January 2014 Rebuild the base

I was grateful Christmas landed in the middle of the week because it gave me more time off work so I could get a jump start on my 2014 journey!  January was about rebuilding the base which is a slow and miserable process.  The negative inner voice can get really loud so I had to be mentally tough the entire month.  I signed up for the Palm Springs Century and Half Marathon Feb 8/9 so I would push hard through January training. 

week 1 started with a 27 mile bike lesson with Julie climbing Scripps Poway. Then on New Year's Eve day, I went back to my Dayriders at VVV and joined them on their Fallbrook Metric Century in my new Betty Design Highlighter Pink cycling kit!  This became incredibly challenging for me since it was my first difficult ride in my tri bike and longest since surgery. We rode lots of hills for 4800 feet of climbing in 68 miles.  Marcus and Elwyn stuck by me as I crawled along.  Steve kept roaming back to make sure we were ok.  I was in foot and neck pain and depressed that I had lost so much of my riding base.  However, I got through it, with one extra break, and knew it would only get better from here.  With the holidays, Coach Julie packed in the bike plan and I rode a 60 mile coast/inland route of beauty around Carlsbad/Elfin Forest ad RSF. I ended up with 173 miles for the week! That is probably a PR for me! I also swam 8600y and ran 14 miles.  I was super exhausted when I returned to work!

Week 2 included my final podiatrist visit with an all clear release.  I earned a break on the riding miles and started picking up the run miles on the treadmill.  Julie kept me in short distances and intervals all week.  The swimming picked up which I always find as a wonderful leg recovery!  I completed: Bike 94 , swim 11800y, ran 17.5 for the week.

Week 3 I decided to repeat Giro di SD with Marcus.  I knew it was a little hilly...which became wow some really big F#$^$%g hills out there climbing at 6400 feet in 75 miles.  It was a very difficult ride but I felt really accomplished after completing it.  I finished the week at Swim 6650y, bike 108 and run 7.5.. kind of a recovery week in the end as I pushed my Sunday run to Monday because I was near dead.

Week 4 I felt better on Monday for sure and planned a flat 90 mile coast ride for Saturday as the last long ride before Palm Springs.  I worked on interval runs on the treadmill to try to improve my speed. I was up to an 8 mile run on Sunday and so thankful Sharon was able to pace me steady. She always sneaks in a sprint finale that nearly kills me! Then I decided to take on the NCC club challenge to complete two Ironman distances cumulatively from Jan 22 - Feb 8.  I changed my goal from speed to volume for 2 weeks and increased my run mileage and worked out a manageable schedule with Julie to squeeze in all the run miles since my Bike/Swim was easy to accomplish with the current plan.  I finished the week with Swim 9950 Bike 143 and run 27.

Week 5 I worked on low running mileage nearly every day except a long run on Sunday.  This final week is my 10 miler as the last long run before Palm Springs half.  It's also my full tri simulation for Oceanside 70.3 which is in 8 weeks.  I haven't bricked more the 2 miles after the bike so this is a wakeup call to start bricking longer.  This simulation is 1.2mi swim in the pool, 38 mile ride with 3x up Scripps/Poway hill at  6% grade, and a 4 mile run.  I think I'm changing my nutrition slightly this time to see if I can feel better on the run.

I'm really excited about the NCC inner club challenge because it gives me a chance to be recognized for how much I can accomplish regardless of how long it takes.  It feels like I have a chance to get on a podium where speed doesn't matter, just really hard work.  So the cumulative miles goal is 4.8mi swim, 224mile bike, 52.4 mile run by Feb 8 and I think I can do it!  It takes courage and tenacity to take on a Full Ironman, especially if you don't have speed. So pushing to achieve double the distance is a real confidence booster!  I'm off to a super start for February!

Swim 22.5 miles
Bike 454 miles
Run 79 miles
Avg 14 hrs/week

I couldn't have done this without my Coach Julie!  thank you!!!!