Triathlete- September 2011

September was a family-filled month. My mom came to visit, then Karen's folks came to visit. Then Kylie and I caught a chest cold and then Karen went out of town on business for 11 days. Whew! Some workouts were missed but I'm pleased with how I stayed focused.

I started marathon training the week of the 19th. I'm using the intermediate plan from this Runner's World training plan. I got some good advice at the start of the month which was to "pick your marathon training plan carefully, commit to it, and then trust that it will get you there". Every time I start to freak out and think that there is no possible way I can run a marathon, I repeat to myself, "Just follow the plan; it will get you there".

Yes, I freak out. And yes, I talk to myself.

At first I thought I could keep up with my biking and swimming while training for the marathon. Sweet Karen helped me see that this just wasn't feasible or healthy. Something had to give and it was a pretty easy choice. I adore swimming. My two swim lessons are the highlights of my week. And swimming lengthens my muscles that get all cramped up from running. So I decided to drop the biking until after the marathon. Biking is my weakest point right now and I've heard that you should train your weakest point first. But it is simply going to have to wait until after the marathon in January.

I had some great highlights for the month:
I ran my fastest long run ever: 14.5 miles in 2:19, 9:37 pace. Followed by my first ice bath.
For the last two weeks of September, I increased my running from 2 days a week to 5 (and my mileage from 15-20 miles a week to 23-33 miles) and so far, my body is holding up very well.
I started swimming with another triathlete (more on that below).

Here are the stats for September:

Swim
My swim coach teamed me up with another female triathlete (her name is Claudia) for one of my 2 weekly swim lessons. She's a bit older than me and has done several triathlons. Our coach had us isolate different parts of the swim and it turns out that I have a stronger pull and that she has a stronger kick. Overall, we swim at about the same speed.

We are both competitive and end up racing each other in the pool. But this is a good thing. I have seriously sucked at kickboard drills. It would take me 48 seconds to kick one lap with the kickboard. With Claudia beside me I was able to kick harder and can now do it in 36 seconds. This little bit of competition is helping me swim faster. At the start of our training together, I was really shy and nervous to swim with someone but now I look forward to it. We have a nice comaraderie.

Our last few lessons of the month have been filled with drills. Coach Gus is really working on improving our swimming form. Overall for September, I had 7 swim lessons and 1 IKKOS lesson (side view of the catch and pull).

Bike
2 bike rides, one for 21 miles and one for 12, both were only 13mph average. Slow, slow, slow. I also took in one spin class.

Run
Regular Runs and Tempo Runs
5.25 miles in 46:11, 8:48 pace
5.25 miles in 48:20, 9:12 pace
5 miles in 47:21, 9:01 pace
6 miles in 53:48, 8:58 pace
6 miles in 55:45, 9:18 pace
3 miles in 26:48, 8:56 pace
4 miles in 34:42, 8:41 pace
6 miles in 52:28, 8:45 pace

Long Run
14 miles in 2:19, 9:56 pace
14.5 miles in 2:19, 9:37 pace
10 miles in 1:39, 9:54 pace
12 miles in 1:57, 9:48 pace
14 miles in 2:15, 9:39 pace

Other
I attended two strength training classes. My weight stayed the same at 118. I worked out 22 days and had 8 days off.

WOW! You made it through another L-O-N-G triathlete post. Thanks!

And Thanks to everyone who takes the time to comment. Comments mean the world to me.

August 2011 summary
July 2011 summary
June 2011 summary
May 2011 summary
April 2011 summary
March 2011 summary
February 2011 summary
January 2011 summary
December 2010 summary


Goal: Triathlon in 2012- initial post from December 2010
One Little Word: Triathlete post