Sunday, June 12, 2011
I'm out of town, but I force myself to at least do a run workout today. I run 50 minutes at a very comfortable pace. I could have ran harder for longer, but my knees have been feeling sore lately. I feel great after my run. I'm just happy I could complete it and put the time in. It makes a huge difference when the weather isn't 90 degrees! I'm feeling awesome and motivated.

Monday, June 13, 2011
I drive several hours back to Syracuse today, so I take this as another off day. I still manage to run 20 minutes and walk 5-10 minutes when I get home. At least I get some sort of workout in. I feel much more confident because I've been able to run longer and further each time (when it's not too hot). I feel like I'm definitely improving. The route I ran today, I would have been out of breath just walking back in March, so that's definitely a confidence boost.

Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Before I swim, I run on the treadmill for 15 minutes, just so I can get in my run.

I fit in a long swim. I do several of the drills, plus 10x 50yards with 15 seconds rest, then 4x 100 yards with 20 seconds rest, and then the entire length of 26 laps. It still took me about 15 minutes to swim that distance. I really want to get under 10 minutes, and I need to do that in order to be competitive. My total workout came out to 84 laps..or about 2100 yards. I feel great with my workout.

Wednesday, June 15, 2011
For some reason, something doesn't want me to bike...ever! I got two flat tires today! I went to ride, for the third time on my new tire (I got a flat last week too!) and it went flat. So I changed it myself, and that one went flat too! So I ended up having to go to the Bike Loft again. They were so helpful. The first flat was because the rubber on the wheel itself wasn't aligned properly and there was a sharp edge that was cutting the tire. The second flat was my fault when I changed it. I somehow punctured it with the tool for changing the tire.

Finally at 10:50 a.m., I am able to go out on my ride. I ride along Oran Delphi Road, out to Delphi Falls, and then over to Pompey Hollow Road and back down route 92. It's about 20 miles total, and it took me just over an hour and 35 minutes.

At first I felt great, but it became tough quickly. My knees have been really bothering me lately, and at first, I can almost feel the bones in my knees rubbing against each other. After a few minutes, it gets better, but they still feel sore.

I've been focusing on my cadence when it comes to biking. I start my metronome at 90 rpms, and it's really been helping me get in the right gears. I am still terrible at staying on the beat, but I'm getting better. The ride is still tough, and by the end I'm exhausted.

Thursday, June 16, 2011
I decide to do strength training this morning before my running group. I do mostly lower body work and a few core exercises.

Then at the running group, we do our usual 10 minute warmup, followed by short intervals. We do one minute as hard as we can with one minute rest....eight times! The first three feel really great, but then it gets tougher. By the end, I'm barely running. It's so tough. My legs are killing me! I'm barely faster than a walk for my cool down. In fact, I could probably walk faster than I'm running.

I was planning on swimming after my running group, but that is definitely NOT happening. I need to rest.

Friday, June 17, 2011
I am so sore from yesterday, I barely make it through my 15 minute run today. My schedule is so crazy and messed up today, that I don't get a chance to swim or bike or do anything else. But I'm so sore, that I just need to rest my body up, especially since we have our bike ride tomorrow morning, and after that, I'm running in the 5k Swamp Rat Run! Hopefully I'll have good results.

Saturday, June 18, 2011
What a day! We arrive at Oneida Shores for our group ride at 6:30, but we're told we have to move our cars because the Swamp Rat Races will need all the parking spots. I leave my car where it is because I'm running the race after. But about one hundred of us have to move our cars, and our start is a little crazy. But it's okay. We only get started about 15 minutes late. We ride the Iron Girl course, which feels more tiring than I can remember. I start with one group, but they quickly lose me. Then I join another group, but then I decide not to do the drills because I want to get back in time for my race. So I end up riding by myself, which always gets me into bad habits of going too slow. But I get back in plenty of time before the race.

I believe the Swamp Rat 5k is the same as the Iron Girl course. It feels excruciating long. I am so wiped out and tired after the first mile. The second mile still seems the longest to me. Plus there's a half mile hill. It's not that steep, but it's definitely an incline that makes things much tougher. Plus, it's in the last mile when I'm already tired! I run the race with a couple of the women from my Fleet Feet group, which is nice and encouraging. I finish the race in 35 minutes and 20 seconds. I feel good about that. It's about the same as my first 5k, but at least I know what I'm capable of after biking.

And the insane person that I am decided to go to the gym after all that biking and running to strength train. I'm going to be so sore tomorrow.