Countdown to B2B: 10 weeks

Little play-on-words there with the title…since training was derailed due to a bike crash early in the week and my bike was somewhat literally “derailed” by the rail road tracks that caused the crash. By Wednesday I was feeling much better and was able to salvage somewhat of a decent training week, but still no where near where I should have been the week before a scheduled cut-back week. I am quickly learning how to just roll with what I’ve got.

Monday – Master’s Swim 3600 yds + 2:45 Ride 55 min, 15.3 miles: Despite having no swimming mojo, I made it to the pool before work for a workout jam packed with yards.

Set out for my long ride for the week after work. The plan was to ride 1:30, then meet Jenni at her work and finish another 1:15. I was 55 min in and having a great ride when I crashed. End ride. Change plan.

Tuesday – OFF; 30 minute walk with the dogs

Wednesday – Brick: 45 min trainer ride, 10 miles + 16 min run, 1.8 miles + Master’s Swim 2150 yds.: I was much less sore and itching get back on track with training, so I decided to test out my legs on the bike trainer. I felt great…no pain anywhere and glad to be sweating again! Since I felt good, I followed it up by taking Walter for a short, slow run. My upper leg was definitely still sore and I was feeling a little pain in my knee too. It was good validation that I needed another day off of running to recover.

After I took Ernie for a short walk (gotta keep it even between the two dogs!) I headed to Master’s Swim. Nothing like getting some swim motivation when it’s your only option for a good workout! Main set was 35×50′s of different strokes/speeds.

Thursday – 23.2 mile bike, ~1:28, 15.8 mph: Morning ride with the girls was back! It was a nice cool morning and we set out on a pretty hilly route. I felt great on the bike and almost back to 100%!

Friday – 7 mile run: 12×400 repeats @ 1:35 w/1:30 RI + 1:20 bike 57 min trainer ride w/Hill Climbs: 6 5×5:00 w/3 min RI: Loving #fastFridays at the track! This one started much earlier (and darker) than usual because I needed to squeeze in two workouts before work. My upper leg was still a little sore, but felt better once I got warmed up. This was a legs burning, lungs exploding speed workout and it felt great! Even though I couldn’t see the pace on my watch, the repeats were still pretty consistent: 1:35, 1:36, 1:33, 1:34, 1:34, 1:35, 1:35: 1:35, 1:34, 1:35, 1:34, 1:34. 

I definitely phoned in this hill workout. I had full intention of riding some warm-up laps around the park, then climbing a big hill out of the park for the hill repeats, but once I got home from the track and changed, I decided to do the workout on the trainer. I justified it by telling myself that it would be quicker and that there would be a lot of traffic at that time of morning. Maybe so, but I definitely don’t get as much out of a trainer ride as a “real” ride.

Saturday – 3 Mile Easy Run (9:34 min/mile): Nice and easy Saturday morning miles with my friends, Jillian and Steve, in Denver. It was awesome to see a little of the city on foot and to shake my legs out after a hard workout Friday and a long evening of travel.

We also rode these around all day in Denver. Totally a legit workout. Who said I wasn’t getting my long ride in this week?

Sunday – 8 7.4 Mile Run @ 8:10 8:35 min/mile: I opted for breakfast with my cousin (surprise little Denver run-in) over running on Sunday morning before my flight. But to end the week with even somewhat decent mileage, I knew that I needed to get a longish run done when I landed on Sunday evening. I promised myself 8 miles at any pace I wanted (instead of the 8:10 min/mile that was on the schedule) and changed to head out as soon as I walked in the door. If I got busy with unpacking or laundry, it was guaranteed that the miles wouldn’t happen. I actually felt surprisingly good and was enjoying an evening run for the first time in a long time, but about 4 miles into the run, I realized that I had not hydrated enough. Between alcohol, travel, high altitude and now sweat, I felt myself getting really dehydrated. I finished up what I could as my head was pounding and my stomach started getting torn up…immediate signs of dehydration for me. I spent the rest of the evening battling nausea and stomach issues and just tried to drink as much Nuun and water as I could. Woke up today weighing 4 pounds less than normal…sure sign that I am STILL dehydrated.

• Swim = 5750 yds
• Bike =   60 miles
• Run =   19.2 miles
• Time =  8 hrs. 25 min.