Hello, Build Phase!

Well, we've arrived. Build Phase is upon us, and we're now upping the ante to see what our bodies and minds are made of. During the last three months, we have created a solid base and foundation for our training upon which we will now build our skills and strength in further preparation for our race day.

On Tuesday this past week, I did a great pyramid swim workout on my own and felt awesome afterward. Swimming after work has become highly therapeutic for me (even in the rain!). My plans for Wednesday night spin were foiled as a result of getting into a minor car accident on the way :( I saw the doctor (and auto body shop) and everything checked out okay. Be careful out on the roads, friends! I was likely rear-ended (on the freeway) as a result of cell phone use while the other party was driving.

I met up with Michelle on Thursday night to do the long-awaited run marker set. Yasso 800s - 10x 800m (0.5 mile) pieces as fast as you can, with 3-minute rest intervals. We ran an average of 4:17 per 800m (our first one was in 4:00 flat!). I'll tell ya, I never thought I'd get to the point of running this fast, ever. Michelle really helped me to stay focused and motivated ~ yes, amidst more rain pouring down on us on the track. It was a challenging, yet very fulfilling workout -- which now puts me at a brand new VDOT score of 34! Well on my way to a 10-minute mile marathon pace! Yes!

Yesterday, we had our first wetsuit/open water clinic in Novato. Our coaches took out all the lane lines from the pool and had us simulate an open water scenario by swimming around buoys in a giant circle, avoiding hanging on the walls, pushing off from them, standing or anything that would otherwise make us rely on the pool as an enclosed space. It was pretty neat. We really got a feel for having to swim and keeping up our endurance to continue swimming, because we needed to. The wetsuit took some getting used to as well; it was nice to be so buoyant in the water!

We also practiced 'mass starts'. We were instructed to swim at a level 8 (of 8) all at the same time, from one end of the pool to another. Really gave you an idea that arms, legs, blows and kicks are very much a reality. It was a lesson in learning to just roll with the punches, I suppose... literally.

And finally, we did a 'blind swim' assessment, to see our ability to swim straight from one end of the pool to the other -- eyes closed. I found I'm fairly straight, so I'm hoping that'll help me avoid swimming too far off course come actual open water time.

After our swim, we headed over to the track for a series of plyometrics and single-file runs (also termed Indian Runs, though not my favorite name for them). Here's a photo of my stellar group, Group C! We kept a steady and consistent pace and ran a smooth set of 1200s with some great surges in there.



Margaret, Sarah, Melissa, Rocky, Jim, Michelle & Kathryn (+IronPhil, who later joined)

My calves were tightening up midway through -- likely a result of just having done the run marker the other day. They resulted in some mild shin splints. I'll need to take extra precaution and care when it comes to stretching out my leg muscles. But all in all, great (tough), but fun workout.





Finally, we finished up with some core/strength exercises with Coach Dave on the soccer field. The planks are my toughest but I intend to master them. Coach Dave -- showing us how it's done:



And as for today... oh today. Another day, another demon to face.

What started off as a fairly muggy day, later became a gorgeous sunny afternoon in the Oakland/Berkeley hills. I met up with half the Team in Rockridge for what would become Captain Tony's Wild Ride. We were greeted at about Mile 2 with THE toughest and ugliest hill I've ever seen. Steeper (if not just as steep and scary) as Pig Farm Hill [see my January 24 post].

I'll tell you... I started off with the highest hopes, most positive and self-empowering thoughts, but that hill almost ate me alive. I pedaled and pushed as hard as I could up Claremont Avenue (with an average grade of 9%), but about halfway up, I hit a wall. A wall tougher and more impenetrable than any I'd ever encountered in all my marathon training. My legs were exhausting, my heart was racing, my body was overheating from all my clothing layers, and I felt like my bike was going to tip over on this street with zero bike lanes and the occasional car that would zoom by. Coach Mike was right behind me and cheered, "You're almost there, Maria! Do you see that spot of sunlight over there? It flattens out and you can stop there!" The distance between where I was and that 'sunny spot' was realistically a few hundred feet away but it seriously seemed like I would never get there. I huffed and puffed and exerted all I had and when I got to the top of that stretch, I burst into tears. Claremont, we have a debt to settle, and I will conquer you someday.

After recovering from that uphill battle in the truest sense, we decided to turn around and take an alternate route -- which meant we'd have to descend that same grade. If the uphill sounded scary to you, well I'll just say the downhill frightened the crap out of me. And I'll tell you why shortly. So I got it together and composed myself once we returned to Rockridge, then we drove and brought our bikes over to the familiar and peaceful streets of Orinda.

Orinda and Moraga are my homes from a past life, since they house Saint Mary's College, my alma mater. But never have I seen these streets from a cyclist's point of view. And they were beautiful! Back into traffic we went (more good practice for the clipless shoes and pedals), bound for Pinehurst. After a few (what would now become) cute hills, I began to feel more confident and comfortable. Mike later noticed that upon my descends, as I grip the breaks, my hands are actually too small to grip the entire handle from the hoods. So that basically means I need to change my positioning and body posture down to the 'drops', or lower level of the handle bars, in order to better grasp the brake handles. So I'll have to have more forethought and anticipate when I'll need to readjust my body (which can sometimes make me less stable), giving me better control over the bike as I'm flying down the hills. Discovering this adjustment made a HUGE difference, and made me much more comfortable with descends.

The stretch from Orinda to Pinehurst and back showed me a lot about general bike handling skills -- lessons I never would have learned if not for real-time experience out on the road ~ and truthfully, getting out there and doing the best I can with what I've got. Mike said the terrain we rode in the latter part of the morning strongly resembled the bike course in Louisville. So with more steep hill climbing and training, I'll be that much more prepared to tackle Louisville, with a confident smile on my face. The ride back was startlingly enjoyable and fun again (this tends to be the pattern with my bike rides ~ they start off traumatic, and end happily and with me smiling). 4 hours later, I had completed another day battling the beast. The beast, not being the bike itself, but my mental and physical challenges to overcome my fear AND limits of riding it.



IronTeam, all flamed out.

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Week #13 Workout Summary:

Swim: 3 hours and 0 minutes
Bike: 4 hours and 0 minutes
Run: 3 hours and 0 minutes
Core/Strength: 1 hour and 0 minutes
Total Workout: 11 hours and 0 minutes