Another week in the books that I'm pretty happy about. We said goodbye to spring with the end of May, although with the rain and stormy weather we had the first several days of June it was hard to believe that summer was here. It was sort of a week of ups and downs: I finally set a new 5k PR (my previous was more than a year old), I fell again on my bike during an already miserable ride (my longest yet at 50 miles), and had a breakthrough in swimming when I upped my yardage significantly and swam more than my race distance for the first time. My legs really felt fatigued and heavy this week, so I ended it with some hot yoga to stretch things out. Still need to start running more, (I think this needs it's own post now), but at least my swimming and biking are looking pretty good!
Monday
run: 3.1 mi, 7:52 avg pace.
Ran the No Excuses 5k to finally get rid of my old PR and see what kind of time I could bust out. Ended up with a PR, but didn't quite hit my goal...and yes, I did have some excuses : )
swim: 1,200 yds, 30 min.
- warm-up: 200 (100 w/ pb)
- ladder: 50 (10s), 100 (15s), 150 (20s), 200 (25s), 150 (20), 100 (15s), 50
- cool-down: 200 (100 w/ pb)
rest.
Wednesday
swim: 1,700 yds, 45 min.
- warm-up: 300 (100 w/ pb)
- 4x50 (on the 1:05)
- 200 easy w/ pull buoy
- 4x50 (on the 1:05)
- 200 easy w/ pull buoy
- 2x100 (on the 2:20)
- 200 easy w/ pull buoy
- cool-down: 200
The last few times I'd swam I wasn't feeling all that tired when I finished my workout. So I figured it's time to start building the yardage to see where I'm at. My longest previous workout had been 1,500 yards, so today I combined a few sets from other workouts to go a little further. I actually felt pretty good and the extra 200 yards really didn't feel like much at all. Got a late start after work, though, and the sun was setting as I finished. There's something quite refreshing about swimming in the evenings, and I'm finding that I'm actually looking forward to my post-work swims!
Thursday
[brick]
bike: 21 mi, avg 17.6 mph.
Nothing too eventful about this ride, except that it was a beautiful day. The sky was full of fluffy white clouds and a cool breeze was blowing. As I rode I just stared at the sky in front of me, the sky looking more like a painting than reality. I didn't push the speed too much today as my legs felt a bit tired, but I finished feeling pretty good.
Another short and fast run with my pup. Although my body naturally runs faster on these bricks, I can tell my endurance has taken a hit. I think that's partly why I've been avoiding running more. While these runs are short, I'm still tired at the end, and I'm wondering if I need to slow them down a bit or try to go further. My poor pup also seems to have lost some fitness (or maybe I'm just going too fast for her right now) but she could hardly keep up! Note to self: start running more!
Friday
bike: 50 mi, avg 16.7 mph.
Ugh, I kind of don't even want to talk about this one. From the first mile my legs had nothing. Even in an easier gear they burned and I felt like I had nothing to give. Needless to say this was a bit worrisome at the start of a 50 miles ride. I hoped things would improve as I warmed up, but no such luck. I was having trouble hitting my usual speeds which was discouraging, and I really debated cutting the ride short since it was so miserable. I made it half way though, and as I stopped at a water fountain to fuel I went down. I unclipped on my right side but as I rolled from the pavement to the dirt, my tire turned a bit and threw me off balance, and since my left foot was still clipped in, I went down hard. Luckily no one was around to witness my fall, and I quickly took my foot out of my shoe to stand up. My left hand took a lot of the impact and felt pretty bruised and my knee was a bit scraped up, but overall I looked pretty good.My bike on the other hand, didn't fair so well. The left handlebar hood was bent in at an odd angle (reminding me of a broken arm!), and I was sure I had just broke my bike. I had a mini breakdown, and after crying for a minute in the middle of the road I figured I had some choices to make. I determined that my bike still worked; the chain had popped off so I put it back on, and despite being bent the breaks on the left side still worked. So technically, there was no reason I couldn't keep going and finish my ride, so I did. 24 more miles with a wonky handlebar. I felt a little better on the second half, but my left hand was tender so holding the handlebar was uncomfortable, and I just had no energy left. I was totally spent when I finished, both physically and mentally, and just collapsed as soon as I walked in the door. I know these rides happen, just like bad runs do, so I'm trying not to let it get to me. I took several days off from riding after and my legs are now feeling a little fresher.
my poor baby : (
p.s. It turns out that my handlebar was actually an easy fix, so she's all back to normal now!
swim: 2,200 yds, 55 min.
