70.3 training - The Good and the Ugly

I'm getting "down and dirty" with this half ironman training. I have to say so far it's very manageable and fun! I have to thank my work schedule of 4 10's, so that on my 3 days off -- I am able to get longer workouts in. #spoiled

I'm several weeks into this training, and here are a few observations. The Good and the Ugly:

The Good

One doesn't really get sick of a sport. You're balancing between running, biking, and swimming. So every day, I kind of get excited about which one I get to do!
Fun bonding time with training partners! Between Saturday-Sunday, we biked 73 miles. (Which is about 5 hours on the bike total). Talk about some serious catching up/bonding!

(here we are on our 34 mi bike/2 mi run Brick Saturday morning!)

Learning new sports. I'm really embracing my love of the water. This masters swim team is going to be hard for me to quit when I'm done training! Mondays & Fridays we do speed work and Wednesday's are about long distance! It's teaching me so much.
Lots of beautiful sunrises are enjoyed in this training.
These workouts are building some serious legs!
My joints are happy! I used to take 1 day of low impact/week. Now I only run 3-4 days/week. So I get 3-4 days of low impact swimming/biking. And, of course, a rest day.

The Ugly

My feet are scary. This Monday as I walked into the door to work, and looked down - I actually shrieked. And realized I shouldn't wear open-toed shoes for a while. Calluses, black toenail, missing toe nail.....eek!!!
My derrière is bruised. 3 hours on a bike seat = ouch. I don't like wearing those padded shorts either, but Sunday I put aside my insecurities and put them on. (I think they make me look like I'm wearing a diaper. I'd rather have a sore butt, than look like I'm incontinent. I know this is vain)
I'm so hungry that it's silly. Some mornings after my workout, I can't stop eating. I found the true meaning of br-unch. (meaning breakfast, snack, snack, lunch).
You can have pretty hair. You can be a triathlete. But you cannot be both. Chlorine. Helmet hair. Sun. *Crunch*
It is really hard to fit in weight training. But I try to fit it in twice weekly! It's not easy...

I have to say the good outweighs the ugly! I'm having so much fun with my training!

Here is last weeks training schedule: (last week was a good training week. I had a random Wednesday off, so got a bonus day in there!)

Monday: 5am: Masters Swim practice (1 hour of sprint drills). 6pm: chest & back wt training (30 min)

Tuesday: Run 7.5 miles

Wednesday: Swim/Bike brick -- Swim 1.5 miles, Bike 25 miles

Thursday: Run 8 miles

Friday: Rest Day

Saturday: Bike/run brick (34 miles bike/2 miles run)

Sunday: Bike 39.5 miles, arms wt training (30 minutes)

Currently - May edition

I haven't blogged much - but the last time I did one of these, Maddy was 9 months old. It's really fun looking back on the things that were "stressors" to me at that time. Prior to that - my currently post was a pregnancy edition. So here goes May 2022. Maddy is almost a 15-month old and summer has set ablaze here in Tucson. Reading : I really wish I had a better answer for this one, but I have not been the best about reading lately. The only book I'm reading is "How to talk to your kids so they'll listen and listen so they'll talk". It is really good. Most of the book is geared more to school-aged kids, in my opinion. But it highlights some great communication skills with children to help them trust you as a parent to be open and honest. Eating: All the smoothies. It has been getting really hot here - and every day when we get home from our stroller run I make a smoothie for Maddy with whole milk, Fage, and fruit - and then a smoothie for...

30 Blogs: Something I'm Afraid of

This isn't a very difficult post for me to write about. I am such a "scaredy cat" about so many things. I could quite possibly turn this into a book. I was also the kid that wouldn't go on the monkey bars at school, out of fear that my arms may be ripped out of their sockets. I was the kid who got to the end of the diving board, and then shriveled into a ball at the end shaking in tears. I got to the top-climax spot on a roller coaster, and start saying "Oh my God, get me off this thing. I don't want to do it anymore! Get me off this thing!!" Then I went college, and majored in nursing. I leanred all the horrible ways one can reach multi-system organ failure. If I have too much coffee, and feel maybe the slightest heart palpitation - I am listening to my heart sounds with my stethoscope......... So here's my list of irrational some fears. ;) (some of these may be comical & pathetic to you):\ Heights Vomit (I've gotten better about th...

Let's try this again...

Last year we purchased soil, mulch, and all these plants that grow great in well-watered, rich-soiled areas. Then we went away for a weekend, and everything dried up like a prune. I was a bit disappointmented, as gardening is a hobby & passion of mine. In fact, I became quite frustrated with our hot climate. But we did some research on desert plants, and I found a new love! Desert plants are quite fascinating, actually. Their tough outer skin & small leaves result in maximum absorbtion of our spare water -- allowing them to thrive on little. They are also extremely regenerative. You can cut a branch or an arm off a cactus, and plant it in the ground somewhere else to create a new plant. So we found a very local cactus nursery last weekend, and got to work! Here are a few of the gems we planted. (These are pictures I've found offline, as I haven't taken proper pictures of our front yard yet due to the immaturity of our plants at this point) The Desert Barrel ...

Unknown said…

I won't even move my bike across the garage without wearing bike pads. :)

Before I swim, I put Aveda "Dry Remedy" hair conditioner in my hair and then put on my swim cap. This was the recommendation of my hair person who could tell I had been swimming because my hair was coated from chlorine. She is done several tris and marathons. I use Aveda "Sun Care" shampoo then also. Use it in Florida, too. Makes a difference.

Wow! That is some training schedule!!!

July 22, 2014 at 2:49 PM

Lisa's Yarns said…

I would definitely be opting for the padded shorts as my tush could not handle that long in a bike!! That is great that you have friends to do these bike rides with, though. I am sure that makes the time pass by way faster!

I have to admit that I am a bit envious of your 4-10's schedule. I know that will never be possible in my industry because we are so tied to a market-driven schedule! I am glad you have a schedule that makes it doable to do all the training you are doing for this HIM though!!

July 22, 2014 at 3:52 PM

Marlys said…

I can only imagine that the days you work 10 hours plus train that much must leave you totally exhausted and sleep must not be an issue!

Barb's suggestion for hair care sounds great! I know that chlorine is really hard on the hair, so hope you give her suggestion a try!

I totally understand why you are hungry!

July 23, 2014 at 6:27 AM

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