Last week was a mixed bag! I had some breakthrough sessions and some sessions where I rode the struggle bus. On Thursday, I went out for my ride and got REALLY dehydrated. While it was my fault for not stopping on the way home to refill my bike bottles, I didn’t want to ride 2 miles out of my way to refill them when there were some SERIOUS storms rolling in, so I kept rolling toward home. My pace kept getting slower and slower and slower. About 7 miles from home, I called for a ride. Not only was there thunder and lightening in the area, but I was very dehydrated. Time to call it a day! I kept riding toward home until I met my ride about 5 miles from home. Thanks to George for coming to pick Mojo and me up!! This little bump caused me to miss a couple of days of training, but I learned a couple of lessons…stop and refill the bottles (I may have actually made it home before the storms if I had been hydrated) and don’t wear arm coolers when it is SO HUMID (they don’t allow for evaporative cooling when it is in the tropics zone). #alwayslearning
Swim: 6032 yards
“Consistent hard work is what yields success, not perfectly nailed sessions!” ~Hailey Manning #breakthroughsession#swimlove #happyheart
Bike: 128 miles
FINALLY nailing goal watts on an outdoor ride!!! #breakthroughsessionCoach Basil wasn’t keen on the easy, recovery ride. She likes it better when I push and sweat all over…tasty!! 😉Today I tried to outride the “storm,” but the “storm” won.Recovery ride post dehydration
Run: 15 miles
Double run day!! I pleasantly surprised myself today!!Double run day!! I pleasantly surprised myself today!!
Strength Training: 10 minutes of core strength almost daily + 1 hour & 15 minutes full body strength
Strength training post ride!! 🙂Mya was “coaching” me while I did SBT Extreme this week.
Weekly Totals: 15 hours & 1 minute
Quote of the Week:
“Life is a mixed bag of blessings and disaster.” ~Brandon B.
Attitude of Gratitude:
SO GRATEFUL to Nick with Vitality Massage for keeping me healthy and active!!I was DREAMING about these AMAZING fish tacos ALL. DAY. LONG!!! #getinmybellyGrateful to have Sound Probiotics in my village!! #winningtakesgutsRecovering on a double run day with avocado toast and Normatec Recovery boots!Epsom salt + lavender bubble bath = gratefulMy dehydration craving of choice was pickle juice!! So grateful we had some in the fridge!!New Roka Sports wetsuit day!! So grateful to have Roka support this crazy journey and help us #findfaster!!
How was your week? What are you grateful for this week?! What do you crave when you are dehydrated?!
This week…was all about chasing dreams! Putting in the work both physically and mentally to turn my dreams into a reality. My dreams won’t come true if I don’t do the work to get there, so this is what the work looked like:
Swim: 9100 yards
I had some challenging swims this week…they challenged me to try to keep a consistent pace, which is something I REALLY struggle with. Thanks to Coach Kelly for continually pushing me to swim at a more consistent pace!
You can sleep with your dreams or get up and work hard to turn them into reality. I really wanted to keep sleeping with my dreams Tuesday morning, but hard work won!Sometimes I look faster than I really am!Working to #findfaster with every stroke in the pool thanks to Roka!
Bike: 58.8 miles
I had a couple of key workouts this week on the bike to help me build my bike strength and push my threshold farther and farther from my comfort zone. I must say…I love the challenge! I love the feeling of success after pushing myself WAY out of my comfort zone! I love to push my limits and find that they are not the limits they once were! I love to find that what was once hard is now easy! Hard work is definitely paying off and I’m super excited about it! Thanks to Coach Kelly with Track Cat Fitness for making me #trackcatstrong this year!
Tears of joy as I pushed out of my comfort zone on so many levels during my #timetrialtuesday ride!Work for it Wednesday is always better with friends!Chasing dreams requires you to put your head down and do the work!
Run: 14.9 miles
I only had a couple of runs this week, but I was super lucky to get to run with a girlfriend on Friday morning! I was also SUPER lucky to have such an amazing outdoor run on Sunday morning in the misty cool weather!
Getting my #runlove on the treadmill on Wednesday because it sucked outside!Morning miles with friends is best!#runlove in the misty rain! Perfect running weather!
