Road to Ironman Lake Placid Week 3

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I'm going to call week three a big success, mostly because I finally got my butt to the pool and put my swimming demons to sleep. Well maybe not to sleep completely, but hopefully for a little while. So swimming went well this week. Unfortunately running did not, in the sense that I only ran once. That one run actually went pretty well but running once a week is not enough to train for an ironman. The reason for only running once, though, was that it was nice enough to bike outside. I will trade running for biking outside in February any day of the week!

So here's how the week played out:

Monday was day 1 of my attempt to get back into swim shape. This swim featured lots of mid-distance pull intervals to make up 3200 yards. Overall it wasn't too exciting but to be honest it takes a lot for me to find a swim workout exciting. I closed out the day with a quick functional strength session.

Tuesday marked a mini-breakthrough in the pool for me. This swim was the inspiration for my new weekly series "Swim Set of the Week." The thought of 30 x 50 sounded anything but fun but quite frankly I loved this swim from start to finish. I haven't had one of those swims where you push yourself the entire time, where you're pushing yourself so much you can't comprehend how hard you are working because there isn't enough time before the next interval. This is the type of swim I have craving and man it felt so good.

Tuesday evening was 60 minutes of intervals at the Gung Ho weekly trainer ride.

Wednesday was the one and only swim I did this week but it was a solid run with a lot of work. While these weekly hill interval runs are about building strength while maintaining good running form, it was really nice to see considerably progress over the last time I did this workout. Three cheers for getting faster. Also, it's amazing how tired your legs can get over a four mile run.

Thursday was swim #3 for the week. With 2800 yards, my weekly total was brought up to 9100. A number I haven't seen in quite some time. This wasn't such a great swim but it wasn't as bad as some of my other swims have been this year so I'm calling it a win.

And of course, my evening was spent at the Gung Ho weekly trainer ride.

Friday. After four days of quality workouts my body and my mind were craving some R&R. A gentle yoga class couldn't have been more perfect as it also gave me a chance to stretch out my incredibly tight hips. Seriously, I could barely get into pigeon.

Saturday was day one of two that I was able to ride outside. It was around 40 degrees and while that isn't warm by any means, it was warm enough to tolerate heading outside. I only rode around 12 miles Saturday because my toes went numb during the ride. This was my first time riding in colder weather so I wasn't entirely too sure how many layers I needed. The answer turned out to be two. Two of everything.

Sunday was supposed to in the 50's but instead the temperature barely cracked 40. I was determined to get in more miles than Saturday so I did my best to bundle up. And my toes still went numb. You can't win them all. I made it a little over twenty miles before heading back to my warm car.

Although riding outside wasn't as enjoyable as I had hoped, it was still nice to spend some time on two wheels that weren't on a trainer. What made both of these rides so rewarding was seeing all of the work I have been doing every week manifest itself. It is so easy to lose sight of the big picture sometimes.

In non-training news, this was my first week coaching Girls On the Run. I was a bundle of nerves the first day, never really spending much time with children before. Fortunately all of my girls are super sweet and really excited to be in the program.

The other exciting thing that happened last week was that I have officially been accepted into grad school. I'm beyond thrilled, proud, honored to say that I will be attending Temple University in the fall to pursue a Master's in Kinesiology. This more than makes up for all of the stress I went through last semester. Now I just need to find somewhere in Philadelphia to live.

Swim Set of the Week: February 2-8

One of the questions I am asked the most from fellow triathletes is about how I train for the swim leg. As a former competitive swimmer I have years of experience, 12 to be exact, in the pool. Because of this experience I know the value of drills and working on technique, as well as getting variety through doing the other three strokes. I thought it would be a fun idea to share a new swim workout each week. I would love for you to comment with your own favorite sets that maybe I'll share with everyone. I also want to put together a Q&A post so hit me with whatever swim questions you may have!

For the first week I am choosing a set that I did earlier this week and really enjoyed. At the beginning of each season I like to spend a lot of time pulling to get my stroke back to where it should be. Once my technique is back on track then I really start putting in the work. You will also notice I do the same warm up each time and finish every swim with a short cool down. Just like you wouldn't start a hard run without warming up first, you shouldn't start intervals in the pool without doing a warm up. Even when I am doing an easy swim, I always do a warm up.

