Unfortunately, no cool action photos from training this past week, but I'm happy to report that it's been a week of focus and consistency. I took some time off last Tuesday to recover mentally and physically from the alternative workout Sandy and I did in lieu of our 80-mi bike ride. I spent the evening after work stretching, foam rolling and just giving myself a general mental health day. Which my body appreciated.
On Wednesday I was back with Team Shadow for their final stationary spin at Sports Basement in Walnut Creek. Coach Paul had a good set of challenging intervals (simulated hill climbs & cadence drills) for us. I held back a bit and stayed at my tempo pace on the bike (keeping my heart rate at about 155 bpm). Our trainer workout lasted just over an hour and by the end, I felt accomplished by pushing myself to a manageable level on the bike. I was tired -- but not utterly exhausted or hurting (a good balance I think, especially for Recovery Week).
Thursday was our 10k run marker. It made a huge difference to have my teammates there to keep me accountable. Michelle, Nick & Phil were there to meet me after work on the Iron Horse Trail in San Ramon. The goal was to run my fastest time for a 10k (6.2 miles) ~ falling somewhere in between my 5k pace (8:55 mins/mile) and my threshold pace (9:14 mins/mile). Again -- this is fast for me. I'm not used to running a fast pace over a long distance. So gutting it out like that for 6 miles is a heavy undertaking for me, and I can't stress that enough! Here was the breakdown of my splits:
Total time: 59:36
Average pace: 9:37 mins/mi
Breakdown in laps (1 lap = 1 mile) for average pace:
Lap 1: 9:47 mins/mi
Lap 2: 10:31 mins/mi
Lap 3: 9:54 mins/mi
Lap 4: 9:55 mins/mi
Lap 5: 9:01 mins/mi
Lap 6: 8:52 mins/mi
Lap 7: 8:00 mins/mi
I was really pleased with my time. It's a personal best for this distance. I could have done more of a warm-up in the beginning, which is reflected in the fluctuating time between the first and second laps. But I was so impressed and surprised by my ability to pick it up and negative split. I told Coach Simon that all in all, this is the fastest (while consistent) that I think I've ever ran and I'm excited to see the possibilities.
My V-DOT score is going to stay at a 34 (improving from a 27 at the beginning of the season) and will likely stay at that level from now until August. Here's where we start planning out my marathon plan for race day.
By Saturday, I was still a little sore from the running impact (I had forgotten how much easier on the body swimming and cycling have been!), and we were due for a 2-hour long/slow distance run with our training captains. Tony had led us out to Crown Memorial Beach in Alameda. I hadn't run that course before and it was a gorgeous day for it. [The funny thing about this spot is that although I hadn't recognized the run trail ~ I in fact HAD been there before -- for a crew race back in college!] I just had a different perspective, in more ways than one :)
I decided to strategize and do a run/walk for this training. I stuck with 4 minutes run: 1 minute walk. And Marina stuck with me all throughout. We both plan to use a similar strategy for our races and although it can get challenging to slow down to a walk when you're in your run groove ~ we thought it wise to start practicing our run/walk plan so we can get used to it. And boy were we glad we did.
After one hour, we had exceeded 5 miles! To our own surprise, we had actually gone faster than we would have, than if we had consistently ran the whole way. Our long/easy pace is about 11:04 mins/mi. But during each of our 4-minute intervals, we tried to keep it at a 10:30-10:40 mins/mi pace. We used up our 1-minute walks wisely, cooling down and hydrating-fueling. And before we knew it, we were on our way to a negative split! Our pace on the way back (during the second hour) was all the way up in the 10:15 mins/mi pace and oftentimes would jump even faster. But we maintained and gradually brought it back down before we got too excited. I kept thinking to myself how much I wanted to "save it to the end" before I gassed it up. As we approached our original starting point, we had another 3-4 minutes before the 2 hours were up, so for my final interval, I went all out and ran as fast as I could -- and stayed alert on my form and consistency. In 2 hours, I had successfully completed 10.5 miles with a negative split. I could not have been any prouder (and I felt great!).
