Another week done

This week has been exhausting on so many levels. New lows were hit this week but I don't think I will be staying there. There are things that I cannot change and that I try my best to accept.

Summary for week 7!

Swim - 1:55 4800m
Bike - 5:55
Run - 2:17 21.6km

A couple of highs: longest trainer ride ever at 3h and longest run of the year at 14km. Most of that pushing a stroller.

Life is throwing more at me this week to I need to relax and get ready for it.

They can't all be good

 That was the theme for both of today's workouts. My swim was a tough slog and on my "fast" sets I couldn't do it so I focussed on technique and just got the distance in. My run was an "incomplete". I couldn't get my breath and I had to cut it short. I am certain that it was residual fatigue from yesterdays 3 hour spin.

I'm not sure how well the balance thing is working out. This morning I was very sleep deprived and quite surly. I put Peanut in front of the computer to play Angry Birds so I could get some more sleep. This is a wake up call (ha!) for me. There is something off about this schedule. This is week 7, next week is a cut back week and the end of the base phase. The next 8 week macrocycle is build and I need to be fresh and rested if I am going to handle the long runs and rides.

Riding mental

If running 54 laps around a track with a stroller is running mental, then riding 3 hours on my indoor trainer is riding mental. With snack breaks (for the older fuzzies), naptime for Junior and a bit of refereeing, the total time it took was 3:40. Not sure what the distance equivalent of that is. It doesn't matter, but I did it. I even remembered to take in lots of calories while on the bike, and I had a huge snack after. My legs feel pleasantly tired.

What I need to do is come up with a workout, get used to really working the gears that I want to race in.

And Junior even slept in until  615am!

Checking in

I'm here. So busy and not enough (well rested) hours in the day to write. Still training, still parenting, still plugging along...

Perspective

Remember growing up when everything seemed so big? Hills were big and roads neverending? That's how I felt about the street I grew up on. It is on a hill and there is another hill in the middle of it. Every now and again I run this road and look at my youth. I remember where my friends lived. The house that burned down. The lot that was vacant the whole time I lived there (15 years) and still was 5 years later. And I love running past the house I grew up in. I always said that if given the chance I would buy it. That's not true now because I love the house I am in and I actually know the owner and when she told be about all the renovations she did I was no longer interested.

 Anyway I started on the west end and ran east. The first hill seemed like nothing today, but I can remember thinking it was so steep whenever I rode my bike up it. I barely noticed the hill in the middle. I can distinctly remember it being 400m long and a 10% grade growing up. How did they manage to flatten it? I picked up speed down the other side, ran past my old house, rounded the corner and ran down the hill on the east side. This is a good steep hill and I do remember flying down it on a bike. This one is probably 5% grade and about 100m long. A challenge in my youth but not now that i am a strong adult runner. And this neverending road is a mear 1.55km. And it took all of 8 minutes to run.

 Perspective...

Spring!

I think it is fair to say that spring is here! I was out this evening and the air had that crispness to it, you know the kind after a rainstorm. The sky is clear and the sun was shining. And now the sun is setting and I can see the colours in the sky. Does this mean that soon I will be riding outside? Possibly. I stand by my wussyness and refuse to go in extreme conditions, at least right now, but I am looking forward to the whir of my tires on the road and the scenery rushing by me. I am looking forward to when my parents are settled in their new house and we return to our regular routine. I hope this means that I will be able to do a long bike ride during the week. Then the shorter ride on the weekend with the option of the brick run. My husband has "called" Thursdays for fishing and I cannot argue with him about it. He is being flexible around my training and he deserves some down time too.

Nice

Isn't it nice to sit in a chair, in peace and quiet, legs extended on an ottoman?

The $13 workout

$11 for childcare and $2 for the post swim coffee. All worth it.

The kids like the childcare at the gym and even though the workout takes away from family time, they are still socializing and are happy. And then I am happy.

Everyone wins.