Warm up
200 swim, 200 kick, 200 drill, 200 pull

Pre-main set
150 @ 2:30
100 @ 1:40
50 @ :50
Continuous [50 kick, 100 drill, 50 kick]

Main set
20 x 50 pull @ :50
10 x 50 swim @ :45

Cool down
Easy 200, your choice of stroke (I like to do a mix of freestyle, backstroke and some kicking).

I included the intervals I did this set on but modify to your own speed. I typically do sets on a 1:40 base per 100 unless I am going harder. For the 50s pick an interval that will give you about 10 seconds between each 50.

Total yards- 3,000

Happy swimming!

Road to Ironman Lake Placid Week 2

This week was pretty light before ramping things up next week. I tried to catch up on sleep and rest while also getting in the work that needed to be done. The good news is that despite two rest days I nailed all of my key workouts this week. The bad news is that there were two unplanned rest days. Womp, womp. You can't win them all, right?

Monday- rest day.

Tuesday started with an easy, albeit hilly 3 mile run. The upside to living in a hilly neighborhood is all the hill work but the downside is easy and recovery runs don't exist. Tuesday evening was another round of Gung Ho trainer spin class. Dare I say I'm starting to like riding on the trainer?

Wednesday was one run workout for the week: hill repeats. Big surprise. The prescribed workout was 10 x 1 minute hill sprints with 3 minutes recovery after each interval. The focus of these workouts is running strong and maintaining form while running uphill. I felt much better than last week so I think it's working. I rounded out the day with some at-home strength focusing on glute activation.

Thursday was unfortunately my only swim this week. I have been seriously lacking motivation when it comes to swimming. It's only fueled by how out of shape I feel in the water. Today's 2700 yards wasn't any better. Oof.

Friday- I finally got a speed sensor for my tri bike so put the new setup to the test with an hour of commercial break intervals. The gist- ride easy during the show, ride hard during commercials. I surprised myself by actually enjoying this workout. Maybe there's hope for me after all.

Saturday- More strength, more glute activation.

Sunday- rest day. I may have skipped my planned run in favor of getting a donut. Oops.

What happened to #Juno?

On the non-training front, this week was pretty uneventful. My mom and I are starting to work on putting together the 5K we are hosting again this June so most of the week was filled with meetings and brainstorming. The good news is that we made a lot of progress and are feeling really good about this year's race.

Super Bowl Sunday was also super low-key. In the past my sister and her boyfriend have come over but this year it was just my mom and I, neither of whom know much about football. While we may not have known what was going on the entire time, at least we had good snacks.

Road to Ironman Lake Placid Week 1

I've decided to document my journey to Ironman with the hashtag #roadtolakeplacid on instagram and thought I might as well bring the trend over to my blog as well. This journey is going to be filled with ups and downs and I want to highlight everything here. When I first got into endurance sports I used blogs to learn the ins and outs of training. I want to be able to provide insights into what training for an ironman is like, and I also want to be able to look back and relive my experience.

Monday was the first day after my wisdom tooth surgery that I was cleared to work out. As much as I wanted to run I was told the pounding would increase the risk for dry sockets. To the gym I went. Although spin class is short [45 minutes], it always gets my heart rate way up and makes my legs burn. After class I went to the weight room to #liftheavyshit. I'm an endurance athlete by nature but am working on really getting better at lifting things up and putting them back down.

Tuesday means Gung Ho trainer class. Before sweating it out on the trainer I made my return to the pool. I have to say, swimming after having my wisdom teeth out felt super weird. I had a little discomfort when trying to breathe, which made for a quite interesting 2300 yards. At trainer class we rode around 15 miles and "climbed" almost the entire time. As much as I hate the trainer, I know these workouts are going to make a difference come spring.

Wednesday. Finally, a run! My legs were still pretty tired from the previous night's workout so 3 easy miles was it. The good news was my knee gave me no grief. #progress

Thursday marked probably the first time I could honestly say I liked riding on the trainer. The class at Gung Ho was a solid workout but also fun. Being able to ride with other people brings out my competitive side and made me push so much harder than I would have by myself. Another bonus, the hour class FLIES by.

