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Back to a full week of training.  Had a disappointing ride on Wednesday

, just could not keep moving for the full 90 minutes I planned.  Simply ran out of gas.  But the week got better as I kept hitting the workouts.  Thursday I hit Masters swim and found my mojo again.  It was hard, and I was whipped at the end, but it was a complete, solid workout.  Saturday I experimented with my BP meds, and had a better bike workout, doing the full 90 min while watching the Ironman World Championship on TV.  It was a great ride, and a very emotional experiences.  I so love this sport, and as Sean Astin put it “I love identifying as an Ironman athlete, it’s badass”  Just writing those words makes me smile.

Sunday I ran my first post-OHS race at the Swamp Devil 5k.  I felt good and the weather was fantastic.  I started off at 11min pace, but that quickly started to slip.  I ended up power-walking the last mile simply to keep my HR under 150.  I finished in just under 42 min, which is a bit less than twice my 5k PR.  I felt bad about being so far behind my past level of run fitness, and was questioning whether I’ll ever get back to where I was before.  But I have control over my training and diet, so I’ll do what I can to hit all my goals in those areas and see what happens.

Lessons learned:

  • I have a great support network.  It was wonderful to have a bunch of friends waiting for me at the 5k finish line to cheer me in.
  • I’m really grateful for the new Masters swim sessions.  They are going to kick my ass each and every session, which will help my overall cardio fitness.
  • You can never be too well informed about your health.  I’m learning a lot about my medications and potential impact on my training and fitness.