The 70.3 athlete guide has been posted...Getting Close!

This week, I was able to get several planning related items done.  The athlete guide was finally posted so have been reviewing schedule of events, rules and other details to the event.  My wetsuit was delivered this week - quite entertaining putting that on!  I am shooting to try it out next week - whether in a pool or open water.  I also reserved my bike transportation to Oceanside - thankfully will be able to ship it fully assembled to Oceanside with little coordination on my end.  Finally, signed Callie up for the 2015 IRONKIDS Oceanside which includes a 1/4 mile run - they finish through the same finish line and will get a medal...she is really excited about being in a race. 

There is still a lot of work to do between now and the 28th but starting to feel more comfortable.  I will be feeling a lot better when I can get some open water swim practice in with the wetsuit. 

Workout the week of Feb 16th:
Monday: Spin class + 0.5 mile swim (forgot watch so not timed)
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: Spin class
Thursday: Spin class + 0.50 mile swim (17:45 min)
Friday: Spin class + 1.0 mile swim (41:30 min)
Saturday: 4 mile run (8:30 avg per mile)
Sunday: 48 mile bike ride (17 mph avg)



Sunday bike ride - Pattison through Bellville and back...nice countryside ride! Enjoyed this ride a lot more than my ride last weekend down Memorial.  You can see from the road, I'm the only one on it at that time!

One milestone down

This week I was able to swim more and also prepare for another long run/bike combo for the weekend - I will start doing these every weekend but with varying distances.  In addition to the open water swim group I found out about awhile back, SBR Coaches, I learned about another open water swim area, 288 Lake, that opens up earlier than SBR.  Will try to get in an open water swim sometime in February too.  This also prompted me to start researching wetsuits which I still need to figure out. 

One of my half marathon goals has recently been to run it under 2 hours and I was able to do that on Sunday at the Rhythm & Blues half marathon in Houston.  I cut it close at 1 hr, 58 minutes but was very excited to hit this mark.  This was also the first time I did a longer bike ride after that amount of running.  Even though it was out of order of what 70.3 will be, it was good to practice the combination of the two.  Also, a couple of things I learned...it doesn't matter if you are riding through an area with million dollar homes stacked one after another, Houston roads are always crappy...go figure...and Briarforest and Wilcrest is an intersection I will avoid on a bike the rest of my life.

Workout the week of Feb 9th:
Monday: Spin class + 1 mile swim (40 min, I'm getting slow!)
Tuesday: Spin class + 4 mile run (8:59/mile average)
Wednesday: Spin class + 0.5 mile swim (19 min)
Thursday: Spin class + 0.5 mile swim (19 min)
Friday: Spin class
Saturday: Off
Sunday: Rhythm & Blues Half Marathon (13.1 mile run, 1:58 hrs, 9:04 avg per mile) + ~28 mile ride (~16-18mph avg) *battery died halfway through ride

Before start of race - Rhythm & Blues Houston Half Marathon, February 15, 2015

More riding, less swimming

Playing catch up from missing post after last week but my post title sums it up the last 2 weeks.  Have not been able to put in the amount of swim time I would like but hoping this week the weather warms up a bit more and will be to pick it up on that end...can tell my swim time is slowing down!  On the bike side, have been able to put in more miles on the weekends and this week, I will pick up my running again before the Houston Rhythm & Blues half marathon on Feb 15th. 

Since my last post, I participated in Clay Walker's Band Against MS, a 60-mile ride that was held on Jan 31st.  It was chilly but the sun came out a bit and didn't rain so no complaints here.  However, I did have some interesting (and learning) experiences on this ride...chased by two dogs on the ride and got a flat tire about 2-3 miles before the finish...I couldn't tell you exactly where I was because my GPS watch that tracks miles, mph, etc lost all battery at mile 42...I was not a happy camper.  So lessons learned here - I quickly found time the next week to get someone to show me how to change a flat, got new tires (and more durable against punctures), and now know that I'll need a different watch for longer distance tracking (i.e. the half IRONMAN!).  Overall though, the ride went well and it was good to practice longer distances and mix up the route.

Workout the week of Jan 26th:
Monday: 50 min spin class
Tuesday: Off
Wednesday: 6 mile run (9:02/mile average)
Thursday: 0.50 mile swim (20 min) and 1 hr spin class
Friday: Off
Saturday: 60 mile bike ride (17mph avg...at least up until flat and my watch dying!)
Sunday: 3.5 mile run (9:19/mile average)

Workout the week of Feb 2nd:
Monday: 50 min spin class
Tuesday: 1 hr spin class
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: 0.75 mile swim (24 min) and 1 hr spin class
Friday: 50 min spin class
Saturday: 40 mile ride (18 mph avg) and 5 mile run (9:28/mile average)
Sunday: Off



Clay Walker kicking off the ride with speech and also sang our National Anthem

Clay Walker's Band Against MS was held at the Houston Oaks Country Club in Hockley