The Iron Shecky

Being surrounded by amazing triathletes every day makes it hard not to become addicted to this crazy sport!  As I prepare for my Half Ironman, a ridiculous feat in itself, many of my ATC friends are either preparing for their Full Ironman races or have just completed them. I have been toying with the idea of an Ironman for next year and I was planning on waiting until after Augusta to make the decision.  But..... after talking with teammates and reading race reports from Augusta, I knew I was in. (Lauren, yours was the just the push I needed.) Registration opened on Sunday, and first thing Monday morning, I was checking out the course and the registration process.  Tuesday morning, I went back to the Ironman site and went through the entire registration process.  I put in my credit card number and sat there for a few minutes staring at the "complete your purchase" button.  My hand was on the mouse, and I wasn't really sure what to do.  Eventually, ...

Sheryl's Total Training Miles - Updated through August 26 Bike 511.5 miles Swim 42,090 yds Run 151.41 miles I have been asked this week about my blog and why I haven't been writing.  The truth - I have been too busy training!  When I get home, I want to relax and go right to sleep.  I will do my best over these next 33 days (I can't believe its almost here) to keep you updated at least once a week. 8/6 Monday Night Swim  - 6 100s moderate pace, 6 100s negative split, 6 100s fast This swim felt amazing.  I was able to negative split on the middle 100s and then leave it all in the pool for the last 6. 8/7 Tuesday Night Run  - Easy run 3 miles; 11:57 pace Because my IT Band has been hurting and I have a race coming up, I didn't want to push too much. 8/8 Cycle at Silver Comet  - 3.57 miles; 15.4mph I tried to get some cycling in before my race, but a storm got in the way.  As soon as I heard the large clap of thunder, I...

Sheryl's Total Training Miles - Updated through August 5 Bike 413 miles Swim 33,390 yds Run 93.21 miles It has been a rough few weeks since vacation.  I have trained for 10 days straight without a day off.  I am certainly exhausted!  Unfortunately, I didn't make it to the Monday night swim and I was very upset.  Even though I swam 4 times last week, I still would like to make it to the group swim each week. Tuesday Night Run This week the greenies decided to up the game and run 5 miles. Instead of turning right out of Road Runner sports, we went left and headed down Roswell Road briefly.  We ran through a few side streets before we got to Chastain Park.  I felt ok on this run, but my IT band really started to hurt around mile 2.  I pushed through the pain, but had to stop and walk somewhere around the 3 mile mark.  The route itself was not overly hilly until the end.  Near the beginning, there were 2 long, gradual hills which I was...

I know what you are thinking.  "Sheryl, are you still training?  We haven't heard from you in a while."  I have not been slacking at the training, just at the writing! I have been working so hard for the last few weeks. I took off the day after the triathlon at lake Hartwell and hopped right back in the pool for a Monday night Swim.  This swim was a little rough.  We did a ladder, starting at 100, going up to 400 and then back down to 100.  I felt great doing the set, but it wore me out.  In wave J before the Start I took off Tuesday night, because of the Peachtree Road Race the next day.  My mom and I woke up early and Scott dropped us off at the 10th St Marta Station. The train was extremely crowded.  Its a good thing we rode the train while everyone was fresh and clean instead of on the way back after everyone is stinky!   We got off the train in Buckhead and walked to the start. My mom was racing in wave G and I was in J...

Sheryl's total training miles - updated through July 29 Bike 347 miles Swim 32,590 yds Run 75.08 miles I got back from vacation and jumped right back into training. I missed Wednesday and Thursday of the first week due to traffic and some friends being in town.  I feel like I have come a long way on the runs and bikes in these two weeks.  I certainly gained a ton of confidence in both.  WEEK 1 Monday Night Swim: 4 400's holding the same pace, 4 100's descend 1-4 I felt great on the 400s, keeping a steady pace.  The 100s were a little harder, but I was able to push myself at a fast pace.  The last 100 we did off the block and I managed to go a 1:13.  Its not what I used to be able to do, but I am ok with that for now. Tuesday Night Run: 4.16 miles at 12:04 pace This was my first run since the Peachtree, almost 2 weeks prior.  The first 2 and a half miles were great, but the end of this run is pretty hilly.  The l...