3/8/15
It's been quite a while since I've done an entry, and a lot has happened since the last one. This is going to be a long entry.
First, Wine and Dine Half Marathon: Training went well leading up to the race, and the weather in Raleigh was fairly nice, which allowed for a lot of outdoor running. However, the temperature did get cold and the weather kind of nasty a few times, which had me forced to run on the treadmill. Weather forecast for the race (which started at 10 PM) was not looking so good. Rainy and somewhat cool. Dressed in light long sleeves and brought a poncho. Fueled up well and felt good and excited waiting for the start. Light rain started while we were all lined up in our corrals, and continued on, steadily getting heavier, through the course of the race. Even with the rain it was fun though, as the parks were lit up and decorated. I was drenched by the end of the race, probably just as much from sweating under the poncho as from the rain. Had a better time than I expected, around 2:10 or so, but the worst part was after the finish. standing in line waiting for my bag to go change my legs got really stiff and my feet started to hurt. After getting changed into dry clothes and meeting up with Chris we walked around and ate at a few different countries, but by the time we were ready to leave it was almost 3 am and the rain was just starting to let up, but my body had had enough and I couldn't wait to get off my feet and get warm and dry. The rest of the trip went well, did some aqua-jogging but for the most part rested my legs with the exception of walking around the parks and downtown Disney. All-in-all not a bad trip!
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Christmas and the beginning of my training: I got the money to purchase my Cyclops Fluid 2 bike trainer from REI for Christmas from my parents, which was pretty awesome of them. I also got a few accessories for the trainer to help me out, like the block and trainer mat. Currently have the trainer set up in the basement where I can watch movies on either DVD or Netflix while I ride. I also purchased an iPad to help with my training, although the games seem to have monopolized my time on it as of late. I do occasionally play games while on the trainer, but it's not the best for my posture and speed, so I try to keep that at a minimum.
Official beginning of Ironman training 2/29/2014: Started off my training strong, however that wouldn't last long. as the weather got colder and nastier I had to do more runs on the treadmill, but I still tried to get my long runs done outside on the nicer days if possible. Kept up with the swimming pretty well, and did my cycling on the trainer. I had been keeping on the running after the Half marathon, in preparation for the Myrtle beach Marathon on Valentine's day, so up until the official beginning of my training I was still swimming and running regularly, although the Yoga had decreased quite a bit and the strength training was pretty non-existent. Unfortunately, I had been having some pain on my right shin just below the knee. At first I though it was just sore, but it didn't go away after a few weeks and it was becoming really painful after a long run. Went to the Dr on Jan 9th to have it checked out before trying to do an 18 mile training run, and surprise surprise, Dr diagnosis was a stress fracture. Had an x-ray done, but of course it didn't show anything, so was told no running and decided to get an MRI just to be sure it wasn't anything else. A week later I got the MRI, which also didn't show anything, but after a week of rest the thought was that I caught it early enough and I was likely having a stress reaction that hadn't progressed all the way to a fracture. Good news and bad news though, as I was still not allowed to run for a few weeks and the Marathon was definitely out. I did my best to keep up with the swimming and cycling since neither of those disciplines had a negative impact on my injury, and kept waiting for the pain to completely go away.
Training while on vacation to Slidell: Two weeks before I was suppose to run the Marathon, I took a trip to Slidell to see my goddaughter for her birthday. It was a great trip, and the fact that I wasn't allowed to run actually ended up being a good thing. I was able to get in a swim and a couple of cycling sessions (one was a spin class with an instructor who was a 3 time ironman), but not as much training as was in my training plan. Two main factors were at play there; first, the weather really sucked, it was cold and nasty a lot of the time, so that made it hard to go and do a lot. second, we were all sick with a head cold that we kept passing around to each other. I probably drank more tea in that week than I had in a really long time, just trying to soothe my throat and boost my immune system. I really didn't start feeling much better until a couple days after I got back home. Chris and I still made the trip down to Myrtle Beach during marathon weekend, and I went to the expo to pick up my gear and all that, but it was a real bummer to be there and not be able to compete. It was, however, very cold and windy during the race, so I'm not sure I would have been all that excited had I not gotten injured and actually had to compete. I guess the biggest bummer is that I probably won't get a full marathon in before the Ironman in September. Not a huge deal, but a bummer nonetheless.
The whole month of February really sucked weather-wise, and so I didn't start getting back into the slow transition back to running until March, but I did keep up with the biking, and despite the amount of cancelled practices, still managed to keep up with the hours of swimming as well. I made it through my week of "run a mile, walk 2" without any issues, although running on the treadmill made my shins more sore than running outside, so unless absolutely necessary, I'll be staying off the treadmill. Luckily, the weather appears to be rebounding, so hopefully that means I'll be able to do my running outside!
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