Archives for March 2016

Ironman CdA Week 5: Learning How Running Shoes Make It To The Market

March 29, 2016 by Kristen 14 Comments

Last week turned into a mega recovery week when, just as I thought I was almost in the clear for getting sick this year, I came down with a sore throat early in the week and had to take a few days off to rest and recover. At least it only lasted 48 hours and didn’t turn into a stuffy nose, cough, and congestion type of situation. Sore throats tend to be my nemesis because they completely kill my appetite. The only thing I ate was frozen yogurt and homemade chicken noodle soup. At least the weather was crappy.

It was still a fairly adventurous week of training and I did a couple things out of my typical routine. Plus, when you get an amazing surprise in the mail from a fellow blogger and reader, you rediscover your motivation pretty quickly. Thank you Luisa for the wonderful gift and thoughtfulness. These words mean so much and I hope to thank you someday in person!

Monday: Sick with a sore throat. Axel kept me plenty busy though.

Tuesday: Decided to play it safe and take another sick day. My throat was still bothering me, although it felt better as the day progressed. By the end of the day, I was feeling pretty good.

Wednesday: Woke up feeling recharged and back to my normal self. I met up with my coach at his house (he lives a few blocks away from me) and did my first virtual race on Zwift. It was a pretty awesome experience that would have only been better if Mike and I hadn’t been chit chatting and missed the start of the race. But we got started (better late than never) and eventually caught back up to the group after overexerting ourselves for over 30 minutes. I have never been pushed that hard on a trainer and couldn’t imagine doing so without that type of environment. The race lasted about an hour and twenty minutes. I also reached a new FTP of 221!

Thursday: I started the day with a 2050m swim in the 50m pool. Sadly, this was my only swim of the week and it was a short one at that. This is the last week where swimming gets put on the back burner. I refuse to drown at Ironman CdA. It’s amazing how different it feels swimming in a 50m pool.

After my swim I made the official maiden voyage in my new Hokas and went out for a short 3.66 mile run around the neighborhood. It only took a few strides for me to fall in love. They were light, cushy, and felt completely different than my Brooks. I can’t wait to do some longer runs in them to see how my body responds. Keeper!!!

Friday: I had an awesome opportunity to be part of a shoe study for Newton shoes. Ever wonder how shoes make it to the market and how prototype shoes are tested? Well, I got to find out! The REP Lab at Rebound Physical Therapy has a really fancy force plate instrumented treadmill (there are only three of them in the United States) that captures data as you run. The shoe company’s contract with these specific labs and treadmills to compare side-by-side biometric data as athletes run in different shoes.

This particular Newton Shoes study involved testing a prototype shoe that may or may not end up making it to the stores based on feedback from participants like myself. I started with a 2 mile warm-up in my own shoes and then proceeded to run on the fancy treadmill in five different pairs of shoes (New Balance, Hoka One, Brooks Adrenaline, Newton Gravity, and the prototype) for 2 ½ – 5 minutes at a fairly fast pace in each. Then, I was done!

After the study is complete, Newton examines the data and how runners respond to different types of shoes. Pretty cool, eh?

This was the only running I did on Friday, but I was fine with that. I didn’t have a lot of time and I ran pretty hard (harder than I thought I was going to have to run) during the testing process.

Saturday: I was really hoping to ride outside in the afternoon, but the weather was windy and cold, and generally uncooperative. Not a good combo. After taking a little family trip to Petersen Rock Garden and my old stomping grounds where I grew up, I finally made it on the trainer for a late afternoon 40-mile ride. I was not thrilled, but got the work done. Thank goodness for protein waffles with peanut butter and maple syrup. These (and maybe a Cadbury Crème Egg) kept me energized for the entire 130 minutes.

Sunday: A little Easter run with my family. Because this was a “recovery week” I only had a 6-mile run on my schedule to round out the week! Axel, Justin, and I did a 3-mile loop around the Old Mill District and then I broke away and did another loop to finish up my mileage.

