“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up”-Paul Valery

Hi!

I’m feeling rested from this past recovery week.  I still had 2-a-days every day but the volume was lower.  The trickiest part was not eating like a pig,which I have so enjoyed doing on my regular training weeks.  One of the best parts of training for Ultraman is for sure, being able to eat a lot and not gain any weight.  In my not training for an Ultraman life, I may eat 2 or 3 pieces of pizza for dinner, now I eat about 4, a whole salad and a bowl of cereal.  Then more food just before bed, and if I don’t do that, I wake up around 2 finding myself eating more cereal or a sandwich.  We have gotten pretty good about keeping the house stocked with healthy food and we try to eat in as much as possible.  This is good for 2 reasons, we know exactly what we’re eating and the biggy- with the volume of food I’m eating these days, its like taking a 3rd person out to dinner. 

Now for the training,

Swim- I swam 3 times this week totaling 9,000 yards,  All 3 swims were easy with some speed but only in shorter intervals.

Bike- I rode 3 times once on the rollers and 2X’s on the road.  My longest ride was today, 3 hours.  Sine it was a short ride, we threw in some killer climbs.  I usually try to bike on saturday and run on sunday but the weather sometimes dictates otherwise.

Run- I ran 3 times this week, 2 X’s on the road and once on the trails.  My trail run was only 90 minutes long, after my 2:30+ runs, 90 minutes felt like nothing.  It was a really great feeling to run on non-tired legs, I actually felt faster than usual and I almost ran Cadie over a few times because she’s not used to me being so close behind.

Strength- I had 2 strength training sessions but only one set of reps per exercise instead of my usual 3.  I have 2 additional core strengthening days now, so I do core work 4 days a week.

I’m very excited about this next week, I actually have one 3-a-day and for the weekend I’m scheduled for a 6 hour bike ride and a 3 hour run!  Can’t wait!!

Time for some snacks :) Have a great week, and thanks for reading.

Beth

102 Days Left to Train!

I think most people spend their lives trying to figure out what they want to do in life. For many it almost always gets narrowed down to a certain profession/ career. For others like me, it’s anything but.

Life for me is about pushing limits, because it’s at that time when I find a little more when I thought I had no more to give or I go a little faster when I thought I have reached my peak, its at that time, that I realize that I have not even begun to scratch the surface on what’s possible. And, it’s that realization that gives me energy and the courage to take on new challenges. I can’t imagine what it would be like if I didn’t always try to push my limits, I can only think that it would be like going you whole life only ever eating the frosting on a piece of cake, you would never truly know how good it could be.

So for me, I guess life isn’t about what I have accomplished, it’s about what I have yet to accomplish.

Now for the training: It’s been a great week; I increased my distance in the water, on the run and on the bike.

Swim: I hit 10,000 yards in the pool and felt good enough for another 10,000. My workouts have consisted of some longer sets equaling 1,000yrds and various pyramids. I think the strength training in the gym is really paying off because my shoulders never seem to get tired.

Bike: I rode 3 times this week, 2X’s on the road and once on the rollers. Yesterday’s road ride was awesome, 80 miles and no rain. We rode our favorite Seattle route, taking a break from hilly Bainbridge Island. Anything off of Bainbridge seems easy, in fact we weren’t even that tired after the ride. I will continue to switch it up, Bainbridge with the hills one weekend and Seattle with the flats/rolling the next. We will also throw in a few Whidbey Island rides, Whidbey is great for a nice 85 miler with minimal traffic and some good climbs.

Run: I ran 3 times this week, 2X’s on the road and once on the trails. Today’s trail run was a 2:40 run in of course my favorite trails. It was a beautiful day and Cadie especially enjoyed the sunshine as she was running up every little piece of dirt that resembled a trail and had her “happy prance” on for the whole run. My legs were a bit tired for the first 90 minutes but after that I felt great.

Strength Training: I had 2 days of strength training. Strength training for triathletes is different than strength training for most people. I know the regulars in the gym are thinking, “Man, that poor lady has been coming here for months and her biceps aren’t any bigger than the first day”. It’s ok though, they are helping me to climb big hills on the bike and get through lots of laps in the pool.

Next week is a recovery week. These are the toughest weeks for me mentally. After such a great week like this past one, all I can think about is swimming 11,000 yards, biking 100 miles and running for 3 hours. I will listen to coach D though, its important to not rush this stuff, and to listen to your coach.

Hope you all have great weather like we are experiencing in the Great North West! If not, come on over for a visit, we always enjoy new people to train with!

See you next week, and thanks so much for reading!

Beth

Happy Easter and Happy Passover

Hi there!
I am typing this blog after a 65 hour work week and 18 hour training week. It’s amazing, if someone told me months ago that I would have weeks like this, I would have thought to myself, “how”. Our bodies adapt though, and if the physical stress is brought on in the right way, gradual (thanks Coach D), then our bodies will go with the flow.

I worked off site Tues- Thurs and my work days began with 7:50 am ferry rides and ended on the 9:20 pm ferry heading home. This required getting up at 5:00 for workouts. One morning I was so tired as I got onto the rollers that I turned on the TV only to realize that I had no contacts in my eyes and I grabbed the wrong glasses.

