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Doing All I Can

I know what I need to do for the next 2 weeks. Train my Butt Off!!!! I've been fairly smart about my training (for being self-coached) and I have had in my mind a sub 5 hour finish at Disney since I started training for this season back in Feb. After IMFL, I had a joyful 1 month off from anything structured and I stayed focused for for the Thanksgiving St.pete times 10K Turkey Trot!!! Actually, I was quite nervous for that one cause after doing an IM, I have no excuses for races for the rest of my life..especially a 10K!!! And seeing that Karel beat me (what's with those Czech cyclists!!!???) I was anxious to step up the training for the triathlon season. The winter was rough because I hurt my foot at the Miami Marathon and my running hasn't been up to par like I imagined it would be by now. Oh well. I would rather be injury free with two healthy feet than fast and in pain. I love this sport too much to hurt at the end of a long distance triathlon due to pain. I know I have plenty of time before Kona to step it up this summer. I'm rather happy with the improvements in my bike and I know I will see results at Ironman 70.3 Florida in 17 days.
Monday afternoon was an easy hour spin on the road bike and really enjoyed the warm Florida weather. Tuesday morning was rough and while several people enjoyed a recovery swim, there was no rest for Marni.
Main Set:
8 x 100 on 1:25
8 x 75 on 1 minute (yep-that was touch and go..barely made that!)
8 x 50 (25- free, 25- butterfly) on 50 sec (OUCH!)
Total yardage for the day: 4200
Running workout after the swim and my legs have never felt fresher....What a GREAT feeling to boost my confidence with my run (since I've been a little nervous with my running speed). After a 15 minute warm-up, the main set was 3 minute @ half marathon pace (7:30), 1 minute walk recovery, 3 minutes easy pace. Repeated the set 4 times and with a 15 minute cool down, the workout ended up to be around 8 miles or so. Felt so good at the end I had to stop myself from running more. The afternoon bike workout with Sarah went well and I can tell she is enjoying being pushed by me. I worked her pretty hard and I ended up with 44 miles on my Seduza. What a day. As usual, Tuesdays are big days for me. Wednesday I taught spin and once again, worked them hard. I like for my class to visualize, so I mentally took them to Georgia and we did 3 BIG climbs. I jogged for an easy 20 minutes after the spin class and cooled down the body for an easy 500 swim. Didn't feel like pushing in the morning cause I wanted to save myself for the Wed. ride with the Gearlink guys that afternoon.
Well, after riding up to Landsbrook for the ride (about 12 miles), I was excited to push myself with the guys (and Roberta and Celia-two amazing female triathletes/cyclists!!!). The two loops of warm-up (each loop around 3 miles) went great and I was having fun on my road bike. The first loop of the workout was 26 mph and I was still hanging on. However, my cornering skills weren't the best yesterday and I kept falling behind on each of the 4 turns. It wasn't until the end of the 2 loop that I lost the boys. Errrrr. stupid corners. I think if we were going straight, I could have hung on. The pace was picking up for the guys (27+mph) and I knew I couldn't catch back up by myself. I headed home for 12 miles and I was a little bummed for the evening that I can ride in the mountains with the guys but can't stay on their wheels on the flats of Florida. Bummer :(
This morning I really wanted to rest my tired legs but I knew I needed to go to swim practice. If I didn't attend the practice at 5:30am, I'd still swim but I wouldn't push myself like I do with the group. Even though the workout was by myself today (that is-my own intervals) I absolutely love being in the water with everyone else. Hunter shared a lane with me and I am so amazed with his swimming in just a couple weeks of training for triathlons. Lots of the team members are training for Ironman 70.3 Florida so it is nice to be in the water with everyone. Today's set was 8 x 200 on 3 minutes, holding a breathing pattern of every 3,5,7,9 (each 50). Breathing every 7 is getting a bit more comfortable to me but I still struggle with breathing every 9. And then putting that together with making the interval per each 200, I was on the verge of mega lactate buildup. And if that wasn't enough, I laughed at Matt when he wanted me to do 8 x 50's all-out on 40 seconds...WHAT!!!!??? Well, the first one I made on 36 seconds. And then it was down hill for the next 3. I barely made them and it was touch and go as i was coming to the wall about 2 seconds off the cycle. Matt let me rest for a minute and told me that it was all mental. He told me to keep my stroke long, not get choppy and kick. I was determined to make the next four. 36, 37, 38 and 38!!!! YAY baby. With 2 seconds to spare I was making the cycle! I decided to scratch my long run today and postpone it until saturday. My body needs rest, I can tell. I normally wouldn't do this but with Disney in less than 3 weeks, I want to get the most of every workout and with two big workouts scheduled (long bike tomorrow and postponed today's long run until sat) I want to have two quality workouts. I will spin the legs for 90 minutes this afternoon and get myself ready for one of the last long training weekends for Ironman 70.3 Disney.
I'm off to Bradenton on fri until sun to help out and watch the 101 Bradenton Race. Should be exciting as a new racing distance!
Karel and Anthony are off in New Mexico for the tour. The courses are just brutal and yesterday's Time Trial was in awful wind and on and off rain. The course was 16 miles and consisted of a couple big climbs. What a time trail!!! Well, that isn't Karel's strength but he still did well. Today's race has a bunch of nasty climbs at the end of the 94 mile Road Race with climbs at 11-17%!!! Good luck guys!!!