posted by Lee@Tri*Inspired*Life on Ironman

Week #11 was probably the highlight week so far for my training. To date, I have had some good weeks, but usually they are good for the swim and run, but not the bike or good for the bike and run, but not the swim, etc…you get my drift. This week was spot on for all three disciplines. It was a tiring and challenging week, but I was pleased with how my body responded to the work.

Monday 4/21:

AM – Tempo run (speed work) on the treadmill. This run was a good start to the training week. I had pushed my pace for the last tempo run; however, those intervals were 4×5 minutes and this run was 2×10 minute intervals. While the total time was the same, it was a challenge keeping the pace for the longer intervals, but I pushed through and held it. My first 10-minute interval was 7:33 average pace and the second was 7:31 average pace. I was happy, but tired, at the end!

PM – 2500-yard swim with the main set focusing on speed sets including 3×300; 3×200; 12x25s (odds fast, evens easy). I find it very interesting how the body responds sometimes. I often experience those days where your body (and mind) are NOT into training. Whether it is tiredness or lack of motivation, you just do not want to push the workout that day. Then there are days when you are ready to get going AND feel good during the workout, but the results are just not what you expect (JUST like one of my swims from the prior week). Well, this swim was kind of a mix up between feelings. I felt fine to get started and during the warm-up, but when I started my first interval in the main set, I felt like I was swimming through concrete! Literally, it was taking all my effort to move, but it felt like I was at a snail’s pace. I felt like this even into my second interval, but did start to loosen up. Well, to my surprise, I had some solid times. I was kind of scared to check out the time when I completed the first interval, but I literally shook my head when I saw my time. I completed the main set of 1800 yards at an average pace of 1:53. Bottom line is that you should always push yourself through thoughts and feelings of self-doubt or lack of performance. Even if you end up having a “not so great” training session, you never know when you will end up having a great one if you JUST stick with the plan!

Tuesday 4/22:           

PM – 90 minutes on the bike trainer. This workout, I began with low RPMs and adjusted the effort and gearing as necessary every minute to end the 10-minute interval at 105 RPMs. This was performed four times with no rest between. It was then finished up with 4×5 minutes with high cadence on odd intervals and low cadence on even. This was a good workout for me. The first few minutes I was feeling some fatigue in my legs, but after I got really good and warmed up, I felt better (this is fairly typical for me). I felt like I was pushing my effort levels really well. After my session, I checked my average watts and I had improved my reading 13 points since the last time I did the exact same workout from about two weeks ago. I was happy with this longer trainer ride, but was hoping that I had something left in my legs for my long run the next evening!

Wednesday 4/23:

PM – 1 hour 50 minute run on the greenway – Wow! What an awesome run! I was hurting at the end, but I truly felt awesome for the majority of this run. I was pushing my pace pretty good…this was not a purposeful decision; I was just feeling good, so I thought it was appropriate. I definitely felt the results of my efforts during the last couple of miles. My glutes and hammies were burning! I was able to maintain a pace that I am super-duper proud of for 12.26 miles. I have never come close to maintaining this pace for a run this long. WOO HOO!!

Split	Time	Distance	Avg Pace
Summary	1:50:06.3	12.26	8:59
1	9:24.6	1.00	9:25
2	9:05.0	1.00	9:05
3	8:59.9	1.00	9:00
4	8:52.5	1.00	8:53
5	9:07.0	1.00	9:07
6	8:52.8	1.00	8:53
7	8:51.6	1.00	8:52
8	8:52.7	1.00	8:53
9	8:58.9	1.00	8:59
10	8:55.0	1.00	8:55
11	9:00.6	1.00	9:01
12	8:49.6	1.00	8:50
13	2:15.9	0.26	8:41

I must give a high five to my hubbie. Once again, he joined me on this long run. I just have to reiterate that he is NOT training for anything…he chooses to go with me for support and safety. This is the same for my long bike rides. Even though he is a two-time Ironman, these distances are not easy for someone that is not consistently training/building up to longer mileage. He takes the hard way and participates on the long ones only! I could NOT ask for better support from him!!

Thursday 4/24:

AM – The morning after my long run, I tackled 65 minutes on the bike trainer where the focus was on big gears/low cadence (55-65 RPMs). Essentially the main set included 5×5 minute intervals with 5 minutes active recovery between intervals. I was definitely feeling my efforts from the night before, but tried to maintain my watts and not let the readings fall too low. It was a tough session, but I pushed through!

PM – 2200-yard swim with the main set focusing on speed with 10x(100 moderate/:15sec rest/50 FAST), :30sec rest between intervals. This was a solid speed set for me. I was able to improve my times a bit since the last time I swam these intervals. The 100 sets ranged between 1:47-1:49 (all below 1:50…YAY!!!) and the 50s 1:44/1:45 pace.

Friday 4/25:

REST DAY!!!

Saturday 4/26:

It was a beautiful morning for a bike ride. Tony and I headed out around 9am for a planned 4-hour ride. After 10 minutes into the ride, I had a flat!! I had just changed the tire that morning, so we knew it was a pinch flat. We were in a gas station parking lot, so at least we were in a safe location for bike maintenance. Tony immediately decided to ride back to the house (since we were so close) to grab a can of flat repair while I was changing my tire. I had a CO2 cartridge, but we wanted to be prepared in case something else happened during the ride. As I prepared to put my spare tube on the wheel, I immediately saw a hole in the spare tube! YIKES!

I quickly called Tony in hopes that he was still home. Luckily he was and he was able to bring back two tubes and the can of flat repair. I got the tire changed and we were finally back on the road! We had a good (UNEVENTFUL) rest of the ride.

During the ride, I really focused more on the timing of my nutrition and the system worked well. I have always tried to drink every 10 minutes and eat every 20 minutes. I basically did the same, but when I hit the 20 minute mark I would eat something and then again before 10 minutes passed. I don’t have a tendency to eat a lot at one time, so by having a planned “eating period” of 10 minutes every 20 minutes, I seemed to eat more and the timing was good. Tony also encouraged me to work on staying aero on the hills, as much as possible. I tried to push myself and hold to the aero position during times I would normally sit upright. It was a good challenge!

The weather was really awesome and just right for a long ride.  The wind was much kinder to us as it had been during the past few weeks.  We finished up the four hours at 71 miles and an average speed of 17.7mph.

After a long ride and a well-deserved afternoon relaxing on the couch, there would be no cooking dinner at home. We went out for Mexican food and margaritas!

Sunday 4/27:

Session #1 – 2950-yard swim…this was another endurance set. The main set was 3×750 with 1-minute rest between intervals. I felt good in the water and put in good times. I was happy to see some improvement from when I last did these intervals and that I was able to generally hold the same pace for the three sets. My times were 14:36, 14:41 and 14:40 for the 750s. This gave me an average pace of 1:57 for the 2250 main set.

Session #2 – After the long ride on Saturday and then having just finished a long swim, I was not sure how much in had in the tank for the planned steady run of 60 minutes. I was on the treadmill and for the first couple of miles, I was feeling plenty of fatigue in my legs. However, they did start to loosen and I felt good. I was hoping to keep my average pace from the last steady one-hour run I did the week before. I was happy that I improved my average pace (a little bit) over my last steady effort run. I got in 7.18 miles at an average pace of 8:21. What an awesome way to end this training week!

Totals:

Time: 13 hours 40 minutes

Swim: 7,650 yards

Bike: 101.92 miles

Run: 24.32 miles

Stretching/foam rolling: Some, but not enough!

Tags: Ironman, Training