So I'm on week 6 (I think) of half-ironman training. The last time I wrote, training had just began and I was PUMPED. Guess what...still super excited over here ;) with a heavy dash of tiredness lol. My coach is super run focused (which I love) so my training doesn't look much different than when I was training for a half marathon except for the long bikes on the weekend and the addition of bricks. There have been really good days and there have been days when I'm just done.
A few weeks ago we did 7 miles and ran down to the dam and back. While it was super hot and I was still having a lot of trouble adjusting to the heat (and possibly dealing with a super wacky hormone fluctuation) the views were absolutely gorgeous and I was so grateful that we pushed through it.
And this one was from one of the hardest workouts I've completed to date. Gah, it was so bad. We rode the loop (35 miles) and dealt with 20-30mph gusts THE ENTIRE TIME. I was thisclose to shedding tears multiple times on that route. At one point we were headed up the biggest hill on the route and going a whole FOUR miles per hour and man was it defeating. The plus side to this is that from here on out any bike ride I do is going to feel significantly easier lol. Perspective, its a useful tool!
This run was serious proof that running in the heat is so much harder than running in cooler temps. We had a monsoon roll through the night before my long run (8 miles I think) so my starting temp was 73!! Oh, what a difference it made! I still wasn't super fast but I was much faster than I had been simply because my body wasn't working SO hard to just stay cool. So worth being completely drenched in sweat from the humidity.
I am incredibly grateful that my coach and I are on the same page when it comes to lifting. I'm currently still incorporating it in twice a week and while those double workout days are rough they are well worth the gains you make in speed and strength. Having strong legs makes swimming, running and biking so much easier! This is when I hit the goal I made this year to be able to squat my body weight. Ha, granted I now weigh 5lb more than when I made that goal because #gainz (HA) so I need to adjust it but it was still so exciting to know that my body can handle that much weight!
Last one! This was from my first brick this weekend (20 mile bike + 5 mile run) and it was SUCH a rewarding workout. So much of training just feels like putting in the time and effort and feeling tired and hoping that it's all working. It was a lot of fun to push myself a bit harder on the bike and to really try and push it on the run even though I knew I was going to be fatigued. It ended up going SO well! I was a mph faster on my bike than I normally am and although my run time could have been faster I put in a really good effort and felt I could have gone longer (which is good!).
Overall, I'm still excited, still mostly happy that I chose to do this and trying to maintain as much perspective on it. I still have a long way to go. My schedule is done through my race and it is so overwhelming to look ahead and see that I will have a 60 mile ride or a 13 mile run (on my birthday no less ;) but it is also so exciting to see my body change and adapt to what I'm putting it through. Its easy to see why people get hooked on this stuff ;)
Up for this weekend: 10 mile run on Saturday and 40 mile ride on Sunday. Wish me luck!
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