Week in Review 5/6 - 5/12

A week more full of running than any other week before (5 times this week! Usually I keep it at 3 times), but probably not what you think.  Not high in miles or intensity, but kept the legs busy for sure!

Sunday- Recovery run from yesterday's long bike ride.  Three short, slow miles before we head to the beach for the day!

Monday-

•  Fun Ironbird Interval: 4 x 1000m; Besides totally losing count of how many we had done, it was a great run!  We kept our pace between 6:20-6:30 mile pace on tired legs, so we were happy!
• Swim: Ok, so I think the coach of the group I go to has read my blog, because he actually payed attention to me tonight.  Maybe it had to do with only a few other people showing up (there are usually about 20!).  After completing the first round of given intervals to swim, he showed up at my lane with a weird-looking contraption.  It was a pole with two waist floats wrapped around the middle of it.  He said he wanted me to stroke while holding the pole out in front of me; I keep crossing my arms to the center when I stroke, instead of keeping them shoulder-distance apart.  So I didn't get any good distance or speed training in...if I don't have an efficient stroke, it doesn't matter!  Thank you, Coach Rich.  I really do appreciate it!

Tuesday- 

• Short 13 mile ride because I had things to do...namely take my bike to the shop while my kids were still in school.  I took my two youngest with me the week before when I had the mechanic look my bike over.  They make me so nervous in a store filled with very expensive equipment!  So I just dropped off Silver to the shop owner's capable hands and came home. 
• Since I didn't get much from swimming the night before or the ride earlier in the day, I decided to accompany the one athlete who showed up for the track workout.  We did 4 x 800m, doing negative splits; then 2 x 400m at 6 minute mile pace.  He did great!  I couldn't keep up with him by the end!

Wednesday-

• Ran 6 miles with Jodi at a smooth, steady pace.  She's getting better and better, I'm so proud of her!
• I got to pick up my bike, and also had them adjust my shoe cleats to prevent my feet from cramping.  The bike looked so nice and shiny everywhere!  A new chain, brake pads, rear derailer, fixed front derailer, tune-up and tires rotated and I'm ready to go on a safer Silver!

Thursday-

• I just HAD to try out my improved bike with a little ride today! :)  I rode the 20 miles to my friend Sarah's house for our weekly check-in.  Everything on the bike worked so nice and smoothly.  The only problem is that Sarah and I are super chatty and I had to try to be speedy on the ride back to be on time to pick up my preschooler.  With a couple of minutes to spare, I made it!
• Open water swim at Lake Millerton with the Team.  The head coach had us do several starting simulations, followed by a nice, long swim.  As I was putting on my wetsuit, s-p-l-i-t it went at the knee on a seam.  I was told that I could get it repaired at a swim shop in town.  I sure hope so; man this thing is getting expensive!

Friday- Crazy busy day taking care of family responsibilities (a.k.a. my full-time job!); no training.  Drove the girls and I to Chico so I could be with my mom for Mother's Day.  What a treat!

Saturday- Run: Eight miles of beautiful Chico.  Such a great way to start the day!

I am so excited about the Classic Challenge coming up in just a couple of weeks on May 19th and 20th!  I will be ready! :)

Totals for the week:
Swim: ? Probably only a total of about 2000m between both the pool & lake
Bike: 33.64 miles
Run: 20 miles

Week in Review 4/29 - 5/5

Last week of cranking out the miles before a slight taper to the Classic Challenge weekend May 19th & 20th. 

Sunday-  No miles, nothing, nada.  Had a picnic with friends after church, then came home. Lovely!

Monday-
Run:  2 x 3200m (2 miles) with 400m (1/4 mile) rest between.  Usually we would do intervals on the track.  Since they were two miles long each, we decided to hit the open road.  I doubted my lap counting abilities, so Pat obliged.  Maybe he was worried about counting too.

Swim: 12 x 150m- Odds build, Evens fast.  The time of year has finally come...I heard rumors it was going to happen...The pool lanes changed from being 25m long (the width of the pool) to 50m long (the length of the pool).  It was lovely!  I wasn't as fast as I would have liked, but did each set strong and steady.  I am such a fan of breathing, however, that it tends to slow me down.  Oh well.  Better to be breathing and on the top of the pool, than not breathing and sink to the bottom!

