my, my my...

...how things have changed this month. Not sure if this was mentioned a month ago, but Heidi told me to enjoy February and whatever I did, "do not look at March!!" This message was sent to me via email a month ago. And look at us now, we have not only made it through all the March's workouts, but we're feeling good & optimistic! A tad sore after this weekend, but nothing major.

I tell my friends about our 50 mile bike rides or 12 mile runs and they look at me like I am crazy! And while that might be true, I firmly believe that anyone can do anything!! Its fear that holds us hostage from accomplishing new things. I've heard this so many times... "I could NEVER do anything like that". UH, sure you can! Trust me, we are very slow triathletes! But my goal (or Heidi's) has never been to get top 10 in our age group. We are just racing to have fun & find out just how far we can push our mom bodies.

From the beginning of this journey we have taken one day at a time. I truly focus on the workout for that day. Ask me what I'm doing this sunday. I have no idea, but I do know it will involve a swim/bike or run workout. And an easter egg hunt.

So, for anyone out there wanting to TRI something new..... doesn't have to be triathlon or run related.... YOU CAN DO IT! I find it very rewarding breaking my own little mental records..... like we swam 2600 yards the other day, never done that. Or in a couple weeks we'll ride 60 & 70 miles on a bike. NEVER done that!

I am grateful for my family & friends who make this possible. Especially to my hubby, Phil & 2 boys, Ashton & Parker. Thanks for allowing me to get out on this skinny branch of 70.3 training. I am blessed with the most supportive family!

Good Monday.

It seems that Monday's are the best days for me to blog!  My mood is usually the best because we look forward to an easy tuesday run (always 3-4 miles) and then an off day!  I have started getting anxious heading into the weekends.

We had to swap days again this weekend because I had to work on Friday.  I have found that work gets in the way of training quite frequently- and I only work 10 hours a week!  I really do not see how working adults train for a half- or even more a whole- ironman.

Saturday was our 12 miler.  It had its ups & downs.  The run overall was a really great run for me.  At the end I felt better/stronger than I did on the 10 and 11 miler's.  And it even went .3 over the 12!  Usually Heather & I get to our goal mark and STOP... walking the rest if we still aren't back at the truck.  This week we actually felt like we could run more if we needed.

Yesterday we hopped back on the bike for a 30-mile bike ride.  We had at least 30mph wind on the way out.  It was AWFUL.  I would attempt to draft behind Nathan but I simply could not avoid any of the wind.  I couldn't even ride straight!  The way home was SO FUN!  We were going 20+ without even working hard!  I was very happy to get home.

An easy 1500 swim this morning.  Heather & I both admitted that we did the 2600 much easier than we did the 1500 today.  We are both very sore today.

Going to go enjoy this "easy" week!  The sun is out ALL week.  That will definitely help my training spirits!

Tuesday March 23, 2010

Today's workout was a hilly 4 mile run. Our instructions were to run hard up the hills & easy the rest of the run. We choose to run on our road, which is SUPER HiLlY!! Most of the hills are short, but there are 2 hills that are very long & steep. We did awesome. My legs are still sore from the weekend and especially 11 (hilly) miles on Sunday.  But we ran our legs off up each & every hill.

I am encouraged by our training. We are getting stronger with each workout.  Loving the day off and swim days! And really looking forward to next week......EASY WEEK!!! This doesn't mean that we are off all week, just our workouts are shorter & less intense. It will be a chance for muscles to recover & me to get some laundry accomplished.

by: Heather

Heidi Rambles.

I am blogging today because my mood/spirits have improved since the weekend!  Late last week and through the weekend I felt overwhelmed by life.  The workouts have gotten so long that I don't have time (or energy) to get anything else accomplished.  I hate going into the weekend with a dirty house and that is exactly what happened.  And the workouts just get more intense through the weekend.  I have pulled through the weekend, am in a better state of mind, and am learning to use my time more wisely during the easier days.

We re-arranged some workouts due to snow on Sat- and cold temps on Sunday.

Thursday we did hill repeats (as scheduled).  We rode to the hill- about 20 minutes- then up THE hill 5 minutes, repeat, repeat, repeat.  Four hill repeats (doesn't sound like a lot but 5 minutes climbing a hill is quite challenging for my legs!).  Then back home- with another very long & steep hill.  DONE.  Felt great.

