Recovery Week

Masters Session

So not gonna lie, that half marathon tore me up pretty good. I rarely run on concrete, and I especially don't run race pace on concrete. I definitely wasn't as sore as I was last year when I ran this race but regardless I had to take some easy recovery days post race (although, no days off). Despite the soreness, I was still able to rally and put in a decent week of 14 hours. I have especially brought up my swim volume as of late and I'm really starting to see a difference in the water. Finally getting into a Masters program is now part of that. I posted a year ago that I needed to get in a Masters program but all of the programs I had access to were at times that made it impossible for me. But now the Temecula YMCA is offering them in the evenings Monday and Wednesdays so I'm really excited to make those a part of my schedule so I can swallow more water like I did in my first session doing backstroke!

I think the biggest thing that an early season pr in the half marathon has done for me is to help me move on to a more swim and bike focused mind set. I was telling my buddy Ryan that I actually have had some insecurities in my run and I couldn't help but to focus on it because I knew it was my strength. I know I was kinda driving my coach nuts, but I really wanted to do well with this race to prove to myself I am the runner that I know I can be. I now know that I have that 1:14 in my back pocket when I race this year and it gives me a TON of confidence moving forward. Now, I understand that my running talents can be wiped out with poor bike fitness (like I witnessed last year at Soma) -but really, the bike has always been the least of my worries of the three disciplines since I've hooked up with James as a coach. As a pure cyclist, he has been hammering me with a lot of hours, a lot of miles and a TON of climbing. The bike fitness has shot through the roof in the short 3 months we've been working together and I know if I rode a 2:30 at Soma with very little bike training then the sky is the limit come Oceanside.

This is going to be kind of a short post (been a very busy week at work), but I wanted to also bring up the Wattie Ink Elite Team that I'm a part of. In the short week I've been a part of it, I've found they have a great support group both from the team and the sponsors. Here are the sponsors that Sean has put together for the team. I'm excited to train/race in some of these products:

Also, Betty Designs has helped put together some really Bad A racing & cycling kits, speedos/jammers (yes, I think it's time to rock my first speedo...) and a ton of other gear. I'm looking forward to "Rocking the W" for 2012.

Next week I should be back on my normal Tuesday/Wed blog post where I'll share a glimpse of my killer workouts this week.

How did I recover over the past week? Some pics:

Some Beet Juice. Ninja!

Kale Chips, Honey Mustard -Organic Tofu, Sweet Potatoes and Spinach...and an IPA

Ryan and I recovering post track workout