moly cow.

Week 30 was a big volume week for me in terms of time and intensity.  I had a bunch of two-a-days, long swims, a long run, and a long ride.  15 hours of my week went toward Ironman training (and I even had a rest day in there!).   Huge.

I had more run ins with animals this week ... but they were better than the snake in the lake from week 29.  Specifically, chickens and fawns.  More on that below, but suffice it to say, chickens and fawns are far preferable to snakes.

Over the weekend, I went up with Amy and Bill and their family to Bill's family's lake house in Lake Wallenpaupack, PA.  Besides being a beautiful place in general, it is the *perfect* place to train for Lake Placid: a gorgeous, clean and clear lake in which to swim and tons of open and hilly roads on which to ride.  And that's exactly what we did.

most photos courtesy of Amy & Bill

Now for the nitty gritty:

Week 30: 15:13:13 hours

Swam: 2:37:25 hours (6,780 yards)
Biked:  7:59:24 hours (84.1 outside; rest on trainer)
Ran:  4:33:04 hours (29.1 miles)

Workouts:

Monday:  Rest day
Tuesday:  Easy Brick & Long Swim
Wednesday:  Long Run
Thursday:  Easy Recovery Swim
Friday:  Bike & Shake Out Run
Saturday:  Long Ride (84 miles)
Sunday:  Open Water Swim & Run

Monday - rest day.  I really needed it after my 98 mile ride the day before.

Tuesday was a pretty intense morning: I had an easy brick (50 minutes bike, 30 minute run) and then a long swim all scheduled for one day.  I did the workouts back to back.  I woke up at 4, was on the bike by 4:30 and did my brick.  Then when I finished the brick, I changed into my bathing suit and headed to the 50 meter pool at the YMCA.  I was about 2/3 done my workout when Bill happened to join my lane.  I love that 50 meter pool, especially for long swims.  It's outside and there is so much less turning.

Wednesday I had a long run: 17.5 miles.  I did this one solo because Amy and I couldn't coordinate our schedules.  The run was 2 miles of 4 minutes run/1 minute walkrepeat) and then 15.5 miles of 9 minutes run/1 minute walk (repeat).  It was a good run - humid out, but misty, which helped cut the humidity.



My favorite part of this ride was seeing two little baby fawns in the grass around mile 1 and again on mile 4 when I looped back around.  They were quietly laying in the grass together and I might have freaked out because of their cuteness.  I was able to restrain myself the first time, but when I saw them again, I completely lost it and yelled how cute they were.  They went from this ...

OMG so cute right?  SO CUTE.
To this:  (I totally made them freak out)


Thursday was an easy recovery swim.  It's funny that 2000 yards now seems "easy."  Nothing much to say about this workout.  I just did 5 sets of 400 yards.

Friday was supposed to be a brick with 70 minute bike and then 3 mile run, but my schedule was such that I needed to do a bike and shake out run.  Coach was cool with that, which made me happy.  This workout was not really noteworthy either.

Friday afternoon, we left for the Lake.  On the way there, we noticed a big truck filled with ... chickens.  Live chickens.  Amy and I decided, because we had to come up with something that we could both live with, that they were hens and were being transported to a wonderful farm to lay eggs.  I hope.  It was a very surreal sight - especially the feathers that were flying all over the turnpike.


Saturday we had our long ride, which was to be 85 miles.  Bill is the master of the house rides and he tweaked the ride we did back on Memorial Day weekend so that we would do the return climb home on a road with a much wider shoulder.  He done good: this ride was really great.  It went from his house on the lake to Port Jervis, New York (via Hawk's Nest again!), through a tiny sliver of New Jersey and back over the bridge to Pennsylvania.  The first half of the ride has mostly flats with a bunch of descents.  The flats are easy and fun and pretty -- and you know when you're doing it that you will pay dearly for them on the back end!

