Ironman Training: A Rocky Start

Happy Monday! I had the best of intentions to sit down at my computer at the end of each week and compose a lovely post about all of the hard work I had done training during said week. Well, if you follow my blog, you may have noticed the last post about training was a month ago! It has been a very hectic few weeks with any number of unanticipated things taking over my perfectly "planned" little schedule.

I had a very solid first week of training followed by me getting sick for a few days and falling off track. As soon as I recovered, my daughter got sick, but bounced back quickly. I thought I would be right back to my routine. However, my husband and I discovered a lump on our son's back. Initially, we brushed it off as a bruise from hockey. After 2 weeks, it had not gone away, in fact it was getting bigger. It was painless to him, but very concerning to us as it seemed to come out of nowhere and grow to the size and shape of a pear. We took him to the Pediatrician, hoping for a quick and easy "It's Nothing!" However, we got the "That's unusual, not something we typically see" response. My husband and I are both in the medical field, so it was unnerving at best.  We ended up taking him for an ultrasound of the mass and when the technician stopped in the middle of imaging to get the Pediatric Radiologist followed by the Resident, Intern, and Medical Student, my heart and stomach hit the concrete floor. After being an ICU nurse for 20 years, I know that being the "interesting case" is rarely a good thing. The other thing I now know, is being on the other side sucks!





We ended up having to take him for some other imaging (MRI), as the ultrasound was inconclusive. Then, we took him to a pediatric surgeon for further evaluation. At this point, there was no definitive diagnosis, but the good news was that it was self-contained and did not involve his spine. The surgeon also reassured us that he was 90% certain it was benign, but it would need to be surgically removed. Of course, this was all good to hear, but I wanted that thing removed ASAP! I will say my son was a trooper through all of the poking and prodding and was not overly worried about having the surgery. He ended up having it removed right after Thanksgiving and it was benign! It was such a relief to get the final pathology report. He recovered well from the entire ordeal and should be back at hockey this coming weekend!

So it has been an extremely busy and stressful month and I was eager to get back to training, as I needed a healthy outlet. I was able to pick up where I left off and I am happy to report that I hit every scheduled workout last week, except one! The workout I missed was a 2,300 yard swim. I love swimming, but getting to the pool can be such a challenge. I do know this and I should have never moved the planned workout to a Sunday when my husband was out of town. *sigh* Lesson learned once again: If I don't get my swim workouts done during the week, it is unlikely they will get done at all.

Here is what I did accomplish:

Monday: This was a planned rest day, however I am participating in a Run Streak Challenge with my Team Smashfest Queen. The Streak is for the month of December and we need to run or walk each day for 20 minutes or more. I did a very slow jog on the treadmill to hit it! 🙂

Tuesday: I did my scheduled endurance ride of 35 miles on my trainer. Some people think I'm crazy when I say this, but I love my trainer so much. I have a Wahoo KickR trainer and I can virtually ride almost any course with my Cycleops app. I rode the Ironman Lake Placid course on this day and it is definitely challenging, but reassuring to know I have 8 months to prepare for it! After I finished my ride, I hopped on the treadmill for a quick 2 miles.

Wednesday: Up and at 'em at the crack of dawn for a 4 mile Run Test to collect HR and Pace info. In a nutshell, I have a lot of work to do!!  Then, I got the kids off to school and went to a swim technique class and did my scheduled 2,000 yards afterward. After swimming, I did 30 minutes of strength training. So by noon, I was spent 🙂

Thursday: I was supposed to do a 30 minute Interval Run after work, but my legs were not happy, so I did a 30 minute Recovery Effort Run on the treadmill.

Friday: I did a Bike Test to determine where I am at with Power and Heart Rate.  I spent 15 minutes warming up on a flat course on my trainer. Then, I went all out for 30 minutes and spent the last 10 minutes recovering. I surprised myself, as I did not think I was in very good shape for this, but I did ok! I have a long way to go, but I am in a decent place now! I finished up with a 20 minute walk on the treadmill.

Saturday: I did my 6 mile run on the treadmill. I always think I will hate my treadmill runs, but it went by pretty quickly and I felt great afterwards! I had plans of potentially making it to the pool, but I had a busy day with the kids and opted to make Christmas Cookies with them instead of pool time...I think it was a good choice 🙂

Sunday: I did a fairly intense Interval Ride on my trainer and followed it up with a slow jog for 20 minutes on the treadmill.

Overall, it was a good week! I know the next few weeks will be chaotic with the holidays, but I am hoping to squeeze in as much training as I can. Here are a few other things I did over the past month: Check out my Review of the Mizuno Wave Rider 20's >>>Here<<<

Also, I know I talked a lot about my son, so I need to mention my daughter too 🙂 She was a "Little Page" in a wonderful production of The Nutcracker, which was so exciting!

How was your week? What do you do when your training gets thrown off? Do you ever skip workouts for extra family time?

Thank you so much for stopping by, have a great week!

I am linking up this week with:  Patty, Erika, and Marcia for Tuesdays on the run and Tricia & Holly for the Weekly Wrap!