Week 11 and Week 12

Apparently getting behind on the blog is the routine now.  Ooops!

Week 11 had the following:
Monday: Off
Tuesday: 1 hour swim, 30 min run
Wend: 50 min bike
Thur: off (but I cheated and went to cycle class)
Friday: 1 hour run, 1 hour swim
Sat: 1 hour swim, 3 hour ride
Sunday: 3:30 ride, 45 min run

This week was a "recovery" week.  You know you're Ironman training when recovery week is almost 14 hours of training!

Friday night I ended up doing my run and swim after work (just couldn't get up in the morning).  Such a fun life right? Friday night happy hour that involves running and swimming.  At least the pool wasn't too crowded!

Friday night happy hour!

Saturday, my friend Sarah joined me for the swim. She's training for her first triathlon, an Olympic later this summer, and so I've been helping her with the swim.  Then we headed out for a 3 hour easy ride per the coaches instruction.  We headed east (about the only way you can go in Denver without hitting mountains/hills).  The problem was the wind.  We got crazy headwind going out.  It took us almost 2 hours to get to the half way point, but fortunately less than an hour to get back! It was a pretty boring ride, I think we only made about 5 turns (oh, but we still got lost, don't worry!).

After the ride Saturday, I went to my local tri shop to get a different saddle for the tri bike, and of course the tri kits were on sale.  So I got a few.  I mean they were on sale, so I really saved money right?

Watch for me in these this season.

Of course, I had already ordered one online too.  Ooops.  What do you guys think?

Another new tri kit

Sunday, I headed up to Boulder to get my ride and run in. A couple friends joined me for a loop of the Boulder Ironman course, and then I rode a little more to finish off the 3:30.  My run was AWFUL.  It was slow and my heart rate was SO high.  Current theory is that I was dehydrated.  For some reason, I keep forgetting to bring my aero bottle when I take the TT bike out.  Need to remember that!!
After the ride/run, I gathered with some of my best cycling friends for Easter dinner at Ed's house.  So much fun and there was a CUTE new puppy in attendance too.  I've said it before, but so much of the reason why I cycle and Ironman is because of the fantastic people that I meet doing this sport.  So many of them have really become my second family.

Sunday at the Boulder Res

New puppy!

Week 12 had the following:
Monday: 1 hour swim
Tuesday: 1:15 bike
Wend: 1 hour run, 1 hour swim
Thur: 1 hour ride
Friday: 1 hour swim, 45 min bike
Sat: 3:30 ride, 40 run
Sunday: Cherry Creek Sneak, 10 mile race

 I'll admit it, I was kinda hoping that I would have Monday as a recovery day, but no such luck.

Wednesday brought more hill repeats for running.  Not my favorite.  I did these after work again, and then hit the pool.  Some good views from the trail near the rec center pool.

The hill I ran up 10 times!

Don't Drown!!

The rest of the week was pretty uneventful.  Saturday was a 3:30 ride, but it was raining when I woke up, so I did it indoors on the trainer.  Not my favorite, but I've been streaming Top Model.  And it did give me some time to catch up on the laundry.  This is seriously only a week and a half or so worth of laundry.  

 Saturday night we had an Ironman singles meet up again.  It ended up being a friend who came up from Colorado Springs, and one other girl I've met before.  Not the biggest crowd, but it was fun!

Sunday morning was the Cherry Creek Sneak.  A 10 miler through Cherry Creek, Cheesman Park and Denver.  I honestly wasn't sure what to expect from this race.  Coach has had me doing mostly EASY running.  And I hadn't even done a single 10 mile run yet in my training. (The other weekend I did 7 + a 5K, but there was some time in between).  My goal was to try and not DIE and be pretty consistent with my splits.  That was basically all I was aiming for.  I had no idea what time to expect.  I was pleasantly surprised with my splits.  All of them were under 11 min miles, with the exception of mile 5, but that mile had ALOT of uphill, and I made up for it in the miles right after it!  Hopefully this means good things for St. George!

My splits!

Good friends! Celebrating being done with the race!

Some recovery time on Sunday night

I also discovered this week that it is the 1 year anniversary of my first ever half marathon.  Pretty cool to see everything that I've accomplished not only in running (an additional free standing half marathon, and a full marathon), but also in triathlon (3 x 70.3!) since then.  I remember how nervous I was signing up for that race.  When I signed up, I don't think I had done anything more than a 5k (and even that I ran/walked).... I certainly didn't feel like a runner (let's be honest, most days I still don't feel like a runner, even though I know I technically am).  The whole week before my stomach was in knots.  It didn't help that we got a massive snow storm the night before either!  I walked the hills on that race (it is a super hilly course), but that's ok.  I finished, and it was such a sense of accomplishment.  I never thought, eve after I crossed that finish line that I would be signing up for a marathon, yet alone completing one, or a full Ironman.  If you told me what I would have accomplished in the next year, and the goals that I'd have for myself now, I never would have believed you.  Never.  I'm so grateful though, that I seem to have been born with, or developed this intense drive to continue to push myself.  I have the moments where I curse myself for not being able to ever be content. (I mean seriously, what's the limit?).  BUT, as crazy as some of the ideas that I come up with are (I mean why not do the dopey challenge, or an ultra? Why not?!), I'm so grateful that I'm not the opposite way.  It doesn't matter to me as much whether I finish this Ironman in 14 hours or 16:59 (though 14 is obviously more my preference), but that I've given up the excuses and really committed myself to doing it.  THAT's what matters.  Whether it's pushing yourself to do your first 5k, your first 10k, your first triathlon, or some entirely different goal, make it! Commit yourself, and then smash it.  I promise you won't ever regret it!

My facebook memory post from the Half Marathon

Week 13 should be fantastic!  Here's the schedule:

Monday: swim (damn, no Monday off, again! Sucks!)

Tuesday: 1:20 bike

Wend: 1 hour swim

Thur: 1 hour run

Fri: 1:30 run, open water swim (oh oh!)

Sat: 4 hour ride

Sunday: 3 hour bike, 30 min brick run

Yep! Open water swim! No, sadly the open water in Denver isn't yet open.  BUT I'm headed to San Diego Thursday morning with a friend, for some beer, biking, and relaxation! I can't wait for some sunshine (especially since as of right now it's supposed to be rainy and snowy in Denver the rest of the week).  Stay tuned for beautiful pics! We are going to cycle on Highway 1! I roadtripped it (in my car) a few years ago when I briefly moved from Colorado back to Seattle, and I vowed I would go back and do it by bike.  I'd love to do the entire thing by bike, but this time I'll have to just settle for some of it!