Friday. Thankfully this swim went a little better than Tuesday's. 2400 yards felt comfortable yet still a little challenging. I have a lot of work to do but could be in worse shape. I kicked off the weekend with a short but sweet run workout of 6 x 30 seconds hill sprints. These were more about form and running strong than running fast.

Saturday was not supposed to be a rest day. I had every intention of getting in a run but accidentally fell asleep on the couch instead. Given how tired I was I took it as a sign to take a rest day and keep sleeping.

Sunday. I can't tell you how long I have waited for a run like this. Winter storm Juno was starting to make an appearance so I was only planning on running for 20-30 minutes. I felt like I could have kept running forever and for the first time this year have had absolutely no knee pain. None whatsoever. Four hilly, rainy, snowy, slushy miles concluded my first week on the road to Lake Placid.

Swimming- 4700 yards
Biking- 39.26 miles
Running- 9.68 miles
Total- 6 hours 45 min

In January

I have never been one for resolutions. Most years New Year's Eve rolls around and I'm so caught up in it being my birthday that I totally blank when someone asks me what my resolution for the new year will be. Committing to something for entire year scares the living shit out of me, to be completely honest. Each year I set intentions to be a better version of myself and this year isn't any different.

When I look back on the past few years I feel like I wasn't really living. It's so easy for me to get caught up in thinking that what's coming next will bring me real happiness. Sometimes I forget that I am living right now. I'm trying to not fall into the pattern of waiting until grad school (fingers crossed!) to enjoy life. Part of me is relieved to have a bit of a break from school since this past year has been so stressful. The other part of me hates that I am essentially doing nothing for the next seven months. Although nervous, I am excited to be coaching Girls On the Run this spring. And I am in the process of lining something else up.

Anyway, I thought I would put together some combination of a goals post and what I'm up to post for each month. Breaking the year up into smaller chunks seems so much more manageable and lets me focus on what matters most at that particular time. I am also stealing Michelle's idea of planning something to look forward to each month to help the time pass as enjoyably as possible.

So what am I up to in January? I'm getting back to what makes me feel like me while also getting out of my comfort zone. Which means...

Reading. I used to read so much but some time during college reading for class took the fun out of reading for me. I am currently working on The Romanov Prophecy and just ordered The Well Built Triathlete and Iron War. I like to have a mix of fiction and educational things to read. Maybe it's because I'm not in school anymore but I have been really enjoying historical based books. What recommendations do you have? I need more ideas!

Eating. I'll be the first to admit that I ate way too much food over the holidays. I did some version of the no carb behind experiment except it also included anything with sugar in it. There was the apple pie and sticky foggy pudding for Christmas, graduation cake, birthday cake... SO MUCH CAKE. But really, what are the holidays if you can't indulge right? I'm trying to combat my poor eating choices and curb my sugar cravings by doing some version of the Whole30. In short, I am cutting out sugar, refined carbs and alcohol for 30 days. I started a few days late so I'll be wrapping this up February 3. Wish me luck.

Organizing. I moved home from college around a month ago and have yet to unpack. With the holidays and graduation I wanted to wait until January to really go through all of my stuff. My bedroom looks a little like a storage unit right now but hopefully by the end of the month everything will be organized. Update: Operation spring winter cleaning is underway and it is not pretty.

Refining. My skincare regimen. I have always had super sensitive skin so I am really careful with which products I use. I have also dealt with acne and dry skin. Triple whammy. I am notoriously bad at taking care of my skin and maybe it's because I just turned 22 (I feel old, I know I'm not) but I want to take care of my skin now before it's too late. Especially because of how much time I spend outside in the sun.

Training. January means the start of ironman training. Finally! As challenging as it can sometimes be to really commit to training in these cold winter months when all you want to do is curl up on the couch with a mug of hot chocolate, I know that putting in the work now will pay off in the spring and summer. I have been in the pool a handful of times so far, with the focus primarily on technique and regaining a feel for the water. Biking has mostly consisted of trainer rides at my local bike club mixed with a few spin classes. My approach for winter cycling is to get stronger before going longer because, quite frankly, I don't want to spent countless hours pedaling nowhere.

