IM Boise 70.3 Week 15 - Training Recap

Busy, busy, busy. As you can tell from my lack of posts, scheduling and simple exhaustion got the better of my free time this week. That being said I had another solid week of training and was finally able to get outside for a ride - first time since the crash a month ago and it felt ah-mazing! Week 15 was another good one - let's see what went down....

Monday - Planned: 1:30 min bike
                 Actual: 1:30 hour bike (trainer)

Interval work:
10 min warm up
4x15 min @80-85% LTHR - harder gear every 5 min while maintaining rpm
5 min recovery
15 min cool down


Tuesday - Planned: 3000 yd swim + 12 mile run
                  Actual: 9 mile run (Pool time next week!)

Whew! Rough 9 miles on a fairly hilly course around my neighborhood but I got the sucker done and despite some nagging pain in my right hip, was able to stretch it out just fine afterwards. So nice to finally be able to get my mileage up and still feel good the next day. Come on body - don't fail me now!! :)


Wednesday - Planned: 1:30 min bike
                       Actual: 1:30 (trainer)

More interval work on the trainer once again but I'm starting to notice some real changes in the definitions of my leg muscles as well as improved endurance to the pain and lactid acid build up.


Thursday - Planned: 4.5 mile interval run
                    Actual: 4.5 mile self defeating trail "run" in 85 degree heat

Not gonna lie, this was gross! It's been since Sept that we've seen temps in the 80's so my body was nowhere near prepped to run in any form, let alone on a dusty trail. I walked about 5 times and averaged something lame, like 12 min/miles. Didn't help that I hadn't hydrated enough throughout the day either. Here's hoping we get some more hot days in before Boise or this gal is going to struggle.


Friday - Planned: 3.5 hour bike
               Actual: 3.5 hour bike ( trainer)

Heck yeah!! 3.5 hours hole up in my bedroom rockin' the trainer. In all honesty the time went by fairly quickly. I was able to get on the bike pretty early and finished up by 9:30pm. So much better than last Friday. This was the first night that I practiced my liquid nutrition plan (CarboPro) for Boise and am excited to report that everything went very well. I was able to maintain decent energy levels all 3 hours and my stomach handled the liquid just fine! Besides having to pee A LOT more than usual, I think I have it nailed down. 3 bottles on the bike (16oz water + 1 Nuun tab + 2 scoops CarbPro) should get me through the whole 56 mile bike leg without needing to stop at any aid stations. (which I heard can be a massive cluster so even better)


Saturday - Planned: 3:40 hour Brick (2.5 hour bike + 8 mile run)
                   Actual: 3:40 hours of brick domination

Another great brick workout this weekend! The best part was FINALLY being able to ride outside again as well as meeting up with friends to tackle the run. "Run" is a bit of an overstatement as we spent a decent amount of time chatting - but it was sure nice to get some miles in with company for once! The time flew by and thanks to the decision to wear my compression socks that whole day, my legs felt strong and more than capable of going faster/longer.

After the run we celebrated with some naughty food and a cold beer.

 What? I burned enough calories to justify this! 

Sunday - Planned: 2800 yd swim
                Actual: Foam roll and stretching

Plan was to get back into the pool this day but the arm was a little sore after yesterday's outdoor ride so I played it safe. The last thing I want is to do anything that might hinder my easiest/strongest portion of the race simply because I wasn't patient enough.

No better way to recover after a long workout than a 20 min ice bath and dual compression tights. My legs felt so energized the next day - LOVE this new routine!

TOTAL:
Swim - 0 (last week of no swimming - time to get back at it!)
Bike - 152 miles
Run - 21.5 miles



So 15 weeks down and only 5 more to go! It's recovery week the next 7 days and the last one scheduled till tapering begins so I am going to focus on the quality of my runs, add in a little yoga and get back to some more strength training and PT for the hip.

Also finalizing accommodations for the Boise trip - right now we have P, the Kid and myself going, as well as my brother (who is racing too) SIL, their two kids and then my mom and aunt. What's the best possible scenario for a group of 9? VRBO baby!! Forget hotel rooms - we found a great house that is plenty large enough to fit our group and will allow so much more privacy and general space for our 5 day trip. It's right outside of down town but still a close 15 minute drive away. Plus, with having our own kitchen we are in complete control of pre-race snacks etc. If you are ever looking for a place to stay when visiting from out of town, I would highly suggest checking the VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner) site to see what may be available. We've gone through this company to rent homes for a myriad of vacations -  from little cabins in the mountains to gorgeous beach homes. You just can't go wrong!