Successes and Failures

Week one of Marathon/Half Iron man training is done! I had overall a good week, but it didn't go off without a hitch. Here is a quick summary of week one.

Swim Failures
-The night before the 1K (1000m) time trial with the Nachos, I didn't end up getting to bed until after 1 am and tossed and turned. The time trial is at 6:45 am, so needless to say, I was tired heading over. The time trial takes place in Parry Sound, in the Georgian Bay. Here is a picture of us warming up.



Well anyway, I was a little nervous about the time trial. I have only swam open water twice, once during my sprint tri, and one practice swim earlier in the week in the designated swim area on the beach.

We were swimming about 50 meters or so from the shore line, but the waters are quite deep. As I headed out, the water was very choppy and being foggy I had a hard time seeing the turn around buoy. It didn't help that my brother in law who is a diver, described a sink hole under the salt docks that we were heading out to. Long and short, I sort of panicked out there, I just felt so small in such a large expansive body of water, so I turned around only 100 m off shore. It took most of the swimmers a few more minutes than usual to finish, but I was disappointed with my "cop out", and began to seriously doubt my completion of a half iron man later in the summer. The other NACHOS were great though, and told me this is why I should practice, and gave me tips to help if this panic sets in again in another swim.

Swim Successes
-I completed a 1400m open water swim on Friday (in the beach swim area again) in place of the missed time trial swim. The water was calm, and I relaxed and enjoyed my swim.
-I also had a practice pool swim, where I swam 2K (half iron distance), so I think I can "go the distance" on race day.

Bike Failures
-When biking with the Fly Gurlz on Monday night, a twig sticking up out of the ground took a gouge out of my shin. I'm left with a huge scab at the moment, but I'll spare you the gross picture.

Bike Successes
- I completed my longest ride yet (60K), and it felt great, I averaged 24kph, which I think is a good start for a long ride, and I felt like I could go faster. I also love being out on the bike I need to practice using my aero bars more though.
-I hit 30kph for the second week in a row at the time trials on Thursday, so I am definitely improving on the bike.

Run Failures
-I missed one 8 mile run. I don't really see this as a failure. I had gotten up early Sat. morning to bike my 60K, and felt good after. My mother-in-law has been in the hospital and was finally allowed to come home for the weekend, so I decided to make her a welcome home dinner instead. I grilled salmon, tons of veggies, baked sweet potatoes, and had desert. She was relieved to finally eat some real food since the hospital food is beyond repulsive!
-my 3K time trials on Thursday are still about 30 seconds slower than this time last year. I attribute this to the 8lbs weight gain that seemed to just appear out of nowhere.

Run Successes
-My legs actually felt good for my 13 mile long run the next day. Parry Sound is very hilly, rugged terrain, so it was a lot of climbing and running down inclines, but I loved it. It was my first longer run in over a month, so I just went slow, and really enjoyed the beautiful surroundings. I ran along a waterfront trail for about 3K of the run, and I felt like I was in Paradise.

Nutrition Failures
-I had desert three times this week. I want to make desert a rare treat until this weight comes off, or at least stick to fresh fruit or yogurt for desert. I also had Nachos and beer after the time trial, but I stuck to a smaller portion size.

Nutrition Successes
- I stuck to 6 smaller meals, and tried one of those Green Monster Smoothies Run to the Finish and other bloggers have been making. I thought it was pretty good, and I plan on experimenting some more. I stuck to a basic recipe with flax seed, strawberries, spinach, protein powder and soy milk.
- I lost 2lbs! Good start, and I felt properly fueled and energized for my workouts.

Week one distances
Swim - planned 3K -completed 3.4K
Bike -planned 100K -completed 108K
Run -planned 35 miles -completed 27 miles (ouch!)

Training Plan: Week 2

Monday
am- swim - 2K
pm - off road cycling - Fly Gurlz - 15-20K

Tuesday
am - hot yoga - there is a new studio where I live, offering free classes all week, I must go!
pm - 8 miles w/ 4 miles @ lactic threshold

Wednesday
am- hot yoga
pm - recovery cycle -20K

Thursday
am - 1 K swim time trial
pm -BRICK time trail (16.3K bike, 3K run)

Friday
am - 11 mile run

Saturday
am- cycle - 70K, 3K easy run

Sunday
am -15 mile run

Totals - Week two
Yoga - 3 hours
Swim- 3K
Bike - 126K
Run - 60 K (38 miles)

Hope you all have a great week! Thanks for reading! Don't forget to check out the bake sale at Natalie's blog!