I DID IT! My final Ironman build period is complete! I was tired, nauseous, and cranky towards the end, but it feels good knowing that I put all the hard work in. Since I started this draft over 6 weeks ago, I’ve also completed my taper, and now it’s RACE WEEK! I’m actually finally finishing this blog post from the San Diego airport.
The purpose of this blog is to get the final workouts “on the books”. I’ll have a more detailed blog about tapering and race week and all the crazy emotions that I’m feeling when I have time. With work and Ironman training, I just haven’t had the TIME to blog!
Highlights here include my first 100 mile bike ride, my best masters swim ever, my first Aquathlon, and a weekend with Chrissie Wellington! (Well it wasn’t exactly a full weekend, but I got to spend some time with her Sat and Sun which was amazing!)
Week 23
Monday: Mobility Class, Ab Ripper X DVD, Pull-ups and Plank
Tuesday: 6 miles Yassos, Spin 1:40
Wednesday morning I had my most successful YMCA Masters Swim EVER! There were actually people there that were swimming my base, so I didn’t get left in the dust, and I was able to keep my 2:00 base throughout the class. It helps that I stopped swimming late Tuesday night before this class too. I figured out my body needs a longer break than that between masters swim sessions. Group Strength Class at night.
Thursday: 1:30 run, 45 min easy spin, Solana Beach Masters Swim
Friday: Rest
Saturday was my first 100 mile bike ride!! It took foreeeeever, but I did it! Team WODS went out to conquer and we did it. There were definitely some road bumps along the way, so we were out there for about 9 hours total with pit stops, flat tires, bee stings, dropped chains, and more. We were all exhausted and ready to eat when we got back, but Jeremy and I fit in a quick 1 mile run just to see what it would feel like. (It felt hard.)
After about 92 miles, I don’t recommend taking a break.
Sunday: 18 mile run, 1 hour spin
Week 24: Final Build
Monday: Mobility with Trevor
Tuesday: Accidental 10 mile run (6 miles of Yassos plus another 4 miles easy because I was locked out and had to wait for Jeremy to get home! Would you sit on the steps and wait, or keep running? I decided to keep running.) Sufferfest Local Hero 1:25 on the trainer that night.
Wednesday morning difficult YMCA Masters Swim. Strength at home. I was very tired this day.
Thursday: Spin 45 mins/run 1 mile brick, and Solana Beach Masters Swim
Friday: Rest
Saturday: I went to LA Friday night to film a brand new game show all day on Saturday! It involved a lot of explosive sprints and obstacles and was a very long day. Not your typical Ironman training day, but an amazing experience I will never forget!
Sunday: 20 mile run = slowest long run to date. I think I was exhausted after my 14 hour day of “fame”! It’s probably a good indicator of how slow I’ll be going during the full Ironman. I think I’d be happy with a 10 min/mile pace! Better than the Ironman shuffle, no?
Week 25: Final Build
Monday: Took the day off work. Mobility work in the morning, Solana Beach Intro to Masters Swim in the afternoon. Was planning to get a medium/long bike ride in, but my body was screaming at me after my hard weekend, so coach Trevor prescribed swim and rest. It was fabulous. I highly recommend a random vacation day where you have nothing planned during IM training. Jeremy and I saw a movie, went for a walk on the beach, and did happy hour.
Tuesday: Spin 45 mins in the morning plus 1:15 more after work to get it all in
Wednesday: YMCA Masters Swim in the morning, Group Strength with just Jeremy and me that night, so it was tailored exactly to our needs.
Thursday: 30 min spin in the morning, TCSD Aquathlon (1,000m ocean swim plus 5k run) after work. As someone with a fear of open water swimming, I’m very proud of this accomplishment! I was too scared to do all the TCSD Aquathlons last year, so this was my first one, and I completed it in a very respectable time of 40 mins. (Thank you ocean current!)
Team WODS post Aquathlon
Friday: Rest
Saturday: Bike 84 miles and run 5
Sunday: Swim 1:30, run 2:00
Week 26: Recovery Week
Monday: Rest
Tuesday: I finally forked up the $$ and got a professional fit on my bike! It included a short spin about 30 minutes total riding time, and I left with a brand new sexy tri bike fit! I should have done this about a week after I got my new bike because my bike shop fit has never even been close, but it’s better to be late than to never do it. My fit is drastically different and built for efficiency and speed thanks to Nestor at Studeo DNA! My before and after photos make this quite obvious…According to Nestor, I no longer look like a grandma!
Before…looking like a grandma on my tri bike
After! No more grandma!
Wednesday: YMCA Masters Swim, Group Strength
Thursday: 4 mile run, 45 min spin
Friday: La Jolla Cove Ocean Swim about 1.5 miles (to the Marine Room and back!) Another huge accomplishment for me because I wasn’t swimming parallel to the shore line. I was out there in the deep blue ocean with the fishies…sting rays, jelly fish, and other stuff that I luckily couldn’t see. I always had someone within eyesight. I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Saturday: Run 1:20, bike 30 minutes, followed by a 5k with Chrissie Wellington! (Separate blog post to come on my time spent with the Ironman world champ!!)
Sunday: Bike 60 miles, run 2.5 miles, TCSD meeting and autograph time with Chrissie Wellington! I bought her new book A Life Without Limits and she signed it “Thanks for beating me in the 5k.” Fantastic!
Giving Chrissie a lift. She was asking who was touching her bum.
“Thanks for beating me in the 5k.” – THAT IS AWESOME!!!! I love that she is humble and has a great sense of humor.
I’m a little behind, and don’t know if your race is this weekend, or if it just happened, but if it’s coming up – GOOD LUCK, and if it already passed I hope it was a good one!
Sadly, I have a huge DNF next to my name at Ironman Coeur d’Alene. I missed the second bike cutoff by 10 mins! Blog post to come soon. Now the question is…which Ironman do I sign up for next?? I WILL FINISH!