I ended my first week of base building for the Half Ironman.
Swim: 4800m, 3 sessions
RUN: 32 m, 5 sessions (yes, I am running more than I should, I know)
BIKE: 92 miles, 3 sessions
Hurray! Loved it, loved it, loved it!
My running legs came back this week and I ran comfortably close to my "predicted" MP. Sweet!
I have the hardest time keeping the easy days easy and I have to constantly check the Garmin and slow myself down. I know that is important, so I do it.
I am seeing progress in the pool. Every time I go, I spend 5-10 minutes watching swimmers who know what they are doing, asking questions, etc. People are so nice and encouraging and...liars (e.g.," such a nice stroke you have!" No, I don't, really!) I feel much more comfortable swimming, and for the first time, this week, I felt pain in my arms from lactic acid accumulation, even though I was not out of breath! I've lost one minute or so in the 400m test, so that is awesome! Early June the outdoor pool at the Y will open and will be there everyday, which means I'll sneak in a few yards daily!
Today I fell in love with biking. I wanted to ride 40 miles, 10 more than last week, but had no clue where to go. I ended up going on the bike path till the end (8 miles), and then followed this guy (who lost me pretty quickly) toward Bedford, Billerica, Chamsford. The terrain was rolling, which was great as I got to practice going up and down hills and shifting. I did not care about speed and just focused on keeping my cadence over 90 (yeah, that is not easy for me, but I am getting better). There were very few cars on the road, and tons of bikers. The weather was perfect and I felt like a kid with a new toy. It helped that Roostom from the Quad Cycles (who's son is one of Petru's favorite playmates) in Arlington tuned my bike, changed my back tire that was close to explosion from too much trainer work, installed my odometer and a new cascate (?, I think - note to self, register for a learn the bike workshop!). I had the best time for those 2 and a half (?) hours I spent riding; not one minute did I feel like I wanted the ride to end, which is awesome! I think my bike has a great fit, because I had zero pain during or after the ride! Another thing I love about riding is that I get to eat real food (peanut butter and jelly, yum!) as opposed to gels, like I do in running.
So, a very successful week for this runner who is playing with the triathlon!
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As a side note, I discovered what caused my awfull marathon blister. A pebble! Yes, a tiny pebble got caught in the tread sole of my Nike Frees! I am saving that one, as a symbol and a reminder that little things can cause big trouble!
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14 comments:
Damn pebble. Amazing how such a teeny thing can cause such a big problem! I'm glad you dont' have to give up on your shoes now.
yay for tri training. I'm loving it too. Do you have a computer? I don't and I'm always curious of what my cadence is. I think it would be wise to get one since I'm a beginner. Your already so strong on the bike!
Kristen, I did get one and it makes a huge difference!
A pebble??? How annoying. But how good that you know what the culprit was. If you had never found the pebble then you could go crazy trying to figure out what the problem was.
Glad you are loving the bike. It is an eminently lovable thing, especially when the weather is nice and you are exploring countryside far from your normal environs. I like it.
And for Kristen - yes, I highly recommend getting a computer with cadence when you are new to cycling. It will give you the most benefot while you are still developing your form. And they are cheap enough to be well worth the investment.
Paul :-)
You probably mean 'cassette'. And yes, lots to learn about bike maintenance but none of it is rocket science. You just need a little lesson and practice. Years ago I had a friend make me change out tubes and tires for about an hour in his living room before he 'allowed' me to ride outside by myself. Lol. Glad you're enjoying the tri training!
Hi,
it took me couple weeks to read all your blog posts dating back to 2008 but loved every single one of them. You are an awesome runner with a lot of mental strength. (I need to learn that.)
I am looking forward to reading about your further progress.
What fun with the tri training! 40 miles is the PERFECT distance... :) I'm glad you had fun with it!
Interesting about the pebble. It was on the outside of the shoe? So your strike was different than usual?
i like the "moral of the story" behind the pebble. at least you know it's not the shoes/your socks or something!
you are a crazy training addict ;)
Sounds like some nice mileage! You'll be in great shape for your race.
I thought of you yesterday b/c I hot a blister on my 10-miler--not anything like yours, but it made me happy I wasn't running a marathon on it.
Mary, not sure if there is something about the model of Nike Frees I have, but it's very easy to collect pebbles in the treads. The soles are so thin that that within 3 miles, the pebble "bloodied" my shoe! I wore the shoes today for 10 miles, no problem!
Hi Ana Maria,
I am so glad that you are excited about swimming and biking!! Isn't it nice to have something to motivate you again! You are going to do fantastic!
Rocks in the shoe.. got to hate that.
Oh my, a silly pebble??? That's just nuts, isn't it??!!?? Well, pebble's gone so hopefully no more blisters!
You're doing so awesome with the swimming, I wish you lived here and we could go swim together. Tara and I spend more time talking than swimming, though, so maybe not. Haha.
Thank you sooo much for your encouraging words about my heel pain (I can't afford to go have it xray'd right now); it felt so good to hear that you had similar problems. I did get new shoes with more cushion and it feels better...not great when I walk w/o shoes but when I'm running, it's okay. Yah!!
Have a great week, keep up the great work...I'm totally impressed with all your training for your upcoming tri!!!
omgosh a pebble?!?! ugggg.
i have a feeling you are going to be quite the triathlete :)
I thought of you this weekend when I started getting horrible blisters on the balls of my feet. Thank goodness I wasn't doing a full marathon!
And I am still terrible with bike maintenance. I am a disgrace to female cyclists everywhere.
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