Most of Monday was spent traveling home from Madison and eating all the food! I don’t know what it is about a race that makes me crave potato skins (not the chips in a bag, but real potato skins that are found on the appetizer menu in some restaurants), but it happened again today! On our way home from Madison, we stopped in Cedar Falls for some potato skins to satisfy my craving. We got home at about 2 pm, unloaded the car, and took an hour nap before gearing up for our Ladies only bike ride. I was so grateful to Coeur Sports and Kyle’s Bikes for their support to make this event so successful!! Yay for encouraging more women in cycling, helping them gain confidence on their bike and on the roads, and helping them learn basic bike maintenance!!
Tuesday:
Tuesday was a complete day of rest (in terms of workouts), but full of lots of errands, house chores, grocery shopping, paying bills, etc.
Wednesday:
Wednesday was another complete day of rest. After working with a personal training client in the morning, I went for a walk with a friend and the dogs, and then spent the afternoon updating Training Peaks for the next build period of our training and blogging. It was a great day and finally felt like I was on summer break 😉
Thursday:
After meeting with two personal training clients in the morning, I spent most of my afternoon on the Team Vardo training calendar for the coming year. I did take a break to walk the dogs and clear my mind. When the Iron Hippie came home from work, we had an easy hour ride before going to TRX.
Friday:
I taught two group fitness classes and met a personal training client in the morning and then spent my afternoon finishing the Team Vardo training calendar for the coming year. When the Iron Hippie came home from work, we got ready for Saturday’s brick workout and went to bed early so we could get up early to hit the roads before the heat of the day on Saturday.
Saturday:
We woke at 4:30 am to start riding at 5:30. Our plan was to ride a 30+ mile loop and end up back home to feed and potty the dogs, and have our friend Allen join us for the last 50 miles. As we came back into Ames after the first 30 miles, the sky looked a bit ominous, so we checked the radar. Lucky for us, it appeared to be going north of us and would miss us, so we rolled out for our second loop. 83 miles of #bikelove done before noon was awesome, especially since it was a hot and humid day. After eating lots of food, showering, and napping, we relaxed in the air condition. We went to one of our favorite Mexican restaurants for dinner, and spent the evening relaxing in the a/c.
Sunday:
After an amazing night of sleep, we took the dogs for a walk and then relaxed most of the day. It was a VERY hot and humid day, so staying in the a/c was a necessity for most of the day. We made homemade pizza for lunch, I tracked friends racing at different Ironman races, caught up on some blogs, and went to hot yoga at 4 pm. It felt SO AMAZING to reconnect with my long lost boyfriend…mat!!
Weekly Totals: 10 hours & 16 minutes
Swim: Nothing, Zilch, Nada Bike: 113 miles Run: Nothing, Zilch, Nada Strength Training: 1:30:00
Hot Yoga: 1:30:00
Quote of the Week:
“I think recovery from anything is honestly the most badass thing a person can do.” ~Anonymous
Not sure how this happened, but we are inside of 100 days until Ironman Wisconsin. I guess time flies when you’re having fun!!
Monday:
Since we both had the day off work and we weren’t on a rigid schedule, we slept in and completed our workouts at different times throughout the day. We went to the gym at about 9:20 am for an hour strength training session. It was nice not to have many people at the gym since they weren’t officially open. We have a 24/7 key and can go to the gym anytime we want to do strength training and use the cardio equipment. This does not give us access to the pool anytime we want, so after our strength training, we went to the outdoor pool for our swim. It was SO AWESOME to get to finally swim outdoors!! After refueling, we hopped on the bike for 75 minutes of saddle time. We knew there were storms coming, so we opted for the trainer so we could get some yard work and house work done after our workout. With a couple more days of work, we prepared for the coming week, went to shower at our friends’ house (since we still didn’t have a working hot water heater) and then it was early to bed.
Tuesday:
We took today as a rest day since we had put in lots of hours last week and knew we were getting a new hot water heater after work. On my way home from work, I met a client for a personal training session, picked up our CSA, stopped at the pharmacy, and picked up a gift card for the person who was installing our hot water heater. It took longer than I imagined to install the hot water heater, but it felt so amazing to shower at home and not have to heat water on the stove to do dishes!!
Wednesday:
Last day of work!! And to celebrate, I went for a bike ride!! It was an ABSOLUTELY PERFECT day to be in the saddle and on the open road/trail!!
Serious #bikelove in my FAVORITE Coeur Sports kit!!
Thursday:
Happy first day of summer break!! We woke up at 4:30 am (yes, you read that correctly, I still got up early to workout with the Iron Hippie) and ran hill repeats with the sunrise + my two faves!! It was the perfect start to my day!! I spent most of the morning doing house work (vacuuming, laundry, and dishes) before going to the outdoor pool to swim at 11 am. There were a lot of people in the pool, but it was so peaceful to have my head in the water, the sun shining on my back, and not a care in the world about trying to rush off to whatever is next. After my swim, I made lunch, cleaned our veggies from our CSA, took an epsom salt bath, and did more laundry before the Iron Hippie came home from work. We capped the night off with TRX and refueling before bed.
Friday:
It was another early morning and so peaceful to start my day in the 50 meter pool!! The long course + sunrise + quiet morning = #happyheart I consumed my breakfast smoothie on the way home from the pool. I had just enough time to get an easy hour in on the bike (trainer style) and shower before meeting a client for a personal training session. I went grocery shopping for the coming week on my way home…it is so nice to go during the week and not have to fight the crowds of people on the weekends. After eating lunch, I took the dogs for a walk and spent the afternoon relaxing, catching up on email and blogging. The Iron Hippie and I went downtown in the evening for the local “Art Walk,” where each downtown business sponsors a local artist for 3 hours. It is crazy how many different artists there are in our area!!
