make a run for it: Ironman Week 16

4/16-4/22

A much better week mentally than the last! I'm now 9 weeks out from Cd'A (ummm what!?!?!) and things are progressing, but I'm still waiting to peak. I can't help but compare my training to others, and I feel like I'm behind. I keep telling myself to trust my coach, but I'm ready for epicly long bike rides, marathon-worthy runs, and extra long pool seshes. All in good time, I suppose. Do me a favor and remind me of my griping when I'm living and breathing triathlon training every waking moment in the next couple months, ok?

Monday
pm: swim / 1,800 yds / 0:45

warm-up:

300
3x100 smooth technique
3x100 as 50 kick/50 swim focus on kick

main:

12x50 sprint (trying for 45"), RI = 30"

cool-down: 300

Although I love my pool most of the time, one of my pet peeves is the masters group. They workout there twice during the day on weekdays, and although they are only supposed to be in 6 of the 8 lanes, leaving 2 for other lap swimmers, they almost always use them all. When I got there it was no exception, but I was determined to get my swim in. I'm a paying member after all! The coach didn't acknowledge me or the other guy trying to swim, so I just got in the lane, politely asked the guy if he minded splitting, and that was that. It was a pretty straightforward workout, and I managed to nail the sprints, averaging about 46 seconds. The long rest helped!

Also, this finally came in the mail:

My USAT membership card! I registered almost a month ago and it took forever to come. No more paying for one-day membership!

Tuesday
am: bike / 23 mi / 1:20 / avg 17.2 mph
Easy morning ride. Such a beautiful, warm morning! Looks like my easy rides are now getting longer than an hour.

pm: run / 4.2 mi / 0:34 / avg 8:01
My first MTC track workout! I haven't been able to make them in the past due to work but I requested to have Tuesday evenings free. Not a huge turnout but still fun to have company. Also my first time running on a dirt track! Oldschool : ) We did a 0.5 mile warm-up followed by some drills then the main workout: 3x1200 hard (5:22, 5:25, 5:30) with 400 recovery. I always have trouble pacing myself on longer intervals as I tend to start too fast and then fade, but I think I did pretty well on these. Finished it off with a 0.5 cool-down.

Wednesday
pm: conditioning / 0:30

3 x 20, RI = 1' btw sets

squat
lat pull down
step ups
push ups
seated row
hamstring curl
ball crunch w/twist
plank (1:00, 0:45, 0:30)

Just the usual strength workout. I had a split shift at work so I was pressed for time. Instead of the one minute rest between sets I alternated between two different exercises (i.e. squats/push ups) to get it done a bit faster. I'm loving the addition of strength workouts again!

Thursday
pm: bike / 29 mi / 1:58 / avg 14.7 mph
My solo day out on the hills in Folsom, and part one of the Thursday Trifecta workouts!

turnaround at the top

a ride with a view

American River

pm: run / 2.3 mi / 0:20 / avg 8:42
Transition run! First 10 at race pace effort, last 10 easy.

pm: swim / 2,300 yds / 1:00

warm-up:
200
100 kick choice
main:

6x50 swim golf
5x100 on 2:15
50 easy, non-free
5x100 on 2:00
50 easy, non-free
5x75 on 1:45
25 easy

cool-down: 4x50 swim golf

MTC group swim and a swim breakthrough! Hit my goal paces (100s @ 1:41-1:45, 75s @ 1:44) and felt strong. I also semi-mastered swim golf (a drill to improve distance per stroke) - my best score is 94. My swim mojo has been lacking the last couple weeks so it felt great to finally feel good in the pool. Also pleased to have such a good workout after my ride and run earlier.

Friday
rest

Saturday
am: bike / 22.5 mi / 1:16 / avg 17.8 mph
Intervals on the bike! Got the heart pumping with a heart rate ladder:

20:00 warm-up Zone 1/2
15:00 Zone 3
5:00 Zone 1/2
10:00 Zone 4
5:00 Zone 1/2
5:00 Zone 5
5:00 Zone 1/2
10:00 cool-down Zone 1

It was unusually warm and humid out and the bike trail was crowded with training groups but it was still a great morning for a ride. I felt a tad sluggish at first, but felt better as I went. I still struggle to hit the higher zones on my bike - I can't even get close to Z5 unless I'm climbing! I had my bike in the hardest gear combo and had my cadence as high as I could go and only got to mid Z4. It's also a little challenging (and dangerous!) to go so fast on the winding bike trail. It was funny how easy certain gears and speeds felt after pushing so hard - maybe it just warms up my legs? Definitely a solid workout!

Sunday
pm: run / 12.1 mi / 2:00 / avg 9:57
I couldn't fit this in before work so I talked a coworker into joining me after work. We had a bit of a "heat wave" here in Sacramento over the weekend, and when we set out for our run around 5:30pm my phone showed a cool 89 degrees! The heat definitely took it's toll, making us feel pretty sluggish, but we just kept the pace easy, drank lots of water, and stopped when we needed to.

We tried a new route that felt like we were on a tour of the city! We started in midtown and headed downtown to the Tower Bridge, along the Sacramento River into West Sac near the marina, up Broadway to Land Park which we circled before heading back through downtown. It was bit slower than usual, but that was to be expected. It was great to have company as I would have been miserable on my own (thanks Court!), and I look forward to more runs together.

Tower Bridge

Sacramento River waterfront path

flowers bloomin' everywhere!

Land Park

After an hour it started to cool off a bit and was actually a beautiful evening, but that first hour sucked! I definitely need more time to adjust to these warmer temps. Probably thanks to our thirst and empty bellies we started randomly craving a root beer float and talked about it for a good half hour. So of course, the first thing we did after finishing was head to decadent Rick's Dessert Diner for a float : ) Totally hit the spot!