Anyone hear of a good two month training program for the Ironman distance? No? Oh, is that because it's a major endurance race that takes months of conditioning in order to get your body ready for the beating that a 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike, and 26.2 mile run dish out?! Ok, that's good to know.
I have pretty much screwed up my entire training program. I have a little over two months until CDA and somehow I need to get my butt in gear. Let's rewind four weeks and see what happened...
Week of Feb. 23rd:
I left for the Bahamas on a 7 day kayaking trip that left from Northern Exuma Island. It was an amazing trip! I got to camp and paddle and forget all about such everyday nuisances like cell phones, emails, my job, you know, the usual. But what I didn't do was train. The paddling was really leisurely and not so majorly cardio-focused. The beaches were not very long, so the idea of running back and forth forty times to get about 3 miles of running in did not really seem very motivating. And I did get to swim in the ocean twice, but that was more sight-seeing vs. cardio training. So, there went one week of preparation for CDA. But here are some of the things I got to see...
Week of Mar. 2nd:
Back to Portland and planned to go for a run with my pal/housemate Molly. She had plans to run 9 miles at Forest Park. I was up for the challenge but decided I should just take it "easy" and run 8 miles since I had not been running. The run started off just fine, I took it slow and ran by myself. I had my ipod and was listening to Motown tunes for the first mile until the head phones started having issues. I took them off and started to focus on my breathing and foot placement on the uneven terrain. This was probably better because I cannot use an ipod during the race, so I should really be training like I'll race.
Eventually I hit the mile 4 marker and headed back down the hill. Things were still going well. I had a moment or two where I thought that I should have turned around at the 3.5 marker but I didn't follow through with that thought. On the way down, I started feeling my knees. It felt like the second I passed the Mile 2 marker, signifying that I had completed 6 miles, both knees started hurting. The last two miles were spent with me wanting to scream and curse. I should have just stopped and walked, but I am stubborn and felt like I should have been able to run 8 miles. So I gimped along at a painfully slow shuffle. I tried to pick up my pace at one point, thinking that lengthening my stride would help, but it just caused my knees to feel more pressure and pain. I wanted to scream. I think I may have started crying out of frustration, but I kept shuffling along. I had a permanent grimace on my face and wanted to yell at anyone that I encountered on the trail. I must have looked evil.
My legs were tired and struggled with the uneven terrain, so every foot strike on the rocky ground sent a frustrating pain through my knees (not a sharp pain but a dull, pressure filled pain that makes me want to ball my fist and punch something or bite my lip until it bleeds). Fun times! But I did it! I completed the 8 miles and did not walk. I hurt and was frustrated at my lack of training, but I did it. I felt like I should be further along, and yes, truthfully, I should be.
The next day, I had planned to ride my bike starting from McMenamin's Edgefield up to Women's Forum. It is a short 20.5 mile ride or so. This was my test on my new bike considering I have not done any hill climbing with Roo and she does not have a granny gear. After the previous day's run, I was sure that this ride was going to kick my butt. But instead, I was pleasantly surprised. It was easier than I remember some of my "beginning" rides during previous tri seasons. I love the aero position and it felt good climbing, even though the grade is not as steep as I will need to get used to. But overall it was a confidence boosting ride!
Here are some pics I took with my cell at Women's Forum:
Week of Mar. 9th:
The 15K Shamrock run! I had a couple of days of cardio prior to the race (a 2 mile swim, some elliptical work and maybe a spin session - not enough for Ironman training). I was nervous about the run considering that the weekend before my knees had crapped out at 6 miles and this race was 9.3 miles of hill climbing, gradual down hill, and lots of cement pounding. Plus the weather was windy, rainy, and just plain delightful (kidding - it was miserable). But I took my time, focused on my form, and felt good. At mile 4, somewhere on the Terwilliger curves, my left knee started up. I felt nervous but tried to think positive and utilize my running mantra ("I am a runner...I run with the greatest of ease"). And something worked because my knees held up. I was even able to pick up my pace at Barbur Blvd all the way to the finish line (I was even passing people - it was AWESOME)! I finished the 9.3 miles in 1:36:47, and I felt good afterwards! HUGE ACCOMPLISHMENT so you would think that training was back on track, right?!
Week of Mar. 16th:
Enter NCAA March Madness and college basketball. The Zags made it to the Sweet 16 and training essentially stopped for me.
Need I say more?! GO ZAGS!
2 comments:
You weren't lucky like me, WVU didn't even make it past the first round. Yeah, they were able to win against #2 Pitt a few weeks back but they couldn't put it together to get past Dayton? Are you kidding me?
Anyway, train the best you can and leave it all out there when you get to CDA and will we see you at the finish line!
Thanks Crystal!! I can't tell you just how much your support has meant to me throughout this journey. You are constantly checking in and encouraging me when I need it most!
Hey, if it is any consulation, I had WVU going at least to round #2 on my bracket...I was not prepared for them to lose to Dayton either. :-(
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