4 weeks ’til Ironman Boulder

“It is amazing how incredible the human body is that it can do so much. That it can go beyond the everydayness of life; that it can be extraordinary and powerful, and harbor a spirit of hope and pure will.” ~Lynne Cox

Hello taper time…it is SO nice for you to bless us with your presence!! We have been working so hard to see you!! We have finally reached the point in our training were we taper. Typically we would have another week of hard training before the taper, but we are leaving on Saturday to head to Colorado for 3 weeks to acclimate to the altitude, do some training and relax before race day. Some coaches suggested that we not go to altitude after having just completed our last big build, but to go out after a recovery/rest week. This would set us up for a quicker adjustment to the altitude and hopefully prevent us from getting sick.

Swim: 9405 yards

My best swim this week was Tuesday morning’s Ladder to 400 swim. This workout was written to be completed in the 25 yard pool, but I ended up swimming in the 50 meter pool, which gave me more distance than planned. It was an amazing morning for a swim and I felt really strong throughout this workout. True #swimlove Tuesday morning 🙂

The 50 meter pool is such a peaceful place in the early morning hours.

Bike: 170 miles

We had a lot #bikelove this week, with some of them being followed up with some running. Monday was a great trainer workout that produced a lot of sweat and hard efforts.

Hard at work

Run: 39 miles

We had a couple of really good runs this week, but the shortest run was 9 miles (with the exception of our shorter brick on Wednesday). Oof…

Brick: 

Friday was our LAST LONG brick…WAHOO!! We rode 115 miles at an average pace of 17.2 mph and then ran 9 miles off the bike with an average pace of 10:18. Our run pace was a little slower than we had hoped for, but we felt like we definitely could have kept running, so that was a huge confidence builder. 🙂 It felt really good to complete that workout knowing we only had two more hard workouts before the taper.

30 miles into our 115 mile bike ride.

9 mile run off the bike complete

Strength Training: 1 hour & 45 minutes

Weekly Totals: 22 hours and 23 minutes

Weekly Highlights:

Getting a new Coeur Sports tri kit just in time for our last big run on Sunday…

#stylishspeed #heartandcourage #noangrykitty

Thank you Osmo Nutrition for keeping us properly hydrated and recovered…

#makesyourproteinworksmarter #makesyourwaterworkharder #womenarenotsmallmen

Feeling the love and support from Sound Probiotics…

Finally reaching the taper…

Unexpected Setbacks:

I was exposed to a neighbor fogging his yard this week, which for most people isn’t an issue, but my body responds VERY similarly to that of an insect when exposed to insecticides, which means no bug spray, no ant traps, no flea collars, and no yard fog. 😦 Thankfully I didn’t have any seizures, but I was in a VERY delusional state on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. Because of this, I had to cut Wednesday’s brick short and skip our speed work on the trainer on Thursday. After sleeping a LOT on Wednesday and Thursday, I was feeling much better on Friday and ready to knock out our last big brick 🙂

4th of July Celebrations:

We started the day with a swim in the 50 meter pool…

Spent time with friends for breakfast and at the small town parade before taking a long nap, eating some yummy food and then going to bed early for one more long run on Sunday.

This week’s focus:

Pack for our 3+ week trip to Colorado and make sure everything is in order on the home front for house/puppy sitter.

How was your week? How did you celebrate the 4th of July? What were the highlights of your week?