After we finished our run we hopped on over to REI so I could stock up on GUs, Bloks, and honey stingers. While we were there, we also checked out the baby carrier backpacks and ended up walking away with an awesome Osprey pack. Although it was only a matter of time before we bought one, nothing screams impulse buy like going shopping for some $2 energy products and walking out with a $250 baby carrier. At least we had our REI dividend, a 20 percent off coupon, and a $50 gift card to help soften the blow. Summer backpacking with Axel, here we come!

We spent the rest of the day dying Easter eggs, doing some chores around the house, eating a yummy Easter meal of ham and sweet potatoes, and watching our newest addiction on Netflix… The Killing.

Week 5 Totals:
Swim: 43mins, 2,050 meters
Bike: 3hrs 31mins, 64 miles
Run: 1hr 56mins, 13.8 miles
Time: 6 hours 10 minutes

I can’t wait to share some exciting news later this week. I’m also going to be doing a fun giveaway on the blog, so stay tuned!

Have you ever been a participant in a research study?

What was your last impulse buy? How did you feel about it after the fact?

Life With Our Little Man

March 26, 2016 by Kristen 19 Comments

I haven’t done an Axel, mom, LIFE update in some time, and after his six-month checkup I thought it would be good to share a little more about our world right now. I know I devote most of this blog to my training and fitness interests, but that is such a small segment of my life compared to my role as mom and wife! Basically, these two are my world.

At his six-month appointment, Axel weighed in at a whopping 17lbs 10oz (50th percentile) and is now 28 inches long. He is TALL for his age (95th percentile), which is probably why most of his 3-9 month clothes never got worn and he is now wearing sizes up to 12 months. Justin and I are both tall (I’m 5’ 9”) so I’m not surprised by this at all. We also learned that his head is in the 95th percentile for circumference, so who knows…maybe he’ll invent the next Facebook.

My favorite thing about Axel? His easy-going happy attitude. He is seriously the HAPPIEST baby and rarely cries unless he is hungry or in desperate need of a diaper change. He seems to love being around people and is always curious and smiling when we take him out and about. One of my favorite outings with him has been to the pool on family day. Axel loves the water, but I think he was even more interested in watching all the kids and people splashing about around him.

The kid never sits still and is highly energetic like his mother (and his Nana too). He loves rolling around, grabbing his toes, moving about, and talking, talking talking (no words yet, just baby talk), especially when he is wearing only a diaper. We are just waiting for the moment when he starts pushing forward, which should be any day now.

Axel’s one obsession? Tags. For some reason, he loves the little white care/cleaning/instruction tags. Give him his taggie blanket and he goes straight for the instruction tag. Put him in his activity jumper surrounded by colorful amazing toys and he’ll spend 10 minutes trying to reach for the white instruction tag that hangs off one of the bars. Oh, if life were only like this for all of us.

After Axel went through a little sleep regression around 4 months old, it seems like one night everything just clicked and he slept through the night, from 7pm to 6am. We quickly developed an evening routine of play, bath, eat, book, and bedtime. Now, he falls asleep like a champ every night and has been sleeping through the night ever since. I feel as though he has learned to associate the Zipadee-Zip with sleep, so whenever we put him in it (for bedtime or naps) he usually falls asleep within minutes.

And he’s a resilient sleeper too. The other night, the power went out at our house a few hours before the finale of The Bachelor (commence crisis mode!). We put Axel to bed at his usual 7pm bedtime, but when the power had not had not come back on by 8:30pm and the house was getting really cold we woke him up, packed everything up, and took him over to my mom’s (her power was still on) to watch the finale and sleep there if need be. Axel went right to sleep on a blanket on the floor of her guest bedroom, and we woke him up again about 90 minutes later to take him back home (the power had come back on by then). He went right back to sleep in his crib, and slept through the night.

