week 23 of training

aka HOLY CRAP HOW IS THIS WEEK OVER ALREADY

i ended up having to take an extra rest day on Wednesday and scrap the 2 planned workouts. the nasty head cold moved into my chest, and I just could not catch my breath. thought I was going to drown in the pool, only made it through the first 3 100s.

long ride on Saturday went MUCH better than last time. <can i get an AMEN?> stuck to the loops I know. no losing time getting lost. did 90mi in 6:30, a vast improvement from last time, though i still am dangerously close to 'chasing cut-off' speed. will work on longer-distance speed in the coming month. ride bonus: I felt good at the end, tired but in no way toast. the CTO even remarked that I didn't even look tired (he's brutally honest, to a fault.)

also changed my front tire out at the end to practice for Louisville. it took forever because my arms were tired. i think I'll keep doing that towards the end of my long rides so I'm well practiced come race day, since IM Louisville is known for disgruntled locals that throw farm tacks onto the bike course. considering my slow pace, imma need to be a tube ninja, just in case. 

i've also added in a LARA Bar to my long ride nutrition. found I was getting grumpy/depressed around 50mi. the 1/2 bar at 50mi, and then another 1/2 bar 30 or so miles later keeps the grumps away, and I 'coast' much less :P

the long run Sunday morning was about as hard as I expected, but for different reasons than I expected (if that makes sense.) i was still very congested, snotty and full of coughs from the cold, so the first 3mi were a MAJOR struggle just to breathe. the heat and humidity didn't help that cause  at all. 

average pace was quite sluggish for me, 12min/miles. initially I had expected my tired legs to be my limiter on this run. instead it was my snot-filled lungs. contemplated quitting and/or crying on the side of the road for a while, but in the end, i figured a long slow run in humid heat would be a great chance to practice my mental game, my run nutrition/salt intake, and my run/walk strategy. (read: i was not going to get through the run without walking, so, run/walk strategy here i come!) ended up running 9 min, walking 1 for the entire run, with a total time including water stops of 3:15. it wasn't pretty, but I didn't expect it to be.

like so many other training weeks, it had some good, some bad. week by week i'm feeling more ready for whatever Louisville brings. no matter what the outcome (time, conditions, etc) i'm proud of what i've done in training. 

and that's all i have to say about that.