Folk dancers at the downtown “Art Walk”Locals knitted a square to be hung as part of a quilt on the outside of a local business
Saturday:
We started the day with a 10 mile run, which I was hoping to average a 9:00/mile pace for…nailed it!! After making a quick smoothie with whey protein, for recovery, we rode our bikes to yoga in the park. Every Saturday from now until the first weekend in August (except July 4th weekend), Ames offers free yoga at Bandshell Park from 10-11 am. It is a great opportunity for people new to yoga to try it for free! For those who love yoga, it is a great opportunity to practice yoga outdoors with others! When we came home, we devoured food, did yard work, cleaned the house, did laundry, and then it was nap time!! It has been a while since I took an afternoon nap on the weekends, but my body loved it!! After my nap it was time for dinner and froyo before bed. It was great to meet my #solesister and her kids for some froyo!!
Basil cooling down in the shade post running. Love her!!
Sunday:
I was a bit tired, so I slept in and then completed the 3x(60 min bike + 20 min run) by myself. I set up the trainer in the driveway since each brick was supposed to be slightly harder (higher zone) and faster. This would allow me consistency and not have to worry about traffic/traffic lights/wind speeds to go harder with each one. I also ran the same route off the bike each time to try to go a bit farther with each run. “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” was the theme for this workout. In the middle of brick #2, the wheels fell off…it became REALLY hard and I wasn’t sure if I could do brick #3. When I came back from run #2, I climbed back on the bike and reached out to multiple friends to encourage and motivate me to #nevergiveup on this workout, even though it wasn’t going as planned. With their encouragement and support, I pushed through and finished this workout. I seriously hope that our 70.3 race in 2 weeks is much easier than this workout!! After refueling and spending over an hour just laying in the recliner, I decided to move and take an epsom salt bath. We then did a little shopping for the coming week, took the dogs to Peterson Pits so they could swim, gave them baths in the driveway to wash the fishy water away, grabbed some leftovers for dinner, and met some friends for froyo. It was great to sit outside and chat with them while enjoying some froyo!!
Weekly Totals: 18 hours and 1 minute
Swim: 7907 yards (the 50 meter pool throws my yardage off during the summer) Bike: 122 miles Run: 24.8 miles Strength Training: 2 hours & 15 minutes Yoga: 1 hour
Quote of the Week:
“That which does not kill us, makes us stronger. ” ~Friedrich Nietzsche
The theme from last week: GRIT! Grit to push through the last week of school with kids. Grit to get up in the morning and work for my dreams. Grit to push through tough workouts and do my best.
I only have two more days of school to wrap up this school year, but the kids are already done. I will be spending those days cleaning my room, sitting through a few meetings, and then the sweet sound of freedom for 11 weeks.
Monday:
When I woke up at 4 am, I REALLY wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but dreams don’t come true with my head on the pillow! Grit won! I planted my feet on the floor and went to the gym for an hour strength training session. It ended up being a great way to start the day!
After work, I met a client for personal training and followed this up with some #bikelove intervals. We are so blessed to have some AMAZING neighbors. During the middle of our intervals, we had a fresh baked loaf of sourdough bread delivered to us. That meant homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner. It was so DELISH!! The perfect meal post #bikelove intervals!!
Tuesday:
When I woke up at 4 am, it was raining. We had speed work to do while running, so we decided to go to the gym and do this work on the treadmill. This ended up being the perfect decision for this workout! I’m not sure I would have successfully hit the target paces that I did if I were outside on the open roads. Minute ladders for 55 minutes looks like this:
15 minute warm up
1 minute Zone 5/1 minute Zone 2
2 minutes Zone 5/2 minutes Zone 2
3 minutes Zone 5/3 minutes Zone 2
4 minutes Zone 5/4 minutes Zone 2
3 minutes Zone 5/3 minutes Zone 2
2 minutes Zone 5/2 minutes Zone 2
1 minute Zone 5/1 minute Zone 2
8 minute cool down
For the zone 5 intervals, I set the treadmill to a 7:03/mile pace (8.5 speed) and for the zone 2 recovery portions, I set the treadmill to an 8:57/mile pace (6.7 speed). Looking back on this, I think I could have run my zone 5 intervals one or two clicks faster, but I didn’t want to be overzealous and not be able to maintain this pace for every interval of the workout. This was a very challenging workout…much more so mentally than physically. #courageovercomfort
After a CRAZY day with students, I went to the pool for a 2400 yard swim. I needed to wash away the negativity from the day. Once I got moving, I could definitely tell I was tired from the morning run. I am working to find my catch in the water, so this means lots of #heartandcourage while I #findfaster. After my swim, I had a VERY productive evening…prepping for Wednesday, cleaning produce from our CSA, preparing lunches for the rest of the week, doing laundry, and dishes before bed.
Wednesday:
When I woke up at 4 am, I really, Really, REALLY wanted to roll over and go back to sleep, but grit won this morning. It took me a bit longer than usual to warm up on the bike and not feel like my head should be on my pillow. Once I got into the working set, I finally felt wide awake…the incredibly loud thunder and bright sky from the lightening could have had something to do with it as well. With storms in the area capable of producing hail, we left the car in the garage, which meant cramped quarters while riding. I’m so glad I got up and worked to make my dreams become a reality instead of allowing myself to stay with my dreams while my head was on the pillow. #workforitwednesday
I did some more laundry and vacuumed the house before heading out the door to work.
After another CRAZY day with students, I went back to the pool for 2300 yards of #swimlove. I was tired, but thankfully I had a much better swim than Tuesday. I’m not sure my form was any better, but I did #findfaster in the water!! I had fun in the water, while washing away the negativity from the week.
