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Geneva Triathlon Training – Stronger

Not every day of training will be perfect. I sat down to write this post and saw that there were many areas I could stress over in regards to last week’s training. One of my runs didn’t happen at all and another one of them was on the treadmill instead of outside. But, at the end of the day I have to take a step back and remember a few things.

I have come SO far from where I was this time last year.

I am mentally stronger than I’ve ever been.

My body is stronger than it’s ever been.

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I am giving myself a bit of a break between now and July 19th when I will complete my first triathlon. I know that my marathon training will not be perfect between now and then. For one thing, next weekend I will not have a long run as I’ll instead spend nearly two hours swimming, biking and running in the actual triathlon. But, I hope to take the confidence and overall strength that I’ve developed during this “out of my comfort zone” training and apply it to my marathon training to ensure that my final two months of training are the strongest yet.

So, now that we have cleared that up, let’s get down to business and take a look back at last week’s training.

Monday: Rest

Tuesday: Another great Tuesday two a day including a 6 mile treadmill tempo run during lunch followed by 90 minutes of power yoga in the evening.

Wednesday: I did a 45 minutes pre-programmed hill workout on my gym’s upright stationary bike. This workout quickly proved to me that you CAN in fact get a killer workout on this under utilized piece of gym equipment.

Thursday: Rest

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Friday: Due to hail and inclement weather I ran 13 miles on the treadmill after work. Even though it wasn’t nearly as enjoyable as my lakeside runs, I lived to tell the story and even learned a few tricks which I shared in Friday’s post; 5 Tips for Making Treadmill Long Runs Easier.

Saturday: Bo and I had great plans to do a brick workout including a 30 minute open water swim followed by an hour bike ride. I’m going talk more about our adventures and misadventures in triathlon training later this week but needless to say, one flat tire derailed our plans quite a bit. I ended up having a great 1,000 meter open water swim but only biked for 10 miles.

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Sunday: We joined the Geneva Runners Club evening swim practice for a 1.5 hour open water swim which included about 15 minutes of pre and post swim triathlon tips and coaching. The actual workout included about 1 mile of open water swimming including a 600 meter warm-up and lots of drills. I really enjoyed the sighting and breathing drills, in light of my upcoming triathlon. Bo and I biked to and from practice for a total of another 7 miles on the bike. This amount seems like nothing but every little bit helps me become more confident though I’ve learned from two side falls that clipping in while navigating Geneva’s crowded sidewalks isn’t a smart move. 

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How about you? What are you thanking your body for this week? I’m thankful for a stronger, more positive mind than I’ve had previously. This mindset is allowing me to overcome fears, slowly but surely and push through mental exhaustion.

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ashleyd /

Geneva Triathlon Training– Goodbye June

June was a pretty great month training wise. I ended the month feeling stronger than ever! Hopefully this trend continues into July. Right now the month isn’t off to a great start after over sleeping by 3 hours this morning and missing my morning run along the lake. But, I didn’t make excuses and squeezed it in this afternoon. July’s mantra is going to be “no excuses” but we’ll talk more about that later. Now let’s recap last week’s training!

Monday: I’m having an issue waking up early Monday mornings which means tempo runs on the treadmill. I really can’t stand the treadmill these days but being able to squeeze in a 6 mile tempo run during lunch is definitely nice. My prescribed pace was 9:23 for the 4 tempo miles which felt tough but not impossible. Later in the evening my tired legs headed to the pool for my first swim meet! We did about 400 meters warm-up before the actual event which was the 100 meter relay. This meet was a huge non-scale victory which I’ll talk about more in a dedicated post but I can’t believe that just 4 months ago I’d never swum more than 100 meters!

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Tuesday: There is a substitute teaching the 90 minute power yoga class this Summer and dare I say I love her just as much as our regular teacher, Patric. They have totally different styles but her Mumford & Sons heavy playlist was the perfect music when paired with lots of long holds, inversions and hip openers.

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Wednesday: This 5 mile run included 3 miles of speed which was definitely a challenge! It was a speed pyramid with each interval getting faster paced. My “slowest” interval was 1200 meters at an 8:26 pace and my “fastest” interval was 400 meters at an 8:12. While these speeds weren’t as fast as previous workouts the length of the intervals made it tougher. I’m also finding that the 1 mile warm-up helps me get into the groove of speed work. Historically I often skipped the warm-up because I didn’t think it was “important.” Trust me, if you’re shirking on your warm-ups or cool-downs try focusing on them for a week and your legs and body will thank you!