We are planning on transitioning Axel into his own room this weekend now that our blackout shades arrived and were installed. Because of the time change and the fact that it doesn’t get dark now until after his bedtime, we thought the shades would be a good investment. He has FOUR windows in his room, and they all face south or west, so it stays fairly bright until the sun goes down. Maybe it wasn’t the smartest move to put the nursery in the room with all the windows (amateur parents) but at least we found a good solution! Please send some positive thoughts our way that the transition goes well (for mom and baby).

Introducing solids has made for some serious entertainment around these parts. Axel is not only an enthusiastic breast milk fan, but he seems to like ALL foods (at least the foods we have given him so far) especially banana and sweet potato, but also pear, avocado, apple, and prunes. Oh, except we tried giving him plain all natural yogurt (think, very tart) and he HATED it. He made the most priceless face in the world and let us know with a big mess that we were horrible parents for putting that nastiness in his mouth. I’m excited to continue offering Axel new foods and watching his reactions unfold.

We also started supplementing his liquids with a bottle or two of formula each day, which is working out well. He seems to really like the Honest Company Organic formula and I am in love with the Baby Brezza automatic formula maker. It’s like a Keurig for baby formula and is worth every penny.

How I’m doing

It definitely gets a little easier for me as Axel gets older and grows more interactive. I really struggled with the newborn phase and do not miss it. Now that Axel has a giant personality and is more in tune with everything going on around him, I am finding that my time with him is more enjoyable and rewarding. The hardest part about being a SAHM and WAHM is the loneliness that can set in from time to time. I do my best to get out (training really helps) but there are moments here and there where I feel like time comes to a standstill. I am really craving the warmth of spring and summer so Axel and I can get out of the house and do more.

Physically, I feel 95% back to normal, but much stronger than I was pre-pregnancy. I don’t know if I’m just eating or training differently, or perhaps carrying around an 18 pound baby has something to do with it, but I feel much more in tune with my body. For the first time in my life, I am much more focused on health and strength, than I am on weight and being thin. It’s a good feeling. Ironman training has already taught me so much – I can’t wait to learn and grow more over these next few months.

I definitely feel more confident as a woman and take pride in everything that I do for my son. It feels good knowing that I am contributing so much to the enhancement of another’s life. Right now I am playing a huge role in shaping the type of person he will become – and I love that. No pressure, right?

Ironman CdA Week 4: Surviving Finals Week

March 22, 2016 by Kristen 12 Comments

Last week was a bit chaotic in my world due to grading and finals week. One of my classes is a writing intensive course and students turn in a 12-16 page paper at the end of the term. Multiply that by 20 students and you have yourself A LOT of reading. Thankfully I powered through and was able to get grades submitted this past weekend. Training got thrown off a little due to my work schedule, but I was still able to get in some quality workouts.

Monday: Physical rest day. Mentally, I worked my butt off grading for 12 hours straight! I’m not sure which is more exhausting!

Tuesday: Took a break from grading and jumped on the trainer for a solid 22 mile spin. As my coach likes to remind me, quality is better then quantity. Make it count.

Wednesday: Started the morning with a 2700m swim, followed by a 5.5 mile run. I was surprised to see my coach when I got to the pool and he told me to hop in and share the lane. My moderately planned workout magically became much more difficult as I tried to keep up. He also had me do a 400m and 200m swim test. Unexpectedly. That’s always fun.

After my swim I had a steep hill repeat run on my schedule, so I drove to Pilot Butte (which has a 6%-10% grade) and did hill repeats for 45 minutes. The temperature was perfect and I even got my vitamin D fix for the day.

Thursday: I took the day off to grade. Once again, I worked the mental muscle.

Friday: In the midst of March Madness and grading, I jumped on the trainer for 90 minutes and rode the new Mountain Segment on Zwift. It was a killer workout.

