Hello! Happy Monday! It's mid-June, ya'll. We are less than 6 weeks out from Ironman Lake Placid. Holy moly cow.
Week 30 was a big volume week for me in terms of time and intensity. I had a bunch of two-a-days, long swims, a long run, and a long ride. 15 hours of my week went toward Ironman training (and I even had a rest day in there!). Huge.
I had more run ins with animals this week ... but they were better than the snake in the lake from week 29. Specifically, chickens and fawns. More on that below, but suffice it to say, chickens and fawns are far preferable to snakes.
Over the weekend, I went up with Amy and Bill and their family to Bill's family's lake house in Lake Wallenpaupack, PA. Besides being a beautiful place in general, it is the *perfect* place to train for Lake Placid: a gorgeous, clean and clear lake in which to swim and tons of open and hilly roads on which to ride. And that's exactly what we did.
Now for the nitty gritty:
Week 30: 15:13:13 hours
Week 30 was a big volume week for me in terms of time and intensity. I had a bunch of two-a-days, long swims, a long run, and a long ride. 15 hours of my week went toward Ironman training (and I even had a rest day in there!). Huge.
I had more run ins with animals this week ... but they were better than the snake in the lake from week 29. Specifically, chickens and fawns. More on that below, but suffice it to say, chickens and fawns are far preferable to snakes.
Over the weekend, I went up with Amy and Bill and their family to Bill's family's lake house in Lake Wallenpaupack, PA. Besides being a beautiful place in general, it is the *perfect* place to train for Lake Placid: a gorgeous, clean and clear lake in which to swim and tons of open and hilly roads on which to ride. And that's exactly what we did.
 |
| most photos courtesy of Amy & Bill |
Now for the nitty gritty:
Week 30: 15:13:13 hours
Swam: 2:37:25 hours (6,780 yards)
Biked: 7:59:24 hours (84.1 outside; rest on trainer)
Ran: 4:33:04 hours (29.1 miles)
Workouts:
Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: Easy Brick & Long Swim
Wednesday: Long Run
Thursday: Easy Recovery Swim
Friday: Bike & Shake Out Run
Saturday: Long Ride (84 miles)
Sunday: Open Water Swim & Run
Monday - rest day. I really needed it after my 98 mile ride the day before.
Tuesday was a pretty intense morning: I had an easy brick (50 minutes bike, 30 minute run) and then a long swim all scheduled for one day. I did the workouts back to back. I woke up at 4, was on the bike by 4:30 and did my brick. Then when I finished the brick, I changed into my bathing suit and headed to the 50 meter pool at the YMCA. I was about 2/3 done my workout when Bill happened to join my lane. I love that 50 meter pool, especially for long swims. It's outside and there is so much less turning.
Wednesday I had a long run: 17.5 miles. I did this one solo because Amy and I couldn't coordinate our schedules. The run was 2 miles of 4 minutes run/1 minute walkrepeat) and then 15.5 miles of 9 minutes run/1 minute walk (repeat). It was a good run - humid out, but misty, which helped cut the humidity.
My favorite part of this ride was seeing two little baby fawns in the grass around mile 1 and again on mile 4 when I looped back around. They were quietly laying in the grass together and I might have freaked out because of their cuteness. I was able to restrain myself the first time, but when I saw them again, I completely lost it and yelled how cute they were. They went from this ...
To this: (I totally made them freak out)
Thursday was an easy recovery swim. It's funny that 2000 yards now seems "easy." Nothing much to say about this workout. I just did 5 sets of 400 yards.
Friday was supposed to be a brick with 70 minute bike and then 3 mile run, but my schedule was such that I needed to do a bike and shake out run. Coach was cool with that, which made me happy. This workout was not really noteworthy either.
Friday afternoon, we left for the Lake. On the way there, we noticed a big truck filled with ... chickens. Live chickens. Amy and I decided, because we had to come up with something that we could both live with, that they were hens and were being transported to a wonderful farm to lay eggs. I hope. It was a very surreal sight - especially the feathers that were flying all over the turnpike.
Saturday we had our long ride, which was to be 85 miles. Bill is the master of thehouse rides and he tweaked the ride we did back on Memorial Day weekend so that we would do the return climb home on a road with a much wider shoulder. He done good: this ride was really great. It went from his house on the lake to Port Jervis, New York (via Hawk's Nest again!), through a tiny sliver of New Jersey and back over the bridge to Pennsylvania. The first half of the ride has mostly flats with a bunch of descents. The flats are easy and fun and pretty -- and you know when you're doing it that you will pay dearly for them on the back end!
We stopped at the Zane Grey museum, which is just before we crossed the bridge to New York. Do you know who Zane Grey was? I didn't. But we stopped for a photo op at his museum.
And here Amy and I are on the other side. New York!
We rode the same route again and got to ride up to Hawk's Nest, which is right outside of Port Jervis, New York (and the mid-way point of our ride). Hawk's Nest is just so beautiful and so much fun.
We stopped at a mini-mart in Port Jervis to grab some Gatorade and check in. Bill spotted this sign. $.99 beers. So tempting. So not gonna happen with 40 miles to go.
