make a run for it: Ironman Week 3

1/16-1/22

Monday
rest
This was a looong day of travel coming back from Houston. I was pretty sore after a night of sleeping and being stuck on a plane for 4+ hours did not help. Most entertaining part of the day: being asked by a flight attendant as I disembarked the plane if I needed a wheelchair - ha! I guess my hobbling looked worse than I thought : ) I was pretty exhausted when we got in to Sacramento, but was happy to find that my new shoes (in the right size this time) had arrived! They're the new 2012 color and very blue, but they'll get the job done.

en route

Tuesday
rest
I had a swim and bike on the schedule for the day, but my legs were still killing me, so I decided take another rest day and nix the ride and push the swim to the next day. I ended up moving a few other things around this week and felt sort of guilty for skipping a couple things, but then I reminded myself that I did just race a marathon and I need to listen to my body. I know in the big picture it won't make a difference, but I'm glad the week is behind me and I'm eager to tackle every workout this next week!

Wednesday
pm: swim / 1,650 yds / 0:38
I skipped my conditioning class and a 20 minute run since there was no way my legs were ready for that and instead hit up the pool for another afternoon swim. It was an absolutely beautiful day, and so nice to once again swim while the sun was still out. It was a pretty straightforward workout with an emphasis on endurance with some 350s. I could tell my muscles were still a little tired but it also felt really great on my legs.

warm-up:

200
6x50 fast on 1:30

main: 3x350 @ 2:05 on 8:00
cool-down: 100

such a lovely day for a swim!

Thursday
pm: swim / 1,800 yds / 0:50
I hit up the pool again, this time after work. It was finally raining and a bit chilly out, but once I was in the water it was great! I always dread having to swim in the rain and I don't know why, because I absolutely love it once I'm actually doing it. This ended up being my longest swim workout of training thus far but was broken up up with drills for the main set.

I did try a new-to-me drill called swim golf! I had to Google it, but here's what I came up with: first you swim 50 yards and note both the time and number of arm strokes, then add them together to get your "par score". Then you do a set of 50s and try to reduce your score either with a faster time or fewer strokes. The drill is meant to work on stroke efficiency, but to be honest, I found that the math aspect of it made it way too complicated! I kept losing track of my stroke count or the time. I sort of got the hang of it after a few trys, but mainly I just focused on pulling harder with each stroke.

warm-up: 300
main:

4x75 (25 R side kick, 25 L side kick, 25 swim), RI 15
100 moderate-fast
4x75 (25 R arm, 25 L arm, 25 swim), RI 15
100 moderate-fast
8x50 swim golf, RI 20

cool-down: 300

steamy

Friday
rest

Saturday
am: run / 5 mi / 0:46 / avg 9:12
My legs finally felt good enough to try a run this morning. I reminded myself to take it easy but a few things felt tight right from the start. I actually managed a pretty decent pace but my muscles weren't too happy by the end. I know this is normal immediately following a marathon, but I'm hoping with a bit more rest they'll start feeling better soon.

pm: swim / 1,500 yds / 0:36
I spent my Saturday night at the pool since I apparently don't have much of a social life ; ) Not surprisingly I had the pool to myself and ended up having a pretty good workout. The rain had cleared earlier in the day so it was a beautiful evening to be in the water. It was also a perfect way to shake out my sore legs after the morning's run.

warm-up:

300
100 kick

main set: 4x225 @ 2:00 on 4:45
cool-down: 4x50

Sunday
am: bike / 23.45 mi / 1:30 / avg 15.5 mph
I was hoping the rain would hold off for my morning ride and woke up to cloudy skies but no rain : ) I had an easy 90 minutes in zone 2 on deck so I hopped on the bike trail for an out-and-back. It's that time of year when the trail is bustling with both runners and cyclists but it was nice to have some company. I forgot to wear my HR monitor so I just focused on my effort. I felt great on the out, easily averaging between 16-17 mph, but on the way back it suddenly felt very difficult to maintain the same speed. There was a headwind so that may have something to do with it, but it was a little frustrating nonetheless. I keep reminding myself that I haven't been riding much and with more consistency I'll get faster, but I'm impatient : )