Saturday: We were blessed with some sunshine and windless (this is a big deal) weather, so I met up with my friend Nicole and got in a good ride OUTSIDE! Although it was pretty chilly when we started (43 degrees), I warmed up quickly. I rode with Nicole for a couple hours before setting out on my own for an hour to finish my 50-mile ride. Nicole was doing a 60-mile race the next day, so she didn’t want to go overboard.

Sunday: I finished the week with a great 9-mile run that combined fartleks and race pace intervals. It felt really good to get in some speed and to hit all of my paces as planned.

After running, Justin, Axel, and I went to the pool to give Axel his first aquatic experience that didn’t involve a bathtub. Of course I had to get it on camera. Although he was really happy in the water, he seemed to be more intrigued with everything going on around him. I really hope he takes after his dad in the pool (Justin is a good swimmer) and not his mom.

Week 4 Totals:
Swim: 1hr, 2,700 meters
Bike: 5hrs 33mins, 96.6 miles
Run: 1hr 58mins, 14.6 miles
Time: 8 hours 31 minutes

As you probably noticed, I haven’t spent much time in the pool (the day I went with Axel doesn’t count, unfortunately). This is not intentional, as I know I need to get my butt in the water more often, but rather a result of a busy week and lack of time. Out of the three sports, I find that swimming surprisingly takes A LOT of time. After driving to the pool, prepping and getting into the water, doing my swim (including small breaks between sets), getting out and showering, and then driving home, two hours have flown by. Just for a swim. Eventually I will need to factor this kind of time into my schedule, but right now I am just doing what I can. In a fantasy world, I would dig a hole in the backyard and put in a lap pool. Hmmm….. ☺

Which is more difficult to cope with – mental fatigue or physical fatigue? Why?

Any tips for saving time and being more efficient on swim days?

Who has a March Madness bracket? Who do you have winning it all? (I picked UNC)

Ironman CdA Week 3: Making It Count

March 16, 2016 by Kristen 22 Comments

I survived my biggest week yet but am still a little fatigued even after taking a much needed day off on Monday. Last week was a huge build week for me and I finished my workout on Sunday (14 miles running in the rain) feeling as though I was ready for a long nap and some comfort food. That afternoon we ended up seeing 10 Cloverfield Lane (which was a really good movie for the first 75 minutes and then a little bizarre for the last half hour), and I splurged on some well earned movie popcorn!

Monday: I made it to the pool in the afternoon and jumped in, already wet and cold from all the rain we have been getting the past week. It was one of those rare instances where the pool water actually felt warm to me. My coach had put a 2950m swim on my schedule, but the thought of stopping before 3000m made me ill. I did the workout and then swam another 50m. Secretly, I think he was testing me to see what I would do.

Tuesday: Nothing like a hard bike ride fueled by a Cadbury egg (my favorite Easter candy). After 28 miles on the trainer, I completed an easy 3 mile run at active recovery pace. Anyone else ever feel like running at the slow end of your pace is more difficult than running endurance or fast pace? I felt like I constantly had to make an effort to slow down.

Wednesday: Today was the first time in a long time that I actually enjoyed swimming. I don’t know what it was (maybe the music) but I found a good rhythm and settled in without complaint. Having music with me in the pool is a must when swimming solo.

After my swim I took off in the rain on a 7-mile run toward Pilot Butte. Once I reached the bottom of the butte I settled into a nice steady pace and made my way to the top without stopping once. First time ever. I need to remember to slow it down on the downhill. I was so excited about my accomplishment that I basically FLEW all the way down and as a result really beat up my quads. Not good.

Thursday: Another double workout day starting with a 30 minute run followed by a 28 mile ride on the trainer. I ran one of the trails near my house between rain showers, and even caught a glimpse of blue sky before the rain settled back in.

Friday: I was having a pretty rough morning emotionally and almost put the nix on my 7-mile run, but my mom came over to watch Axel and encouraged me to get out of the house. I decided to run along the river trail and canyon to switch things up from my normal routes. Every once in a while it’s nice to change the scenery.