Thursday:
Thursday’s we typically sleep in and this week was one of those days. It felt really good to sleep in and rest…10 hours of sleep = happy body. After a full day of work, I ran an errand on my home. Our evening consisted of a 1 hour trainer ride in the driveway on a very warm day, 45 minutes of TRX class, and gearing up for my last day of school with students.
Friday:
We slept in again this morning!! The last day of school is always a fun day for the students and we did our best to make it a fun day for the teachers as well. I challenged our principal to a race through the obstacle course inflatable. We had fun, but both got hurt in the process. Thankfully nothing too serious.
Cue song: “School’s Out For Summer”…well, not quite. I still have 2 professional development days, but no more students until August! After work, I went to the pool to swim and wash away all of the stress from the school year. This was definitely my best swim of the week. I’m certain my form wasn’t much better, but my stroke felt more effortless than it has felt all week. I followed this up with a massage, grocery shopping for the coming week on my way home, and trying to help the Iron Hippie figure out how to get our hot water heater working. Unfortunately the hot water heater went kaput and we can’t get it replaced until Tuesday. I guess that means boiling water to wash dishes and driving to the gym to shower this weekend.
Saturday:
With the rainy early morning forecast, we decided to start our long run at 8 am. This meant we could sleep in! As we set out on our run, I knew it was going to be a challenging run…Holy Humidity Batman! With only one mile under our feet, I already had massive amounts of sweat running off of me! My goal was to start off easy, eventually pick up the pace, and finish with an overall average pace of 9:00/mile for 2 hours of run time. By the end of the run, I had sweat enough to look as though I had gone swimming instead of running. I had completely saturated my shoes…to the point that with every footfall, I could feel and hear the sweat squish in them. Gross 😉 I was grateful that my body held up during this humid run and was able to maintain an average pace of 8:55/mile for the entire 2 hours.
After refueling and changing clothes, we went to the gym for 30 minutes of core work and a hot shower. Since we don’t have a working hot water heater, and we had sweat enough to fill a kiddy pool, it was essential we take a hot shower! After spending about an hour at the gym, we came home, vacuumed the house, did some laundry, washed dishes (heating water on the stove to do dishes makes me feel like I live in the caveman era), got ourselves and bikes ready for a long brick tomorrow, and had a snack.
“Mom, I just want to try a piece, or all of the pieces, of your pineapple.” ~Basil
I spent the rest of the afternoon and early evening relaxing in my compression gear while I blogged, planned out the coming week, and reflected on last week.
Sunday:
We woke up at 6 am so that we could be wheels on by 7:15 am for our long brick. We had a hilly century ride planned with a 30 minute run off the bike. We got through the first 2 hours on our own and then Allen got a ride out to met up with us and ride with us for the next 40 miles. The last 30 miles were again on our own with the open roads. I was pleasantly surprised with the traffic. Almost everyone who passed us did so by going into the left lane, most waited until they were win a passing zone (although some didn’t), and some even honked from a long ways back letting us know they were approaching. If any of you who passed us are reading this, THANK YOU for safely passing us, respecting our choice to be on the open roads, and “passing us like you love us.” We ended up with 103 miles as we rolled into the driveway on a great day! We transitioned into running gear and set out for our 30 minute run. The first 0.5 miles my legs were screaming at me…”What the hell are you doing to me?!” But then I got into a great groove and found myself cruising. The last 4 minutes of the run, I had to really convince myself that I wasn’t as hungry as my belly and body were telling me I was.
103 miles of #bikelove on a BEAUTIFUL day!30 minute run at an 8:39/mile average pace off of a century ride…I’ll take that!!
We devoured all the food we could find, went to the gym to shower, cleaned and sliced 8 pounds of fresh strawberries (I probably ate a whole pound by myself while I was cleaning them), and then went to our friends’ house for dinner. Great company + awesome grilled food = PERFECT!! We capped off the night with some homemade dessert and blood donating (the mosquitoes were obnoxious) in our neighbors’ back patio.
Weekly Totals: 18 hours & 24 minutes
Swim: 6800 yards Bike: 157 miles Run: 23.5 miles Strength Training: 2 hours & 15 minutes
Quote of the Week:
“Your dreams are on the other side of your grit!” ~Unknown
The theme of last week was definitely work. Not the kind of hard work you put into your training, but the long hours put into your job that can be mentally draining. I came to the realization that working 55 hours and only exercising 3 hours in a week is MUCH more exhausting than working 40 hours and exercising 18 hours! Thankfully last week was a planned recovery week, there are only 5 days left of school with the students, grades were due this morning, and there is little grading left to do for this coming week. I am beyond grateful for the help and support of the Iron Hippie, especially during weeks when I have a few extra balls that I am trying to juggle!
Monday:
Today was a rest day! After the really big training week last week, we knew we would be taking today off of exercise and our bodies were thankful for the rest. Today was a really long day at work, so when I came home, I hibernated in the bedroom listening to TedTalks, reading, and trying to relax for most of the evening.
Tuesday:
We did not have a morning workout planned, so we slept in. After a full day of work, I decided it would be best to skip my evening workout and spend my evening grading. Not ideal, but I had a LOT of grading that needed to be done. Thankfully the Iron Hippie ran some errands for me so I could keep working through dinner.
Wednesday:
We woke up early for a 75 minute sweatfest on the bike. Intervals, #bikelove, and #solesistasweat was the perfect combination to start my day! After another long day of work, I came home to another evening of grading. When the end of the school year is near, there can be a lot of grading to do.
Thursday:
I had more grading to do, so I arrived at school at 6 am to start another long day at school. The students were testing their solar ovens outside today. It is fun to spend the day outside, but lack of structure is sometimes hard for the students, which means a lot of additional “classroom” management required of me. I was exhausted by the end of the day. I came home and continued to work for my part time jobs (writing fitness articles for our local paper and teaching TRX for our Parks and Rec department). After teaching TRX, we had an unplanned visit from some close friends. It was fun to have them just stop by unannounced!
