Ended the week with -
39.3 miles ran
160 miles biked (although I missed tues night 31M ride)
3700 meters swam
Coach's plan has me going strong another 2 weeks here and then it will be 2 weeks of tapering which should work well for me.
Saturday, a few of us met up to ride 90 miles out of Lifetime Fitness. I had planned a rolling course with some decent climbs which would total just shy of 5000 ft of climbing. The morning temps were in the mid-60's and it was a gorgeous sunny morning ride. Despite starting out on some less-than-fresh legs due to all the running throughout the week, I felt pretty good the whole way. We did have a couple detours and near the end, I spun up the hills pretty easy as I was already thinking that I better save something as Sunday's effort would again require some leg strength.
The route took us out country roads and into my neck of the woods, out past Hiram College, up Durthicks Hill in Mantua and then up north into N Chagrin area before heading back. There had only been 3 of us that stuck together for the most part. I thought it was a pretty solid ride in terms of workload upfront and all the climbing. I figure my 100 miler next week will be easier than that as it is a flatter course and likely the workload will be shared more.
Sunday the plan was a 49 mile bike/ 8 mile run and the forecast was rain / thunderstorms. I had pretty much accepted the fact that I was doing the workout regardless of the weather. If it got too bad, I would stop for it to pass but this was the only day I had to get it in for the week. I was happy that I had spoke with JC and he was down with that plan too. One thing is for sure...this year I sure seem to have gotten in my share of rainy rides!!! While obviously that is not my preference, I must say I feel pretty comfortable with riding in wet conditions!
I woke up early Sunday and slowly walked my sore legs down the stairs. This day was going to be rough I figured and I was hoping I did not slow people down too much as my legs were tired!
I drove through some spotty rain systems to get to the start and as we grabbed our bikes out of the vehicles, the rain subsided and somehow I ended up getting in pretty much the entire workout with no rain :-) ! That is not to say the roads were dry but rooster tails were out a lot of the ride and the bike is definitely in need of a bath tonight!
For the ride, 4 of us rode through Cuyahoga Valley National Park, through the high water on Sand Run and up some good climbs like Boston Mills Road westbound from Riverview to 21. My legs were DYING and as I climbed up Boston Mills, the boys all pulled ahead and I just settled into a pace I thought I could handle. A few times I caught myself with my tongue out just gasping for air doing my best Thomas Voeckler impression. All I could think was that my run was going to be ROUGH!
I had gotten a rear flat early in the ride which I managed to get fixed without too much issue and other than that, the ride was fine. I definitely felt like the weakest link on Sunday with the 3 strong guys but at the end of the day, I was soooo thankful I was riding with them as I know I would not have pushed so hard alone. I really enjoyed the route and the company a lot! We finished with 49 miles and 3000 ft of climbing as we coasted into the downhill finish.
As we pulled back into the parking lot, I was happy to hear BH was going to run with me. My plan was 8 miles at 7:32. Only, my legs were tapped out and it was starting to feel rather humid. So instead I decided to just go with what I could and was pleading with myself to just get 8 miles in. BH and I fell into a decent pace on the towpath. We kept leap-frogging with some kids on bicycles, who I think were trying to annoy us and almost tripped up BH. As we ran past Red-Lock continuing south and I started to die a little inside as I had to go to the bathroom, pretty bad! So as we passed the 4 miles where I would have turned around, we kept on as I needed to make it to Boston Store to hit the bathroom. After some relief, we started back up on the return trip north, chatting away or rather BH doing most of the chatting as I think the humidity was flaring my asthma and my breathing had became a bit labored and my HR was high. As my garmin beeped 8 miles, we took a little walk break. We had managed a 7:43 avg which was not the 7:32 but given how tired I felt, I was just happy to be that close and even happier that I got in the 8 miles. TG for BH or I am not sure I could have pushed myself! Then we jogged in the last mile easy to finish with 9 miles just as it started to sprinkle.
About the time I got to my car, the rain started to come down and all I could think was, boy did we time that right! I was a dirty tired mess! I cruised over to Bike Authority afterwards to pick up a couple things and I really just had no energy to even deal with standing. I am sure I looked pathetic. Sometimes after hard efforts I just feel like I need an hour and some food before I am fully functioning and yesterday was one of those days! Oh and it was just POURING and I was getting soaked as I kept having to get in a out of my car for a few errands....picture tired pathetic wet Daisy!
I was pretty much EXHAUSTED the rest of Sunday. I ate a bunch and we went to watch The Rise of the Planet of the Apes which I highly recommend! Overall, I was pretty pleased that I hit the weekend workouts and know that I put a solid effort in. It was a pretty hard weekend for me but "hard" weekends make me feel much better prepared for what lies ahead. Two more hard weekends left!
1 comment:
Great job. I have just learned, this past week, what "tired legs" are. Shocked my legs were never this crappy doing marathon training, but it is truly a great feeling to keep hitting these workouts! So keep at it even if you aren't hitting the goal times. Keep your goals and keep shooting for them!
Keep up the good work! Can't wait for 9/11. I get excited every time I think of it haha.
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