Ironman Canada - 20 weeks out

	IMC: 20 weeks to go (Mar 9-15)	Challenge: 20 weeks to go (Mar 31-Apr 6)
Total training hours	11:17	10:43
Swim	3:13 / 6350m	2:53 / 5750m
Bike	3:29 / Spin class + 55 km on trainer	4:34 (trainer time + 112.9 km on road)
Run	2:30 / 24.1 km	0:51 / 8.4 km
Strength training		0:55
Yoga	2:05	1:30
SBR Total	9:12	8:18

20 weeks out. Yeah, if you were planning to do Ironman, but hadn’t really started your training with any focus, right about now I’m thinking you would be. I was looking forward to seeing this week’s plan from my Coach. To this point, it’s really been all about the marathon. Which was great, because I love the run. Nothing like the run for your exercise endorphin boost. But… then the marathon came and went it was a dreaded recovery week. Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t mind a recovery week on the schedule when it greets you after weeks of hard training. And when I say I don’t mind, I mean I will be living hell to live with as my appetite ramps into overdrive and I try not to give in to it on account of the fact that I’m not burning anything. But the thing with post-race recovery week is that it comes right after the race, and before the race comes the taper. And so. You know. Let’s get busy. That’s what I was expecting. Instead I got 2 rest days and less than 8 hrs of training assigned. I know my Coach knows what he’s doing. But that doesn’t make me any less cranky.

Monday, I packed myself off to yoga for the first time in weeks. It was bliss. Happy to be back on the mat and stretching out some of the aches and owies that I picked up on race day.

Tuesday morning, I was supposed to swim but just couldn’t make it work with my work schedule so instead, I got up at 4 and headed out for an early run. “I’ll swim tonight.” I lied to myself. I hate swimming at night. Actually, to be more specific, I hate leaving the house after I’ve been home to go for a swim at night. I especially hate it if I’m having to swim in the frigid waters of MR pool. Back when I was coaching myself, I sometimes chased the PRM Spin Class with an hour in the pool, ‘cause it’s so dead at 9 pm, you’d really be hard pressed (and pretty damn uptight) to muster up any lane rage swimming at Hyde Creek at that hour… and bonus idea: wine in your water bottle = a great little [secret] to reward yourself with at the end of the swim. No, I haven’t done that. But where was I going with this? Oh yes, I had no intention of swimming at night and I knew it. Instead I decided I’d swim Wednesday morning and take the opportunity to resume strength training on Tuesday night. Yeah, that never happened either. What is wrong with me??? I think I’m bored with my strength workout.

So Wednesday and Thursday morning, I swam and is it just me or am I getting slower? Or at the very least, not faster? These swims felt sucky. Let’s just leave it at that. Or not. On Wednesday’s swim, I asked myself “why am I doing this?” which progressed to “why do I want to do another ironman? Why am I doing ANY of this?” I mentioned this to my son later, before heading off to Spin class, with tanking motivation. His reply, a very casual: “why don’t you take a break?” Because #fat, that’s why! Which lit just enough of a fire in me to go sweat all over the bike and the floor at 360.

Thursday, I snagged a free entry into the modo 8K Spring run-off after applying to be one of their “Digital Champions” [no, they didn't pick me] and with renewed enthusiasm, headed out for a run at lunch with one of my work friends and… ran it way too fast. Yeah, not 5K fast but not easy-recovery-run either. I loved the run… but activated all of the post-race grumpies, prompting a desperate text to an almost-RMT-extraordinaire friend to help a gal out. And she did. Because she’s awesome like that. Working my hips, glutes and rec fem and sending me off with instructions to stretch. And I have. I have!! Is stretch plural?

Saturday I had a moment of extreme inadequacy at my Club swim followed by bitter jealousy and resentment, which was, OF COURSE, an awesome start to the day and fed into all the angst of the week. So it only made sense that I would do my Saturday easy 1-hour run by running uphill for 4.5 km and then downhill for 4.5 km, at the Malcolm Knapp Research Forest. As preparation for Yakima. Yeah, it hurt. Glute med, TFL, rec fem. And crampy calves. I came home, watched the Yakima video and felt better.  

Yakima Skyline Rim - 25/50k - 2014 from Project Talaria on Vimeo.

Sunday, I played coach and cheerleader and cowbelled the Hub through his first race (well, first one he’s ever trained for) and watched while Sporty Spice shattered my 10K PB after only a few short months of running. Yeah! #notaboutme  I spent the afternoon, escaping the rain on the trainer, spinning through the TrainerRoad Big Squaw workout, made bearable by 3 episodes of House of Cards… House of Cards! “I’d push him down the stairs and set his body on fire just to watch it burn.” Oh Frank Underwood. We be samesies.

The week in summary:

Monday	Hatha Flow Yoga Class
Tuesday	6.4 km run before work
Wednesday	2300m swim before work PRM Spin Class after work
Thursday	2350m swim before work 8.6 km run at lunch Hatha Flow Yoga Class
Friday	Rest day
Saturday	1750m PRM swim 9 km run
Sunday	2:30 on the trainer (Trainer Road Big Squaw work out)