Time to Read: ~3 minI can hardly believe there are a mere 6 weeks remaining until the Green Lakes Endurance run. My Pearl Izumi N2 shoes are up to 260 miles, I've been logging about 40 miles each week, and my legs are holding up really well. While I still get pretty nervous before a hilly run in Buttermilk, it is amazing how quickly bodies adapt to training. My favorite part of this training is running what I used to consider a really big hill on road and having it feel pretty fun! Now to the week's highlights. Overall running miles this week: 43.85.
Monday was a very muggy day, and I grabbed 5 miles on road in between storms, and went to Jenny's BodyPump class in the evening. (48 min 9:35 pace)
Tuesday was the 4th time I ventured out when there was a 100% chance of thunderstorms. It was the only time I had to run, and I had put it out as a group run opportunity for FLRTC so I needed to show up in case anyone else came. It was just me, and I started off in 87 very humid degrees at the base of Buttermilk. A lovely time of day to be on the trail, it was eerily calm before the impending storm. I had the trail mostly to myself, and while I wasn't feeling very zippy, it was meditative. As I hit the final descent, the wind picked up and I knew I had just minutes to make it back to the car. I used all of the Animal Athletic's strategies to pick up my downhill speed (body as joystick, hands down for stability, and no fear) and reached my car a mere 3 minutes before the storm hit! (5.25 m, 1:07 12:45 pace)
Wednesday was fun. I took Elizabeth with me to BodyPump and had her hang out reading while I was in class, and then we grabbed dinner at Wegmans before heading to Melissa's Wednesday night yoga class at Finger Lakes Running and Triathlon Company. It was my first chance to go, and Elizabeth's first yoga class ever! Unfortunately, we forgot to bring our mats, but fortunately I had a blanket in the car and Elizabeth was able to use the store mat. It was really fun to do this together, and Elizabeth did really well for her first class. Next time we'll remember out mats as yoga on a blanket was challenging.
Thursday we had the Women's Distance Festival in Dryden. Elizabeth and I have been doing this race since she was just in grade 1 (she's now 13). We've always run our own race and this year was no exception. We both had course PRs, and had a great time! Our evening finished with a celebratory dinner at Viva with friends Brenda and Jocelyn.
After my swim/bike
Friday it was time to try a brick workout! I enjoyed 25 minutes of a pool swim in my in-laws pool, while Xander helped me train by pretending to be a fish, splashing water on me and kicking a lot so I could work on staying focused in turbulent water. Then, I headed out on route 89 to do most of the Cayuga Lake Tri course. However, this route avoided the most major hill. It was a successful, fun ride and I really enjoyed my Finger Lakes Running Company Louis Garneau tri suit. Elizabeth has this brand of ski speed suit for racing, and she has always said it is the most comfortable thing ever. They do have comfort mastered! I only do this one triathlon, and finish toward the back of the pack every year, so sometimes I feel silly having such a nice outfit, but it is really awesome!! (15.25 miles, 59 min, 12:45 pace)
Saturday Jenny and I had our longest training run ever! We met at Island Fitness and headed north on the Black Diamond Trail all the way to Trumansburg where we ran on roads for 9 miles before heading back down the trail again. This was challenging from the first step, mostly because of the humidity. The prior two days were not humid, and I got really used to that! We were dripping wet, tired, hungry and thirsty by the end (I ran out of water with two miles to go) but it was a really good run! When I arrived home, Elizabeth had prepared lunch for me and the family even saved me my favorite flavor cupcake from Scott's birthday dinner the night before! (24 miles, 4:11, 10:27 pace)
My legs felt tired from the long run on Sunday but I knew Jenny was off doing the Boilermaker so I couldn't skip my timed hour run! Christina had just arrived home from vacation and was up for a run. I was so happy to have her company to keep my mind off my tired legs for this! After the run, I hopped on the Skier's Edge for a quick 20 minutes to end the week! (6.55 m, 1:02, 9:27 pace)