Putting in the work

7 weeks to Ironman Arizona and this is maybe the first week that I've started to really feel prepared. This was my highest volume week yet and included my longest ride ever and my longest run in the training cycle so far. I'm SORE in a way I haven't felt in a while, "good" sore I guess. I know I need to be careful not to overdo it and I'm definitely right at that line, but as of this moment I feel great.

I had a big snag thrown into my training this week and if I had posted a few days ago it would have been a real Jen-level FREAK OUT. But everything is going to be ok and I'm dealing with it. What happened is this: Zach's bike is broken. Something with a connecting piece in the rear dropout is bent and he had to send it into the manufacturer to be re-bonded to the frame. It's under warranty and apparently Trek is really great about stuff like this so it should all be fine. It's not major damage, and he's not even sure how it happened, but they told him it isn't safe to ride until it gets fixed. He dropped it off Friday and it will be back in 3-4 weeks. 3-4 weeks! Crap.

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So obviously, Zach is bummed because he enjoys riding his bike. I'm bummed (to put it mildly) because I was really counting on him to join me on my remaining long rides. We had all kinds of plans for our upcoming 5-6 hour rides and were going to check out some cool new routes. Now, I don't really know what I'm going to do. I'm taking it week-by-week. This week we went up to Sauvie Island where I feel comfortable riding alone, and next week I am doing a Century ride with Anne so that's covered. After that I think I'm going to pick some routes that are loops and Zach can ride some of it with me on his mountain bike (which we found out he can ride as fast as I can ride my road bike. How embarrassing for me!) Emily and Alisa also volunteered to accompany me and I know I can ride on my own as well. I might check out a group ride or something too. It will be fine! It will be fine. (repeat as needed)

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Anyway, the ride this weekend was a success. In fact it was Awesome! I rode 80 freaking miles. :O And then I ran 3 miles. I was very very sore later in the day and wasn't sure how I was going to get my long run in today. But I set my alarm and got out the door by 7:00 and got it done. It wasn't fast, and it didn't feel great, but it's done. I'm still sore this evening but not any worse than yesterday. Hopefully my rest day tomorrow will help but I have a feeling I won't feel fresh and rested until I taper! Which isn't that far away. Yikes.

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I finished my run and took a quick shower and Zach and I went downtown and watched Emily finish the Portland Marathon. It was amazing. She is one FAST girl and she completely nailed her strategy and pacing and nutrition and put up an incredible time. Wow. Check out her blog for the race report soon! There are several pictures below. Zach took his bike out on the course and got several pictures and then we saw her at the finish. After the race we went out for lunch and beers and had a great time. I was completely wiped out when we got home and I took a looooong nap. I got up to write this blog and eat some dinner and now I'm going to bed.

I'll stop complaining now since I know several people that ran marathons today are waaaaaay more tired and sore than me! Congratulations to Emily, Aron, Tara, Amy, and everyone else who raced this weekend. Can't wait to read all the reports. :)

Well here is the summary of the week's workouts. Lots of good stuff!

Monday: Rest
I haven't made it to the gym to lift in weeks!

Tuesday: Run
7.0 miles/1:02:18/8:54 average pace
Easy solo run

Tuesday: Swim
2200 yards/1:00
Masters

Wednesday: Bike
1:00/trainer
Alisa wasn't able to make it to spin so I just did a trainer ride at home.

Wednesday: Run
4.0 miles/35:42/8:56 average pace
Brick run after the trainer ride

Wednesday: Swim
3100 yards/1:20
Masters + 20 minute extra swim after class

Thursday: Bike
2:04:30
19.3 miles on the Springwater trail at 14.6 MPH average
+ 45 minutes on the trainer

Friday: Run
9.0 miles/1:15:17/8:22 average pace
Felt great!

Saturday: Bike
80.0 miles/5:04:15/15.7 MPH
Sauvie Island ride- 30 miles with Zach and 50 miles solo. It was really cold when we started- I wore my North Face running jacket since I don't really have any cold-weather cycling gear. My feet were freezing and pretty numb after a couple of hours. Thankfully the sun came out at some point and warmed me up a little and at least I got the feeling back in my feet. I need to get some shoe covers and other things to get me through the fall season. Other than that I felt good the whole time although obviously a little tired toward the end. I was happy with my pacing- I definitely held back knowing I had to run after. I did a good job on my nutrition (2 power bars and a bottle of perpeteum, plus a few bottles of water) and I think my posture/form was good because my upper body wasn't very sore at the end. Great ride overall.

