I owe this week's success to several things:
#1: My Mom. Mom picked up Sophie several afternoons, and kept her overnight Thursday night and all day Friday (school was out for a mini winter break). And she always asks me if I need her help so I can get my weekend workouts done. Thanks, Mom!
#2: My Job. I am very, very fortunate to have a job that does not require to me arrive at a certain time. I'm also able to take a long lunch every so often to go swim. I don't know how people with a strict work schedule are able to fit in all their weekday training. I guess they get up earlier than I do. I'm also not sure how people manage to wear real clothes to work every day. If I don't have meetings, I'm in running shorts. Period.
#3: My Penchant for Planning. When there are so many things to fit into one day, half of them won't get done unless I plan ahead. Swim and bike on Thursday? Which one before work, which one after? Is there something to heat up easily for supper? Pack your bag Wednesday night. Remember to bring something to eat/drink right after your swim for recovery. Bring first and second lunch to work, and a snack. Blah blah blah... And what if there is a snafu, such as the Y's pool being closed during my planned swim time, as it was Thursday? Always have a back-up plan.
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| The madness of my method: planning out the week |
So, somehow, it all got done.
Friday night, I finally accepted that the weather Saturday was going to be too crappy (read: unsafe) to do my long ride outdoors. I was going to have to ride 2 hours 45 minutes on the trainer. I've never liked watching movies while on the trainer, but I didn't see any other way to get through it, so I pulled up Netflix and chose "Raising Arizona." (Can you believe I had never seen it?) It passed the time and even got a few laughs out of me. Then I watched the pilot for "Once Upon a Time" (not terrible) and an episode of "South Park" (always a pleasure).
The other trick to getting through a long trainer ride is to have a workout planned. To just hop on and ride in Zone 2 for almost three hours is NOT going to happen. So I pulled some gems from Workouts in a Binder for Indoor Cycling and wrote out my plan:
The ride went okay. I did hop off after an hour and forty-five minutes to lower the riser for my front wheel. The front end was up too high, which put too much weight on the saddle. You can imagine the discomfort. After the adjustment, I was good to go for the last hour. When I was done, I changed into a dry shirt and my running shoes and headed outside for my first brick of the season.
I only had to run 20 minutes in Zone 1. My feet, calves and shins were pretty tight, but I remembered that they would eventually loosen up if I just kept moving. Sure enough, after fifteen minutes, my legs felt light and springy. I was feeling good when it was time to stop. The rain/sleet/hail that fell while I ran was actually soothing - another one of those "good for the soul" workouts.
Sunday's recovery run was slow and easy, and I finally got to add some strides. Oh Happy Day! When you haven't been allowed to run fast for 10 weeks, 20 seconds fast just feels glorious. The only downside is some shin pain on the right leg. I'll keep an eye on it and get it tended to appropriately if needed. I don't have to run again until Wednesday, so I'm sure the rest time will help.
Sophie said today that once I complete the Ironman, I'll actually be an athlete. Then she warned me again that it's going to be hot. "It's in May, Mom. It's hot in May. And it's in Texas. It's hot in Texas."
It's hard to believe it's only three months away.
