I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter! Mike and I spent the morning with his parents and sister at brunch and then the afternoon with my extended family.
This week was very low key. I had read in advance (in this article) that the week post- Ironman should be very low intensity and filled with rest, even if it was just a “B” race during Ironman training, and I took that advice to heart. I basically had no plan for the week workout-wise other than the weekend long ride and long run. I pretty much did what I felt like doing and slept A LOT. We were in bed most nights around 9/9:30 and we slept til 6:30-45 most days, giving us a solid 9 hours a night. I woke up for a morning workout only one day and the rest of the mornings were spent in bed!
Overall, my body recovered pretty quickly from the race. Post race I felt much better than I did after both of my full marathons. I was also less sore than after the marathons.
I had intended to get a couple of swims in, but since I decided just to do workouts that I was inspired to do, the swims always seemed to get skipped. I figured this was the one week that I had before the Ironman to do what I want, so I did just that. Here’s how the week shook out:
Monday: I took a 30 minute walk at lunch with a co-worker but otherwise, it was a complete day of rest.
Tuesday: At lunch I had a sports massage ( I bought a package so that I can have one per month until the Ironman) and then after work did 60 minutes of easy spinning. My legs felt surprisingly good but I kept the cadence high and the effort low.
Wednesday: After work Asia and I ran a leisurely 4.3 miles down the coast together. My legs didn’t feel super fresh but they didn’t feel too heavy. I also go in P90X Ab Ripper X.
Thursday: Due to evening plans, this was the morning I had to wake up early to get in my workout. I spent 60 minutes cycling easy on the trainer before work.
Friday: I slept in again (skipping my planned swim) and was going to take a rest day until unexpectedly I got to leave work at 3:30 PM. My co-worker who trained with me for my first marathon said she wanted to go for a run, so I joined her for 4.3 miles of easy running. Afterward, we did P90X Ab Ripper X together.
Saturday: We headed for the hills on the bike and completed 61 miles of riding. I didn’t push it too much but it was inevitable that the ride was difficult since we chose a hilly course (to mimic CdA). It was a hot day so I needed extra water for this ride. I also somehow underestimated how much fuel I would need and ended up having to take two Gus while on the bike, which I usually don’t do. After the ride we did an easy 3 mile run.
Sunday: Asia and I celebrated Easter early with a 8.3 mile run. Both of our legs felt a bit heavy from the previous day’s ride so we took it easy.
Weekly Totals:
- Yards Swam: 0
- Hours Biked (Door to Door): 7
- Miles Run: 19.9
- Minutes of Core/Strength: 30
- Total Time: 11 hours
Where did you get your massage package?! I’m interested!
La Costa Chiropractic – it’s buy 3 get one free! And I just checked the website and they said if you refer a new patient you get a free massage , so if you do take advantage it’d be awesome if you could tell them I referred you! http://www.lacostachiropractic.com/t2/services.html 🙂 Also, since it is a chiropractor you can use your Flexible Spending Account if you have one! Let me know if you want more details!
Great idea to get regular massages this close to the race. I bet your body will recover a lot better!
Hello,
Congratulations on a great race and Thank you for taking the time to detail your training and races. I came across your blog while looking to see if there were other ‘crazies’ who wanted to complete a marathon, half ironman and ironman in one year. Glad to see I’m not alone!!
I hope you don’t mind if I bug you for some advice and words of wisdom 🙂
Seriously though, I find your journey inspiring, and wish you all the best for your recovery and training!!
Take care,
David
Thank you! Feel free to ask me anything about being crazy! 🙂
definitely a well deserved rest week! i feel the same about the next couple months – nervous, but also excited to be in the peak of training! is it really only 11 weeks!?!?!?!
Actually as of this coming Sunday it will be 10!