12 weeks!

TWELVE WEEKS? AAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It was assessment week. I nailed my 5K (that was technically last week, but whatever, dude), did alright on my swim (a daggone 4-second improvement), and bombed my bike 110%. Seriously. I went down to the dike to ride and there was a 15mph+ crosswind that never helped me. I entered my assessment, saw what it did to my training zones, and promptly deleted that mess. I'll try again in 3 weeks.

Looking back at the week, assessment week was good for the family. I started Monday morning with a swim...

. . . and then promptly played hookie with Daniel. He had an appointment to get his braces on, so we stayed home from school (which really equates to we had breakfast out, went to the park, and checked Lia out early to go to the zoo). We really needed this day and enjoyed pretty much every minute of it.

I spent a couple of days working on the bathroom and FINALLY got my shiplap up. I'm super pleased with how it turned out and my awesome daddy helped me get those top pieces up. All that's left is to white wash it and finish the baseboards and we are D-O-N-E with the bathroom reno that has taken 8 months. Yikes.

Lia got to bring Muffin the Moose home for the weekend. He's the class pet who comes home with If You Feed a Moose a Muffin, muffin mix, and all kinds of fun stuff. We spent the weekend doing all kinds of fun stuff with Muffin, but our favorite parts of the weekend were Amelia's art party where Lia got to paint a canvas and mosaic it with mardi gras beads. Super cute!

Our other favorite part of the weekend was going to see Mary Poppins at Clear Falls. It was their senior musical and those kids did an amazing job. My kids had never been to the theater and they REALLY enjoyed it, even if it was a little late (we didn't get home until after 10!).

So there ya have it. 12 weeks to go. Life is good. Training is hard. But the days are ticking by, my fitness is improving each day, and my little family is hanging in.

Mileage this week:
Swim - 2 miles

Bike - 56

Run - 7 miles (yay assessment week!)

13 weeks

Alright, kids. Another week down. 86 days to go. Another week of nailing my workouts and getting closer and closer to the big day. My inlaws came to visit this weekend, so I had to shuffle some things to make training work with life. I spent 3:40 on my trainer Friday so that I wouldn't miss out on family time Saturday morning. That may be the last time I do that - that was a LONG time to spend spinning to nowhere.

The many faces of a nearly 4-hour trainer ride...

Which led to my first experience with Graston. Holy. Cow. That was medieval and terrible and I hope I never have to do that again. I'm still bruised and I spent an hour with Dr. Redding today trying to work through the residual yuck after the abuse I put myself through last week. Lia and Daniel went with me to Dr. Chauvin. When she brought out the implements of death, Lia said, "Why do you need all those swords?" Yeah. Ouch. 

Lastly, I had a 5k TT on Sunday. Boom, y'all. I ran that dude in 27:11. I remember when 33:50 was a HUGE deal for me. I am so stoked to be able to run a sub-30 5k This is a big, big deal for me that I've been working toward since 2012. I set three goals in November of 2012 - run a sub-30 5k, run a half marathon, and fit into my pre-pregnancy clothes. I can happily say I have achieved all three of these goals (quite some time ago...).

I came home from my TT to this guy, happy kids, waffles, and coffee. #bestsherpaever

So. Mileage for the week (big push before a recover/assessment week):

Swim - 3.1

Bike - 102

Run - 19

14 weeks

Well. This week was about picture perfect. I didn't move anything around and had some great discussions with my coach about lots of things. Apparently, I am NOT a three-days-in-a-row runner. Reserving Sunday for rest day was forcing my last run of the week to be my first run of the week (from Sunday to Monday) and I had a really hard time getting through 8 miles on Wednesday because of it. I decided to skip the Sunday run this week (that would have been 5 days of running) and move start fresh this coming Sunday with a 5k TT.

This week was a good mix. I started off with some tough runs and had some fun on the trainer in Zone 2.

I also learned that Zone 5 is meant to crush your soul and make you doubt the existence of mercy and grace. Finn ran his first 5k (and subsequently barfed all over my kitchen - I don't think he was ready for the leap from 2 to 3!).

