HIM Training Weeks 2 & 3

Work - still crazy, check. I am doing my best to have somewhat of a life outside of work and working out. Basically the weekends I try to enjoy life to cram everything since I don't during the week. Did I mention I hope work goes back to normal soon. I have been doing a lot of staring at this picture lately!

Week 2:
M: Bike - 15 mi (missed)
T: Run - 4 mi, Swim - 1200 m
W: Bike - 20 mi
Th: Run - 4 mi, Swim 1200m (missed)
F: REST DAY
S: 10 mi, 1600 m
S: Bike - 30 mi

Favorite workout of the week: Tuesday night's fun run I had one of my winter warriors show up that I paced and I ran with him throughout since he did not know the route. We killed another run and managed a pace of 9:46 for the 4 miles. I was surprised since race day was only 3 days ago, but it felt amazing!

Week 3:
M: Bike - 20 mi
T: Run - 5 mi, Swim - 1200 m
W: Bike - 20 mi (missed)
Th: Run - 4 mi, Swim 1600 m
F: REST DAY
S: Run - 8 mi, Swim 1800 m
S: Bike - 35 mi

Favorite workout of the week: Saturday morning the weather was finally in the mid 20's and it was beautiful outside with the sun shining down. My legs were dead tired and I had to drag them through the entire run and I had to short it 2 miles, but I didn't care about time and just enjoyed the winter wonderland.

I have missed a few workouts the past two weeks but if I am perfectly okay with that. I am trying to listen to my body and rest when I need it so I don't burn out. The mileage on the bike has been freaking me out a bit, but I need to just start getting used to my long rides matching my long runs for awhile in time. Biking is probably my weakest of the three sports and it is the longest in terms of time, so my new goal is to not miss any more bikes for awhile.

At least this week is looking up, I have a day off so I can plan to get a few things accomplished around the house then!

Was feeling pretty and needed to get a headshot, love how this turned out!

Race Recap: Seroogy's 15K

Last weekend was the goal race for the Fleet Feet Winter Warrior program. I was excited for race day and I was hoping my group would all have a great race. We lucked out with the weather, this race is notorious for freezing weather, it was 20 degrees with barely any wind and an overcast day. Great for racing conditions and they wanted to run a bit faster than our training pace of 10:30.

This was our group for the winter, and there are probably like 20 people missing from this photo. Some true WI winter warriors!!

We started out a bit fast and I didn't want to a burn out later, so I kept putting reminders out to keep an easy pace to start. The first two miles went by quickly and then we made our turn away from the 5K and we had nice open roadways. I was still surprised with the amount of people that were running this distance though! We got a nice long downhill and I prepared my group to save energy for the uphill coming on our way back. I think we made it to 3 miles before the lead runner was on his way back.

I enjoy this course as it flows down some winding roads and then the turn around is a loop through a park where they station a photographer. Such a beautiful backdrop in the middle of the city. The way back I told my group they were dragging me along for the ride, they were killing it yet and this was the fastest I have had to run yet all year! The mile long uphill went really well and then we were just over a mile from the finish and heading downhill.

I was filled with so much pride at this point, we were averaging under 10:00 min miles and looking strong into the finish! I soaked it all in and just enjoyed these last moments of the program. I had to tell Missy to just go ahead towards the finish, my little legs couldn't keep up and I wanted to see her sprint into the finish.

Tried to make a heart, kinda worked!!

Official Time: 1:31:18
Average Pace: 9:49
Overall 328/486


I totally forgot to get a pic of the chocolate bar you get after the race, but I did wait until the next day to devour it! Super cute shirt this year, but fairly thin for a long sleeve. In the past these have been tech shirts but their shirts never fit well so I am totally ok with this.

Oh yeah, and we had an art teacher in our group so we did shoe prints before one of our last runs. She made a really cool collage of them all and we got to make one for ourselves if we wanted. Turned out so cool!

HIM Training Week 1

This week was the kickoff to my self made training plan for the High Cliff HIM. I was looking forward to it and felt ready to get the show on the road. I had Monday off work thanks to the short weekend getaway and I really needed the relaxation.

