Maui Warm-up

After the thrill of PR’ing at my New Year’s Day race, I’ve been suffering a bit of agony. Running all out after weeks of running slower for heart training left me more sore than I have been in a very long time. Since I was so busy reveling in my massive PR, I didn’t bother to ice or stretch and now, two weeks later, I’m still hurting. Better, but hurting. Running like a crazy person after lolly-gagging for 8 weeks was not one of my smarter moves. BUT at least I PR’ed. I have to admit that it was worth it. Dumb, but worth it.

In between popping doses of ibuprofen, I’ve been getting back in the triathlon routine. The Maui Oceanfront Marathon is January 22nd, so in just 10 more days I’ll be making the official switch from marathon training to Ironman training. I’ve been getting in the pool and riding the bike on the trainer, but in an unstructured fashion. At the pool I’ve just been swimming straight laps, and on the trainer I’ve just been biking for time. No drills, no intervals, just putting in time and getting in the routine.

After the marathon, I’ll take two weeks to recover and then it will be time to add a little structure to the mix. I’m going to get my heart rate zones re-evaluated and do some threshold testing with the power meter. Even though I know very little about the power meter and how to use it to improve, it’s already effecting my approach to the bike. I have a rough idea of how much power I’m going to need to maintain during the race, which is scary. Scary enough to make me push it more than I would have otherwise so far before my training plan even starts. I’m also getting a sense of how altering my pedal stroke effects power. I know I’m just scratching the surface what what this device has to offer. It’s a little overwhelming but part of the fun is the complexity of it.

Here in Minneapolis, tomorrow morning will bring a wind chill of -17 and I’ll be forced to run on the treadmill for the first time this winter. The good news? I’ll run wearing shorts, just like I’ll be wearing in Maui 10 days from now. Since I’m really sore and didn’t get many race pace miles in this training session, wearing shorts and the fantastic views might be the best part of the marathon. Thinking about being in Hawaii makes winter in Minneapolis, particularly with no snow to ski on, a little easier. I hope the next time I post I’ll be on the sunny beach and that it will be snowing like crazy at home. I’ve heard the course is crazy hilly, the forecast hot, and the cut off time is 5:45, so I don’t know if I’ll come home with a medal. Coming home with a tan would be a nice consolation prize!