Here's an update on the workouts. The rest of the previous week involved a treadmill hill workout (yes there are billions of hills here, but no they are not consistent!) and another swim in the "long" pool.
Last weekend was heavy on the workouts. I guess that's part of the big build up. I had a 90 min bike/60 min run on Saturday, and decided that since my boyfriend was in town, I should try to do everything as close to home and efficiently as possible, and didn't go to the group ride I went to the previous weekend. So, I drove around trying to find a safe route from my house, mapped it out, and left as soon as I woke up in the morning. I took the roads directly behind my apartment complex, and they are HILLY. It was quite the start to the ride- no time to warm up before tackling the first uphill! On one of the roads I had planned to be on, I missed a turn off (to stay ON the road, silly massachusetts!) and ended up coasting down a long long hill, holding on for dear life. When I got to the bottom, my first thought was, uh oh, how the heck am I going to get back UP that... Luckily, I had come across a local 6 mile rail trail, so I rode that for the middle section of the ride before bracing myself for the uphill home. I finally decided, of course I can do this, and plugged away in my smallest gear till I made it to the top. Truth be told, it was not as bad as I had anticipated, and I was just so glad to be at the top! When I got back home, I said hi to the boyfriend, then quickly transitioned out for my run. My usual run route takes me up some long hills on the way out. I then get the rewards on the way home of a downhill for the last mile or so. Around minute 45, I hadn't yet gotten to the series of downhills, and I was approaching another uphill. I nearly lost it, and almost started crying. But, I told myself, you need to run for 15 more minutes, you can DO this. So I buckled down, got up the hill, and breezed the rest of the way home (mostly downhill). I was so glad when I got home, considering I had basically done an olympic tri (minus the swim) and felt ready to face the rest of the day.
Sunday I had a 2:30 ride on the schedule but I was meeting a friend from work to do a ride she got from a "massachusetts road bike route" book. The ride was a loop that started and ended in Hopkinton, right across the street from the start of the Boston Marathon. It was 42.5 miles long, which under flat circumstances wouldn't be too much over 2:30 I don't think...however, with the quite hilly terrain, and with stopping to check the map and for lights and all, it was more like 3:15. However, it felt really great to have accomplished that! Here is the elevation profile, because I think it was pretty insane (nothing like the elevation profiles from my Chicago rides!):
After that, Monday was a much needed day off!
Tuesday- Friday were fairly uneventful workouts- 2 trainer rides (to netflix streaming movies/tv) and a treadmill run (it rained all week!) and 2 swims. The most annoying was Friday's swim, however, where I knew it was going to take me longer than an hour, and instead of planning to cut the warm up short, I just got up extra early to get to the gym at 5:30 when the pool opened. However, the lifeguard was late, and didn't show up until 6:10!!! So, I was forced to cut the warm up down in order to make it to work on time. But, I did my best effort on the main section!
This morning I had a transition workout- 6x 10 min bike 5 min run, and I elected to do the biking on the trainer, just because it was easier logistically, and run through my apartment complex parking lot. I'm sure I looked ridiculous emerging from my apartment every 12 minutes or so to go for a short run! At least it wasn't too crowded. It was a lovely day though, so the run outside felt fantastic. This workout was tough though, as my legs are getting more and more tired as the training continues! Tomorrow I have a 2:15 ride and a 1:15 run. Luckily, there's a firefighters memorial bike ride that a coworker told me about nearby in the morning. It has a 16 mile loop which you can do 1, 2, or 3 times. 2 times should fit perfectly into 2:15 (or at least close enough) so I am really looking forward to doing this chunk of the workout with company, and then I'll hit up the run while people go out for a third loop.
Next week is a recovery/race week and I am really feeling like my legs can use it. I am super excited about all of the workouts I've completed over the last couple of weeks, and I can feel myself improving in speed and strength (especially battling all of these hills!) but I am looking forward to a lighter weekend next weekend of just a shorter ride and the half marathon.
I read something posted on facebook, I think, that said, pay day is either today or raceday. This thought has gone through my head a lot during the tougher workouts I had this week. It has been really motivational to keep me going, to keep me honest, and to keep me excited about my training. I am trusting that with all of this hard work I have been putting in, I WILL get through the half ironman and will be so proud of all of the work I have done! 6 more weeks!
No comments:
Post a Comment