Phew!!

This weekend was big!!! On friday, I ran approx 17 miles. the plan was 15 but i felt pretty good so i did an extra loop. i came home, did some jump rope cross training, and then got on my trainer for a super quick spin to make sure my bike fit was right for the next day, my unsupported century ride (100 miles)from South side chicago to Chesterton Indiana.

the ride was great. I had never seen the trails out there before and they were really beautiful. it was a quick ride (for a century) and at the half way point we stopped a aa fabulous, and unexpected, cafe in the middle of chesterton. after a bowl of oatmeal we were back on our way to chicago.

Last year i did the ironman with a maximum training ride of 90 miles. I had been worried about that, but ironman last year went as well as could be expected for my first and my training was pretty solid. But, this year, i wanted to go in with a little more confidence. I plan on riding the Naperville century in August, but when the local cycling club sent out the email about a weekend 100 milers i took it as a sign that this is something i needed to do. With a race this coming weekend, I had to get some high volume workouts in, and thats what i did.

Now, i have 1 olympic distance and 1 century before Ironman on Sept 26th. As i have been tracking my progress over the years of racing, I have seen the minutes come off my times. This season, while i feel a bit faster, and definatly stronger, I am startin to feel like i want to see more minutes come off my time but this process itself will probably be slow. Im hoping to see this most in my ironman time, since lets be honest, at 4 foot 11 inches, im not exactly build for speed. While my size isnt keepin me from anythin, it is sometimes hard to realize that Im just not going to be as fast as someone whos legs come up to my shoulder.

but thats ok! hopefully ill keep up with the good age group finishes and maybe shave a couple minutes of my olympic time this coming sunday. otherwise, i am going to work towards a strong and hopefully IT band pain free ironman finish. That really slowed up the marathon portion of lasts years race, specifically miles 17-26 and I just hope it doesnt pop up again.

ok thats it for now. im excited to hit springfield IL this sunday!