Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Ok..It's been a strange few days training-wise, so hopefully I can remember everything!

Friday I was supposed to do mile repeats and ride an hour, but my knee had been bothering me the last few days, so I decided to do my brick workout instead. It went really well! Other than getting rained/hailed on, the hour ride went well and the 2 mile run was surprisingly fast. It was a great workout, but sadly the only one of the day!

Saturday I swam 2K. No running, again, as my knee was still concerning me. I don't really remember what the swim was!

Sunday..I think I rode for an hour on Sunday. That's all! Oh yeah, I must have, because I rode out to Talent with Travis and his uncle. It was an early, cold, fun ride! It's nice to ride with people whose 'cruising' pace is just a tad faster than mine!

Monday I swam a mile, and then rode an hour. The swim was okay..just okay. Don't remember what it was though..and the ride went well! I was getting really frustrated with this lingering, nagging knee pain, so I rode kind of hard. I just wanted to feel like I was putting work into my legs again! Might've ridden longer, but I had to get to work.

Yesterday I swam in the wetsuit I'll be wearing next weekend! I warmed up, and then did an 800 time trial. I think the time was right at 14:00..which is okay. Not great, but okay.

Today I rode an hour in the morning..I was originally planning on doing a brick, but then I decided I'd rather focus on a ride, and focus on a run. So I rode out to Emigrant. That ride's a good 'Head down and focus' ride, because it's not nearly as pretty as riding out to Talent! And I think the hills are worth a little more. Long rollers, instead of super short little bumps. Anyways, so I rode out a ways, stopped at one point to check my cleat, and at that time the clock was at 25:something so I just decided to turn around, thinking I'd ride slower on the way home. As SOON as I turned around, it started pouring/hailing! I love riding in that kind of weather. I feel so badass, and ride that much harder. Of course i didn't stop to put on armwarmers..no, just let the hail sting me and raced home. I threw in a .75 mile easy hill, and without the hill I would have definitely negative split the ride! It was awesome.

In the evening I ran an easy easy (but painful--I was super dehydrated) 3 mile run. Horrible run, as to be expected after taking five days off, but at least I got out there! Sometimes it's so hard to get going after a break. That's how I felt..but it can only get easier from here on out..for awhile, anyways!

Friday, May 21, 2010

Get It Done..

Wednesday I swam 1.5k and did core..I think the swim was a descending ladder of sorts. Then in the evening I went on an easy run..I really wasn't feeling it-tired, apathetic, just not wanting to run. So I decided to just go out there and even if I only ran a few miles, it'd be better than not running at all. Once I got into it I felt a little better, and wound up running the usual half-hour. When I got back and clocked my route, it said I ran 7:15 pace? Which seems WAY fast. So I don't really know what to think of that..oh well!

Yesterday I swam just shy of a mile in class..it was super frustrating, because I feel like I swim a lot, and work on stroke and reach and rotation etc., but I never get faster! At least I got the work done, I guess. Then I rode an hour in the evening..I swear every bad/rude driver and barking dog was out today! I had to change my route on the way home when I was being chased by dogs behind fences on either side of the street..it was just too freaky. Still got in the hour ride, though it never felt 'strong'. Again, I'd blast down hills and then crawl up them. Got the work done, thuogh. That's kind of been the motto of this week-just getting it done.

This always happens before a race, this apathy. Of course it's horribly times, as two weeks out from a tri is NOT the best time to want to take it easy! So it's head down, music on, mind off, get it done. Hopefully I'll start to see improvements, or get excited about the race, and the blahs will drop off!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Sunday I swam 2K! A good long swim for me. I got the single lane at the pool, too, so I was able to focus totally on the workout, and not on dodging scuba-mask swimmers!

Then I went on a great ride in the afternoon..1.5 hrs, into Phoenix and back. I tried to ride steady the whole time..I definitely need to work on climbing! I would get pretty fatigued on hills, then recover super fast when I bombed down the backside. Good ride though!

Monday I took the day off!!!!! It felt good, and was well-deserved.

Yesterday started with an hour ride. I tried to keep it easy, reminding myself to save it for the run later, though I still pushed myself a little bit. Really fun ride. In the afternoon I went on a run, and immediately I knew it was going to hurt. I just didn't have it in the legs. But I decided the run motto for the day was going to be "Champ it", so i ran a little further and a little faster than I thought I could! Turned into a good half hour run!

