Week Twenty Triathlon Training

I feel like I've been really dragging this week. School is coming to a close, but it's been really busy and I've had some really long work days, nevermind getting training in as well. I think I'm just spent--mentally and physically. Here's to hoping the next three weeks are much better!

Swimming: 6000 yds (3.4 miles)
Cycling: 91 miles
Running/Walking/Hiking: 22.5 miles
Other: Yayog week 8

Week Nineteen Triathlon Training

I did my first sprint triathlon this weekend. One word--COLD. I worried all week about the cold water, and it was about what I imagined. The wet suit kept my core warm. The three swim caps I wore kept my head warm. My feet, hands and face were numb and/or painful. I couldn't really feel my feet and my hands just hurt they were so cold. The water temp was 57 degrees when we started swimming. My breathing was accelerated--I wasn't hyperventilating or anything--I was just breathing much harder than normal. I couldn't get more than 2 or 3 strokes in at a time, so I spent most of the swim doing backstroke. It seemed to to work because I was passing girls by just kicking. The bike ride was good--I had a headwind and it was mostly uphill, but I kept my cadence at 90 rpm. The way back was awesome--tail wind and mostly downhill. I flew! My overall average was 17.8 mph. However, the fast downhill made my feet even colder. I couldn't feel them until 2 miles into the run. That was pretty bad. However, sensation did eventually come back and I finished the race pretty strong. 1:26:14 for the day--6th in my age group!

Swimming: 6720 yds (3.8 miles)
Cycling: 144 miles
Running: 8 miles
Yayog week 7

I rode the 70.3 course this morning. It was fabulous! My goal race pace is 18 mph and I average 18.5 today. Woo hoo!

Week Eighteen Triathlon Training

This week was not a great week. I had a tough time recovering from the half marathon and I caught a cold/stomach yucky thingy. Honestly, I think the last few weeks just caught up with me. It wasn't until I has on the couch sleeping at 4:00 on a week day afternoon that I realized how much stress I've been under lately. I've had a ton of stuff going on at school, plus my LAST class has been wrapping up and I had a 30-page paper due this weekend in addition to training and life in general. I feel very lucky that I was healthy last Sunday and could give the race my best effort. However, this was a week of crashing and babying tight calves. I managed to do all my workouts this week but a long run of 6-8 miles today.

Swimming: 6200 yards (3.5 miles)
Cycling: 90 miles
Running: 5 miles

Week Seventeen Triathlon Training

Swimming: 8000 yds (4.54 miles)
Cycling: 93 miles
Running: 18 miles
Other: YAYOG week 10, little hiking

A fabulous week! I did my longest swim EVER on Tuesday--5000 yards in 1:43. With another 3000 yards on Friday, I think this was my biggest swim week ever.

Second highlight was a HUGE PR on a half marathon today. I ran 1:59:40 a 13-minute record. Woo hoo! It was really hot today, too. When I got home from the race it was 85 degrees. The first half of the race was cloudy but then the clouds lifted and it was warm. I did the run-walk-run strategy today. I ran 10-minutes and then walked for one the whole race. It worked really well.

Splits: 8:29, 8:38, 9:01, 9:16, 9:17, 9:08, 9:40, 8:56, 9:17, 9:08, 9:47, 9:24, 9:34 (+.1 miles)