run-swim-live-blog

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Took the plunge, I'm officially signed up! Ironman Chattanooga is in 28 weeks and I'm in full training mode. Today was a good bike day; 1:30 on the trainer for a virtual ride in London. Got 30 miles in with good power held through the entire ride. Apparently I earned 5th place of all time for women for a particular segment, the London Classique which is a 9.2 mile haul. I've also seen a 2 second decrease in one of the sprint distances over the last 3 weeks so I know I'm making improvements. Tomorrow is my favorite day of the training week: master's swim. I really enjoy the camaraderie from the group and the advice from my coach. My goal time for IMCHOO is to finish under 13 hours. I think this goal is going to be doable. Under 12.5 would be ideal but right now, I need to keep in a good frame of mind and put myself to the constant test

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Update

Not many posts from last week. I was a bit of a dummy and sprained my ankle jumping at a trampoline park. So just swimming last week and an easy 3 mile run at the end of the week. No more swelling or tightness so I'll be able to run more this week and pick the activities up again but lesson learned. I'm not as young as I used to be. Upside: we tested our 500meter free for functional threshold. Got my time down to 8:57 so that was something I was able to be pleased about. Next test goal time will be 8:30.

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Oh hey

Did I tell you guys? I applied for graduation! I graduate with my MBA on June 3rd. I'm almost to the finish line!

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I hurt. I've pushed myself hard and I'm reaping the benefits but I'm hurting now. Finished this week with a promised 7 miler. Maintained a good pace for the first 4 miles and the remaining 3, I pushed myself to cut a bit of time off. Fastest split was 8:13 which was impressive for me; I was starting to bonk at mile 3 from not fueling right today (best. brunch. ever). From last week's 7 miler to this week's, I've cut off 2 minutes and dropped my pace per mile from 8:45 to 8:30. I'm definitely seeing some fantastic improvements as the weeks go by and I'm feeling confident that my 12hour 30 minute goal at Ironman Chattanooga will be achievable. For now: a fizzy bath bomb, dinner, and relaxing for the next training week. Night friends!

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It's finally the end of the training week! I am exhausted! I have one long-ish run today, 7 miles, and I'll have finished a pretty decent week. I took yesterday as a rest day and finished some homework, watched some basketball, and had a date night with the boy-love. I'm ready for today though! Recap of the last couple days: Thursday was another master swim night. Seriously loving it more and more each week. Coach said "Jen, you are a very technically capable swimmer". High praise which I'll take; I swam competitively way back in the day in junior high, but that was nearly 13 years ago. I was never any good at sports...until now. Btw: 20 x 25 sprints after longer swims (I do my own set before class)? Yeah. Beat. But I finally got my 25meter sprint down to 18 seconds! Friday: you ever bike with lead legs? Because that's low I felt Friday. I had a scheduled 1 hour session on the trainer, mostly flat with some varying baby hills for a challenge. Those first 10 minutes were killer until my legs finally woke up and realized it was time to do work. Did some sprints as well and ended up with some decent times. Zwift does live results with the sprints so I managed a respectable 5th for women and 34th for both groups. Oh? And biggest happy dance? I have some super cute Zara jeans that I wear for nights out. Had to get them when I was outta state since we don't have Zara in Nebraska. Normally there has to be a bit of gymnastics to get in to them. Last night? Nah, fit just perfect. Progress!

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Fantastic ride today! I'm loosely following the IronFit program for Ironman Chattanooga. I use the term loosely because this is supposed to be a build week 1 but I've been building all winter and was itching for a longer ride today. Zwift had a new route I hadn't done before today so I was excited for some new "virtual" scenery. 6 sets of sprints, maxing at a time of 18.7 seconds for my fastest time. The rest was some slight up and down grade but largely a consistent ride. I was pleased with the time as well. I road the same time last week at 27 miles (more hills though) but it's good to see the mileage click up. Current mode? Posted on the couch with the dog and ready to nap. Going to overnights tonight so I'll be able to get a quick run in as well before I have to work. Gotta get that training in!

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Master swim is slowly becoming my favorite days of the week. I hated lap swimming for such a long time and now being with this group, especially the evening team, is something I look forward too. Got there a bit early today to warm up and get a head start. Coach brought tennis balls to grip (think closed fist drill) to find any stroke deficiencies since I had been with the morning group last week (screwy work schedule). Other than the occasional "S" in my stroke when I'm bilateral breathing, he's deemed me a technically sound swimmer. I like that! A total of 2850 yards swam today after doing some extra laps after we finished the set. Also biked today for an hour on the Zwift volcano route. Managed to get a pace of 19.3 mph and get some PRs on the course. Another bonus? Scheels had some bike jerseys on clearance so I grabbed a super cute Primal and Pearl Izumi to break in once I take the bike outside. Plus, snagged a couple pairs of running socks and a pair of pink (I love pink!) running shorts. Will totes wear those tomorrow. Andddddd to keep myself on track nutrition and training wise, I have a super cute Moleskin planner so I can now training for the year. Getting myself even more on track!

