I'll admit, I'm behind on the blog again. Rather than trying to recap everything I missed, I'll give you my favorite highlight.
I did 3 HOURS ON THE TRAINER this weekend. Absolute absurdity, but given the weather it was my only realistic option. The boredom was amplified by the fact that we do not have cable and there was only one channel that wasn't showing infomercials all morning on Saturday! So, I plopped myself in front of the TV and caught up on my ski racing... haha! Did you know that the guy that won the giant slalom for the season is sponsored by Parmigiana Reggiano?? Yep, he's sponsored by cheese. How do I get that gig?! Luckily, the distraction of dreaming about being sponsored by cheese (or maybe wine) kept me going for quite a while. Throw in the occasional ski crash and it was almost an entertaining morning... almost. I did a quick brick run after that ride just to get my legs used to the idea that I will have to run after this crazy long ride. Frankly my legs felt better than expected. The usually wobbly-ness to start, but generally not bad.
So, on to this week. Here's the plan:
Monday - long swim (DONE, see below)
Tuesday - 50 min. run (DONE, see below) + 2 hr. ride after work (on the trainer, since it's snowing)
Wednesday - 90 min. ride (likely on the trainer)
Thursday - swim (another tough workout) + 120 min. run (hoping the weather holds up)
Friday - swim (slightly shorter than the others)
Saturday - Jeremy's 50K, I'll likely fit in an hour or so of running in between my crewing duties
Sunday - 3 hour ride + 30 min. brick run (PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do your good weather dance for me)
Yesterdays swim was challenging. I did 3000m after work at the JCC (w.u. 4x75, main: 2x500, 15x100 EBEH, c.d. 100 swim, 100 back). By about the 10th 100 of the main set I was starting to feel it. Those last 5 100's (especially the hard 25 at the end of each) were brutal, but I pushed through. Glad I got it done!
This morning I did my run on the treadmill at the JCC due to the snow and lack of daylight before work. It's crazy how 5 miles really isn't that big of a deal anymore. I'm starting to get great joy out of the fact that in the time I'm on the treadmill, 2-3 people will cycle on/off each of the machines around me. This wasn't quite as evident today, but if you stay on the treadmill for an hour or more it's pretty fun to watch. My plan for today is to eat well, and stay off my feet as much as possible in lab so I can get through my 2 hour ride tonight. Right now, my recovery chocolate milk is making me quite happy : )
~Ash
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Off on the right foot
This week is off to a rockin' good start so far. Yesterday, I met Nelly in the morning at the JCC for a swim. Felt pretty good! My left shoulder showed no signs of pissy-ness... woohoo! Then, last night I hopped on the trainer after work for a 90 minute ride. I wasn't entirely sure that this wouldn't kill me after a long day at work, but I did the whole 90 minutes. Go me!! My butt was a tad sore from Sunday's ride, but all in all not a bad workout. I'm a little nervous about the 2 hour ride I'm supposed to do tonight, but let's tackle one thing at a time!
This morning I did 6 miles on the treadmill at the JCC before work. NOT ideal conditions. Obviously, I would rather run outside, but this whole daylight savings time thing is putting a dark damper on my morning runs. Not to worry, I made it happen on the treadmill despite the fact that it was about 100 degrees in the gym. I'm seriously considering a note to the management. Is it not possible to keep the workout rooms at a more reasonable temperature? I like to sweat as much as the next girl, but when it's running into your eyes and you think you're going to fall off the treadmill, it's a little excessive!
Feeling pretty good today overall. Hungry as all get out, but that's pretty normal these days. Speaking of which... it's time for lunch, yay!
~Ash
This morning I did 6 miles on the treadmill at the JCC before work. NOT ideal conditions. Obviously, I would rather run outside, but this whole daylight savings time thing is putting a dark damper on my morning runs. Not to worry, I made it happen on the treadmill despite the fact that it was about 100 degrees in the gym. I'm seriously considering a note to the management. Is it not possible to keep the workout rooms at a more reasonable temperature? I like to sweat as much as the next girl, but when it's running into your eyes and you think you're going to fall off the treadmill, it's a little excessive!
Feeling pretty good today overall. Hungry as all get out, but that's pretty normal these days. Speaking of which... it's time for lunch, yay!
~Ash
Monday, March 14, 2011
Big week!
This is going to be a big week for me. It's going to be a mental and physical test of whether I'm really up for this whole crazy Ironman thing. Here's the plan:
Monday - Swim (race specific, before work with Nelly, see below)
Ride 90 min. (after work on the trainer)
Tuesday - Run 60 min. (before work, likely treadmill due to daylight savings)
Bike 120 min. (after work, likely on the trainer, this will be brutal)
Wednesday - OFF!
Thursday - Swim (speed day, before work)
Run 100 min. (after work, hopefully outside)
Friday - Swim (long day, before work)
Saturday - Brick: 3 hr. ride followed by 30 min. run (this will be KILLER)
Sunday - Run 45 min.
Swim 30 min. continuous (this is supposed to be open water, but let's not get too crazy)
Holy crap, this is going to be one crazy week of training. Here's hoping!
~Ash
Monday - Swim (race specific, before work with Nelly, see below)
Ride 90 min. (after work on the trainer)
Tuesday - Run 60 min. (before work, likely treadmill due to daylight savings)
Bike 120 min. (after work, likely on the trainer, this will be brutal)
Wednesday - OFF!
Thursday - Swim (speed day, before work)
Run 100 min. (after work, hopefully outside)
Friday - Swim (long day, before work)
Saturday - Brick: 3 hr. ride followed by 30 min. run (this will be KILLER)
Sunday - Run 45 min.
Swim 30 min. continuous (this is supposed to be open water, but let's not get too crazy)
Holy crap, this is going to be one crazy week of training. Here's hoping!
