I am pleased with my rides these past two weeks - although its been very tough to stay with the big kids on some of the "true athlete" rides, I think I have held on well enough for where I am in my training. I always end up getting dropped sooner or later, but it seems my time to be left behind gets farther into the ride each time I go out. That makes me happy as it feels like progress.
Today I completed my longest ride to date - I hit the 56 mile mark in a mere 3.5 hours (hey, it was my first go at that distance). Now if I can just add on the rest of the events I might survive the race! It felt good, another wall broken down.
My run got a bit lost in the shuffle this week as I managed to lose a few training sessions to family schedules and a migraine. I think I am still ok, as lately my running has been getting stronger, but I am nervous about getting in all my scheduled long runs this week so I will be ready for the half-marathon in two weeks. I'm just going to have to find a way to get it all in.
The parts of training that have challenged me the most over these past two weeks, are adding in bricks (bike to run) and dealing with nutrition issues. Last Sunday I had a 15-20 minute run after riding for 3 hours and I just couldn't seem to get my legs to move correctly. It was more of a walk, run, limp. The shins cramped up and I felt like I had the gait of a monkey trying to run on two legs. It was pretty ugly to watch I am sure. A bit disappointing, but all a part of training I am sure.
My nutrition journey has been pretty interesting. I am usually a chow-hound and have never had to force myself to eat, but lately I can't seem to get in the calories that I think I need to ingest to just make it through these crazy long training days. As much as weight loss has been a benefit and a goal of all this exercise, I am at the point where I don't need to lose any more weight at this part in my training. In order to maintain my weight however I feel like I need to eat all day long, but I am not hungry (which is really weird for me). The knowledge that by my doing absolutely nothing I am burning ridiculous calories makes it confusing to figure out how much to replace just to give me the energy to train and build muscle. I know I need to eat lots of protein, fruits, and vegetables, but really - it's kind of hard to walk around all day at work and eat. Once I get home in the evening, the fatigue hits and the last thing I want to do is heat something up and eat. I just want to go to bed.
My goals for the remaining training, when it comes to my nutrition needs, are to start taking a multi-vitamin daily, increase my water intake, journal my food daily, increase my protein especially within an hour of working out, and increase my fruits and vegetables. I am going to try to get a better understanding of what and when I should be eating, and just how much I need. I have been getting a cold about every 2-3 weeks since my last run of bronchitis, and I think it is due to poor nutrition and rest during these heavy training weeks. If I can get a better grip on what I am supposed to be doing, then I will post on what I have learned for any of my tri peeps out there who don't get it either!
Planned Training Hours: 14.40
Actual: 11:18
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