Ironman Training: Jumping Back In
After getting the ok to resume training 2 weeks ago, I jumped right back into it. I am so thankful that I have a coach as I had no idea how to approach training again after 3 weeks of close to nothing! At this point, the race was one month away and I needed to see where I was physically with biking and running distances again. So, I did not ease into it, but went "full steam ahead"!
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In fact, 2 days after being given the ok to train, I had a big Brick on my training plan. It was 15 mile ride, 1 mile run x's 6. When I saw this in Training Peaks, I was a bit shocked and scared that I could not do it. Of course, then I knew I had to do it! So, I got up at 5 am and started. I was not ready to bike or run outside yet because of my arm & shoulder, so I planned a long day on my trainer and treadmill. I did the first 15 & 1 before the kids were up. Then, I got them up & off to their summer day camp and went to one of the many doctor appointments I have had since the accident. Next, I headed home to see how much more I could get done before picking the kids back up.
I was able to get in 3 more Bricks For a total of 60 miles on my trainer and 4 miles running. My knee and shoulder felt pretty good, but my backside was very sore!
I was back home and on the bike again at 4:30. The kids watched a movie while I plugged away at the monster workout. I was struggling with guilt about spending the entire day training when so much else needed to be done! I was going to skip the last brick because it was so close to dinner time. However, my husband had arrived home and encouraged me to finish. He cooked dinner and gave the kids a bath. I felt so lucky to have him be so supportive about this crazy long workout. I successfully completed the entire 90 miles of riding and 6 miles of running and felt great! My confidence was coming back and I was feeling hopeful that I could still finish the event.
By the end of the week, I decided it was time to take the running back outside. It had been exactly 4 weeks since the accident & I needed to move on. So, I did a short run on Saturday. I was worried that all of the jarring on my shoulder would be painful; however, it went well!
On Sunday, I had a 14 mile run on my training schedule. Again, I was very nervous that I would not be able to do it. It had been close to a month since I had run anything over 4 or 5 miles. However, the last long run I had done was a hilly 18 miles in South Freeport and it had gone great, so I kept that in my mind as I started to run. Fortunately, it was a cool and rainy day, which is my favorite type of running weather. I had my new Garmin on and had not set up any of the fields. So I did not pay attention to my time, but kept an eye on the distance. The miles ticked away quickly and I felt really good until mile 8 when my right shoulder started to ache. I plugged away though because my legs felt great! Before I knew it, I hit 14 miles! I was shocked that, other than my shoulder aching, I had no trouble completing the distance! When I plugged in my Garmin to the computer and saw my pace, I was even more surprised. I had done this run 15 seconds per mile faster than a previous 14 miler with the same elevation. This was quite a confidence booster! I am so glad that I had done a lot of big Bricks, long runs & long rides early on in my training. I am certain that the base my coach helped me create over the past 8 months is why I was able to do the big brick earlier in the week and this long run.
Onward & hopefully upward! Next up: taking the bike back outside.
Have a great week!
