Hard training weekend

I figure I have maybe 1 more "hard" weekend before I taper for Boise.  I'm soooooo ready to taper its not even funny.

Thursday

Only sort of technically the weekend, but it contributes to "the crazy" so I want to include it here.  Just like every Thursday, I went to my 5:15 AM spin class (cadence 100 class) and then my 6 AM yoga class (this combo is actually pretty challenging).  Normally it takes me about 5 min to get my cadence up to 100 rpm for this class (we do it about once a month) but thanks to the previous night's 3 x 10 min zone for repeats, my legs were primed for speed.  I hit 100 rpm on our first count and easily maintained the speed throughout.  Yoga was super nice - we had a sub that I'd always heard about but never had the chance to take a class from.  She was SUPER awesome and I left feeling great and ready for the day.

Thurs night was a 70 min tempo run (24.5 min zone 2, 21 min zone 3, 24.5 zone 4, then a 10 min walk to cool down).  It was hot out (90 degrees, maybe?) and I really didn't think I would be able to run AND descend this thing.  To my surpise I did and logged nearly 7 miles.

trying to capture the after-efftects of a hot tempo run AND show off my Pistols for Pandas shirt.  Pretty much failed here on both accounts....

Friday
I was becoming increasingly crabby and tired, plus I have 170 vacation hours in the bank (sooo many things wrong with that right there).  Work isn't super busy so I opted to take the day off.  Got a 90 min massage (which hurt but was awesome... dang knots and trigger points).  Then I took a short nap, worked for a bit, ran some errands.

Saturday
Got up at 5:30, hit the trail at 6:30 for a 12 mile zone 2 run.  I really should have hit it 15 min earlier.  Even though I swim outside, I can't manage to remember what time the sun comes up.  Running was REALLY slow today, compared to previous long pace runs.  Not sure if this was due to being tired, sore from the massage, the heat, or all three.  Managed to tough it out for 8.5 miles and then I had to start walking.  I didn't walk too much (0.2 miles at most) and pushed the last mile.  Still, not a stellar performance.  Got home, took an ice bath, tried (and failed) to take a nap before my bike.

Coach wanted me to ride 3 hrs that afternoon, about 3-5 hours after my run.  I had it in my head I needed to do hills on Saturday AND Sunday, so once I got the motivation to pack up my bike stuff, I started to head out to Chappell Hill for a 40 mile hill ride.  Traffic was horrible and little nagging voices in my head were getting louder, so I decided to scrap the Hill and head back to the park for my ride.  Probably a good decision - especially since I'd never ridden there before and I was by myself.  And it was mid-afternoon and 90+ degrees out.  So I did my usual out-and-back bike ride at George Bush park.  Out felt fine, back was increasingly slower speed-wise.  I was thinking about doing a second loop to get my miles in, but things were degrading pretty quickly, so I decided to stop an hour early.  Manged to get in 30 miles, and considering the heat AND my 12 mile run that morning, I felt like I still accomplished something.  Went home, put on my recovery socks/tights, and vegged for the night.

Sunday
Slept in until 5:45 today and hit the road at 6:05 for Chappell Hill.  Some people from my tri team are doing the Buffalo Springs 70.3 at the end of June and need hill work, so we organized our own little brick, meeting at 7:30.  I was scheduled for a 3 hr ride and 1 hr run.  I wanted to start at 7 in hopes of it not being ridiculously hot for the run, but apparently my teammates are not the earlybird that I am.  I got out there at 7:10 and got everything set up.  They rolled in at 7:30 and futzed around... didn't get started until 8 AM.  Ugh. 

We didn't even leave the town square before Jason had issue #1.  He's a fast rider, and he said it wasn't a big deal, so I kept going, knowing he'd catch up with us.  So I just kept cruising along, assuming Melissa was behind me.  At mile 7, I hit the turn, looked behind me, and no one was there..... Hmmm....  Given our late start, I really didn't want to hang out and wait so I just kept going.  Besides, I was positive they would catch me.  I headed north on our 45 mile route and the scenery was just so pretty.  Especially along William Penn road - small road with big trees, rolling hills, and green pastures.  So pretty.  I did stop around mile 15 to do a map check and to stretch (my stupid right leg is still bugging me).   I was doing ok with the hills, but I think I need to take my bike in, as it was having a hard time shifting between the small and big ring up front.  This could be because its been 2 months since I've done hills and just haven't done much rapid shifting or it could be something else.  Either way, it was annoying and I need it looked at before I get to Boise.  TX105 had bigger hills, but I was doing a good job managing the down-hills so I could stay in the big ring for most of the up-hills.  The turn south finally arrived, which meant headwind.  For 20 miles...  Boo.  Around mile 30 I stopped again to stretch my leg, and still no sign of my 2 teammates.  Weird.  This southern portion was not quite as pretty and defnitely more sunny.  And I don't know if I was just tired, out of hill shape, dealing with headwind, or what, but the last 15 miles were quite a bit slower.  The final 5 miles were ridiculously slow.  The uphills were just pathetic - easiest or 2nd toeasies gear on the small ring and I'm still fighting to get up the hill.  This makes me nervous for Boise as well, since these hill were half the size.  But I'm hoping that the hardship is just due to be being tired from all my training.... Too late to do much about it now, so we'll just have to see.  Hopefully my race report won't detail how I had to dismount and walk up the hill :/

I finally make it back to my truck (3 hrs on the nose) and get ready for me 1 hr run.  I really didn't want to run any hills so I ended up doing a loop around town that was about 0.8 miles long.  It was now after 11 AM and the sun was so bright and so hot with not much shade.  So, my run was more like a half run / half walk.  My HR never got too high but I was just so hot and tired that it was hard to make myself run.  So I didn't.  I probably should have, but oh well.  With each loop past the parking area, still no sign of my teammates.  And when I was done, they still weren't back.  Really, 1 hour behind me?  Not a good sign.  I decided to head over to the gas station to change shirts and get some cold water, and if they weren't back yet, I was going to drive around and try to find them.  Fortunately when I got back from the gas station, Jason was back, so that was a relief.  Turns out they had issues with their rear water-bottle cages turning into bottle launchers and then Melissa crashed.  We waited for Melissa to come back, chatted for a while, and then I headed home. 

me trying to look dead from my 4 hrs in the heat.  camera on the phone sucks, you can't even see the beads of sweat on my arms or the dead bugs who drowned and stuck in on my sunscreened arms.

Went home, ate a late lunch, showered, then had a call with Will's dad/family.  By that time it was 5 PM, so no nap for me.  Just crammed myself back in my recovery tights and went to the store, looking like a hot mess.
 
Swim practice this morning (Monday) was pretty rough.  My legs aren't sore, but apparently they're very tired.  Even simple 125 IMs were very tiring.  Not sure what this weekend holds (plan isn't loaded yet) but I do think I need to get in at least 1 more Chappell Hill ride.  If anything, I need the confidence boost.  Then its taper time.  Woo!