~Ash
New tire and spring weather
I will not lie and say this is the only reason that my mid-week training was a little off last week, but I did blow a tire. I think it was Wednesday or Thursday that I went to get on the trainer and noticed that my back tire had a major blow out. Amazingly, the tube hadn't blown, but I had a 1-2 inch slice right through my tire. At first I was puzzled - how do you slice your tire riding on the trainer? Then it hit me... I hadn't released the cam lever after my last ride, and with the dry Utah air and major temperature fluctuations, I think the rubber just finally said "screw you". Needless to say, my ride that day was a no-go. The good news is that Jeremy picked up a replacement for me and I installed it before my weekend ride.
Last week wasn't great in terms of training volume. I got all of my runs in, including an awesome early morning run with Nelly on Friday. Bike and swim took a bit of a hit though. Man, this training schedule is tough to live up to. I'm going to do better though. Luckily, the weekend afforded an opportunity to catch up a bit.
Saturday I went on a long run with Jeremy. Not my best run ever, but given my run volume from the week I wasn't terribly surprised. Yesterday the weather was GORGEOUS! I was able to go for my first outside ride of the season... woohoo! Jeremy had heard of a bike path nearby that's supposed to be good for training, so we went to check it out. It will be a great spot for bricks down the road! I had a good ride yesterday, 24 miles total. The ride out was awesome - I felt great, the sun was warm on my arms, etc. The ride back was brutal. There was no bathroom at the turn around so my bladder was pissed, plus there was a 20 mph headwind to contend with. Not a fun ride back at all, but I survived.
I WILL do better this week, both with training and with blogging. I swear.
Last week wasn't great in terms of training volume. I got all of my runs in, including an awesome early morning run with Nelly on Friday. Bike and swim took a bit of a hit though. Man, this training schedule is tough to live up to. I'm going to do better though. Luckily, the weekend afforded an opportunity to catch up a bit.
Saturday I went on a long run with Jeremy. Not my best run ever, but given my run volume from the week I wasn't terribly surprised. Yesterday the weather was GORGEOUS! I was able to go for my first outside ride of the season... woohoo! Jeremy had heard of a bike path nearby that's supposed to be good for training, so we went to check it out. It will be a great spot for bricks down the road! I had a good ride yesterday, 24 miles total. The ride out was awesome - I felt great, the sun was warm on my arms, etc. The ride back was brutal. There was no bathroom at the turn around so my bladder was pissed, plus there was a 20 mph headwind to contend with. Not a fun ride back at all, but I survived.
I WILL do better this week, both with training and with blogging. I swear.
Monday, March 7, 2011
Goodbye "Prep", Hello "Base 1"
The goal of this 2nd phase of the training plan is to "increase hours while maintaining consistency". It is also the phase where I can seriously start to work on my nutrition and dropping a little excess weight. Last week was a little overwhelming with work, etc., but I'm feeling good and I'm pumped to dive into this week.
One major bonus of this phase is that I no longer have double days on Fridays. That was brutal and I'm glad it's over!
Plan for the week:
Monday - Swim (speed workout). Finished this morning... details below.
Tuesday - 2 hr. ride (before work), swim (after work)
Wednesday - 45 min. run (before work), long swim (after work)
Thursday - 60 min. run (before work), 1.5 hr. ride (after work)
Friday - 60 min. run (before work)
Saturday - OFF!
Sunday - 2 hr 40 min. long ride (hopefully outside, weather permitting)
My swim this morning was great. It was a tough little workout, 2250m total (warm up: 250, alternating 50 swim/50 kick, main: 400, 4x100, 300, 3x100, 200, 2x100, long sets slow/short sets fast, cool down: 2x75, 1x50). The main set was very challenging. Throwing in the speed sets between the longer sets was fun though and definitely broke up the workout. Happy to not have a double day today : )
I'm not only recommitting to the training, I'm recommitting to blogging. It really makes a difference when I sit down to write about my workouts. As of now, there's no reason I should have to skip a workout this week. Here's to a good training week!
~Ash
One major bonus of this phase is that I no longer have double days on Fridays. That was brutal and I'm glad it's over!
Plan for the week:
Monday - Swim (speed workout). Finished this morning... details below.
Tuesday - 2 hr. ride (before work), swim (after work)
Wednesday - 45 min. run (before work), long swim (after work)
Thursday - 60 min. run (before work), 1.5 hr. ride (after work)
Friday - 60 min. run (before work)
Saturday - OFF!
Sunday - 2 hr 40 min. long ride (hopefully outside, weather permitting)
My swim this morning was great. It was a tough little workout, 2250m total (warm up: 250, alternating 50 swim/50 kick, main: 400, 4x100, 300, 3x100, 200, 2x100, long sets slow/short sets fast, cool down: 2x75, 1x50). The main set was very challenging. Throwing in the speed sets between the longer sets was fun though and definitely broke up the workout. Happy to not have a double day today : )
I'm not only recommitting to the training, I'm recommitting to blogging. It really makes a difference when I sit down to write about my workouts. As of now, there's no reason I should have to skip a workout this week. Here's to a good training week!
~Ash
Last week was madness!
Seriously, my week exploded. Work was nuts, life was nuts, everything was nuts! I did an OK job of training, but not nearly as good as I would have hoped. The (somewhat) good news is that it was supposed to be a recovery week, so at least I didn't miss lots of critical workouts. The highlight of the week was my long run on Saturday with Jeremy. He was very impressed with my improvement since it had been a while since we had run together. Go me!
I am recommitted to the training plan and this week promises to be much better than last!
~Ash
I am recommitted to the training plan and this week promises to be much better than last!
~Ash
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