Pluggin Away

This has been a good training week and boy, did I need that. After two failed triathlons (one was a DNF - my first, btw - and the other included an hour delay during the bike portion - more on that later), I needed to succeed at something.

So, I got in 3 good swims, 2 great runs, and one really good bike ride (so far).

I swam at the lake on Monday and swam farther than I've ever swam out there. But it still isn't far enough for Ironman training. That's ok, I have plenty of time to increase distance even more.

Then, I had a lovely swim at Centennial pool by myself on Weds evening and did Master's swim last night. On Weds, I swam slow and easy and focused on my technique. It was pretty hot outside so it felt really good to get into the pool.

I learned some new ways to work on my technique from a woman at the Silverthorne Rec Center when we were up there. She had been to the Swim Lab in Denver and showed me what she learned. It was really helpful! I incorporated those suggestions and really liked doing that.

Today was kind of the big day (in a way) because it was a test of whether i could run for an hour without any pain. I decided to run at Sanborn Park and just run on the grass. So, for an hour I ran the perimeter of Sanborn (not just around the lake) and felt really good. It is actually harder to run on grass so I think I got a good calf workout!

Running to the park and back was another 15 minutes each way, so I got in a good 1.5 hr run and guess what: no heel pain!  My hip is hurting a little but not any worse than before. I felt  really good and it was nice since I hadn't had a good long run like that in awhile.

I do think I'll stick to the grass or trails as much as possible. At this point, I don't want to risk ANY injuries or worsening of injuries.

Tomorrow is the cancer 5k here in Greeley - not sure what they call it now - and I'm walk/running it with the kids. Then, I'll bike 50 - 60 years on Sunday and be back to the normal routine.

Tonight Sarah, Brenda, and I are meeting with Wendy Mader, CSU Triathlon coach and owner of T2 Coaching. She won the citizen's division at Kona a few years ago. We're paying her to look over our training plan and give us suggestions/tips, etc.

Gotta run - TTFN!