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Week Ending in THE BEAR

Since this week was a bit of a bear, perhaps it is fitting that the weekend included the Polar Bear 5K & 5-miler, known collectively as The Bear.

Monday - 4,750 yard swim. I am performing ok on these long swims, but I don't end up having dinner until after 8 PM and then I go to bed before 10 PM...and wake up in the middle of the night hungry. I talked to Jackie (sport dietitian) about it and I need to have slower carbs with dinner that will get me to morning.

Tuesday - I ran in the morning and had a really strong 6 x 5:00 set with 2:00 recovery between. The 5:00 segments averaged 10:31 pace, which is just a little slower than my 5K pace. However, my heart rate never got to the target range. I asked coach if the cold could be a factor and he said yes, as well as relatively hydration to when it is warm and the lag on the heart rate monitor. We were both pretty happy with the average time for them. 6.7 miles total for the run. Work got rough, but then it was on to the reason I ran in the morning - I got to see A Conversation with Michelle Obama hosted by the Women's Fund of Central Indiana! It was wonderful.

Wednesday - today was a personal day off work for me since it was Ash Wednesday (which meant serving at church at noon and 7 PM) and a two workout day. I probably needed the separation from the office anyway. I swam my set, but I forgot the swim watch so there's no data from it. In the afternoon I struggled with the tech on the bike trainer too. But I still swam 1,700 yards and rode 18 miles on the trainer, part in Muncie and part in Windsor (ON) because virtual riding is awesome.

Thursday - my typical work from home day and I did that. Early I ran 5 easy miles and then did some stretching/PT-like work with Mark at the Y.

Friday - Matt put it in as a day off, but Sean had a swim on the schedule. Since the pools all had team practices or meets Friday evening I knew I needed to get it done before work even though I had a deadline. It worked out. I got my 2,500 yards in and met my proposal deadline. 

Saturday - THE BEAR! I ran my warm up mile in 11:30 and felt pretty good. Jackie and I had talked about fueling for this race and Matt and I had talked about how to approach it, so I just needed to make it happen. I didn't check the watch at all during the 5K and just ran pretty hard. I finished in 32:06 (PR 31:57). Then I grabbed my homemade sports drink and headed out for 5 minutes of running between races. When I started the 5 mile I felt like I was being passed by snails and garden slugs. But I kept running hard. I used a maple gel around halfway and grabbed a few sips of water that was way too cold. The course had some inclines starting before mile 4 and continuing for a bit. They felt tough at that point. I finished in 56:29. I had thought it would be in the 55-57 minute range since I knew I couldn't come close to PR after running a fast 5K. My 5 mile PR is 53:59. Shane took some great pictures of me in the 5K.



Sunday - I was watching one of my favorite shows and then switched over the the USATF Track & Field National Championships while I was virtually riding the Muncie IM 70.3 course. Rode 31.75 miles in 2 hours.

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