IronTeam Mini

Last weekend was Hawaii 70.3 and for Ironteam LA that meant most of the team was in Kona.  This was a fundraising event for us this year and a lot of the team was racing, both fundraisers for this race and fundraisers for other races.  And, a bunch of other teammates went to Kona to cheer on our team.  I wanted to be there, but could not justify the cost.  Instead I bought a new couch and chair, WAY more necessary (old couch was possibly the most uncomfortable couch ever made).

YAY! New furniture! I love it and the couch is perfect for naps :)

With no Hawaiian vacation for me this weekend it was training as usual.  We were a small crew this weekend.  Only 7 of us showed up on Saturday for the ride down in Palos Verdes.  It was a 65 mile ride and I was excited to be somewhere new.  Some of the streets were a little busy and a couple were a little rough, but all in all a good route.  I had to cut the ride short a little early (at 50 miles) due to some girl issues.  I had a very slow thirty minute run.

Perfect SoCal weather

Post ride

After practice those of us who were in town went to Coach Rob's place and bbq'd, lounged by the pool, tracked our teammates races and generally just relaxed.  Thank you Coach Rob for letting us invade your place.

Aaron manning the grill

Sunday morning brought an 18.5 mile run.  I haven't had any really good runs recently and I was not looking forward to this.  I thought about skipping the group run and trying to do it alone, but I know I wouldn't finish the whole thing.  So I headed to Tower 26 and met up with the group.  I expected I would be running alone, as the last couple of runs we've done I've been solo.  But, I was fortunate enough to get to run with my teammate Travis.  He was a great running buddy and helped keep me distracted throughout.  I feel like he really helped push me and run up some hills when I just wanted to walk.  Our other teammate Erin joined in with us early on in the first loop, making the run even easier.  It's nice to have people to keep you going.  This was a double out and back in an area we've run a million times.  So, it was pretty boring.  But, we did good.  My hips were aching by the end and I was ready to be done.  It wasn't blazingly fast, but still in my long run pace, averaging 11:42/mile, 3 hours 37 minutes, 18.6 miles.  

Done.

Post 18.5 mile run

This run was interesting, because I definitely had a few moments where I just wanted to stop.  But overall it was really good for me.  I remembered why I enjoy running.  I actually found myself liking it again.  I guess my inner runner is ready to rejoin the triathlon party.  Good thing too as our mileage is ramping up and Vineman is right around the corner.

The rest of the weekend was spent being extra lazy.  And, I definitely dozed off on the new couch.  Excited to have more of the team with us this weekend, although it will be odd without our Hawaii teammates.

Go Time Week 2: Success.  Week 3 is starting off pretty strong.  Excited for lots of things coming up... :)