Here is what this week consisted of:

M: Bike - 15 mi
T: Run - 4 mi, Swim - 1200 m
W: Bike - 20 mi
Th: Run - 3 mi, Swim 1200 m
F: REST DAY
S: Seroogy's 15K *Race Recap coming
S: Swim - 1600m, Bike - 25 mi

Totals:
Swim: 4,000m
Bike: 60 mi
Run: 16.3 mi

Favorite workout of the week: Outside of my race this week it has to be my Wednesday ride, I found a new program from the History channel on Netflix "The Men Who Built America" and I watched the first episode during my ride. It captivated my mind and this ride flew by. I even averaged 19mph during it too! Looks like I found what I will be doing during bike roads for the next few weeks.

I had to laugh when reviewing my totals as in just one week(2/1 was a rest day), I managed to surpass my training mileage from 6 different months last year and a few were not much more either. At least I had a buildup going into this!! My mileage numbers are definitely going to be at my highest yet. Here is to hoping I did my plan right and can keep myself injury free.




This weekend I had only my race planned and then I would be able to have a nice relaxing weekend at home. Well, apparently I don't like that idea as I ended up booking my weekend right up! Saturday after getting back from the race I wanted to hang out at a bar and watch some badger basketball since I don't get the games at home. A fellow mentor had some extra tickets so next thing I know I am showering quick to get my butt the game!

Sunday morning was a meeting for an exciting new opportunity for me and after my swim I met up with a good friend for some lunch at Red Lobster. I finally managed to get a few hours relaxation reading a book and getting some tax documents together before it was time to get my bike ride in to cap off another crazy weekend.

This week is already not starting off great, I worked 11 hours (not including the few short breaks I got and a quick dinner break for my sanity). No fun when you have to stare at a computer screen and be holed up in my office at home all day. I have lots to get in this week so we will see how it turns out. Looks like my Friday rest day just turned into a bike day! Good news, I have zero plans for this weekend outside of my training :))

Week in Review

This last week I eased back into training, my legs were sore until Tuesday and felt dead for my run that night but then I was able to feel normal again by Thursday. I worked some long hours again so I had to miss a few that I was hoping to get in.

M: Rest
T: 4 mi run
W: Rest
Th: 3 mi run, 1600 m swim
F: Rest
S: 5 mi run, 10 mi bike
S: Rest

Hubs and I planned a last minute mini vacation for the weekend so we headed out of town shortly after lunch on Saturday and stayed until Monday. I had to burn some PTO at work and his job has been slower so we were able to swing it. We headed north to Door County and scored a deal on a one bedroom suite since it's their off season. The area is known for all the wineries along with some good eats and views. We had to do a little extra searching for food as many places were closed for the season but still discovered some great places. This vacation was all about rest, relaxation and some time for us to connect. We only left our room to eat and make a stop to get some wine at what seemed like the only winery that was open. We both really needed it and we were so happy we did it! We did lots of lounging and I didn't really feel guilty. I did have restless legs a bit on Sunday and wanted to get out but it was freezing cold outside.

While we were on vacation I spent some time finally thinking about and getting my HIM training plan together. I started off with the biking first as that is where I feel I need the most work and least experienced with. Then I went back through to add the runs and all my races scheduled and finally added on my swims. I didn't schedule in a strength training spot but I am going to focus on doing a bit each day to help supplement. HIM training officially kicked off this week!

I am thoroughly impressed with how much motivation the hubs and I had when we got back and even unpacked right away. We setup the stuff I bought from Ikea last weekend and did some reorganizing with that. Just need to finish the TV stand this week sometime and get that setup. I also cleaned out the fridge of all the expired items, hand washed dishes, ran a load in the dishwasher and got three loads of laundry done. The hubs shoveled the driveway as we got a few inches of snow yesterday and needed to take care of the major drifts in the driveway. It was crazy as there were spots with no snow and then spots with about a foot. I also managed to get errands done, get a bike ride done and shower before settling down.

I am so glad we got the opportunity to get away, it has helped out way more than I thought it would! And I was happy to not think about calories to enjoy my last bit of freedom for awhile.