Big Ironman Training Weekend

Wow, I have a lot of things to do but right now, all I want to do is write in my journal. Maybe I’ll be brief…working backwards throughout the weekend…

Long Run

Today, I had my long run. It actually went MUCH better than last week’s — I went further and ran faster, thanks to a system of planned walk breaks that Coach Amy had suggested. Also, I carried more water and ate something other than the gross gel I tried last week. (I also got up in the middle of the night last night, hungry, and had a midnight snack — maybe that helped as well). I am off to get my swim in here in just a bit.

See my cool pic up above?  My new training friend Robin who is also doing IM Coeur d’Alene made us all these fabulous cookies. How cool is that?!? We had a fun get-together for IM soon-to-bes and their families at Malinda’s house last night. Very nice. Even though it was a great time, my family and I left more on the early side, as the day’s long bike ride began to take it’s toll.

Group Ride Plus Brick

Hubby and I went to do the ACA Pflugerville ride that morning (I was sad to have missed the Pale Ale ride with Cathy, but after reading accounts of the ride I’m okay with my Sunday option!). It was my first time to do an ACA ride, and I’m very glad I went. We got there early; after changing a flat, we took off to do the 12-mile version of the ride before the “real” ride started at 8 a.m. That was very pleasant, except my stomach was giving me issues; ever since I’d gotten up, I’d felt sick to my stomach and vaguely nauseous.

Back at the ride start, we found there were two other women who were doing the 67-mile route. It turned out to be such a nice grouping — we were all similarly paced, and both were preparing for IM Louisville (one, her first IM, and the other, her trainer doing her third or fourth). Hubby did an excellent job of navigating and the ride was nice (windy and flat).

I had a bad period where my tummy had rejected not only food but Gatorade and I was to the point of wondering if I were coming down with a bug or what and debating the pros and cons of just making myself throw up. It was a very low point for me and I lagged a bit behind. We rested at a convenience store, where I got a Coke and some ice. I tell you, Coke needs to do this commercial — I was a different woman after the Coke, and the rest of the ride was soooo much better.

As we were coming in, I realized I was going to be short of the time I needed (I’d feared that from the first loop, when I saw how flat the route was going to be), so I peeled off into a neighborhood off Kelly Lane and did some big loops around the subdivision for about 25 minutes before heading back to the high school. My hubby took my bike, and I headed off for the run.

It turned out to be a fairly nice location for a run, as the various schools made a large, traffic-free area and then I hit a little neighborhood off the way. The 45-minutes went by a lot faster than I’d expected. The only downside to the run was that when I got in the car, I had begun to itch and big red whelps were appearing on the tops of the my thighs. Ugh.  Some kind of allergic reaction to something. We stopped by my folks’ on the way home and I stood in their cold pool, which brought down the body temp, cooled the muscles, and took away the whelps. Back home, showered, threw some goodies together, and we were off to Malinda’s party.

Family Time

Saturday was my daughter’s graduation. What a wonderful, memorable day that ended with a lovely extended family and friends’ dinner. In just a few short weeks, she’ll be 18. My baby!