Week 4 in Review: Nutrition Successes!

Hello from the comfort of my couch! I am wearing compression socks and I have been watching the Food Network for hours because I love it the remote is out of my reach and I have both a sleeping pug and ice packs on my legs.

Ironman training week numero 4 was great! I hit almost all of my workouts and I really dialed in my nutrition for my long run and ride this weekend which left me feeling fantastic even at the ends of the workouts.

The numbers:
Swim:  1.4 miles
Bike:    105 miles 
Run:     20.48 miles
Total:   126.88 woop!
For Saturday's 12 mile run I focused on keeping my heart rate low, drinking 8 ounces of water every 20 minutes, taking a salt pill every hour-ish and eating a gel every 35 minutes. I totaled 40 ounces of water, 410 calories in gels, and 1 salt pill at the half way point. I finished the run feeling great- my stomach was happy, I was digesting the calories well, and I felt like I could have kept running for hours. The wonderful company also made the run feel close to effortless!

Before run

After run. woo hoo!

For Sunday's 80 mile ride I focused on the same things- low heart rate, tons of water, salt, and calories. I took in about 130 ounces of water, 3 salt pills, and over 800 calories in gels and other snacks. Speaking of snacks, Whitney eating goldfish while in her aero bars is pretty impressive. She packs a whole 5th grader lunch in her bento box! I finished the long and windy ride well energized but with tired legs, as expected. I felt hungry by the end of the ride so I think I should have eaten more during the ride. I walked in my apartment door after the ride and walked right to the fridge to polish off leftovers from dinner last night. 

before bike ride

after bike ride.

 Other than training this weekend, I got to spend some quality time with my parents who drove down from Philadelphia for the weekend! We always has a ton of fun together. Saturday afternoon we decided to go bowling. I thought I was a bad bowler...until I saw my mom play. She has now been given the nickname "Bumpers" because she needs bumpers on the bowling lane to save the ball from going in the gutter.

Dads awesome form

Bumpers hard at work

 Another bonus of my parents coming to visit? Six containers of Mom's homemade pasta sauce, tons of fresh fruit and tomatoes from the garden. Yes!

 Time for bed. Me and this furball are having a hard time keeping our eyes open. Goodnight!