I am pretty happy on how the week went. I am going to break down my week by discipline.
Swimming. My masters coach said I am improving already. Sweet. My extra practices outside of masters class are paying off. My weakness: I am too passive with my stroke and I need to be more aggressive when I pull at the water. I am winded faster with this new adjustment to my stroke so my swim workouts are extremely tiring right now. I feel like a beginner swimmer all over again.
When I walked in to masters class on Thursday, the coach had a workout posted of 3450 meters.
When I walked in to masters class on Thursday, the coach had a workout posted of 3450 meters.
My jaw hit the floor. Would I seriously being doing workouts like this one day? It just seems so surreal.
Thankfully, she adjusted the workout for me and I completed 1900 meters. That workout lasted forever and ever. I also ran into my old masters coach at one one my solo workouts, and he also gave my tips and feedback on my stroke.
Best advice of the week: all I have to do is show up and I will get better.
Best advice of the week: all I have to do is show up and I will get better.
Yeah, I know. Duh. But it has been the mantra to get me out of bed at 4:15am.
Total swim workouts for me: 3.5 hours/4100 Meters
Biking. I have not been to a spin class since September. I have not ridden a bike since August. I have a lot of rebuilding to do. I attended 2 spin classes and they were tough! My legs feel like jello right now. I did not want to go too crazy on the bike since I have a heavy weekend up ahead with Disney's Goofy Challenge. But man, it sure felt good to get back in to class. My legs felt alive and strong again!
Ok so now I have a confession to make. I bought a TT bike last week. 12 days ago to be exact. My local bike store was advertising close out models on 2012 bikes. I had narrowed down my choices to the Cervelo P2 and the Felt B-12. I was originally drawn to the Felt B-16 but that one was sold out. I drove the 45 minutes to the bike store to work with a guy that I highly respect and admire for his passion and knowledge of bikes. I trusted him and knew he would not steer me wrong.
As soon as I got there, he put me on a Cervelo P2. The bike fitter tells me, "hmmm...you have a LOOOONG torso and short legs". (Wow, buddy, that's a way to win a woman over. Yes, you said that out loud.)
Cervelo has limited adjustments on their stock aerobars; therefore, they would not adjust enough to fit me properly on the bike. (The bars only slide so far back toward the seat.)
Cervelo has limited adjustments on their stock aerobars; therefore, they would not adjust enough to fit me properly on the bike. (The bars only slide so far back toward the seat.)
That's no problem. I will just wait until the Felt B-12 shipment arrives. The bike fitter tells me that the aero bars on the Felt have the option to slide the bars forward for comfort.
Then, I am introduced to Argon-18. At first, I was unimpressed. I had never heard or seen that brand before and had no research to fall back on. These bikes are made in Canada and the store is no longer going to carry them. It is on clearance. They put the bike on the trainer and fit it for me. It was a nice bike, but it did not knock my socks off. I was still willing to wait for the next shipment of bikes.
Tom (my trusted bike guru) then tells me that I must go ride it around. (Dude, it is 40 degrees outside, you want me to ride what?) I try and talk him out of it but he insists. I put on a helmet and he proceeds to give me a mini TT skills bike clinic in the back parking lot of the store.
Now the crash course in TT bike skills was simple and short. Figure 8 maneuvers and speed drills. This bike could corner. And she was fast. And she shifted easily. And she was fast. Did I mention fast?
Now, this was only the 2nd time I had ever ridden a TT bike so I am not sure if that is why it felt so good (quite the upgrade from my road bike) or if this was a truly special bike.
But, I am a numbers gal...and my Dad's birthday was on the 18th. It was the last one in the store and it was in my size. The aero bars had even more options for adjustment than the Felt and Tom showed me some details of the aerodynamic properties that were unique only to this bike. I could risk it and wait for the Felt B-12s to come in but once the Argon bike is sold then there would not be another one at that marked down price.
So I decided to take a leap of faith and buy the Argon 18. Holy shiznits. Now the weather just needs to warm up so I can take her for a time trial.
Biking totals for week 1: 2 hours/~40 miles
Running. Ah my first love. I ran Kingwood (Texas) half marathon on January 1st. At the time, I was 11 days out from the Goofy Challenge. Do I go all out and run my hardest to beat my PR or do I run a smart pace and save my legs?
Well, I ended up playing it safe. As much as I would have loved to break my own record, there is a risk involved. I started out wanting to keep up with my friends who were set to finish under 2 hours....but when their pace was under 9 minute miles out the starting chute. I dropped back.
I was not alone for long since my sweet friend joined me on the second loop. Our chatting and laughing made the time fly and it made for a memorable run. I started the year on a happy note, and extremely grateful to be surrounded by beautiful running friends who are so supportive and loving.
Running totals: 3.5 Hours/20.7 miles
Week 1 totals: 9 hours (Target Goal: 6.5 Hours)
Next week I will have a race report for the Goofy Challenge. Week 2 of IMTX training will be a shortened one with a lot of running. Then I will be ready to scale back on the running and get up to speed on the bike (no pun intended).
Then, I am introduced to Argon-18. At first, I was unimpressed. I had never heard or seen that brand before and had no research to fall back on. These bikes are made in Canada and the store is no longer going to carry them. It is on clearance. They put the bike on the trainer and fit it for me. It was a nice bike, but it did not knock my socks off. I was still willing to wait for the next shipment of bikes.
Tom (my trusted bike guru) then tells me that I must go ride it around. (Dude, it is 40 degrees outside, you want me to ride what?) I try and talk him out of it but he insists. I put on a helmet and he proceeds to give me a mini TT skills bike clinic in the back parking lot of the store.
Now the crash course in TT bike skills was simple and short. Figure 8 maneuvers and speed drills. This bike could corner. And she was fast. And she shifted easily. And she was fast. Did I mention fast?
Now, this was only the 2nd time I had ever ridden a TT bike so I am not sure if that is why it felt so good (quite the upgrade from my road bike) or if this was a truly special bike.
But, I am a numbers gal...and my Dad's birthday was on the 18th. It was the last one in the store and it was in my size. The aero bars had even more options for adjustment than the Felt and Tom showed me some details of the aerodynamic properties that were unique only to this bike. I could risk it and wait for the Felt B-12s to come in but once the Argon bike is sold then there would not be another one at that marked down price.
So I decided to take a leap of faith and buy the Argon 18. Holy shiznits. Now the weather just needs to warm up so I can take her for a time trial.
Biking totals for week 1: 2 hours/~40 miles
Running. Ah my first love. I ran Kingwood (Texas) half marathon on January 1st. At the time, I was 11 days out from the Goofy Challenge. Do I go all out and run my hardest to beat my PR or do I run a smart pace and save my legs?
Well, I ended up playing it safe. As much as I would have loved to break my own record, there is a risk involved. I started out wanting to keep up with my friends who were set to finish under 2 hours....but when their pace was under 9 minute miles out the starting chute. I dropped back.
I was not alone for long since my sweet friend joined me on the second loop. Our chatting and laughing made the time fly and it made for a memorable run. I started the year on a happy note, and extremely grateful to be surrounded by beautiful running friends who are so supportive and loving.
Running totals: 3.5 Hours/20.7 miles
Week 1 totals: 9 hours (Target Goal: 6.5 Hours)
Next week I will have a race report for the Goofy Challenge. Week 2 of IMTX training will be a shortened one with a lot of running. Then I will be ready to scale back on the running and get up to speed on the bike (no pun intended).
