Tuesday
Ran after infecting mice. Mouse infections were a fiasco and kind of stressful so it felt good to get out and unwind a little. Did the pickups. Feel like my running is coming along this year. I feel like I can and want to run faster in general. I was stuck in a rut of being slow and think it might be getting better.
Swim- Ugh. That kind of didn't feel so hot. I felt like I was trying hard but not really moving. I think that I was still tired from Sunday. Who knew swimming straight for an hour could be so hard.
Wednesday
Did the trainer workout. Did a little bit of PT but then went to meet my Mom for dinner. Was kind of a distraced workout, but got it done anyway.
Thursday Swim practice was awesome. I felt really, really good tonight. Swam my first 50 fly ever!!! I have always gotten to the 25 and had to stop. This time I kept going and Dan and Beth were cheering for me. I couldn't let them down. We swam 2900. Some free but lots of IM's. Also, lots of 50's of other strokes. So 8x50. Odds hard, evens easy. Only 3 of the 50's could be free. That kind of workout. I like it when Dan and Beth are there. They aren't so fast I am demoralized, but I have to work to keep up with them.
Friday
That swim was hard. Breathing every 3, then going fast, and then only a 25 for recovery. Got tough. I also am sore from swimming yesterday which probably doesn't help.
Question: What is the point of breathing every 3? This is tough for me to do fast. I think it is kind of awkward to breath on my right side. Sort of throws off my stroke.
Went on a run- It was dark out and hard to see and could be very, very icy. Did the pickups when there were clear roads. Ran for a little over 30. Getting excited for Sunday!!
Saturday
Waxed the skis and got Lisa's bike functioning. It wasn't shifting very well. Her and Erik wanted to ride so I went with them . The weather was cold and windy. It was good to ride if you kept going. I didn't keep track of how long we rode, but it was probably a little longer than I should have.
Got home and checked the grooming report for Bozeman Creek. It was icy for the first 3 miles and then got better. I didn't ski. Didn't think the conditions made it worth it. Was getting antsy about the race.
Went to bed early and drank lots of water.
Sunday
Race day!!!
Up at 6:30 to get there by 8:30 or so. Erik and Mom went along to volunteer. Got my transition all set up. Rode the bike for a few minutes just to see how it felt on the snow. Then did a little loop running. Got my heart pumping a few times before the race. Kept tellling myself to go as hard as I could go and have fun! Also, stay within myself to some extent to keep from having stop. That is mostly the ski.
Gun went off and the 3 girls that got top 3. 2 olympians one for nordic skiing, the other for cycling and last years national champion were gone. I ran hard. Passed the woman who beat me last year and never saw her again. I ran so hard that I think I could have been done after the run. The transition is up on top of this hill and it was hard to run back up. I was pretty spent.
Got on the bike and felt pretty good. The first little uphill was pretty soft and I ended up having to run up it. Running in snow with a bike hurts really, really bad. Decided that I really needed to just stay on the bike. Managed to get back on and get in a better groove. After that first meadow the snow got a lot harder and it wasn't so difficult. The hard part was staying out of other peoples grooves. Tried to keep my weight back and look forward. I need to work on being a better technical rider. Went pretty slow around the corners just so I wouldn't go down. Lisa's bike was nice though because it was pretty easy to climp up some of those steep hills. I think it is because it is so light.
Ski- had food on the bike in a bottle but didn't get much of that down. Really wish I had brought a gel. Was seeing stars when I started the ski. Skiing on a tired body is really challenging. I started on this little windy downhill and sort of forgot to slow down. Everything was fine but my brain was not functioning. Took a few minutes but finally got in the ski groove. This was the first time I felt how my fitness has improved. Last year on this long uphill I had to stop and catch my breath. This year I just kept going. Had flashbacks to trying to reach Moser.
Finished fourth to those girls. For me nothing changed as far as placing after halfway through the run. On the bike I didn't even see people for most of it. Think I could have gone faster if I had somebody to catch. Should have gone faster regardless(on the bike). I was 5 minutes down on 3rd and like 15 down on 1st. Kind of disappointing to be 4th. I think I really wanted 1-3. I guess I know that now after the race more than before. It is hard for me to set those goals sometimes. I think I might be overreaching somehow. Why not overreach right?
Good day with lots of great people. The mens race was cool. Mike Wolfe getting 1st. I played soccer with him since 5th grade when we shared a homeroom together. Matt Seeley got 2nd and right on his heels was Landon Beckner. What a cool kid.
Monday
So sore. Got up and took some advil last night because I was so sore I couldn't sleep. Think I'm getting old. Will go and do the swim this evening.
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