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.

(source)

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

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.

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. 

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.