ironman canada | week 18

I have mixed feelings about this week. On one hand, it felt suuuuuper lazy. I mean, three rest days?! I can’t remember the last time I had three rest days in a given week (except for our sailing vacation in early April; prior to that, likely years). But, on the other hand, it was a big week given my first 70.3 of the season and a pretty significant PR. The big build to Ironman Canada is just ahead, so I should probably just revel in the rest days. It all balances out in the end, right?

With that, here’s week 18 of training…

race report | liberty 70.3

Here we go! My second 70.3 ever: Liberty Triathlon. I had butterflies all week leading up to Saturday’s race, but was excited to test my fitness and all the hard training the past four months.

The alarm sounded at 4a, and we were up, chowing down on the usual pre-race breakfast: gluten-free toast + espresso. Because my car is still in the shop after my accident, we had to use the old trunk bike rack, which really didn’t work well with race wheels, so after some rearranging, my Argon went in the back seat and Nick’s Felt stayed on the rack. We watched the sunrise on the 45-minute drive to Lake Rebecca Park Reserve… what a beautiful sunny day for a 70.3!

PRE-RACE. We arrived shortly after transition opened at 5:30a, and Nick found his coach, Andy Schiesl, we all set up at the best spot: at bike in and out. After a quick change in the mini bif (I highly recommend changing prior to arriving) and eating a banana, Nick, friend Chris and I went for a quick warm-up run. My legs felt good, and it calmed my pre-race nerves a bit. Friend Jen was just a row over, so we chatted about the race and our lack of open water swimming so far this season.

in june…

So, it’s June, though it feels like April here. And, a new month means new goals. But, first, my May goals… were 50/50. The pluses: We organized some of the disarray in the house – hello, clean(er) dining table; goodbye, recycled months-old magazines – and I foam rolled once a week (though it should be more than that). What didn’t happen: reading and Sunday meal prep. Not sure why it’s so difficult to plan weekly dinners… the co-op six blocks away makes it far too easy to pop in to pick up a healthy + local dinner most nights!

Here’s what’s up in June…

ironman canada | week 17

Soooo, my first 70.3 of the season is Saturday. The butterflies have been around for the past week or so, so I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous. But, I’m trusting in the training. It’s been going really well, this week went really well. Lots o’ swimbikerunning… I feel so fortunate to spend my free time doing something I love!

My week 17 training…

MONDAY. Happy Memorial Day! I started the day with 2,900 yards in the pool… so many 300s (they’re my least favorite)! And, because of Sunday’s bike chain malfunction, I hopped on the bike in the afternoon for a 30-mile spin around MSP. Mondays off don’t get much better.

race report | endless summer trail run series hyland 10K

Sort of on a whim, I ran a 10K trail race on Wednesday.

I didn’t register online because it was supposed to storm (and, I’m three for four on rainy races this year), but the rain held off, and thankfully the Endless Summer Trail Run Series has race day registration. So, after work, I headed to Hyland Lake Park Reserve in Bloomington, ran back and forth between my car and registration a couple times (forgot my checkbook, put away my race swag) and was immediately sweating thanks to the humidity.

The race started informally with a quick rundown and bad joke from the race director, who then counted down from 10 and yelled GOOOOOO.