I had some good strength sessions this week! Box jumps definitely scare me, but I’m working to overcome my fear and become more #fearless. While I’m afraid of missing the box, I know I’m getting stronger by incorporating them into my schedule. Thanks Coach Kelly for pushing me out of my comfort zone! I also had an amazing home yoga session thanks to Amy’s yoga download suggestion. It was the most perfect yoga session for me! Thanks Amy!
Lots more core work this week!Legs up a wall post Sunday run.
Weekly Totals: 12 hours & 22 minutes
Weekly Positives:
I had a massage on Friday…OUCH! After all of the hard work I’ve put my body through in the last couple of weeks, it was much needed! Thanks to Nick with Vitality Massage for keeping my body happy and healthy as I push it to new levels!
Because #recoveryisimportant and it always feels better afterwards!
I received my belated birthday present in the mail from my tri sis from down under! I can’t wait to read these two books!
I received the best belated birthday present in the mail from my tri sis from down under! Can’t wait to start reading!
Breakthrough Nutrition‘s Goodnight formula is the best! It helps me sleep and I don’t wake up groggy in the morning. This is the perfect #huginamug for recovery + sleep! Take advantage of a 10% discount by using code WELOVESNBS at checkout!
#huginamug with Breakthrough Nutrition in my fave Sound Probiotics mug!
Quote of the Week:
“To accomplish great things, we must not only dream but also act, must not only plan but also believe.” ~ Anatole France
Hello week 3 with Coach Kelly!! I’m LOVIN’ the workouts, the challenges, and the personal touches that Coach Kelly has blessed me with!! So much gratitude!!
Swim: 6200 yards
I had some really good swims this week! I’m feeling like my biceps are staying closer to the surface of the water so that I actually have a pull in the water, and I ended the week with 4x(3×100 z5, z4, z5) workout. During the 3rd set, I saw a 1:39 for my 1st 100…this may not be impressive to most of you, but I have NEVER seen a 100 time faster than 1:45, so a 1:39 WAS AWESOME!! Even better…most of my 100s were at or around 1:42!! I’m working to #findfaster in the water! Wahoo 🙂
Playing in the water post swimming!Trying to find my pull in the water!Celebrating swim success with dolphin dives!
Bike: 70.5 miles
I’m working on bike strength! Coach Kelly says, “You’re going to become an absolute cycling machine this winter. That’s my plan for you. Turn you into more of a power house.” I’m so excited about this! I love to ride my bike and I want to get faster and stronger on the bike. This has meant lots of intervals and intensity time on the bike this week…looks like I GET to do more of it again next week! Wahoo 🙂
Recovery Ride!Lots of intervals! OUCH!Intensity Time!
Run: 18.6 miles
There was lots of treadmill time this week thanks to ridiculously cold windchill temperatures! I sadly was only outside for a run once this week, but thoroughly enjoyed it before the temps plummeted!
Trail running before the temps plummeted!Speedy feet!Dreaming of warmer weather and tapping into this warmth in my Coeur Sports tropical punch kit!More treadmill time!Where do I live again?!?!Because it is -30F windchill…time to warm up on the treadmill!
Strength Training: 1 hour & 50 minutes
I had some solid strength sessions this week with good variety!
Strength training…get those arms in the air!!
Weekly Totals: 12 hours & 27 minutes
Quote of the Week:
“If there is a dream or a goal that you want you have to go for it 100%. Give all you have for the goals that you have.” ~Alia Atkinson
After Ironman Wisconsin (9/11/16), I took a lot of time off…both physically and mentally. During this time I decided to hire Kelly as my coach to help me achieve big goals at Ironman Mont Tremblant in 2017. This was week 1 of a new chapter in my book as I started training with Coach Kelly!! After having my training train derailed for the last couple of months, it felt great to have the train stop, pick me up, get back on its tracks, and move in the forward direction. The best part…having someone else tell me what to do!! Thanks Coach!! So what did my first week of this new chapter look like?! Here’s a snapshot of my week…
Monday:
I had every intention of getting up and working out Monday morning, but I had a Thanksgiving hangover, and I don’t mean from alcohol…it was a family hang over. I LOVE my family and am SO grateful and happy they came to visit us over Thanksgiving break, but I was exhausted on Monday morning. As a result, Monday morning was a sleep in. After a full day of work, I hit the gym for my strength training session.
Getting my strong on makes me happy!!
