Well, I am a bit behind on my weekly training updates and since there is so much to update, I’ll spit up Week 12 & Week 13 training updates 🙂

Week 12 – light week

Monday – rest day 🙂

Tuesday – 2300 yard swim, back in the pool!

Wednesday – 1 hr spin on the trainer.

Thursday – 45 min aerobic run, definitely followed the recommended ‘easy’ pace @ 9:46a pace.

Friday – Overslept…missed 2400y swim.

I had a bike fitting appointment after work with Tim at Maplewood Bicycles and we made some big-ish changes to my fit!  I was originally fitted by the bike shop where I bought my Lola, but after a couple of rides I absolutely hated it, the bars were set really low and seat very high in a very aggressive position – not ideal for a newer cyclist and someone who had never ridden a tri bike before.  So I headed over to see Tim and he lowered the seat and raised the aero bars  so it was in a less aggressive position.  Such a difference, and I felt much more comfortable riding Lola.  Well that was two years ago and I have gained confidence riding Lola and am wanting to get more aero/power so I thought it was time to get re-fitted.  He dropped the bars around 3cm which should help give me more power and be more aerodynamic, but he also noticed my pedal strokes were pretty wobbly.  After more troubleshooting (he had all kinds of fancy gadgets), he figured out that I needed a shoe insert as well as shuts in my cleats to help stabilize my foot so I would have a more even pedal stroke.  Well, after that adjustment we then had to raise my seat!  So new insert/shunts, lower bars and a higher seat, ohmy!  Was this an awful decision one week from my first race??

(will add a picture of the new bike fit when I get home!)

Saturday – 2 hour ride outside, followed by 2o min run.  Well, the forecast called for rain throughout the morning, but I HAD to ride my bike outside to get used to the new fit.  No way Jose was I going to race without getting used to the new fit!  I drove to my usual spot in Columbia, IL and set off.  Oh man, I was nervous!  Deep breaths!  Finally I got into aero and was riding, but sloooowww.  After just a mile or two my neck and back were burning.  Oh great!  I kept pedaling on and finally after a half hour I was able to get into a groove and the burning went away.

I turned around after an hour and the wind was at my back and I saw 19 and 20mph on my watch.  Hooray!  I didn’t feel 100% comfortable but I was getting more used to it.  My feet felt weird with the inserts, but they did feel more supported.  30 min left to go and the skies open up and it starts raining.  Of course, I was doing my long ride, so it makes sense for it to rain!  The last 3 out of my 4 long training rides included rain.

I made it back to my car and really debated running, it was raining, I was wet, I just wanted to go home.  But I knew I should see how my legs felt running after riding in the new fit, so I changed my shirt and shoes, put on my hat and off I went.  My legs felt pretty good!  And after 5 minutes the rain stopped, and the rest of the run was dry.  Once I got back to my car I was happy I ran. 🙂

Sunday – 1 hr aerobic run @ 9:28 pace.

Total Training Hours: 5:43