Ironman 70.3 Augusta Training Recap: Week 9

Posted on July 31, 2012 by Tori @ In Love and Peanut Butter

I had a hard time falling back into the routine the first few days after vacation. I finally got back into the swing of things mid-week.

I noticed a big difference in the way I felt at this weekend’s sprint triathlon. I felt a lot stronger on the swim and bike than I ever have before and had a PR of more than 2 minutes for my sprint triathlon time. It gave me a lot of confidence heading into the second half of this training plan.

I got 3 open water swims in this week! I wasn’t able to get a long ride in this week due to the race but will make up for it this weekend.

Monday:

Travel Day

Tuesday:

AM- 1000 meter swim
AM- 3 mile run

Wednesday:

AM-1 hour on the trainer
PM-1/2 mile open water swim with Mad Dogs

Thursday:

AM- 1 hour spin class

Friday:

Rest Day

Saturday:

Top Gun Sprint Triathlon

Sunday:

AM- 3 mile run
AM- 3/4 mile open water swim

Only 60-days until race day!

Race Recap: Top Gun Triathlon 2012

Posted on July 30, 2012 by Tori @ In Love and Peanut Butter

Top Gun Triathlon will always hold a special place in my heart. It was my frist triathlon in 2010 and I look forward to it every year. The course is a sprint distance of a 1/4 mile swim, 10 mile bike and 5k run. This year I was able to enjoy the race with a bunch of friends.

We got to the race site a little later than normal and ended up in the longest body marking line I’ve ever seen at a Ft. DeSoto race. Whoops.

A couple of race-ready athletes came to the rescue with Sharpies and helped the line move along. Now thats smart thinking. I think I’ll add a Sharpie to my transition bag for the future.

Once in transition it took me about 2 minutes to set my area. I’m really getting the hang of this set up thing. Of course, since I flew through the set up I was immediately second guessing myself by thinking I was forgetting something.

After getting set up I wandered around transition to find everyone. I found Erika who was already set up.

Then we found our boyfriends. Look at this goofy group

Having such fun friends definitely helps calm the nerves.

There is a bit of a walk from transition to the swim start so shortly after finding everyone we made our way for the beach.

Photo Credit: Meghan

Left to Right: Dirk, Tori, Tiffany, Meghan, Erika, Stephanie, Me, Patrick

Not sure if you can tell from that picture but the water was calm and just about perfect for the swim.

Swim:

Meghan was in my wave for this race and was doing her frist triathlon. I’m not sure if it was being able to chat with her until the gun went off or if I am just getting more comfortable with swimming but I felt almost zero nerves before getting in the water. I definitely think that the Wednesday night swim with the Mad Dogs is building my confidence and strength in open water.

This was the first swim during a race that I wasn’t looking ahead to see how much I had left. I kept sighting the kayaks and buoys on my left and before I knew it I was at the last buoy.

I felt really good getting out of the water. I was really proud of this swim.

Bike:

I mentioned that the transition to my tri bike has been a bit of a challenge for me. I was nervous when I first got it and it took several good rides and some serious time on the trainer for me to really shake out the nerves.

That being said, this race was a turning point for me. I found myself a lot more comfortable on the bike. I found it easier for me to get down and stay down in aero. My pace is picking up and I’m constantly letting go of the fear that was holding me back.

I also got a new seat this week that I really like. It’s much better for me than the stock seat that came with my bike.

The wind was totally in our favor on Saturday. There is normally a pretty wicked head wind for at least part of the out and back bike course at Ft. DeSoto that wasn’t an issue this weekend.

I averaged just over 20mph on the bike. I ranked 41st in my division coming out of the water and finished the bike 21st in my division. It may not seem like a lot but it was an accomplishment for me.

Run:

I’m always really relieved to get on the run.

The back half of the run course at most Ft. DeSoto races is on the sand. It’s really well packed sand and it’s not too bad to run on.

It was a really hot day and the heat definitely took its toll on me by the last mile of the race. They had ice-cold towels at mile 2 that were so refreshing. It’s amazing how such a little thing can make such a big difference in your race.

It wasn’t my best 5k time but it certainly wasn’t my worst either.

Photo Credit: Stephanie

Left to Right: Erika, Dirk, Stephanie, Me, Patrick

Race Times:

Swim: 7:39
T1: 3:58
Bike: 29:50
T2: 1:35
Run: 32:58
Total: 1:16:01 <–NEW PR!

Photo Credit: Stephanie

I finished the race in 1:16:01, that’s a new PR for me (by almost 2.5 minutes)! I really really enjoyed everything about the race. It’s always a bit nostalgic for me to remember my first race out there a few years ago. Plus, what could be better than racing with friends?

Everyone please link your recap below! I can’t wait to read them all!

Ironman 70.3 Augusta Training Recap: Week 8

Posted on July 25, 2012 by Tori @ In Love and Peanut Butter

I’m a little late posting my recap from last week but, I’m back from vacation and back to reality.

I mentioned in my first post from vacation that we did our research before heading out on our trip of ways to get some training in while on the road. I think we did a pretty decent job considering how jam-packed our vacation was.

I was surprised how much harder everything was at altitude. I’ve run in the mountains before and knew that it wasn’t going to be pretty but I hadn’t even thought about how different swimming felt at high elevation. It definitely makes me appreciate my flat Florida roads a little more.

Monday:

Travel Day

Tuesday:

Wednesday:

AM- 1-hour spin

Thursday:

Travel Day

Friday:

Saturday:

AM: 5-mile run in the mountains

Sunday:

White Water Rafting! I rescued Patrick after he fell out… does that count for open water training?

That wraps up my second month of training. This week was a little more relaxed than it probably could have been but it was nice to have a couple of days of rest during our trip.

Having some time to recharge my batteries probably did me some good anyway since I have a big weekend coming up.

I’m racing Top Gun Sprint Triathlon at Ft. DeSoto with a couple of friends. Top Gun was my very first triathlon three years ago and I’ve done it every year since. I’m so looking forward to it!

Swiming & Running & Bears, oh my

Posted on July 21, 2012 by Tori @ In Love and Peanut Butter

We’ve had a very eventful couple of days here in North Carolina.

My family has a house in the mountains just outside of Highlands. I’ve spent my summers here since I was a kid.

One of my favorite memories was going to watch the sunset at Sunset Rock. The weather is questionable the next few evenings so we decided to go on our first night here.

We took the opportunity of the beautiful view to take some pictures.

The view up there is absolutely breathtaking. The sky fills up with so many different colors and you can see for miles.

After our super-touristy photo session we both got totally lost in the sunset until the moment was ruined… by a grizzly bear.

I absolutely love this picture.

I’ve been coming here for nearly 20 years and this is the first encounter I’ve had with one.

In the end, Smokey didn’t manage to ruin the moment and we were still able to enjoy the sunset.

After last night’s excitement we got up and went back into town to get some training done.

There is a public pool at the nearby civic center that has lap swimming in the morning.

Highlands is just above 4000 feet in elevation. I hadn’t really thought about how different it would be swimming at a higher altitude than back home. I was definitely winded a bit faster than normal.

After our swim we got some more hill training in through town. I was able to show Patrick a lot of my favorite places from when I was a kid. Like “The Toy Store” on Main Street of course.

Its only in the 60s here in the morning so it makes for really nice running weather. Cool morning air is something we haven’t seen for a while back home.