Lets start with training. Overall training has improved. I am able to work at higher intensities and for longer without feeling the drag and dead leg feeling that I had earlier this season. Which is a big plus. I think a lot of this is due to the things that I did while not training. I started eating better (more fruits and veggies every day), I have been icing after my long and hard workouts, and I have tried to do be more diligent on stretching post workout. It really is the little things that count. Last week I ran 24 miles and while I was tired, I felt so much better during the run than I did a few weeks earlier while running 16 and 17 miles.
So as some of you know a few months ago I posted "Race Schedule=Death" (http://crazytrainrunner.blogspot.com/2012/05/race-schedule-death.html) and am proud to say that I made it through my pre-season races fairly successfully! Or in some cases almost successfully :). The Bike MS which I have already blogged about was a little rough... but we blame most of that on the 100deg weather and dehydration that set in as a result.
Three weeks ago we raced in the Rigby Tri, olympic distance. It was a really small but fun event. Overall I think we'd do it again. Its definetly a practice race though, its not high enough quality to be considered a season best. Josh and I both put in really good efforts. I didn't get the time I really wanted, which I blame mostly on the little time I spend biking. I will have to focus more on biking, and less on running for next years races. I do really well in the swims though. I was the second female out of the water with a total tiem of 27 minutes (including my transition time). Like I said though, while this time is pretty good, I really didn't have a lot of competition.
This last weekend Josh and I competed in the Black Ridge Tri in Herriman. This race was bigger than the Rigby Tri, but it still wasn't huge, some 350 people to compete in the sprint distance event. It was The swim was in Black Ridge Resevoir which is tiny. One lap around the piremeter is only 500 yds. So instead of being a typical 800yd swim the race was only 500. A little short. But that also made it nice for Josh who still hates swimming.
The beginning of the bike was all uphill making this a very challenging course. But that also meant the second half was pretty much downhill the whole way. (yay!) Josh topped speeds of 40+mph going down some of the hills. I wasn't able to get going that fast, I think the most I ever hit was 32mph. The run I was pretty proud of, it was 3.1 miles and my average pace was a 7:47 min/mile! That is great for me! I am not super fast and typically train at a 9min/mile pace so I am thrilled with that time. Josh did even better on his run! He was exactly one minute faster than me for a total time of 23:09 and a min/mile pace of 7:14. I have to say I am so proud of all the work he's done in training this year. It has been such a relief... no if only I could get him to learn to swim better. Sigh... another chore for another year I guess.
Here are some pictures of the Black Ridge Tri Finish Line posing:
August 25th -RUN-A-THON- 35 mile run to raise money for LLS
September 8th- Bear Lake Brawl Half triathlon (=half ironman distance)
October 6th- St George Marathon
October 14th- Nike Women's Marathon (YAY!!!)
I must say I am feeling much better about competing in the half ironmnan! Earlier this summer I was feeling incredibly unprepared. I know I could have done a much much better job training, but considering most of my training time I spend running I can't be to upset with myself. Except of course to push myself to get out on my bike a few more times. Lukily the race course will be almost completely flat (woot!) and so I should survive.
The biggest concern right now is the Run-a-thon where my goal is to run the 35 miles. I am not too nervous about running 35. I know I could do it. The real concern is what will happen after that. Will I be able to bounce back and compete in the Bear Lake Half? Will I end up injured? Its just so hard to tell at this point. I'd love to think that I am super woman and come out on top, but realistically I'm not sure that is even possible.
Not too mention I'm only 1/3 of the way to meeting my race goal of $3,000. Granted, I would gladly settle for only getting to $2,000 by the 25th and then $3,000 by October 14th. But once again I need to be realistic. So I'm considering only doing 26 miles on the 25th. Even though I already agreed to 35. But why willingly kill myself if I didn't even meet my goal right? Right? the other Option is I might postpone the 35 miles until the end of October. This way I'm gauranteed NOT to kill myself... so much to think about.
What do you think I should do?
Thanks for reading! And don't forget to donate!
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