I swam 2500 yards today...

that over half of an ironman swim...and I am beat! That's all I can type!

Training days 17, 18 & 19

I got a little bit behind on my posting! I had a terrible workout on Saturday! I was supposed to ride my bike for 1:45, I rode for 44 minutes and the workout kicked my ASS! I was very disappointed with myself. So, I go into my Sunday workout feeling GREAT, 20 minutes into it my right ankle/shin starts to hurt a little, I push on, it feels okay so I continue on for another 40 minutes. By the last 5 minutes my leg hurt pretty bad but I really wanted to finish and I was feeling a little bit wimpy letting pain get the best of me. I was wrong to push on! My leg is now killing me and it feels like my shin muscles are "burning" when I walk and that sucks! I have started and continue to follow the RICE (Rest, Ice, Compression, Elevation) protocol and I am hoping for quick results. I wrapped my leg tonight and tried to slowly walk on the treadmill in the low zone 2 range, it didn't work my leg hurt too much. The good news is that I got on my bike and felt fantastic! I rode for 45 minutes and rode 14 miles, I am getting faster!!! In addition to the bike ride I also was able to get in a 20 minute swim. I was able to swim 700 meters which I was happy with after being out of the pool for 2 months. I have a long way to go but you gotta start somewhere!

Training days 15 & 16

Yikes, I missed day 15! It was way too long a day with travel and visiting Tiffany's I just couldn't do it. Actually with my day starting at 4:45am and going until 7:55pm, I just didn't have time. I know, I should have got up at 4:00am and rode my bike for 45 minutes but that was not happening, no way, no how.

I did however after falling asleep somewhere between 9:15 and 9:30 last night manage a 4.5 mile (60 minute) run this morning. I had a hard time for the first 20 minutes keeping my heart rate in zone 2 so I was a little slower that I would have liked to have been, but that also tells me that there is a great need for me to get up and work out as the race begins bright and early in the morning on the 22nd, no excuses on that day!

Training Days 13 & 14

Wow, I am loving this INSPIRED...that is what I am! I cannot believe that things are going along so well. Yesterday morning I got up at 6:00 and walked on the treadmill for 45 minutes, the heart rate monitor is fantastic for early morning workouts because I didn't have to work too hard to be training in zone 2!

Today I did 30 minutes on the bike and 15 minutes of running, I actually didn't want to stop running but I did need to get back to work and I wanted to stick with the program. My very favorite part of the workout today was that I ran for 13 of the 15 minutes, the first 2 minutes were spent acclimating my legs and then I was able to run and keep my HR in zone 2, usually I would be way too tired at that point, it is very encouraging to see results.

So I was at the rec center pedaling and I decide that I want to try to keep up with the guy next to me. I think after a while he caught on to me and I felt like a nut, not quite as big of a nut as the Larry Craig incident at Red Robin but a nut all the same :)

Ironman Training day 12

Great workout again today, 60 minutes on the treadmill! tomorrow is a rest day and I think my A-S-S is going to be happy about that, it is feeling a little bit tight and ever so slightly sore...

All this exercise is certainly a good thing this time of year, I sure am wanting to eat a lot of good food and I think way deep in my brain there is a little voice saying "hey, go for it, you have burned a lit of calories this week" the reality is that I am not quite to that point yet but I am sure looking forward to that day :)

J.P. got me some new socks, Champion Double Dry, they are fantastic! I am hoping that they are going to help my very disgusting feet, I figure that they can only get better!

Ironman Training Week 2 Day 5

Well, I am starting to see a pattern with my workouts. I think I need to eat more prior to the actual exercising. I rode my bike for 1.5 hours today (22.27 miles on the trainer) and about 65 minutes in I was about to fall off the bike, luckily an apple was offered and I readily inhaled it :).
I think that maybe a power bar or fruit prior to the workout would be a good idea.

On the topic of the actual ride, 75 minutes in to it my hamstrings were starting to really ache, I slowed way down and kept pedaling and I made it to the end, it was a little bit of a struggle but after a few good stretches I felt much better. I am so inspired right now, I anticipate that there will be difficult days and weeks but for now things are GREAT!

Ironman Training Week 2 Day 4

Busy week, hard to find time to blog! Yesterday, I was at the rec center and was running on the treadmill, I was about 16 minutes in to the run and decided to check my pace, calories etc. I toughed the keypad and got a static like shock and the whole machine shut off! So I restarted and again about 14 minutes in, I decided to check the same stats and again shocked and the machine shuts off, very strange. So I start all over again, this time keeping my hands to myself and not touching a thing and I am able to successfully run for 15 more minutes without shutting the machine down, I have decided that I won't be using that machine in the future, it just seemed a little bit sketchy.

Ironman Triathlon Week 2 Days 2 & 3

I missed posting yesterday, I was kind of busy! Things are still going really well, I biked for 30 minutes and ran for 15, I felt great! Today was a "spinning" day, 30 minutes at <100 rpm's in z1. I stayed in high z1 to low z2, I couldn't find the right balance of tension but I will work on that. I am amazed at how inspired I feel and how on occasion I have wished that I had a little bit more to do, I know that once I add the swimming back in that will likely no longer be the case :)

I will say that it felt weird on Monday not doing anything because so much had gone on the week prior. 4 Hours over 6 days, that is pretty good, it is kind of hard to believe that I am only in week 2, over the Christmas Holiday it is going to be difficult to stay on track!

Ironman Training Week 2 Day 1

Another great day! 30 minute run, 16 minutes in to it, I was really wishing that I had eaten lunch prior to the run, oh well, lesson learned.

I am still hesitating getting back into the pool, I have a cut underneath my left baby toe, it is very similar to the injury that left me with strep toe last year so I think I am going to let it heal completely before going back in, the ear infection has me a bit spooked!

Other than that I will have my first business trip next week, it will be a challenge to make sure that I get the work outs in, especially after having dinner with potential donors!

Ironman Training Day 6

Well, I am feeling so encouraged! 45 minute run tonight, I did my "ladder" training, trying to improve my conditioning. I am actually pretty happy with the shape that I am in going in to training. Let me correct that, the "shape" I am in, not my actual shape :)

My hip flexor was fine until about 38:30, I had to walk the last 6 minutes because I just couldn't run. Jeff gave me some really good stretches from his track days and I hope that it helps, 26.2 miles is going to be miserable with a hip flexor that hurts after 38 minutes!

Ironman Training Day 5

I decided to put the "Ironman" in the title to make it more real. I had a great ride tonight, one hour on the trainer, lucky for me ABC Family is playing all of the Harry Potter movies, that makes the time fly by!

I can't figure out my Schwinn bike computer, maybe that's the problem. Jeff seems to like mine but I am not sure he knows how to use it either, but why would he?

Tomorrow's training will be interesting, hopefully I will be able to get to it, there is a big winter storm rolling in, could make the road trip north a bit trecherous--oh well the Disney Princesses await!