Running has been the discipline that is giving me the most trouble so far this year. After completing a solid 31 day run streak in December I felt some discomfort in my knee with the switch to new running shoes. Between my knee and not being able to run because of getting my wisdom teeth out, making real run progress has been pretty nonexistent. For the rest of January I plan on getting back into the swing of things with easy and smart running.

Weekly Workouts // January 12-18

This week was less than ideal but for good reasons. I only managed to get workouts in Monday and Tuesday but they were both quality days and that's what matters.

Monday- I've been trying to get to spin class at least once a week in addition to the two trainer classes I'm going to. I really hate riding on the trainer but I know that I need to do as much riding as I can this winter. For now that means supplementing with spin class. 10 miles of intervals followed by 50 minutes of work in the weight room.

Tuesday- After having some knee pain last week I took a few days off from running to let things calm down. I ran a short and easy 2.1 morning miles with no knee pain. Whew! Tuesday evening was spent on the trainer for another round of the Gung Ho trainer ride series. This ride was so intense it the way that makes you hate every minute while you're doing and love it once you're done.

The rest of the week was a combination of traveling to Philadelphia for my official grad school interview immediately followed by wisdom tooth surgery. The interview went as well as it could have and now I'm just waiting for a final decision. Fingers crossed! I took the opportunity to explore Philly a little, including Chinatown. Really hoping to be able to call this city home in the fall.

Thursday morning I had all four of my wisdom teeth removed and was prohibited from all exercise through Sunday. I'm happy to report that I spent almost every hour of those four days on the couch being completely useless. I drank my share of fresh juices and smoothies and tried to get down as much solid food as I could. Which was basically none.

Weekly Workouts // January 5-11

When I first started racing triathlons I had this far fetched dream of completing an ironman someday. I formulated a multi-year plan consisting of a year of sprint and Olympic distance races, a year dedicated to a 70.3, and culminating in a year with an ironman. I came up with this specific plan knowing that I would be graduating in December and not starting grad school (fingers crossed!) until that August. Instead of taking my time off to travel I wanted to train for an ironman. Despite this plan of mine, I was still in shock when that Monday in July rolled around and I was actually signing up. I think because I was still in the heart of training for Nationals and that 70.3, it never really sank in that I had signed up for an ironman. It was like I signed up, went back to training, and then my senior semester started and successfully navigating my senior research project and applying to grad school took over. Then the holidays rolled around and now suddenly training for that ironman has started.

I'm still putting the final touches on my training for Lake Placid so these first few weeks are certainly not going to be anything special. It's more about the consistency and the mental side of being "in training." So with that, here we go!

Monday. After almost four months with no swimming, I made my way back to the pool to see what kind of hole I had dug myself in. Although there is a lot of work to do, I'm not in as bad of shape as I was expecting. Three cheers for 11 years of competitive swimming giving me one hell of a swim base. I rounded out day one of ironman training with a short 2.5 mile neighborhood jog in my new Hokas.

Tuesday. Of course we would get our first batch of winter weather during my first week of training. Luckily we only got some snow showers. I managed to head out for another 2.5 mile run that unfortunately was cut short by some IT band pain.

Wednesday. Thankfully all the ice and slush on the roads melted in time to get in 2000 yards of swimming and some strength training. The new year means a new way of lifting: heavy! I'm lowering the reps and increasing the weights and trying to gain some muscle this year.

Thursday. Another day, another 2000 yards in the pool. My focus in the pool for the next few weeks is slow, steady technique. Today also marked the first of many trainer rides provided by my amazing local bike shop, Gung Ho. 16.76 miles full of intervals concluded the day.

Friday. After taking my grandma to the airport I hit the gym for some more strength training. Nothing fancy, just picking things up and putting them back down.

Saturday. Ahh, glorious rest day.

Sunday. Because it's still winter and I love winter, I hit up the local trails for some data free snowy trail exploring with my best girl.

In non-training news, I have officially been cleared to coach with Girls On the Run. I spent all of Saturday in training and getting certified in CPR. To be honest, I am super nervous about coaching these girls. I have never been in charge of a bunch of elementary age girls and am a little afraid they are going to eat me alive.