Ironman Arizona: Week 17

Bad news, guys.

I didn’t win the Mega Millions.

I know, I know, you’re as shocked as I am. It was my first time ever playing and with my $20 worth of tickets it should have been practically guaranteed. I guess I’ll have to delete my “OMG I’M A BAZLLIONAIRE” post that I drafted and instead give you this week 17 recap. Don’t worry, it’s just as exciting as the other post…

Mon., 3/26: Rest

After the Oakland Half Marathon, I woke up at 5 a.m., walked into the bathroom, looked in the mirror and said, “No freaking way.” I promptly proceeded to crawl back into bed and take an unplanned rest day. I’m such a rebel.

Tues., 3/27: Run

Time to get the legs back into the groove of things with an easy five mile run. While this shouldn’t be a big deal, I swear the gym is trying to personally kill me with never turning on the AC.

Wed., 3/28: Swim and Bike

Just like you should never trust me with directions, I think it’s safe to say that you should never trust me with lap counting. I always get lost in my thoughts and then think, “Oh, crap, where was I?” Thus, I err on the side of caution and start back at the lowest number I recall. This was 2,100 yards of forgetfulness. Perhaps this is evidence enough as to why I should get the Garmin 910. Are you listening, Chicken Face?

I followed the swim with an indoor, hour-long training ride. Nice and sweaty.

Thurs., 3/29: Rest

I’ve been pumping the Emergen-C like crazy and it finally caught up with me. I went home sick from work on Wednesday and Thursday was no better. Another rest day did the trick.

Maybe it was this dinner that did the trick. My fav.

Fri., 3/30: Run

I work from home of Fridays, meaning that it’s the one day that I get to run outside and it might possibly be the workout highlight of the week. Sixty minutes on my tried-and-true out and back in the crisp morning air. Perfect.

I also finally got my SPD pedals and new cleats. I slapped them on my old shoes which make for an interesting photo, but at least I’m not using the mountain bike cleats that used to be on there!

Sat., 3/31: Bike and Run

I had every intention of joining the Forward Motion cycling group on Saturday but when I woke up at 5:30 and saw “100% chance on rain” and strong winds, I opted out. There was no way I was taking my new baby out in that weather. I ended up riding on the trainer for two hours and almost died of boredom. Despite watching the rest of the documentary “Being Elmo,” an NBC piece on “Inside Nike” and some other trash TV, it still didn’t help.

I followed the two hour ride with a 10 minute transition run in a complete downpour and I loved it. I ran to my local farmer’s market, picked up a few things, and ran back with them closely guarded by my chest.

Sun., 4/1: Bike Clinic

My local running/triathlon club, Forward Motion, had 25 open spots at a cycling clinic. Unsure of what it would specifically entail, I thought it would be beneficial to go and I am so glad I did! We focused on drills that built upon each other to get you more and more comfortable on the bike. Including:

Putting the mid-line of your body over the bike
Zig-zags
Cornering
Balancing skills
Riding closely
Sucking wheels
Avoiding obstacles
Emergency stops
Using your bike as a training tool
Group riding skills
Holding a line

If you ever get a chance to go to a clinic like this, I highly recommend it. In only three hours, I was already much more comfortable with being on my bike and reassured as to what a bike can actually do.

Post-ride, I met up with Aron, Jojo, Kristin and Sima to watch the one and only Hunger Games and work out Aron’s 50 mile crew plan!

Due to all of my unplanned rest days, it was a pretty tame week, but I still closed out week 17 with:

5 hours and 33 minutes of training (not including the clinic):
2,405.9 yards swimming 
44 miles cycling 
14 miles running 

Happy Running!