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Ran 7 amazing miles on Sunday. The weather was absolutely gorgeous: sunny and 70 with a nice breeze that was perfect for a tailwind. The last few days have been a heat wave for the Midwest. Seriously, 70 in February in the Great Plains. I won't complain though cuz that mean I could get a good run in and not be cold. I started off with a bit of a fast pace but shook the excitability out by mile 3 and settled into a good pace. I'd like to see that pace drop another 15 seconds or so in the next few weeks and hopefully a full 30 by the beginning of summer. My half marathon pace is at 8:50/mile so I'm on target but if I could drop some more time off, I would feel a bit happier. I have a wicked blister in my foot but I'll wrap it up before the next run. Took today as an unintentional rest day but I had homework starting to stack up. Plus it was a bit cooler and rainy so it was the perfect opportunity for a midday nap with the dog. I guess now I'm on pace with my training plan. I hate having Monday's as rest days because it's that much harder to get motivated again sometimes. One week closer to Chattanooga though!

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2700 meters for a successful Masters swim I love being able to go back and forth between morning and evening sessions because there are 2 coaches who have 2 different emphases; one is a triathlete and one is a long (like miles upon miles) distance swimmer. This means that I can get some good feedback on form and technique and new drills. Long distance coach likes to name drills after participants so I'm sure I've got one coming. Today was an 1:10 on the bike. Love the light frame and the seat was easy to break in as well. Can't wait to take it off the trainer and get on the road!

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Ran 6 miles and ate 5 cookies. Last year would have been absolutely furious with myself. This time? Nah. Why? It doesn't happen that often and why work so hard all the time and miss the joys in life? Because school bake sale chocolate chip cookies are the best. It's about balance sometimes.

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Part 2 of today. Do you see mile 3? Because I cheered and fist pumped the air once I hit the 3 mile mark. 7:26 is the fastest mile I’ve ever run. Period. But at the end of a run as well? Well damn. All in all this is the fast 3 miler I’ve ever run and this was after cycling for an hour and a half.

I’m incredibly pleased to see this. I’ve been running hills almost strictly since October since that’s what my neighborhood consists of. But Nebraska shifty weather meant it was 60 today and I could go to my fav running spot. Mostly flat, scenic, and fast. Very fast today.

Yeah, hills suck. But do them. Seriously.

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I love 2-a-days and my weekends mean I can get these in. My folks, I may have mentioned last year, took up triathlon after watching me race in New Orleans last year. They now have a Wahoo Kickr which means I can train on my bike in winter at any time. Today was def such a day. Remember my love to hate relationship with swimming? Yeah totes over that. Found a master swim group that I love and now not only am I super motivated to go but I have improved my stroke, speed, and endurance quite a bit. Last year was a phenomenal racing year. But I was this one to be even better. I'm eating more (that's a huge thing for me), training smarter (hitting the weights hard too), getting feedback from coaches and nutritionist, and loving the process. Annnnnnnd the six pack is slowing coming in. It's a bonus.

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These photos are like 3 months old now because my last race was in October butttttt did I tell you all that I PR'ed my half marathon? 1:56 was my time and I was thrilled outta my mind. My Boy-love said if I could finish under 2:05, he'd buy me breakfast. #challengeaccepted Anyhow. Took a bit of time off, cut back on training, let my muscles relax, and started to rebuild. Added more weight lifting, joined master swim, started running more, and bought a Wahoo Kickr to cycle indoors. I'm signed up for my first ever marathon (May 7th) and my first Ironman (IMCHOO Sept 24th). A wish list of races in between and of course life. Graduate with my MBA in June (thank you God), house hunting, ring shopping (yep, it's serious), and work. I'm busy, tired, and in love with life. Chasing Ironman 2017 is real and holy cow and I'm stoked. #HereWeGo

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We must be on the same training schedule. Down to 5% 3 miles in. Oops

Today’s run was sponsored by tight calves and a dying garmin.

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Guess who got themselves a super sweet tri bike?? Basically in love with it. Wish it wasn't snowy and icy out but #midwestprobs Complete with pink grips because who doesn't love pink.

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In my world, fall means running! Heat and I are definitely not best friends so once September hits and the temps come down, my mileage starts to pick back up and I love it! Last night I ran a night time 10k trail race in a rural town in Nebraska. It was awesome! We started before sunset and finished as it got dark and the full moon came up. Racing on a dirt and gravel path through a wooded trail, there was definitely some good scenery and some fun times. I started off at a good pace, running a 7:54 for my first mile. I'll tell ya, that alone made my race as I was surprised I had that pace in me considering I haven't run nearly as much as I would like in the last month or so. From there I my times slowly increased but nothing above a 9:10 (uphill). Finished at an 8:47/mile pace and really pushed myself the last mile. I took 17th out of 95 in my age group! Not too shabby for someone who isn't the fastest runner. My feet are rather blistered today but other than a trip to the farmers market and probably some weight lifting today, I plan on watching football and relaxing.

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Lifting and I are starting to become friends. After months upon month of strict cardio, I found a boot camp class with circuits, weights, and cardio. Then I found myself at the gym, ditched the stationary bike and picked up the weights. 20 pounds on each side plus 45 pound bar=85 pounds of butt killing squats. Starting with a personal trainer come October to get some lifting sessions in. Lean muscle does a triathlete good!