Week Three... Training Plan and Something New

Week Three is in the bag… Here is the day by day blow and why one day is yellow…

  

Wednesday: 

I had a good (not great) 11 mile ride. It is yellow because I binged for dinner. I had a 5 guys burger and fries – and they were AMAZING!! But it wasn’t in the plan and with a girl’s night out Friday and a day with my mom Saturday I had ‘cheat’ meals built into the plan. I can’t really say why I just HAD to have a burger (a really bad for you burger at that) but I did it. So the day is yellow, not a terrible day, but I could have made a better choice.  

Thursday: 

Usually this is my rest day but with a day planned at my mom’s I switched Saturday to the rest day. I worked from home and started the day with a 5k run walk. This was a great one for me! I ditched the c25k plan cause it was BORING! I started running to one song, walking to one. Then I noticed I felt pretty good at the end of Song One so I ran for Song Two also – go me!! So I ran two and walked one. This is the same concept as c25k but I liked knowing when the end/start was coming rather than it being a bit of a surprise. That was before work. After work I got in a great ride… GREAT! Nearly 20 miles and I kept up a good 15mph pace for the open/flat parts. Two endorphin highs in one day… This is why people do two a days!

Friday: 

 I was getting pretty tired but hit the gym before I knew it was actually morning and got a 500m swim in. Every time my goal is 40 meters more (my pool has 20…NOT 25! Meter lengths). Each time I add the extra lap no problem and have yet to increase my time. I am still under 20 minutes which means I am getting a tiny bit faster  I am happy with the swim progress. I had another great and longish ride. I had to earn the grilled cheese and hard root beer I was going to share with a couple great friends.  I am loving… LOVING guilt free food!

Saturday: 

 I was super to have rest day! Going two days over I really felt I had earned it. I didn’t binge – which is hard to avoid with my family. I did manage to get home Saturday night and avoid a sleep over which would have made Sunday’s work out difficult  

Sunday: 

I have switched Sundays to be my long day for now. As I progress I will work all three disciplines in, but for now I think this is the right approach for me. I pick which of the three I want to do and since the weather was nice… and won’t be for long, I rode my bike (I love my bike… have I mentioned this??) I headed out just before kickoff of the Bears game thinking most of the gear heads would have gotten their workouts over …including the ex… wrong! Another damn sighting! I mention this, because it really affected my entire ride. I saw him about 5 miles in. I am not sure he is recognizing me on the bike – but I think Sunday he did. It upsets me so much to see him I nearly turned around and went home 5 miles into my LONG ride!! I hate someone else having that control over me… no really, I hate it! I kept going and it got easier.** I biked over 21 miles total with great averages for me. I got behind someone who was pacing at 15.5 I kept up with him the whole way. I could have passed him at one point, but his pace was so consistent I decided that I needed to practice that more. I was really proud of keeping up!  

Monday: 

Another work from home day… I did my run/walk to the songs and had several where I ran 3 songs. I felt GREAT and actually got over a jog to a good hard run several times. Honestly, this was the first time I felt like I was running and I loved it! I even got the high  First Runner’s High!! So high, I ran straight for pancakes. And I am guilt free – I didn’t go nuts, but I loved every single bite! I added a kind of short bike in the afternoon – 11 miles. I ended up Performance Cycle again. I tried to air up my tires and my bum was screaming I did it wrong… why did I wait until AFTER my bumpy ride???I have no idea. I got a lesson on airing the tires – yes again, but I got it this time! I won’t tell you how low that back tire was… my bum is still angry!

Tuesday: 

You know those silly inspirational posters and pins  that say do something that impresses yourself?? I took a spin class with a girlfriend. It was one of the hardest classes I have ever taken – watch that resistance, if you lighten it up it will slam your lower leg into your knee cap…. I think I bruised mine. Eh, I will live. There was a section in the beginning I couldn’t stand when the class did, then I got with it. My friend was cruising along… that woman is so much stronger than me! She is POWERFUL! (And a perfect example of don’t judge a book by her cover) One last part towards the very end I didn’t do the ‘jumps’ for one set, other than that – I pushed it!! It was hard!! It was nearly 600 calories burned and I was impressed!! However… I was STARVING all day. I didn’t order out, which is a win! But I just couldn’t eat and feel full. I have some suggestions for eating before (will try but if I vomit in spin class…).

 Over all a great week. One guilty meal, one super hungry day nearly 100 miles logged run/walk/ride, time with friends, time with family… life is good.


 ** I realize the ex part has nothing to do with Tris or cycling, but it is about my process and why I needed …some would say still need…something to get my head in gear ;) The two times I saw him this week I didn’t break down, I didn’t cry – another perk to the bike. When I walked and saw him I would burst into tears… cry on the bike and fall over! No crying!! I don’t think anyone can say why one break up or another is so damn hard to get over, but this one has been a BITCH! In the city of Chicago there aren’t a lot of options to ride without having to stop at lights so we will continue to share the same path. My deliberately riding outside his normal window is not keeping the sightings down, unfortunately. With time, it has to get easier. It will get easier.