Week 5 done and a question for you.

Summary:

swim - 1:32 3600m
bike - 5:53
run - 2:14 20.9km

total - 9:49

This is one of my biggest training weeks EVER! I am looking forward to a rest day today.

When I did Iromnan in 2005 I coiuld count on one hand the number of weeks that were over 10 hours. I am hoping I am doing the right thing

I am pretty sure I have some silent readers among those who comment. For those that so say things, thank you. I appreciate the support. For those that don't, why not? xoxo

Nutrition pass!

I used gatorage on my workout today and it helped. I also remembered to eat enough today. Yay me!

I split up my workout to 3 20 min bike/10 min runs and it was a fantastic way to do it. Great for the mental because I only was thinking 10 or 20 minutes at a time. The bike was easy because I did a long one 2 days ago and I have a tough 90 minute workout tomorrow so I wanted the legs to be "fresh" but I tried to work a bit harder on the run. Each 10 minutes segmant was faster and farther than the one before. The first one I increased speed every 2 minutes, the second every 90 seconds and the third every minute. It really gave me confidence in my running speed.

The unfortunate thing about running by time instead of distance is that when it seems like your children are about to kill each other in the playroom, running faster doesn't end the workout sooner. And I was running too hard to give an effective stern voice. Why is it children choose to be at their worst when you are occupied?

Nutrition fail

Yes, it needs to get addressed ASAP. I didn't have an issue during the long spin yesterday but it was when I tried to do my late night swim that I felt the effects of not wating enough during the day. Usually after a hard workout I am not hungry for the rest of the day. I need to force myself to eat more.

The sleep is an issue too. I don't think I am getting quality hours at night and I am waking u much too early. Darn that Junior! Good thing he is cute.

The pain bank

A friend of mine came up with this phrasing during a hard workout (or was it a race?). Good thing I didn't say a good friend, haha. When you are suffering during a workout you are depositing into the pain bank. Your account grows with strength (I assume the interest is compounded daily, if not hourly) and you are supposed to withdraw it all on race day.

I made a hell of a deposit today: 12km on an indoor track that has an incline, running without music while pushing a stroller.

Still not whining.

The chocolate diet

I'm not usually a big fan of the sweet stuff but there is something about those little Cadbury bunnies that I love. They are becoming extinct in this house.

Priorities

Family time prevailed this week so I skipped a workout. I am totally fine with it. I have a big week coming up so I am going to enjoy the extra rest day and Easter food and drink.

This week's summary:

swim - 1:00 2000m
bike - 3:00
run - 58:00 9.7km

Total time 4:58

I am noticing that I am starting to feel tired. I need to look at my nutrition under the microscope again. The fuzzies are really good about asking for food when they are hungry and asking for things like cheese and fruit. I need to follow their example.

Intervals!

Intervals were on tap today, mainly because I wanted to run fast. I like to have a plan and I thought that it would be fun. Whoops, I mean "fun". I was definitely out of my comfort zone for them and that's what will make me a stronger runner. The first couple were not paced appropriately but the last three were better. I was able to get faster with each lap rather than hang on for dear life.

Note to self: don't plan intervals 15h after a tough hilly bike workout. The legs aren't happy.

Ah suck it up, right?

And please note that I am not whining!!

Summary of thoughts

Summary of this week:

swim - 1:30 (3500m)
bike - 5:30
run - 1:49 (16.9km)

Total training time - 8:49

No surprise that I feel tired. The jump in biking volume did me in a bit. Looking forward to a cutback week and an extra rest day.


I have managed to attemt every workout that has been on schedule. Although a couple were shorter than planned, I didn't bail on any of them.

The kids do cheer me on when I am running on the treadmill and I think they have gotten used to the background noise of it while they play in the basement. I really wish that Junior wasn't up so early, because then I wouldn't have to take time away from them to train. I do feel a bit guilty about that. I feel like I owe them my best effort if I am to be away from them.