Tuesday:
The day started with morning miles with my girl! I love running with her and am so lucky to have an early morning running partner who is reliable, dependable, and keeps me safe! When we got home, I quickly vacuumed the house before getting ready for work. After a full day of teaching, I hit the pool for some chlorine therapy.
Love this girl! #morningmileswithBasil#swimlove is the perfect way to end the day!
Wednesday:
The Iron Hippie and I both had swims, so we decided to go in the morning and see just how busy the pool is on a Wednesday morning. Surprisingly, it wasn’t as busy as we thought it would be 🙂 After a full day of teaching, I came home to intervals on Mojo! This was the first time I’ve REALLY ridden her since Ironman Wisconsin and it took a lot of self talk…#courageovercomfort and #nevergiveup!!
Sharing a lane with my fave! He’s at the other end of the lane…see the high elbow off in the distance?!Full of smiles after those tough bike intervals! Finding my #bikelove again!
Thursday:
It was another early morning run with my girl! I’m so grateful to have her to keep me company, push me to run faster, and keep me safe! After we returned home, I vacuumed the house before getting ready for a full day of science education meetings with my colleagues. My brain was complete MUSH by the end of the day! I met with two different personal training clients after work and then rounded out my day with teaching TRX.
#morningmileswithBasil are the best!TRX FTW!!
Friday:
Today was a rest day! After yesterday’s brain mushing session, I needed this rest day today! After a full day of teaching, I ran a couple of errands, prepared dinner, and cleaned fresh produce for the coming week. After dinner and cleaning up the kitchen, I was in bed reading by 7:30 pm with lights out at 8:15 pm. I was exhausted!
Saturday:
I was so tired that I slept until 6:10 am! I guess my body needed it 😉 After eating a quick snack I went to the Iowa State outdoor track for my 2 mile time trial run. I have a mental block when I am at the track…it is a GREAT facility, but this is where I ran for week after week after week after week about 2 years ago when I was injured. After running circles with the white line between my feet for about 2 months, this beautiful track left a negative taste in my mouth. Today I had doubts in my head, but I immediately went into self talk mode…courage over comfort! Never give up! I am strong! I am tough! I am FAST! So the best part about this run?! I had the track to myself for the entire hour I was there! Ha ha! I know what you’re thinking…NO, it didn’t take me an hour to run 2 miles! I was hoping to run each mile at 8:00/mile or faster, but I’m just not quite there yet and that’s OK! I’m happy to be where I’m at! After all, I’ve taken nearly 3 months off of training. After a 20 minute warm up, my first mile was at 8:10/mile and my second mile was 8:05/mile. Hello negative splits!! After cooling down until I had ran an hour, I went to the gym for some strength training. After eating all the food I could find (not really…just muesli) when I got home, we did some house work before I went to the gym for some chlorine therapy! Guess what?! I had the pool to myself for my entire swim! I think that was the theme of the day…first the track to myself, then the pool to myself (no…I didn’t have the gym to myself for strength training, but the room I was in I had to myself for a good portion of my workout). After eating all the food I could find (this time, it was true!), we spent the evening relaxing with friends.
2 mile time trial with the track all to myself!!Look…I’m flying!! Airplanes on an inverted Bosu as part of my strength session today.Chlorine therapy…Serious #swimlove in a pool all to myself as I work to #findfaster today!
Sunday:
We woke up to snow…on the ground…for the first time this season! Thankfully the ground was still warm enough that the roads and sidewalks weren’t ice covered…just slushy. After an easy 75 minute ride, I ate some food, got ready for the coming week, chatted with Coach Kelly on the phone for almost an hour, and then went for a short and easy afternoon run in our winter wonderland. I rounded out the week with an epsom salt soak, laundry, and relaxing to soak up all of my hard work this week and get ready for more testing this coming week…bike FTP and swim tests are scheduled for the coming week…eek! I’m so happy and grateful to have Coach Kelly write this new chapter with me!
My view on my ride today.#runlove with the first snowfall of the season
Weekly Totals: 9 hours & 25 minutes
Swim: 5100 yards Bike: 31.5 miles Run: 17.1 miles Strength Training: 2 hours & 30 minutes + 10 minutes of core work daily
Quote of the Week:
“Today I close the door on the past, open the door to the future, take a deep breath, step on through and start a new chapter in my life.” ~Anonymous
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
Sunday, April 10 I had a swim analysis with Coach Hansen. I learned that I had lost my “catch” and I wasn’t pushing water to the back wall, I was instead pushing it to the bottom of the pool. I was creating more resistance and making it more challenging for myself to move forward, but was doing a great job of moving myself up toward the water’s surface…GRRR!!