Saturday: Run
3.0 miles/25:17/8:46 average pace
Brick run after my longest ride ever

Sunday: Run
15.0 miles/2:18:16/9:13 average pace
Super sore, super slow run out on the Springwater while the rest of Portland was running the marathon!




totals:


swim: 2:20 (5300 yards)
bike: 8:10 (99.3 miles on road + 1:45 on trainer)
run: 5:35 (38 miles)

total training time: 16:05


Holy crap!



Now enjoy a few photos from the weekend:


Pictures from my looooong Saturday ride and run:



Taking a quick break during a windy stretch:





A few miles to go:



80 miles done!

Finishing up my 3 mile brick run:

Portland Marathon Photos:

Zach rode along the course and got these photos with his phone:

And here she is rounding the second-to-last corner with less than a mile to go:

I'm so proud:

Talking marathons (future and past) with Sarah and others at Goose Hollow:

Thanks for reading! Have a great week everyone.

What a weekend

As usual, I am posting this on Sunday night after an exhausting weekend. But this time, it is after the BEST WEEKEND EVER. Ya, ya, I did some training and it was great, but this weekend was so much more than that. I don't even want to get started because I could really start crying right now just thinking about it. Emily and Josh's wedding in Hood River was amazing. The setting was breathtaking and was only out shined by our little pal Emily and her sweet husband. They were absolutely adorable and it was truly an honor to be present at their wedding. It was great to spend the evening with all our great friends and a bunch of fun new people.

I especially loved spending the entire weekend with Maritza, who flew in Thursday night and left this morning. We went for two great runs together and then today Zach and I capped off the weekend with our longest training ride ever. To quickly (I'll try) recap: Friday morning Maritza and I did a 14 mile long run along the Springwater trail. After a delicious post-run brunch at Isabel down the street, we all headed out to Hood River about noon and stopped at Multnomah Falls along the way. We arrived in Hood River and checked into the historic Hood River Hotel right downtown. A school bus picked up all the guests and drove us up to the Gorge Crest Vineyards where the wedding was held. The scenery was indescribable. See photos below. Absolutely amazing. The ceremony was perfect. Everyone cried. The dinner, the party, the donuts, the after-party, everything was incredible. The next morning, despite very little sleep and a moderate to severe hangover, Maritza and I went up to the Historic Columbia River Highway Trail and she got in 6 miles and waited for me while I ran 9. We spent the rest of the afternoon at a beautiful old farm with a view of Mt. Hood where we picked flowers and laid in the grass relaxing and talking. Then we headed to the house Emily's family had rented for a bbq and some more visiting before we headed back to Portland. I took Maritza to the airport this morning and then Zach and I went out and rode all around Clackamas County (south of Portland) and wrung every last bit of energy we had out of ourselves. In summary, best. weekend. ever.

I am really really happy and thankful for all the beauty and love in this world. I know, so cheesy. But that's what you get.

Let me recap my training week here, but I will try to keep it short. The photos of the weekend are at the end.

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Rest
Unscheduled rest day. My legs were SORE from the trail run and I knew it would be a mistake to push it.

Wednesday: Bike
Spin class/1:00
No Alisa. :(

Wednesday: Run
4.75 miles/45:48/9:38 average pace
Deana met me after I got out of spin and we ran the waterfront loop. Great run!

Wednesday: Swim
3100 yards/1:20
Masters plus 20 minutes swim after class.

Thursday: Bike
23.8 miles/1:25:11/16.7 MPH
Same route I did last Thursday- repeated out-and-backs on the Springwater trail. Zach joined me but I refused to draft. I was a bit windy but I managed a faster pace than last week. Making this my fastest training ride ever! Ya!

Thursday: Swim
2200 yards/1:00
Masters

Friday: Run
14.0 miles/2:23:47/10:16 average pace
Long run with Maritza. :)

Saturday: Run
9.25 miles/1:24:17/9:06 average pace
Historic Highway trail in Hood River. First couple of miles with Maritza. :) Hungover from Emily's wedding, yet happy as a clam.

Sunday: Bike
70.0 miles/4:59:40/13.9 MPH
Clackamas ride. Hilly and CRAZY windy. I felt really good and stayed positive the whole time. The ride was slow but very challenging. Really fun way to spend the day with Zach. Seriously, like the entire day. With bathroom breaks and stoplights and everything we were out there for over 6 hours.

TOTALS for the week:

swim: 2:20 (5300 yards)
bike: 7:25 (93.8 miles plus spin)
run: 4:35 (28 miles)
total training time: 14:20


Right where I want to be and feeling great. Ironman Arizona is 8 weeks from today.

And now, photos. I decided to only pick a few of my very favorite ones. We took 400 pictures this weekend. Plus I have Maritza's 200 or so, plus a few dozen mobile pics to choose from. I can't get enough of them but if I started posting all the ones I like there would be hundreds. These are a few of my favorites. Enjoy! Thanks for reading, and have a great week!