Big Deposits at the Bank of Ironman

This past weekend was a busy one but very important for my IM training.

Friday is my typical rest day. I slept in a little and took a cold bath for my legs before taking a regular shower. I had to drive 3 hours in the afternoon to a customer for an evening migration. The work didn't last long and I was sleeping by 11:30PM. the next morning I just needed to check on the customer and drove home. I was back by 12:30PM. I still had to do my workout for the day.

Usually I have a long ride/run brick on Saturdays then a long run on Sunday....supposed to simulate running on tired legs. But with the weekend schedule I switched the two workouts around. I ran my 2 hours Sat. afternoon starting around 3:00PM. The weather was threatening the whole time but I never had any rain. I was feeling great running on "fresh" legs for once. I was in my target HR zones and had a nice rolling course. I'll have to introduce it to my Cleveland friends. All said and done I put in 16 miles again, same mileage as last week. I calculated my pace and I hit 7:45 average per mile. It was good going that fast but that will not be my run pace at Ironman, I'm hoping for 9's.

Back at home Aimee and I made some pizza on the grill and I prepared all my gear for the brick on Sunday. I went back to the CVNP for my Lake Placid training ride, aka the Death Ride. The workout plan called for 5 hours on the bike and a 45 minute run afterwards. This Death Ride is comprised of approximately 14 hills coming out of the valley with plenty of rollers in between each hill. These hills ranged from a short steep climb for 1 minute to a longer gradual climb that lasted 15 minutes. In between were rollers that usually lasted 20 minutes.

Of course some of the steeper climbs are later in the route on very tired legs. My first hill I knew it would be a long day as my legs were still tired from the 16 miles the day before. But the more I rode the better they felt. They started to loosen up and respond to the climbing. The best hills were in the middle portion of the ride. I did enjoy the entire ride and had some funny observations during the rides, usually involving farm animals and a slug.

As I finished the bike ride I rolled into the parking lot and mentally made myself ready for the run. I didn't look at my bike computer on purpose. I didn't want to know my stats until I was all done. The display on the computer shows RPMs and total time. It will be like that at Lake Placid also.

After a 5 minute transition I headed out for my run. This was the worst my legs have ever felt after a ride. Heavy and tough to move. I thought I would have to walk some but I pushed on. My first mile was 9:30, okay not bad. Then my legs started to respond to the new movement. My stride was short but quick. I made sure my upper body was relaxed and focused on pace and form. I kept it flat since I did a rolling course the day prior. When I made it back to the parking lot I had ran 5.5 miles.

Ride Stats: 86 miles in 5:05, 13 hills plus rollers. All combined 14+ hills.
Run Stats: 5.5 miles in 45:49, 8:20/mile pace. I'm skeptical on that but the GMAP and time don't lie. but I started at 9:30 for the first mile. The other 4 miles really changed the average.

Total workout time is 5:54:22.

Now if that isn't a big deposit in the Ironman bank I'm not sure what is. I talked to my coach today and she is excited because I am right where she wants me to be in the training. She knows the stuff I am riding now is harder than the Lake Placid bike course.

So after my workout I had to get home, ice bath the legs, shower, get dressed and go to my brothers for mother's day dinner. I'm glad he was cooking because I was fried, I'll have to post his seafood stew it was very good.

When Aimee and I got home I checked my training for the upcoming week and decided to skip the morning swim coach had for me. We went to bed early and slept in. I needed the rest after such a big weekend.

I hope everyone had a great weekend like I did.