We stopped at the Zane Grey museum, which is just before we crossed the bridge to New York.  Do you know who Zane Grey was?  I didn't.  But we stopped for a photo op at his museum.


Here I am just before crossing the river to New York.  


And here Amy and I are on the other side.  New York!


We rode the same route again and got to ride up to Hawk's Nest, which is right outside of Port Jervis, New York (and the mid-way point of our ride).  Hawk's Nest is just so beautiful and so much fun.




We stopped at a mini-mart in Port Jervis to grab some Gatorade and check in.  Bill spotted this sign.  $.99 beers.  So tempting.  So not gonna happen with 40 miles to go.


About 5 miles past this point, some dogs chased after Amy and me (dogs ... why does it have to be dogs??), but they were friendly and not aggressive and their owner came running after them.  After the dogs, we headed back to the lake, and it's essentially a 10-15 mile climb, no matter how you slice it.  This time, we took Route 6 through Milford, Pennsylvania.  The climbs were tough - really really tough. Tougher than Placid I think.  But the road was great with a wide shoulder, which was key.  We got back to the house where I promptly fell on the road (right in front of the house) because I was distracted and didn't unclip.  I am rocking a little road rash (but I am ok).

Sunday I had a 45 minute open water swim, and I did it in the lake. Amy swam too and Bill accompanied us in a kayak.  The water was really rough, but we got it done.  I felt like I was chopping the waves for a good chunk of the swim.  I also had a 50 minute run, which I did when I got home.  It was hot, and I was tired from the cumulative effect of the weekend and the week, but I reminded myself that I will feel more fatigue on race day.  So I pushed and managed a 8:50 pace for that run.  Happy.

This week should be pretty great: it's training camp up at Lake Placid.  My coach runs a camp and we are headed up there for four full days of training.  It will be hard work, but I'm also happy that it is focused solely on training, vs. trying to fit the same training in and around my normal life and responsibilities.  Stay tuned for a post on that!

See you swoon,

What I Wore {post 46}: Style Me May Challenge [week 5]

I know it's basically mid-June, but I wanted to finish up the Style Me May series!  I had a really good time playing along with the style challenge, and I blogged about my outfits in May here: week 1week 2week 3 and week 4.

In week 5, I admit, the wheels came off a bit.  It was after Memorial Day and life/work/training got really busy.  So I took a bunch of liberties with the challenge.  



May 27:  Not Too Mellow Yellow Out of My Comfort Zone

I moved things around here.  I had ordered a long yellow maxi dress (more on that below!) and it hadn't arrived yet (boo), so I decided to do the "out of my comfort zone" outfit instead.  I went with a very white outfit, which is definitely out of my comfort zone, since I tend to spill of myself if I'm wearing white.  I managed to not do that on this day!  The top is from the Ann Taylor outlet. I bought it in February and have been saving it.  I love it.  Whenever I find a cute print top that I like, I pick it up.  Prints are my favorite.  



May 28:  Out of My Comfort Zone Floral Flush

I continued to move things around and decided on "floral flush" this day.  This was easy: I wore my Simply Vera Wang (from Kohl's) floral dress from last Summer.  This dress was essentially free, so I could not pass it up.  I was already ordering a gift from Kohl's and in order to get $25 off that gift and free shipping, I needed to buy something else.  The dress was on clearance and it was less than $25, so when I added it to my cart, I got the free shipping and $25 off, which more than paid for the dress.  I really like it when retailers pay me to shop!  This dress is really cute and flattering and comfortable.  My hair was wavy and my face was flushed: it was hot and I had a long run that morning.



May 30:   Celebrity Chic

I skipped May 29: I had to get ready at the gym and didn't have time to do the challenge.  But May 30 was a Friday so I knew I wanted to wear jeans.  I thought Celebrity Chic was a way to go.  And I knew I'd copy Jennifer Aniston's style - I love her effortless California chic look.  