Friday:
With the students doing their egg drop today and more grading to do, I got to work at 6 am again to set up for the egg drop and get as much grading done before students arrived as possible. Another day out of the classroom, meant another long and draining day of having to be mentally “on” all day. After school, I came home and continued to grade and post grades until 7 pm. I was FINALLY caught up on all the grading and it felt AMAZING!! Having worked 55 hours and only exercising 2 hours this week, I decided it was time to relax and let my mind go somewhere else for a while.
Saturday:
I was able to sleep in this morning with nothing on the schedule, so I took complete advantage of it! At about 7:30 am, I finally planted my feet to the floor and decided to start my day. I paid bills, balanced the checkbook (am I the only one who still does this?!), ran a bunch of errands, did some house chores, picked up my race packet (did I mention I am doing my first duathlon EVER tomorrow?!), and read some more of my book while the Iron Hippie worked some overtime hours. We went to a high school graduation celebration in the evening, then spent the rest of the evening getting ready for my duathlon in the morning.
Sunday:
I’ll have a more detailed race recap for you on my duathlon, but let’s just say I had a BLAST doing what I love, had a podium finish, and got to race with my #solesister…WIN!! After the race, it was all about refueling. I followed this up with some girl time with a friend, some down time at home, and regrouping for the coming week.
#solesistersweat and a podium finish at my first ever duathlon
Weekly Totals: 3 hours & 25 minutes (Never mind the 55 hours at work…that was so much more draining!!)
Swim: Nothing, Zilch, Nada 😦 Bike: 33.5 miles Run: 4.0 miles Strength Training: 45 minutes
Quote of the Week:
“All work and no play is not good for the soul.” ~Felix Sabates
How are we all of a sudden only 19 weeks away from Ironman Wisconsin?!?! This was not a typical week for us. We had 2 full rest days, lots of recovery, and a 1/2 marathon race to cap off the week.
Monday:
After waking up with an upset stomach, I decided to stay home from work. I think it might have been the yummy, yet excessive roasted garlic on the amazing pizza from last night. I knew I had a lot of work that could be done from home, so I did that for most of the morning. Around lunch time, I started to feel much better, so I took my strength training outside to sweat out the remaining garlic. It was a beautiful afternoon and I should have been working outside, but I stayed indoors for my afternoon work session. When the Iron Hippie got home, we rode our bikes outside in the sun for an easy recovery ride. It was a great snail mail day! I received goodies from both Coeur Sports and Sound Probiotics today…WAHOO!!
Strength training in the sun!Recovery ride in the sun!Snail mail delivery from Coeur Sports + Sound Probiotics = LOVE!! #noangrykitty #stylishspeed #soundathlete
Tuesday:
Since it was a recovery week, we opted to have Tuesday be a rest day. We slept in, had a full day of work, I had a personal training client, and then went out for an amazing sushi dinner. Why didn’t I take a picture of the amazing sushi?! We ran a few errands after dinner and were ready for bed by 7 pm.
Wednesday:
We slept in Wednesday morning, so we got a LOT of sleep, which felt really good! After a full day of work, I hopped on the trainer for some sweaty, #bikelove intervals. It was definitely a #workforitwednesday with that workout! In looking at my normalized power from various rides lately, I think I’ve lost some bike fitness over the last month. Although I haven’t done an FTP test in a while, so I don’t know if it really has dropped or not…I think it might be time to test this and see where I’m at.
Sweaty #bikelove intervals with a little Ironman motivation in the background.
Thursday:
We always sleep in on Thursday mornings, but we actually had planned to get up and swim this morning. I decided against this when I woke up, since I had been up 3 times throughout the night with cramps in the arch of my left foot. Boy do those hurt!! This is not typical for me, so what was causing them?! I even had them a couple of times throughout the work day. After work, I met a personal training client, completed a 60 minute cadence ladder ride, and then went to teach TRX…guess what?! MORE CRAMPS in the left foot. UGH! 😦
Recovery ride on a cold and dreary day!
Friday:
Today was another rest day. After work I had a massage, which was poor planning on my part since I am racing a 1/2 marathon tomorrow. We’ll test this tomorrow and see how it impacts me! After my massage, we made a trip to Des Moines to pick up our race packets for the Drake 1/2 Marathon in the morning. In looking at the weather for the race, I couldn’t decide what to wear. What do you wear when it is going to be 46F, 22 mph winds, and 90% chance of rain?! I knew I’d need a lot of warm clothes for after the race, so I started by picking those out first. I decided to wait until morning to decide what to wear. After picking up our packets, we had Mexican food for dinner and were in bed by 9 pm.
Massage…the day before a 1/2 marathon. We’ll find out tomorrow if this was a good idea or not!
Saturday:
4 am wake-up followed by cream of rice with Pure Clean Beet Powder and frozen blueberries + Karma Kombucha prepped my engine for what was looking to be a cold, wet, windy race. Now to decide what to wear…I decided to wear my Coeur Sports racing tri kit with arm warmers. I was hoping this would be a good decision. We arrived in Des Moines about 90 minutes before the race. We figured we wouldn’t have problems finding a place to park since the weather was so crappy and we were right. We had our pick of parking spots! At about 7:00 am, we started getting ready for our race and headed to the race start at 7:15. When they started the race at 7:30 am, it was 44F, 17 mph winds, and raining on us. I decided to run with my trash bag on until I warmed up a bit, which really only lasted about 1 mile. I met a friend that I’ve known through social media at about mile 1 and ran with her for a few miles. Kristen was pushing her 13 year old cousin with Rett Syndrome in a running bob for the first time ever during the 1/2 marathon. Can you say #heartandcourage?! She is so inspiring and motivated to do what she can to help find a cure for Rett Syndrome. Eventually we got separated on the hills, but Mother Nature continued to challenge us with the weather she threw our way. I quickly realized that a massage the day before a 1/2 marathon was not my best decision, but pushed as hard as I could for the whole race. My official finish time was 1:54:23, which was an 8:44/mile average pace. I was pretty pleased with this considering my legs did NOT want to move after about mile 5 + I was freezing + I was soaked like a drowned rat! Post run, we quickly changed and ate delicious post race food at the Drake Diner before heading back home. It was time for a REALLY HOT shower and a nap, followed by chili and cornbread with friends for dinner and an early to bed.
