more shut eye...

I was up early again this morning. I still felt tired after breakfast, so I decided to go back to sleep. The dogs were happy about getting some more shut eye. I headed out at 8:30AM with the dogs for a nice easy run. I picked a looping course, so the dogs could run off leash. We finished with a little over 9 miles in 70 minutes. I ended up jamming my thumb as I grabbed a fence to get over the dirt faster. The funny thing is I didn't know it hurt until I tried to squeeze my water bottle during my bike ride at 5PM.
After work and a few errands, I jumped on the trainer for another suffer fest. It wasn't as bad as last Thursday. It was still difficult because of the cumulative training from the last few days. Nothing a few slices of pizza can't fix.

Last long workout before Kona 70.3

I wasn't sure if I was going outside to ride because the forecast called for rain. I woke up at 5:21AM and saw the roads were dry. I ate breakfast and chilled out on the couch for a couple hours before heading out. I knew I was rolling the dice because of all the grey clouds in the sky. I decided to take my rain vest just in case. I ended up not even needing it.

The workout felt hard. My legs are tired. Every time I got out of the saddle, my quads felt like bricks. After almost 54 miles, I jumped off the bike for a quick run. I settled right into pace. I have to remember to carry more nutrition if I am going to ride without a stop. I was starving after the workout. This is the last long workout before Kona.

The clock told me...

This morning I did some pace work in the pool for the race next week. I thought I was swimming at a decent speed during the warm-up. The clock told me it was slow. UGH!!! I thought no big deal. I went into 3x500s and ascended my times. There was a gorilla on my back for the last one as my time slowed down 19 seconds from the second 500. I finished with a couple fast 50s. They weren't too fast, but that's all I had in the tank. I finished with 2.9k.

I lucked out with my run and somehow managed to run with sun almost the entire duration. I did 6.6 miles of tempo work in prep for next weekend. This workout did not feel great either. The bike workout from yesterday is still kicking my butt. I finished up with a little less than 10 miles in 70 minutes.

Racing slow and training fast

I am usually very sore post race and it takes a few days for me to get back to training hard.

Monday evening I had an easy swim 1k to loosen up.

Tuesday morning, I ran an 2.5 miles. After work and a nap, I jumped on the bike for some intervals. The main set was 4x (10'@FTP  with 4' easy between). I got stronger on each interval and put up season best numbers.

Yesterday morning I swam 3.4k in the pool. I felt okay. The main set was 3x (3x200 10" descend 1-3). The set was more challenging than I thought it would be. I swam much better a couple weeks prior on a similar set. I hit the track on a lunch break. I was hoping to miss the rain, but no such luck. I had a couple of fast 200s and 1000s.

Today after a long day of work and a nap I jumped on the trainer for one of the hardest workouts ever. At the end of the workout, I clipped out and had to hold onto the bike because I felt light headed. It took 20+ minutes to stop sweating. That was including a cold shower.

Quack Quack pics

LYNSKEY

XTERRA - Swim Start

Bike

Running to the finish in my OOMPH Race suit

Post race with Guy

Awards - me, Angela, Miki

Quack Quack

I travelled down near Eugene, Oregon for an Olympic triathlon. I needed a tune-up race to see if I still knew how to race. I also got the chance to meet up with a good friend driving up from Monterey, California.

The morning drive was dry, but short lived. It sprinkled most of the morning. The roads were nice and wet. I was glad I packed extra rain gear. It came in handy during the warm-up.

SWIM - 24:11

I put on my XTERRA VENDETTA a few minutes before the start. The right side of my wetsuit near the calf was flared out, so I cut it off. I didn't want any extra drag. I felt okay on the swim. It was hard to find the buoys because everyone was wearing different caps (the race did not provide caps). At one point I was swimming next to Ross and another point I was next to Karen. It was a 2 loop course. I think if they didn't make us loop all the way back to shore the course may have been dead on for distance. Instead it was long. I came out just behind Ross and Karen. I had trouble getting my wetsuit off because my hands were frozen (water temp 55). Luckily, I have pretty decent transitions and I passed both of them immediately.

BIKE - 1:05.20
I quickly put on my SPIUK helmet and grabbed my green steed, LYNSKEY. The course was rolling for almost all of the race. I could not generate power. My legs had no snap. I was passed by a few strong riders. I later discovered that the guy who won my age group is a CAT 1/2 cyclist. Near the end of the ride I passed 2 guys. I dismounted and racked the bike

RUN - 42:09
I had trouble slipping on my NEWTONS. I could not feel my feet at all. Add the numb feet to a stitch on my right side and it made for a fun run. NOT!!! I was passed my one guy within the first mile and two more after mile 4. I was definitely glad to see the finish line. The run ended up being a little long.

I ended up 11th overall and 2nd in my age group.

After the race, I got a chance to talk to the winner, Jesse Thomas. He won Wildflower Half Ironman a couple weeks prior. He was very cool! If you are interested in a new gluten free bar, check out PICKY BARS. They taste great!!!

Karen, Lisa, Jesse, me

Sunny and 65++

Another beautiful day in the Pacific Northwest. I had an easy 1.5k in the pool this morning. After work, I went out for a quick jog, 4.1 miles. Life is good!