Had a great workout today! Rode to Windsor lake with Sarah and Kurt drove to meet us there and he carried our wetsuits. Swam around the island and then did a 2nd smaller loop. Felt really good. The water was choppy and it was a little scary at first swimming with "waves" but kinda fun too. Kurt and Sarah went on ahead so I swam mostly by myself. Last year I would've been scared to death swimming by myself but today I felt really good.

Dog tired

Rode 60 miles yesterday and ran for an hour this morning and my legs are dead. Want to ride again tomorrow but not sure I'll be able to walk! May try to eek out 20 slow miles...also planning to swim in the lake tomorrow afternoon.

I am developing a love-hate relationship with this IM training. I love getting into good shape (I've lost about 5 lbs) and enjoy most of the rides and runs but I hate feeling tired all of the time and constantly putting my kids off (no, I can't ride you up to the skateboard park, I'm too tired....or no, mommy's too tired to go to the pool today, she needs to sleep).

I'm thrilled to have the chance to do an Ironman but also very, very ready for it to be over with. And I haven't even gotten to the "hard part" yet!

Whew - what a week! It started with Lake to Lake triathlon (L2L) in Loveland last Saturday.

L2L is an Olympic distance triathlon that is very popular here in Colorado. The distances are: 1 mile swim, 30 mile bike, and 6.2 mile run. Doesn't sound that hard the it is. The bike course is the hardest part as it winds it's way up through Horsetooth Reservoir where there are some big hills.

A group of us from Greeley did L2L. For me it went pretty well except for the swim start. I had a panic attack (again) and almost turned back. Couldn't seem to get my breath and it's a little hard to put your face in the water when you feel like you can't breathe!

Plus, there was a huge traffic jam of people in my wave and I literally couldn't get into the swim position until I got to the first buoy - too many arms and legs thrashing about. It took quite awhile to calm down.

The good news is that I was not tired at the end of the swim. I felt fine! The strength-training is finally paying off.

Felt good on the bike and run but could tell that I haven't done any speedwork in my training. Felt like I was moving slower than I should have been but I wasn't tired or hurting so that's good. Finished 5 mins faster than my race time in 2007!

Took Sunday off and ran a hard 6 on Monday. Swam a slow 800 yrds at noon on Monday too. Tuesday I swam again, still tired. Weds I got my butt out the door at 6:30 AM and rode to Johnstown and back (not sure how far it is but it took me 2 hrs). I have to ride early because the kids get up around 7:30 or 8:00 and this way, they aren't alone for too long.

Thursday I ran again and yesterday I swam 1000 yds at noon.

Today I rode 60 miles! Rode with Marshall, Sarah, and Kevin. We had planned to ride only 40 - 50 miles but ended up going all the way to the Pawnee Grasslands, which was 60.1 miles from our starting point (according to Sarah's computer). Had a fantastic time!

The cool thing is that I wasn't that tired when we finished. Had severe pain in my left toes and foot but other than that, felt pretty good. I even had a 2nd wind toward the end of the ride. So glad to get the miles in!

Too tired to write more so will end now....more thoughts later.

Ketchup

Had a great training week this last week. Not sure I can remember it all so I'll work backwords and just say a few things about it.

Today I lifted and swam at noon at Centennial and ran after dinner. The swim felt great but arms still sore from taking a week off (see below). The run wasn't bad - started slow and increased my past quite a bit. Doing L2L on Saturday so I didn't want to run too hard. Wow, got a 2-a-day in today!

Yesterday I rode for an hour but it was a "wimpy" ride. Felt sluggish and quit as soon as I could.

Tuesday I swam at Master's group. We drove back from Kansas that day so I was in the car for 10 hrs - ugh! Hit the pool as soon as i got back.

Monday - nada. Went to Worlds of Fun in KC. Walked about 5 miles, probably.

Sunday - OK, let's talk about the ride on Sunday! Wowser! Kurt and I were staying at my brother's house in Edgerton, KS. We wanted to ride long so we drove over to Clinton Lake, outside of Lawrence. It was raining and a bit cold. I thought it would be a crummy ride.