Tuesday-
The Watts Valley Regular ride- 32 miles.  For some reason I felt compelled to try and beat my best time; I had a head wind the last 5 miles, but rode steady up the hills.  I managed to improve my time by over a minute on the course.  Not every training is about speed; just today. :)

Wednesday-
Easy 4 mile run.  My legs were tired!  I was subscribing to the coach who wrote the training plan we're following: "Rest with as much intensity as you train."  Ok, got it, coach!

Thursday-
Run: 13 miles @ 8:20/mile average.  Our best average pace to date! 
And here is what I was doing when I got home:

Frozen peas...not just for the convenient side dish!  Oh no, it is the most perfect ice pack, too!

Swim:  Open water swim at the lake; just under 1 mile. 
*Lesson Learned:  Make sure the wetsuit is zipped up all the way.  Water was slushing through the whole way!  I was afraid it had ripped or something, so I mentioned about the water coming in during the swim to a few from the team once I got to shore.  One said, "You're wetsuit isn't zipped up all the way.  I noticed it before we started, but thought you wanted it like that." I made sure they knew they had permission to mention it to me next time.

Friday-  I accidentally took it off.  Ok, wait- let me explain.  I totally spaced that I was supposed to run with my friend Jodi early in the morning.  She sent me a text asking where I was at 5:38am, and I told her bed.  Whoops!  So sorry, Jodi!!!  I thought I would be able to ride on the trainer a little bit in the afternoon, but my daughter's track meet went a couple hours over, and we had company coming over for dinner.  Whoops again!  But really it didn't bother me, because I knew what I was going to be doing the next day...

Saturday-
The big ride day!  Pat, James and I rode a route that ended up being 73 miles total.  It felt great!  We climbed over 3000 ft. total, including a hill that is affectionately called "Wildcat".  It was pretty wild; I was following James and noticed Pat was way behind.  So when we reached the top we took the opportunity and waited for him!  I got a little dizzy, but had some Chomps, drank, and we were back at it.  James reminded me I should be fueling every 45 minutes, not the hour I was going to do.  I never felt like I was going to "bonk", but I do need to get my cleats on my shoes corrected.  My toes start tingling and cramping after 30 miles. 

We took a break in the town of Prather (38 miles), buying more water and Gatorade to refill our bottles.  That gave my toes a chance to recover too, which was nice!  We headed home, with almost no more hills in our path.  A lot of downhill and flats, and the satisfaction that we will not only survive the century ride in a couple of weeks, but might just surprise ourselves, too!

Ironbird Ride by kerrysue75 at Garmin Connect - Details

Week in Review 4/22 - 4/28

Oh bummer.  I just realized what I wrote before wasn't magically saved.  Turns out clicking on the "Save" button really is good for something!    I try to write as I go during the week so I don't have to remember an entire week.  Fortunately, I used my fancy-pancy watch for most of it, so I can look on the Garmin Connect site and cheat my memory. 

Sunday- Day off.  The day before was a short sprint triathlon, so I really should have done something.  Oh well.  It's still only April. (wink-wink)

Monday-

• Run: 3 x 2000m (5 times around the track) w/ 400m RI in between.  I really wasn't looking forward to this- I mean really, five times around the track?  Blah...anything over a mile and it's as if I can't remember how many laps I've already done, how many are left.  But not this day.  We totally rocked it!  We ran each one faster than the one before, which is our continual goal.
• Swim: Warm up, 200m; Main Set: 3 x (6 x 100m), each set 5 seconds faster than the one before.  Sets: #1- 1:50/ 10 seconds rest; #2- 1:45/ 15 seconds rest; #3- 1:40/ 20 seconds rest.  Cool down, 200m.  Total: 2200m

Tuesday-
My Watts Valley regular ride, 32 miles.  Great weather, good time, no killing of wildlife! Ha!

Wednesday-
4 mile run with Jodi.  1 mile warm-up, 2 miles at tempo (7:45, 7:08), 1 mile cool-down.

Thursday-

• Bike: 20 miles to my friend Sarah's house.  Had some rain along the way and had to clean up Silver when I got home (Yes, I named my bike after the Lone Ranger's horse).
• Swim: Lake swim with Team.  I got to try out the "Open Water Swim" setting on my watch, and it worked really well!  Our final total was only .55 mile, but man-oh-man was it WINDY out there!  The waves were higher than my strokes at one particular part of our loop.  I was a bit sore the next day, even!

