Can an Average Runner Become an IRONMAN?

Audaciously...I'm thinking, "YES!"

Week 24… tapering off

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taper warningThings are tapering off some as we move into the last weeks of the first 20 week plan. (The first 20 week plan that is about half of what the final 20 week plan will be!) The taper timed out perfectly for the Sprint Triathlon that I’ll do in TX on April 17. I’ll be over trained for a Sprint, but that’s just fine with me!

Sunday – off.

Monday – Did the Below the Belt class at the gym (glutes and abs!). = 60 minutes

Tuesday – Biked 45 minutes, attended a cycling class. Then ran 20 minutes. = 65 minutes

Wednesday – Ran 30 minutes. Ran 14 minutes nice and easy before the 8:30am Circuit Class and then 16 minutes after. Circuit class was tough! I was running low on fuel and went into the class sore from Below the Belt. Did a swim recovery session: 5 x 100, took about 25 minutes. 115 minutes

Thursday – 60 minutes of biking in evening. 45 minutes of it overlapped with class. = 60 minutes

Friday – Swam 4 x 150m, 25 minutes. 1-hour cycling class, had longer hills. 3 of them 7.5 to 9min each. = 85 minutes

Saturday – Swam 30 minutes continuous. 45 minute cycling class. = 75 minutes

TOTAL = 460 minutes = 7 hours, 40 minutes

  • Swim – 80 minutes = 17%
  • Bike – 210 minutes = 46%
  • Run – 50 minutes = 11%
  • Strength – 120 minutes = 26%

Week 25… FULL schedule!

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full scheduleThis was a full week! Had 4 on-site days at 2 different clients. And, a fairly significant amount of training to get in!

Sunday – This was originally a day off. Yet with many full work days, I thought I should pull 1 or 2 workouts up to Sunday. However, come Sunday, I was not feeling it!! After the long bike ride outside on Saturday, and going out on Saturday night, I wasn’t feeling like doing much of anything, let alone a one hour swim session. = 0 minutes

Monday – 50-minute bike ride in the cycling room. Multitasking on the bike helped me stay on task work wise with the client on-site days.  65 minute swim. = 115 minutes

Tuesday – Off, worked 7:00 am to 8:00 p.m. = 0 minutes

Wednesday – 45-minute run outside in the 29 mph wind! Was great, did strides every 10 minutes, average 9:38. = 45 minutes

Thursday – 65-minute bike ride, went to a 45-minute cycling class early to get in the extra time. (Also gave me 20 minutes of multitasking!) = 65 minutes

Friday – Swam 50 minutes. 5 x 50 alternating with backstroke, then 3 x 350. Ran 90 minutes. I was low on nutrition during this run. Didn’t eat enough beforehand and for some reason, didn’t bring a gel with me! Took it easy, tuned into how I felt and focused on running the pace I felt I could reasonably maintain throughout the 90 minutes. Although my watch crapped out 2/3 of the way through,  I felt like I kept a really steady pace throughout. I was tired after and my gut was a churnin’! = 140 minutes

Saturday – Left at about 10:30 am for 3.5 hours of biking and then 15 minutes of  running. Whew! Wore a ton of clothes – seemingly – and surprisingly it wasn’t too much! (I had actually tried to overdress!) Focused on keeping loose and not tightening up my neck. Was a long ride on the lake front. Went all the way to south end, then to the north end, then had to loop down to Fullerton and back up again.  Proud to finish this after the efforts the day before. = 225 minutes

TOTAL = 590 minutes = 9 hours, 50 minutes

  • Swim – 115 minutes = 20%
  • Bike – 325 minutes = 55%
  • Run – 150 minutes = 25%
  • Strength – 0 minutes = 0%

Week 26 – feeling in a groove, feeling like the long bike rides are long

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lake front bike path

I look back on this week and not too much about my training stands out! I guess that means that I’m getting in the groove! I feel thankful that I’m feeling well, am injury-free, and am able to fit in all the training.

This week I was more worked up about how my work hours were not as spacious as I was hoping. I had been looking forward to this week – without much on-site client time – to get to a good deal of “proactive” work, rather than just focusing on the next client priority, the next client priority. And I did not experience that! A few things got dropped in, and I was stressed about work. Felt bad emotionally on Thursday morning and by the afternoon I had a headache, which degraded to a migraine by evening. What I thought would be my spacious, energy-creating, get lots of work done week didn’t live up to my expectations.

