Selfie and Workout Sunday – 154 Days to Go

Since I didn’t get my workouts written up for Wednesday, this is a bonus edition of Selfie Sunday which will include this week’s workouts and Selfies (the workouts are from 6/9-6/15, and the Selfies are from 6/13-6/19.) When I opened my workouts and saw how easy of a week I had this week, I freaked out and messaged my coach. It turns out that it was a planned rest week.  We are doing blocks of four weeks hitting it hard, and then one easy week.  It’s been a rough week equipment-wise.  My bike is now fixed, but I got a hole in my wetsuit (now repaired) and my watch stopped working – it tracks the workouts while they are happening (kind of) but doesn’t save them. New watch should be here Monday or Tuesday.

Workouts:

 

6/9/16

Bike Intervals – Brick

My bike is making a strange squeaking sound again so it is back in the shop so it was back to the spin bike for this. It went as well as intervals can go on the spin bike. In my rush to get to the gym I forgot to pack running shoes for the brick (a brick workout is a bike followed by a run) but I didn’t want to skip the run/walk so I did it in my biking shoes – not recommended.  My feet were killing me by the end but I got it done.

Strength Workout

Done.

6/10/16

Day off

6/11/16

Long Run/Walk

This did not go well at all. Up to almost half way I felt pretty good, but I felt like I was going at a good clip, then I would look down and see I was a minute or more off the pace I thought I was going. At half way I started to feel really bad, really fast – weird pain in my left quad, usual pain in my left achilles and right calf. It usually works itself out so I told myself it was just a low point and that I would bounce, I ate a gel.  At the next mile my stomach rebelled which was not fun. By the next mile I realized that I was not going to bounce, I was in the pain cave and that’s’ where I was going to stay.  At that point it just didn’t feel like there was any way for me to finish.  But I did. One more for the impossible bank.  Last week I felt better at the end of my long run than I felt ½ way through it today.

Strength Workout

Done.  Ouch. This just seemed like insult to injury today.

6/13/16

Long Bike

My legs were still killing me from the events of the previous day but  wasn’t as bad as I feared it would be, and I just kept reminding myself “at least I’m not running!”

6/14/16

Open Water Swim

This went pretty well –  I was able to stay relaxed and focus on my stroke. To pass the time I used the new mantra (that I think I got from the Total Immersion videos?)  “Relaxed and fast” to go with “I can do, this I will do this” as well as taking some time to focus on specific parts of the stroke.  I tried counting to pass the time but he it just makes me kind of anxious, and it makes the swim seem longer and that’s exactly what I do not need.)

I noticed that they had changed the buoys. I didn’t think much of it on the way out since I breathe to the right and sight forward, and the buoys are on the left. On the way back however, as I was breathing I saw that they said “100 Yards.” It took a second, why was that number fresh in my mind? Then it hit me – 100 yards was how far out the report I was reading said a triathlete was swimming on a nearby beach when she was bitten by a shark. I don’t know if they actually had anything to do with that (for all I know it meant 100 yards between the buoys.) What I do know is that that’s about the time that I lost my shit. I swam the rest of that lap so close to the shore that I could see the sand at the bottom.

Next lap – on the way out I heard a bunch of talking, as I breathed I saw a beginner stand-up paddle board class taking place, they were standing on the boards in the sand and practicing as an instructor yelled commands. I thought – Adorable, looks like fun, maybe something I’ll try when this nightmare is over and they invent an ocean that doesn’t have sharks.  On the way back I heard louder chatter coming from shore (and now away from my breathing side) I turned just in time to see the graduates of Paddleboard Class of Tuesday taking their first wobbly strokes out to sea,  exactly where I was about to be swimming (there is a rental stand that has a launch area that goes through the swimming area so they were where they were supposed to be, I’ve been told that in theory they should give right-of-way to swimmers but it seems like it might be impractical considering their size, speed, and often lack of experience.) They looked enthusiastic if not skilled. I just pulled up and started to tread water and let them go past.

Strength Workout

Completed – 100% shark and paddleboarder free!

6/15/16

Pool Work

This was an unusual workout, it included a bunch of drills, and then a series of 100 meter reps alternating between hard and easy.  Way less boring than regular lap swimming.

Selfies!

Another long bike ride done

Open Water

Strength

Pool swim

Walk/run

Open Water Swim – forgot to take the picture until I was back in the car

 

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