This week was kinda interesting. Monday is typically a day off from training. Although I sometimes hop on the road bike for an easy spin, I had absolutely no energy for the entire day. I went on with my normal routine (nutrition consultations, personal training, laundry, etc.) but all I wanted to do was SLEEP! I've been putting in big mileage weeks w/ most of my time spent on the bike. With around 250 miles a week of riding, I'm not only putting in big volume, but I'm pushing harder than ever. I want to get faster and stronger in all three disciplines but I know that I can make major improvements with my cycling. I hoped that my lake of energy on Monday would disappear during the night and when my alarm went off at 4:40am on tuesday morning, I was not feeling like myself. So, a bit of overtraining got the best of me. With my gradual increase in volume comes more pressure to work harder. I recover quick and I'm never sore more than a couple hours after training, so I feel I need to get more sleep and possibly drink more during this hot weather training. Of course I can always back off of my training volume, but as the final weeks approach, there is so much pressure to improve and work harder. My two goals with Ironman training (ok three, get faster is always on the top of my list) are to not be injured and to have fun. After a full day of rest on Tuesday, in addition to a full day of rest on Mon, I was back to myself on wed morning. Maybe it was the ice cream I had on tuesday evening after dinner (hehe) but I am happy to say that Marni is back and feeling strong! Wednesday I kinda took it easy in the morning until the Gearlink ride in the evening. I decided to ride the road bike with the guys and I just didn't feel like I would have a good ride without my tri bike. However, I talked myself out of the negative self talk and I ended up having the best ride of the year! Maybe it was because my good friend Hunter was there or because Karel was taking it easy and not rotating (for his race) and I knew he was checking me out and cheering me on. Not only did I make all 5 loops but I pushed hard enough to beat a couple guys in the final sprint. Ok-so I had Karel pushing me a couple times as we were sprinting, but I can honestly say I was toast after the ride! Thursday morning was an early swim and I had one of the most challenging sets in the pool. 5 x 400 on 6 minutes (w/ fins) and Matt challenged me to hold 4:50 or less for each 400. Once I got in my zone, I was finished the set on 4:40 and 4:43 for the #4 and #5 (respectively). I ended up with 3900 meters for that morning (hour swim practice) and I hurried home for my trip to Georgia!
I will update in a few with the Georgia trip...already I'm loving it up there.
Sadly we had to cancel the USAT clinic that I was putting on for the weekend in Clermont. I'm really bummed about the lack of people signing up but hopefully next time I will have a better turnout. I tried my best and I'm very thankful to the sponsors and potential speakers who helped me out with the planning of the event.
Talk to you soon....Kona is coming, can you believe it!!!???!!!
I will update in a few with the Georgia trip...already I'm loving it up there.
Sadly we had to cancel the USAT clinic that I was putting on for the weekend in Clermont. I'm really bummed about the lack of people signing up but hopefully next time I will have a better turnout. I tried my best and I'm very thankful to the sponsors and potential speakers who helped me out with the planning of the event.
Talk to you soon....Kona is coming, can you believe it!!!???!!!