Weekend In Review 07.20.2015

Well my friends…somehow or other we have made it to race week!  The Calgary Ironman 70.3 is this Sunday.  Let’s recap the last two big weeks of training, shall we?

I seem to have some bad luck on my final longest training rides these days.  Last year I got a flat tire on the drive out to Banff for my last 180K ride before Boulder.  This year for my 110K ride I had planned to drive and start my ride from a friend’s house even though I’d be riding solo.  Luckily at the very last minute I changed my mind and decided to ride straight from home so Neil could have the car if need be.  I made my way to Highway 8 and started to ride the 70.3 course in reverse.  I was all smiles at 55K, the halfway point of my ride!

I snapped a photo just after I turned around and then continued on my way, excited to be riding the final portion of the course as I’d experience it on race day.  Not a minute after I started rolling I noticed my rear tire was flat.  I had run over a tiny piece of metal the size of a finger nail clipping.  I changed the tire and as I was shifting the gears on my bike to get my chain out of the smallest ring my cable snapped.  I was stuck in the smallest, hardest gear in the back…perhaps not the most rideable situation.

I was so thankful that Neil had the car as he was able to come out, rescue me and take me to Bow Cycle to get things fixed.  I was extremely disappointed that my ride had ended my earlier than I would have liked, but grateful that this happened before race day!

Luckily the techs at Bow Cycle were able to swap the cable out pretty easily, but I mentioned to them that I’d been experiencing some squeaking from my bottom bracket lately.  It was probably a good thing I had brought my bike in as the bottom bracket needed to be replaced.

I had hoped to “make up” my ride on Sunday but I awoke to thunderstorms and rain.  A ride was not going to happen today…  I might have preferred to stay home and write off all workouts after getting the news about Finlay, but luckily my friend Tara suggested meeting up at the Calgary Oval for our long run.  I was grateful to have the company on a 2:15 long run.  Running for that long on the track must build some mental toughness, right?

The weather last week wasn’t all that great with plenty of scattered thunderstorms and rain in the evenings.  In the past I would have been tempted to let those rides go but now I really wanted to make sure I nailed my workouts.  I figured my coach has a plan and I need to execute that plan instead of slacking off during taper.  I sucked it up and put the trainer tire on the bike and rode indoors.  In July.  Sigh…

On Saturday my coach gave me a fun little workout…a 30 min run with 10 min at tempo pace, followed by a 50K bike.  The idea was to simulate what it would feel like running through T1 and getting on my bike right away.

The run was awesome!  It was also a beautiful day for a bike ride.

I felt really strong on the bike and had a great ride.  Although I only got in one 90K ride and that was back on July 7th I feel ready for the race.  I’ve done the best I can to prepare and as long as I’m smart about how I ride on race day I believe I can execute a good bike.

On Sunday I had a 70 min run to knock out with some 1:00 peppy intervals in the middle.  My legs weren’t feeling super peppy to begin with but I’ll chalk that up to tapering.

Now it is time to work on my race plan, make sure I stay well hydrated and focus on healthy food choices.  It is hard to believe the race is almost here!  Today I’m joining Tara from Running ‘N’ Reading for her Weekend Update Link Up.