Who’s ready to run a cold + soaking wet + windy 1/2 marathon? We are!Are we really going to do this?!Unofficial stats…I guess I tried to dodge a LOT of puddles since I was only supposed to have run 13.1 miles 😉Drake 1/2 marathon is in the books! Official finish time = 1:54:23
Sunday:
I woke up with VERY stiff and sore legs, so I hopped on the bike for an easy hour to spin out the legs a bit, followed by breakfast, and an epsom salt bath. I did a few house chores to get ready for the coming week and then met Coach Hansen at the pool for more swim analyzing and coaching. I have A LOT to work on this week in the pool!! Later in the day, we went to Ankeny to visit the bike shop and meet an amazing friend for dinner. He came into town for the Drake 1/2 marathon from the Gulf Coast. I don’t think he was quite prepared for the cold, wet, windy weather we experienced. Since he and his wife retired down south, I’ve really missed having them around, so it was super fun to catch up with him!
Basil says, “Mama, will you please get off your bike and come cuddle with me?”LOTS to work on this week in the pool! Thanks Coach for the stroke analysis and guidance!!
Weekly Totals: 8 hours & 44 minutes
Swim: 550 yards Bike: 65.8 miles Run: 13.1 miles Strength Training: 1:45:00
Quote of the Week:
“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind.” ~Dr. Seuss
This week’s theme is Bouncing Back…just like Tigger! I finally feel like I have my mojo back and am on cruise control in the right direction. The warmer temperatures and sunshine are definitely helping 🙂
Monday:
The 4 am alarm clock went off, feet planted to the floor, and off we went to the gym for 1 hour of strength training. With it being Boston Marathon Monday, I was very motivated to get out the door and workout while reminiscing my 2010 Boston Marathon experience! After a full day of work, I met with a personal training client, and then had an easy hour recovery ride before getting ready for the rest of my week. When I arrived home today, we had the *joy* of having our street torn up, so we have to park a block away and *commute* to our vehicles this week.
Tuesday:
The day started with a 4:30 am alarm clock followed by the 2800 yard swim workout from last week that had me crying in my goggles. This week it went SO much better! I kept telling myself “I am Michael Phelps” over and over again. I’m not sure my form was ANYWHERE close to Michael Phelps, but it sure felt much better than last week! #courageovercomfort After work, I went and picked up our CSA from a local producer and then we went out for an evening run. I really struggled with this run for the first 15 minutes. Once I started to do the interval work, I immediately started to think of all those people I know who can’t run and reminded myself that I *get* to run. I started running for them. This run ended up being one of the best runs I’ve had in a long time!
“I am Michael Phelps!”CSA produce is a sure sign of spring!#heartandcourage
Wednesday:
After a 4 am alarm clock, we hopped on the bikes in the garage for a 90 minute sweat session before work. I looked like the bag lady carrying All. The. Bags. Down the block to my car. I had my purse, lunch pail, backpack, shower caddy, and swim bag. After work, it was back to the pool for 2600 yards of more #swimlove in a cold pool! Loved the temperature, even though most of the kids in swim lessons had blue lips!
Thursday:
6 am alarm clock meant 10 hours of sleep! It felt GLORIOUS! After a full day of work, I had an eye brow wax and then we rode for an easy hour on the bike before teaching TRX at 6:15 pm.
Friday:
Another sleep in day, which meant 9 more hours of sleep! YIPPEE!! After work, it was an easy recovery swim, followed by running a couple of errands and doing our grocery shopping for the week…NEVER go to the grocery store right after swimming without a grocery list! While everything I purchased was healthy, it was not good on the budget 😉 We had some down time and dog snuggles before an early bedtime to cap of the evening.
I was told by another swimmer that I looked “like candy” in my suit. I told her I’d be much sweeter after swimming and washing away the stress and drama from the week. It worked!Reading + dog snuggles = LOVE
Saturday:
We woke up at 6 am so we could go on a long ride, but unfortunately it was very foggy and was only in the mid 40sF. We decided we weren’t going to start our ride until after 10 am to let the fog burn off and the temperatures rise; this gave me time to do some core work, make cream of rice with fresh strawberries and beet powder for breakfast, clean up the kitchen, and do some laundry. We ended up rolling out of our driveway (they opened up our street at about 9 am this morning) at about 10:30 am for a long ride. We didn’t really know how far we would ride, but did know that we wanted to get in at least 3 hours in the saddle. The first 41 miles were all head and cross wind at ~20 mph…It. Was. Tough. More mentally, than physically. At mile 47, we had a decision to make…go straight home with the wind at our backs for a total of 70 miles, or endure more cross wind to add on some mileage and get to the trail system. We opted for the cross wind and trail. When we got to mile 61, we had another decision to make…go straight home for a total of 77 miles, or endure more cross winds and add on some mileage so we could end up with 100 miles for the day. We opted for the cross wind and 100 mile day. It didn’t set any speed records for this century ride, but we did set a record for the earliest century ride in the calendar year. Memorial Day weekend was our earliest century ride before today. When we got home, we refueled, cleaned up, and relaxed.
Still smilin’ at mile 89 = serious #bikeloveOur shadows were growing longer as we got closer to home.No speed records here, but 100 miles in the saddle on April 23 in central Iowa…we’ll take it!!
