Week in review: A podium week & huge cycling improvement

I hope that everyone enjoyed the holiday weekend and had a safe and Happy 4th of July. I didn't work on Friday so I definitely took advantage of the time to get in some extra workouts. I ran two races and biked more in one week than I almost have in one month. I felt exhausted just looking back at my workouts, but this week probably won't be as crazy. I have another half marathon over the weekend that is out of town so I will be resting up for that. Just another "fun run", but it is going to be at a higher elevation than I am used to so it will probably be on the tough side.

Monday:

You can read about my first attempt at a brick workout HERE. I would say that it was a success AND I beat the morning heat! 12.3 mile bike ride + 2 mile run all before 6 am. #Winning

After work I went to FGF. We were supposed to clean & jerk 60% of our 1 RM. My 1 RM is only 95# so 60% of that was roughly 57#s. I opted to complete level 2 so I did 65#s.

I only did 4:30 of core when I got home because my tailbone was super sore for some reason. Everything made it hurt more so I just stopped. 

Tuesday:

Rode my bike to FGF & back for a total of 4.25 miles.

OHS are the DEATH OF ME. I am awful at them!!!! Did much better on the 2nd portion of the workout where I was able to complete both sets of 100 DU's! My total time was 17:14 (ish). I forgot my actual time, but I think that is what it was. 

15 minutes of core at FGF before I rode home.

After I did some things around the house and ate dinner I headed off to the swimming pool to get in some practice. I ended up with a new swimming PDR (personal distance record?) and swam 20 laps without the kickboard. I practiced my breathing the whole time and felt fairly confident. I had to take numerous breather breaks in between sets, but it was only my 3^rd swim session. I also shared a lap the entire time I was there. The guy that I shared with was super fast. He might have lapped me a lot. I should have challenged him to the track. Haha. :-)

Wednesday:

Rode my bike to FGF & back for another 5.07 miles. In case you were wondering, I take different routes which is why my mileage to and from FGF is always different.

I had a super tough time in FGF because the shoulder press is tough. It is all arms and you can't use your legs like in a push press. We weren't supposed to drop the bar for the deadlift, hang squat clean or the shoulder press. If we did we had a penalty of 5 burpees. I ended up dropping the freaking bar twice on the shoulderpress so I had to complete 10 burpees. The last two rounds they let me push press instead of shoulder press to get through. UGH. It is tough to select your weight on some of these workouts because the weight can be super easy for one lift, but then difficult for another.

I stayed for the extra core work at FGF which was 50 dragon flys. They were super tough and my abs were on fire. Rode my bike home and then ran 3.15 miles to round out my day. 

Thursday:

I had my 4th of July 5K, but wanted to get in some extra miles for my "ultra" relay training. Ran 1.25 miles at home and did some stretching. Drove to the race, checked in, and then ran an additional 2.51 miles. Finished the 5K which my garmin registered as 3.14 miles making it 6.9 miles for the day. I am working on a race recap, but I was the 2nd female OA. 

Took the rest of the day off to celebrate the 4th of July!

Friday:

OFF! Figured I needed to rest up before the half marathon the following morning.

Saturday:
Negative Split 1/2 Marathon!!!! Loved this race a ton! Also working on a race recap, but I was the 4th female OA and placed 2nd in my AG. It was a great race and I felt good even on tired legs.

Ran a quick and easy warm up of 1.01 miles.
The garmin registered the race at 13.16 miles

After the awards ceremony Laney and I went for a quick ride out on the Centennial Trail. It got hot! I was glad I had two water bottles of Nuun with me to get me through. What I am most excited about is the improvement I have made on the bike. I hadn't logged a ton of miles for the month of June 47.37 miles to be exact, but I have made a huge improvement. On Saturday I rode the exact same route as I did on June 2nd and look at the difference:

6.2.2013	Time	7.6.2013	Time
5 miles	21:33	5 miles	19:12
5 miles	21:41	5 miles	18:41
5 miles	19:14	.63 miles	2:27
5 miles	18:53	5 miles	17:31
20 miles	1:21:53	5 miles	17:01
		.57 miles	2:10
		21.20 miles	1:17:04

I a pretty excited to see that I am improving on the bike!!!!!

Sunday:

AM workout-

4.25 mile run sans garmin + 15 minutes of core work. I went to the pool, but it was full and nobody looked like they were almost done so I went home. I was bummed. Oh well.

PM workout-
Ran an additional 5.55 miles, but ran on my TM to avoid the heat. Covered 276 vertical feet so I did make it a hill workout of sorts.

Decided to give the swimming pool another chance and had another PDR!!!! I swam 22 laps and felt pretty good. I am also excited to see the improvements I am making in my swim. For only my 4th swim session in the last two weeks I think I am doing great. I definitely feel a million times more confident, but there is still a lot of work I need to do.

Total miles ran: 36.64 miles
Total miles biked: 42.82 miles
Total laps swam: 42 laps
Crossfit classes: 3

Let's chat:
Did you race over the holiday weekend? How did it go?
Do you double run days to get ready for relays?

--Tasha