Ironman Week 23

6/4-6/10

Aka Weekly Recap, Instagram Edition. Since I think a blog post is much more enjoyable with pictures, I thought I'd share some shots from my week, both from training and just life. Anyway, this week marked the first official taper week before Ironman, now just two short weeks away (!!!). Taper still meant 10+ hours of training though, and still included a long swim, bike, and run. With a little more free time, however, I was able to fit in some fun non-training stuff, too : ) The big highlight of the week was receiving this in an email:

it's really happening!

 

And then seeing that bib numbers were posted!

 start sending good vibes for #144!

Monday
rest

Tuesday
pm: bike / 17.8 mi / 1:00 / avg 17.8 mph
Being a day off, I had both a swim, bike, and run scheduled to take advantage of the free day. I slept in a bit, ate a good breakfast, and made a homemade carrot-apple-orange-ginger juice. I had track that night, so my plan was to ride in the early afternoon, head to the pool, then straight to the track.  Triathlon Tuesday was a looong day!

 started off Triathlon Tuesday with a delicious juice!

Not sure why, but this was a great ride! I kept my HR in a steady zone 2 but was able to push the pace. Side note: I'd thought my HR monitor was on the fritz after it wasn't being detected during the Motherlode Century, so I just haven't been using it since. I decided to throw it on for the ride just to double check, and sure enough it seems to be working!

pm: swim / 3,700 yds / 1:25

• warm-up:
• 5x200, RI=20"
• main:
• 4 x [100 drill / 100 @1:50 / 100 @1:40-1:45], RI=15"
• 12x75 as 25 kick / 25 technique / 25 fast, RI=15"
• cool-down:
• 4x50 swim golf
• 400 easy

This was my longest swim to date, and will be my longest before Ironman. I felt like I was in the pool forever, but fortunately the actual workout was broken up so it wasn't too boring. The faster 100s were a challenge, and I was definitely on the higher end of the pace range, but I stuck it out. By the end, though, I just wanted to get out of the water! I also got a late start and had to rush to track, my skin still pruny and my eyes ringed from my goggles : /

pm: run / 3.8 mi / 0:32 / avg 8:25
This week's track workout was a little different than usual: a continuous 3 miles, increasing the pace each lap so that the final lap of each mile was at a hard effort. I felt ok for the first mile, but started to feel very nauseous in the last two. I managed to stay pretty consistent with my paces, but I didn't feel so great by the end. It was a hot day, I was tired from riding and swimming before, and I may not have eaten enough that afternoon. As we finished we joined the rest of the group for a few 100m all-out sprints (16.4, 15.9, 16.7). I haven't ran this fast in a looong time, and it was almost kind of fun! But thank God it was such a short distance : )

Wednesday
am: bike / 76.8 mi / 4:30 / avg 17.1 mph

Since my long rides have been during the week due to my work schedule, I usually end up doing them alone. This week, however, my friend Cris (who's also doing Cd'A) had a 2 hour ride on deck so I decided to split my ride and join her.

We met at her place in Natomas and set out on the levy before hopping on the bike trail. Our pace on the bike trail was pretty good, but riding on the roads before and after slowed us down a bit. It was a beautiful morning and so great to have the company. The 2 hours went by pretty fast and I said goodbye and headed back home. About an hour later I set out solo for the second half of my ride. I just went up and down the bike trail, and actually had a much faster ride, going from a 16.3 mph average by the end of the first 2 hours to a 17.1 mph average at the end of 4.5 hours. My legs felt pretty good and my bum wasn't too uncomfortable. The highlight of the ride, however, was seeing this guy:

This is the second turtle I've spotted on the bike trail, and this time I happened to have my camera on me! Once again, he was crossing the bike trail, so I moved him back to the bushes on the river side : )

pm: run / 3.3 mi / 0:30 / avg 9:15
I almost thought of skipping this, but then I remembered it was National Running Day. So even though it was only a 30 minute transition run, I was glad I got in a few miles!

I was absolutely starved after training for 5 hours, so my mom and I went out for dinner at one of my favorite local restaurants, the hip Tower Cafe. I will say that one thing I will miss about Ironman training is being able to eat whatever I want!

Thursday
Thursday nights I usually go to the MTC group swim, but toward the end of my shift at work I was feeling pretty gross. I think I was more rundown than anything, but I was tired and felt a little feverish. I got halfway to the pool before deciding that calling it an early evening and getting some extra rest was a better choice. I had a scheduled rest day the next day and figured 2 days in a row would hopefully leave me rested and refreshed.

Friday
rest

Saturday
am: bike / 19.6 mi / 1:10 / avg 16.8 mph
Holy wind! I was sleeping with my window open and woke up to loud noises outside. It sounded like wind, but I thought there was no way it could be that windy. Oh, but it sure was! I almost considered throwing my bike on the trainer but was short on time so I just figured I'd get it done. Thankfully it wasn't a direct headwind for most of the ride, but it was still pretty brutal. In some sections it was so strong I could barely manage 14 mph, and others I had the wind on my back and was cruising at 20 mph. In some spots the crosswinds were so strong I thought I was going to be blown off my bike. I had intervals as part of the workout, too, but with the conditions I just focused on moving forward and getting the ride done.

I was supposed to do a 30 minute transition run, but didn't allot enough time for it, so I skipped it. Normally I'd feel a little guilty, but honestly I was glad I didn't have to go back out in that wind!

The wind continued the rest of the day, filling the roads with branches, leaves, and other debris, and being a pain in the ass for allergy sufferers. Here's a video I took to try and capture how crazy the gusts were:

I didn't have any training to do that evening so I took advantage of the chance to wear normal clothes and have a bit of a social life. My coworker and I went to Pops in the Park again, and then headed back to midtown for Second Saturday to grab dinner before heading to a concert. Mickey Avalon was performing at a local club and we were able to get in free through some connections. I was totally out of my element (wearing a maxi dress when most of the females there were practically naked), but it was still quite fun. Mickey is absolutely insane, and I mostly just stared at him in awe during his performance. It ended up being a late night, and I hoped it wouldn't come back to bite me Sunday morning during my long run!

Mickey Avalon
 

Sunday
am: run / 12.9 mi / 2:00 / avg 9:18
After staying out a tad too late and having a couple drinks the night before, I didn't know how this run would go, but I figured it was only two hours so one way or another I'd get through it. I didn't have to work til noon so I got to sleep in for a bit, and that probably was my saving grace. I was still tired and a little dehydrated when I set out, but I managed to have a pretty decent run. It was a warm but clear morning, with tons of people, especially cyclists, out on the bike trail. This was also my last long run before Ironman...yikes!

spotted this guy along the way...king of the squirrels!
 

pm: swim / 1,600 yds* / 0:30
After work I headed to Lake Natoma for my weekly open water swim. It was a hot day, so the water actually felt amazing. I was bummed to find that they'd removed most of the buoy lines, but fortunately there was still one line left. I had a shorter swim this week so I swam the length of the buoy line and back, then went back out for a few minutes to get to 30 minutes. While I swam I tried to do some visualization of my Ironman swim, focusing on keeping myself relaxed and maintaining good form. Hard to believe that if all goes well I'll be an Ironman in two weeks!

nothing to do with training, just a gratuitous pup pic : )

Totals

swim: 5,300 yards

bike: 114.2 miles

run: 20 miles

other: 0 hours

total time: 11.6 hours