Friday- the biggest workout yet.  A triathlon.  1000 swim, 50 mile bike, 2 mile run.  The most I had ever biked was 30 miles.  Plus, my legs were not fresh after the night before.  Less than 15 hours later we started this!  I knew it was going to be a challenge and it was.  I was hurtin' on the bike- and for sure on the run.  There was quite a bit of headwind (not sure exactly what it was but enough to make me mad!) on the way back.  I lost my good attitude.  It took us 4 hrs 34 min.  It was also my longest workout so far.

Saturday- I loathed getting in the pool.  Again, our biggest swim workout.  2400.  It went by quicker than I thought and I actually felt less sore.

Sunday- 11 mile run.  It was still a little icy and called for rain nearly all day.  We decided to go later in the day and found no ice (or rain) on the roads, trail or sidewalks.  I was not looking forward to it at all.  Heather had picked an extremely HILLY route which scared me.  Turns out I had a great run.  Felt really good miles 2-7 (I never have a great first mile or two).  Started hurting about mile 8 but finished with good spirits and I have found that is better than anything!

My legs are very sore today (Monday).  We had a swim workout this morning.  I didn't use my legs as much as usual and managed to get through it with good spirits!

Screamin' legs

Heidi:
This week is by far the hardest week yet.  My legs have been sore for a solid 7 days!  On our 4 mile run this morning they were screaming at me!  Our "easy" run days have become a bit more intense.  We run a mile slow, 2 miles fast and finish with a slow mile.  Today we had a MAJOR steep hill in the middle of our fast mile.  It was intense.  I have learned that I take at least 2 miles to warm up.  After mile 3 I feel so much better.

We have been doing a great job of fitting our workouts in our schedule.  And our husbands and families have been super amazing for taking the kids during our workouts.  Nathan & I talked in depth about it before we even started because this is just as much a commitment for him as it is for me.  The workouts are getting longer so it is beginning to get more difficult to arrange & squeeze.  Heather & I have both realized that we are getting so tired from our long workouts that we are noticing things around the house not getting done!

After our 4 mile run this morning we started our rest day.  Tomorrow is off for us!  I have been dreaming of this day for a week!

I will enjoy it while it lasts!

Sunday Brick-March 14th

Yesterday was the kinda day that before this training I would have NEVER gotten on the bike. It was cloudy, cool (mid-40's) and looked like it would rain any minute. But at this point we are too scared to skip a workout! We are still not quite confident that all this work will equal the finish line on June 6th. And to skip a brick, long workout on Sunday, well, its just not gonna happen! And especially not because of a few sprinkles & cool weather.

Thankfully the rain held off. We did get wet but mostly from drafting & the roads being wet.

Here was the workout: 30 minute bike/1 mile run. repeat, repeat. On paper it looked easy, but its never easy to run after biking. And the wind made the bike feel like we had our brakes on...But we did awesome and I feel we pushed ourselves, especially on the run!

Dad & Nathan joined in our fun! Only the crazy call it fun....

by: Heather

Saturday Swim-Mar 13th

As with everything our swim workouts are getting longer. And I continue to learn about nutrition & when & how much to eat. Note to self: Do not begin a swim workout on an empty stomach. It was the 1st time, in recent memory, that I felt myself "bonking". (for a non-tri person.... this means running outa energy, no more gas in the tank.) I still had about 15 laps to go and realized it was either get something in my tank or quit the swim. Luckily, I had packed a banana in my gym bag. So, I got outa the pool & went for my snack. It was perfect timing and I was able to complete the swim.

by : Heather

10 mile run

March just keeps building the distances! My focus with this is to enjoy this journey. Mentally I really really dread the long runs. I'm not really sure why, but it  does limit me. So as Friday's run got closer I focused on positives. Like the route or thankful that spring is almost here and its warmer outside. This positive attitude helped me and I was able to push the pace (a bit). And felt really good until mile 9, when feet began to hurt.

We were also mentally prepared for rain. It looked like we would get wet, but did not begin sprinkling until we were done. I am hoping we get a couple chances to run & bike in wet conditions. You never know what race day weather will bring and I want to be ready!

