Like riding a bike

 

I can’t believe it’s been two weeks since the marathon! It has gone by fast. I’ve been a busy girl. This calls for bullet points!

- Recovery: I was super sore the day after the marathon. My knees and back mostly. I felt better the next day and haven’t had any particular aches or pains since. I took a couple days to be super lazy and eat tons of food and then I decided to get off my ass and do some fun post-marathon stuff.

It also took a few days to get settled down emotionally after the race. I admit I had some moments of disappointment over the next couple of days. I was initially very OK with missing my goal of the BQ, because I knew I ran a smart race and did my best. But, the next day it kind of weighed on me. I mean, 17 seconds, are you kidding me? I knew I did all I could but I was SO close. Oh well. I realized it is ok, and the BQ is just an arbitrary number and can’t take away from my accomplishment. It was a great finish time and my 3rd fastest marathon! Final decision: I’m ok with it.

- Yoga: I went to a 90 minute Vinyasa class three days after the marathon and did what I could. Lunges and such were not easy! It got easier and I’ve gone to 6 classes over the last two weeks from easy meditation classes to challenging Ashtanga and Vinyasa classes. I also did yoga at home once with Zach and did a Skype yoga with my mom. Yoga yoga yoga.

- Cycling: I rode my bike! I literally dusted it off and took it out for a spin the weekend after the marathon (picture above). I had to take my Ironman numbers off of it – I have not ridden it once since November 22nd. I rode 12 miles that first time on the Springwater trail and enjoyed it very much. I forgot how fun it is! There were tons of people on the trail and I took it very easy, averaging 13 MPH.

Feeling motivated and confident after that little test ride, I made a bike date with Alisa for Wednesday of this week. We did 17 miles on the Springwater at about 14 MPH. We had a great time chatting and are pretty evenly matched cycling speeds so it was perfect. I had promised her that when I was done with the marathon I would ride with her as she trains for her first half-ironman and I am excited to follow through on that promise! The highlight of the ride was my demonstration of how to change a flat tire. Her rear tire went flat and being a relative newbie she didn’t know what to do. Jen to the rescue! I had to kind of guess my way through it but I got it and felt like a hero. I got all greasy and everything, it was rad. We have a tire-changing lesson planned so she can learn this skill too.

Today (Saturday) I had another cycling date with Alisa in which I would join her for the last 20 miles of her long bike ride (ended up being 20.6). She rode 30 miles out to Hagg Lake where I met her and we did 2 loops around the lake. It’s quite hilly out there and was a challenging ride, I think we averaged about 12 MPH (her first 30 miles were much faster). The weather was great and her husband was there too along with a couple of friends and we all had a great time. Alisa was a super tough cookie and did her longest ride ever today! I was very proud of her. I was proud of myself too for tackling such a tough ride just for fun.

More bike rides are definitely in my future, probably mostly with Alisa but maybe also with Anne or Deana or whoever is in. Zach is excited to get back into it after his marathon (June 5).

- Swimming: I was completely satisfied with cycling being my big non-running endeavor for now and haven’t really had an interest in swimming. Like cycling, I hadn’t even considered it since the Ironman six months ago. I actually quit the gym (to put the money toward the much pricier yoga membership) anyway so I have nowhere to swim. Well, that is not completely true. I swam today… in the lake! Yes, I did a little open water swim as my first swim back. It was so fun. I probably only swam a couple hundred yards but it felt really good. I was really comfortable in the open water and my form felt good. I don’t know if I’m going to go to a pool anytime soon but might jump in next time I am at a lake. :)

- Running: Oh ya, running! That too. I’ve run three times so far. I ran the weekend after the race with Deana and Dana (Dana is a New Runner!!) for 3 easy miles. Tuesday I ran with Amy and Alisa. We did 4.5 miles at a 10:15 pace. I ran again on Friday, this time with Zach. It was his easy day so I decided I would try to keep up. I ended up running 5 miles (he did 6, I took a break in the middle while he did an extra out-and-back) at an 8:16 pace. It was HARD. Probably wasn’t the best idea but I got through it. I’m running again tomorrow and definitely will keep the pace slower but will try to run a bit longer.

- Race plans: Despite all the biking and swim talk, I’m not planning on doing a triathlon this summer. Well, maybe, but probably not. I am planning on a couple running races though- a half marathon on June 12 is the only sure thing. I’d like to do a 5k too and a trail race, but that is tbd. I’m throwing around fall marathon plans but am entirely undecided. I’ll keep you updated.

 

That’s all for now! Here’s a picture of me and Alisa from today’s bike ride. Check out my Ironman bike jersey:

Thanks for reading!!