This OF COURSE does not do justice to the size of the swells out there,
but at least you can see it wasn't too smooth, either!

Friday-
10 mile Ironbird run.  We averaged a pokey 8:38/mile pace, but it is done.  Next time I will make Pat run faster.  hee hee hee

Saturday-
"The ride that killed Kerry Sue's legs"
The first 20 miles was with Team.  I arranged to get a ride to our meeting point and then planned on riding home to get a total of 50 miles in.  Well, 16 of those first 20 were killer hills!  I knew better than to be a hero (charging up the hills as fast as I could go), trying to save something for the way home.  I stayed hydrated and fueled well before and during, so I was able to make it home.  Wouldn't you know it though, there was a south/southeast wind that was blowing pretty nicely.  And which direction was I riding?  Ha, yeah...south and southeast all the way home.  I was in my middle ring, pushing to get to 15 mph with the wind constantly pushing on me.  I am still sore two days later...but I did make it all the way to 50 miles!

Totals for the week:
Swim: 3000m
Bike: 102 miles
Run: 20 miles

Three more weeks until the Century Ride and Half Marathon weekend!  Getting so excited for it, I'll be ready!

Week in Review 4/15 - 4/21

Usually I try to write what I've been doing during the week, but I did not do that!  So, now I'm going to have to try to remember...which is not a very reliable source for short-term memory! ;)

Sunday- Day off.  I really wanted to ride since I didn't the day before (see that post for more information).  But I could tell my family was missing me so I stayed home.  Plus I had a couple friend's come over that evening, and so I got some girl-time in, too!

Monday-
Run:  10 x 400m with 1:30 RI; We did great!  We are totally fans of going one time around the track. 
Swim:  I don't remember.  I think it was 12 x 75m and then some 150m's, but there has been too much since then to remember.  Maybe in 10 years it'll come back to me.  haha

Tuesday-  Went for a ride, but only about 22 miles.  I did manage to hit and kill a squirrel, though!  Talk about crazy!  That little bugger just ran right in front of me and snap, crackle, pop!  Yuck.  I didn't realize until later that it could have been a lot worse and got caught in my gears or something.  It was a quick, clean kill.  First time that has EVER happened!

Wednesday- Run:  Got up nice and  early and got a steady 5 miles in.

Thursday- Only did the evening swim this time; doing a little taper for the race on Saturday!  The tnt group went to Millerton tonight and we swam to a couple of buoy's and back.  It went MUCH better, so I have more confidence for the swim this Saturday!  No panicking, no feeling like I was getting choked around the throat.  Yay!

Friday (My birthday...37!)-  Easy 4 mile run with my friend, Jodi.  For my birthday Kenny got me a new Garmin Forerunner 310 XT watch!  Super nice, so had to give it a try!

Saturday- Millerton Sprint Triathlon (400m swim, 10.5 mile ride, 2.25 mile run)
Super fun race!  The swim was quick, steady and nice.  I was ready for it to be over on the home stretch to the shore, though.  The ride was ok, but I felt slow.  It is a very hilly course, which means a lot of technical skill with shifting gears and such.  I had to snap out of the zone I drifted in when I knew I was in the last mile.  Woops!  Pedal, pedal, pedal, you're almost done!  Transition was quick to the run and I tried to start easy.  The first half of the run was on a treacherous path- it was very rocky and uneven, slowing me down to make sure I didn't twist an ankle or something.  Fortunately the last half, just over a mile, was on the road and was able to catch a few more people.

I finished in 1:10:35, which is a Sprint PR (Personal Record) for me!  I placed 18th overall, 6th female, second in my age group (the overall female winner was in my age group: she finished in a time of 1:04!).  I was very happy with the experience. Step one of the journey is complete!

After the race with the Matts.  We were waiting to get our medals!

My spot in transition, all set up!

My Inspiration(s)

My oldest brother, Dick and I at my graduation from college (1997).  He passed away less than a year later.



My amazing other brother, Jason and I enjoying the sights & sounds at the IMAZ 2011 finish line like the dorks we are. 
He is quite arguably my #1 fan!



With both of my brothers, around 1995.  I have been blessed with two of the best ever!



Our wedding day, 1997.  The Brown family is established!

 

My crew!  aka "The Brown Nation"



My fabulous parents! 