- warm-up: 300 (100 w/ pb)
- 4x50 (on the 1:05)
- 200 easy w/ pull buoy
- 2x100 (on the 2:20)
- 200 easy w/ pull buoy
- ladder: 50 (10s), 100 (15s), 150 (20s), 200 (20s), 150 (15s), 100 (10s), 50
- cool-down: 300
After successfully upping my yardage on Wednesday, I decided to take it even further. I combined a few faster sets with a longer, steady ladder and ended up with 500 more yards! Not only was thing my longest workout, but I also surpassed the distance of the swim for my upcoming half ironman (1.2 mi or 2,112 yds). Granted I didn't swim the distance straight without stopping, but at least I know I can even swim that much! I've also been trying to minimize my rest intervals between sets (i.e. the ladder breaks) and I'm finding I don't really need as much rest as I used to. This swim really felt like a breakthough, especially during the ladder. I think I've discovered that I need some time to warm-up, but once I do, I sort of get into a zone and can just swim. It was such a great feeling that I went even further than I had planned. Looking back at where I was just one month ago it's amazing the progress I've made! Definitely the mental boost I was needing, especially after my sucky ride on Friday.
Sunday
90 min hot yoga.
I had to be up super early to work at the expo for a race being put on by my work. It was an all women 5k downtown that finished in front of the Capitol. It was actually a really cool event with sponsors like Nike, Kaiser, and Whole Foods out there with booths and free stuff. It was pouring rain when I got there, but lucky for all the runners it stopped just in time for the race! It was weird to be at a race and not be running it, but it ended up being pretty fun and a nice change from working at the store. Thanks to the early start I was off by 1pm and had big plans for some workouts that afternoon (easy bike + yoga). But after catching lunch with my mom, I came home and promptly fell asleep : ) I haven't napped in forever and it felt great. An hour later I woke up and no longer had time for a bike ride, but did make it to hot yoga. I haven't been in months, but I was happy to find that I remembered all the poses and could still do them reasonably well. My legs really felt fatigued this week so the stretching felt great, and hot yoga ended up being a smart choice. I almost forgot what a workout it is, though, and I've been super sore several days since!
Nike Women's Fitness Festival 5k at the Capitol
finish line
swim - 5,100 yards
bike - 71 miles
run - 6.1 miles
*******************************************
May
Total: 306.95 miles
swim - 15,400 yards
bike - 259.8 miles
run - 38.4 miles
After recovering from my 50 miler in April, May marked the start of full swing triathlon training. Running took a backseat while I focused on swimming and riding, and by the end of the month I'd made improvements on both. I did run a couple races, including the ridiculous and infamous Bay to Breakers 12k in San Francisco, where it was more street party than race, and the No Excuses 5k where I set a new PR but totally bonked on the second half. Looking forward, I have my first triathlon of the season next weekend, my first Olympic distance, and then just a little more than a month til the big one. May was sort of the build-up phase for me, and June will be the peak of my training. I'm feeling pretty good, although my legs are always fatigued, I'm always tired, and my poor pinky finger is still wonky. Ha. Here's to the start of summer, warmer weather, and triathlon!
After recovering from my 50 miler in April, May marked the start of full swing triathlon training. Running took a backseat while I focused on swimming and riding, and by the end of the month I'd made improvements on both. I did run a couple races, including the ridiculous and infamous Bay to Breakers 12k in San Francisco, where it was more street party than race, and the No Excuses 5k where I set a new PR but totally bonked on the second half. Looking forward, I have my first triathlon of the season next weekend, my first Olympic distance, and then just a little more than a month til the big one. May was sort of the build-up phase for me, and June will be the peak of my training. I'm feeling pretty good, although my legs are always fatigued, I'm always tired, and my poor pinky finger is still wonky. Ha. Here's to the start of summer, warmer weather, and triathlon!
I ♥ SF [Bay to Breakers]
me & dad at the No Excuses 5k
I'm sorry to hear about your tough bike ride and fall. I'm definitely going through a falling period right now with my new shoes (fell again yesterday) so I feel your pain! I'm glad your bike was fixed quickly.
ReplyDeleteI'm also feeling like I need to run more but it's so hard to fit it in with biking and swimming. It's going to be a rough adjustment when I go back to marathon training...