Last weekend was great for training! I hit a milestone I wasn’t expecting to happen this early in my Ironman 70.3, and overall had a solid weekend of training. I hit the week running, but I have to admit it was a little disappointing overall. I’m not disheartened by it, but I’m thankful that this has happened now and not later, when I might have a more difficult time recovering.
I had a fantastic swim on Saturday. I was planning on trying to do 30 laps, because I swam 25 laps for the previous two swims, and I wanted to get out of my comfort zone a little more before I was acclimated to that distance. I took it easy and ended up swimming 42 laps for a total of 1.2 miles! That’s the full distance of the 70.3 swim, and I was super excited about hitting that mark so early in my training!
I felt so good after the swim that I went home and rode my bike for 75 minutes indoors on the trainer, since it was pouring rain outside. Sunday was another solid training day with a 6.25 mile run. I felt decent doing it but I’m not going to lie, I was happy to be done running when I finished my second lap. I expected to be stiff and sore the rest of the day, but I was diligent with my stretching all weekend and felt great.
I wish I could say that this week went just as good, but it didn’t. Monday ended up being a recovery day, and Tuesday was my first night on the road with my bike in over two weeks. Even though I’ve been on the stationary bike and my indoor trainer, it’s just not the same thing as being on the road. My body has quickly forgotten how well it was doing, and now for the second time since the riding season’s started I now have to build myself back up.
I can’t tell you how disappointing it is to know how far I’ve fallen behind on the bike, but at the same time I’m using the opportunity to document and remember. I’m counting on the bike being my best leg of the 70.3 and the one part I don’t have to worry much about, and that’s only going to happen if I keep riding.
The last week has had its ups and downs, but it hasn’t been terrible overall, just tiring. I realize that my body needs more fuel to keep going, and more sleep in order to recover. I still don’t have an official training program, but I’m getting closer. I’m figuring out what I need to do and what I’m capable of doing (physically and timely) and what my body will need during this training period. I sat down last night and calculated some calorie estimates, and my mind is starting to piece together what some particular days could be like.
It’s been a big step forward and a couple steps back, but I’m happy to say I’m slowly progressing towards my goal. I’d like to eventually get some articles up about a few things I’ve been thinking about, but work and training are taking up a lot of my time right now. Make sure you check back soon to see how my training progresses and what else is going on with Carrie’s Fit Life!
0 Responses to “One Leap Forward and One Step Back”