Sunday:
We woke up at 5:30 am to get our long run done. We finished just shy of 10 miles and it is always so much fun with friends! After our run, we refueled, cleaned house, did laundry, and got ready for the week before having breakfast for lunch with our neighbors at 1 pm. Shortly before 2 pm, we walked downtown with the dogs for Healthy Streets Ames. The dogs had a blast! There were so many kids downtown and lots of them wanted to pet the girls, which meant dog kisses! We got home shortly before 4 pm and relaxed for a bit while the dogs napped. Then it was time for pizza and fro-yo before an early bedtime!
#runlove with Robin!Breakfast burritos for lunch!Healthy Streets Ames has some new mascots!Walking with our dog friends!
Weekly Totals: 17 hours & 47 minutes
Swim: 7500 yards Bike: 150 miles Run: 17.3 miles Strength Training: 2 hours & 15 minutes
Quote of the Week:
“Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you’ll start having positive results.” ~Willie Nelson
You may recall that I fell off the train in December, but I am pleased as punch to say that the train picked me back up when it came back through in January!
Look at all of the green in Training Peaks! We have started our Ironman Wisconsin 2016 journey with a #bikeblocktraining focus for the month of January. What does this mean for each discipline?!?!?!
Swim:
I have only visited the pool one day a week for the month of January. This was somewhat intentional. In January there tends to be more people at the pool (which is awesome), but with such limited hours for lap swimming at the local pool, it makes more sense for me to go only one day per week in January. I must say, I am looking forward to increasing my time in the water and super excited to try out my new swim caps…hello swim motivation!!
Fun new swim caps for swim motivation and more #swimlove
Bike:
I have been doing LOTS of cycling so far in the month of January…7 rides a week with one rest day each week, means every Wednesday I get a double dose of #bikelove! I’m working on bike strength and trying to improve my power output. Wow…what a slow process that is! It has given me a lot of time to spend with my new Cobb Cycling saddle, and bike fit, which I am lovin’!
My new Cobb Cycling V-Flow saddle 🙂
Run:
I am finally getting some run miles in…not many, but it is a start 🙂 I have only ran a few times in the last 3+ months and so far, it is feeling good! I am excited to get back to a more regular training schedule so that I can run more and find that #runlove that feeds me!
30 easy minutes is a start!
Strength:
I have been doing strength training 3 days a week and just recently increased my weights…hello DOMS!! It feels good to be getting stronger 🙂
Yoga:
Reacquainting myself with my mat has been AH-MAZ-ING!! I definitely missed my dates with mat 😉 I need to incorporate more stretching into my workout routine and hot yoga has felt so awesome since our wind chill temperatures have been -31F lately!! A hot room, a good stretch and lots of sweat on a COLD winter day = motivation to go outdoors to get to the yoga studio 🙂
Rekindling my relationship with my mat! #yogalove
How has your training been since the start of 2016? What keeps you motivated to complete your workouts through the winter months?
Running with the family#solesistasweatGetting some #runlove with my favorite four-legged baby girl!One of my favorite trainer workouts
February:
#solesistasweatGetting my Coeur Sports Ambassador gear 🙂Swim clinic…love to learn#solesistasweat#heartandcourage strongConquering Mountains
March:
#YogaloveFun times with my #solesistaBirthday funday!Bike fit loveSpring break with my #solesisterFun with my nieces at the parkPlaying tag with the familyRunning a 5K with my sister
April:
Our own 70.3 workout dayTeaching women how to do bike maintenance#runlove with the familyDrake 1/2 Marathon fun!Drake 1/2 Marathon funNiece #5 was born!
May:
Outdoor training 🙂I love to ride my bicycle!Oops…learning lessonsVisiting the Aerospace Engineering Department at Iowa State UniversityChanging a flat while the Iron Hippie watches…I’m sure many people who passed us had some thoughts about his “supervision” duties 😉Last day of school!!Getting my Undress in the mail and loving it!!
June:
First outdoor swim in 2015Finishing the Legend 100 hand-in-hand with the Iron Hippie. Photo courtesy of Legend EnduranceWho’s ready to race?!?!?!Dad (blue) and Tom (gray) figuring out how to get into their kayaks to escort me on an open water swimWe are ready to ride the Tour de Cure Cedar Rapids!!
July:
30 miles into our 115 mile bike ride. Last big ride before Ironman BoulderLast big swim before Ironman BoulderLast long run before Ironman BoulderMeeting my blog friend, Kelli, and her family 🙂The view off of the deck overlooking the lake in Red Feather Lakes, CO.The morning sunrise on the mountains at Red Feather Lakes, CO.Taking a boat ride in Red Feather Lakes, COSunset with a double rainbow in the background (this photo does not do the real beauty justice) in Red Feather Lakes, COWe made it to Estes Park, CO!!The view of Longs Peak from our patio in Estes Park, CO.Happy Anniversary to the Iron Hippie…what a great way to celebrate 5 years in Grand Lakes, CO 😉We made it to Adam’s Falls…with Allen and the Iron Hippie.We all survived our first run at altitude 🙂Three athletes ready to ride in Boulder, CO!The view from the path around Lake Estes, CO.Ward, Colorado was our turn around point for the Peak to Peak Highway ride.People lining the shore getting ready for the BAM OWS in Boulder, CO.BAM OWS in Boulder, CO complete…I felt GREAT!!Stand-up paddle boarding in Lake Estes, CO 🙂Taking a break from the riding and doing a little core work in Ward!!#bikelove on the Peak to Peak Highway in ColoradoWe found a “sign” of back home in downtown Denver!!Loch Lake, CO…Loving the hike!Having a little fun throwing snowballs in July on our way up to Loch Vale.“Riding” tandem in Estes Park, COIronman Boulder…here I come!Ready to race IMBoulder 🙂Getting Registered for Ironman BoulderI’m so lucky to have my family at IMBoulder to cheer me on!
