The Iron Diaries

[ebeth]

❤️❤️❤️+🏊🏼‍♂️🚴🏼‍♀️🏃🏻‍♀️+💪🏻💪🏻💪🏻

Didn’t want to read and not respond...strong work! That’s a lot of miles!

[emilyj]

I said to my H on Monday that sometimes I feel like "Have I even done enough? Am I ready?" Then I Iook at the pretty chart in Training Peaks that shows my fitness build since the beginning of the year, and it's just a pretty, steady, uphill gain. Not giant vertical peaks like last time.

I was at a conference last week in Boise, which meant adapting training around travel and work obligations. I swam Wednesday at the downtown Y, which had to be the hottest fucking pool I have ever swum in. As an added bonus, the pool had two water slides...which meant I was swimming in current from those. And while that may sound stupid (how can a water slide give that much current), I was literally swimming into the wall fighting against it, turning at the wall, and then immediately getting flung into the lane line. It was the weirdest swim ever, but I still held a pretty solid pace.

And yes, I went down the waterslide when I was done.

What I didn't realize about Boise was that it's at a higher elevation than where I live. (I know, duh, but it's been a long semester and my brain is fried.) My first run I felt like I was dying. My long run was ok for the first 30 minutes, then was garbage. I was talking to one of my colleagues who is a Boston runner, and when he said the elevation was kicking his ass, I felt justified and not like a total weenie. I was supposed to rest on Sunday, but it was so damn gorgeous I went out and ran, and had a beautiful unintentional progression run. Makes me rethink ever doing Boulder though. If I do, I'm moving in with taratru for two weeks leading up to it.

I'm happy to be home. I missed my bed. I feel like I'm having a hard time getting my shit together coming from conference, going right back in to work, but it'll fall in to place.

And I'm running a half marathon this weekend, so wheee!!

Answers:

- It's your Monster Week! What's your strategy?
Is it? I guess it is. Because of the travel home and the race I have two rest days this week and only one swim, so I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around it being a monster week. The strategy is just to hit the key workouts. The weather is going to cooperate so nicely for the long stuff this weekend, so I'm mostly excited about being outside so much.

- We're pretty much three weeks away from landing in Houston, so name three things you've been grateful for this training cycle.
1. My husband
2. My coach
3. My training plan that isn't stupid ridiculous
4. You
5. My compression boots
6. A dedicated off day every week
7. Sleep

I don't follow rules, sorry not sorry.

- What will be your victory meal after you slay your longest workout this week?
I guess that would be my long ride Sunday? I have no idea. Probably something on the grill, because it's warm enough to grill. And ice cream.

Questions for you:

- If you were a bird, what kind of bird would you be?

- If you were a fish, what kind of fish would you be? :-)

- Do you think the swim water is going to be better or worse than the Ohio river?

[taratru]

Y'all, there is nothing worse than the Ohio River. I've run along that thing for too many miles to be okay with swimming in it. Add the multitudes of "No Swimming EVER" and I'm out.

[oswin]

So...I know I said I might come spectate. But I'm being tempted by a trail half marathon the same day - it would be perfect training for my 25k two weeks later. Anyway, I always love reading about your training, it's inspiring.