posted by Lee@Tri*Inspired*Life on Triathlon

This week marked another recovery week and I think the timing was perfect. Time to scale back a bit after three solid weeks of quality training.

Monday:
PM: 2700-yard swim was planned. I got through my warm-up and a little over half of the main set, when the lifeguards notified the swimmers that thunder had been heard and the pool would be closing for a minimum of 30 minutes. I thought I was in the clear when I arrived at the pool. We had thunderstorms move through the area a bit earlier.  I called the pool after I left work and the pool was closed to swimming at the time but planned to re-open in 10 minutes. Since it seemed like the main line of storms had already moved through, I thought all would be good to get in my full swim. I was ready to get through this workout so I was bummed that I had to end early.  I was able to complete 1825 yards.

Tuesday:
AM: 1 hour yoga: This session felt especially great this morning. I knew I still had plenty of tightness from the weekend’s training sessions, so my body definitely needed it.

PM: 30 mile ride with the TriLife group. It was a rain and thunderstorm free evening, so I was happy! The weather was beautiful with the temperatures in the low 70s when we clipped in. This group ride had a good turn out and lots of variety in pacing. There was a group tagged to ride 20+, a group to ride under 20 and then a third group to ride around 16. The first two groups rode off together to get in the warm up and would further break up after we got going. It was a quick paced warm-up, but we all hung together. After about 10-15 minutes into the ride, the 20+ small group took off and then the rest of us in the second group were rolling. As we settled in, you see others that are naturally hanging together. I ended up riding with two others and we worked together and alternated taking the lead. As is typical, this was a good, challenging ride and I pushed myself. We ended up with an average pace of 19.1. I will take it!!!

Unfortunately, my right glute and hip were feeling pretty achy that evening afterward. Tony rubbed it out which helped, but I was sore.

Wednesday:
I had planned to run in the morning, but due to my soreness, I decided to pass on the run. I had a PT appointment that evening, so this ended up being a training free day. My PT gave me a couple new drills to work on and he also watched me run on the treadmill. His main feedback for me was that he wants me to work on increasing my cadence. He suggested that if I have “quicker” feet, there would be a lessened impact to my body. I have never really been able to maintain a 90 cadence consistently, usually mid to upper 80s, so this is something I will definitely be focusing on.

Thursday:
PM: 22.5 mile ride from the TriLife store.  There was a smaller turn out for this ride, as compared to Tuesday, but still decent.   The first 3o minutes or so as we headed out were very quick. The pace eased up cosiderably in the miiddle and then back up a bit toward the end.  Tony rode this ride too, so I stuck with him and two other guys for most of the ride.  It was awesome that we had better weather this week and I was able to ride outside twice with the group!

Friday:

Saturday:
8-mile run outside.  The weather for the entire weekend looked gloomy and chilly, so we got out mid-morning with the plan to complete the run before showers moved in.  Tony and I ran from the house throughout the surrounding neighborhoods.  This is a tough route with lots of hills. The exact route we had run a few weeks ago, but just added on an additional mile. I felt pretty good on this run, but did not seem to have an extra gear for my pace, especially early on. I was not really trying to push it too much, but my effort should have dictated a quicker pace. No concerns though, as it was recovery week.  We made it home before the chilly rain, so great timing!

Sunday:
3100-yard swim:  This was a good swim for me. I had not swum anything over 500 yards (in a continuous set) in quite some time and the first set of 600 felt very smooth in the water and my balance and timing were good.  My 300s were very consistent with one another. The 200s were pretty much in line with the fast/moderate/slow efforts I used. The 100s were not as the pace I would have liked, but I was definitely feeling some fatigue and as a result I felt my form compromise a bit, but overall, a lot of good stuff to take away!

I will share this workout with you since I don’t think I have before. I think it is a good one and I encourage you to give it a try!

W/U: 500 easy mix with swim/drills/pull/kick incorporated throughout
Main Set (2400 yds):
-600 easy-to-moderate, 1min rest
-2×300 easy/moderate, :30sec rest between intervals
-3×200 easy/moderate/fast, :30sec rest between intervals
-6×100 build each 100, :30sec rest between intervals
C/D: 200 easy

Later that day…..

…….just what I needed.  It had been entirely too long since my last massage and I am a big proponent of them, especially during training.  I finally got one scheduled and it was awesome!

Total training time:  6 hours 48 minutes
Swim: 4,925 yards
Bike: 52.4 miles
Run: 8 miles
Other: 1 hour

I also incorporate twice daily PT exercises that are meant to strengthen/stretch my glutes, hamstrings and re-align my hips. This probably averages about 25 minutes a day and I have not included that in the above totals. However, this is probably one of the smartest things I am doing daily!

Tags: Training