Weeks 8 and 9 snuck up quick, but I was glad to see them. For some reason I really wanted to be in the second phase of training (weeks 10-16).

It feels like my husband and I have been working like dogs every weekend and most weeknights on our house and yard. We moved in mid-summer last year and it was pretty much too late to do anything before the fall, so we knew we were going to have to work hard this spring. Thankfully, we are jussssst about done and can now enjoy the fruits of our labor the rest of summer! But dang April and May were filled to the brim with landscaping, seeding, cleaning, gardening, digging, pulling out bushes, planting trees, 87 trips to Lowe’s and so much more.

I am most relieved that we got our deck stained because it needed it BAD. We watched the weather like hawks since we needed 3 solid days of no rain before and after. We had a big Memorial Day party so the pressure was on to get the deck and yard ready. We ended up staining the deck in one full night after work, but we were out there until 11:15PM! I couldn’t help but wonder how people maintain bigger houses and yards and still train for a full Ironman…like how would that possibly work?? I got up the next day at 5AM and thankfully only had an hour ride, but it was still brutal. It was a blessing in disguise that we still lived in the apartment when I was training for Lake Placid! All of the housework and yard work has left me pretty tired, but I’ve still managed to be pretty good about training. I’m struggling a bit on my log rides and runs. I don’t find it necessary to ride for 4 hours while training for a Half Ironman and I’ve already run 13+ miles as my long run. And the crazy thing is — I’m following the intermediate plan, not even the competitive. The good thing here is that I know my body and I know the distance. I know the training volumes I need to be able to compete well, which is just a few key weekends between now and July 14. Nothing to worry about except having fun! (And then relaxing on our awesome deck and see our beautiful yard!)

My old hand-me-down and tiny (read: crappy) treadmill broke at the end of week 7. (I can’t complain because it was free, but damn it I really hated that thing.) I was able to replace it fairly quick thanks to my husband who found a decently priced one on the app, Let Go.

It feels great to finally have a good treadmill!! It’s something I’ve dreamed about for seriously the past 10 years — not even joking.

My home gym in the basement is finally complete!

Week 8
Total Mileage: 94.4
Total Time: 10:19
Total Time Spent on Yard Work / House Work: 3643634634

Week 9
Total Mileage: 78.9
Total Time: 8:20

CHEERS to phase 2 of training!