Ready for Spring

One more week and I will be back to running! Not that biking at the gym is bad. I just feel I get more out of running. Plus the gym is overcrowded right now with people trying to stick to their new years resolutions. I want to get out and enjoy the surroundings even though it is cold outside. This is going to be the best spring ever. I feel good so far this year. I've biked almost 100 miles so far this month and have been strengthening my legs. It is hard to imagine I will be biking 160 miles in one day this year. I am excited to run my first race on March 16th. I will be signing up soon as it's only $10 for the 7K race. Not bad!

Last week was a busy week and I had to squeeze in training. My goal was to bike 40 miles for the whole week. I ended up biking two 20 milers to get in the 40. It felt great though. I was unable to do two sessions of the ab ripper x. I am actually going to stop doing the ab ripper x because it is causing me back pain. Something I do not need this year. This week I plan to bike 40 plus miles and do some major strength training. I have been daydreaming quite a bit lately about what the RAIN ride and marathon will be like this year. Visualizing really keeps me motivated. I've also been motivated by the books I've been reading in the last 2 months. I haven't read this much in years! I highly recommend Hal Higdon's Marathon: The Ultimate Training Guide, The Long Run: A New York City Firefighter's Triumphant Comeback from Crash Victim to Elite Athlete by Matt Long and Charles Butler, and Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner by Dean Karnazes.

Stressful Week Over

It has been a rather stressful week, but it ended well going to church this morning. I feel refreshed and I feel a change is coming. I know it is going to be for the best. It was also a more active week and I met my goals. I logged 30 miles on the bike, I did some strength training, completed 2 sessions of ab ripper x, and I actually "tried" to swim. After tempting to swim, I decided I set too high of a goal to do a triathlon this year. I am going to need work and will not have time to do swim training. I am going to try and do a duathlon though. When I went swimming on Friday, I could only do 4 laps and those were hard for me. I could not get the breathing, strokes, and leg kicking down. I was never a strong swimmer. I will continue to work on technique, but I will not be doing a tri this year. After the 4 laps, I did stay in the pool and ran 10 laps. It was a good workout. I am still going through running withdrawals, but February is around the corner. I am looking forward to spring more than ever this year. I believe I am going to do my next race in March. It will be a 7K race in Bloomington. Next week's plans are to bike 40 miles, ab ripper x times 2, and do strength training.

Lazy Week, Exciting Day!

So it has been a very lazy week, but I did make it to the gym to do some strength training and ride the bike. So not too lazy. One thing I am struggling with right now is not running. I decided to take January off from running to heal a shin splint. It has been hard and I am going through withdrawals. Biking has helped, but nothing beats running. I also did the P90X Ab Ripper X two times this week. It was my first time doing the ripper X and I definitely felt it all week. My plan is to do the ripper X twice a week. I plan on hitting the gym hard this coming week. I need it!

One of my goals this year is to do the RAIN ride. It's an organized bike ride across Indiana - 160+ miles. The most I've ever biked is 30 miles. So this is going to be a challenge because I officially registered today! I plan on riding with someone that has cycling experience and has done the RAIN event before. I am overly excited for July 16th.

Goals this coming week:

Ab Ripper X 2 times
Bike 30 miles at the gym
Strenth training
Start swimming