That felt like the longest training week ever!
Monday- Went to Performance Labs to get LT testing done with Craig in Mill Valley. Testing determines my heart rate training zones and also tests my fitness level. Boy! Am I out of shape..yes fitness level has much room for improvement! I think more than both Chris and I thought haha! The discussion and explanation of numbers with Craig was quite interesting. I think I learned more about mitochondria in that one sitting than I did in all of school!
Tuesday- Went to CT class with my new wattage numbers (lower) yet it didn't feel that much easier. Class is hard but always so much fun! Swum after work with Kara.
Wednesday- Work has definitely slowed down with Christmas Eve! Did a morning run along the Embarcadero.
Thursday- Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all! With morning hail and thunderstorms, I wasn't sure I was able to get out for my run. A moment of sunshine came through so out the door in my running shoes I went! I ran at the museum track in Golden Gate Park. It was beautiful and empty! I wished I had my dslr camera! Got some great news! One of my best friends, Heidi and her beau Alex got engaged!! I am so happy and over the moon for her! I was there when they met at an Ironteam info meeting and I was at the party when Heidi asked Alex out! I love it! There is hope after all! Haha.
Friday- Kara and I did the Marin Headlands in the morning as Chris wanted me to do some hill repeats. I actually love riding the Headlands but it's descending down the backside that makes me nervous. The first and only time I've done it was maybe 4 years ago with the VeloGirls. I was so nervous and scared that I actually slowed my bike down, hit the barricade on purpose and got off my bike. Yup, I psyched myself out! This time, descending down went much smoother, no hitting my bike on the barricade. Just gripping on like crazy on the brakes with my calve/feet shaking like crazy! Haha. Right before Kara and I were to descend, I heard these two guys that had just reached the top of the Headlands say, "They're going for it!"
See photo below- backside of Marin Headlands/Conzumel Drive. It really doesn't show how steep it really is but gives you an idea!
Saturday- Kara and I went on a cold cold cold ride! Did I mention it was cold?! Made for the 3.5 hours in the saddle tough! After that ride, I took a nap and then went to Sports Basement to gather up some cold weather riding necessities! Did I mention it was cold this morning?! I can't decide which part of our day was better- Kara's bike falling over towards my bike while still on the roof of my car OR Kara pulling out her GoKart face mask (I have one too, haha) and putting it on and then asking, "how am I going to spit?" Haha! Good times!
Sunday- Swum, biked and ran at the gym! End of what feels like the longest training week ever!
Workout Summary-
Swim- 3 hours and 49 minutes
Bike- 7 hours and 35 minutes
Run- 2 hours and 45 minutes
Total Workout- 14 hours and 9 minutes
Officially started training for IM Couer d'Alene...
I LOVE Christmas and the holidays except this rain can lighten up a bit!
Wednesday night, Ironteam had our team dinner that yours truly and her co-community captain Jessica planned. It went well except we had a slight shortage of food problem but leave it to IronMom Jessica to deal with it in our favor!
Left to Right- Caesar, Marin, Jessica, Doug, Heidi, myself and Hez
Ferdie, Doug, me and Caesar-
So after Chris agreed to coach me and all the paperwork and admin stuff was done, I logged onto workoutlog to see what he had instore for me! My first reaction.....long stare on the computer screen...followed by laughter..! First week out and I already had 9+ hours of workouts to complete for the week. Whatever happened to starting slow? 6 hours? 7 maybe? Haha..nope..not Chris' style! I do have to say that I am working a bit harder on my training being that I am actually paying for it now. Have to do it right! Went to CompuTrainer class on Friday for the first time in three weeks.. I am happy to report that I didn't feel like throwing up nor did I feel like passing out!
Ironteam's coached workout was all day Saturday. They had to do a bike/run brick three times, bike handling clinic and core strength. Since I am following Chris' program, I just spun on the trainer for the 2.5 hours that I was supposed to. I was glad since every part of my body except for my fingers were basically screaming sore from CT class on Friday. It was great to see the team work so hard.. and nice to be around..glad we had the one day of sunny weather on Saturday!
With the rainy weather- be careful driving out there and pay attention to the road! It's Sunday late afternoon and I am sitting here blogging but hours before, I was out doing some last minute shopping and saw two big car accidents. One SUV spun out and ended up on the mount of this road and another was a 4 car pile up on 19th Ave. The car in front of me was being a complete idiot and actually slowed down to take a picture.. at times I really wish I had eggs readily available in my car for moments like those! AND to the lady that ran the stop sign at a commercial area to snag a parking spot..I wish I had an egg for you too!
Stay warm everyone!
Workout Summary-
Swim- 2 hours and 15 minutes
Bike- 5 hours and 30 minutes
Run- 1 hour and 45 minutes
Total workout- 9 hours and 30 minutes
Back from Thailand!
I am back from Thailand! It was two full weeks in the country of smiles..I avoided the mess in Bangkok with the anti-government protesters shutting down the airports and am back home as planned! Thailand was so much fun! My pictures are posted here with Shutterfly. Below is a photo of me and Lucky, the 1 year old elephant:
So while I was in Thailand, I was thinking about a bunch of things. Being in a country halfway across the world alone means a lot of thinking and reflecting time. One of those thoughts was that I want to be at the start line of Ironman Couer d'Alene next year the best prepared I can be! Having said that, I asked my CompuTrainer spin coach Chris Hauth if he would coach me for CDA and he responded with, "Of course, we already have so much fun in spin." Awesome! I am more excited about the upcoming training season when I already am! It's going to be hard and tough because he is tough but it'll be good for me. I already saw my workouts for the week of the 15th which is my first week with him. My first reaction...whoa..that's a lot of hours! Enjoying my last slacker weekend here... stay tuned to see how my body reacts to my first week of actual IM CDA training!
Saturday- Kara and I went on a cold cold cold ride! Did I mention it was cold?! Made for the 3.5 hours in the saddle tough! After that ride, I took a nap and then went to Sports Basement to gather up some cold weather riding necessities! Did I mention it was cold this morning?! I can't decide which part of our day was better- Kara's bike falling over towards my bike while still on the roof of my car OR Kara pulling out her GoKart face mask (I have one too, haha) and putting it on and then asking, "how am I going to spit?" Haha! Good times!
