Holiday Week

The week after my disastrous Gateway Triathlon has not been a stellar one. I've struggled adjusting my workout schedule to meet my kids' summer activity schedule. 


MONDAY: Because I spent the morning was spent picking up report cards, I didn't teach a morning class. I tried to go for a bike ride in the afternoon, but I just wasn't feeling the love. I did a little less than 8 miles, but I did have my speed up to 26.6 mph on a straight away which made me feel decent. I did teach ZUMBA that evening and then had to watch my youngest daughter pitch some painful innings in softball. 


TUESDAY: I taught FLOW twice on Tuesday, but didn't get motivated enough to do much else.


WEDNESDAY: I decided it was time for the pity party to be over. I jumped on my bike and rode 32 miles. I finally felt rejuvenated. The endorphins were flowing and making me feel alive again. I finally felt my spirits begin to lift. I decided I needed to get back in the pool. Because all of my recent swims have been sets, I wanted to prove to myself that I could go out and swim one consecutive mile. I started out with a 400 yard warm up. Issue #1) Get my heart rate up so I don't feel panicked when I start my mile. I took a minute's rest and then pushed off. My goal was to swim at least 1700 yards, but in my mind I broke it down to 4 sets of 400 and then I was going to add in a few extra laps just for the fun of it. I also wanted to focus on not taking an extra breath/pause when I turned around at the  wall. I wanted to simulate a true open water swim as much as possible. According to my Garmin, I did 1650 yards (even though I thought I counted 1700 but we'll just go with it) in 35:28.5. My average 100 yard pace was 2:09. I was hoping it would be closer to 2 minutes, but I felt great. I could have swam even more if I wasn't anxious to see my time. I cooled down with a 100 yard relaxed freestyle and then texted my husband and Awesome Cheryl as I left the pool "I feel slightly vindicated". I had proved what my mind KNEW but wouldn't let happen. I swam a mile. 


THURSDAY: Don't ask me what I was thinking but I decided to go for a bike ride on Thursday.....in 28 mile an hour winds. I knew I was in trouble immediately. The cross winds were horrible. With a tight grip on my aero bars, my bike leaned hard into the wind. With the wind at my back, I got my speed up to 33.2 miles an hour!!! But that didn't last long. I turned south back home and struggled to keep my speed around 10 miles an hour. Several times I thought about stopping and calling my daughter to come pick me and my Dolce up, but I thought I was the idiot who started this now I have to finish it. I spent the afternoon at the pool during a dust storm. Yes, I've always considered my self somewhat intelligent, but today I totally failed. I went to re-apply suntan lotion, but all I did was streak mud up my arms. I had dirt in crevice and crease of my body. 


FRIDAY: Plan for the day? Swim 2200 yards consecutively according to my Endurance Nation Half Ironman training schedule. After taking my daughter swim suit shopping for our upcoming vacation, we went to the pool to get a swim workout in. Swim team starts next week for her and I thought this was a perfect opportunity for us to help each other out. When we got to the pool, we discovered the Riverplex was hosting Senior Games for Senior Wellness week. The lap pool was closed. Argghhhh!!! I went home to work on my ZUMBA choreography instead and taught class that evening. 


SATURDAY: Plan for the day? Get up early and ride 60 miles. Reality? A late night after more ball games Friday night resulted in me sleeping in. We went to watch the Tremont High School softball team win the Sectional Championships and then went to a friends house for a cookout. Wow. Two rest days in a row? Pretty much four rest days in the week? Yah, you might as well say recovery week. 


SUNDAY: Plan for the day? Get up early and ride 60 miles. Reality? A late night and a few drinks meant this Iron Wannaba was struggling. I do have a lake swim planned for tonight which helped justify my sleeping in. I mean how many articles have I read about the importance of a good's night sleep to good nutrition and training. 


Plan for Monday? Should I say 60 mile ride? The high school girls softball team is playing in Athens which is about 52 miles away. Do you think I can get in bed early enough to ride to Athens in time for an 11 am game? Yah, we'll see. 

A light week this week means I have to hit it doubly hard for the next two because we leave on vacation again soon. I'll be able to run and swim, but I won't be flying my bike to FL. I guess Big Bike Week will have to be this week instead.