Everything worked out though and I am one week closer to my Ultraman goal.

Swim- It was awesome to get back in the water, my yardage was over 9,000 this week with a mix of longer sets and pyramids. I am still anxious to get into Lake Washington but with a forecast of possible low land snow on Tuesday that may be put off for a few more weeks.

Bike- I had a great bike week. 1 Roller and 2 road rides. Yesterday’s 65 mile ride with probably 6,000’ of climbing was the highlight of the week. We rode with our new friend Dave who rides hills like he rides flats. It’s awesome to ride with someone who likes the hills as much as us. He knows Bainbridge Island really well so he took us on new roads and confirmed my suspicion that Bainbridge doesn’t have any flat stretches of more than a ½ mile long, perfect training grounds for Ultraman Canada.

Run- I really have to give a “shout out” to my friend and co worker Darren. It can take a lot to get up the energy for a run after swimming early in the morning and working all day. If you have someone to run with, it really makes it easier. Each week I have at least 1 day where running after one of those long days seems daunting. I will usually hunt around the office for Darren to see if he’ll run with me. He almost always says yes. Even if he has already worked out or doesn’t want to run, he laces up. Even this past Friday… it was 5:00pm on a Friday afternoon, Darren, who’s a single 20 something yr old, surely had better things to do than go for a run with me, especially since he already worked out. He laced up anyway. He doesn’t know it but his running with me is a huge part of my training and will for sure be one of the reasons why I cross that finish line on August 3rd. BTW, I did say he’s a “single 20 something year old”, know any “single, active 20 something yr old women?”
My long run was 2 ½ hours on the trails, it was as beautiful as ever, a light rain in the green forest. Although, after 6,000’ of climbing the day before, I was a bit on the slow side. I can always tell when I’m running slow because Cadie will pick up sticks for me to throw because she can’t tell if it’s running time or play time…

Strength- I only got one day of strength training in although I tried to make up for it by doing extra sit ups and push ups at home.

Gear Pick- Amphipod Race-Lite Triathlon Transition Pack
I use this pack everyday, It has a pocket on the bottom that holds wet stuff (big enough for a wet suit), 2 side zips that hold my running shoes, a big inside part for my computer and clothes, another smaller zip pocket for other stuff, and other misc pockets. I have never had a pack before that not only keeps my dirty shoes away from other stuff but they can also be zipped secure so I don’t have to worry about them when I bike commute. It also sits low enough that is doesn’t interfere with my bike helmet and is super comfortable to ride with. It retails for $125 and worth every penny.

Thanks for reading! Also- LMK if you would like to join in on the training fun!!
bth_brewster@yahoo.com

Beth

YIPPPEEEEEEEEE

As you can probably tell by the subject line, I am well and had a great training week! I came back slowly and by the time the weekend came, I accomplished a 4 hour ride and a 2 hour run, I’m still smiling. You don’t realize how much this training stuff makes you happy until you can’t do it and in my case, for 12 days.

I actually didn’t get in the water but I plan to swim in the morning and I’m really looking forward to it. Also, I will be swimming in Lake Washington starting the beginning of May, if you care to join me on any weekend lake swims, please let me know! We have 2 kayaks and plan to swim 2-3 miles down the lake and switch out with the kayakers who will then swim back.

Bike: I rode the rollers twice and the road twice. I always prefer the road but the rollers are great for rainy days and I also noticed that my cadence has gotten much higher since I began doing a weekly roller ride. My roller rides were 1 hour each, one was focused on a pyramid that had 5 minutes speed sets combined with 5 minute recovery periods and the other was a recovery ride focused on Jack Bauer (24). One of my road rides was nice and easy for 20 miles and the other was a 60 miler around Seattle/Lake WA.
It really felt great to get back on the bike, tomorrow I will start riding to work on my bike training days, that’s good for 30 miles RT, plus a 20 miler at lunch.

Run: I ran 3 times this week, all outside. I had 2 -1 hour runs and 1- 2 hour run. I actually didn’t really plan for 2 hours but we found some new trails and couldn’t help but to do a little exploring.

Strength Training: I had 2 strength training sessions. I was amazed that I really didn’t loose that much from my time off. The legs were sore from squats but my stomach was fine and that’s where I really thought I would pay. I have really noticed a difference in my swim, bike and run after these past 3 months of strength training. I can really feel the water when I pull, I don’t get out of the saddle nearly as much as I used to on hills and I have more bounce in my step.

Ultraman sent us a swim guide for a successful ultraman swim. That has really fired me up, part of me can’t wait for ultraman and the other part is saying, “thank God I still have 4 months to train”. I can’t believe I already have completed 3 months of training, it really went by fast.

I’m looking forward to this next week, I’m thinking it will be a 20 hour training week, I do have one obstacle, we are shooting our catalog for 3 full days, which means very early swims, followed by runs or rides, all complete by 8:00am.

Have a great week everyone, thanks so much for your support!

Beth