 You don't have to know me long or well to know that I really, really love my family.  My parents, brothers, husband and children have all had a part in making me who I am today.  They hold the strings to my heart!  They are the most important people in the world to me.  I think of each one of them while I am out taking care of the mileage in training.  They help answer the "What am I doing this for?" question...really not a "what" but "who".  They are my inspiration(s)!

Week in Review 4/8 - 4/14

A week of recovery and of training not going as planned!

Sunday- Complete day off.  Plus, it was Easter!  Spent time with the family in the mountains, had a great time.  I will admit, that the drive there is part of a regular route I take on rides.  There was a part of me that really wanted to be on my bike and have my family pick me up along the way.  But yesterday was a long ride, tomorrow is mile repeats, and I need to hang out with my family.

Monday-
Run:
3 x 1600m: If you've missed it before, Pat and I really want to run a sub-6 minute mile at some point in training.  We figured the best time to do that would be on mile repeat work-outs.  So, here we go again.  My legs were heavy from the long run and ride from the Friday/Saturday before.  Pat blazed a fast 5:46 mile!  I couldn't keep up; in fact, I dropped out of the third lap.  The second and third miles were 6:18 and 6:35, respectively.  I gave all my legs had to give.  That's got to count for something!

Swim:
I missed the work-out from the coach, so I was stuck with making up my own.  Since it had been a couple of weeks from my last swim, I just spent awhile reacquainting myself with technique.  Then I just kind of went through the motions for the rest.
warm-up: 350m of swimming, 50m of kicking
Main set: 12 x 75m building; 5 x 100m
Cool down: 200m

Tuesday-  I had chores to do around the house, so I only had time for a short ride.  22 miles.  I really wanted to do some cross training, but never had the chance with taking care of the responsibilities associated with the role of MOM.

Wednesday-
Run: Again, chores took time away from training.  But, I am trying to keep the Main Thing (People: my husband, kids, friends, family) the Main Thing (Read: Priority).  Did a quick, comfortable 4.5 miles; was supposed to do an easy, relaxed 6 miles.

Skipping swim to be home in the evening with the family.  I rented "The Iron Lady" for Ken and I to watch after the kids went to bed.  It was very good!

Thursday-  Rode to my friend's house again, but then it started raining right before I needed to leave.  She offered to drive me back, which would also give us more time to visit and chat.  10 miles.

I was hoping to get to swim at the lake with the TNT group, but was on the surfboard stroking near them instead.  It was their first time ever to do an open water swim, and it was important for me to make sure no one drowned.

Friday-  Finally got one day right.  Pat and I ran the required 10 miles in the morning, while it rained heavily on us the entire time.  My shoes are still wet two days later!

Saturday-  It was training day for the TNT group, which meant a trip to Bass Lake to ride the bike course and run the run course they will be doing for the Bass Lake Triathlon in June.  When we got there we right away noticed the snow on the ground, and the chill in the air!  We decided to run one loop (3.1 miles) first, then do the ride.  While we were waiting to begin the ride, one of the coaches had us do the hill leading out/back from the course a couple of times.  On the second go, one of the teammates crashed into the building that was at the bottom of the hill.  I am glad to report that she is now ok, though she did spend the afternoon at the hospital to make sure of it.  We were all shaken up pretty bad from it.  Nothing like seeing someone crumpled on the ground crying, with blood coming out of their mouth to make you strongly question what the heck you're doing!

A few of us ran the loop one more time, then drove back home, calling it a day.

I really, really wanted to go for a long ride after that, but the morning was used up, and the mood at my house reminded me of the Main Thing and I stayed home.

Week in Review 3/31 - 4/7

Saturday (3/31)- An excellent bike/run brick with the TNT group.  Matt B. and I did a total of 29 miles, going over the Millerton bike course a couple of times.  In between there was a 2.3 mile run; the first mile was full of slow, hilly, rough terrain.  The last mile was very quick on the road.  I felt very strong and my confidence built up a bit!  I didn't do more miles afterwards because I had a four and a half drive to do that afternoon with my kids.  I didn't want to be sleepy and driving!  Eek!

I honestly doubted even writing a review on about Wednesday.  However, the end of the week made up for the lack earlier in the week, so here I am.  This week was also filled with lessons learned.  So many, in fact, that I will probably include them from now on as a bonus to the review. My main reason is so that I will only need to make these particular mistakes once! :)

Sunday- Day off.  I got to take the kids up north to visit my parents, and it was nice and relaxing!  We did go for a stroll in the evening, which ended up being about 2 miles. 