I wore my dark rinse bootcut jeans with my cowgirl boots (from Austin Texas, thank you very much!), a nice white tee and a cream/ivory stripe scarf that I bought in Nashville.  



June 2:  Not Too Mellow Yellow

Obviously, the challenge was over in June, but I couldn't resist sharing this! First, I admit I completely copied this outfit off of a woman I saw at the mall.  She was about my height (ok ok ok, she was probably like 5'4") and she was wearing a long yellow maxi dress that was very flowy and a turquoise necklace. I *loved* the way it looked and wanted to recreate it. I already had the turquoise necklace (j.crew outlet) so I was on the hunt for a yellow maxi dress.  Long dresses are tough on my 5'1" frame.  I found this one at Old Navy and waited until it went on sale and I had a coupon.  I knew I needed petite, and thankfully they offered it in that size!  I went with the petite small (I tried on the petite XS but it was a little too tight in the ribs -- thank you children for stretching my rib cage).  I got so many compliments on this dress!  It is very comfortable but it is also very sheer, so thankfully it was lined.  It's also a gauzy material that looks like linen, so the wrinkles are supposed to be there, which is awesome. I wore it to work, so I had to wear ballet flats, but this would look better with flat metallic sandals. 


And there you go! That wraps up the Style Me May challenge!  I had a lot of fun and will definitely do another one of these, probably in the Fall.  But for now, I'll be back to the regular "what I wore" posts.  

See you swoon,


IMLP Training Recap: Week 29

Happy Tuesday!  Who is ready for another training recap?  If it is you, this is your lucky day.  Especially considering the High Drama that occurred in my training in week 29.  I'll give it away all up front with the should have been Academy Award winning scene and memorable quote from Samuel L. Jackson:

I have had it with these [expletive] snakes on this [expletive] plane lake


Oh yes.  That is right.  SNAKE IN THE LAKE.  SNAKE IN THE LAKE.  THE LAKE WHERE I SWIM.  I SAW IT.  I SAW IT SWIMMING.  It looked like this:


So.  OK.  Wednesday was an open water swim at Marsh Creek State Park near me.  I love it there.  There is a course set up by a local multi-sport coaching group and it has a 1/4 mile course around buoys with lifeguards on kayaks.  It is great and a great way to practice swimming in the open water.  I have done it for a couple of years now and love it.  The water is fine - not bad but not terrific.  Anyway, I was wading in with a handful of people, when the guy next to me says "oh hey buddy!" and his friend was confused and then in slow motion I heard the original guy say, "loook ooooover there .... snnnnnnnnnnnnnaaaaaaaaaakkkkkkkkkkkkkeeeeee".  All very calm-like.  And I look and I see the snake swimming along right near me near the banks of the lake with its head above the water LIKE A COBRA (sorry to shout but if snake in a lake isn't good reason for all caps, I don't know what is).  I yelled "OH MY GOD" and original guy was all zen about it like "blah blah blah, they're more afraid of you than you are of them blah blah blah, they hang out by the banks blah blah blah you'll be fine in the water blah blah blah" and I was like "I know.  I just didn't need to see him swimming.  STOP TALKING NOW."

So I had a choice: wimp out and go home or just freaking do it.  I did it.  I should have lapped my watch when I got closer to shore because I know I hauled butt in that section.  I did not see the snake again, and I hope I never do.

And now that I have turned off the entire internet to open water swimming, here's my recap of last week's training.

Week 29: 14:03:18 hours

Swam: 2:19:36 hours (6,444 yards)
Biked:  8:35:02 hours (98 miles outside; rest on trainer)
Ran:  3:05:40 hours (20.1 miles)

Workouts:

Monday: rest day
Tuesday:  50 minute endurance bike + 3 mile shake out run
Wednesday:  2 mile open water swim
Thursday: brick: 50 minute endurance bike/1 mile run
Friday:  long run: 16 miles
Saturday: long, hard swim
Sunday: long ride: 100 miles

A 14 hour training week that includes a rest day?  Over 6000 yards of swimming?  Over 8 hours with my butt in the saddle? Um, yah.  Things are absolutely picking up.