We started off with jackets and sleeves on but they quickly came off. The rain stopped and the temps warmed up (as did the humidity!). We headed up toward the dam and wa- la, what did we see but a race in progress. It was the Ironman Kansas 70.3 ! We stopped and watched the cylists fly by and then jumped in when there was break in the pack. Rode up a few steep hills and then stopped at T2 and watched the transition. It was weird, but fun, watching a triathlon instead of participating in it!

Then we headed back to the car. It was almost 10:30 by then. We rode hard across the dam, up the hill, and then down a long steep hill. We got back to the car and I didn't want to stop. I had a good cadence going and felt really strong. Kurt was thinking the same thing I was: I should ride all the way home!

I'm not one to take off on my bike in unknown territory, esp when it involves riding on a highway. It was hot and humid and i had about 30 miles to get home but I heard myself saying to Kurt, "I think I'll try it".

So, I did. I rode all the way back to my brother's house on my own, which we figured was about 30 miles. And it was not an easy 30 miles! There were lots of hills - in fact, the entire way back was up and down. Then there was one long stretch that lasted about 9 miles.

The humidity was terrible and i was sweating like crazy. I had very little shoulder on highway 59 and cars were whizzing by me. But I just didn't want to stop!

The picture above is me finally getting back to my brother's house. I'm pretty amazed that I did it! But I gotta get even longer rides in very soon.

The day before that - last Saturday - Kurt and I went for a long run down the country roads near my brother's house. It was cloudy but warm and humid. We had a great time and ran for a solid 90 minutes.

This Saturday is Lake to Lake olympic triathlon in Loveland. That long ride and run were great training for this event. The only bad thing about our Kansas trip is that I didn't get to swim the entire time. But hopefully it won't affect things too much.

All in all, not a bad week!

Ache-y run

Ran about 4-5 miles this morning on very sore legs. But hey, gotta get used to it, huh?

Heading for Kansas today....hoping to dodge all the tornados!

Aint takin' no chances today

We've had three tornado warnings in the last 24 hrs and two big bouts of hail, complete with thunder and lightening and strong winds. And to top it off, yesterday's tornado warning (which, for once, was VERY real), came right at the time I was going to ride or swim. So today, I got my ride in early!

I actually got my act together quickly this AM. The sky was cloudy (again!) but I decided to go for it anyway. Headed out about 6:40 AM and rode as fast as I could toward Windsor. As I weaved my way through Greeley, I worried more and more about getting soaked. But within 30 mins, they started to dissipate - yippee!

I headed out to Windsor on O Street. Not too much traffic but the cars that did go by, were going very fast. I love O Street but wish it had more of a shoulder. I realized that most of the people on the road this early were probably in a hurry to get to work. Better pay attention.

I went through Water Valley and turned around and headed back. Felt pretty good. Kept up a good pace most of the way. When I finally got back to Greeley, I looked at my watch and was shocked: it was almost 9:00! And I had didn't have a babysitter! I had left a note for the kids to call Kurt but I called him and he said he hadn't heard from them. So I pedaled even fast home. Wow, I was gone over 2 hrs!

They were fine - just watching TV. Whew! I'm glad I got the ride in early. Tomorrow I'm running...wish I could swim too....maybe over the noon hour I can slip up to Centennial and get in a quick 1000 yds....

Getting in the groove...

I am finally starting to feel like I'm training for an IM. Doing double workouts on some days now and it's actually feeling good. Ran yesterday morning (only 30 mins but still...) and then swam in the lake last night. It was cold and stormy-looking and I had NO desire to swim but did it anyway....a big change for me!

The water was freezing when I got in. Too cold to put my face in the water so just doggy-paddled at first. Finally warmed up and got going. Swam around the island and back. Kurt and a friend of ours from UNC went too. It seemed totally crazy to be swimming in a lake with it being so cold and cloudy but we did it anyway!

Today I really want to ride but its looking stormy AGAIN. The kids are home and we need to go to swimming lessons and then dental appointments....may ride with the Twin Rivers group later today. Going to lift weights right now....