Best part ~ Rocky and Tony went out to the beach with me immediately afterward for a fresh, homemade ice bath. Which you just can't beat. Hilarious to watch too, I'm sure. Helen, Nick, Marina, & Dana stayed at the bath house to spectate from up above. We kicked off our running shoes and fuel belts and got in at low tide, so the further out into the water we walked, the more shallow it got. At one point, I just thought it would be easier to hold up my running shorts and kneel directly into the sand and let the icy cold water just splash to get my tighter muscles in the quads/hamstrings. Of course ~ trying to kneel was about the toughest thing I could have gotten my body to do after just running over ten miles and doing my run marker a couple days before. But once I got down into the water, legs submerged in the chilly waters, I was oh-so content. Had to hand it to the guys, too. Nothing says Iron Family like squatting together in open water, exposing all our bike short tanlines. The weekend surely brought us closer together again.
It was nice to have the entire afternoon wide open on Saturday. I couldn't believe we were done by 11:30 a.m.! After a leisurely lunch with the gang, I was headed back East. I had some good q-time to myself, repaired a slow leak in my front bike tire, and got to enjoy a fabulous home-cooked meal with my good friends, Gina & Rich.
After a good night's rest, and another treat of sleeping in until 7:30 a.m. on Sunday morning, I was back out for another marker: this time, on the bike. Unfortunately, there were some glitches with the Garmin, so I couldn't capture my total time for the marker itself, but my RPE (rate of perceived exertion) was definitely high - probably a level 8-9 (of 10) consistently, with a few 10's thrown in for good measure; I pushed out everything I had in me as I climbed up the canyon. We had some major headwinds, so it made for an even more challenging ride. But I kept my cadence up, let my heart rate go where it wanted to (I checked a few times, and it was definitely above threshold - up at around 173-174 bpm). It was by far the hardest I had ever pushed up and down those hills and I felt like I was flying.
Despite the fact that I didn't capture all the confirming numbers and data, I could definitely take home a giant chunk of pride and fulfillment in knowing I put my all into that ride. Once I finished the marker, I thought back to my first ride on that course. I've sure come a long way. It hasn't been easy and I've had my share of hard times, frustration, doubt and anxiety along the way. But like I'm always saying, it's so important to look back often. It's kind of the nature of the beast for my teammates and I to constantly be eyeing forward, building on more hours to our workouts, upping the intensity, moving closer and closer to our race day. But in the blink of an eye, it'll all be over and in order to build the confidence I need for my race day, I can't ever forget where I started in the very beginning. No swim background. No bike. All smiles, excited to learn some new things, and blissfully unaware of everything that I would encounter 6-9 months later :)
Additionally, there were a few moments during both my run and bike markers, as well as during my long run on Saturday where I learned another valuable lesson ~ I found myself during pockets of time feeling a little winded, body feeling "alive" (what endurance athletes by and large will say instead of in pain) but incredibly focused. No matter what was going on in my head or what my body was doing ~ I felt this urge to just move forward. It was like I had blinders on and didn't care what was going on outside of my zone. I was in the moment and I was doing what I was meant to do. It was then that I'd look down at my watch and see my splits were faster than I'd ever seen. I was truly astonished by my performance because more than anything, I was doing it for me. Not for anyone else, not to prove anything. For once, I wasn't distracted by numbers, or other people around me. All I was doing was propelling forward, smoothly, consistently, and freakin' fast! Whether it was quick cadence and turnover and a natural forward lean on the run; or strong, forward momentum as I'd push down and pull up on my bike pedals -- I truly felt powerful and in my element. And that's the kind of focus I'd love to have for my race day.
I was home again on Sunday before noon and it was such a joy! After a nice hot shower and taking in the rest of my morning, I decided to take a trip on over to the Oakland Hills to visit Belinda at her Sloshball Fundraiser for LLS. It was a gorgeous day to be outside and it felt good to just sit and kick back. Not to mention, rest these tired legs from all the running and cycling. Here's one of Dana, Honoree Matt & I...
I've got one more marker to go -- the timed 2000 yd swim. I'll be doing that tonight and will let you know how it goes. In the meantime, it's a little more rest before upping the ante again, in preparation of our big 3/4 Iron Weekend in Clearlake. It's in t-minus 12 days!
***
Week #28 Workout Summary: [Recovery Week]
Swim: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Bike: 3 hours and 30 minutes
Run: 3 hours and 0 minutes
Core/Strength: 0 hours and 0 minutes
Total Workout: 8 hours and 0 minutes
My Fundraising Progress to Date: $8,451
who-hoo, you so rock! Funny - considering especially that we started with the same VDOT score and I'm going into IML with a....28! You are rocking the house! :-)
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