Training through a heat wave....

It's August...in Atlanta...and it's HOT!  It's so hot you could cook an egg on the brick outside my house...no, no, I take that back...it's SO HOT you could cook an egg on my forehead after I do a brick!  For those of you who don't know triathlon lingo, a brick is a back-to-back training session in at least 2 of the 3 sports.  It gets it's name from how your legs feel when you get off the bike and start to run...heavy like bricks. 

As if training for this sport wasn't challenging enough, trying to do it in this weather adds another degree of difficulty.  There's a lot more to think about considering hydration and proper fueling when you sweat buckets like I do in this heat!  With a race looming around the corner, I am trying to get outside as much as possible to train so that I can at least attempt to acclimate to this weather before participating in my biggest race ever!

 Well, I'm no Chuck Norris, but here's somethin to work towards!

Last week was my first full week of swim, bike AND RUN training sessions since the stress fracture.  I'm happy to report... so far, so good!  Starting up running again wasn't as horrible as I was predicting, but I am taking it slow and being very aware of running form and how my body is feeling.   As usual, my lower back and hip get a little messed up whenever I run, but I am just making sure to visit the chiropractor once or twice a week so things get put back in place :) 

My training buddy and I were given a little tip that the olympic distance race course starts with a big hill and then is followed by rolling hills.  Hearing this and realizing I had only been riding on low resistance and flats while recovering my foot, made me instantly plan a ride out at Stone Mountain.  So last Saturday we hit the mountain loop 5 times (almost 25 miles).  Some of the climbs on this route are really fun and easy, while others are gradual inclines that seem to take a while to climb while burning your legs even in the easiest of gears.  After the third loop, I was drenched in sweat and starting to feel some chills, so I stopped to take a little 5 minute breather.  I hydrated, ate a honey gel packet and started to feel much better within minutes.  At times like those it is so easy to let negative thoughts creep in and start to think of calling it a day and heading home.  But I got back on that bike and did 2 more loops!  Woohoo!  

Thursday training buddy and I are planning a brick at Stone Mountain.  Let's see what the forecast is looking like:

Yup, just as I suspected...

I look official and stuff

I've got wings!

As you can tell by the photo, I got my Ironheart Racing Team triathlon top (and arm warmers) in the mail!  The design is really fantastic, even though the colors contrast greatly with the red and black of my alma mater ;)  In all honesty, I really think the bright orange and blue captures people's attention, and hopefully they will read the logo and ask about the team!  Thank you Sugoi, David Watkins, and everyone else who contributed to the design and production of our team race clothing!  

I look so much more hard core than I actually am :)

I really love the wings on the arm warmers...at first it made me feel like an angel.  But then I got to thinking (and you know that means trouble :P), if our logo is a pig with wings and I am wearing wings, does that make me...gulp... the pig???  It's also kinda humorous (at least my family will laugh I'm sure) that I am wearing wings on my arms, because in my family all us ladies inherited chunkier/flappy underarms which we commonly refer to as 'wings'.  My 'wings' are much more firm and stronger these days, but I have come to accept that I will always have thicker arms than the average girl :) 

Whatever, I will proudly wear my wings when the weather isn't 97 degrees in Atlanta.  

 

 

Now I'm just super excited to wear my team racing top in the Olympic distance race coming up in August--extra motivation to represent such an amazing team for an important cause! 

Tomorrow is Friday! Happy early Friday and have a great weekend!

Catching up

It's been awhile since my last post.  Since receiving the official diagnosis about having a stress fracture in my left foot, I haven't been 'allowed' to go for long training rides outside and haven't been running.  It kind of made me sad for the first few weeks as I worried about staying in shape with what I could and couldn't do.

The only thing I kept up with distance-wise on my training schedule was the swimming portion, using the pull buoy more than usual.  I cycled on my indoor trainer with my 'special shoe' on about twice a week, but I really couldn't up the resistance or spin for too long.  Other than that, I focused on strength training with weights, resistance bands, and using the stability ball...anything I could do to at least maintain the level of fitness I had worked so hard to gain.  I also maintained a healthy diet (most of the time :P) and was taking my vitamins, including extra calcium and vitamin D to help promote bone growth.  So...I really didn't feel like I had much to blog about regarding training.

I suppose I could have updated you with everyday things, like how I invented quite possibly the most delicious pancake ever (see below)

Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes

Or I could have shared my story about almost re-injuring my foot while trying to kill a huge spider that looked really similar to this:

Yes, Ladies and Gents, that IS a photo of a Brown Recluse

Annnnd that's F'in fantAstic that it was in my house

Orrr, I could have just written to share this amazingly hilarious video:

In other news...
Last week I had a follow up appointment with the Hot Doctor, and he told me that my foot appears to be healing just fine, and I can gradually start adding things back in. First, I can walk around in normal tennis shoes for 3 days during regular activities, and if that doesn't hurt then I can cycle indoors with my cycling shoes for 20-30 minutes.  If that doesn't hurt, I can continue cycling for 3 days, then move to elliptical.  Right now I am pleased to say I am at the elliptical stage and so far, so good (fingers crossed, knock on wood!) :) 

He said to call him (oo la la) before I decide to try running, so I am planning to make that call Monday morning and hoping he gives the ok!  I know that even when I am given the green light it will be trial and error and will require patience as I slowly add in the distance...starting from scratch. It's hard to be patient sometimes, especially since the date of the Olympic triathlon is getting closer and closer, and I really want to be able to complete the run portion.  But I need to listen to my body and be careful not to re-injure myself. 

I'm just excited to be doing other things for cardio!  This week I've been hitting the row machine, bike, and elliptical, and it feels so good!  There's lots of catching up to do...

Hope you all had a fantastic 4th of July and have a fun weekend!  Maybe it will be one of these types of weekends for some of you :) :