Recently, my coach, Sean Snow, wrote about raising the bar and took on the world of mountain bike racing. Although I am not going to take on any more new challenges right now, I decided I could certainly push harder in my own training. This week I really stepped it up--particularly on the weekend. The whole week was challenging, especially since I started at my new job! I do think the new job will give me a lot more free time where I can just enjoy being human again :)
Melissa helped me take my training to a new level on Saturday with the EXTREMELY challenging bike course that she mapped out and we actually managed to complete. We started the ride in Meredith, NH and ended up going through 6 towns for a total of 60 miles! Most of the ride was filled with challenging hills. In fact, after the first 15 miles, I thought maybe we were being too ambitious in our bike course. However, we persevered and miles 38-50 were quite a bit better. But the last 10 miles contained some painful hills that were more painful after already biking 50 miles :) When we did finally reach the summit of the Meredith climbs, my right foot got a painful "hot spot"--this was very unpleasant, but I pushed through until the end. This was my longest and most challenging ride so far, but I am sure there are more to come!
After our crazy bike ride on Saturday, I was not sure how I'd get through an 11 mile run on Sunday. I also happened to be in Holderness, NH which has no flat areas--this meant more hills!!! I dragged myself out of bed on Sunday, popped on the tunes, and headed out for a 2 1/2 hour grueling hill run. After I completed that, I rested in the sun for a bit, had some lunch, and then did a 30 minute open water swim in Squam with Mark as my personal kayak escort. Unlike many of my recent stressful swims, I felt totally at ease and was able to breathe normally throughout the swim. So, if I could have Mark kayak next to me during my triathlons, I'd be all set! I hope I can bring these feelings of calm with me to the Timberman Sprint on Saturday.
Next week is taper in preparation for Timberman. I am so excited to REST a bit this week!
Week 22 Summary:
Monday- 60 minute swim
Tuesday- Rest
Wednesday- Track workout / 30 minute swim
Thursday- 18.5 mile bike ride / 20 min jog/walk
Friday- 5 mile run
Saturday- 60 mile bike ride!!!
Sunday- 11 mile hill run / 30 minute open water!
No comments:
Post a Comment