Last week was a special week. Not only did I have a strong week of half Ironman training (enjoying a recovery week!); I got to return to the place where I completed my first half Ironman last year – as a spectator. Understanding the hard work and sacrifice getting to that day means, feeling the swell of emotions as I watched everyone on the course and thinking about my own race in less than 4 weeks was overwhelming, inspiring and motivating all at the same time. I came home on Sunday ready to tackle October head-on and make my last month of training count before the Beach2Battleship Half Ironman (in 26 days … but who’s counting?).

Here’s what my half Ironman training looked like last week.

Monday
REST

Tuesday
Biked 1 hour and 10 minutes on the trainer with 26 minutes at tempo pace (16.87 miles)

Wednesday
AM: Swam 1,800 meters
300-meter warm up
8 x 25-meter drills with 10 seconds of recovery between each
4 x 100 meters at moderate pace with 5 seconds of recovery between each
6 x 100 at maximum intensity with 1 minute of recovery between each
300-meter cool down

PM: Ran a 40-minute tempo run (4.7 miles) on the treadmill, including a 10 minute warm-up, 20 minutes at 7:35 tempo pace and a 10-minute cool down

Thursday
Biked 1 hour and 15 minutes on the trainer at a steady moderate pace (18.42 miles)

Friday
Ran 13 miles at an average 8:36 pace (total time: 1:52) before work at the Chattahoochee River with my good friend Tammy. My last 2 miles were my fastest miles of the run (8:21 and 8:00). This was such a great way to start the day and kick off the weekend.

Saturday
I had a brick scheduled for Saturday, but because I was leaving for Augusta on Saturday afternoon to cheer on my friends at the Augusta 70.3 IRONMAN, I also squeezed my Sunday swim into the day.

Swam 2,000 meters straight (long easy swim)

Biked 1 hour and 15 minutes on the trainer (18.67) immediately followed by a 3-mile run outside with progressive miles at 8:35, 8:14 and 7:51. I was really happy with how good I felt on the run after the swim and bike.

Sunday
I must have walked and jogged about 6 miles on Sunday while spectating for the Augusta 70.3 IRONMAN. It was such a fun day. I helped my pal Amy (@alauth) with all her race day logistics – getting to transition, going to the swim start, transporting gear, etc. It was so fun being a Sherpa. Maybe more fun than racing. Maybe.

As I watched all my friends on the course, a huge swell of emotions overcame me as I remembered my own half Ironman in Augusta last year and as I thought about all the training, time, sweat and emotion I’ve put in during the last 16 weeks for Beach2Battleship later this month. I’ll be talking more about my spectator experience later this week, but I highly recommend going to a big race and spectating before your own. It gives you a renewed sense of motivation. A strengthened sense of appreciation for what you’re doing and for the people you train with. And a constant reminder of how important the people who support us every day and on race day are in our lives.

Weekly Total: 77 miles, 8 workouts, 7 hours and 51 minutes
Swim: 2.36 miles
Bike: 53.96
Run: 20.7

This week is going to be a mega week of training with my longest ride before race day. Wish me luck. And sanity.

Do you like spectating at races? Does spectating fire you up for your next race or make you more nervous?