August:
Mojo is all racked and getting a good night’s rest at her temporary home so we can have fun at IMBoulder!!My aunt, cousins and Dad came out to the Rez for the IMBoulder swimWhizzing through Hygiene on the first loop…Serious #bikelove on this course!!Mom and the twins are cheering me on to the run!This smile sums up my race day experience!!Erin…one of my Coeur Sports teammates and my angel on race day!!My cheer squad…Love them all!!Dad and Sam cheering me on down the finish shoot…yes, that blur is me 🙂Coming into the finish shoot all smiles…it was a daylight finish, but these photos don’t represent that.Visiting my sister and nieces in CaliforniaSister time in Cali!Running up Mt. Diablo in California#solesistasweat#bikelove with friends
September:
Team Kecia crossed the finish line at the Des Moines Triathlon…job complete.Holy Crap! I think this is a sign that I left it all out on the bike course.Volunteering at Ironman Wisconsin…Race morning in front of the Capitol.Ironman Wisconsin Race morning…who is ready to swim?!?!?!The women volunteers in T1 at Ironman WisconsinGetting my Sound Probiotics Ambassador gearBasil walking toward the Supermoon on a rural gravel road.
October:
Signed up for Ironman Wisconsin 2016!300+ 8th grade students ready for the AMS Spirit Run!Fall #bikelove is the best 🙂Date night with the Iron Hippie as we work on our strength trainingFinding some motivation with my #IMWI finisher medal and race bib on the wall next to me as I rideLots of #heartandcourage as I heal up from bursitis of the my left kneeTaking the dogs for a swimNailing my intervals on the trainer! #bikeloveDry needling to assist my healing…thanks to Dr. Chris at Team ChiropracticGetting our #solesista tattoos 🙂This ink will be my constant reminder while training and racing to #believe in myself, my abilities and my training!!
November:
Enjoying some outdoor #bikelove in November in Iowa…short sleeves and shorts! WHAT?!?!?!Century ride in November in Iowa…this amazing weather is unheard of!!I found out that I made the Coeur Sports 2016 Ambassador Team…Such a badass group of women that I’m overjoyed to be a part of!!My fitness article on “Giving thanks in an active lifestyle” was a big hit this month in our local magazine 😉Girl’s night out with some running friends…so much fun 🙂Outdoor #bikelove lasted through November 14 this year!!Pleasantly surprised with a Passion Planner from one of my colleagues.Winter greeted us with a LOT of snow (7.6 inches) for the first snow fall of the season.Romping and snowshoeing with friendsRiding a motorized animal just because I can 🙂Spending an afternoon with Mom and Grandma.
December:
Thank you to Simone for my wonderful bracelet!! “Believe, Endure, Achieve” will be my mantra for 2016. It will remind me to #believe in all that I am and to #endure and overcome challenges throughout my journey so I can #achieve big dreams! #dreambig #meaningfulmantrasLooking back at 2015 to move forward in 2016 #goalsettingYahoo!! So pumped for my new Roka Sports wetsuit!!Taking part in Rising Tide Triathlon Coaching’s #rttc10dayroutine Challenge and developing a routine that has helped me #believe in myself deep underneath the surface at the very core of my being. 1. Start my “Believe” playlist…time to get down and jam! 2. Take a couple of swigs of Karma Kombucha Orange Ginger…”I #believe I can fly” 3. Listen to my pep talk (previously recorded) while I pull on my workout gear…”Don’t stop believing” 4. Grab my lucky charm from Tonja and head out the door…”In a world of ordinary mortals, you are a Wonder Woman!” 5. Stand on the front step in power pose for 30 seconds because…I am Wonder Woman!Finally reconnecting with my mat after 9 months off…#yogaloveRunning on a beautiful cold morning with 2 of my faves!Grandma Annie continues to show up at Christmas and surprise us all with her awesomeness…Our hideous pajama pants were a family favorite this year!Snowshoeing in the offseason!!Basil loves playing in the snow!! #happyheartLove my sole sister!!Girls night out!! Lots of laughs!! 🙂My new Cobb Cycling V-Flow saddle 🙂Fun times with family!!
I can’t believe the first week of December has already came and went!! With less than 1 month to the start of 2016, it is time to reflect on 2015. It is good to look at the past (taking a look at what went well and what needs improvement) before planning for the future. I have taken some time to reflect and evaluate my 2015 journey so I can set S.M.A.R.T. goals for 2016.
USA Triathlon posted a great article that I used to help me evaluate my 2014 training and racing season before trying to plan for 2015. I found this reflection very beneficial and thought I would use the same questions to reflect on my 2015 season so I can better plan for 2016.
1. In hindsight, were your goals for the season clear and attainable?
-My goals were clear and attainable: smile and have fun at Ironman Boulder while pushing to break 14 hours. I feel like I could have pushed a little bit harder to break 14 hours since my overall finish time was 14:04:37, but I did manage to smile and have fun all day long!! I love Ironman racing…it makes my heart happy 🙂
Coming into the finish shoot all smiles…it was a daylight finish, but these photos don’t represent that. Photo courtesy of Finisherpix
2. What are you most proud of this season?
-I had a huge PR on the IM bike…granted Ironman Boulder was a much easier bike course than Ironman Wisconsin, but I still pulled out a bike PR!! I broke crushed my previous IM bike PR by 1:10:46. Despite a slower swim and run, I still ended up with a PR at #IMBoulder of over an hour (which obviously came mostly from my bike split). I am happy and confident that I could have aimed higher at #IMBoulder…especially on the swim and run.