About 5 miles past this point, some dogs chased after Amy and me (dogs ... why does it have to be dogs??), but they were friendly and not aggressive and their owner came running after them. After the dogs, we headed back to the lake, and it's essentially a 10-15 mile climb, no matter how you slice it. This time, we took Route 6 through Milford, Pennsylvania. The climbs were tough - really really tough. Tougher than Placid I think. But the road was great with a wide shoulder, which was key. We got back to the house where I promptly fell on the road (right in front of the house) because I was distracted and didn't unclip. I am rocking a little road rash (but I am ok).
Sunday I had a 45 minute open water swim, and I did it in the lake. Amy swam too and Bill accompanied us in a kayak. The water was really rough, but we got it done. I felt like I was chopping the waves for a good chunk of the swim. I also had a 50 minute run, which I did when I got home. It was hot, and I was tired from the cumulative effect of the weekend and the week, but I reminded myself that I will feel more fatigue on race day. So I pushed and managed a 8:50 pace for that run. Happy.
This week should be pretty great: it's training camp up at Lake Placid. My coach runs a camp and we are headed up there for four full days of training. It will be hard work, but I'm also happy that it is focused solely on training, vs. trying to fit the same training in and around my normal life and responsibilities. Stay tuned for a post on that!
See you swoon,
Monday: Rest day
Tuesday: Easy Brick & Long Swim
Wednesday: Long Run
Thursday: Easy Recovery Swim
Friday: Bike & Shake Out Run
Saturday: Long Ride (84 miles)
Sunday: Open Water Swim & Run
Monday - rest day. I really needed it after my 98 mile ride the day before.
Tuesday was a pretty intense morning: I had an easy brick (50 minutes bike, 30 minute run) and then a long swim all scheduled for one day. I did the workouts back to back. I woke up at 4, was on the bike by 4:30 and did my brick. Then when I finished the brick, I changed into my bathing suit and headed to the 50 meter pool at the YMCA. I was about 2/3 done my workout when Bill happened to join my lane. I love that 50 meter pool, especially for long swims. It's outside and there is so much less turning.
Wednesday I had a long run: 17.5 miles. I did this one solo because Amy and I couldn't coordinate our schedules. The run was 2 miles of 4 minutes run/1 minute walkrepeat) and then 15.5 miles of 9 minutes run/1 minute walk (repeat). It was a good run - humid out, but misty, which helped cut the humidity.
My favorite part of this ride was seeing two little baby fawns in the grass around mile 1 and again on mile 4 when I looped back around. They were quietly laying in the grass together and I might have freaked out because of their cuteness. I was able to restrain myself the first time, but when I saw them again, I completely lost it and yelled how cute they were. They went from this ...
 |
| OMG so cute right? SO CUTE. |
 |
Friday was supposed to be a brick with 70 minute bike and then 3 mile run, but my schedule was such that I needed to do a bike and shake out run. Coach was cool with that, which made me happy. This workout was not really noteworthy either.
Friday afternoon, we left for the Lake. On the way there, we noticed a big truck filled with ... chickens. Live chickens. Amy and I decided, because we had to come up with something that we could both live with, that they were hens and were being transported to a wonderful farm to lay eggs. I hope. It was a very surreal sight - especially the feathers that were flying all over the turnpike.
Saturday we had our long ride, which was to be 85 miles. Bill is the master of the
We stopped at the Zane Grey museum, which is just before we crossed the bridge to New York. Do you know who Zane Grey was? I didn't. But we stopped for a photo op at his museum.
Here I am just before crossing the river to New York.
And here Amy and I are on the other side. New York!
We rode the same route again and got to ride up to Hawk's Nest, which is right outside of Port Jervis, New York (and the mid-way point of our ride). Hawk's Nest is just so beautiful and so much fun.
We stopped at a mini-mart in Port Jervis to grab some Gatorade and check in. Bill spotted this sign. $.99 beers. So tempting. So not gonna happen with 40 miles to go.
About 5 miles past this point, some dogs chased after Amy and me (dogs ... why does it have to be dogs??), but they were friendly and not aggressive and their owner came running after them. After the dogs, we headed back to the lake, and it's essentially a 10-15 mile climb, no matter how you slice it. This time, we took Route 6 through Milford, Pennsylvania. The climbs were tough - really really tough. Tougher than Placid I think. But the road was great with a wide shoulder, which was key. We got back to the house where I promptly fell on the road (right in front of the house) because I was distracted and didn't unclip. I am rocking a little road rash (but I am ok).
Sunday I had a 45 minute open water swim, and I did it in the lake. Amy swam too and Bill accompanied us in a kayak. The water was really rough, but we got it done. I felt like I was chopping the waves for a good chunk of the swim. I also had a 50 minute run, which I did when I got home. It was hot, and I was tired from the cumulative effect of the weekend and the week, but I reminded myself that I will feel more fatigue on race day. So I pushed and managed a 8:50 pace for that run. Happy.
This week should be pretty great: it's training camp up at Lake Placid. My coach runs a camp and we are headed up there for four full days of training. It will be hard work, but I'm also happy that it is focused solely on training, vs. trying to fit the same training in and around my normal life and responsibilities. Stay tuned for a post on that!
See you swoon,
Nice work out there and nice pace on those runs! You will be whizzing by me on the run! Great pictures too. I am heading up to the Lake next month for few days too, will be R&R tapering by then. Does that YMCA allow drop-ins? I always wanted to swim in a 50m pool. I didn't know there were any around here. Have a great week and camp up at LP...looking forward to the recap!
ReplyDeleteIt must be tough to go through these, you are so persistent.
ReplyDeleteI admire you.
ReplyDelete