MT Training Camp

We just got back home a couple of hours ago and I'm exhausted. It's about an 11 hour drive from Helena to Portland and we left about 5:00 am this morning. Our time in Montana was great though, totally worth the long drive. We spent time with our family and friends there and I got in a couple great long training sessions.


Long Run
We took off Friday after work and drove until after midnight, making it as far as Missoula (about 100 miles short of Helena). So Saturday morning, after only about 6 hours of sleep, I got up and did my long run in Missoula. Zach dropped me off at the University and he went to breakfast with his buddies that live there. I started off my run heading east on the dirt/gravel trail along the river for about 4 miles, then turned around when the trail appeared to end. Next I headed west along the river, this time on the popular paved path through town. Tons of people were out walking and biking toward the University for the first Griz football game of the season. I saw quite a few runners too. My pace was a little slow, but I was being cautious with my sore foot and I think the elevation made a minor difference too (only about 3200 ft, but that's about 3100 feet higher than Portland). I wasn't worried though and was really feeling good and having fun. I went slightly over my 2 hour plan and met Zach downtown at our favorite bagel place before hitting the road for Helena.

My foot didn't bother me at all but I could kind of feel it that afternoon. I wore my tennis shoes instead of flip flops for better support. The pain went away completely though over the next couple of days and feels 100% better now. Yay!

Long OWS
Saturday night we went to dinner with the families and I went to bed very early and slept like a rock. We got up Sunday morning and loaded Zach's kayak up and headed out to a little pond near my parent's house for some open water swimming. I was hoping to swim in one of the large lakes outside of town but Zach's parents did some recon earlier in the week and all the lakes were filled with algae and unsuitable for swimming. I was also hoping to do a 2 mile+ swim or at least an hour, but I ended up short of that. It was still a great swim though. The swimming itself was no problem, but I admit I did have a couple (OK, several) of freak out moments. The water was very clear and you could see all the seaweed and stuff deep below, and some of the plants were as tall as the surface of the water and it just freaked me out. I had a few gasp/flailing/cussing moments but fewer as the swim went on. Also, the water was cold!! It had to be 5 degrees colder than anything I've been in this year. It is a spring-fed lake and the water was just not that warm. My arms, feet, and face started to get pretty cold and that was mainly why I called it a day after about 50 minutes. Zach kayaked right along with me which was awesome and kept me focused. He also took the Garmin along and measured my distance. My parents came out and watched me too so it was neat finshing up with a little crowd. :)

The weekend training definitely picked me back up after my late-week freak out due to missing a big ride. I'm glad I took the day off though and I know I have the energy and enthusiasm for my final push toward IMAZ. Thanks for all the advice and support. Overall the week was pretty low volume, with zero road miles on my bike, but that's fine. Here are the numbers for the week:

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Run
10.0 miles/1:28:19/8:50
Springwater

Tuesday: Swim
2050 yards/1:10
Masters- the whole hour of class was spent on backstroke drills, I swam a few hundred yards after class to get some freestyle swimming in.

Wednesday: Bike
1:00/spin class

Wednesday: Run
3.6 miles/35:21/9:49 average pace
Met Deana after spinning for a nice run along the waterfront

Wednesday: Swim
3000 yards/1:15
Masters + 15 minutes straight swim after class. My first time hitting 3k in a while!

Thursday: Rest
Unscheduled rest day due to a sore arch in my left foot

Friday: Rest
Travel to MT

Saturday: Run
13.5 miles/2:04:07/9:12 average pace
Solid long run in Missoula, Montana

Sunday: Swim
1.4 miles (2460 yards)/50:00
Open Water Swim at Spring Meadow Lake in Helena, Montana


totals for the week:
swim: 3:15 (7500 yards)
bike: 1:00 (spin class only!)
run: 4:05 (27.1 miles)
total: 8:20

We'll call it a recovery week. Maybe I should get some credit for the 24 hours I spent in the car.


Lots of pics! And a video. Enjoy.

