It's a love hate relationship between ice baths and endurance athletes. They hurt like HELL but, man, they do wonders. Can't live with em, can't live without em. Chris had the idea of getting a big garbage can that I can step into up to my waist. I haven't done it yet, but this week I think that is on my list of things to do. David smirked when I told him this; when I asked him what he was laughing at, he said I was just picturing that and thinking "aww, someone has gone and thrown away a perfectly good wife". pretty funny. still a good idea though ;) In the meantime, I'm getting by with the actual bathtub, and I do it after every long workout. Speeds the recovery process amazingly. If you don't already do this, you should!
So this week had a few big milestones for me. First was Double Run Friday. Never had two runs in one day. Got up early to do the first one. This was my second morning run of the week - and I tell you, it is so freaking humid in Georgia right now - I could seriously SEE the air. And man it wreaks havoc with your pace. well my pace anyway. And not to mention, as I ran through the dark, and ran over the spots in total darkness vs the spots with some early morning dappled light and street lights, I could actually feel a change in temperature. I'm serious. The radiant heat in this city is un-freaking-believable. So, got the first one done. Off to work, and then a torture session with Dr. Sadri - my gluteus medius is in dire straits. Got home, and had to take a nap. Two hours later...yikes...I get up and it is 6:45. But, I have to do this. So off I went, and decided to run on the Greenway, since I really couldn't stand the idea of yet another few loops around Shiloh. So you've got the humidity, and then add in the 90-100 degrees and you have your double whammy. And for this Canadian girl, it's almost too much to handle. It just sucks the life out of me. And honestly, the Greenway was probably not a good choice - no air movement, humid as all get out...but I got it done. I was running a pathetic 8:45 pace on the way back of my negative split run, and it felt more like I was running 7:30. A month ago I would've been. But I survived DRF.
Saturday saw a good long ride with JLess. We rode out to Yellow Creek Road and Big Canoe. Last time I rode Yellow Creek was with Gerry last summer...actually where I set a few of my still existing power peaks. I do have to say that this ride seemed a lot easier this time! This is always good news!! I also was determined to push harder this ride, per last week's post, and I did just that. I was feeling pretty strong. When I was still pushing 225+ watts on the hills at 4:30 into the ride, I was pretty excited to look at the power files once I got home. Stupid Garmin. Quit recording at 3:38! No warning, nothing, and it kept SHOWING the increasing time, power, hr, etc. I swear I did 5:05 Coach! :) Nevertheless, I felt like I was stronger, and though the speed is still not where I want it on the hills, I feel like I stepped over a plateau this weekend. Looks like the work I've been doing on the hills is starting to show up in my riding. So after 5 hours of riding, I headed into a quick run. Guy down the street looks at me, looks around presumably at the heat and sun, shakes his head in admonishment and says "you need to get started earlier". I just looked at him and said "man, I've been at this since 6:30 this morning - I just finished a 5 hour bike ride". All he could say was "oh...really?" Pretty funny. Got back home, had a Mix 1 (mmmmmm), stretched, did the exercises from Sadri (we want a rock hard ass, but not like this he says), showered, ice bath, ate, looked at data, cursed my garmin, and went to sleep (mmm naps). Woke up and it's 5pm. Went and picked up my new running shoes, got some groceries, had a really nice Thai dinner (thanks for the idea Richard) with David, and in bed by 9:30. And that's the way we spend our weekends while training for Ironman!!
This morning's long run was mixed. Fourteen miles and I started later than I planned (7:30). First couple loops were good, then it got rough. Fifth and final loop though I pushed through and pulled in an 8:20 pace, which is around my target pace for the race. Even that early in the morning, before the heat really started, I lost several pounds on the run. Got up to over 100 today.
So it's down to 12 weeks. No messing around now. I have 10 more shots at getting that nutrition right, and figuring out the ideal pacing strategy. The first couple times I looked at 17 hours on the schedule, I was shocked and didn't know if I could do it. Now I see 17 hours, and I think, bring it on! So here's to another week of training, early mornings, and getting closer to getting it right.
Happy Training!
Kat
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