Training Update - January 22

Base building

Monday:  I wasn't going to run today, but it was so warm that I couldn't resist!  
Easy recovery run on the ATT with Jen D (5M, 42:42).  

Wednesday: First track workout in forever.  I'd forgotten what it felt like to run faster than conversational pace, and though my training partners left me in the dust, I was pretty happy with the workout and was thankful that Ellen and Rachel came out to keep me company!  2M warmup, ladder, 1M cool down for 6 miles total.  Working efforts of 400 (91), 600 (2:20), 800 (3:13), 1K (4:05), 800 (3:15), 600 (2:25), 400 (91).  Wrapped up with a quick 800 in the pool.  


Thursday: Actual swim workout. Drills, kick, 6 x 50, and a pull cool down.  It's not much, but I have to start somewhere... PM: Met Nicole at the gym, more to socialize than to exercise.  15 minutes elliptical and 15 minutes power walk on the treadmill at max incline.  

Friday: Cold, "snowy" (here half an inch = a snow day) tempo run with Ellen on the ATT.  The goal was to run 5 miles between 7:10 and 7:30.  We had to stop for a few road crossings and go very slowly over the icy bridge, but our splits were 7:27-7:29-7:10-7:12-7:40 with an average moving pace of 7:20, so mission accomplished!

Saturday: Back to back cycling classes at Sync

Sunday: Long run with Bex on the ATT (14M, 1:52:17).  Almost canceled out the run with TWO delicious donuts from Rise... I guess that is both the upside and downside of starting  our run there!  We had another nice Sunday, with temps in the 60s, so I went out for a quick (8M/30 minute) ride around the neighborhood and on the ATT and capped off the day with a Sync cycling class.  It was my first 3+ hour workout day in quite some time, but I feel really good.  Hopefully I can still say that on Monday...

Monday: 6 mile Rise run with Ellen and Sarah.  We started and ended with relatively slow miles but kept the middle 4 in the mid-7:30s.  Followed by a biscuit, Sync cycling, and a donut.  I figured that all balanced out! 

Tuesday: Off to Turks & Caicos!

New Year, New Plan

In preparation for my first half iron triathlon, I am phasing into a training schedule that has a bit less running and a lot more cross training.  The full plan is here... hopefully I can stick to it and make it through Ironman Raleigh 70.3 in June!

Week 1 
Between the holiday and coming down with a cold, I ended up changing the plan quite a bit for this week.  Not much cross training, but with Sunday's 10 I ended up with 40 miles for the week and no knee pain, so I'll take it.

Monday:  Took advantage of having the day off for NYE.  
12M with Lora (1:45) followed by a 90 minute cycling class at Sync

Thursday: Attempt at speedwork by myself on the ATT was pretty much a failure.  
6M with a few 800s (3:24, 3:17, 3:18) and 400s (99, 97)

Friday: Cold but enjoyable 5M Rise run with Jen D and Ellen (41:43) 

Saturday: Frosty 50K relay - 12.5K (58:31) 

Week 2
Thankfully my knee is still holding up, but I feel slow and out of shape and am just working on rebuilding some base fitness.  34 miles of running, 2 spin classes, 20 miles outside on the bike, 2 strength training/yoga classes, and 1250 in the pool.  Feeling tired, but not terrible, and excited to be getting back into a solid routine.

Monday:  TRX Flow at Sync 

Tuesday: Back to back cycling classes

Wednesday: Was supposed to include 400s, but after the extra cycling class on Tuesday, I wasn't feeling it and a nice conversational pace with Jen seemed far more appealing. 5M (42:02)

Thursday: First time in the pool in over a month. 1250 yds pull (26:00)

Friday: Cold, dark, and raining, and I totally would have skipped it had I not been meeting friends.   Started out with 5.5M with Jen W and Bex, who eventually sped up so I finished solo.  A few decent miles in the middle (7:36, 7:24, 7:33, 7:20).  Followed up with another 5 miles at an easy pace (42:01).

Saturday: Met a group of BCTC ladies at Rise for a little out and back on the ATT (and a donut, of course).  Ran in the middle of the pack with Karen a little faster than planned, but felt pretty good (6M, 48:33).  Followed the run with a TRX/yoga class at Sync and capped off the day with a 20 mile bike ride with Bex.  It felt great to get back out on the bike, especially since it was almost 70 and sunny.  Good workouts, great company, and beautiful weather... no complaints!

Sunday: Another Rise run, wearing shorts in January!  12 miles on the ATT with Duke fitness challenge and BCTC teammates Rachel and Caren (1:35:10), with about half in the 7:30s/7:40s. 

Frosty 50K

Several months ago I decided that I would run the Frosty 50K in Winston-Salem as my first ultra marathon, but with my injury and time off from running, that was not in the cards this year.  Fortunately I was able to switch to the relay option and Allie, Ellen, and Jen agreed to join me, so I would still be able to race.  Plus they are all really fast, so that was an added bonus :)

Arrived at Salem Lake before sunrise - it was freezing outside, but very pretty!

Last year I was training for the Miami marathon and ran the 25K as a training run, so I knew the course and what to expect.  In 2012, I took it relatively easy and ran the 15.5 mile course at 7:37 pace, so I figured I should at least be able to run that speed for half the distance.  It felt a lot harder than I would have liked, and pretty much confirmed that I am out of shape and rebuilding my fitness is not going to be quick or easy.  I managed to stay near 7:30 for the first few miles, but pace slowed to 7:40s and 50s. Had I been running solo, I would have slowed down even more, but thinking about Jen waiting for me and not wanting to give up even more time for our team kept me going.  I felt terrible about running so slowly and feeling like I was letting my team down, but fortunately they were not feeling terribly competitive about it and as always were very supportive and reassuring.  

After the final exchange, I headed back to the start/finish area to see Jen finish.  She was running too fast for me to get a photo, but our team finished in 3:31:17 as the 3rd women's relay.

It is going to take a lot of work to get my fitness back and may be a while until I can run fast-ish again, but I managed 40 miles this week and other than the head cold that I've come down with, am feeling pretty good and have not had any knee pain at all.   I'm now transitioning into triathlon training mode and will be working on building endurance.  Thankfully I have 5 months, but I have a feeling that time is going to fly by and the 70.3 will be here before I know it...