One Last Tri - Week 9
Sunday - Rest
The end of last week wrapped up and I was beginning to feel a little under the weather. I believe it was a combination of pushing myself both in training as well as at work. My body was finally wearing down to far and I was in desperate need of rest. I spent much of Sunday afternoon sleeping and laying in bed. Doing my best to allow my body to recover so that the remainder of the week could have some training.
Monday - Elliptical
Goals:
Still feeling under the weather but I believed that raising my heart rate would help my body fight off some of the sickness that I was dealing with.
Results:
I spent roughly 30 minutes on the trainer and while on it I felt much better. I ended this cardio effort with a short stretch and an early bed time. Today was more about rest than training but I felt it was good to still go through the motions of training.
Tuesday - Rest Day
Feeling sicker than the last few days I rested as much as possible. Getting to sleep early and focusing on drinking enough fluids to flush out whatever bug I had picked up.
Wednesday - Rest Day
I was feeling much better and took my dog on a hike in a local park with some friends. We spent a while wondering around the woods, getting fresh air and climbing around. It was nice to be out for a bit and I was still able to get to sleep fairly early and woke the next day feeling nearly 100%
Thursday - Long Run
Goals:
Being that I had not done much this week I wanted to get out and stretch my legs. My original goal was to spend 45-60 minutes in zone 2 with a focus on an upright form and good posture.
Results:
As I began the run I realized quickly that I was feeling much better than I anticipated, and with no real direction in mind I began to choose trails to run completely on a whim, left here, right there, straight on the next intersection. I ran circles around Hartley Nature Center, I kept a close eye on my heart rate and was amazed to see it staying so consistent. I was able to hold the same pace for the vast majority of the run, only slowing my pace on some of the steeper climbs. But as I reached the top my heart rate slowed and I quickly regained control of it back to a running pace. It is rare for me to feel this elated during a run, I typically feel good, but almost never as great as I did on this run.
I can honestly say this was one of my best runs ever.
Friday - Rest Day
My legs were feeling very sore from the previous day’s run, and it was really great to stay off them for the evening. I wanted to get a solid stretch in but mainly just relaxed and lay around recovering. Nutrition was fairly solid with a morning smoothie and overnight oats. I believe the smoothie helps my recovery quite a bit.
Saturday - Preparation Day
I have received my wetsuit and tomorrow will be completing my first ever open water swim. This is an incredibly daunting task and I have decided today will be allowing myself to feel fully rested so that tomorrow I am prepared to go into the water and swim to the best of my ability. I am excited to attempt this, and have a close friend following me in the water as a contingency plan. Saturday was spent stretching, finding a kayak to rent, and getting ready to swim on Sunday.
I am now entering the final two weeks prior to my first triathlon! As the race days comes closer I am beginning to panic that I have not done enough to set myself up for success. But looking back through these training logs has shown me that I was working very hard to stay on task and do the best that I could. I need to focus on remembering that this is something very new and I want to just go into it and have fun. I have seen improvements to my physical fitness and now I just wish to make sure that I am mentally prepared as best as I can be!
