Training Week #3
2014
Monday:
PM – 35-minute treadmill run at a “steady pace” (slower than tempo but faster than race pace). Unfortunately, I had some right knee pain during this run. I ran for a while before I felt any discomfort, but once I felt a twinge, I stopped and re-started to ensure my form was strong. I have found that when I slow down when my knee is not happy, it often feels worse. So, after stopping a couple of time and re-starting, I still felt the twinge. I actually sped up my pace for a short time and it felt better. I then brought my pace back down to what I was targeting, and all was good. This just re-affirms that I need to keep stretching a priority amongst all this training.
Average pace: 8:36 for 5.17 miles…this pace was in the range of what I was hoping for. It is the same pace that I averaged for my 30-minute steady pace run last week.
Tuesday:
AM – 80 minutes on the bike trainer with the focus on cadence. I rode various sets from low cadence to mid cadence to high cadence. This was a challenging set, but the amount of times you have to change gears and keep an eye on the cadence reading, helps the time to pass.
PM – 1900 yard swim with the focus on speed! The main set of this swim included 8x100s at a moderate pace with short 15 second rest and then 50 FAST followed by a 30 second rest. This was a tough set and I really focused on maintaining the SHORT rest intervals. I was happy that each of my 100s fell between 1:48-1:49. Yay for consistency!
Wednesday:
PM – 70-minute run on the treadmill. I actually misread the instructions on my plan and instead of performing this run at target race pace, I ran it at steady pace, which is 30-sec/mile faster. I had some issues on the run. I started the run with some nutrition available, but it was not enough. I ended up having 2 Gus and 2 individual shot blocks and needing full calorie Gatorade (I usually drink G2 – the low cal version) to finish the run. Luckily, Tony was home and checked on me and brought me one of the GUs and the Gatorade, so I could finish up. I was able to have a decent run, despite having a couple of times feeling “low on fuel”. Obviously, I need to plan better next time. I finished the run with 8.2 miles at 8:32 pace.
Thursday:
AM – 55 minutes on the bike trainer with the focus on big gears and low cadence. I felt pretty good during the workout despite my legs feeling a bit fatigued from the run.
PM – 2200-yard swim – This was a hard one to get going. I was VERY tired prior to starting workout, but I just told myself to go and get it done. (Before leaving work, one of my co-workers actually commented “you look wiped”…well that says enough). All in all, I was happy with my swim (I surprised myself!!!). The main set focused on 3×10 minutes steady swim with only 1-minute rest between intervals. I was able to stay fairly consistent with the 3 sets timed at 9:55, 10:03 and 10:01. I did not want to fall below 10:00 for the 500 sets (generally speaking, 10 minutes is about 500 yards for me), but given my low energy level, I felt like I pushed through. I was pleased that I was able to overcome my fatigue and have a decent swim. Maintaining a 2:00 overall pace for 1500 yards total (with very little rest) is a pretty good workout for me.
Friday: REST DAY!!!
Saturday:
AM – 1800-yard swim with focus on speed work. The main set included 200s, 100s and 25s. I was most pleased with my 200 sets and maintaining a 1:52 pace (per 100 yards) for these sets. The five 100s averaged 1:49. Slowly making progress….
PM – 40-minute recovery run on the treadmill – 4.23 miles with average pace of 9:28, which is on point for this recovery run. Heart rate averaged 148 and I was happy to keep the HR low. The time passed fast because I watched an episode of the Bachelor on the laptop!
Sunday: Group Ride
A couple of things that make me smile about this week:
1 – Even though I was battling low nutrition on my Wednesday run, I pushed through and finished strong.
2 – Flipping the mental switch to “get my swim done” Thursday when I was feeling very tired and unmotivated.
Totals:
Time: 10 hours 1 minute
Swim: 5,900 yards
Bike: 66.84 miles
Run: 17.6 miles
Stretching/foam rolling: Some, but not enough!
Enough Said…
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