Sarah Jo Austin

Triathlon Training: Weeks 9 & 10

August 11th, 2008

Can you believe my race is less than two weeks away? I can’t! It’s crazy how fast this summer has flown by. I can tell you, though, that sprint triathlon training is a heckuva lot better than marathon training in July/August because you get to spend time in the pool (water in the face) and on a bike (wind in the face). Here’s what I’ve been up to:

Monday, July 28, 2008

• Workout type. Running
• Route. Forest Park 3
• Feeling.
• Time. 33 minutes
• Distance. 3 miles
• Pace per mile. 11:00
• Additional notes. Again, another normal run around my neighborhood. I wouldn’t mind some new routes, but I often run after dark, and I like to stick to side streets that are well lit.

Tuesday, July 29, 2008

• Workout type. Brick
• Route. Forest Park 3 x 4 + Pembrooke 2
• Feeling.
• Time. 66 minutes (46 + 2)
• Distance. 11 minutes (9 + 2)
• Pace per mile. 6:00 (5:06 + 11:00)
• Additional notes. First ride with the helmet, and I think it will work just fine. At first, my forehead itched, but after a few rides, I don’t notice it anymore. Will have to practice transitioning from “swim cap” hair to “helmet” hair to “visor” hair. Maybe I should shave my head…

Thursday, July 31, 2008

• Workout type. Brick
• Route. Forest Park 3 x 5
• Feeling. Surprisingly
• Time. 90 minutes (60 + 30)
• Distance. 15 miles (12 + 3)
• Pace per mile. 6:00 (5:00 + 10)
• Additional notes. Holy crap! Did you see my 3-mile time? That’s faster than my 5K PR! OK, now granted I’m not running with a stopwatch, so I don’t know minutes and seconds, but that was a pretty awesome run! If I can do this on race day, this puts me on track for a 1:45:00 triathlon. And that would be neat!

Friday, August 1, 2008

• Workout type. Lap swim
• Route. YMCA pool
• Feeling.
• Time. 60 minutes
• Distance. 1800 m
• Pace per mile. N/A
• Additional notes. Well, I finally got back in the pool. I know I can finish the swim in the race, but I’m not sure how quickly I’ll do it. For sure, I want (need) to finish in less than 10 minutes if I’m doing this in 1:45:00.

For week nine, I planned to take it easy. Instead, I took the week off. The hubby and I had a hard weekend of meetings, design, and editing, so I intentionally took Monday off. Tuesday it was blistering. Wednesday it threatened rain. Thursday was the So You Think You Can Dance finale. I finally hit the road on Sunday night for my longest bike ride thus far.

Sunday, August 10, 2008

• Workout type. Cycling
• Route. Forest Park 3 x 5
• Feeling.
• Time. 73 minutes
• Distance. 15 miles
• Pace per mile. 4:50
• Additional notes. Another ride around my neighborhood. This one got me thinking about marathon training for a December marathon and how I might work in cycling. For sure, I’ll have to do some cross training during training because I tell the difference in my knee and how much it flares up. I might do a preliminary 7 or 8 mile run this week to see how the knee holds up.

And with that, I have 12 days until my race. YIKES! I know I’m ready, but I can’t believe it’s soon!

Entry Filed under: fitness/health