Saturday: After waking up to a crazy storm (wind, rain, snow, etc.) I slowly prepared myself for a long 2-hour trainer ride. I decided that it would be a good opportunity to watch a movie, so I put in one of my all-time favorites and started a ride on Zwift. Nothing like a little Demi Moore kicking butt to get you motivated on the trainer!

Sunday: Another storm swept through Bend and I had a 14-mile run on my schedule that I needed to do in the morning due to other plans the rest of the day. I sucked it up and headed out into the rain/snow/sleet and puttered along fighting the wind and rain stinging on my race. I was soaking wet the entire run and ended up getting really cold about 2/3 of the way through due the moisture and cold wind. When I finally made it back home, I was able to wring water out of my clothing. I was carrying an extra 5-10 pounds for sure! My husband had hot tea and chicken noodle soup waiting for me… and a hot shower!!!

Week 1 Totals:
Swim: 2hrs, 5,600 meters
Bike: 5hrs, 95 miles
Run: 5hrs 7mins, 35 miles
Time: 12 hours 7 minutes

I would like to say I “made up for” the week before, but I don’t want to have that mentality about training each week. Each week is different. Every day, week, month can pose different challenges. Some weeks will come together better than others and that’s okay. Even though I do get a little giddy when I see a lot of green in TrainingPeaks (green = workout completed as planned) I also don’t want to get down on myself if there is a little orange or red thrown into the mix.

What ‘s more important for me is to make each workout count. Time away from my son, time away from my family, time away from work… it needs to be worth it. Whether I’m gone for 30 minutes or 3 hours, I need mentally be “there” and fully committed to each workout. That is going to be my number one goal moving forward. Otherwise, it’s just wasted time.

On to the next week!

Have you seen any good movies lately? What is your favorite motivational movie?

Do you ever eat candy during a workout? (I’m a big fan of Snickers)

Where There’s A Hill, There’s A Way

March 12, 2016 by Kristen 11 Comments

What’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think about running hills? I’m guessing most of us don’t necessarily jump for joy or run toward a hill skipping with glee. I used to think hills were the enemy – put there to slow me down and make me agonize in pain – but there’s a popular quote from The Godfather that reminds us to, “keep your friends close and your enemies even closer.” So over these past few months I have really worked to mentally overcome the fear, intimidation, and disdain I once had for hills. I now have a whole new appreciation for hills as I train for a challenging Coeur d’Alene course in 2016.

When I started running and training for the Houston Marathon back in 2006, I feared hills. I wanted nothing to do with hills. Houston is a fairly flat city, although you can find a couple short “easy” hills if you put in the effort to scout them out. I tried to avoid routes with hills like the plague. Why? Because they were hard, intimidating, and would slow me down. It’s amazing how your perception of what actually constitutes a hill, and your willingness (or not) to incorporate them into your routine, can completely change depending on where you live and train.

Throwback to my first marathon 10 years ago!

When I moved back to Central Oregon I had to face the harsh reality that training on hills would be inevitable. Adding insult to injury, I also had to re-adjust to the elevation since Bend is at 3,500 feet above sea level and Houston topped out at 42 feet. If you want flat in my neck of the woods, you pretty much have to run loops along the Deschutes River and around the Old Mill District, or head out East of town on the bike. Or go to the track. There is always the track, although as luck would have it my local track is at the top of – you guessed it – a hill. Thank goodness I don’t have to worry about hills when it comes to swimming (although truthfully, whenever I swim it feels like I am swimming uphill).

I think for the most part, hills get a pretty bad rap for several reasons:

One, they slow you down. And who wants to go slower, especially during a race? I remember running the Seattle Marathon a few years ago and getting destroyed by the hills between miles 19 and 23. I hadn’t trained properly and the hills got the best of me. I missed a BQ by only a few minutes. Darn hills.

The hill the destroyed me at the Seattle Marathon.