30 miler

Heidi:

Yesterday morning Dad, Heather & I hit the road for our 30 mile bike ride.  It was goign to be 70 degrees for a high so we were super excited about being outside.  Thankfully, mom took the kids (or we would have been stuck inside on our trainers!).  We are so lucky to have so many options in people who want our children!

It was a great ride.  Some head wind on the way home but we told Dad his bonus for riding with us was the fact that he had to pull us home!

Heather & I both made the comment that we feel ourselves getting stronger and we are able to recover better after long hills.  Below are some pictures of us before the ride.  Sorry that Dad had to take the picture and didn't make it in it!  The John Deere place let us use their parking lot- reason for all the tractors!

Adventure race.

Heidi:
Let me start off by saying that I WAY under estimated this race.  I was a little nervous (as usual for a race) but I had no idea what I was getting myself into.  Secondly, let me mention that I love my husband very much and on this day we hit a new milestone of love and commitment.

Nathan went to the pre-race meeting and came home and said "you might want to kill me tomorrow....".  The race director (who is also a friend of ours) decided to add a sandbag course to the end of the race.

The race went like this:
4 mile gravel run
7 mile gravel bike
2 mile canoe (in which you had to drop your bike and climb this HUGE dam to get your canoe)
7 mile bike back
40lb sandbag course with at least 6 military crawls on the ground with your sandbag

Throughout this whole race you had to carry your backpack.  Thankfully I had a very small backpack and only had to carry some nutrition, my running shoes and my shirt & pants (oh, and a compass, whistle...).

The course was on the hilliest roads you can imagine.  During the run it was hard to recover on the downhill because it was so steep and gravel.  I was quite proud of my performance however.  I got on the bike and I can't even explain the hills.  And unlike road biking where you can gain speed downhill and carry some of that up the hill on the other side- mtn bikes on gravel don't get you anywhere!!

On at least 6-8 of the MOUNTAINS I climbed on the bike Nathan would catch me mid hill and put his hand on my back and push me up- allowing my legs to be able to do it.  I would have been walking a bunch of those hills (like many of the other bikers) if Nathan would not have done that.  I have no idea how he climbed them himself AND helped push me.  I seriously got emotional on one of them when he did this.

The first 7 miles of the bike went decent.  I got off the bike to head to the canoe and my legs were shaking.  I was so happy to see the canoe and it went fairly smooth. It was a beautiful day- sunny & high 50's.  Back on the bike and I had no legs left.  I got through it.   On to the sandbag.  I really didn't care about anything at that point.  I grabbed the sandbag, ran to the first crawl, fell on the ground and just started rolling through it and dragging that stupid bag, back up on my shoulder to run to the next one....

I was stunned that this race was so tough for me.  I felt like I had been working hard on endurance- running & biking- and I don't understand why I didn't have it that day.  It gave me a good view of where I am at and where I need to go from here.  Yes, the gravel is totally different- and the hills were tough to say the least.  Plus, the race was 4 hours for us.  I have never raced that long before.

It was a wonderful day spent with my husband.... and I must admit that it was sort of fun too....

40 Miler...

This Sunday, after a very busy day, Phil, Dad & I headed out to accomplish 40 miles. My longest ride since I was in Pathfinders (grade school years). It was gorgeous day! Perfect temps & lots of sunshine. I was really looking forward to riding outside!

The first 20 miles went really well! My legs felt strong. I pushed myself & did my best to keep up with Phil & my Dad. They were kind & waited for me. We turned around to head back home, mind you we were cutting it very close to arrive back to our cars before dark. So close in fact that we packed some tail lights in case it got too dark. We pulled out our lights around 30 miles. The last 10 miles the sun was setting and the legs were ready to be done.

40 miles felt like more than I was ready for, but its done. I am sure that in the coming weeks 40 miles will feel like a short ride.

Today was swim day. 2000 yards. Like Heidi mentioned, March is a month of building our distances. We'll bike 30 miles Weds followed by a 10 mile run Friday.

By: Heather

Friday- Feeling stronger

This is our easy week.  We have been enjoying it.  However, we were talking on our 3 miler on thursday that we really just get warmed up at 2 miles so beyond 2 miles is the easiest part of the run.  I definitely struggle the most on mile one.

