50X50

Today, I did 50X50 at the pool for a total of 2500 yards. Sounds very boring, but actually wasn't too bad. Although, I haven't done any long workouts in the pool yet, my arms are starting to feel fatigued from my almost 3 weeks of training. Not sore, just fatigued, which is good.

Also, spent some time today getting organized around the house. As my training volume increases, I know being organized is going to be key to not missing any workouts. Finally, I'm hoping that Henry (my son) starts going to bed earlier, as I know that getting 7-8 hours of sleep every night will really be beneficial. He was up till almost midnight again last night, which means I was up till midnight. I didn't want to get up and go to the pool this morning when my alarm went off, but after hitting snooze a few times, I got up at 6:30 and was at the pool before 7 AM and home by 8:15.

Training is going great!

The bad news is that I haven't blogged for a few days. The good news is that I've been keeping up with my workouts, my knee is feeling great, and I generally feel good.

A lot has happened since my last post. Last night, I had a great time at the Maplewood Multisport clinic on heart rate and power training. It really made me want to get a power meter. The iBike is very tempting, because of it's price, but I'm somewhat skeptical about its accuracy. If any one has an iBike, I'd love to hear about it. Also, found a great deal at www.competitivecyclist.com on a Powertap Comp for $695, including the wheel, which is also very tempting. Note to anyone thinking about getting a bike, you may want to buy a less expensive bike, so you can afford a power meter.

I was back at Maplewood today for Beth's bike fit. Beth got an awesome new Trek road bike, with matching white grip tape, seat, and shoes. Very sharp! I suspect she will be very fast on it.

Tonight, it was off to the pool for Deena's first swim session. She did amazing! I was very impressed. I'm really looking forward to working with her. I'm starting to get excited for the Rec Plex race, because I can't wait to see how everyone does.

My training log . . .

Sunday, I did a 5 mile walk/run, alternating 1 mile running and 1 mile walking.
Monday, 1:10 with some short power intervals on the bike
Tuesday, 2000 yards in the pool and a 30 minute jog. I'm happy to report that I jogged the entire 30 minutes!
Wednesday, 1:10 on the bike, with some longer power intervals. Note to self, turn the AC on in the house when doing this workout. I got very hot. I also did a brief core and strength workout.

Thanks for reading! Have a good one!

Windy!

The first day of group training went great. We had a small turnout, as some opted to run 2 back to back half-marathons and do St. Louis last weekend and Nashville this weekend.

I rode 20 miles with the group in Columbia, IL. The wind was horrible on the way out. We struggled to average 12 mph. With the wind to our backs, we were able to average 22 mph easily on the way back. After the group ride was over, I faced the wind again and rode another 20 miles by myself. I had a great ride, and it was nice to get outside after riding two weeks in a row on my indoor trainer!

Running again

Today, I got in 2000 yards in the pool. My workout was a pyramid. Managed to get it done in about 20 minutes, because the pool was closing. Then I headed to the track for a 10 minute jog and 20 minutes on the elliptical. This was my first run of any kind in about a month!

Group Training Starts Saturday

Henry slept till 10:30 this morning which he has not done in a really long time. I took advantage of the morning to get caught up on some things. One thing I did was to write some of my workouts for my coaching company's group training which starts this Saturday. I'm really looking forward to working with the group. I think we have a great group with a lot of enthusiastic people. It should be really fun!

I did 40X50 today at the pool and then did another 500 yards for total of 2500. I'm still trying to understand the point of swimming so many 25s and 50s, but the workout wasn't as boring as I'd thought it would be.

Smoothing out my pedal stroke

Today's workout was 75 minutes on my indoor trainer. I watched this week's episode of the Biggest Loser and the time went by fast. I can tell that my pedal stroke has improved greatly in just a week. I was pretty rusty when I started last week. Looking forward to getting out on the road with my bike this weekend!

I finally know what's wrong with my knee

After about 5 weeks, including 3 trips to the orthopedic, 1 MRI, and 12 sessions of physical therapy, I finally know what is wrong with my knee.

