Well, THAT sucked...

  First, thank you to all of you who commented on my venting post. While it has been a trying few weeks, it is good to know that I am no alone in my struggle to balance it all. I think some productive conversations took place over the weekend and things are on the upswing when it comes to my training schedule. It just sucks that it is even an issue at times...but to be fair, there are two sides to every story and I can see how some days it does certainly distract from family time. Plus, if you don't "get it" (aka-the whole triathlon thing) it can be hard to understand the drive and commitment to such a crazy training schedule.
Wonder what kind of life drama a full Ironman schedule will create!!??

Moving on...
Today's brick was...interesting to say the least. Pretty simple as written-
2 hour bike on flat to gentle rolling terrain with a focus on pedal technique, cadence and nutrition/hydration.
1 hour run at 1/2 marathon pace (8:45).

The bike was awesome!!! I have a little 10 mile loop around my 'hood which is perfect. Mostly flat with some gentle hills, some easy gradual climbs so I rode this x 4. The first loop my legs certainly felt tired but by the second loop I had my groove and was smiling. During this ride I wondered when I fell in love with cycling. I am really, really enjoying it! I had my Garmin on to watch HR and lapped it each loop to compare.

40.12 mi 02:04 19.4mph pace

Lap 1 31:51 10.13 mile
Lap 2 30:55 9.96 miles
Lap 3 30:11 10.0 miles
Lap 4 30:51 10.04 miles
It certainly is not "scientific" since I hit lap at roughly the same spot each time and lap one includes the distance from my driveway to the oh-so-official "STOP SIGN" that was my marker!

Then the run. Oh...the run. Never, ever in my time running did I ever quite feel like THIS on a run. I hurt. My legs hurt. My HR was high. I was hot. I was sweating. I was covered in salt. My legs were tired. I felt like I was crawling but I would check the Garmin and see 8:40's for pace for the first mile. I always feel MARVELOUS off the bike. NEVER like this!! Then I slowed to the 9's to get the HR down (I was in the mid 160's) and try to acclimate. Yes, it was very humid but not super hot (84*)--even though they were calling for high 90's today. Then around mile 2 my tummy started feeling funny...all bloated and a little cramping. I sipped some cool water, slowed to a walk and tried to gather myself. I was frustrated at how I felt only two miles into this workout. I still had a way to go!
I finally got the HR down to the 140's -- finally by 3.5 miles I was feeling much better and found my groove. Not sure what went wrong today but you can bet I will be analyzing the whole workout to find out.
All said and done it was 5.04 miles in 49 minutes of hell.
Was it a recovery issue? hydration? nutrition? Did I push too hard on the bike?
Not sure yet...but I do know. That run SUCKED>
and I'll do it all again on Thursday (but only 1 hour bike/2 hour run).
Happy Monday.