Two trips to the gym

Thursday: Swim 500 yards, walk 5 miles

The 90-minute walk is going to be a Thursday evening tradition: We don't have cable, and it's the best way for me to watch "Project Runway."

The 500-yard afternoon swim was supposed to be longer, but I hadn't moved my goggles back from my post-vacation "pile" to my gym bag, and the only ones I had were leaky and unacceptable.

I've been counting calories on My Fitness Pal, but somehow it seems to be making me heavier. I think because it gives me way too much credit for the exercise I do. (Example: Yesterday it said I burned more than 1,900 calories on my 30-mile ride. Surely it doesn't realize what an awesome bike I have. Or that 14-16 mph is not really that "vigorous.")

Tough enough

Bike: 30 miles

Another good ride. I am trying not to obsess over the mileage, so I've been keeping the bike computer set to display the average speed instead. Of course, that means I obsess over the average speed a bit, but maybe that's a good thing. Yesterday was a hilly route, and I averaged 14.8 mph. Today was much flatter, and I averaged 15.3 mph. That's pretty good for me!

So of course the point of all this biking is to get used to a variety of situations, and just generally get tougher. Today I came home with:

1. My shins coated with gravel.

2. Giant sweat stains on my shirt.

3. Two saddle sores the size of nickels (pre-existing).

4. A grasshopper in my hair.

How do you like me now? Am I tough enough yet?

Home again, home again

Bike: 26 miles

We got back from our trip to Denver last night, and other than the looong drive and somewhat disappointing Great Urban Race, it was a lot of fun. Immediately before this trip we had two weeks of out-of-town company, so it's really nice to be back to a normal routine for a while. (Or as M.H. put it, "I can't wait to have a day where I don't hear the laughter of little children.")

So kind of a fun ride today, no real purpose, just riding. As per the plan. :)

I'm starting to not be able to feel the pain in my hip, so I think I'm going to postpone seeking out physical therapy for a few more weeks and see if the exercises my brother-in-law suggested awhile back — plus not running, plus focusing on losing a few pounds — can whip it back into shape. It would be nice to get away with not spending the money. Still, I'm not going to endanger the Ironman over this, so just a few more weeks of rest to see how it does, and then I will be a good girl and get physical therapy if I need it.

Wanna buy a marathon slot?

Swim: 2,000 yards

I decided to email the race director and just see what the deal was with bowing out of the Montana Marathon, and great news! I can pass my slot on to someone else or defer my entry to next year (at which time I would probably try again to sell it to someone else, because I can't see wanting to do a marathon three months after the Ironman). Maybe if I can defer it twice, I'll do it in 2012.

I think I love how casual these Montana races are. When I asked how long I had to decide whether I wanted to defer, the answer was, "Uhh, whenever. Just let us know sometime before the morning of the race." :)

So that's a load off my mind. Unless I have a running epiphany when I get back from our trip, the marathon is off. I will bike, bike, bike, yoga, and swim. And finally go get some PT for my hip, because I've just been living with the same pain for like two years now, and that can't be a good thing.

8 miles of fail

Monday: Run 8 miles, bike 3 miles

So the "just ride" mantra is great, but there's also the small problem of the Montana Marathon to worry about. Right now I'm sincerely wishing I had not signed up for it. It's just a little under seven weeks away, my longest training run of 15 miles was about five weeks ago, and I'm going to be on vacation (and not planning to run) for a week starting Wednesday. Plus, and probably most importantly, I should be using this time to rehab my hip, not train for a marathon on it.

Today I was hoping to get in another long run before we leave, but I was also trying to be realistic. I would shoot for 15, but be happy with 13 if I just didn't have it in me. (And if all was going swimmingly, I'd go ahead and do 16.)

Ha. Guess I really didn't have it in me. There were so many things going wrong at once that I don't even want to talk about it. Obviously I'm still worn out from the half-ironman. But I'm very discouraged that I can be ready for this race in the amount of time I have left.

Time to think seriously about what to do. I really hate to waste the $60 entry fee, but I also don't want to do something stupid that will ultimately jeopardize the Ironman. And it might just be my tired legs talking, but frankly I don't even want to do this race.

Just ride

Saturday: Yoga, run 2 miles

Sunday: Bike 21 miles, yoga

I've been going over in my head all the things I need to get better at on the bike—climbing hills, decending hills, endurance, speed, riding in the heat, riding in the cold, riding in the wind, comfort in both positions, tolerance of the saddle, eating and drinking without slowing down… it got a little overwhelming. How do I learn this stuff? What do I work on first? Then I realized that the answer is actually pretty easy: Just ride. If I just keep at it, I will get better at everything. Obviously!

I think it's too early to have a formal bike training plan for the race, so I think that's my new motto until about January. Just ride. Just ride. Just ride.

So today it was a nice morning (although I have to remember I can't ride only on nice mornings) and I decided to go out and see how the dreaded Molt hill compares to the Bridger Pass. Holy cow. The dreaded Molt hill is no big deal at all. This was only the third or fourth time I've ever made it to the top of it, but as I was going up, I noticed a) I was not breathing all that hard, b) I was down to 6 mph, sometimes in the 5's, but never 4, and c) it's really three hills, with flat sections between them. Piece of cake!

Ah, but could I go downhill without clutching the brakes in terror? Yep. I hit 36 mph, so it was not entirely without terror, but I stayed off the brake, and it was not as scary as I thought it would be.

Aftermath

So here's what I've been doing this week: Getting up at 6:30, sitting down at my desk, and working until 11, with occasional breaks for meals and iced tea.

I thought I was going to be super sore from the half—I couldn't walk for four days after my marathon last year—and not really mind not getting to the gym, but it turns out I was feeling great on Tuesday, downright peppy on Wednesday, and dying to run on Thursday. Ah, well, sometimes the work marathon comes first.

But today I have a moment to breathe, so I'm going to try to get to the gym later and post a few pictures from the race right now.

On the shores of Lake Stinky.

Heading out on the bike.

Daring to run to the end,
with an ironic arm raise.