Week 3

I hit all my workouts this week!  Woo-hoo!

This week was a huge test for me physically and mentally.  Here were the workouts:

Monday - 75 minute swim (a bunch of 750s)
     My body was struggling with some lower back pain.  Not sure what was going on, but I couldn't flip turn.

Tuesday - Off

Wednesday - 30-minute hard bike followed by a 2-hour run
     I didn't have enough time to do this in the morning, so I had to do it in the evening.  For some reason, I feel much safer out running alone at 4:30/5 in the morning than I do in the evening.  I probably have a false sense of security that no 'bad guys' are out in the early mornings.  Anyway, I asked Travis to accompany me on his bike while I ran.  I loved spending that time with him!  He is such an amazing guy!

Thursday - 90-minute bike
   Again, I had to do it in the evening because there is not enough light to do a full 90 minutes in the morning.  I found some hills and practiced those throughout the bike.

Friday - 30-minute bike followed by a 30-minute swim.
   This felt great!  I love these little ones.  Later that night, Travis and I went on an incredibly steep 5-mile hike up Mt. Olympus.  We really enjoyed ourselves, but man, that elevation climb was heart-pumping!!

Saturday - 3-hour bike followed by a 20-minute run
    This was the workout I'd been dreading.  I asked my friend to accompany me and she jumped at the chance.  Previously, the furthest she's biked is 27 miles.  I was a little worried about her, but she's a trooper and did the entire 3 hours with me.  We ended up in some really strong headwinds for the first half of the bike which slowed us down quite a bit.  However, I had a plan.  I was not going to push my body to the limit like I have been doing and I was instead going to focus on saddle time.  We stopped halfway to eat (I had a peanut-butter and honey sandwich and a green smoothie) and use the restroom.  Coming back, the wind wasn't nearly so bad, although it was still windy.  At the end, I jumped off the bike, changed into my running shoes and felt great on the run.

 After hitting all the workouts, I have finally come to terms with this Half Ironman.  I am going to just take it easy and relax in order to make it through the race.  I know if I push hard, I will not be able to finish.  So that is my game plan.

Now on to tapering!!  Woo-hoo!