Working Out April 2014

     Last November my husband and I did the Miami Man Half Iron Duathlon.  He came in first in his age group while I cam in second in my age group.  Now mind you that there were only 3 in my age group so coming in second wasn't that big of a deal.  It did however qualify us to do Nationals for duathlons.

     When we got the invite we talked with our trainer who encouraged us to go for it.  So now here we are training for a big race in July, competing against the best of the best.  We started training with a group this past week.   Many in the group are training for an Ironman while a few for a half Ironman and some just doing their first triathlon.  We will only be doing a duathlon so we will skip the swimming part on those days.

     I thought I would be able to keep up with at least the middle ability group but found out I was at the back of the pack with the beginners.  In January I did a run challenge.  We had to see how far we could run on the treadmill for 14 minutes.  Then using that pace as our base we had challenging run workouts on the treadmill for six weeks.  After six weeks we ran again on the treadmill for 14 min to see if we had improved by a specific amount.  I just made it but did improve my speed.  That is good since I plan on trying to run the Nashville half marathon in under 2 hours in a couple of weeks.

     Next up I am currently doing a bike challenge.  We had to do a time trial on the computrainer.  That involved riding as hard as you could for ten miles.  You then saw what watts you were able to achieve.  After 6 plus weeks of free computrainer courses and challenges we will repeat the time trial next week.  We need to improve our watts by 4%.  I think I am getting there.  A lot will depend on how I feel that morning.  Several of those in the training group are in this challenge so I have been able to see how they are doing.  That is why I thought I could at least keep up with the middle group. I'm thinking success indoors doesn't always translate well to the outdoors and the road.

     I am finding that the rest and recovery are just as important as the training.  I need to find time to get more sleep so I can recover.  That plus my massages really helps to heal the body.