We are very lucky that we live in a southern city that provides us with all four seasons throughout the year. But even better, we can train outside year round. However, once or twice a year we get a beautiful snowfall in Greenville, SC. which forces us to train inside.
On Friday late morning, after our morning swim and strength session, we were shocked to see the rain turn into fluffy white snowflakes. We had over 24 hours of constant snow falling from the sky and it was absolutely beautiful. Although I was loving the change of scenery in our tree-filled backyard, Campy was not impressed as he is not a fan of anything cold and wet. I suppose when you are a 12-lb dog and live in a world where you can never be too warm or have too many blankets on top of you, there's nothing fun about voluntarily stepping outside, onto the cold, wet ground.
On Friday late morning, after our morning swim and strength session, we were shocked to see the rain turn into fluffy white snowflakes. We had over 24 hours of constant snow falling from the sky and it was absolutely beautiful. Although I was loving the change of scenery in our tree-filled backyard, Campy was not impressed as he is not a fan of anything cold and wet. I suppose when you are a 12-lb dog and live in a world where you can never be too warm or have too many blankets on top of you, there's nothing fun about voluntarily stepping outside, onto the cold, wet ground.
As for training, it was a nice change to spend two hours on my Tacx trainer with an hour of very specific variable cadence work. The main set was very mentally taxing but I found my legs getting super fatigued toward the end of the workout. It was a good type of hurt, which was then followed by a 25 minute run on the treadmill with a few 30 sec fast strides to open up the gait. In the evening, I had another run (well, power walk) on the treadmill for 45 minutes. This workout started with a 10 minute EZ jog and then I put on my 20-lb weight vest for a 34 minute interval main set of walking at a 15% incline. That workout had my legs shaking by the end but it felt so good to run for 5 minutes without the weight vest and at 0% incline.
At least I had a nice view from my workout room.
In the evening we watched the NBC coverage of the Ironman World Championship, which was incredible and super inspiring. Karel had a RETUL bike fit on Sat (and then again on Sunday) so we recorded the show for the evening. Although I am still happy with my decision to turn down my Kona slot after winning my age group (and overall female amateur) at Ironman Chattanooga, I do believe that the Big Island of Kona is magical and I can't wait to return in October to watch Karel compete in his 3rd IM Kona.
On Sunday morning I opted to run outside, even though my workout would have been perfect for the treadmill. The sky was sunny and the snow had melted on the roads so it was safe enough to workout outside, even though the temperature was a tad cold (low 30's). I really enjoyed my long run which totaled almost 11 miles. The miles ticked away very quickly as the main set was a speed play set with different efforts throughout a 19-minute main set. This required me to really stay in-tune with my body which kept me engaged and present. I performed the main set twice and finished the workout with 2 x ~10 minute steady efforts. It was tough to get my legs moving again after the MS but it forced me to focus on my form (over pace) while running on tired legs (we call this fatigue based running form or FBRF).
One of my favorite quotes says "You can't get much done if you only work on the days when you feel good" by Jerry West. I think this saying holds true for the weather that you can't just train on the days when the weather is too your liking. I'm not one to complain about the weather. Good or bad, I love to move and use my body as it does as much for me physically as it does mentally and emotionally. And if weather is not ideal outside, I have no trouble working out indoors. I always remind myself how lucky I am to do what I can do with my body and there are many people in this world who do not have the freedom or opportunity to workout on a daily basis.
At least I had a nice view from my workout room.
In the evening we watched the NBC coverage of the Ironman World Championship, which was incredible and super inspiring. Karel had a RETUL bike fit on Sat (and then again on Sunday) so we recorded the show for the evening. Although I am still happy with my decision to turn down my Kona slot after winning my age group (and overall female amateur) at Ironman Chattanooga, I do believe that the Big Island of Kona is magical and I can't wait to return in October to watch Karel compete in his 3rd IM Kona.
On Sunday morning I opted to run outside, even though my workout would have been perfect for the treadmill. The sky was sunny and the snow had melted on the roads so it was safe enough to workout outside, even though the temperature was a tad cold (low 30's). I really enjoyed my long run which totaled almost 11 miles. The miles ticked away very quickly as the main set was a speed play set with different efforts throughout a 19-minute main set. This required me to really stay in-tune with my body which kept me engaged and present. I performed the main set twice and finished the workout with 2 x ~10 minute steady efforts. It was tough to get my legs moving again after the MS but it forced me to focus on my form (over pace) while running on tired legs (we call this fatigue based running form or FBRF).
One of my favorite quotes says "You can't get much done if you only work on the days when you feel good" by Jerry West. I think this saying holds true for the weather that you can't just train on the days when the weather is too your liking. I'm not one to complain about the weather. Good or bad, I love to move and use my body as it does as much for me physically as it does mentally and emotionally. And if weather is not ideal outside, I have no trouble working out indoors. I always remind myself how lucky I am to do what I can do with my body and there are many people in this world who do not have the freedom or opportunity to workout on a daily basis.