Two, they hurt. Hills require a lot of effort and exertion. The body has to work hard and heart rate inevitably rises as a result. If you don’t pace yourself properly, they can suck the life from your body. And this isn’t limited to just going uphill. Downhills can also require a lot of effort and exertion, as we often use them to try to make up the time we lost on the last hill, and physically they can be even more punishing on the legs.

Three, where there is one hill there are usually many. Unless you live in a flat city where you consider a hill to be a bridge or overpass, if you are running in a place with hilly terrain you will undoubtedly face a hill during a run or ride.

When I was contemplating doing an Ironman, I looked at almost every course in the North American circuit and obsessed over the elevation profiles. In my mind, I couldn’t imagine doing my first Ironman on a hilly course. That left Arizona, Chattanooga, Texas, and Florida in the front running.

But then something happened. After talking with my coach and several of the athletes I train with, I came to the realization that a hilly course might work to my advantage. I live in a place where training outside means training on hills. If I can ride up to the mountains (a good climb mind you) during the spring and summer months, why wouldn’t I want to do a race that replicates this?

Why not take advantage of these training grounds and choose a course that would reflect the type of terrain I train on daily? If I lived somewhere flat, I could absolutely justify my desire never to run a hilly race. But I have no excuses living in Bend.

I signed up for Coeur d’Alene knowing that I would have to learn to embrace hills and use them to my advantage. Instead of running in the opposite direction screaming whenever I approach a hill (yes, it has happened once or twice) I want to feel confident that I can ride or run up any hill that stands in my way.

Now that I have started to become one with the hills, and have begun incorporating them into my training almost daily, I have reached a point where I no longer fear hills. Just as they have been my worst fear for several reasons in the past, hills can actually become an athlete’s best friend for several reasons:

–> They make you physically stronger. Because your muscles are working hard to overcome gravity, they contract and exert more power than they do running or cycling on flat or downhill terrain. In a sense, it’s like strength training. Yes, it may slow you down temporarily, but in the grand scheme of things it will make you faster as an athlete.

–> What goes up must come down. My favorite thing about hilly terrain is that it switches things up and keeps it interesting. Ascending means descending. Who doesn’t like a little downhill action? Just be sure you train for the downhill too. With gravity working with you, running downhill can do some major destruction to your quads. I learned this a couple days ago and have been slowly nursing my legs back to good health.

–> Hills force you to use different muscles. One of my favorite Marathon courses is the California International Marathon because it is comprised of small rolling hills for the first 20 miles. It actually felt good at times to run uphill, giving my quads a break from all the downhill. If you are using different muscles by running on a variety of terrain, the muscles won’t fatigue as quickly.

–> Mental prep. Psychologically, there is no better feeling than facing a hill with a sense of confidence. If you can conquer one hill, you can conquer them all. For me, training on hills has prepared me for the next hill, and the next. Hills create a mental toughness that you can’t gain anywhere else.

Hills are not always easy or fun, but they can challenge you in multiple ways and ultimately make you a faster and stronger athlete. Who doesn’t want that? In the words of Nelson Mandela, “after climbing a great hill, one only finds that there are many more hills to climb.”

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you think about running hills?

Have you ever avoided a race because of the elevation profile?

What is the hilliest race you have ever done? Are there any hilly races that you would consider doing?

Fitness Gains, a New 10K PR, and Another Trip Around the Sun

March 7, 2016 by Kristen 27 Comments

Life was filled with many highs and lows this week. While I met many milestones in my training, I also took more time off than I would have liked. It wasn’t the type of week that I expected it to be, but sometimes life gets in the way, momentum shifts, and you do what you can. I’ll just hopefully have to pick it back up next week. At least I was able to gauge the progress I have made these past months and do a check-in of my current fitness levels. I felt it was an important week for me to reflect, celebrate little victories, and contemplate what changes need to be made moving forward.

Monday: A much needed and PLANNED rest day. I spent the entire day grading and getting work done. I also got my hair cut and colored! Looking good is important too, right?

