I think about April 28th everyday. It’s the day I plan on crossing the finish line. Funny — when I told my boyfriend about the full Iron-distance race at the end of April, he said it was too soon. When I told my mom about it, she said that it was a long ways from now. Either way you look at it, it’s going to be here eventually and I don’t plan on sitting this one out.
Recap of Week 6 Base Training
Monday, December 24: Out sick with something weird. No training, but I did attend a family dinner. I was a bit cranky and sour but tried not to show it. Was feeling very dizzy and queasy.
Tuesday, December 25: Still out sick. I pulled on my running gear hoping to get maybe a half hour run in. Boyfriend thought I was crazy. (I was.) The worst of it was yet to come but thankfully it blew over by the end of the day. Ended up recovering with lots of pho, hummus, crackers, and bean melange.
Wednesday, December 26: I started piling on the workouts since I missed a few days. I know that training sites and coaches warn against this. You’re just supposed to pick up where you left off. However, I was determined to get in some longer workouts to build up my endurance, so I did a double-duty day. 1:15 strength training workout followed by a 3.6 mile/45-minute run. Strength training routine included 1 mile/15 min warmup on elliptical. 25×3 squats, 25×3 lunges, 10×2 side lunges, 25×3 adduction, 25×3 abduction, 25×2 row, 25×2 chest press, 15×2 shoulder press, 3 1-minute front planks.
Thursday, December 27: The highlight of my week! I doubled down on my swim mileage and went for a long 1-hour 45-minute/2400 yard swim. Felt really tired at the end of it but wrapped up the day with a quick 20-minute/1.22 mile run. Felt like jelllllooooo afterwards.
Friday, December 28: Tried to swim for a half hour and found that 1) I had a gnarly knot in my shoulder and 2) I was still incredibly tired from the day before. 30-minute/650 yard swim. Followed it up with a 30-minute/10.7 mile ride on the stationary bike.
Saturday, December 29: 1-hour run/4.47 miles. I really felt like continuing to a 6.2 mile run. It would’ve been less than an additional hour. But, I had to head out of town to go visit my parents and I was already running late. Next time!
Sunday, December 30: Longest bike ride to date: 2-hours/43.65 miles. Felt great, got tired with half an hour to go. What kept me going was listening to Rich Roll’s Finding Ultra audiobook. He was recounting his Epic Man journey and my struggles seemed to have paled in comparison to what he went through…so it was a nice and motivating distraction.
Weekly total: 10.3 hours / Swim: 4650 yds / Bike: 81.65 mi / Run: 9.29 mi
Things I learned this week:
1) I don’t like greasy food as much as I thought I did. (I passed up some yummy looking flatbread because I could see the grease pooling on top.)
2) In-N-Out ROCKS!
3) There is a threshold of feeling crummy. Definitely consider a day off if your body won’t cooperate with you.
4) Stacking workouts are challenging. Should definitely not stack more than two normal days worth of workouts on top of one another if you have the time to deal with it. Never consider stacking a long day.
5) Rewards are everything. If you promise yourself something, fulfill it! I’m a month late with my spa facial and pedicure but I finally got it done. Next up: massage, to work out the muscle kinks of 2012!
6) Self-control is not nearly as powerful as self-conviction. Controlling your surroundings to eliminate weaknesses sets you up for failure. However, being convinced that you want to live a healthier life will put you in a mindset to naturally eliminating those desires and temptations.
7) 112 miles on the bike is going to be REALLY challenging. Like, super duper OMG FML challenging.
8) It helps knowing that I am not alone in my journey. I just wished that I knew more people!
Amara in Training 