Thursday: I headed to the gym during lunch to do some biking only to find the bikes occupied. Instead of leaving I hopped over to the weights area and did a 30 minute strength workout sprinkled with 5 cardio intervals. I ended the session with pull-up practice and arm hangs.

Friday: Rest day!

Saturday: I think I’m still smiling from the Mt. Blanc 10k trail race! It was seriously so much fun! imageSunday: The weather forecast in Geneva was 100% rain with the chance of severe thunderstorms and hail. When we woke up to the sound of rain we agreed that it may end up being an rest day or a perfect day to break out the yoga mat and pull out an old DVD. But, around 4:30 when the rain paused and the sun broke through we decided to head over to the pool. Things worked out and we had the lanes all to ourselves for an hour of drills. Bo helped me with my form and led me through some kicking drills. By the end of the session I swam 1,500 meters and realized just how much I enjoy swimming outside versus inside. Hopefully we can squeeze in more outdoor swim practices this month!

How was your June? Do you have something you’re focusing on this month to help keep your training on track during vacations or the Summer heat?

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Geneva Triathlon Training – Finding Balance

I finished last week’s training feeling good about the headway I’ve made. I only logged one swim workout and one bike ride but with more than a month until my sprint triathlon, I feel okay. More importantly I finished the week feeling balanced and energized. I wasn’t overly sore but a few of the workouts definitely pushed me into the discomfort zone.

Last week’s workouts:

Monday: Oh the run from hell. I worried that this would shape my entire week as this after work 4 mile run was just plain horrible. My body was sore from overtraining the week before, it was super hot and I was exhausted. Sometimes running after work is a blessing but today it was a curse.

Tuesday: My body nor my mind were in swim practice but I pushed through and ended up finishing 1 mile in around 45 minutes including some sprints and mixed stroke work. The time in the pool definitely helped my soreness and my mentality more than expected.

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Wednesday: This was definitely my hardest speed work yet as it included the dreaded mile repeats. I surprised myself by really enjoying it by the end! The workout included 1 mile warm-up, 3 mile repeats (7:53, 7:51, 8:01) followed by a 1 mile cool-down. I was dead at the end but it felt awesome!

Thursday: Katie and I switched things up this week and went to yoga together on Thursday instead of Tuesday. The class couldn’t have been more perfect. It was 75 minutes of sweat inducing flow yoga including some long holds and lots of inversion practice on a rooftop! We laughed together and pushed each other to go a bit further in this practice and the results really showed. Both of us left the class smiling and feeling stronger!

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Friday: I’m starting to love these Friday rest days! There is nothing better than sleeping until 7:30 and getting to head to work relaxed with a homemade iced coffee in hand on a Friday.

Saturday: My mantra for this run was slow and steady. When talking to Theodora the other day I told her that my prescribed pace of 9:50-9:55 seemed so slow for long runs. I was tempted to try and push it even though that goes against the training plan. Luckily she told me to look back at DailyMile and remind myself how far I’ve come in the past 4 years. When I trained for my first marathon most of my long runs were around 11:30. This helped put my mind in the right perspective that 9:50 may be slower than my average runs are but I have never maintained a pace better than 11:10 for a marathon so hello – this is a fabulous pace. I checked my Garmin more frequently than normal to ensure that I maintained my goal pace. The rest of the time I zoned out to my music and took in the gorgeous views along the lake. The weather was perfect, I saw a few friends during the run and I had a wonderful lake day filled with rose, relaxation and friends greeting me at the end of 11 miles.

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Sunday: I woke up more sore than normal in part due to my long run but I think my sunburn exacerbated things. It took every ounce of will power to kick my butt out the door for a solo bike ride around 4pm. I told myself that I just had to clip in and do a few miles. If I was sore and miserable I could turn around and call it a day. This trick always works and an hour later I found myself returning home. The ride wasn’t perfect as I had to avoid the lake due to all the barbeques and people but I still logged a 17 mile ride by myself. My goal this week is to find a route that I really enjoy.

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