This week started not so good with a bit of stomach problems, but as the week went on I started to gain some momentum.  Legs and lungs still feel like they are recovering and I think by next week I will be ready to get back into full swing training.

8/9: I didn’t even get to teach three of my five classes, so a workout was out of the question.
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8/10:  Strength training for the first time in four weeks; putting a big focus on building strength for swimming – fore this is where I find most of my weakness when it comes to strength.  I got a very easy 6 mile run in; keeping it slow to make sure my stomach would hold.  And it did!  Today is also my mental health day where I get to go to my therapist; best thing I have ever done for myself.

8/11:  Open water swim; and the lake was bit angry that morning.  There were some strong waves coming in.  I swim much at all, because I was with a client and my focus was more on her than me getting my swim in.  Then I spent the afternoon changing a flat on my bike and my husband’s since I am the mechanic in the house…I just hope I never get a flat in the car, because I would be stranded.
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8/12:  Momentum has started and moving forward finally!  Felt 100% and had a great day in training, starting with a fartlek ride on the North Branch Trail with my assistant that was awesome!  I felt today like my lungs were wearing out quicker than my legs, but my legs could not push for the burn on the pick-ups, however I averaged over 23mph on each pick-up.  My total riding was 42 miles.  Then I went off to do a kettlebell strength training session and then 45 minutes of Parkour training; working on jumps.  So by the end of the day my legs were a tad bit tired.


8/13: I swam open water again in the lake where I proceeded to get sea sick.  I am going to try an experiment next week by taking a half a Dramamine to see if that helps.  As soon as I get over a half a mile in races and open water swims I get sea sick and I need to fix the problem.  I finished the day with a 90 minute Bikram Yoga class for the first time in six months…it’s 70 minutes of my thinking about what else I should be doing, and the last 20 minutes thinking about what flavor of popsicle I am going to have at the end of class.  Unfortunately I am not very good at it, but I try.  My hamstrings and hips are tight, but I am pleased to say I have fairly good balance.  Everything I do I cannot get my legs to straighten yet.  I am going to continue yoga because I think flexibility is part of helping me stay injury free for The Next One.


8/14:  Feeling yoga from yesterday, I took on 17 miles with one of my runners.  It was my first long run since Ironman Lake Placid.  We ran a 9:30 pace average and it felt pretty easy for m.  Weather was cloudy in the morning which always makes training easier on your body.  About 10 miles in I thought this was so easy, and by 14 miles I was getting a little tired.  I was more hungry than anything.  With a marathon on the 11th of September, I will put in a 19 to 20 miler next week and call for the taper.
*It’s amazing what you think is long, then do an Ironman and go for a run like this…mentally it was of my easiest long run of the year!


8/15:  I slept in for the first time in weeks...6:00a.m.  Then I subbed an hour cycling class that I actually rode as a recovery.  Hamstrings are definitely feeling yesterday's run.  Really feeling rested and fresh, and caught up with all my work for the week.  I am very excited to see what this upcoming week will bring to me and the rest of the world!

$150.00 for month of August triathlon training; even coaches have coaches.  Let the spending begin.  Minus my entry fee (650 USD) this is all I have spent so far for this race, but it will soon start to add up…oh wait; I also had to get a new pair of cycling shoes and clips = $135.00.  By luck I got my favorite pair (Specialized Trivent) for $90+shipping!  Oh, and I did have to get a new pair of running shoes (Saucony Fastwich) for $92.80 I will spare you the food costs throughout the months, but that is more so because I don’t do the grocery shopping or cook so I am clueless in this department.

So for the first week of ITL (Ironman Training Lanzarote) I have already spent: $1,027.80

One week since Ironman Lake Placid and since then I have done a 5k race and a Sprint Triathlon.  Both done for fun, and pulled off what I would call a pretty good performance (8th place A.G. in the 5k and a 3rd Overall in the triathlon).  I have never been more excited about my training or for racing Ironman Lanzarote.
I am tempted to race again this upcoming weekend, but I think it is best to take this week and recover.

August 4th:  Up early and to Santa Monica Beach to see one of the most beautiful sites any triathlete could imagine.  Like sea turtles coming to beach for nesting, a sea of swimmers in their slick black wetsuits were being washed to shore.  The sound of the waves crashing and the smell of the salty sea air only made vision become more alive, it was a splendid site!  How much I wanted to jump in and join my fellow swimmers as I stood there on the beach in dry clothes feeling left out and alone, unfortunately work gets in the way sometimes.

Later that day for my training I got to take two 45 minute indoor cycling classes.  First ride I took at a moderate intensity and the next I thought I would just take nice and easy…well quite the opposite.  My sprints I pushed 400 watts, recoveries were at 135 and everything in between averaged out to be about 170.   Feeling a little tired now, but that’s okay.

August 5th:  California is one of my favorite places in the country to go when I am not home, even when it is for business.  I feel more tired than what I did the week after my Ironman.  Maybe the adrenaline rush is finally over.  Still, my obsession continues; the fire was fueled today when I swam this morning with a friend in West Hollywood who is racing Kona.  Bitten by the bug earlier this year when racing Wildflower, Kona will be his first Ironman.  It is always exciting to me to find fresh blood to the sport.

AdvertisementMy body felt slow and slothish through the water as I am finally recovering, but I was still able to hold comfortable form.  I didn’t keep track of how far or do any type of specific sets.  It was just fun to get in the water with my friend and share an hour of his training with him.

August 6th:  It amazes me when your body can pull of a race of such grand distance; the following week a 5 mile run feels like the longest workout you have ever done!  I got to run Runyun Canyon this morning.  Getting to the top wasn’t the easiest, nor my strongest effort I have given.  I had to turn off my music because I found it annoying; there was something I found very comforting in the silence around me.  Two more days before playtime is over and the real work begins.

I also took a Parkour Class which was so amazing!  I think my body hurts worse from that than what it did after Lake Placid.

August 7th and 8th
I actually took off both days due to traveling back to Chicago and going to a Triathlon as a spectator.  But I did get to catch the tail end of watching Kona 2009 on TV; and still twenty-four years later it still brings tears to my eyes.

Monday – let the training begin!