Saturday, May 15, 2010

Wednesday I ran 30 minutes with a friend, and that run went a lot better than Tuesday's! Still don't have any speed back, but I'm trying not to stress out about it. I also rode for an hour or so, SS for most of it. A really good ride!

Thursday I swam 1600m in class..it was a tough swim. lots of fast 50s (and by fast I mean 50 sec..haha I'm no great swimmer!). And then..I rode my bike all around town, though I didn't go on a real ride. I'm considering it my 'easy ride' day! In the evening I finally climbed, too! I was so happy to be back in the rock gym!! It's so hard to fit climbing in around training, but I hope after this quarter I'll be able to climb more..

Yesterday I ran 4 miles on the treadmill..it'd been awhile since I ran at the gym, and I was pretty bored and feeling kind of negative about it, but I decided to 'persevere' and just do it. It wasn't like the run tired me out..I just get bored and try to talk myself out of finishing a run. That was pretty much my only workout of the day!

Today I swam in the morning..1600m and it went well! some hard 200s, and lots of pull. Then I worked a bit, and ran in the afternoon. just 30 minutes around town, but it was good practice for me to run in slight heat!

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Up and Down the West Coast

Ok...

Friday I drove to Seattle for Mother's Day, and managed a good 30 minute run down to the beach and back! It was so so so nice to run with the salty air filling my lungs. I love that smell. The run itself was okay..I've been feeling really sluggish on my runs lately, due probably to inconsistency..

Saturday I went on an hour long early morning ride on the Burke Gilman. Like the bike path in Ashland, it's hard to get in speed or hard work on the Burke, because of all the people! But I was having too much fun winding along the waterfront to care much. It was a beautiful day and a good ride!

Sunday I went on an hour ride in Portland with a group of guys..we rode through a neighborhood to yet another bike path! I'm loving this exploratory riding. I was hoping to run in the evening, but by the time I got back home (after the car overheating a few times!) it was too late to run.

Monday I finally swam! It felt soo good. The pool was super crowded, but whenever that happens I remind myself it's good practice for triathlon--I get a chance to choke on waves and spot and be crowded! I also got in a core session!

Yesterday I ran, and it did not go well. I was super dehydrated, and it was earlier in the morning than I usually run. It was a hard run, but I got tough in the last ten minutes. The first 20 were horrible though. This week is all about run consistency!

Boring post..but no great training stories! I've got a solid week this week, so hopefully adventures will occur! :)

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Moving Along..

Ok, let's see if I can remember the last few days' workouts. It's been a low-key week, so it should be easy!

Tuesday after class I went on an hour ride along the bike path..I'd forgotten how bumpy that path is! Kind of frustrating when I'm trying to do pick-ups, and I keep having to brake so I don't launch over root mounds. Oh well..it was still a beautiful ride! Then I went straight to swimming, where I only had time to bust out 1K of drills before I had to study for a test..swimming's kind of on the back burner this week, as I work on my stroke and focus a bit more on bringing biking back into my life!

Yesterday I only managed a 30 minute run around town. Nothing special, but as always I love the feeling of running after a few days off! It's the whole 'few days off' thing I need to work on..

Today was another short 1k drill swim, with a lot of stroke focus. I probably should invest in swim lessons..the instructor in the lap class can only help so much, with 15 other students to help. Oh well. Having the input of an experienced triathlete is definitely helping!

Then in the afternoon, I went on a great ride with a new friend! He took me all over these beautiful country roads I didn't even know existed. The ride was supposed to be an hour, but I was having too much fun to care, and nearly two hours later I made it home stoked to ride more!

Good day. Good day.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Good Weekend

Well, I never made my ride on Friday-I took the whole day off! Saturday, however, turned into a pretty good day. I worked all morning, and then rode to the pool. I can't remember what the swim was, but it was 1.5k, and other than some right elbow pain, it was good! Then I hopped right on my bike and rode an hour out on HWY 66 and back. That was a fun ride! Super windy, sunny, calm roads. It became obvious that my bike's too big for me, but I'll deal with it.

Yesterday I got up and rode to the pool again and got in another good 1.5k swim, as a fun pyramid. Then in the evening I went on a good 40 minute run to the park, around the park for awhile getting lost, and then home. I hadn't run in a few days, and it felt great! And I even got in some core at the gym after swimming--I'm the worst about doing core!