Test Week

After a few weeks of training, my coach informed me of "test" week. It's exactly what it sounds like...I got tested in each discipline so we have a baseline for my paces and heart rate. When I first saw the schedule, I was a little nervous. Mostly for the bike test because I'm never quite sure how much I can push on the bike and I was kinda scared to take it to the next level.

My swim test consisted of 10 x 100yds at an all out pace with 10 seconds rest in between each set. After the first set, I seriously wondered how I would be able to do 9 more. Pushing yourself in the pool is a whole different thing, if you ask me. There's no one there to compete with and you have to push yourself while dealing with the burn in your upper body and breathing hard in the water. By the last few sets, I felt like I must look like a spaz but I kept pushing and got it done.

My bike test was an all out 20 minutes on the trainer. It hurt but I finished wondering if I had even more in me. Towards the end of the 20 minutes I started to push even harder and I was left wondering if I could have sustained that pace for the entire 20 minutes. My legs were burning during the test but my short run immediately off the belt felt great! I felt like a million bucks; light on my feet, like I could have run forever, etc. It was a great feeling.

Last up was my run test. I signed up for a 5k at the last second because I thought that would be the best way to ensure I went all out. Prior to the race I warmed up for 25 minutes then lined myself up front row and center. It's crazy how much a few miles can hurt when you're going all out and it's cold. My lungs were killing me! Course was good but there was a long gradual incline that got me just after the first mile. I shortened my stride, pumped my arms and kept my head down. I was 4th female for majority of the race until I overtook the 3rd place female at about mile 2.75. She was a great sport and complemented me on my pace but I couldn't talk at that point for fear of throwing up. (I did congratulate her as soon as she finished, thanked her for the push and apologized for not responding when I passed her). I missed a PR by seconds but ended up winning 3rd female overall.

21:28

25th overall

3rd female

1st in age group



We test again at the beginning of the new year. And as wrong as it is, I'm already looking forward to that challenge to see how far I've come!

Aaaannnnd....GO!

I just completed week one of ten months of training. And it was anything but easy. Even though this is my second IM, I decided to hire a coach again, and I went with someone new this time around. I want to put a really good effort into Lake Placid now that I have the first IM jitters out of me and I thought I could benefit from someone experienced pushing me. Don't get me wrong, I'm more than a little nervous for the LP bike course, but at least I don't feel like such a newbie this time around.  I didn't want to leave the training up to me and find myself a few months before the race freaking out because I didn't do enough. So I'm under the guidance of a coach for the next 10 months and I feel great about who I hired. I'm in good hands and know together we'll reach my goals.

Week one wrapped up with 4750 yds in the pool, 75 miles on the bike, 25.7 miles running and 2 strength sessions. All for a total of just under 10.5 hours. I took the few weeks after my 70.3 very easy so this week was no joke starting out. The workouts were a challenge and not just going through the motions of swim/bike/run.  To top it off, I was fighting a cold all week which made it hard to get out of bed. But knowing I had to enter my workout in every day for my coach to see got me back to my routine and out of bed at 4:40am every day.

As for being back to my routine...this is THE best I have felt since IM Florida training. I have been more relaxed this past week than I have been the entire year. I haven't been stress eating at night, I haven't been anxious, etc.  I have been so calm and it feels great. Yes, it might not be the best that I'm only calm and relaxed when I'm structured but this is how I'm wired. Hopefully I can one day learn to live peacefully in my crazy head without putting myself through Ironman training. Baby steps...

So, journey to #2 has officially started. I'm focused, consumed (of course), and ready to do this.