Yet, back to the training… got it all in! Did well. And ended the week with a long bike ride. (These long rides are starting to feel long!)

Sunday – Off because I did Sunday’s workout on Saturday (Saturday night date night!).

Monday – Long swim (8 x 250 or 4 x 500), picked 4 x 500, then actually did 500, 700, 500, 300. = 65 minutes

Tuesday – It was a 60 degree day, so I rearranged my schedule to move the long run to today. (Actually spent more time than I care to admit figuring out how to move things around). I felt a little sluggish at first, focused on level of effort, and had a great run. Although afterwards my gut was churning and I had productive bathroom visits (TMI!!) avg 9:53. = 90 minutes

Wednesday – 20 minute run, 40 minute bike. = 60 minutes

Thursday – Bike 30 minutes indoor on trainer, then ran 15 minutes outside. = 45 minutes

Friday – Swim – my coach said however much I wanted = 25 minutes. Ran 30 minutes on indoor track. = 55 minutes

Saturday – 3 hour bike ride, felt really confident with my bike handling skills at first.  There was a detour and I was on busier streets and I was handling it well. Got out on the drive and  had to turn around due to a race; way before I wanted to.  Headed all the way north, turned around and was just about half way when I came past my street. Ugh, I was over this ride! Kept going, and I was feeling better by 2 hours. Ate at hour 1 and 2. Went pretty well, not that adept at getting packages open and food out. It was busy out there and I had some close calls at Navy Pier. Started feeling less confident about my bike handling skills. Got it done. 3:07 and rode 43.23 miles. Then 15 minute run.  Started with 11 minute mile pace, then averaged 9:41. = 195 minutes

TOTAL = 510 minutes = 8 hours 30 minutes

  • Swim = 90 minutes = 18%
  • Bike = 250 minutes = 49%
  • Run = 170 minutes = 33%
  • Strength = 0 minutes = 0%

Week 27… Running Strong!

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Cycling is improving my running! My long run this week felt great. My easy effort pace was about 20 seconds faster per mile than it usually is. Now it was a beautiful day to finally run outside, but let’s attribute it all to improved fitness due to cycling, shall we??!

What did not feel great were these stats the indoor cycling bike gave me after spending 2 and a half hours with it. 15. 8 miles and an average power of 52. I don’t think so! 🙂

Ironman Blog Picture week 27Sunday – off

Monday – Swam 45 minutes: 1000m. Did the Below the Belt class. = 105 minutes

Tuesday – Swam 20 minutes continuous and then moved directly to biking. Showed up to cycling class 1/2 hour late soaking wet! Yikes, I had intended to be there on time, but a call ran later than I expected. I stayed after and got in my full 45 minutes. Later I ran 20 minutes, did all this at the gym. This day felt like a logistical back and forth, kept having snaffos and running short or tight on time. The day was frustrating and put me in a bad mood. = 65 minutes

Wednesday – Ran 35 minutes at gym in morning. = 35 minutes

Thursday – Biked 60 minutes at gym in afternoon by myself in cycling room. = 60 minutes

Friday – In afternoon was to do 1) swim + 2) run, in that order. Yet, I wanted to run outside and wanted to do so without wet hair. Plus I had an end of day client deadline and needed to keep trucking so I ran, worked, then went down to the pool to swim. The 80-minute run outside was awesome! Pretty easy effort and I averaged 9:38! I feel that usually that would be an effort that would average me 10 minute miles. Cycling is improving my running! I felt strong. Then I felt a wee bit tired in the pool as I did my 3 x 350m. = 125 minutes

Saturday – There was to be a day off before this workout, but it felt better in my Sat schedule than in my Sun schedule, so here we are! Biked 2.5 hours all in cycling studio. 1 hour am class + 15 minute, + 45 minute 9:15 class + 30 min then 20 minute run. Started off a little sluggish – yet then it exceeded my expectations. Ran 2 miles. Finished the first at 10:20 then ended up with 9:50 min average – so really picked up the pace in the second mile! Running strong! = 170 minutes

TOTAL = 560 minutes = 9 hours, 20 minutes

  • Swim – 110 minutes = 20%
  • Bike – 255 minutes 45%
  • Run – 135 minutes = 24%
  • Strength – 60 minutes = 11%