Monday, August 12, 2013

Adventures in Tri - iTRYathlon training, week 5

Week 1 HERE
Week 2 HERE
Week 3 HERE
Week 4 HERE

Oh, hi.

When last we wrote (read?), I was unemployed, and training for a new-to-me event, a sprint tri.

So, nothing has changed there. Exciting, am I right?

I've been enjoying my time at home with the kids, and The H, who has been super fun and joined me for a lot of my training this week.

I have some things (hopefully) playing out on the job front, but... I'm not rushing things. Where I am today, is very different than where I was when I last hunted down a job, and I don't really want to jump back in to a field that was not making me happy, or take something with a company that isn't a good fit. I mean, if it becomes critical, obviously eating food and providing shelter is a bigger priority than whatever gratuitous job-fulfillment I'm seeking, but until then, I'm biding my time, making some connections, and feeling things out.

(I do have an interview today, at the *second* happiest place on earth, which would be part time and my "this sounds REALLY fun" plan....)

Anyway.

It was a really great week!

Monday: Swim
600m in the pool, 40 min.

Tuesday: XT, 6 mi speed work
Tank top arms and core videos, 6 miles with 3x1600

Wednesday: Bike and swim
12.85 mi bike ride - lollipop loop from our house up to the iTRY course, one loop of the hills, and back home. Followed that by a 600m swim in 28 minutes.... vast improvement over Monday!

Thursday: Babysitting
6 month old, which reminded me that I really only like babies in the context of their parents - if mom/dad are around to hand it back to, they are SO GREAT. This was a full day event, so I made Thursday my rest day. Because it exhausted me.

Friday: XT, run
Tank top arms and core, 2.3 miles with runDisney #D23EXPO funrun + 3.7 solo lonely LAME miles.

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Saturday: BRICK - run/bike
3 miles on the iTRY course (HILLS), followed by quick transition and 3 loops on the bike course for 8.22 miles.

Sunday: Long run
12 miles, easy pace


Totals
Running - 27 miles
Swim - 1200m
Bike - 21ish miles

7:59 training time


Running:
27 miles - the 1600's were right on goal pace for me (goal was 9:28-9:13, actual was 9:27, 9:19, and 9:10). I've been kind of concerned about the iTRY course, because it's basically a loop of a ginormous hill...
Okay, so it's not as tragic as I might have said, but since I'm The Worst at hills, I've been concerned. When Coach Martha asked who could run a 30 minute 5k on that loop, I hesitated. Turns out, I didn't need to - it was TOTALLY fine, and I did it with no problem. Surprise! Overall, I'm feeling good about the running - I still don't think I'm quite as fast as I was a year ago, but it's getting there.

Swimming:
There is ACTUAL FOR REAL improvement being made, which is exciting. I am having a LOT of trouble kind of getting into a groove with the swim - the pool I have close by is short, so it takes a billion laps to make it a respectable distance, and it's not really.... smooth. Because it's so short, it's very choppy getting stopped by the wall all the time. I need to hunt down a longer pool this week. Swimming is still helping loosen up the muscles, which after this week, I REALLY appreciate.

Bike:
2 good rides this week. The long ride was done at a moderate pace, and did one loop of the iTRY course. I wanted to DIE on that loop. The H said that biking hills is harder than running them, and I did not believe him, but he was 100% correct. So I was a little devastated when I found out our bike training with Tri la Vie this weekend was HILL REPEATS.

What that looks like:
So that was pretty awful.

The iTRY course is only two loops, with some out and back to make 9 miles. I guess I'm glad I'm practicing now so I know what to expect, because holy crap, that was HARD.


Notes:

  • We practiced transition this week between run/bike. I am confident that I'm pretty efficient at this, but.... we'll see?

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  • Training is exhausting, and I have no idea how I'd be doing this level of training if I were working full time. People who do that, are incredibly dedicated.
  • It's really nice to see some measurable improvement in the swim - I'm still not good at it, but I'm getting better.
  • BIKING UP HILL IS SO HARD. I never, ever would have imagined that running uphill would be easier, but it sure is.
  • Salted caramel GU is amazing.

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  • I had a lot of FUN with training this week - I'm sure part of it was the runDisney fun, and the salted caramel GU, but in general... I kind of like the varied training that triathlon necessitates.
  • It would be CRAZY to consider a half IM now..... right?


This week:
Monday: Swim, XT
Tuesday: 5-6 miles easy, 1 hour bike on hills, easy swim
Wednesday: 800m swim, XT
Thursday: 7 miles, 5x800
Friday: easy swim/XT/rest
Saturday: Brick - run/bike
Sunday: Long (12-14)


*****************************************************************************

Friday, I ran a 2.3 mile fun run with runDisney! As part of the D23 Expo this weekend, they hosted a meetup running a quick loop through California Adventure.

I love Disneyland.




I'll tell you a secret. I landed the Disneyland interview early last week, but I wasn't positive I wanted to pursue it until I saw these pictures. Anything that makes me THAT happy, may be somewhere I want to spend my time.


It was a ton of fun, as always - I just love that runDisney does these events. At the end of the run, they gave each of us this Runner Mickey Vinylmation, with a limited edition D23 medal!
Thanks, runDisney!!


7 comments:

  1. Umm...half IM is not crazy talk. Shhhhh don't tell anyone in my family I said that!!

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  2. A half ironman would be hard. I love that its on your radar.

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  3. I am jealous of your run through the park. When we visited DL in Feb, I told my husband how much fun it would be to run in the park early in the morning. He just looked at me like I was crazy. :)

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  4. I had to buy my Mickey Vinylmation runner!!

    LUCKY.

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  5. biking up hills is harder, who would have thought, seems like it should be easier. Great job with your training. Good luck with the job hunt, hope you find the perfect job!

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  6. I'm glad you are enjoying the time off from working. I bet your kids like it too. And you are kickin butt woman. Keep that swim up!

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  7. I didn't know you were training for your first tri---how exciting! you'll be hooked. And I'm anxious to try that new Gu flavor!

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