Tuesday: Speed work on the track. It was a windy and rainy day, so that made it all the more fun (cue sarcasm). I’m fortunate to live about a mile away from the track at our local community college, which is almost always empty with the exception of students walking to and from class. The only catch is, you have to run up a really steep hill to get there (but then you get to run down)!

Wednesday: 2800m swim with the gang (I call myself the caboose, because someone has to be the slowest) followed by 22 miles on the trainer with some quick bursts of speed/power. Today was prep for Thursday’s FTP test.

Thursday: I asked my coach if I could do a FTP test to celebrate 34 glorious trips around the sun. My last FTP test was mid December when I was still getting back into the swing of things. During the last few weeks, I have felt like my rides have been on the easy side from an effort/exertion standpoint, even though I was still meeting my zones and maxing out my power. I had a good sense that my power had increased significantly.

I met my coach at his house and got in a good warm-up before starting the 5-minute test and 20-minute test. The goal was to maintain the hardest effort I could for 20 minutes. I started the test conservatively, but finished the last 10 minutes without holding back. You know, if I were a coach I would probably take pictures of myself next to my clients as they are suffering in pain too. This guy will definitely motivate you to get the work done!

After the test was finished, my coach noted a 15% gain in power (taking into account my weight loss as well). I haven’t been this fit on a bike since I did Ironman 70.3 Lake Stevens in 2014. It felt really good to see those gains in a short period of time and so early in the season, and it was a great way to celebrate my birthday!

I also celebrated with a lovely margarita and some yummy Mexican food later that evening. Nothing like refueling with a little lime juice and salt.. and maybe some tequila. 🙂

Friday: We were supposed to celebrate my birthday today as a family, but unfortunately it did not happen due to personal issues. Neither did the run that was on my schedule. Life.

Saturday: I raced my second 10K in 2016 and set a new PR of 42:33 at the Grin & Bear It run. Everything must have aligned perfectly for me that day, because I felt great during the entire run and never bonked like a normally do during high intensity races.

The real surprise was finishing first woman overall and taking home the blue ribbon (and a really cool mug and gift card). I never thought I would be running this fast so soon after pregnancy and am really excited to see what I can do in a couple months when I run the Eugene Half Marathon!

Sunday: Sadly, today was another unexpected off day. Justin was sick and spent the morning at urgent care to make sure he didn’t have the flu, while I watched Axel. He had a fussy morning so it was mentally draining. I barely had motivation to get off the couch, which is really unlike me. I was probably feeling a bit fatigued as well from the race. My mother-in-law was in town for a couple days, so it was nice to catch up with her.

Week 1 Totals:
Swim: 50mins, 2,800 meters
Bike: 2hrs 38mins, 50 miles
Run: 1hr 35mins, 12 miles
Time: 5 hours 5 minutes

As I mentioned, there were many highs and lows this week. When I had realized on Sunday that I had taken three rest days this week, I texted my coach letting him know I hadn’t met my training goals for the week. He quickly called me out on my bad attitude (which was justified) and reminded me that I had just exceeded expectations with both the bike test and 10K race and it’s not the end of the world if I miss a workout or two. He also said something that really resonated with me:

“Rest is hard to do sometimes and that’s why “forced” rest due to life getting in the way is secretly good.”

I think myself and many other athletes can relate to this. Sometimes we underestimate the value of rest – and we could all probably use a little more of it every once in a while. Thank goodness for life!

Are you a fan of rest days? What do you like to do on your rest days?

Journey to Ironman Coeur d’Alene – Week One

March 1, 2016 by Kristen 38 Comments

Two years ago when I signed up for my very first triathlon (Ironman Boise 70.3) I documented my weekly journey from the first workout until the moment I crossed the finish line. I really enjoyed reflecting on each day and sharing my adventures as a triathlete-in-training. Now, as I start getting serious about the many races I have on the schedule ahead, including a half marathon, half Ironman, and full Ironman, I am once again hoping to utilize this blog as a weekly training log for myself and others who want to follow along on this journey with me. Each week I hope to share experiences, ideas, highlights, and insights as I face the many ups and downs of Ironman training. Hopefully this will get me back into a more regular blogging schedule, although with a 6-month old there are no guarantees.

