End of Week 4

Wes and I have gotten into a nice rhythm on the weekends of biking long on Saturdays with friends and running long, typically at the Al Buehler Trail at Duke Forest, on Sundays.  This weekend was no exception.  It is the end of week 4 of training for Louisville, so it was a bit of an easier week than last week, with the first 3 weeks in every 4-week cycle building and the 4th week backing off just a bit.

Yesterday we cycled 35 miles with friends.  Training called for only 1.5 hours, but the ride was well over 2 hours.  Ah, well, c'est la vie.  It was a bit of a rough start for me, but the second half of the ride felt pretty good.  My legs were tight by the end, though...I'm certainly not back yet where I was last November.  I did take heart in the fact that this time last year 35 miles was the farthest I'd ever ridden.  Now it's just a casual ride that I barely even consider. Win for me.

Today we met up with a new friend and ran the bodacious hills at the Al Buehler Trail.  She is recovering from a week and a half of flu-like illness and just getting back into running after some time away from it, so it was more of a run-walk, which worked well for me.  I have a very hard time keeping my heart rate in zone 2 on those dang hills.  I shoot to the top of my zone by walking some of them.  Perhaps there will come a day when I can jog them and stay in zone.

Wes and I followed up our run with some lunch at Foster's in Durham, our usual haunt for Sunday lunch, and then decided to do some hiking at Umstead State Park.  We weren't as diligent as we perhaps should have been about the distance of our hike and decided to cut it short after we'd gone somewhere around 2 miles.  By the time we got back to the car, we'd hiked 5 miles.  It felt GREAT, but the sun was starting to set and we needed to get home.  The beautiful day was coming to a close.  It's not often we see low 70's in February, so it was a great day to be out and about.  Riding with the top off the Jeep was a nice touch.

I'm quickly learning to love my rest days on Mondays.  I'm only through my first 4-week cycle of this Ironman training, and I've already come to appreciate working hard on the weekends and then taking a rest on Monday.  In fact, my Tuesday workout isn't until after work, so it's a nice long rest, usually.

I have had to fight a couple of demons already, questioning why I thought I could actually do an Ironman and what made me think it was such a good idea for ME to compete in something like this.  The first 10 miles or so of Saturday's bike ride were a stark reminder of how much work lies ahead of me in the coming months.  My bike endurance will naturally improve, but my speed and hill climbing ability MUST improve in order for me to have a real shot at finishing before that midnight deadline.  Wes keeps reminding me to keep the faith in the training and just believe in myself.  Most days I do.  On the days I don't (or when I forget) I just plow ahead, looking forward to a better attitude tomorrow.  Here's to tomorrow!

Wind blown ride

Wes and I trekked out to North Raleigh to meet up with friends (Kenneth, Jeff, and Marianna) and ride this morning. It ended up being a hilly and very wind-blown two hour adventure. It really brought into sharp, clear focus that riding on the trainer in the garage is nothing like riding on the road, in the elements and unpredictable circumstances, like dealing with cars. We ended up having a great ride. I'm looking forward to next weekend's cycling adventures! And...I proudly donned my Maine cycling jersey today (thanks Mom and Pete!).








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Running with the girls

For 10 weeks at the beginning of the year, I run with a group of women at Bull City Running in Durham.  It's a 10-week clinic to help encourage new runners to take up the sport and keep with it.  Last year was my first year, and I enjoyed it so much I came back this year.  I have the privilege this year of being a group leader.  There are 10 ladies in my pace group, and tonight was our 3rd of 10 nights to run together.  I get so much fulfillment out of running with these women.  We talk about everything under the sun, including running, our jobs and where we come from, our families, food, and anything else that crosses our minds.

Tonight I was really NOT feeling much like running.  I was tired all day and even took a quick 10-minute nap as soon as I got home just to find the energy to go tonight.  The 40-minute run, as it turns out, energized and invigorated me.  It felt amazing to be out on a warmer evening in the middle of winter moving and sharing an experience with like-minded women.  For those 40 minutes, we were all focused on the same goal: enjoying our run.  Regardless of our experiences earlier today, we all made the choice to come out and support each other.  We pushed ourselves to go a little farther and a little faster than last week.  We encouraged each other while we ran and congratulated each other when we were done.  And at the end of the day, we'd all had a great run.  Looking forward to next week!