Breakthroughs, Recoveries and Insights

I hope everyone has me listed through bloglines so they weren't checking back to see a new post. I extended my mental recovery period into the weekend partly due to a hectic work day Friday and a bigmongous training day Saturday. Let see how far back I need to go in my training.

Tuesday was my next training day. I was pleasantly surprised that my coach didn't schedule a swim workout for Tuesday morning. Slept in a little and felt great in the morning. My evening workout was a one hour run. Now my running has been slowly getting better. As usual I decided to just go with what felt good. Feeling good this time meant a 7:45 pace. I was cruising by the 1 mile mark so I just went with it. I was in Zone 2 for the first time in months. After 25 minutes I backed off a little to recovery slightly, then I picked it up again. I finished in 43 minutes. Since I added some intensity to the run I felt vindicated to cut things short. Still trying to be smart about the recovery on the leg.

Wednesday brought out the bike. A 90 minute evening ride was on tap. I was working from home all beautiful day. The dogs loved it since they could be outside as well. Somewhere in the afternoon Ruby decided to break through the Invisible Fence and have a little adventure. She was gone for around 4 hours and got nice and dirty. Some nice people that live not too far away rounded her up into their fenced in yard. Her tags have Aimee's cell phone and our address. I didn't think I was going to get my ride in since she was gone. Around 5:30 the couple drove over to tell me they had Ruby. I followed them back to their house and retrieved my dirty dog.

I did finally get on my bike, thank goodness daylight sticks around longer. I rode to my mechanic to pick up my truck after service. This ride was to be a easy Zone 2 ride. I felt great on this ride. The heart rate was right where it needed to be. Average speed was between 19-20 MPH and I held a high cadance 95-100 RPM. What a great ride.

Thursday I was back in the pool. Another 4000 yard workout. I struggled early on with getting my body started. I felt a little sluggish. My form was on but my focus was a little askew as my splits were all over the place. Too fast, too slow, a build which increased in time instead of decrease. It was an insightful day to realize that you can loose focus even within the confines of a pool.

Thursday evening I had a 45 minute run. I didn't double check my workout and was positive that I should run 60 minutes. I had a movie to return to Hollywood Video so I ran it up there literally instead of using the car, in case people haven't noticed gas prices are up. Another awesome run for me. 8:23 pace through streets I have never run on before. So the new scenary was an added bonus.

Friday was a typical rest day and I managed to get a massage in from Di. She's great because she tries to fit me in whenever possible and this time it meant going to her house for my massage.

Saturday was a big brick. Total time scheduled was 4:45:00 bike/run brick. Again I rode out of the house because of gas prices and I wasn't disappointed. The day started with a dense fog alert in the Cleveland area. I put on a wind vest and arm warmers to fight any chill, yet I could take them off when things warmed up. I also put my blinky butt light of the bike for safety reasons. Fortunately there isn't much traffic at 7:30Am on a Saturday to deal with, but still the fog was thick. The Cleveland Metroparks is similar to the Cuyahoga Valley National Park as they are both in a valley created by the rivers that feed Lake Erie. So in the Metroparks you have to climb a hill to get out of the valley. This worked well as I needed to do some hill climbing to get ready for my next tour of the Death Ride route. I hit almost every hill, 16 in total when I was done. Now these hills are nothing compared to what Bolder has been riding, most only lasted 2-5 minutes but I take what I can.

My coach said the ride should be 3:30 - 4:00. I went for the 4 hours instead. I like riding my bike. I had fun. However, I couldn't wait to get off the bike, but not for the reason you think. I could have gone another hour. I couldn't wait for my run after the bike. I was feeling so good I wanted to get my running shoes on for the 45 minute run that was waiting for me. as I turned into my development I saw Aimee waiting for me in the driveway. She was going to join me on her bike while I ran. I was hoping she would be up for it as she already did a 1:40:00 run with her friends earlier, I saw them in the park.

My run was feeling good as well. We went 6.6 miles in 53 minutes. I was at a perfect 8 min/mile and I didn't even feel like I was pushing it that much. Total workout time was 5:04:00 with 73.65 miles of biking and 6.6 miles of running. Man I feel good.

Finally on Sunday I did a 90 minute run in the morning. Legs were a little tired but that's how coach wants it. You have to know how to run on tired legs in Ironman. Regardless I did 12 miles at an amazing 7:55 pace. I'm so happy my running is coming back around. Coach says I'll start getting some hill repeats soon. To finish out my weekend I have a 30 minute run that I will hit as soon as I post this.

I know that was alot of reading above but I needed to get the great news about my training posted, especially my run. My excitement level is high as I far within 90 days of IM USA.

Tomorrow I'll provide some deep thoughts. You have lots of time to think while on a 4 hour bike ride.

I hope everyone else had a weekend that allowed them to get their Game On.