Saturday was a 3:15 trainer ride and a launch party for John's athletes. We went to 8th Wonder Brewery and I got to meet some new people and catch up with some friends I hadn't seen in a while. I'm super grateful for this support system and really enjoyed my time with teammates (and NOT in spandex!).

I finished up the night with a date with my sweet hubby. We had sushi and coffee and talked (uninterrupted!) about lots of things. Sunday was a much-needed rest day. We did church and family stuff and Cub Scout stuff and enjoyed our day.

So there ya have it. Mileage for the week:

Swim - 2.9

Bike - 90

Run - 21

15 weeks

Wow! What a week! Nailed all of my workouts (FINALLY), even if I did have to move them around quite a bit. Winter arrived in Houston this week... and it's gone.

We started out in the sandbox with no shirts on...

And finished off the week with 25-degree temps...

Daniel's Pinewood Derby was this weekend and guess who was in charge? Yup. #momlife

I had to move my long ride to Friday so that I could spend 8 hours at the church on Sunday emceeing the PWD. Sadly, my little man did NOT do well this year. After dominating his rank for the last two years, his little buds were out for blood and blood they had. Poor Daniel. His car had something wrong with one of the axles and he had a terrible showing. Talk about some alligator tears.

Anywho, we also got good news this week - we don't have to turn the expander anymore! We celebrated with froyo at Zoyo and a little bit of an early checkout at school.

My long run was pretty great. I ran into some friends who did IMTX last year. They offered to do my long runs with me as long as they can. Talk about feeling abundantly blessed! It was actually cold that day and I got to wear sleeves. Woohoo! Yay Tiff and Karissa!!!

Finn has found a new "favorite spot" to hang out while I spin. You guessed it - on the couch where he does NOT belong. I spun for almost 3 hours on Friday and finally got around to watching Iron Man. Like the Marvel version with Robert Downy Jr. I liked it. My movie list is growing and I have 15 weeks left to watch a TON of movies while my legs spin, spin, spin to nowhere.

I ended the week with 2000 yards in the pool. My kids joined me for the last few laps and we had a great time. The day is drawing near! 102 days, baby!

By the numbers:

Swim - 2.56

Bike - 85

Run - 17.45

16 weeks

I am beginning to wonder if a week will come where SOMETHING doesn't happen to make me feel like I'm having to turn myself inside out to make training happen. This week, Daniel had a stomach bug. I had plans to spend Wednesday at the gym, but Daniel was up all night. I'll spare you the details, but suffice it to say that I had to buy him new underwear at Target yesterday. I also missed my 5K TT because my legs cramped up on me and refused to move like I needed them to.

We made it out to Moody Gardens on Thursday for the Festival of Lights and my kids' first time to ice skate. We went with Mel and her family, who are all about all things ice. Both Jason and Mel played hockey in college, so they were the perfect friends to help us get our skates underneath us (I say "we," but I really mean "them" because mama is not about the risk her Irondreams for a broken wrist or a busted tail bone 110 days out from race day!).

But WHATEVER, man. I jumped on my (brand new!) trainer at 3:30 Friday afternoon for my long ride and managed to get everything else in.

I also learned that trainer rides are more fun with Snapchat...

Saturday was NYE and we spent the day out at 4S Farms, which was an epic way to ring in 2017. Gumbo, skeet, fireworks, dogs, horses - country living at its finest!

We spent New Year's Day watching Rogue One with our besties and eating the obligatory ham, blackeyed peas, and cabbage with my folks. I bought us some sparkling grape juice to toast 2017 and declared the coming year the year of the Ironman, the year of Buddy's fixed back, the year of Gram's fixed knees, the year that Daddy fixes his job, the year of orthodontics, and the year that Lia continues to grow into the amazing young woman she's already becoming. 

So there ya have it. Week 16. 

Mileage:

Swim - 1.87 miles

Bike - 56 miles

Run - 6.7 (YIKES!)