Cucumber Cool

Another super taper week in the books. Not much swimming, VERY little biking, some quality running, lots of napping and movie watching and relaxing. Love it.

I had a few taper pains pop up- some were my fault and some were completely unexplained. I know this is normal and I tried not to panic. Thankfully everything cleared up quickly. I didn't take any chances and eased off even more than was probably necessary, but whatever! Now is the time to play it safe.

The funny thing about this week is that while I had no problem skipping swims and bike rides, I couldn't get enough running! I think all the energy my body is storing up wanted to escape a little bit in my running this week. I busted out some faster miles and it all felt so effortless! I had to make myself hold back and didn't run as much as I could have. It is the taper after all.

I don't know what it is but I'm feeling so calm and relaxed and positive about the race. I'm not nervous at all really. I know it will sink it at some point but I'm feeling fine at this point. I guess I am a little anxious, like when I was getting my things together tonight I kind of snapped at Zach. Oh who am I kidding, that is totally normal. I guess I am just prepared enough that there isn't anything to freak out about? Like I got all my freaking out out of the way over the last couple of months. Works for me.

I keep coming up with little things to do, like wash my running shorts and pick up Ziploc bags, but everything is coming together. This weekend I got lots of miscellaneous things done- Zach and I practiced tire changes, I trimmed my nails, I soaked my wetsuit and hung it to dry, I called Inga in Phoenix and went over the weekend plan. I started packing tonight and will finish tomorrow night probably. I only have a few little workouts this week (note to self: take it easy on the running!) but mostly just getting as much rest as possible and thinking positive.

Here's the recap of this last week. Pretty light!

Monday: Bike
15:00/stationary bike
This was supposed to be my rest day, so I just went to the gym with Zach to do a light strength training session. This was a mistake! I kind of jacked my shoulder up. Dammit! I stopped immediately and went up to the cardio area and rode the stationary bike for a while. Frick!

Tuesday: Run
7.0/58:38/8:22 average pace
Fabulous run in the pouring rain. My legs were feeling fresh and speedy and I loved it. I ran the last 3 miles at 7:44 average pace!

Wednesday: Swim
1250 yards/40:00
Zach had the day off work for Veteran's day so we went to the pool together. I realized pretty quickly that my shoulder was very slightly sore and decided not to push it. I did mostly kicking while Zach swam.

Wednesday: Run
5.0 miles/40:50/8:10
Another fabulous run, again in the pouring rain. I drove up to Forest Park since I haven't been up there for a couple of weeks. It was wet and muddy and cold and awesome. Once again my legs were having trouble holding back and I cranked out my last three miles at 7:48 pace! Speedy legs!

Thursday: nada
My lower back was randomly tight all day at work, so I decided not to bother with the short bike ride I had scheduled. My shoulder area felt better but didn't want to swim either.

Friday: Run
3.5 miles/30:31/8:43 average pace
Easy run with Zach after work. Thankfully, no rain this time!

Saturday: Bike
11.9 miles/49:43/14.3 MPH
I really wanted to get my bike out for a ride before I dropped it off for transport. My back felt fine and I decided not to use the weather as an excuse, although I could have - it was only 34 degrees out when we were ready to leave! We bundled up and headed out for a short ride down the Springwater. As soon as we got back we took my bike up to Athlete's Lounge on 26th and Thurman. There were several bikes there already, like maybe 10. I was glad to see that there were 4 road bikes alongside the tri bikes. The manager of the bike shop is actually doing the race too and he arrived right as we were leaving. Good to know his bike will be along with mine! Makes me feel more secure. I said goodbye to my bike and left it in their hands.

Saturday: Swim
1800 yards/45:00
After the bike ride I watched a couple of movies on TV and took a little nap. Zach finally woke me up and we went over to the gym. My shoulder felt fine and I got a nice swim in. I even did the first 1000 y without my nose clip! Good to know that in case I somehow lose it in the race I will be ok. We took a long steam and soak after the workout and then back home for more movies and relaxing.

Sunday: Run
9.0 miles/1:19:31/8:50 average pace
Today I went for an easy long-ish run up on Marine Drive. It was cold and windy but only a few sprinkles, thankfully. I felt great. After the run I drove across the river and visited Emily in Vancouver. She just got back from her honeymoon in Hawaii so she showed me a bunch of pictures and we sat and chatted the afternoon away by her fireplace. Cozy! Back at home I packed some of my stuff and now Zach and I are watching tv and relaxing. And eating ice cream. (Pumpkin ice cream from Cool Moon)

totals for the week:

swim: 1:25 (3050 yards)
bike: 1:05 (11.9 miles- ha!)
run: 3:30 (24.5 miles)

total training volume for taper week 2: 6:00

Definitely embracing the taper!

ONE WEEK to Ironman Arizona. :)

Sorry for the lack of photos lately, but I promise there will be more photos then you could ever want to see in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading! I'll be back with another post before I leave for Arizona on Thursday. Have a great week!