Today we had a 45 min bike.  It was going to be a high of 52 today- and sunny- so we hopped on our road bikes for the first time of the season!   It was fantastic!  I chose shorts & long sleeves.  A little cold to start off with but it felt great.  The best part of the ride was how great I felt.  I really do feel myself getting stronger.  We did a ride that we rode many times last summer and I never felt as good as I did today.  Last year I would struggle on those hills and today I really felt like I conquered them easier... and didn't dread them like I did before.

Tomorrow is a first for me.  Nathan & I are doing a team adventure race.  It involves backpacks, compasses, whistles... and adventure!  2-3 miles of canoeing, 13 mile mtn bike and a 3-4 mile trail run.  I'm excited about- and a little nervous. I haven't done many bricks yet (bricks are back to back things- like a bike & run, or swim & bike...). But nothing I can't accomplish!  It will be fun to do it with Nathan and I know I will push myself very hard.

I'll post how it goes!

Oh, and Sunday we have our first BIG bike- 40 miles!  The most I've ever biked was 28 miles.  We'll see how my legs feel after tomorrow.  March has begun- and the hard core training is starting its full swing!

Our Tues/Thurs running group

It was picture day for our running group this morning.  This running group started with just a handful of people and has grown to as many as over 200.  Today was an average attendance for the winter months- they have huge attendance during the warmer months.  Its a fun time- they take attendence, give out beads for perfect & near perfect attendance and makes you feel a part of something fun.  Heather & I really enjoy it because it gets our workout over with early in the morning, there are other people with you in the dark (and cold) and we don't have to arrange child care since our hubs don't have to leave for work until we get back home.

They have 3 different routes (A, B & C)- ranging from 4-8 (or more) miles.  Heather & I usually pick up the "D" route since we have to be back home by 630am.  It starts at 530am so if we have a long run scheduled that day then we just start earlier.

heather & i are in the front row.

Florida Runnin

We are back from vacation as Heidi has already mentioned. I am so proud of us for keeping up with our training, while on vacation. Normally I do good just getting half the workouts done on a training plan. But we are getting nearly ALL our workouts done! This is amazing. I think part of me is so afraid of this 1/2 ironman distance that I am ultra motivated to be absolutely prepared.

Heidi emailed me at the beginning of Feb and told me "DO NOT LOOK AHEAD TO MARCH! Lets just enjoy February" Well- here we are.... the 1st day of March... ready or not here we are....we have a 40 mile bike ride on Sunday + 1 mile run. But until then I'm going to enjoy an "easy" week of training! I'm still not ready to look to far ahead on our training calendar.

Heidi & I after our 9 miles in Marathon Florida

by: Heather

Home & back at it.

Heidi:

We are back from Florida and I'm ready to hit it hard!  Good thing because that is exactly what the plan is telling me to do!

My run with the Crocs went very well.  I did a few loops and felt pretty good.  The hardest thing about it was running without my partner!  I turned up the ipod and stayed away from the crocs.

While down in the Keys we did a few short runs, a core workout taught by Nathan and a 9 miler on friday.  I was dreading the 9 miles the whole week.  I'm not sure why besides the fact that I really didn't feel ready for nine yet.  And the first three were very hard on me.  I have been having trouble with my toes and feet going numb and hurting.  It was pretty bad on my 8 miles by myself.  I'm going to talk to my shoe girl this week about it.  I've always had some issue with numbness but this feels like my foot is dead and the bottom is hurting.  Anyway, after the first 3-4 miles I got in a grove and the final 5 miles went quickly and quite easily.  I was thrilled to be done with it and felt silly about dreading it.

Yesterday was our first day home and we had a 2 hour bike ride on our schedule.  I was very ready to get back on the bike.  I knew my legs had been missing it.  Heather didn't have much time yesterday and decided to hop on the trainer.  I wanted to be outside.  I despise the trainer and if the sun is shining and I have a partner I will choose outdoors any day.  Nathan wanted to go so we gave the kids to Gram (who was begging for them any way) and headed out on a beautiful ride in the MO countryside.  We choose the gravel and had a glorious ride.  As soon as we hit the MKT trail (1/2 way through) it got mushy and irritating!  It was a tough workout on soggy trails but I got it done and felt very accomplished.

This morning was back in the pool.  Another thing that I have been feeling behind on.  It felt good- and tiring.  I could feel my 2 weeks out of the pool.

We're kicking it up a notch for March!  Thanks for tuning in & keeping me accountable!