IMCdA Training Summary: January 20 – 26

It’s the end of January and my first Ironman is merely five months away. I’m finally starting to get some mojo back after the cold from hell and the intensity of my training is gradually building.

Tuesday morning, my coach had us do a 5k time trial at the track. I’m by far the slowest person in our group even when I’m at full strength so I was getting lapped constantly. I finished in 27:19 (8:47/mile pace) which is pretty slow for me, but I was just happy to run without coughing my brains out.

On Saturday, I climbed Mt. Hamilton for the second time ever. It also happened to be my birthday, so I brought a couple donuts from Psycho Donuts for us to enjoy at the summit. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Mt. Hamilton, feast your eyes on the elevation profile below. The climb isn’t terribly steep, but it’s a long haul to the top. There are a couple little descents along the way to provide some respite from the grind. For me, the hardest part is coping with the pain in my ass (literally) that comes with a long climb.

Victory Donuts

Upon reaching the summit, we spent a few minutes chowing down on donuts, enjoying the view, and crapping our bibs in anticipation of the descent. We successfully avoided colliding with motorcycles and wiping out on the gravel-laced hairpin turns. I saw a coyote on the way down and decided against stopping to take a photo. There were a couple near-misses with car doors coming back through San Jose, but we finished the ride fully intact.

After the ride, my boyfriend treated me to a delicious dinner in San Francisco at my favorite restaurant, Millennium. It was the perfect end to a great birthday!

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Monday
Swim: 2,000 yards
Strength training: 60 minutes

Tuesday
Run: 5k time trial at the track

Wednesday
Swim: 2,000 yards
Bike: 40 minutes on the trainer

Thursday
Strength training: 90 minutes

Friday
Swim: 1,600 yards

Saturday
Bike: Mt. Hamilton Ride (50 miles)

Sunday
Bike: 30 miles

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IMCdA Training Summary: January 13-19

I was out of commission for the better part of a month but I’m finally back in Ironman training mode. This week, I started transitioning to a geriatric bedtime of 9pm to ensure I get enough sleep before my early morning swim and track sessions. At first, I would be in bed for a couple hours before finally falling asleep but my body finally adjusted after a few nights.

I recently purchased Feed Zone Portables which is full of recipes for real food (I’m done with gels and chews!) to eat while training and racing. To my delight, many recipes in the book are already vegan or can be easily modified. My experiment this week was to veganize the recipe for Liege waffles. I substituted almond milk, Earth Balance, and Ener-G egg replacer in place of milk, butter, and eggs, respectively. To make the waffles extra decadent, I topped them with a dollop of freshly whipped coconut cream. They were delicious!

Now I’ll never reach reach weight!

Funny Story of the Week:
I hit a nasty pothole during my ride on Saturday and ejected a bottle from one of my rear cages. As I was waddling over to pick it up, I saw a truck drive right over it, causing a mini explosion of water on the road. When I retrieved the bottle, I was amazed to see that bottle was perfectly intact. The cap is another story…

I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck…

Sad Story of the Week:

The aforementioned Saturday ride took us by the Uvas reservoir in Morgan Hill, one of the main triathlon venues in the Bay Area. The effects of the California drought are evident in this picture.

What drought?

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Monday
Swim: 1,800 yards
Strength training: 90 minutes

Tuesday
Run: 6 miles at the track with 4×1 mile repeats

Wednesday
Swim: 2,800 yards
Bike: 1 hour on the trainer

Thursday
Strength training: 90 minutes

Friday
Swim: 1,800 yards

Saturday
Bike: 30 miles
Run: 10 minutes off the bike

Sunday
Bike: 90 minutes on the trainer
Run: 10 minutes off the bike

Call Off The Search Party, I’m Still Alive!

Sorry for leaving you hanging over the last month, my friends. I didn’t plan on taking a break from blogging but unfortunately, I was dealing with a vicious cold and didn’t think you would be very interested in a series of “I feel like shit” posts every week. Now that I’m on the mend, I’ll recap the past four weeks of my life in one large “I felt like shit” summary so we can get back to smelling the roses and other pleasantries.

December 16 – December 22
The BF and I went back to Michigan for the week. My coach told me not to worry about training too much and just do whatever I could squeeze in. I planned to do easy runs on the days with nicer weather and swim at the high school on the crappier days. Unfortunately, the weather was terrible the whole time I was there so the high school was closed and the roads were pretty sketchy for running. In the end, I logged one slow and slippery 4-miler and went to two yoga classes with my BF’s mom.

December 23 – December 29
Miserably sick. I spent the whole week in bed binge-watching all seasons Parks and Rec in between naps.

December 30 – January 5
The chills, headache, and sore throat cleared up but I was still coughing nonstop. I had a major case of cabin fever from the previous week so I made the foolish decision to start working out again. It turns out that swimming with congested lungs and a hacking cough is really difficult, who knew?

On New Years Day, I joined a huge group of triathletes for an eight-mile trek at Rancho San Antonio. Most people ran but my friend and I opted for a brisk hike while decked out in festive accessories.

Happy New Year!

While most of the country was buried in snow, I took advantage of the California sunshine and did an easy 40 mile ride on Saturday. I was literally coughing the entire ride and was totally covered in my own snot by the end, but it felt great to be out of the house.

It’s time to ride

January 6 – January 12
I attempted to get back on my regular training schedule even though my cough had barely improved. During my Tuesday track workout, my splits were very slow and after a few intervals, my lungs revolted with painful fits of coughing. My coach cut me off and told me stop training until my cough cleared up. I burned a few sick days at work and spent the rest of the week in bed. After a couple days of rest, the cough was gone and I felt great.

Do you train when you’re sick or rest until you’re healthy?