Whizzing through Hygiene on the first loop…Serious #bikelove on this course!! Photo courtesy of my cousin Justin
-I am happy that I conquered a new distance by racing the Legend 100 on a very challenging day. I didn’t let the rough waters, wind and hills, or brutal heat and humidity prevent me from crossing the finish line.
Finishing the Legend 100 hand-in-hand with the Iron Hippie. Photo courtesy of Legend Endurance
3. What would I like to duplicate next year?
-I would like to continue training without a coach for 2016. I think I will be looking to have a coach again sometime in the future, but through self-coaching, I have learned to listen to my body more…take breaks when I need them, push harder when I can, and recover more wisely than I once did. When I had a coach, I did whatever was in Training Peaks without listening to what my body wanted and needed. When/if I go back to having a coach, I will need to keep the balance of listening to my coach and my body.
-I would like to maintain my cycling fitness. I have gotten so much stronger and faster on the bike, which I would love to reap the benefits of in 2016. With Ironman Wisconsin’s bike course being more technical than Ironman Boulder’s I can definitely benefit from carrying this cycling fitness into 2016!
Nailing my intervals on the trainer! #bikelove
-I incorporated more mental training and focus into my training and racing this year. I reaped rewards from this on race day when tough moments arose. I definitely want to continue to focus on mental training in 2016 and incorporate it into my training plan everyday instead of only the last month of training before a big race.
4. What frustrated or disappointed you the most this season?
-Ending up with hypnatremia again post IMBoulder. I thought I had my nutrition dialed in, but I was obviously wrong in thinking this…
This is post medical tent…I didn’t feel so good. Photo courtesy of S. Bierbaum
5. What do you not want to happen again next year?
-I want to avoid nutritional failure again as was mentioned in the previous question. Race day is always so much more enjoyable and rewarding when your nutrition is spot on.
-I also want to avoid injuries. I have been trying to overcome some muscle stiffness and imbalances post IMBoulder. I want to get to the injury free zone and remain there for 2016. I would love to be able to race a 70.3 distance event…hard…prior to Ironman Wisconsin in 2016!!
Dry needling to assist my healing…thanks to Dr. Chris at Team Chiropractic
6. What did you learn by going through these experiences?
-I need to figure out where I can have a sweat test done to determine what electrolytes and in what quantities I sweat them out (not just water loss). This will allow me to better prevent hyponatremia. Knowing the quantities of the electrolytes that I sweat out will help me take in the proper doses of electrolytes for my body needs.
-I need to be sure to incorporate proper strength training, stretching, and foam rollering into my weekly schedule and post workouts so I don’t get injured again. In getting reacquainted with my mat, I have found that hot yoga helps me stretch my muscles deeper. This means I need to incorporate more hot yoga into my weekly training plan. It is a good thing I love hot yoga!!
#Yogalove
7. What decisions did you make that were empowering for you?
-I felt empowered by incorporating more mental training into my race preparation for IMBoulder this year. I laid out goals, reasons for each goal, a visualization plan, and mantra for each part of my Ironman race day experience. On race day when things got tough, I had the tools in my toolbox to help me through those tough moments. I definitely reaped rewards for my mental training and focus on race day!!
Pre race planning
8. What habits seemed to hold you back from achieving your potential?
-I did not incorporate enough recovery into my training. I need to incorporate more recovery techniques into my everyday training/workout routine so that I remain healthy and injury free. Foam rollering, ART, massage, hot yoga, and stretching need to be a part of my everyday training post workout.
-I need to overcome the fear of being uncomfortable. I am always afraid to leave it all out there…whether it is a training session or during a race. Where is that balance between being uncomfortable and able to successfully finish and being uncomfortable and failing? It is time for me to find out. It is time for me to get really uncomfortable and learn to feel truly comfortable with the uncomfortable!
It is time to start living my dream instead of living my fear!
9. What decisions should you make in order to have your best triathlon year ahead?
-I need to incorporate more recovery techniques into my everyday training plan to keep me healthy and injury free. I need to train smarter…while incorporating speed and hill workouts on the bike is important, I also need to focus on balance and not pushing hard with every workout. I want to improve my bike split at Ironman Wisconsin from my previous 2 IMWI experiences (in 2011 and 2014) and I believe training smarter will help me achieve this. It is time to bring back the speed!! I want to get my run faster, so I’ll need to incorporate more speed work on the run and practice running some of my longer runs at a faster pace than I have in the last few years. I also need to focus on believing in myself and my training more…not just the superficial believing, but the deep underneath the surface at the very core of my being believing! 🙂
My 2016 S.M.A.R.T. goals will come in a few weeks time. Stay tuned…
Have you looked backward so you can plan for the future? What did you learn?
I have spent the last 4 weeks in a bike block, which means that I cycled 7 times almost every week. This was challenging, but so rewarding! I had a good variety with this bike block, including outdoor riding, trainer riding, climbing focused rides, cadence focused rides, power focused rides, and recovery rides. All of it translated to serious #bikelove!!
Enjoying some outdoor #bikelove in November in Iowa…short sleeves and shorts!Century ride in November in Iowa…this amazing weather is unheard of!!Basil wanted me to cuddle with her instead of ride my bicycleKilling some intervalsSpinning out the legs over and over and over again.#bikelove with wall sits is a great workout!Cadence work is always difficult for me!Outdoor #bikelove lasted through November 14 this year!!Last outdoor ride before the snow fliesClimbing out of the saddle for some hill workCooling off on the concrete floor after a tough ride
Stats:
Total time in the saddle: 40 hours and 2 minutes
Total miles for this bike block: 581 miles
Total outdoor miles for this bike block: 155 miles
I am excited to see how this bike block translates to my FTP test coming up later this week. I am hoping to see some serious improvements. I’ll keep you posted on what I find out 🙂
Have you ever done a bike block training cycle? Would you ever consider doing a bike block?
PushMyLimits 