Monday's rest day was great.  I felt a little like I was cheating, since my "long bike" was only 11 miles long the weekend before.  But I did not complain.  I enjoyed my rest day.

Tuesday was supposed to be a brick: a 50 minute bike and a 3 mile run.  I broke them out into a bike/shake out run because I didn't have time to do them back to back.  My coach seemed OK with the switch.

Wednesday was the open water swim.  I did 2 miles.  I saw the snake.  Oh, and after the swim I was, of course, at the food table that the organizers set up.  They had cookies again, which was awesome.  They also had what appeared to be sourdough pretzel nuggets. I was like OMG I have not had these in so long!! So I popped one in my mouth only to find that they were filled with peanut butter.  And I promptly did this:



The guy at the table was a little horrified.  Dude: some warning next time if the pretzels have stuff in them.

Thursday was supposed to be a long run, but it was pouring and there were thunderstorm warnings, so Amy and I made the executive decision to switch our long run to Friday.  I did my Friday workout on Thursday instead.  It was another brick: 50 minute bike and 1 mile run.  Easy enough, but the run was soggy.  Honestly, I don't know why I am holding my hat.


Friday was a long run: 16 miles long to be exact.  It was a gorgeous day - no humidity, sunny and cool.  Perfect running weather.  I met Amy about 1.5 miles in and we did a similar run to the week before: a few miles of 4 minutes run/1 minute walk, then a bunch more at 9 minutes run/1 minute walk, then 3 miles of tempo pace with no walk break, then a handful of miles of 9 run/1 walk to end it.  Here are some before and afters:

Before ... look how cute I am in my favorite running shirt!


After ... RAR ... SPRITE. SWEAT. SNAKE IN LAKE PTSD.


Saturday was another glorious day and I lucked out that I had a swim.  I did it in the 50 meter outdoor pool at the YMCA.   I swam 2700 meters, which is just shy of 3000 yards and it was a good, if hard, swim.  I debated sharing the next picture, but if there is ever a time to do it, it's now when I'm in great shape.  One of my blog readers emailed and asked if I've lost crazy weight with all the training. The answer is ... I don't think so.  I don't get on the scale at all.  But my clothes all still fit, but maybe a bit differently.  I am noticing changes in my body (in a good way - hello muscles), and while I'm not stick skinny (and never will be stick skinny because I like food and beer too much), I'm pretty pleased with the way I look (except in my Black Bear triathlon pictures that the race took - they should be destroyed).  Here I am after my swim in my training bathing suit.


Sunday was a 100 mile (!) bike ride.  Amy, Bill and I did the French Creek Iron Tour ride, which offers a bunch of distance routes in our area.  We rode from Amy and Bill's house to the start, which was about 20 miles. And then we did the 64 mile route.  And then biked 15 miles back home.  We ended up clocking in at 98 miles, which was just fine.  The sun was so hot on Sunday, so this bike ride wiped me out.  Fitness-wise, I felt fine.  But energy-wise, it was tough.  The ride itself was really great: well supported, well marshalled and just a really pretty ride.  It had some tough climbs and some fast descents and a lot of nice flats where I could get aero and stay there.  Toward the end, when it was around lunch time, traffic picked up and there were a bunch of scary moments with cars.  I really really wish drivers would remember that as annoying as bikers may be (and I get that), we really are just people who have lives and kids and don't intentionally cause problems for people in their cars.  And to the green Subaru outback who beeped hard at every biker you passed, that was me: I gave you the middle finger about 25 times and yelled [expletive].

So, yeah.  Lots of exciting stuff.  Week 30 looks busier than last week: more running, swimming four times and an 88 mile bike on Saturday.  Giddy up.  

See you swoon,