Week 4: Recovery

Thank goodness that this was recovery week. My calves were hurting for three days after last weekend's tough workout. I completed my swim drills on Tuesday and Friday, but skipped the bike, run and strength training during the week to let my sore muscles recover.

Saturday morning was cold with dense fog. We had a bike ride that started in Pleasant Hill and went over Reliez Valley Road/Alahambra over Pig Farm Hill to do the Three Bears/San Pablo Dam Loop. The first hour of the bike ride was though thick fog with 5 feet visibility on a two lane, narrow and curvy road. Temperature at start was 34F and 45F at finish. The purpose of the ride was just a marker set so we could time this ride and see later in the season how much we improve in time. This ride had a total elevation gain of 4927 feet, total distance of 37 miles, and total time of 3:49 including stops (total moving time 3:23:36).

We had some long climbs and with long climbs comes long descents. This time last year when I was first learning how to ride a road bike, I road this Three Bears loop. The first time come down Papa & Mama Bear, I was terrified and in tears and had to stop midway down the descent to regain my composure. I've improved since I didn't have a nervous breakdown nor did I have to stop, but I still came down the hills cautiously. I never exceeded 27mph speed in descent. I wish I could learn to just relax, feel confident, and just let go like the other cyclists who pass me down hill at 40mph or more. Iron Teammate Belinda was great and always waited for me at the bottom.

This morning, we had a 90-minute Coached Swim workout followed by a 50-minute run. It was another cold (38F) and foggy morning. We first took a team photo. I'm the one in the red knit hat. All that white behind us is the fog.

After a 10-minute warm-up and some drill work, the coaches timed us on how far we could swim nonstop in 15 minutes at a level 5. I swam 15 laps (750 yards) in 15 minutes. The next concept that the coaches wanted to introduce us to was "sighting". I've always swam up and down the length of the pool for years and have never swam in open water. In the pool, it's easy to swim straight with the lane lines and the black line at the bottom of the pool. Not being able to swim straight in the open water can add unwanted distance during the race and impact time. So the coaches want us to learn how to sight to see where we are going.

Today, we learned how to lift our head at the beginning of a breath. I was suppose to lift my head just enough so that my goggles are just above the water to site the object on the other end of the pool. It is actually more difficult than it sounds, because every time I lifted my head to look forward a bunch of water would go up my nose, my legs would sink semi-vertical and it would take a stroke or two to even out again. I'll need to practice more sighting this week so I get more graceful and comfortable with it. As I was doing this drill in the pool, I worried about the open, cold and choppy water that I will swim in the next few weeks. But then I remembered that I need to concentrate on the present drill and not think of anything else.

After the swim, we did a 50-minute out and back run. The first 15 minutes of my run was difficult. It was 42F and my hair was still damp from the swim. My head felt cold with an onset of brain freeze developing and I became light-headed. So took a couple minutes to walk and take some Gu. After that I felt better. Completed 4.5 miles.

I've completed my first four weeks of Ironman training and I am loving it! So far it's a decision I don't regret and am looking forward to the new things that the coaches have scheduled for us in the upcomings. Thank you for donations to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society that I received this past week from Julie, Jill & Pete, and Jeanne & Don!!