14 Weeks - Week of 3/8 - 3/14

This has been a very interesting week for me. I've had some extreme highs and lows. My heart rate has been all over the board. I've had days where I have felt great and days were I have felt like crap. Welcome to Ironman training right? I've been eating like there is no tomorrow and really need to focus on eating the portions that I need. Friday night Kyle and I went to Sweet Tomatoes, I ate over double what he ate, and I had been eating all day long. I'm feeling better about Cour d' Alene, I know I'll finish, we've always know that. Even though I know we call it a B race, there is still that voice in me that still really wants to PR. I know I can come in under 15, can I come in under 14:30?

Sunday - My run I did a point to point with my girlfriend. Her house to my house. I was very tired and really felt like I was struggling through out the run. I could not get my heart rate up to save my life. I knew my heart rate was low, but I did not have it in me to increase my cadence and bring it up. This run hurt, and I was in zone 1.

Distance - 10.5 miles, time - 1:54:37, pace - 10:55, HR - 132 (zone 1).

My bike ride didn't happen. After my run I had to do laundry, clean the house, go grocery shopping and then spend time with my kids. I did ride along side Kyle while he ran for 8 miles, high cadence on the mountain bike. I think that should count, and helped to work the lactic acid out of my system, which is why you had this on my schedule anyway, right?

Monday - I moved my swim to tomorrow, this is my early day at work.

Run - 5 easy miles. I felt much better today then yesterday. I like running alone at lunch.
Distance - 5.0 miles, time - 52:34, pace - 10:3, HR - 146 (zone 2)

Strength Training - I did core work and leg strength. I increased the weights and really focused on pushing more weight. I pushed myself more today then I have in the past.

Tuesday - Swim - my swim sucked. I felt like lead in the water. I was so slow, my first 500 I was swimming a 2:18 pace and I could not get into the rhythm. With the paddles I was swimming a 2:10, where before I would swim a 2:05 with the paddles. I don't know, just some days you have a great work out and some days you don't. This morning was a don't. But on a positive note, I was thinking about how much better I feel in the water. Even on a bad swim I feel comfortable in the water like the way you can just keep going when you are having a bad run to get the mileage in. So, in that aspect it's a good thing.

Spin Class - All I can say is there was one point in the second set, we were in small chain ring, 2 from the top and I sat there with my head down and prayed "please don't make us stand up, please don't make us stand up" I guess I have been a bad girl because the next thing I heard was "everybody up". Crap!

Wednesday - My swim, you had on my schedule 2000 (see below), below was 2600. I went with the 2600. I love this kind of swim, a nice easy recovery alternating between swim and pull. This is by far my most favorite swim workout, and it felt really good. I don't like speed work in the water, I do it, but I don't like it. Anyway, ya know what else is really good . . I averaged a 2:13/100 pace. That's a 1:24:14 IM swim. :-) I never pushed myself on this workout, I just enjoyed the water.

Strength Training - I did core work and upper body strength today. Again I increased the weights and tried to push myself. I find it easier to push myself with my legs then my arms.
Thursday - Early Morning - My pm spin was moved to the am because of the Sherox clinic tonight at Landis. I'll be honest I only rode 1:15, because I didn't get up on time . I was so tired and Kyle woke me up at 1:30am for sex, well ok but then I couldn't fall back asleep after. So, I was 15 minutes late on the bike. But I did push big gear, while watching Heroes and Dancing with the Stars. :-)

My run was terrible. I could not get my heart rate down to save my life, even in the warm up it was jumping into zone 5. I'm like a middle aged man with erectile dysfunction on Viagra. Earlier in the week I couldn't get it up and now I can't get it down. WTF?

Mile 1 - Pace 10:24, HR 152 (low zone 3), I warm up and I just don't feel right. My heart rate is over the place.
Mile 2 - Pace 8:58, HR - 170 (high zone 4), I start to hit it, I look at my heart rate, I know it's high, but I think I want to run, I want to go fast.
At the end of mile 2 I find myself puking. I stop, I puke, I feel like shit. I crouch down and think . . what should I do, should I go in early? Do I walk back to my office? Nope, I think I'll just try and keep my heart rate down and get in the mileage. I'm not going to worry about speed. For me this isn't about speed, it's about miles.
Mile 3 - Pace - 9:53, HR - 163 (low zone 4), Trying to keep my HR down, breathing.
Mile 4 - pace 10:24, HR - 164 (low zone 4), Into mile 4 comes a decision, so do I go up to the bridge at Rural and make this a 5 mile run? Since clearly it's not working out well for me at all. I'm listening to my iPod and Lose yourself by Eminem is on:

You better lose yourself in the music
The moment you own it you better never let it go, oh
You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow
This opportunity comes once in a lifetime, oh
You can do anything you set your mind to, man

Damn you Eminem, damn you . . . .YES I will go on, I will make this a 6 mile run regardless of how I feel, regardless of my jacked up heart rate.

Mile 5 - Pace 10:50, HR - 164 (low zone 4), I'm really just wanting to finish this mile, so I can go really really slow and get myself to that last easy mile.
Mile 6 - Pace 11:35, HR - 153 (low zone 3), At some point I had to stop, pour water over myself, wait until my heart rate came back down to a low zone 1, then I finished the run.

Friday - So, I know you had a 3,000 with speed work, but after this crappy week I made a decision that I needed another recovery swim. I wanted to make it count so I swam the 3,800. I alternated between swim and pull (my favorite work out) in increments of 500. So, this swim kicked ass.

Distance - 3800, Time - 1:22:12, Pace - 2:09/100 - holy shit!!!!!! I am so going to PR my swim at Cour d' Alene.

Saturday - Holy crap, what a ride. This was by far the hardest ride I had ever done. When we were getting ready for the ride some of the guys that have done it every year explain that the 96 mile ride was actually easier then the 66, but we didn't have time for 96. Well, it wasn't really 66, more like 63.28 (according to my Garmin) but it was hard harder then IM Austria. The ride back was definitely easier then the ride out. These numbers are all from the end of the world climb. I can tell you that Kyle was going 4.3mph at a 33 cadence. It was crazy. but I was very happy with my climbing (I was the first in my group of 4 to reach the top of the world, Kyle was not in my group). I missed my run after, not because I couldn't do it, but because everyone wanted to leave and I couldn't make them wait another 50 minutes while I ran 4 miles. This was an all day event.

Distance - 63.28, time - 4:45:57 (that's ride time, we did stop and rest . .wait . . eat, etc.), pace - 13.18mph, HR - 130 (very bottom of zone 2 . . how kick ass is that?)