Ironman Week 6

2/6-2/12

Monday
am: conditioning / 1:00
Another reason to get up early and get my sweat on? The reward of a chai latte : ) Leave it to Starbucks to have a cup for every holiday!

pm: swim / 1,900 yds / 0:50
I took advantage of my day off and hit up the pool after seeing my chiro about my ankle. Most of my swims are done long after the sun has gone down so it's a bit of a treat to go in the middle of the day. My goggles started leaking from the start and ended up being a huge pain in the ass. I could barely make it 50 yards without them filling with water! It was especially frustrating because I didn't have my backup pair with me : / Nothing too special about this workout. I started off feeling kind of "meh" but felt better as it progressed. My swims are starting to get longer and I'll admit it's nice to feel tired when I get out of the water!

• warm-up:
• 300
• 4x50 kick, RI 10"
• main:
• 6x50 @ 1:50 on 1:15
• 3x100 pull @ 1:55 on 2:10
• 300 easy
• 6x50 @ 1:50 on 1:15
• cool-down: 200

Tuesday
[brick]
am: bike / 15.5 mi / 1:00 / avg 15.4 mph
am: run / 3.25 mi / 0:30 / avg 9:20
Finally, my first brick of the season! I'm probably one of the few people who actually enjoy brick workouts : ) It was fairly short: 1 hour on the bike followed by a 1/2 hour run. It was a cold and damp day, but luckily the rain held off for most of the workout. The ride went by quickly (and only involved a little bit of mud) and then back at home I switched gear quickly and my dad & pup joined me for the first half of the run.

wet roads meant extra caution on the bike

T2!

yet another reason I love my Garmin - the multisport function!

Wednesday
am: conditioning / 1:00
The usual! As much as I hate getting up so early I love having an awesome workout done before most people have started their days : )

pm: swim / 2,000 yds / 0:48

• warm-up: 300
• main:
• 3x300 @ 1:55-2:00 on 6:30
• 6x100 @ 1:55 on 2:05
• cool-down: 200

After Monday's goggle issues (after which I realized the pair are well over a year old) I bought some new ones at work. I got to the pool expecting to have a great workout with spanking new goggles, only to find that these leaked, too! The problem with the new pair was that the nose piece was too broad for my my face, so they wouldn't suction properly. They are the unisex version of my previous pair (womens specific fit), so I'm thinking that's the problem. So frustrating, though! I had to tighten them so much that by halfway through the workout I had a gnarly headache : / The workout itself was my longest yet, focusing on endurance with a lot of long sets. I was definitely a little tired but managed to hit all the paces I was supposed to.

Thursday
pm: bike / 40 mi / 2:30 / avg 16.0 mph
Got my long ride done a little earlier in the week! It ended up being an awesome ride on an absolutely beautiful afternoon, ending with an unbelievably gorgeous sunset : ) It's nice to be riding longer now, if only for the confidence boost I get. I know I still have a long way to go, especially with speed, but it feels like progress. And with a 70.3 in 1.5 months, I definitely need it!

just incredible

Friday
rest
Spent the day in Berkeley and nailed my first grad school interview : )

Saturday
am: bike / 12 mi / 0:46 / avg 15.5 mph
Easy morning ride on another cloudy morning but luckily the rain held off!

pm: run / 5 mi / 0:46 / avg 9:13
I got off work earlier than usual for a Saturday so I had plenty of time to fit in my run before it was dark. I felt pretty good but was still running a bit slower than usual. And unfortunately, my ankle started nagging me during the run : / I took my pup with me, too, which always makes my runs a little bit better.

Sunday
am: swim / 1,500 yds / 0:50
This was the first group swim for the Midtown Triathlon Club (which my coach is the head coach of). I hadn't swam with a group before so I didn't totally know what to expect. There was a range of experience and skills so we were split into lanes accordingly. The workout went fairly well and was pretty basic. One thing I'm really hoping to get out of these (other than the fun company!) is feedback on my stroke. I know what a difference proper form can make in efficiency and speed so improvement is definitely a priority for me.

• warm-up: 2x150 [25 front kick, 25 R kick, 25 L kick, 25 kick on back, 50 easy]
• main:
• 6x50 @ 1:50 on 1:10
• 100 CU
• 5x50 @ 1:50 on 1:05
• 100 FTD
• 4x50 @ 1:50 on 1:00 (+ 50 because we can't count!)
• 2x50 sprint (team relays)
• cool-down: 100

pm: run / 6.5 mi / 1:00 / avg 9:16
To say I had trouble finding the motivation for this run is a bit of an understatement. I had initially hoped to run with the MTC group after our swim but with an hour on deck I wouldn't have finished in time to make it to work, so it got pushed til the evening. I've been exhausted lately (not sure why, but I have some ideas...) and after work all I wanted to do was go home and crash. This is one reason why having a coach is great - accountability. If I just had to answer to me, I can tell you for sure I would have skipped this run. Since that's not the case, I forced myself out the door first thing after I got home, before the couch could tempt me too much. It was raining and I knew it would be dark halfway through my run, but I sucked it up and ran. My ankle is bothering me again (boo) and my legs in general just seem heavy and slow. I struggled to maintain what is usually an easy pace for me. I'm hoping it's just the result of a long week of work and training.

Totals

swim: 5,400 yards

bike: 67.5 miles

run: 14.8 miles

other: 2 hours

total time: 11.1 hours