Monday- I got to do my track workout at the high school I went to.  There wasn't an all-weather track there when I was in high school, but it was still nice to be in the old 'hood!  I'm not sure exactly how old the track is now, but it hasn't been kept up well.  The first lane was full of spots where asphalt showed.  The grass was unruly, the fence around the school was rusty.  It made me a little sad; especially when the baseball field right next to it was lush and beautifully kept. 
4 x 1000m @ 4:05 average for all four.  It was slow, I know.  But I did it.

Tuesday- I came prepared; I had looked online to check times in the local pool.  I was going to go to my mom's gym and do a swim/bike workout (there wasn't enough room to bring my bike this time).  But my mom tempted me with wine and popcorn. 
*Lesson learned: Got to give up drinking alcohol.  I really haven't had much since signing up for the Ironman in November.  But it doesn't do any good for me while I am trying to train so hard.  In all honesty, I will miss it.  A glass of wine, or a homemade cocktail really hits the spot sometimes.

Wednesday- 5 mile run near my parents house.  About 8 minute mile pace.  See lesson learned above.

Thursday- Came back home on Wednesday; I was looking forward to this swim/bike brick night all week.  It was going to test what I've been working on with swimming for the past four months.  I felt like I had been getting stronger, and was ready to "suit up" (put the wetsuit on) and do some strokes in the lake!  I met up with Pat and we went to the boat ramp.  We looked over the water and decided we were so brave to even be giving swimming in the lake a shot, so we kept our goals short.  Notice I did not add "sweet".

Just a note:  It was VERY windy there!  We decided we would go to the first buoy and back and then decide what else we were going to do.  The water was cold, which I was ready for.  I could see the swells from the wind, so I knew which side I was going to have to breath on.  Off we went:  and then I thought I was going to drown.  I could not get in a rhythm; my wetsuit felt like it was strangling me around my neck; I lost any sort of form I had learned.  It was awful, terrible!  I would stop every now and then, so I could get a few good breaths.  Pat and I stayed close so we could make sure the other wouldn't drown.  When we got to the buoy, I really wanted a floatie, or arm wings, or floatation device of any sort!  I really slowed Pat down; he kept having to stop and make sure I was still breathing and trying to swim.  When we got to the shore, it felt as though we had gone a half mile or more.  Nope- 8 minutes by Pat's watch.  Good grief!  With all the stopping I did, that was probably only 200m!  He went all the way to the buoy again.  I went halfway and came back.  I kept a lookout for his yellow cap.

We rode the bike course for the triathlon that will be on April 21st.  I am really getting this thing down, since I've been doing so much of it lately!  We didn't push our pace very much; we have a lot of distance to cover in the next couple of days!
*Lesson learned: Never give up, never surrender!  Keep things in perspective. 

Friday- 14 mile run @ 8:03 average mile pace!  Felt good until the last couple of miles.  It might possibly have to do with the fact that I ran from 11:30am to after 1pm and have another lesson learned.
*Lesson learned: Wear sunblock.  That is a long time to be out in the sun, demanding so much of all the systems I am equipped with.

Saturday-   I replaced the cleats on my cycling shoes, and was ready to try them out!
53 mile ride with Pat.  It would have been farther, but we had to turn around with about 12 miles to get home in the light of day in.  It was a race against the setting sun, and we won!  It was a great ride! 


Such a beautiful time to ride in the foothills!



My bike "Silver" weighed down with drinks and munchies for the long ride!

The only bummer was that my Garmin Forerunner 305 watch died along the way.  It got too much moisture in it on the rainy ride on March 17th.  Ken tried to fix it but broke off a piece inside right before he epoxied it back together.  It won't charge or connect to the computer anymore.  I knew this was going to be the last time I was going to be able to use it.  Kind of a bummer!  That thing was really, really handy for interval workouts and keeping track of speed and distance on runs and rides.  I will have to manage with my own little cheap digital watch I bought on clearance a few years ago.  I might upgrade it to a Timex with lap memory capability, but there are more important things to have to buy right now: a toilet, a new ice maker in our freezer, a windshield for our van...oh wait, I mean: my bike needs a tune-up and new tires!