Vindication

After my disappointing run at the Hypothermic half, my coach suggested I race again to get the hang of it. We decided on the St Albert 10 miler because another half marathon would be detrimental, and 10km isn't long enough. Coming up to this race I felt pretty good. I've seen improvements in the water and on the bike. I think the interval runs I did really prepared me for what race pace would feel like.

On race day the weather was perfect - overcast, and about 6c. It was the end of rest week so I hadn't trained hard all week, but did ride for 1:45 on the trainer, and swim for 45mins the day before. Based on my half marathon times, I figured I would finish around 2 hours. But the real goal was to stay in the right hr zone. I used the race plan from the hypo - first hour in zone 3, the rest in 4 or 5.

I had a great run! This is a hilly course, but I managed to run the entire race except once I walked for about 30 seconds to try and fix my bib because it came loose. The last few kms I was so tired I couldn't even talk. I felt bad because I like to thank the volunteers but all I managed was a wave. Here are the km breakdowns from my garmin (everything according to plan)
km:time:hr
1: 6:31: 158
2: 7:02: 162
3: 7:07: 164
4: 7:15: 161
5: 6:47: 163 5km total 34:43
6: 7:04: 163
7: 7:09: 162
8: 7:03: 163 8km total 56:00
9: 6:57: 160
10: 6:45: 164 10km total 1:09 (my fastest 10km ever)
11: 6:53: 167
12: 7:03: 170
13: 6:59: 169
14: 7:15: 171
15: 6:50: 171
16: 6:50: 172 16km total 1:51:35 = second 8km 55:35
final 280 meters 6:39: 173

Results: 712/772 overall
312/348 females
104/110 age group
Official finishing time: 1:52:55

I was exhausted and really sore afterwards, but I felt great! I ran the plan, finished 7 minutes faster than I thought I would, with a negative split. It has been amazing to suddenly see the results of 6 months worth of training.

"The real work"

I just finished the first two weeks of 12+ hours. Right now I'm exhausted but really proud of myself for finishing it. This week was 4 bike rides for a total of 6hrs 20 minutes, 2 swims 1.5 hours, and 3 runs 3hrs 55 minutes. I managed everything but the intervals on the bike on Tuesday. Yesterday we rode outside for 3 hours ride time, but we were out for 3.5 hrs. I had a good ride, and was even at the front for a while. I've definitely found a great riding partner that is a bit better than me and I enjoy riding with (not to mention our Cervelos look really hot together!)

Last week my coach came to the pool for a workout. It was really good! He said I'm 15 seconds/50m faster than I was in January. It's great to get faster, but for me the real improvement comes in how I feel in the water. Now I'm at the point where I can swim at my easy pace and not get tired. I'm currently doing about 1400m in 45 minutes and feel like I haven't done anything. My real goal on race day, is to get out of the water and have my legs feel a lot fresher than last year (specially with that nice little hill right at the beginning of the ride)

All of this training has made me REALLY tired, every night I'm just crawling in to bed. The knee problem seems to be rearing it's ugly head a little (although not bothering me enough I can't do my training), so I'm back for some IMS (voodoo) treatments tomorrow.

With 10 weeks to go, I feel good. I think I've worked hard for this, and I'm starting to see the results of the training. It's been intimidating and something that seemed way out of my zone but I love to see what I can really do when I tell my doubting mind to shut-up and just keep going forward.

Cheers to rest week!!!!

Riding outside and the 2km test

Last Saturday we finally had the opportunity to ride outside. It was the perfect euphoric feeling! I was pleasantly surprised at how much easier riding on the road is, compared to the fluid trainer. I saw some definite improvements, specially on the hills. It was so refreshing to get out of the basement and out in to the fresh air. No luck this week though, it was snowing yesterday. I'm glad we seized the chance when we had it. I'm sure we'll be outside for long rides in no time.

On Thursday I did a 2km run test - keep my heartrate in zone 3 and run 2kms. I did it in 13:46, but my heartrate was at 166bpms and it should have been closer to 160bpms. So I should have run a little slower.

Training seems to be on track. Only 3 months to race day! In the words of my coach, "now the real work begins." The thought of that scares me, but I know my biggest obstacle is my mind. I always think I can't do things and surprise myself when I do it. I'm just not going to look too far ahead, one week at a time and countdown to rest week.