7 weeks out...training B2B training update

Saturday marked 7 weeks until the Beach 2 Battleship Ironman distance race that will conclude my 2013 season.  The week was a great one from a training standpoint and I needed that.  Last weekend I lost a bit of focus with my eating habits and I weighed in at 167 last Monday morning.  This Monday I was 163.  For the week my total training time was 23 hours.  I strength trained at Barre563 twice, swam 9,200 yards in 3 swims, biked 214 miles, and ran my highest total since April with 54 miles of running.  My run mileage has been low this year mostly due to the back injury I sustained for a good portion of the summer.  I'm blessed to be 100% healthy right now and hope to increase my mileage keeping it high for the next 5 weeks before tapering down for the race.  Hopefully this dreadful hot weather is coming to a close.  Typically the fall is my favorite time to run as the cool temperatures remind me of my days running cross country in high school and college.  I also got some solid long workouts in.  Saturday I ran long and got in 16 miles.  That was my longest run of the year.  I expected to go only 13 but never felt fatigued so I added 3 miles to that.  I should have felt tired but I did not.  I have to believe the strength I've gained from regularly attending classes at Barre563 is what kept me feeling good even after running further than I have since Ironman Arizona last November.  I felt the same about my long ride on Sunday.  It was hot and windy but I still got in 84 miles which was my longest ride by 30 miles in the past 6 weeks.  Once again I expected to have twitching and tired muscles but the twitches never came and I felt very strong during my tempo run on Monday.  I'm really excited to race in October knowing that I will have attended Barre563 for long enough that my body will have adapted and benefitted from the classes.  They offer a 15 day unlimited trial of classes for only $20.00 if you are wanting to give it a try.  I am going every Monday and Thursday evening.  The website with details about Barre and signup info is www.barre563.com  Today I ran 8x2 minutes hard with 90 seconds easy running recovery after each during a 6 mile run.  My afternoon bike ride was 50 miles with 6x10 minutes hard with 5 minutes easy after each.  I averaged 291 watts through the hard periods which was good power for me right now with the volume I'm putting in.  I did this workout 4 straight weeks in 2009 when I was getting ready to race Longhorn 70.3 in October and each week my power went up with my highest week averaging 292.  I'm glad to be where I am now with 6.5 weeks still remaining until the race in North Carolina. 

2 weeks ago someone asked me if I was ready for the race.  My answer was "No...but I don't want to be ready yet.  I want to be ready in 6 weeks.  I'm making good progress towards being at my best for my last race of the year and my only Ironman distance event of the year.  My swims have been solid and I won't start swimming a lot until 3 weeks out from the race.  The swim is with the current (although I heard this year the tide is not going to be much help) so I keep telling myself I need to save time at home by keeping my swim yards lower.  Our kids are much more active now than ever before.  Owen started pre-school and Payton started Kindergarten.  They are growing up so fast and I don't want training to be the most important thing for me.  Owen amazed me this summer when he told me to take his training wheels off.  I didn't think there was any chance he was going to ride without them.  He's only 3.  Within a week he was riding without them and now he's obsessed with riding his bike.  He keeps asking to go to the bike path to ride so last week we went to the bike path and he rode 3 miles.  I was super proud of him especially because he crashed a 1/2 mile in and he got back on and wanted no part in me helping him.  Every day now he asks if he can ride his bike while I run next to him.  We put him on Payton's bigger bike tonight and Jen ran with Owen for 3 miles and said she had to keep telling him to slow down so she could keep up.  It's a great feeling knowing that I will be able to go for runs and Owen can bike with me now.  The bigger bike has bigger gears that allows him to ride much faster on flat roads/paths.  We still have to give him a little push up the hills but that's okay.  We are really proud of him wanting to be active.  He inspires me. 

We've had 6 students nominated for iHope gifts already this year.  We will do whatever we can to help open doors for these students that don't have many resources especially in the area of technology.  Right now we are working on getting the foundation to a level that will allow it to be sustainable forever through endowment.  The iHope board wants to help all the students nominated but we also need to be fiscally responsible knowing that we want this to be around for eternity.  I'm hoping my last couple races can help bring in more funds to make things easier.  If you'd like to make a tax deductible contribution to help give technology like and iPad to a low-income student that displays outstanding character and work traits click here.  Anything you can do is greatly appreciated.  Thanks for reading!  DREAM BIG!!