Helena's historic Walking Mall

Helena Cathedral and Mount Helena in the background:

Me and my mom:

Zach and his folks:

Saturday's long run along the Clark Fork River in Missoula:

Sunday Morning's OWS at Spring Meadow Lake in Helena

Getting in the cold lake:

Starting another lap:

A couple pictures and a video from Zach's perspective in the kayak

Starting off:

My support crew watching me head back to shore (Zach's mom and stepdad and my parents)

This is kind of neat. Listen at the end for where I order Zach "Come on!" because I wanted him to stay close to me. Obviously didn't know he was making the video!

Hope everyone has a great week. I have a really fun one coming up myself- my birthday (29!) is Thursday the 10th and I'm doing an Olympic distance tri on Saturday out in the gorge. Will update with lots of pictures asap. Thanks for reading! :)

Stubborn, Crazy

Another mid-week random post coming atcha. Very suggestive that perhaps I need less training and more therapy.

This is going to be brief and if it sounds like I’m giving myself a pep talk that is because I am. Something about typing it out and sharing it with you all makes it more likely to stick.

This week is going to be a big compromise training-wise because we are driving up to Montana for the long Labor Day weekend. We planned this months ago and I included it in my schedule. It was a little stressful to schedule a bazillion hours of training into my limited time and it turns out executing the plan is even more stressful. I’m going to get in a long run and a long swim up there, which is great. But, basically, there is no time for a long bike ride. Whatever, that’s fine. Except that next week I’m doing an Olympic distance tri and therefore won’t be doing a long ride next week either. Fine, fine, lots of time for long rides. I’m missing a few other workouts too but it’s cool. There is plenty of room in this 30 week plan for a couple of adjusted weeks! I’m fit as a fiddle and a couple days off isn’t going to hurt.

So hypothetically let’s say I buy into that, and just bang out the few workouts I have scheduled this week with focus and purpose. Well that would be just great. Except one tiny thing… my foot hurts!! GAH!!!!!!!!!! Just a little arch/sole of the foot pain that I get from time to time that usually lasts just one day. Well, it’s been two days. TWO! Two days people! Yes I’m overemphasizing this because I’m trying to point out to myself that I’m totally overreacting. I know a little pain now and then is normal. I’ve trained for 7 marathons for Cripes sake! And I know for a fact I have had this exact same conversation every. Single. Time I’ve done a hard-core training program and I know exactly what you are all going to say. I know what I would say to you! Aron, Maritza, you guys know we all have this freak-out at least once per training cycle and we email each other and give each other the exact same pep talk. Hilarious! Well, here I am. Whiny, nervous, anxious, overreacting.

I know the worst thing that can happen is that I am too stubborn to take a day off and I push through and I get a serious injury. Instead of it being a day off, it becomes a week off, or more. I know I just should rest. I’m skipping the semi-long-compromise ride and icing my foot and taking the day off.

One final complaint that maybe you triathletes can identify with is that in tri training, you can almost always do something… it’s hard to really truly give yourself a pass. If it is primarily a running injury, why don’t I just go swim? The bike would probably be fine, right? A little strength training? Some yoga? Sure, I don’t actually do yoga but maybe today I will start. Then I start in with the chores and untouched to-do list… well haven’t I been to busy to attend to many things and shouldn’t I take advantage and do that stuff tonight? Clean, laundry, errands, call my mom, my brother, Maritza, Inga, Grandma? Why don’t I go do all the fun stuff I feel like I’ve been missing out on?! Happy hour? Farmers Market? Art galleries?? Maybe I should price tickets to Europe? There's got to be something I can accomplish!!! AAAAAHHHHH.

So, I’m just off work and the night looms ahead of me and we’ll just have to see how it pans out. I'm not going to do any training because I think complete rest is best in this case. My guess is I will do nothing constructive and I will be a huge intolerable bitch to Zach. I will have at least one beer and I will honestly try to relax.

There’s a lot of weeks to go, my friends. God help us all.