Who knows, maybe I will inspire someone out there to throw on a pair of running shoes, hop on a bike, or make waves in the water. Triathlon can be a very intimidating sport, but once you let go of fears (like I have) and embrace the community, it can be one of the best experiences you will ever have.

It’s officially less than six months away from my Ironman. Six months may seem like a lot of time when thinking about all of the days, weeks, and months of training that will take place, but when you are starting over after the birth of a child those six months can sound pretty overwhelming. The good news is, I’ve built a good base these past few months and am seeing huge gains in my fitness. Here is where I am at as I begin the journey to 140.6…

Monday: I set a record in the pool – for me, that is. I was able to swim 3000meters before finally throwing in the towel once I got to a point where I could not stop shivering. When you are in the water for that long, it gets cold. And I was cold before I started swimming!

Tuesday: I found my speed again. I had a 6.2-mile “fatigue” run on my schedule, which included four 1-mile repeats around the track. I finished the workout with a 7:40 average pace – the fastest I’ve seen in a year. Given the fact that the first two miles were a warm up and cool down, I’m really happy with this.

Following my run I did 90 minutes on the trainer for a total of 26 miles. Mentally, it was a tough ride as my legs felt like noodles. I guess that was the point.

Wednesday: Started the morning with 2200m at the pool, followed by a 25-mile VO2 Max interval ride on the trainer. After my coach introduced me to Zwift a couple weeks ago, I’ve been using this program during my indoor trainer rides. It makes time go by a little faster and keeps things interesting (although, if you are competitive you really have to hold back!).

Thursday: I had a base pace trail run on the schedule and went out for an 8.5-mile loop around Shevlin Park. I’ve been avoiding trails like the plague since returning to running after pregnancy due to my body still being pretty flimsy and weak. Because I am still breastfeeding, the hormone relaxin is still very prominent throughout my body, which means my tendons and ligaments are “loose” and I need to be cautious on uneven terrain.

Friday: A quick 22 miles on the trainer courtesy of my mom. I’m thankful she was able to watch Axel while I completed a fun cadence interval ride.

Saturday: My first long group ride of the year! I recently became a member of Bend Tri Elite with a handful of other Central Oregon athletes, and rode with the group for the first time this year. Myself and six other guys rode for 65 miles. I’m pretty sure I was too out of breath trying to keep up to take pictures. It was double my longest ride of the year and I was able to keep with the group for the most part. A huge boost in confidence!

Sunday: I finished the week strong with a 7.75 tempo/base run. I started with a warm-up around the neighborhood before running to the track for the main interval set. The wind was whipping, but I managed to stay upright 99% of the time. Even though my legs were still recovering from Saturday’s ride, I finished without complaint.

Week 1 Totals:
Swim: 1hr 52mins, 5,200 meters
Bike: 7 hrs 35mins, 138 miles
Run: 3hrs 10mins, 22.7 miles
Time: 12 hours 37 minutes

Mentally, this was the week I needed as I officially start stepping things up and begin training for the 2016 triathlon and running season. It feels good to already be hitting some of my pre-pregnancy paces and distances.

In other news, my favorite running store Footzone was having a storewide sale last week and I ended up purchasing a new pair of running shoes. The shocker? They are NOT Brooks. I have been a devoted Brooks girl since I started running in 2006, but decided to step outside the box and test out the Hoka One One Bondi 4.

I will be adding these into the rotation in hopes of giving my body a little more cushion and recovery. I’ve heard nothing but good things, so I hope I fall head over heels – figuratively speaking, of course! To be continued…

Have you ever added a completely different style of running shoe into the rotation? How did it work out for you?

Virtual reality on the trainer or treadmill – yay or nay?