#roadtoironman

[run-swim-live-blog]

Took the plunge, I'm officially signed up! Ironman Chattanooga is in 28 weeks and I'm in full training mode. Today was a good bike day; 1:30 on the trainer for a virtual ride in London. Got 30 miles in with good power held through the entire ride. Apparently I earned 5th place of all time for women for a particular segment, the London Classique which is a 9.2 mile haul. I've also seen a 2 second decrease in one of the sprint distances over the last 3 weeks so I know I'm making improvements. Tomorrow is my favorite day of the training week: master's swim. I really enjoy the camaraderie from the group and the advice from my coach. My goal time for IMCHOO is to finish under 13 hours. I think this goal is going to be doable. Under 12.5 would be ideal but right now, I need to keep in a good frame of mind and put myself to the constant test

[run-swim-live-blog]

2700 meters for a successful Masters swim I love being able to go back and forth between morning and evening sessions because there are 2 coaches who have 2 different emphases; one is a triathlete and one is a long (like miles upon miles) distance swimmer. This means that I can get some good feedback on form and technique and new drills. Long distance coach likes to name drills after participants so I'm sure I've got one coming. Today was an 1:10 on the bike. Love the light frame and the seat was easy to break in as well. Can't wait to take it off the trainer and get on the road!

[run-swim-live-blog]

It's finally the end of the training week! I am exhausted! I have one long-ish run today, 7 miles, and I'll have finished a pretty decent week. I took yesterday as a rest day and finished some homework, watched some basketball, and had a date night with the boy-love. I'm ready for today though! Recap of the last couple days: Thursday was another master swim night. Seriously loving it more and more each week. Coach said "Jen, you are a very technically capable swimmer". High praise which I'll take; I swam competitively way back in the day in junior high, but that was nearly 13 years ago. I was never any good at sports...until now. Btw: 20 x 25 sprints after longer swims (I do my own set before class)? Yeah. Beat. But I finally got my 25meter sprint down to 18 seconds! Friday: you ever bike with lead legs? Because that's low I felt Friday. I had a scheduled 1 hour session on the trainer, mostly flat with some varying baby hills for a challenge. Those first 10 minutes were killer until my legs finally woke up and realized it was time to do work. Did some sprints as well and ended up with some decent times. Zwift does live results with the sprints so I managed a respectable 5th for women and 34th for both groups. Oh? And biggest happy dance? I have some super cute Zara jeans that I wear for nights out. Had to get them when I was outta state since we don't have Zara in Nebraska. Normally there has to be a bit of gymnastics to get in to them. Last night? Nah, fit just perfect. Progress!

[run-swim-live-blog]

I hurt. I've pushed myself hard and I'm reaping the benefits but I'm hurting now. Finished this week with a promised 7 miler. Maintained a good pace for the first 4 miles and the remaining 3, I pushed myself to cut a bit of time off. Fastest split was 8:13 which was impressive for me; I was starting to bonk at mile 3 from not fueling right today (best. brunch. ever). From last week's 7 miler to this week's, I've cut off 2 minutes and dropped my pace per mile from 8:45 to 8:30. I'm definitely seeing some fantastic improvements as the weeks go by and I'm feeling confident that my 12hour 30 minute goal at Ironman Chattanooga will be achievable. For now: a fizzy bath bomb, dinner, and relaxing for the next training week. Night friends!

[run-swim-live-blog]

Update

Not many posts from last week. I was a bit of a dummy and sprained my ankle jumping at a trampoline park. So just swimming last week and an easy 3 mile run at the end of the week. No more swelling or tightness so I'll be able to run more this week and pick the activities up again but lesson learned. I'm not as young as I used to be. Upside: we tested our 500meter free for functional threshold. Got my time down to 8:57 so that was something I was able to be pleased about. Next test goal time will be 8:30.

[run-swim-live-blog]

Ran 7 amazing miles on Sunday. The weather was absolutely gorgeous: sunny and 70 with a nice breeze that was perfect for a tailwind. The last few days have been a heat wave for the Midwest. Seriously, 70 in February in the Great Plains. I won't complain though cuz that mean I could get a good run in and not be cold. I started off with a bit of a fast pace but shook the excitability out by mile 3 and settled into a good pace. I'd like to see that pace drop another 15 seconds or so in the next few weeks and hopefully a full 30 by the beginning of summer. My half marathon pace is at 8:50/mile so I'm on target but if I could drop some more time off, I would feel a bit happier. I have a wicked blister in my foot but I'll wrap it up before the next run. Took today as an unintentional rest day but I had homework starting to stack up. Plus it was a bit cooler and rainy so it was the perfect opportunity for a midday nap with the dog. I guess now I'm on pace with my training plan. I hate having Monday's as rest days because it's that much harder to get motivated again sometimes. One week closer to Chattanooga though!

[run-swim-live-blog]

Part 2 of today. Do you see mile 3? Because I cheered and fist pumped the air once I hit the 3 mile mark. 7:26 is the fastest mile I’ve ever run. Period. But at the end of a run as well? Well damn. All in all this is the fast 3 miler I’ve ever run and this was after cycling for an hour and a half.

I’m incredibly pleased to see this. I’ve been running hills almost strictly since October since that’s what my neighborhood consists of. But Nebraska shifty weather meant it was 60 today and I could go to my fav running spot. Mostly flat, scenic, and fast. Very fast today.

Yeah, hills suck. But do them. Seriously.

[run-swim-live-blog]

Master swim is slowly becoming my favorite days of the week. I hated lap swimming for such a long time and now being with this group, especially the evening team, is something I look forward too. Got there a bit early today to warm up and get a head start. Coach brought tennis balls to grip (think closed fist drill) to find any stroke deficiencies since I had been with the morning group last week (screwy work schedule). Other than the occasional "S" in my stroke when I'm bilateral breathing, he's deemed me a technically sound swimmer. I like that! A total of 2850 yards swam today after doing some extra laps after we finished the set. Also biked today for an hour on the Zwift volcano route. Managed to get a pace of 19.3 mph and get some PRs on the course. Another bonus? Scheels had some bike jerseys on clearance so I grabbed a super cute Primal and Pearl Izumi to break in once I take the bike outside. Plus, snagged a couple pairs of running socks and a pair of pink (I love pink!) running shorts. Will totes wear those tomorrow. Andddddd to keep myself on track nutrition and training wise, I have a super cute Moleskin planner so I can now training for the year. Getting myself even more on track!