kissing a wet september goodbye!

It was a LONG month here.


September Goals
Don't get angry at the HR monitor.  It's your stupid heart. Mostly success.  Mostly.
Figure out race day clothes and train in them before race day.  I MEAN IT THIS TIME.  Done and done...at least until Mother Nature threw a 40º-temperature drop at us.
Put some green stuff in the recovery smoothie. I tried it, I didn't like, I'm moving on...
Make Molly "Happy Birthday" pupcakes.  We decided to celebrate her birthday with Graham's this month, but she did have some puppy frozen yogurt.
Do the core work on the day it is actually scheduled. Mostly a win, until my back went nuts.
Start taking pictures again!  Your cell phone is not a nice camera. Done!


I made a lot of decisions in September.  I decided to change my A race, I decided to bring a sexy new ride home, and I decided not to to not to am still deciding to ride it in the A race.  I followed my training plan pretty perfectly.  I survived two incredibly tough weeks of peak training that ended with a triumphant training race and only ended up skipping a few workouts in the pool due to a spastic back.  But other than that minor tweak, I am thrilled about how September went down.  I ran more miles this month than I have since February, and every single one felt healthy and strong (although many were quite slow).  My naggy shin went away, my bruised foot went away, and I can feel my curvy glutes getting bigger and stronger.  My cycling was about on par with August, and up through last week, my swimming was only getting faster.  Going into next weekend's race, I feel solid.  I don't feel like I'm going to set any records, but I feel pretty confident that I'm going to have the really well-executed race that I need mentally to send me into the off-season.


I spent August going up and down with my nutrition - both on and off the bike/run - and I think I've finally got it settled down.  I'm still about 3lbs higher than the racing weight I was targeting, which is way okay.  I had a lot of trouble adjusting my intake to my training schedule last month, but I seem to have figured out how to get the food I need without being starving at 6pm.  I also have finally figured out my liquid-only bike nutrition.  Yesterday I had a very short brick, but I had no stomach problems on the bike or the run or after the workout, which is a first for sure.  


October is a huge month of celebration for our family.  3 out of 4 of us will grow older.  It's solidly autumn, which means hoodies, thick socks, burning leaves and beers getting darker every day.  After Waterman's is over, swimming and cycling will become more recreational for a while to let me to focus on strengthening the run leading into the Richmond half marathon.  I already have one lazy Saturday cycling tour planned, and I'm hoping to add a few others.  Looking further ahead, I can see that October-November is going to be the time to get all the fun little stuff out of the way before IM base training starts in December/January/February.  I'll hope to jump into a few races - I would love to have a real 10M PR - and keep building the big fat aerobic base I'll need for next June.  Because whether I'm in IM training or not right now, I need to be making good decisions about my training that will keep me healthy and strong all the way up until the day I toe that line.


September
Miles run: 96
Beers consumed with either "pumpkin" or "porter" in the name: at least 3 dozen
Blog posts mostly about puppies: 3
Blog posts mostly about my ass: 5
Half marathons destroyed as a training run: 1
Days spent going taper crazy so far: 2
Days left of taper: 5
Days left until I start drinking beer and eating ice cream again: 5


October Goals
The goal at Waterman's is execution.  Don't forget.
Keep working the Z2 run and DON'T LOOK AT PACE.
Branch out into the squash vegetables.  
Don't stop doing the broken butt exercises.
Take time to enjoy recovery and celebrate!