Just to bring everyone up to speed, I started having pain in my knee about 5-6 weeks ago. I didn't think much of it at first, but it gradually got to the point where it was difficult to walk, so I decided to go to the doctor. I got an MRI which showed a few minor things, but nothing that was causing the pain I was feeling, so he sent me off to physical therapy. PT seemed to help, but I was still having some pain. I went pack to the doctor today, and now know that my pain is caused from some roughness on the back of my patella. The doctor told me I should keep doing my physical therapy exercises on my own and that I could return to all of my normal activities. I asked him if that included running, and he said, "if that's what you really want to do." He said that if I did start running, he'd most likely see me back in his office with knee pain again in a couple of months. The next step if the knee pain gets too bad is to have the rough part scraped off the back of my patella, which unfortunately involves surgery. Bottom line . . . I have to keep my knee happy, otherwise I'll have to have surgery, which will mean no Ironman this year.

Yesterday's workout was about 50 minutues on the bike (20 minute warm-up, 10X1 minute power intervals, and 10 minute cool-down).

Today's workout was 2100 yards in the pool. Mostly 25s, which I think is rather strange for someone training for the Ironman distance, but I'm sticking to the plan for the most part.

My first WALKING half-marathon

Today was the Go! St. Louis Marathon and Half-Marathon. I walked the half-marathon with my husband, Aron. If you've been following my blog, you probably know that I was planning on running the full marathon, but was not able to due to a knee injury.

First of all the weather in STL was horrible today. It rained for a good part of the race and there were lots of puddles on the course. Congratulations to everyone who completed the race in less than ideal weather!

Being at the race today was a little hard for me. It was tough to see all of the runners, knowing that I couldn't run. However, I'm glad I still participated, and Aron and I had a good time. We finished in 3:05:17. Yes, somehow, both of us managed to get the exact same time.

I saw a few of my clients at the race. I yelled for you, but no one looked my way. I know some of you had headphones on during the race, but I won't name any names.

In addition to walking 13.1 miles today, I also road for 2 hours on my indoor bike trainer. I was hoping to get out on the road today, but the weather kept me inside.

Here are my totals for my first week of Ironman training: Swimming: 3300 yards, Biking: 4 hours, Walking/Elliptical: 4 hours, Strength Training: 2 sessions

One week down, 19 more to go!

Missed today's workout

I was suppose to do a 2 hour bike today. Didn't get it in for various reasons. I'm planning on doing it tomorrow instead. It's bedtime. I'll be getting up at 5 AM tomorrow to head down to Go! St. Louis. Good luck to everyone participating!

One of my few rest days

Today was a rest day. There aren't too many in the program I'm following, but it was nice to have a day off.

Went to the Chaifetz Arena today to pick up my packet for the Go! St. Louis half-marathon. Since I hurt my knee and won't be able to run the full marathon, I decided to give walking the half-marathon a try. I don't think I've ever walked more then 5-6 miles at one time. The race is Sunday, I'll let you know how it goes!

First 2 workout day

Today was my first 2 workout day. I did a 2000 yard swim (30X50 and a 500 cool-down). My second workout was suppose to be a 30 minute run, but I did 30 minutes on the elliptical instead, as I'm still not suppose to run. My knee is a little sore, but I won't say it is painful. I go back to the doctor next week. I hope I get the okay to start running again soon.

Mental Focus

Yesterday, I did 1300 yards in the pool. A very short workout, but I know I will come to appreciate these types of workouts over the next few months.

Today, I was back on my trainer for another hour of spinning. My mental focus was much better then it was on Monday, which made the hour pass quickly. I use to struggle to maintain my concentration on the bike. Last year, I finally feel like I had a breakthrough and was much more focused on the bike. I hope I continue with last year's trend and improve my ability to tune out outside distractions even more.

Although the ability to tune out distractions isn't going to lead to a successful race on it's own, a lack of focus on the task at hand can definitely result in disaster on the race course. I've found that practicing my concentration during my training sessions results in improved concentration on race day and more effective workouts.

Ironman Louisville Training Begins

It's been awhile since my last blog. I hope to get everyone caught up on what I've been up to over the last few weeks during my next few blogs. However, as it's getting late tonight and sleep is an important part of training, my blog today will be short.

Today was the official start of my 20 week Ironman Louisville training plan. I did a one hour bike on my trainer. I felt great physically, but had some trouble maintaining my mental concentration.

One day down, a lot more to come!