After changing up some things and seeing some slight improvements in my time per 50 yards, I made the comment, “I’ve never been a fast swimmer; just consistent. No matter how hard I try, I almost always swim 1:50/100 yards.” BAD MISTAKE!!
Coach Hansen immediately responded with, “Well, then it is time to make you a swimmer.” What does that mean?! It means there are no more “easy” swim workouts. It means that every swim I do, I should be pushing my limits and trying to get faster and more efficient at the same time. It means that I’m dying at the end of my 25s, 50s, 100s, and 200s. It means that I’m working REALLY hard. It means that it is tough. It means it is uncomfortable.
It means I need to overcome a mental hurdle and start believing in myself in the pool. I CAN get faster in the water. I WILL get faster in the water. It will be uncomfortable and it may hurt, but it will be worth it! After all, I GET to go swim! I GET to do what I LOVE! I GET to race triathlon!
Fast forward to my swim on Wednesday, April 13th…
After finishing the 8x50s on the minute, I was so hungry! I got out of the pool, grabbed my Barnanas and sat on the edge of the pool eating and crying in my goggles. After consuming some calories, I got back in the pool and finished my workout. It was TOUGH! It was CHALLENGING! I was working SO HARD! I was supposed to see faster times…I didn’t. I was supposed to feel like I wasn’t working as hard…I didn’t. I was supposed to be working on my form…I forgot about it.
My arms were SO tired on Thursday! I was so frustrated that I spent all of my free time (which wasn’t much) watching videos of Michael Phelps and hoping for osmosis to allow his swim form to seep into my body.
Friday morning I decided to give myself a break and not focus on times while swimming. It was the perfect decision! This swim still wasn’t easy (my arms were still tired from Wednesday), but I felt much more relaxed in the pool and actually enjoyed my swim!
Fast forward again to Tuesday, April 19th…
I repeated the 2800 yard swim of 150s, 50s, and 25s at 5 am and talked to myself. I said, “I am Michael Phelps” over and over and over again throughout this swim. I did see slightly faster times, and didn’t feel like I was working nearly as hard as I did last week on this swim, but I still am not seeing the times that I was hoping for, and I’m sure my form was not getting better. The good thing about this swim…I didn’t cry in my goggles this time 🙂
My swimming continued to be on and off for the next week. Some days were better than others, but I always focused on #courageovercomfort because eventually this uncomfortableness in the water has to become comfortable and eventually I will #findfaster!
Fast forward to Sunday, May 1…
We had another swim analysis with Coach Hansen. This time, he took underwater video of our swim form, analyzed it and gave us specific things to focus on for the next week or two before we meet again. Things for me to focus on include:
Push my nose to the floor of the pool to bring my butt up/bring my chin toward my chest
Fingertips down and elbow bent throughout the catch and pull (do not let elbow drop and fingertips point to the ceiling…grrr)
Push water to the back wall, not my hip
I have no catch, my hand is higher than my elbow, and my chin needs to be closer to my chest.
Fast forward to Wednesday, May 4…
I found a trick to get my fingertips pointing down toward the bottom of the pool, but I still have to get my elbow high, reach forward, and get my chin tucked back toward my chest. I looped a hair tie around my wrist and middle finger on each hand to pull my fingertips toward my wrists. It seemed to work based on the videos and pictures we took. As for the reach, I feel like when I reach my arm forward this is when my elbow drops and my fingertips point up (as shown above). This may not be the case, but that is how it feels. I also found a way to get my chin closer to my chest, but didn’t seem to be doing it here:
REACH!!! LOOK DOWN/BACK!!! ELBOW UP!!!
Changing up my swim stroke is hard. It is tough. It is uncomfortable. It is difficult to know if the changes that I feel I am making are actually changing anything at all. I guess I’ll have to wait until we meet with Coach Hansen again next week! Until then, it is time to get comfortable with the uncomfortable and focus on #courageovercomfort in the water to #findfaster!
What tips do you have for me to remember to keep my nose to the floor, keep my arm in the “catch” position (elbow high/fingertips down), and push the water to the back wall?
PushMyLimits 