Did the Greeley Triathlon today and had a great time. The weather was a bit challenging - cold winds before starting the swim - but it warmed up on the bike and run.

This year I predicted my swim time at 11 minutes and learned a hard lesson: to test my swim time first! I have actually improved and was able to pass quite a few people but it took awhile to get around them.

The bike went well. I pushed hard the entire way. Kurt took off my aero bars a week or so and I really missed them! But still rode fairly well, I think.

The run was harder than last year. I felt ok but not great. I know I can do better in the run. Need some speed work of some sort. But all in all, it was not a bad race. I was able to shave off about 3 mins from my time last year and I'm very happy about that!

The best part was seeing so many people that I know and care about...the Parks, Jenny, Brenda, Kevin, and many, many more. What a great way to spend a Sunday morning!

Hmmm...

Tomorrow is the Greeley Triathlon and because of that, I rode on Thursday...and because I rode long on Thurs, I was sore on Friday so I didn't run or ride (and no time to swim), and then today I still felt sore and tired so I didn't do anything....SO that means I took two days off and I'm only doing a sprint tri tomorrow.

Why does that matter??? It means I missed two days of training and I'm only working hard for an hour and 20 mins or so tomorrow. I am wondering if I should've NOT done this tri and instead, gotten in two good long workouts - a long run today and a long ride tomorrow.

I really worry about it as it may affect my training for the IM. Hmmmm.....

Lynne says that now that she has done an IM, she thinks we worry too much and that it's still pretty early so that helps to hear that. I guess Iwon't worry.

I seeded myself at 11:00 mins for the swim tomorrow and foudn out that all my friends (who are better swimmers than me) estimated their swim time around 9:00 mins! I feel like I'm way behind already. Ugh.

Just not having a good day today. Hope tomorrow is better!

Good ride

Kurt and I rode for 2 hrs and 9 mins yesterday. Not fast but a good steady pace. Beautiful weather too. Today I took the day off and tomorrow I plan to run a short run, to be fresh for the Greeley Triathlon on Sunday - woo hoo!

A Weird Thing Happened Today

I went for a run this AM and planned to get a swim in too since I didn't make it to Master's swim last night (too darn cold and yes, I'm a wimp). And while I was running, I found myself looking foward to the swim....can it really be true??? Me, the person who wears fins to keep up with everyone else, actually looked forward to swimming???

And can it be true, that I actually enjoyed my swim today....by myself, at the Rec Center, where one year ago I turned around in the parking lot and went home when I chickened out on swimming one day?

It's true. I actually WANTED to swim today. And I actually ENJOYED my swim today. AND - get this - I actually swam LONGER than I normally do because it felt so good.

I'm still scratchin' my head on how this happened....

Rainy Run

Today it pretty much rained all day long. My training plan called for a run in the AM and a swim later on, with Master's swim group. It was raining pretty heavily when I wanted to run so I waited until it stopped - around 11:00 AM - and zipped right out there.

It rained lightly during the run, which was really nice. It was only 48 degrees so I wore a light jacket. Ran about 45 mins and felt great.

Yesterday Lynne and I went to the lake in Windsor for our usual Monday afternoon swim. We have a good size group there on Mondays: Todd, Jim, John, Lynne, Marcie, Kevin, and me as the "core group" and then a few others join us from time to time (see pic above). Most everyone else swims the perimeter of the lake and I just swim around the island.

Yesterday I turned a corner in my swimming. I swam around the island comfortably by myself. I wasn't nervous at all. Took my time and focused on my technique.

Got back to the dock and felt good enough to swim some more so i went back toward the island and made a big circle. It doesn't sound like much but it was a huge accomplishment for me.

I'm actually looking forward to swimming the perimeter, which is 1.2 miles (half the distance of the IM swim). Hope to do it soon.

But first, the Greeley tri is this weekend. Plan to bike tomorrow and swim again on Thursday...depending on the weather.

Too tired to write anymore...see what training does to this ol' gal???